Day 4: Compliance and Axe!

Still can't sleep….

Work this weekend….that's good...

I hear noises….

There are these things I see in my half wake / half sleep state…..shapes….moving…purple...

SNAP OUT OF IT MAN!

OK…Must blog…..

1st AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE - TIME TO PLUG THE CINEFAMILY

Some may wonder….. "How are you doing this! So many films! It must cost hundreds of dollars." Ahhh! this is where the Cinefamily comes to my rescue. You see, the Cinefamily sells memberships. Get a membership and you get into all the screenings at no extra charge. Plus you get a free popcorn and other goodies. It's only $275 for a year. Go see 2 films a month and it pays for itself. Hell, It pays out for me just in the month of October alone! So really, I have seen 8 films, but only spent $25, because 5 of those were at the Cinefamily which I have a membership for that's good until next summer. I definitely get my money's worth out of the membership. I think they said their membership went up by something like 40 members this month so far due to the Video Nasties series. They also have a 3 month option if you don't want to commit to the year.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT MESSAGE - THIS IS NOT SPONSORED BY THE MLB NETWORK

If you can't get enough movies there is always baseball. Another reason I love October so much. I'm going to try and watch both games today. I mean, its kind of an historical moment. The first 1 game wild card playoff in the history of baseball. 

Please may the Braves beat St. Louis! Being a certified cubbie fan makes me a certified St. Louis hater. OK…actually I don't hate them like I hate the Yanks, but I don't like to see them win. They win too much!  The Cards always seem to win even with mediocre teams. Mediocre on paper that is. Honestly they do have a good player evaluation system or they wouldn't be doing as well as they have been these past years without it.  

Overall I am pulling for Cinci in the National League and Oakland in the American. Hope Oakland takes it all. I don't think they can keep playing like they have for years to come, so I think now is their chance. I also love an underdog. These guys were not favorites to even place 2nd in their division and dammit if they didn't win it! Go Oakland!

NOW BACK TO OUR REGULAR PROGRAMMING

Last nights movies: Compliance and Axe.

Compliance is one of those films that genre fans could debate and argue about whether it should be considered a horror film or not. There are no ghosts, goblins, chainsaw killers, werewolves, or anything that goes bump in the night. The real horror in this film is human nature. 

Compliance gained buzz at Sundance when audience members were outraged. Walkouts and Arguments with the festival staff and filmmakers always help your film's chances. Seriously, bad publicity is better than no publicity. The Daily Beast reports from the Sundance screening: "Sundance, you can do better!" an irate woman shouted. "This is not the year to make violence against women entertaining."

Hmmmm…really. The woman chose this film to take issue. I wouldn't exactly call this film entertaining. It's not like the film invites you to be excited or titillated by what you see on the screen. In fact, it made me infuriated and upset. It made me uncomfortable. At one point I even placed my hand on my head in dramatic fashion and twisted and turned in my seat. Its not like the filmmakers are saying, "Hey, isn't this fun!"

Pat Healy as the caller

The film is based on an actual event. A man posing as a police officer (Pat Healy) calls a small town Ohio fast food restaurant and convinces the staff and management (Ann Dowd) that one of their young female employees (Dreama Walker) has stolen money from one of their customers. In a series of manipulations over the phone he convinces them to strip search the girl.

Ann Dowd gives an amazing performance

Knowing that the film is based on actual events helps because, trust me, you won't believe the shit people do when confronted with the guise of authority. The crazier thing is it just didn't happen once. It happened like 70 times!  Remember the infamous Zobel study where subjects divided into groups of teacher and learner and the teachers  were convince to shock and apply 450 volts to the learners. There's also the Stanford prison experiment where the experimenters divided test groups into prisoners and guards. The guards really become over zealous in the test. The prisoners wholly accepted their role as well.  The conclusion to take away from the experiment was how each group accepted their role and embraced it. It showed how obedient people would be when confronted with authority and a respected system to support that authority.

Knowing this, its still hard to imagine what you are seeing was based on reel events. Its horrifying. Is it that easy to control people?

Stanford Prison Experiment (1971)

Hadrian, the programer made an interesting announcement before the start of the picture. At the end of the film, the callers occupation is revealed. The film makers changed the occupation from the real case. In the real case he was a prison guard who made these calls often while at work on lunch breaks. Unbelievable! Fitting when you think about the Stanford prison experiment and what the perpetrator may have learned from his work.

Now time for Axe! Same theater. Unfortunately your faithful narrator didn't absorb the movie as I fell into a half wake / half sleep state for most of it. The film starts with soft music under the image of a house. Something about the length of that shot, the music, my lack of sleep, and the fact I had no caffein beforehand, caused me to crashed almost immediately. Occasionally I would wake to see some good ol' axing, razor cutting, and acts of murder. It was a purple nightmare as the film onscreen was extremely faded.

I guess I will have to catch up with Axe on video so I can fully take it in awake.