"The Vanishing" Horror Film

The formal definition of a horror film is certainly debatable and there are a series of different explanations for why people choose classify a given movie as being a horror film. This debate is definitely present when discussing the genre of George Sluizer's 1988 film, The Vanishing. I argue that this movie is indeed a horror film mainly for one reason; the presence of a terror that evokes a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's primal fears. In my opinion, there is no need for the antagonist to be monstrous or supernatural, only that the the primary purpose of the film is to elicit real/realistic fear from the audience. In this film, the protagonist, Rex, is buried alive by Raymond just like he had done to Saskia after kidnapping her earlier in the film. Being buried alive is a very real and rational fear for many people. For this reason, many find the thought or image of being buried alive to be profoundly horrifying. Sure, I can agree that the film does lack some of the suspense-building aspects that are tradition in most typical horror film's but it still contains the primary trait that all horror films need; that presence of a terror that evokes the audience's primal fears. For this reason, I believe that Sluizer's The Vanishing truly is a horror film.

The Problem with "Killer of Sheep" is...

Watching the film "Killer of Sheep" was considerably difficult for me for a multitude of reasons. Before I get into the details of the film I would like to mention that in general, I am typically never a fan of any works of realism mainly because of how bland and strenuous they can be. I understand that realism is the attempt to portray accurate representations of reality, but that doesn't mean they all need to be hopelessly dismal and lifeless!

In the case of this movie, the attempt to portray realism virtually killed this movie for me. Making the movie in black and white (even though color films were being made at that time) did nothing to add to the nature of the film. I must also add that the background music was very poorly done and therefore lent nothing to the film's tone and only made my mood towards the film even more distasteful. The reason I had such a difficult time understanding the film was because of it's lack of plot and character development. Guess what! In true realism of reality, people are still dynamic and there is a story to be told. This film had neither of those two qualities. Absolutely no attempt was made to develop any connection to the characters, therefore I had no emotional ties to any the characters. Despite my best efforts to locate any solid introduction, rising action, climax, or resolution to the film, I found none of the above. The transitions from seen to seen left me without any firm understanding of what had occurred during that scene and it didn't flow well into the upcoming scene. Reading the synopsis of the film was the only way I was able to actually understand what the plot was supposed to be. I believe that I have learned nothing from watching this movie despite my best intentions.

The Myth of Clint Eastwood (The Good)

Clint Eastwood as always been the rough rider of American cinema. He has emanated the aura of the silent action hero throughout his acting career but his acting persona took root and begin when he starred in The Good, The Bad, And the Ugly. Since this film, Eastwood has become the archetype for ruthless silent action heroes all across the world of cinema. In this film, you are never quite sure of the actions of Eastwood's character and he remains highly unpredictable. His motives and goals are unclear, therefore giving him that "silent-but-deadly" quality about him. His character's ruthless behavior is evident in the way he treats traitors and low life's like Tuco and Angel Eyes. Eastwood then carried on these character traits of ruthlessness and silence into other films like Dirty Harry and Gran Torino. The look in Blondie's eyes when he looks down the barrel of his rifle pointed at the noose around Tuco's neck is indeed mysteriously auspicious and ominous. It shows that he knows that he alone has control other the fate of Tuco's life with the pull of a trigger. This ominous power is also displayed on Blondie's face whenever he is involved in a shoot out. He clearly fits the physical characteristics of the characters he has chosen to play as throughout his career. He always utilizes his facial ability to appear void of all expression and emotion, leaving the audience entranced and his character's opponents afraid because nobody knows exactly what is gonna happen next.

Awara: Musical or Bollywood Blunder?

Deciding whether or not Raj Kapoor's film Awara is a musical is truly debatable and it was certainly a tough call for me. But I have come to the conclusion that it is indeed a musical in that it contains the melodramatic song and dance aspects that are present in all traditional Hindi cinema films. The in depth way that I made this decision was because I compared the film with that of Tom Hooper's Les Miserables. Granted, these films are hugely different for dozens of reasons and should never be compared for other purposes, but I noticed a few key traits of Awara that match the musical traits of Les Miserables. For example, both films are about the struggle between the paths of crime and justice in life. When I then considered the song and dance aspects of both films, I came to the conclusion that Kapoor's film indeed possesses the necessary traits of being a musical that are present within Hooper's film.