Page vs. Screen: The Road

"Too bad we can only carry 200 pounds of food back to the wagon."

There's something about Cormac McCarthy's The Road that makes it mesmerising to read. The frequent paragraphs, the incredible imagery, and distinct lack of punctuation, set it apart from any book written before. Its simplicity forces you to appreciate the book solely for its heart-wrenching plot and surprisingly believable characters, made to survive in a world where it's even worse than others turning on you; you're forced to turn on others. But does the 2009 film manage to follow in the footsteps of its textual predecessor? eehhhhhhhhmmehhmehggh. Not really.

What the film fails to do, which is the biggest mistake it could possibly make when trying to emulate a book like The Road, is stand out. It's still bleak, depressing tale of a man's ultimately fruitless quest to protect his son, but it lacks the unnerving style of which the book is written. Of course, such a thing would be near impossible for a film to do. But nobody forced anyone to make this, and the surrealism of the way the book is written, half of what makes it so great, is completely absent in the film.

To the film's credit, it's acted and directed superbly. They still remember that this isn't a story where you're supposed to laugh, or feel hopeful, or anything really that's positive, and the camera shots really make you feel like your eyes are chained to the screen. The performances are subtle and bleak, but still maintain hints of optimism, particularly in Viggo Mortensen as the father. I hadn't heard of this guy before seeing this film, and I was wholly impressed.

While the 2009 film The Road isn't a bad film by any means, it fails to make an impact like the book version did, by being less inventive with it's style and playing it safer for a more neutered audience. Watch the film on its own and you'll probably find it harrowing. Next to the book though, it's simply somber.

BOOK OR FILM: BOOK

Better the Devil You Overthrow: The Exorcist

So I saw The Exorcist for the first time last week, and never before had I been so hyped for a film. The records and legacy it had created made it sound like it belonged in the Lost Ark, causing melted faces to anyone fool-hearty enough to sneak a gaze. I was convinced that there was no hope of me ever being able to achieve my aspirations in film without seeing the movie that was seemingly the inspiration for everything, including Blair Witch, Poltergeist and E-Z Bed Recliners. So with all this in mind, was my initial viewing of one of the greatest films of all time skewed and watered down? Yeah, a bit. Was it still one of the best films I've ever seen? GOD. DAMN.

Pazuzu! You ungrateful gargoyle!

There's something about The Exorcist that sets it apart from any other horror film that's ever been made, before or since. The obvious thing is how much care and attention has been put into every shot, every scare, every line of dialogue. Today's horror films have a plot that can usually be explained in one dreary line ("they were performing an exorcist...........*cough*.........on her"). But The Exorcist manages to keep a plot that is both simple and fleshed out to the finest detail. Not a single time when I was watching was I just waiting for the next scare, because, in what is such a rarity in horror films, the scenes without scares actually mattered. I cared about the characters. Why? I don't know, maybe because they took a minute to develop them instead of throwing them in terrifying (for them, not us) situations. Of course, it helps that every single actor performs to an incredible standard, unheard of in horror films. I'm beating you over the head with the same point here, I know, but seriously, why aren't all horror films this polished? What Abner Doubledeal decided that horror will be the genre where corners can be cut, scripts can be half-arsed, and actors whose delivery wouldn't get them cast in an advert alerting people of the dangers of strokes?

I realise that there have been a handful of horror films that are very well made and don't deserve the scorn that The Exorcist has forced me to condemn them with. And I've always hated saying, in regards to great things, that nothing will ever top it, because how pessimistic is that? But if I ever see a horror film in my lifetime make as lasting an impact as The Exorcist, I'll watch the Paranormal Activity films back to back. That seems suitable punishment for my insolence.

What I, and you, have gotten ourselves into.

This blog will mostly be thoughts on anything that can rot your brain in some way. Film, TV, games, maybe even books and comics. Hopefully I can maintain some consistent updating on this thing, but the only thing I've been able to do consistently for the last 4 years is sneer, so we'll see.