Written and directed by Penelope Spheeris, The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years is the second part of a trilogy of documentaries that explores the music culture in Los Angeles. In this film, Spheeris covers the music scene at the Sunset Strip in the late 1980s where it was the hottest music scene at the time where glam-metal was ruling the charts as Spheeris doesn’t just interview acts from that scene who were popular at the time but also emerging bands and the scene itself. The result is a fascinating as well as eerie film from Penelope Spheeris.
Shot in late 1987 to early 1988, the film explores the heavy metal music scene at the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles where several bands are trying to get signed and become rock stars while older and more established acts are interviewed to talk about the ups and downs of the world of rock stardom. At the same time, fans and wannabe musicians are interviewed where they express their dreams of stardom as well as the world of heavy metal culture where it’s often misunderstood and ridiculed. Even as their treatment of women is shown in not a very good light at times though the women themselves do get interviewed as some prove to be very engaging while others show that they’re not very smart.
Director Penelope Spheeris manages to cultivate a lot of what is going on as it pertains to the culture where bands like Faster Pussycat, Lizzy Borden, Seduce, London, and Odin were among these new bands trying to get signed where Faster Pussycat would be the only band of the four to have some success as they were portrayed as guys who are driven but also realistic as opposed to the other bands. Even some of wannabe musicians when they’re asked what if they don’t make it. They tend to brush off the answer claiming they will as it plays to not just the lack of realism they have about their goals but also show how delusional they are despite their determination to succeed. At the same time, the bands that are profiled such as London and Odin both come across as arrogant where the former do claim they’re not role models though they also come across as buffoons.
The film would feature an interview with a woman who is part of a movement that is trying to get rid of heavy metal as she claims the malocchio/devil horns hand gesture as Satanic and claims it’s about the numbers 666. It’s a moment that doesn’t just show how idiotic not just these authority figures are but also the sense of ignorance about those who have very little clue abut the culture of metal. Even as some of the older musicians like Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, and Alice Cooper provide some commentary about that ignorance as they would tell their own stories about how they feel to be imitated and such though they are among the intelligent individuals in the film as does Dave Mustaine and Dave Ellifson of Megadeth who would perform for the film.
With the aid of cinematographer Jeff Zimmerman and sound recordists Ara Ashjian and Gregory Cheever, Spheeris captures not just the energy of the scene but also some of the sleazy elements of it. Especially in its portrayal to women where women would have to wear sleazy clothes to get into a club co-owned by future MTV Headbanger’s Ball host Riki Rachtman as well as a much older club owner who holds an annual contest to see who is the darling of the club. Unfortunately, some of these women don’t put themselves in a good light as many of them don’t sound very smart. At the same time, there’s moments where Spheeris wants to be serious yet Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of Kiss put themselves in very tacky settings. Simmons at a lingerie store and Stanley on his bed with three women on him as they have this arrogance about not doing drugs while Simmons says he gets laid and the Pope doesn’t.
While Tyler, Perry, and Cooper each provide their own insights about their addictions in the past, the interview with Ozzy Osbourne at someone else’s kitchen reveal not just the downside of stardom but also what he’s gained as he also states that rehab sucks. Then there’s the sequence with Chris Holmes where he is in his pool on a chair with his mother watching as he is carrying vodka bottles as he would pour it all over himself. With the aid of editor Earl Ghaffari, Spheeris would keep things straightforward while creating unique narrative strands to tie the stories together.
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years is a phenomenal film from Penelope Spheeris. Not only is it a compelling look into the world of heavy metal culture in the late 1980s but also the attributes that would lead to the downfall of glam metal. Even as it showcases a scene where everyone is trying to make it by doing what everyone else is doing with ambitions that they will never achieve. In the end, The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years is a riveting film from Penelope Spheeris.
Penelope Spheeris Films: (Uncle Tom’s Fairy Tales) - The Decline of Western Civilization - (Suburbia (1984 film)) - (The Boy Next Door (1985 film)) - (Hollywood Vice Squad) - (Dudes) - (Thunder and Mud) - (Wayne’s World) - (The Beverly Hillbillies (1993 film)) - (Little Rascals (1994 film)) - (Black Sheep) - The Decline of Western Civilization Part III - (Senseless) - (Hollyweird) - (We Sold Our Souls to Rock N’ Roll) - (The Kid & I) - (Balls to the Wall)
© thevoid99 2015
Written and directed by John Carpenter, Prince of Darkness is the story of a priest who hires a professor and his students to investigate a canister where he believes that inside this large canister is the spawn of Satan. The film is an exploration into the concept of the underworld and whether a group of people can prove that Satan exists. Starring Donald Pleasence, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong, Dennis Dun, and Lisa Blount. Prince of Darkness is a riveting and chilling film from John Carpenter.
The film explores the idea of Satan if he exists as strange things happen where a priest asks a professor and his students to study this mysterious canister which he believes has the spawn of Satan inside. Along the way, the professor and his students not only uncover some of the mysteries inside the canister but also the strange behavior of inhabitants outside of this church who seemed to be entranced by the powers of this canister. Eventually, characters get either killed off or become part of this emerging cult due to their encounter with this canister forcing those to survive and fight off this mysterious thing that is happening.
John Carpenter’s screenplay, under the Martin Quartermass alias, doesn’t really go for any kind of traditional narrative structure but rather build up the sense of mystery as things start to unravel while most of the students and people inside the church are either dead or under the control of this mysterious substance. Even as fear begins to emerge in the priest (Donald Pleasence) who starts to gain doubt about his role while the professor Howard Birack (Victor Wong) tries to make sense of everything. Yet, the priest and Birack do agree that whatever is in that canister is evil where the two and the remaining survivors try to deal with this awful situation. Even as a few of these students in Brian Marsh (Jameson Parker), Walter (Dennis Dun), and Catherine Danforth (Lisa Blount) each try to figure things out as well as observe what is going on around them.
Carpenter’s direction is pretty straightforward in terms of compositions and the atmosphere he creates as it largely takes place in an old church in Los Angeles. Much of Carpenter’s direction is about mood as the opening credits sequence plays into establishing the key characters and what they’re about to get into as the priest deals with the secret he now has to carry. Yet, Carpenter would include a few things of what to expect as they do come in head-on by the time the story takes place in and outside of the church where a lot of strange things happen.
Among them involve ants, beetles, and worms as they would add the sense of terror that would emerge. Even as little things become a big deal where characters who would encounter the mysterious canister start to act strangely as it involves characters being killed in the most gruesome ways. Even in a few scenes as it plays to a chilling climax involving the arrival of Satan’s spawn where the survivors have to take action or else be killed. Overall, Carpenter creates a very eerie yet engrossing film about a group of people trying to see if evil does exist.
Cinematographer Gary B. Kibbe does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the way he creates some lighting schemes and mood for much of the film‘s interior setting on day and night as well as the grainy video footage that many of the characters would dream about. Editor Steve Mirkovich does amazing work with the editing to create some unique rhythmic cuts to play into the film‘s suspense and terror. Production designer Daniel A. Lomino and set decorator Rick Gentz do brilliant work with the look of the church with a lot of crosses inside of the place as well as the design of the canister.
Special effects makeup artist Mark Shostrom does fantastic work with some of the makeup effects including the look of the seed of Satan. Visual effects supervisor Robert Grasmere does superb work with the visual effects that includes some minimal moments that plays into the world of the supernatural. Sound editors Michael Hilkene and Val Kulkowsky do terrific work with the sound effects as well as some of the mixing and sound texture to play into its suspense. The film’s music by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth is wonderful for its eerie, electronic-based score that plays into the film’s suspense as the soundtrack also includes a song from Alice Cooper heard from a character’s walkman.
The casting by Linda Francis is phenomenal as it features some notable small roles from Alice Cooper as a street schizophrenic, Peter Jason as Birack’s colleague Dr. Leahy, Susan Blanchard as Catherine’s friend Kelly, Anne Howard as the radiologist Susan who would start the chain of events that occur in the film, Ann Yen as the Latin translator Lisa, Dirk Blocker and Ken Wright as a couple of students, Jesse Lawrence Ferguson as the student Calder who becomes troubled by his encounters with those who had previously encountered the canister, and Robert Gasmere as a student who tries to leave only to find himself in serious trouble. Dennis Dun is amazing as Walter as he is the film’s comic relief who is upset that he is forced to cancel a date to take part in this project as he says some of the film’s funniest lines.
Lisa Blount is fantastic as Catherine Danforth as a student who deals with the chaos that goes on as she is also a math theorist who becomes befuddled by the theories she’s presented. Jameson Parker is superb as Brian Marsh as a student who has a crush on Danforth while trying to make sense of what is happening as he is also a theorist in his own way. Donald Pleasance is excellent as the priest who invites Professor Birack to investigate the phenomenon with great reluctance and regret as he becomes to feel doubt over what might happen. Finally, there’s Victor Wong in a marvelous performance as Professor Howard Birack as this unconventional professor who tries to make sense of the phenomenon while dealing with the fact that it could be pure evil.
Prince of Darkness is a remarkable film from John Carpenter. Featuring a great cast as well as captivating stories about the idea of evil, the film is definitely one of Carpenter’s more underrated films in terms of what is expected in horror as well as what evil could do. In the end, Prince of Darkness is an extraordinarily scary film from John Carpenter.
John Carpenter Films: Dark Star - Assault on Precinct 13 - Halloween - Someone’s Watching Me! - Elvis - The Fog - Escape from New York - The Thing - Christine - Starman - Big Trouble in Little China - They Live - Memoirs of an Invisible Man - Body Bags - In the Mouth of Madness - Village of the Damned - Escape from L.A. - Vampires - Ghosts of Mars - The Ward
The Auteurs #60: John Carpenter Pt. 1 - Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2014
