night of the comet Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Each week, The Exhibitionist comments on the latest news, trends and innovations related to the theater industry, or it discusses long-continuing problems with and complaints against cinemas in general, or it simply relates a specific moviegoing experience of yours truly. But rarely does this column get into the subject of actual movies. Well, seeing as there's not much new in the industry this week, and seeing as I'm fortunately not being dragged to see Sex and the City and therefore have no experience to relate about being a sole male in an auditorium packed with women, I figure this is a perfect time to bring up actual movies. Not just any movies, though: I'm presently only interested in discussing movies about, set in or prominently featuring movie theaters.

The earliest movie that I'm familiar with that significantly involves a theater is Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr. The silent comedian plays a projectionist who falls asleep on the job then has a dream in which he literally climbs through the movie screen and into a detective film. A similar idea of breaking the boundary between auditorium and screen is used in Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo and in John McTiernan's The Last Action Hero, both of which involve a movie character who manages to leave his respective film within the film. But nothing tops Keaton's screen-entering stunt, which utilizes special effects that still astonish more than 80 years later.

Lots of things are scary: walking dead people, dudes with chainsaws, aerosol cheese (it's just wrong, I tell you). Sometimes, though, the chills can come from outer space, another dimension or a laboratory experiment gone horribly wrong. The greatest fear is a fear of the unknown, and what's more unknown than an alien life form or the endless expanse of space? Let's take a look at seven movies whose scares come from the world of science fiction.

Alien (1979)
"In space, no one can hear you scream," or so they say. I guess this is the obvious one to start with. Isolation is a key element of horror, and can you get more isolated than a space ship light years from home? The crew of the mining vessel Nostromo are awakened prematurely on their return trip to Earth to investigate a transmission from an alien world. The crew finds an ancient alien spacecraft, the mummified remains of one of its non-human occupants, and several large eggs. The creature inside one of the eggs gains entrance to the Nostromo by latching onto one of the crew members. Once aboard, the little beastie quickly grows into one of the most horrific and memorable monstrosities the screen has ever seen. I saw this one when it first hit theaters, I've seen it many times over the years, and I recently watched it again. Like Dorian Gray, this film just refuses to age. The effects are just as magnificent as ever, the story is tense and fast paced, and the cast is excellent. More importantly, though, this is one scary ride.

The Thing (1982)
A lot of people took me to task for not including this one in my Cinematical Seven: Cool Horror Films of the 80s. With a list of only seven you're not going to please everyone. Regardless, John Carpenter's The Thing is a remarkable film for a number of reasons. Not only is it one of the greatest horror films of all time, it's also one of the rarest of the rare: a remake that surpasses the original. Based on the novella "Who Goes There" by John W. Campbell, Carpenter's version of the story is more faithful to Campbell than 1951's The Thing From Another World. In Carpenter's film, the members of an Antarctic research station find an alien space craft that's been buried in the ice for centuries. A creature with the ability to absorb and mimic other life forms gets thawed out and infiltrates the camp, creating one of the greatest combos of isolation and paranoia in horror history. Kurt Russell is one of the great movie bad asses as MacReady, the helicopter pilot who becomes the de facto group leader. The creature's pre-digital transformations are a thing (pun definitely intended) to behold, to say nothing of seriously gross.

Between the approximate years of 1982 and 1987, I "worked" at a movie theater called the AMC Leo Mall Twin. I put the word "work" in quotations because, hey, I was between the ages of 10 and 15, and I didn't so much "work" at the theater (and the Video Village across the street) as I did A) hang out, B) do odd jobs, and C) see tons of free movies. It was pretty much heaven.

Two of the goofiest sci-fi memories that I have of those years come from a pair of films that have since faded into semi-obscurity over the past 2 decades. One has become an underground cult (kinda-)classic and the other ... has a bunch of futuristic kids on roller skates and a glowing magic ball of yellow light.

Yes, cheese fans, it's time for not only Night of the Comet to debut on DVD, but freakin' Solarbabies too! Solarbabies! I know! Hilarious!

For those who might be a bit too young to understand why I'm so geeked about these movies, here's some of the facts: 1984's Night of the Comet (written and directed by Thom Eberhardt) is about two high school girls who awaken one day to find the apocalypse in full swing. Empty streets, roving maniacs, evil governments, it's all there. And since the last time I saw Night of the Comet was on opening night (11/16/84), I'm pretty darn psyched to give the thing a second spin.

Now ... Solarbabies, on the other hand, is a totally different story. Get this: It's post-doomsday (again), and our heroes are a bunch of odd-speaking teenagers who skate everywhere they go. Said kids are played by the likes of Jason Patric, Jami Gertz, James LeGros, Lukas Haas, Adrian Pasdar and Peter DeLuise, with Richard Jordan as the villain and Charles Durning as "The Warden." Anyway, the kids (with the help of a magical super-special glowball) skate for futuristic freedom! Even as a kid it was painfully obvious to me how outrageously silly Solarbabies was. And of course, I can't wait to see it again.

Both flicks will hit DVD on March 6, courtesy of those wonderful folks at MGM.

[Thanks to DavisDVD.com for the tip!]

Let me first start this Cinematical Seven list with a disclaimer -- I love genre movies and sci-fi movies in particular. It's probably because, like many of you, I watched the original Star Wars as a kid and fell in love with the idea of speeding through space, fighting the evil galactic empire, saving the day in the nick of time and getting to kiss the Princess. Of course, in my version of the story, the Princess was not my sister. ...

Sci-fi films are great because they serve to entertain us, thrill us and help us see what the future could be like if we live that long. Plus, you get the fun of all that wrapped up in an attractive and exciting package filled with great special effects, memorable performances and stories that while they entertain us, also manage to teach us a little something about life, ourselves and what it means to be human.

When making my list I tried to think of films that inspired me and helped fuel my love for this genre. Some of these films may be obvious to you and some may be new but I feel they all represent what is best about sci-fi films. I also realize that two of these films feature Charlton Heston. What can I tell you -- the man knows good sci-fi material when he reads it. Plus, I also included two films starring the lovely Catherine Mary Stewart, who I had a serious crush on during my formative years. She sure was cute. And spunky. Much like a certain Princess we all know and love.

Here, then, is my list of the seven sci-fi films you should be watching.

Gattaca (1997) -- Writer/Director Andrew Niccol's dystopian vision of a future where you're bred and selected for your genetic superiority is a compelling indictment of the dangers of technology and social responsibility. Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law star along with the great Alan Arkin as a detective assigned to investigate a murder at the giant corp where Hawke works. In the film, Hawke's character, a supposedly inferior and non-genetically enhanced "in-valid" takes the place of Jude Law's character, an enhanced "valid", in order to pursue his dreams of space travel.

This film is a compelling mix of sci-fi film, detective thriller, murder mystery and romance with many twists and turns. Plus, the Production Design, Cinematography and even Ethan Hawke's performance are first-rate and help you imagine a future where all of these things could exist. Gattaca entertains and makes you think at the same time. Not a bad mix.