Arts & Entertainment Twin Peaks, Where Soap Operas Go to Dream
Film festival preview
THE UCSD GUARDIAN | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 | www.Ucsdguardian.org
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Rodriguez Breaks Down His Picks Day 1 – oct. 1
“The Haunted House,” 1908, Segundo de Chomón “Horror has been a staple of film since its birth, and it has also been a breeding ground for innovation in camera tricks and techniques. This film is a great example of that.”
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n the spring of 1990, the virus was still practically undetectable. Gossiping housewives, stoners and channel-flippers of all creeds and color tuned in to the familiar soap
“Un Chien Andalou,” 1929, Luis Buñuel “I chose for its artistic merits, as well as for its continued effectiveness.”
The Haunted Tape Deck
“Skeleton Frolic,” 1937, Ub Iwerks “I also decided to include [‘Skeleton Frolic’] to show how classically horrific images have long been used in more lighthearted fare.”
Ren ebel rebel@ucsd.edu
opera schtick: A beautiful homecoming queen’s body is found in a small town, the small town is shocked, an investigation begins, everyone’s a suspect, drama ensues, etc. Then, things began to change. Granted, David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” was radical from its surreal opening seconds: a dream-like montage of rusted lumber saws being sharpened, the steady flow of opaque brown water, titles appearing in some batshit font — letters outlined in neon green and filled with a dull brown, creating a sort of unfocusable optical illusion — all set to the hazy and hollow late-’80s theme music of Angelo Badalamenti. Yet, to the untrained eye, the true nature of this infected soap didn’t become clear until Lynch really pulled the rug out from underneath. Haunting images outstayed their typically allotted welcome. Characters’ fears and fever dreams were at times almost unbearably
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THE UCSD GUARDIAN | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 | www.Ucsdguardian.org
“Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” 1956, Don Siegel “The film gives a startlingly clear look at America in the ‘50s.”
Fright Nights Horrible Imaginings’ Miguel Rodriguez talks slasher self-reflection, and the twoday horror festival coming to UCSD next week. By Ren Ebel • A&E Editor
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f you’ve ever felt frustrated and utterly alone in trying to describe to your increasingly concerned friends the irresistible giddiness you feel when Ash Williams reaches for that chainsaw in “Evil Dead,” or the pangs of joy that run down your spine at every utterance of the words “red rum,” fear not; Miguel Rodriguez has dedicated his career to constructing your dark sanctuary. “In the years I have spent studying the history See Horror page 10
Day 2 – oct. 2
“Katasumi,” 1998, Takashi Shimizu “I chose this film to discuss the takeover of Japanese ghost stories that happened in the late 90s and early 2000s.” “Treevenge,” 2008, Jason Eisener “This film is a great example of the ‘70s exploitation nostalgia that grips many of today’s young horror filmmakers.” “Martin,” 1976, George A. Romero “This film is a reflection of the shift from supernatural horror, which was en vogue in early film, to the more realistic serial killer or ‘slasher’ horror that became popular in the ‘70s and ‘80s.”
See tape deck, page 8
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