Tag: film essays online

Film, Film Music and Sound

David Lynch + Assimilation of Avant-Garde Aesthetics in Subversive, Mainstream Soundtracks (Part 1)

Introduction – The Boundaries Of Criteria. “He was the most original director in 1980s cinema, its only surrealist” – Mark Cousins on David Lynch (2004, p.394). The Avant-Garde is like a spark or a flash of quick-fire creative ideals.  The idea of Avant-Garde cinema is not so much to present an experience or escapism, but is there instead to quickly question the ideals of the audience … Continue reading David Lynch + Assimilation of Avant-Garde Aesthetics in Subversive, Mainstream Soundtracks (Part 1)

Unknown's avataradamscovell4 Comments
Film, Film Music and Sound

Maya Deren And The Scores Of Teiji Ito (Meshes Of The Afternoon + Others)

Time past and time future, What might have been and what has been, Point to one end, which is always present. – T.S Eliot (Four Quartets) There’s a clash often present in the films of Maya Deren but especially in the ones that incorporate music into their styling.  From her most famous short Meshes Of The Afternoon (1943 or 1952 with music) to other titles such as … Continue reading Maya Deren And The Scores Of Teiji Ito (Meshes Of The Afternoon + Others)

Unknown's avataradamscovell1 Comment
Film

X The Unknown – Leslie Norman (1956)

Following on from Hammer’s The Quatermass Xperiment, the company continued their desire for rating incorporated titles with 1956’s X The Unknown. It may perhaps hold the most unimaginative of Hammer’s titles but the film itself has some surprisingly good moments. The story follows an extremely similar route to its predecessor but certain tweaks allow more paranoia to build specifically around the radiation that clearly obsessed … Continue reading X The Unknown – Leslie Norman (1956)

Unknown's avataradamscovellLeave a comment
Film, Folk Horror

The Reptile – John Gilling (1966)

This article contains spoilers. As a companion piece to John Gilling’s other big Hammer success The Plague of Zombies, 1966’s other Cornish based horror is an entirely different film even though shot relatively back to back.  The Reptile focuses far more on the individual effects of a creature on the loose rather than a general view on the chaos, though obviously the villages where both … Continue reading The Reptile – John Gilling (1966)

Unknown's avataradamscovellLeave a comment
Film, Film Music and Sound

The Horror Score Rebellion Part 2 – Night Of The Living Dead And The Electronic Score.

Horror films were slow on the upkeep when it came to electronic music. Though elements of it were being used in other genres before 1968, electronic music didn’t really reach horror until the late sixties. The exact date of the first use of electronic score has been attributed to various films; largely Cold War fare such as The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and Invasion of the … Continue reading The Horror Score Rebellion Part 2 – Night Of The Living Dead And The Electronic Score.

Unknown's avataradamscovell1 Comment
Film, Folk Horror

The Wicker Man – Robin Hardy (1973)

The sub-genre of Folk Horror is possibly the oddest mixture of ideals and ideas ever to join in the world of cinema.  Trying to envision a genre taking best aspects from Folk tradition and mix it with the scary and disturbing edges of Horror can be difficult to imagine. However, amongst this small group of films, all of which are brilliant, sits one that transcends the … Continue reading The Wicker Man – Robin Hardy (1973)

Unknown's avataradamscovell3 Comments
Film

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – Tobe Hooper (1974)

When looking into the history of film titles, there surely cannot be one more controversial and loaded than The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? It’s a vicious, daring piece of marketing that implies what’s in store is something altogether grim and deeply disturbing as well as graphically violent.  Thankfully the film in question is far more intelligent than that and is most definitely not to be confused with the recent … Continue reading The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – Tobe Hooper (1974)

Unknown's avataradamscovellLeave a comment