extending the (spooky) season

November may be here already (how did that happen?) but I'm in no mood yet to say a final goodbye to Halloween. Or the scary movies I marked to watch on Netflix and Hulu. The other night I finally got around to watching The Cabin in the Woods. I didn't get to see it when it came out last year - I don't get to see much "adult" fare first run. I'm a longtime Buffy and Angel fan. I like and respect Joss Whedon, but am the first to admit that his recent work can be hit or miss. Dollhouse? Yikes. The Avengers? Noisy fun, but not as amazing as it could have been. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? I tried, I really did, but it's a personality-free snoozefest for me.

So for all of the rave reviews, I was still a little hesitant about The Cabin in the Woods. It's sort of a difficult film to write about, because if you haven't seen it yet, pretty much saying anything might spoil it for you. What I can say is that Whedon and Drew Goddard, who co-wrote the script (in three days) and also (first-time) directed the film, know their horror films and monsters and weren't afraid to use them.

The film follows five college students Dana, Curt, Jules, Marty, and Holden on a weekend getaway to ... you guessed it ... a cabin in the woods. What should be non-stop fun with sex, drugs, and rock and roll quickly escalates into terror, zombies, and fighting for their lives. The 95-minute film has lots of forward momentum, and plays with tons of scary movie tropes, but the real pay-off, for fans of the Whedonverse or any horror films definitely comes in the last act, when all hell literally breaks loose, to terror and comic effect.

"Do not read the Latin!" (L-R: Curt (Chris Hemsworth), Dana (Kristen Connolly), and Holden (Jesse Williams) have obviously not seen as many slasher movies as the audience.

The Cabin in the Woods has as much gore as it does humor, but like other Whedon efforts, it's the funny moments that stay with you, especially the banter between some science geeks at a place called The Facility (which is staffed by such fun folks as Amy Acker, Richard Jenkins, and Bradley Whitford) and a bit of business involving a speakerphone. Apparently Whedon & co. put a lot of thought into not just the things that go bump in the woods, but the costumes the main protagonists wear:

The first of the archetypes we meet is Dana, dancing in her knickers in front of an open window and revealed to have recently had an affair with her tutor; obviously she is the tramp or Whore (Kristen Connolly). Then we see her friend Jules in a floral dress and new blonde hair. Jules (Anna Hutchison) is in a stable relationship with boyfriend Curt (Chris Hemsworth); Jules is the innocent girl or Virgin. Curt wears a plain grey t-shirt and is evidently book-smart; he is the geek or Scholar. Curt’s friend Holden (Jesse Williams) arrives catching a football in a blue hooded sweatshirt; clearly the jock or Athlete. And finally pot smoker Marty in a shabby cardigan and shirt; Marty (Fran Kranz) is the stoner or Fool.

All but one of these characters undergoes a costume transition. ... this was absolutely intentional. — "Costume Clues Reveal All in The Cabin in the Woods", by Christopher Laverty

Do I need to see The Cabin in the Woods again anytime soon? Probably not. I really hate zombies. But did I enjoy it and did it live up to its positive buzz? Most definitely, although as I stated earlier, its humor, not splatter, was the real take-away.

And those last fifteen minutes. "Let's get the party started."

buffy lite

The kid has recently become enamored of a Canadian teen horror/comedy show that airs here on the Disney Channel, My Babysitter's a Vampire. It apparently started with a movie in 2010, which led to the television series, which so far, has had two seasons. I have watched a few episodes with her and what really strikes me is its similarity to Season 1 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The show centers around geeky Ethan (Matthew Knight), a freshman in high school who has visions whenever he touches anything or anyone that is supernatural. Ethan and his wise-cracking best buddy Benny (Atticus Mitchell), who can cast spells, and his little sister's babysitter Sarah (Vanessa Morgan), who also happens to be a (good) vampire, are a bit like the Scooby Gang, tracking down clues and trying to solve spooky mysteries. Two more teen vamps fill out the cast, Sarah's best friend Erica (Kate Todd), and the boys' goofy friend Rory (Cameron Kennedy). Apparently the movie explained how Erica and Rory became vampires, and a whole lot of other stuff, but we haven't seen it yet.

The idea of a bunch of teens trying to battle evil, and that more than one of them is imbued with special powers, is quite Whedon-y. One of the Season 2 episodes that we saw, "Say You'll Be Maztak," featured an ancient Mayan queen, who is not just pretty, but hypnotisingly so. All the boys are rendered helpless under her spell and help her in her scheme to free the Sun King, which will signal the end of  the world — very much like when Xander fell for his substitute teacher (and giant insect monster) Miss French in "Teacher's Pet." The girls save the day, as vamps Sarah and Erica team up with Benny's Grandmother, who seems to be the closest thing the show has to a Giles.

Imitation, they say, is the sincerest form of flattery. My Babysitter's a Vampire, because it is from another studio, isn't a typical Disney teen comedy, with harsh sitcom lighting and sassy kids. We haven't seen any of the first season episodes yet, so it does seem sometimes as if we came in on the middle of a story. It's unclear how it all started, but my daughter doesn't seem to mind and finds the kids engaging. Are there any break-out stars, like Alyson Hannigan or Seth Greene? It's too soon to tell, but whether there will be a third season or not, it's fun for her to watch and it's making me want to revisit some old-school Buffy, too.

geek worlds collide on once upon a time

Last night's Once Upon A Time, an episode entitled, "Dreamy," featured two actresses from fan favorites Lost and Angel. The fairy tale world and Storybrooke highlighted the story of a dwarf named Dreamy and a very grumpy man named Leroy (Lee Arenberg). Emilie de Ravin, who played Claire on Lost reprised her role as Belle, and dispensed some advice to the lovelorn dwarf, Dreamy. Angel's Fred, Amy Acker, played a fairy who dreamed of becoming a fairy godmother in the fairy tale world. In Storybrooke she was a clumsy nun named Astrid who struck up a friendship with Leroy.

From top: Emilie de Ravin, Lee Arenberg, Amy Acker and Emma Caulfield

Once Upon A Time just keeps getting better and better, serving up twists to favorite fairytale characters and their stories. It is also a visual treat. The fairytale world can look both menacing and magical. Especially gorgeous was a scene set on a hilltop at night when Nova, the fairy, and Dreamy the dwarf, surrounded by fireflies, realized that they cared for one another. But the "real" world of Storybrooke is just as visually impressive. The office of the Evil Queen/Mayor is wonderful, with black and white trees printed on wallpaper, stark furnishings and, of course, a bowl of blood-red apples.

It's fun to see old friends from Buffy and Angel. Just a few episodes back Buffy's Anya, Emma Caulfield played Hansel and Gretel's hungry witch. Could the presence of these Actors by the influence of  show producer Jane Espenson, of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame? Whatever the reason, hopefully Once Upon A Time will continue to give viewers an extra bonus by casting these actors in guest roles.

There was one sour note in the episode, which is hopefully just due to keeping Mary Margaret/Snow White in plot trouble. Mary Margaret is being shunned by most of the citizens of Storybrooke, and called a home-wrecker and much worse for her love for David/Prince Charming. It's more than a little sexist that David seems to get off scot-free, at least as far as scandal is concerned. At the end of "Dreamy" it seemed that this medieval attitude may have been showing signs of weakening, but with all of the strong female characters in Once Upon A Time the treatment of Mary Margaret still stuck out like a very unwelcome sore thumb.

buffy's back ... with an evil twin

I'm interested in checking out Sarah Michele Gellar's new show this fall, Ringer. It's a mystery/suspense show where she plays twins. I'm glad she's back on television and I hope this series is fun for her and the audience.

Doesn't every actor want to play their evil twin? Not so sure audiences clamor for twin stories, but they do make for quirky, sometimes campy classics. Here are some of my favorites:

Bette Davis plays sisters Margaret (rich and bad, a husband murderer) and Edith (good and poor) in Dead Ringer. This is not a great movie, but it is compellingly watchable. Bette has to vie with good guy cop suitor Karl Malden and naughty boy toy Peter Lawford in this sordid '60s murder mystery. Apparently Bette played twins in another earlier film, A Stolen Life, which I have yet to see.

Eddie Murphy as movie star Kit ("Keep it Together, K-I-T") Ramsay and his nerdy brother Jiff in Bowfinger, a sarcastically funny take on Hollywood from Frank Oz and Steve Martin. This movie is just as funny whether you're watching it for the first or fifteenth time and Murphy is truly great at two very different, wacked out twins. He has always liked to play multiple characters, and did that to perfection in The Nutty Professor, his riff on Jerry Lewis's '60s version.

Jeremy Irons as creepy twins in the creepy Dead Ringers, directed by creepy David Cronenberg, who always seems to make creepy movies. They play twin gynecologists, who both start messing around with the wonderful Geneviève Bujold, who deserves much better.

Nicolas Cage plays screenwriter Charlie Kauffman and his nebbish brother Donald in Spike Jones's Adaptation, a surreal take on Susan Orleans's bestseller about the orchid industry in Florida. Meryl Streep, Tilda Swinton and Chris Cooper are along with the Cage (s) for the ride.

Twin-age is not limited to comedy and arty films. Action-adventure's own Jean Claude Van Damme beats himself up in Double Impact - what's not to love about that? Well, a lot actually, but it's still pretty fun.

If you were expecting the classic twinfest The Parent Trap, I'm sorry, but I don't like either version, Mills or Lohan. But I do love the concept of identical cousins, which isn't exactly a twin scenario, but it's wacky enough to fit this theme, and has that unforgettable theme song, to boot.

Related articles

• This Week's Cover: Sarah Michelle Gellar on 'Ringer,' 'Buffy' and motherhood (popwatch.ew.com)

memento mori

One of the best moments from Buffy has been running through my head all week . . .

. . . from The Body, after Buffy's mother dies:

Anya (crying): But I don't understand! I don't understand how this all happens. How we go through this. I mean, I knew her, and then she's, there's just a body, and I don't understand why she just can't get back in it and not be dead anymore! It's stupid! It's mortal and stupid! And, and Xander's crying and not talking, and, and I was having fruit punch, and I thought, well Joyce will never have any more fruit punch, ever, and she'll never have eggs, or yawn, or brush her hair, not ever, and no one will explain to me why. (She puts her hand over her face, crying.)

Memento mori, "remember you must die." Found in Buddhist and especially Christian art—ranging from Day of the Dead images to Puritan America, Medieval Europe and beyond—writing, painting and sculpture and pop-culture attempt to help us cope with the puzzle that is mortality:

Vita brevis breviter in brevi finietur [Life is short, and shortly it will end],
Mors venit velociter quae neminem veretur [Death comes quickly and respects no one],
Omnia mors perimit et nulli miseretur [Death destroys everything and takes pity on no one].

This is the first stage of grief, I think, just accepting the jarring interruption of death into your daily routine. The routine becomes shattered, as you cope and try to deal with the sadness of the loss of the loved one. The only thing that can bring back a semblance of your previous normal existence is time and remembrance and more time.

into each generation . . .

. . . a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One. One born with the strength and skill to fight the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers.

The kid has seen parts of Something Blue, The Witch, Teacher's Pet and Welcome to the Hellmouth. She doesn't like the "scary parts" but loves the Scoobies, especially Xander, her "favorite of the boys."

I wasn't sure at first if she should see any of it, even if BtVS was one of my all-time favorite shows. But then I thought back to watching scary black and white vampire flicks on Chiller Theater with my movie-buff dad. I would cover my eyes at the scary parts and my dad would tell me when I was safe to look at the screen again - of course at the scariest moment when the vampire was about to put the bite on his victim.

Ahhh . . . tradition . . .

Buffy the Vampire Slayer "The blond boy is Spike"

Xander and a mouse

Related articles by Zemanta

• Is Lost Set in the Buffyverse? (shoppingblog.com)