Cynical Cinema

The Scream trilogy comes out in yet another form, August 26th from Alliance Films. And while the new edition of this trilogy is nothing special in terms of special features or extras or packaging, the series bears revisiting. It has been eight years since the final installment in the Scream trilogy, and there is a chance that the series has become somewhat forgotten, especially among the new generation of horror movie buffs. And this, I feel, is a shame. Because I truly believe that Scream is the best series in the history of horror movies. (Alien is a close second, and had they not gone ahead with Alien Resurrection I think it would be in first place. Alien vs. Predator and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem don’t count.)

Scream (10/10):  The first Scream film is an absolute classic. A magnificent work by Wes Craven that managed to take a very standard genre - the slasher movie - and turn it into something brand new and tremendously exciting. The standard things one expects from a slasher film were kept intact. The hot young cast (with Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and Rose McGowan this cast was hotter than most). The concealment of the killer’s identity until the very end. The creepy phone call that leads to a murder. And the other standard cliches - don’t go upstairs, or you’re dead. Don’t have sex, or you’re dead. Don’t do drugs, or…you’re dead. What made Scream fantastic and new was that it didn’t merely go through the motions with the cliches, it absolutely embraced them. In fact, the film is constantly calling attention to it’s own formulaic nature. It’s not formulaic out of laziness or lack of imagination, it’s formulaic by design. It becomes more than just a well done, genuinely scary horror movie. It also becomes a satire of pop culture, a jab at the debate over violence in movies, and an incredible moment for cultural reference. Scream contains many references to the past - other slasher films like Hallowe’en and Friday the 13th. But it also managed to become a part of that same culture in the future, giving rise to not only two sequels of it’s own, but a whole new genre of slasher film beginning with I Know What You Did Last Summer, and spoof movies beginning with Scary Movie. Very few single movies can boast an influence like that.

Scream 2 (10/10):  But Scream is not just the one movie, it is a trilogy. And the series did something unthinkable in horror movie history with their second installment. It got better. (Another nod to the Alien series here - #2 was better than #1.) The first movie was a genuine, scary, thrilling slasher movie while simultaneously being a parody of those same movies. An unbelievable achievement, but Scream 2 goes one better. It is a genuine, scary, thrilling and smart slasher movie. And it is also a parody of the slasher movies of the past. But in an amazingly successful and deft bit of directing by Wes Craven, it is a parody of the first film in the series as well, and becomes a parody of itself on a level the first movie couldn’t hope to attain. Famous satirists in history have attempted this incredibly difficult feat - satirizing one’s own subject matter while still maintaining a smart dialogue and interesting action. Perhaps only Jonathan Swift ever managed to perfect this art, with Gulliver’s Travels in 1726. Since then, maybe only Wes Craven has come close to matching that work. And it’s with Scream 2.

Scream 3 (6/10):  The third Scream movie sucked. Well, it sucked like The Godfather III, more because it couldn’t come close to living up to the previous two. Or, perhaps, like Alien 3. At the very least, however, Scream 3 was still scary and involved Jenny McCarthy and Piper Perabo, and brought back Courtney Cox and Neve Campbell, making it the hottest of the Scream movies. Oh, and it also had a cameo by Jay and Silent Bob. Cool points!

Thrilling, smart, funny, perceptive, contemporary and really truly scary, the Scream trilogy is a must-own for horror fans. If you already own it, don’t bother with this new Alliance Films release. There is nothing extra there. But for those of you who have never seen Scream or it’s two hugely successful sequels, this is a must-have addition to your DVD collection.

The new trend in kids’ movies is to take a concept from a classic adult film, dress it up with cutesy animated characters, and dumb it down for the kids who might buy the lunchbox. Barnyard is no exception.  I’m reviewing Barnyard here as a point of reference for a TV series that is coming out on Tuesday.

Animals can talk and walk on two legs, but of course they do so only when people aren’t looking. Otis is a cow who is left in charge of the Barnyard after his father is killed defending the other animals from coyotes. Of course, Otis just wants to party, doesn’t want to fill his father’s shoes, but comes to grips with his role by the end of the film and saves the day. Much like the thousands of kung-fu movies I’ve seen.

One problem I had with Barnyard is that they’re cows. But they’re male. They don’t have udders, so they MUST be bulls, but there are other bulls we see in passing with rings through their noses who seem to have nothing to do with the movie. Secondly, why is it up to cows (or bulls, if that’s what they really are) to defend the farm? Wouldn’t horses do a better job? I’m thinking Boxer in Animal Farm. And there ARE horses there as well. So what are they doing while the coyotes eat chickens?

Every animated movie must have several characters meant to be cute and funny, and I guess in Barnyard they’re supposed to be the mouse with the Mexican accent, the tiny baby chick who idolizes Otis, and the freaky nondescript animal who keeps bursting out of a box for some very unnecessary dancing scenes. But none of these characters is funny, they’re just cuddly and irritating.

Not that Barnyard is that bad. It has some decent moments, like a scene involving a bad apple neighbourhood kid and some cow-tipping, and a scene where the donkey keeps knocking the farmer unconscious. But overall, it’s a movie every adult has seen thirty or forty times, with not enough humour to keep the kids entertained throughout.