Author of sci-fi/fantasy, horror and adventure/thriller fiction

THERE, THERE by Tommy Orange

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As I get older and probably more jaded, I often find myself drawn to general fiction that shows a different cultural perspective, enjoying the learning and stimulation of a different way of seeing the world. This led me to Tommy Orange’s terrific debut THERE, THERE, which I found a beautiful piece of fiction about the urban Native-American experience.

The novel is a bestseller and won all sorts of awards, but I put all that aside in my expectations and started with page one. Pretty soon, I couldn’t put it down. In THERE, THERE, Orange produces a history, point of view, and slice of life for twelve Native-Americans living in Oakland and all headed to the same pow wow ceremony, all connected in some way whether they realize it or not.

The language is powerful and puts you right in the brain of each character, while providing perspectives that place you directly in the Native-American experience. That’s pretty much the good part of my review, but it’s everything. You enjoy, you learn, you empathize, you root for, you understand someone previously alien to you. That’s great fiction. Thematically, for me, there is a strong tone of reclaiming spirit but screwing it up along the way because of problems far bigger than individuals, a theme that’s universal.

On the downside for some readers, there are a lot of characters, not only the twelve principals but their own networks, so you might find yourself skipping back to Orange’s dramatis personnae at the beginning of the book to keep track. While each character brings something new to the mix, the overall tone is fairly monotone across them all with a simmering despair, a feeling like no matter what you do, you can’t win, no matter what you achieve, something big was already taken from you that you’ll never get back. A hunger for something that can’t be satisfied.

Another downside for some readers is this is, well, a work of literary fiction. The story is far more about who these people are, where they came from, what they want to be, and where they’re going far more than this or that happens. You either appreciate the form of you don’t. Honestly, there are many times I don’t, but I found the characters and author compelling enough to love it.

The story all comes to a head at the Big Oakland Pow Wow, and while it ties the characters together, there isn’t much of a denouement where they learn or change, which would be my own personal singular criticism. It left me feeling satisfied with the journey but also a little wanting at the destination, though maybe that was the point.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and look forward to more from Orange.

BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF (2001)

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I recently rediscovered BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, a 2001 French film about a noble sent by the king in 18th century France to the Gevaudan region to investigate killings by a monstrous wolf. I liked it even more the second time around. It not only holds up over the years, it shines.

The film begins with the knight de Fronsac and his Iroquois companion Mani, traveling to Gevaudan. Almost immediately, during a confrontation on the road, we learn that Mani totally kicks ass in hand to hand combat. At last, they reach their destination, the manor of the local noble, whose son (the wonderful Vincent Cassel) takes an instant disliking to de Fronsac and whose daughter (Émilie Dequenne) becomes the subject of de Fronsac’s amorous interest.

What follows is a terrific mix of monster terror and mystery, excellently choreographed fighting, a political plot, and plenty of intrigue (involving the wonderful and drop-dead stunning Monica Bellucci). With a runtime of two hours and twenty minutes, it almost feels epic. The costumes and sets make the pre-Revolutionary France of the 1700s feel real.

In short, this is a good one, a hidden gem waiting for you.

BACKCOUNTRY (2014)

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In an impressive debut by writer/director Adam MacDonald, BACKCOUNTRY tells a story about survival in the wilderness, loosely based on a true story. It’s surprisingly human, atmospheric, and tense, a little hidden gem.

Alex (Jeff Roop) picks up his girlfriend Jen (Missy Peregrym) for a special weekend camping trip at a provincial park. He’s a bit of a showoff about his wilderness skills, while she’s a city lawyer glued to her phone and going along for the ride. They’re warned not to take a certain trail, as it’s closed, but Alex appears determined, as he’s on a special personal mission.

Then everything goes wrong, and the couple finds itself fighting for their lives in the Canadian wilderness.

I won’t say more about the plot, as it’s very simple, and it rolls out nicely such that it’s best to simply watch the movie even without a trailer. I like how MacDonald played with some horror tropes–a warning not to go somewhere, a red herring threat, even a sense of justice in the disproportionate Greek myth sense. The setting is terrific, both beautiful and ominous. The beauty of this film, however, is in the characters, as most of the film’s intensity and tension comes through their reactions.

As for who the couple is, I think they will strike most people as very familiar. Alex knows the wilderness fairly well and wants to impress Jen, but his showing off means accepting risks and not being able to admit when he’s wrong until it can no longer be avoided. Jen doesn’t like the wilderness but is playing along, and once things go bad, she is furious but trusts Alex’s leadership but demands decisive action. By the end, we see the real people they are in crisis, and it’s actually quite touching.

Overall, BACKCOUNTRY plays to all the strengths of good indie film-making–beautiful natural sets, a focus on character to invest the viewer, and realistic threats. I liked this one a lot.

FOUND FOOTAGE 3D (2016)

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In FOUND FOOTAGE 3D (2016), a small crew of indie filmmakers venture to a derelict farmhouse to shoot a found footage horror movie, only to find themselves in a very real horror story. I really liked this one for its perfect balance of self awareness and playing it straight.

The film follows producer and actor Derek, editor Mark (Derek’s brother, who is also shooting a behind the scenes documentary about the making of the film, and which provides the real found footage movie), Derek’s wife Amy as lead actress, sound technician Carl, director Andrew, and production assistant Lily, a horror fan. Derek has what he thinks is a brilliant idea to bring new life to a tired genre, which is to shoot it in 3D. He’s also a bit of a narcissist, and he’s in the midst of breaking up with Amy, resulting in endless tension and disruption.

The film very cleverly has the characters recognize and debate the conventions of the genre, from establishing in the first act why everything is being recorded and explaining why they are still recording in the third act after the monster appears. From this self awareness of the conventions and overwrought tropes, the film draws quite a bit of comedy and plentiful setups that pay off. Otherwise, we’re given a pretty straightforward found footage film about a haunting, which itself pays off with a genuinely thrilling explosion at the climax.

Overall, I really liked it and recommend it. This is one of those movies I went into not expecting much and ended up delightfully surprised.

THE SADNESS (2022)

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Fresh from Taiwan, THE SADNESS (2022) is a nasty, viscerally disturbing horror film that is somehow fitting for the COVID pandemic era.

Jim and Kat are young lovers who separate in the morning, Kat to take the train to work and Jim to grab coffee and start his own day. In the background, we become aware of a new virus dubbed Alvin, which scientists are saying is dangerously mutating, though the COVID weary public, sick of lock downs and infected in a way themselves with viral disinformation, is having none of it. As usual, the annoying scientists are right; Alvin is mutating, and those infected become compelled to inflict pain.

If you’re thinking this sounds like the graphic novel CROSSED by Garth Ennis, which isn’t so much read as inviting stomach-turning visual assault, you’re right; CROSSED is an inspiration for the film, just as it was for THE RETREAT, my zombie series written with Stephen Knight and Joe McKinney (it was also inspired by THE ANABASIS by Xenophon). And man, does it deliver: blood and gore and hacking and stabbing indulged to the max, spiced with moments of graphic torture and sexual assault held back just short of indulgent.

It’s ugly stuff, brutal and nasty, and man, it sets up one hell of an apocalypse. The grinning sadists who form the “zombies” in this story are pretty darn freaky and frightening. The combination of blood, tension, and cruelty is viscerally upsetting. The filmmakers handled all of it right in my view, punching you in the face without celebrating the punch, if you will. They adeptly set up long scenes of steadily escalating tension as characters react with terror and paralysis until the zombies arrive to play. The fairly cynical story runs right up to the point of nihilism, as our protagonists try to help people only to get burned, average people lash out in ignorance and fear and cowardice, and even the expert we meet is villainous.

It all ends on a note of hope, though it’s vague and also not very emotionally satisfying. The problem is in the lack of character arcs. In TRAIN TO BUSAN, for example, a detached dad learns the value and responsibility of fatherhood during a zombie apocalypse. In THE SADNESS, nothing is really learned or gained, making the story entirely about the world ending in slaughter and perhaps a thematic message that when it comes to public health maybe we should listen to public health experts. As a result, I wasn’t as invested as I would have liked in the protagonists, whose story simply ends, and it would have been interesting to see more of the best of human nature in contrast with the infected’s worst.

Despite this, I like this one quite a bit as something new in zombie land, a serious gut punch.

THE BATMAN (2022)

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The latest entry in the Batman franchise, THE BATMAN (2022) tries way too hard to be the film SE7EN and features a somewhat flat, heavily emo Batman (nonetheless well played by Robert Pattinson), but it’s respectable, and its action and fast pacing deliver quite a bit of fun.

So it’s a new Batman world, Batman is obsessed with fighting Gotham crime even though crime is going up, and a mysterious villain, the Riddler (Paul Dano being Paul Dano), is murdering the city’s elite. This takes Batman into the lair of a crime family led by Carmine Falcone (played to the usual perfection by John Turturo), whose lieutenant is known as the Penguin (Colin Farrell in heavy prosthetics such that nobody believes it was actually Colin Farrell). An employee at Falcone’s club, The Iceberg Lounge, appears to be the key and turns out to be the Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz). To win, Batman must follow the Riddler’s clues to unmask Gotham’s utter corruption and stop the Riddler himself from a far darker plan of vengeance.

The result is good entertainment. Despite the three-hour runtime, it all moves pretty quickly, and there are enough plot developments to keep the story juiced. The actors are all great, and the plot, while complicated, doesn’t become overwhelming and overblown with the inclusion of secondary heroes and villains. Thematically, there is an interesting idea that heroes with a black-and-white view of justice can inspire others to attempt to do the same thing only with stronger means, leading to the question of what is a hero and what is a villain. The soundtrack, including Nirvana’s “Something in the Way,” adds to the heavy sense of atmosphere.

On the downside, the film tries way too hard to be SE7EN, right down to a scene in the Riddler’s apartment that appears directly lifted almost line for line from the Nineties classic. A theme of class warfare (which I normally applaud) appears directly inspired from the most recent JOKER film and is tied to terrorism. (Basically, the movie is SE7EN set in the world of JOKER.) The usual movie logic rule breaking happens, such as bullets not hurting Batman in one scene but in the next scene they do. Probably the biggest issue I had was Batman himself, as there isn’t much there to like or dislike. Gone is the dichotomy of playboy billionaire and brutal crime fighter, now it’s all brooding, dark, emo, making Batman pretty flat. It’s strange how he goes around beating up petty criminals and crime keeps going up. It’s also funny that if he spent more time with his accountants, the movie might have never happened.

Anyway, I didn’t go into it expecting much, though these movies occasionally surprise such as Nolan’s take on Batman. While the writers and director played it all pretty safe by borrowing from other successful films and elements, the bottom line is THE BATMAN was all pretty entertaining for me, Pattinson has matured into a fine actor and makes a solid Batman, the secondary characters are pretty vivid and well played by their actors, and overall, it’s a good time.