On this day: The Blair Witch Project - The Power of Imagination

The Blair Witch Project released on this day in 1999. The story revolves around 3 student filmmakers, Heather, Josh, and Mike, that go on a camping trip to Burkittsville, Maryland to make a documentary on the legendary Blair Witch myth, hopefully validating its existence. The film terrified when I first watched it on home video, as the mere concept of people being lost in the woods is enough to nearly petrify me. It's a great concept that spawn endless imitators that don't match up the simplistic quality and impact the original had.

1. The Marketing 
How the the film was marketed was the largest element of what made the film successful and crashing box offices with the making of $248.6 million.
Directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez took advantage of the early enigma which was the Internet and created newsreel footage and missing persons articles pertaining to the three college student's missing whereabouts. Even at Sundance where it premiered in 1999, flyers were sent out the anyone participating in seeing the film encouraging to come forth with any information on them. Both directors kept everyone in the mindset these actual events are real.
 Much like other websites involving missing people, police reports, updates on the investigation, and their background was posted as well as the actors' actual names to keep everyone in loop of the convincing realism. At a young age I thought this was so real, I wanted no part in visiting the woods and even watched the woods at night to pray something doesn't come after me. The marketing gimmick for the film defined the word "viral" and spawned the possibilities of what the internet could do and be, while also becoming.

The legend itself was also made up by both Myrick and Sanchez, who created the story of a woman named Elly Kedward, who lured children in her home to draw their blood in 1785. She was also accused of being a witch by the local children in the town. After she was banned from the Town of Blair, this led to chain of disappearances, killings, and pandemonium. From 1785 to 1994, the Blair Witch's influence shook the Northern Maryland location. To read the entire timeline I'll post a link below.

The Blair Witch Timeline: https://www.blairwitch.com/mythology.html

2. Into the Woods

The Blair Witch Project displayed the power of imagination and suggestion like no other. While there were found footage films before this, this one created a movement. Once the three student filmmakers go into the woods, their fates are already sealed.

The film uses the setting itself as a monster, while the central villain controlling the strings is titular. One of the best aspects of the film is how all three characters slowly but surely deteriorate mentally from the sheer isolation of the woods. Characters do and say things that they usually wouldn't to each other strictly due to their own humanity. As a species we are highly reactive and the film exemplifies this through naturalization of the actors themselves, who show such phenomenal natural display emotions throughout the experience.   

The film successfully escalates through pure atmosphere. Strange and disturbing noises, threatening stick figures, and a complete manipulation of the world itself. All of this surreal terror is subtle and well structured, leading to a very satisfying ending. The characterization is also under-mentioned, as we begin to see the true elements of the three main characters from where they started to where they end.

3. Conclusion
On the 16th of this day, this film proved that the power of simplicity, imagination, and internet can do to create a new line of found footage cinema, even furthering the revolution of what the internet has become today.

I personally love the film to pieces and to this day it remains my favorite horror film. I still find it unnerving, yet fun to experience the feeling of being lost in the woods and hunted by an evil entity that never reveals itself. And while the sequel The Blair Witch (which I'll rip to shreds in the future) doesn't even remotely live up or even understand the power of the original, The Blair Witch Project will always be an experience I'm tempted to revisit again and again.

Have you seen the film? What are your thoughts on it? Leave a comment below!

Recommending: The Wonderful 101

 The Wonderful 101 is a 2013 action/adventure game developed by Platinum Games under the direction of the legend Hideki Kamyia (Devil May Cry, Bayonetta). It was originally released on the Wii-U and has been re-released this year as a remastered for the PS4, The Switch, and PC.

The Wonderful 101 is a game that I heard from word-of-mouth. My interest in the game came originally from my love for Platinum Game's recent other titles such as Metal Gear Rising, Vanquish, and Bayonetta. The majority of these games I love for their to-the-point high-octane and over-the-top action and set pieces. My first experience with the title was one that caused me to see something instantly special that I'm shocked out of my mind that no other's saw. The gameplay may have been drastically distinctive especially with it's debut release on the Wii-U, but this was a truly special game in my eyes. 

1. Background

The Wonderful 101 was originally supposed to star Nintendo's iconic characters such as Mario, Link, and Donkey Kong. But this would've clashed with the gameplay mechanics that were going to be integrated into the core idea. The idea was to give the player the control of a large number of heroes at once to form massive weapons by drawing it based on various shapes. After development halt in the game for a year, Director Kamyia decided to implement the henshin theme which is Japanese for "transformation".  Power Rangers and Viewtiful Joe are the more familiar examples of henshin themed Japanese superhero shows. This was led to the creation of original characters mixed with elements of American comic books.  While this game did not have a strong selling record in 2013, the remastered version would create the opportunity reach a much wider audience. This success of the remastering was caused by the surpassing of the Kickstarter goal.

2. Gameplay
The game is an action game in the same vein of Hideki Kamiya's other titles. It's a hack-n-slash/beat-em-up with heavy emphasis on epic scale over-the-top self awareness. The initial appeal of the game is its concept of drawing shapes to create weapons. On the Wii-U, I used the Wii-U gamepad the entire campaign. This was before I discovered based off several video reviews on YouTube that the  right analog stick is the easiest way to draw weapons. The original release might have been to prioritize selling the Wii-U but Kamyia himself has said that the original intent was for the right analog stick to be used for weapon drawing. Anybody who is experiencing the re-released version will have a much better have a greater time playing on a normal controller instead of worrying about using your finger on a drawing pad.

The seven Unite Morph weapons you can primarily draw are Unite Hand (circle), Unite Sword (line), Unite Whip (squiggle line), Unite Gun (90 degree line), Unite Bomb (circle then line at the end),  Unite Claw (zig-zag) and Unite Hammer (line then question mark).  (Below Image: From right to left, Wonder-White, Wonder-Black, Wonder-Green, Wonder-Red, Wonder-Blue, Wonder-Pink, and Wonder Yellow).

With these Unite Morphs, the bigger the drawings of the weapons, the bigger the weapons when uniting more heroes. You'll be able to purchase more abilities at the Wonder Mart, such as being able to Multi-Unite and speeding up your Unite Morphs as well as using them as an attack. You can also purchase dodge and Wonder Tomb which are Unite Morph moves that are necessary in battle. The most essential move you need is the Wonder Guts, which the Wii-U version doesn't tell you. The remastered version gives the you currency after the prologue to purchase the Wonder Guts which is a block and parry move for most attacks (you can also upgrade this to Unite Spikes which is MUCH more effective).

One of the key elements of mastering the game is not just purchasing abilities, but also executing combos the same way you would with the Devil May Cry  franchises. You can juggle, switch weapons mid-combo, and also replay missions since Platinum Games LOVE ranking you. The game fortunately starts from "very easy" to the normal difficulty and also during the "game over" screens, you restart midway through the battles which is helpful to keep you trucking along through the campaign. There's gameplay footage from my recent playthrough(above) that shows some of the combos you can learn. This involves using multiple other unite morphs simultaneously to keep an enemy in the air. You can also use the Light Attack to restrain an enemy, then follow with a launch ability called "Wonder Rising" then juggle the enemy. I originally thought this was impossible  on my first few playthroughs but it took some understanding of the mechanics to realize that's the complete opposite. Once you begin truly honing the game's combat system, you'll strive and even be addicted to doing better and improving your ranking. 

The game has a madly huge variety of enemies
that have a color-coded circle shape when they appear to notify which Unite Morph would be best to use. This is a great way of communicating the degree of strategy that you can use. The boss fights them selves are more spectacle than the fights with minor enemies (especially the final boss, like wow) but they still prompt a sufficent amount of strategy. 
The Prince Vorkken fights (bottom right image) are the boss fights that require the most

amount of skill since you're also fighting enemies that as well consist of 101 members and have Unite Morph abilities. The difficulty of these fights rev up with every encounter so be prepared for that.

3. Story
This will be a non-spoil segment since I believe to spoil the story is to rob the experience. Very rarely does an over-the-top action game have such a weighted narrative and a more than solid script to back it up. Granted, the story is nothing crucially deep and it has a childish and cartoonish element followed by self-aware cheesiness, but there was serious effort in the writing that holds a certain level of passion and love for the world the developers created that is a rarity in the gaming industry.  The cast of characters are incredibly likable, including the central chemistry between Wonder Red and Wonder Blue, who both have admittedly the most development throughout the story but everyone else still contributes in keeping the narrative entertaining. The game's pacing is perfect as the level of escalation leads to one of the most memorable climaxes in gaming history right behind Metal Gear Solid 2 if you were to ask me. It's an unforgettable moment in gaming that cannot be topped to this day.

One of my only complaints with the story is the character of Luka. He comes across as the "annoying child" in most stories of this type but has a solid arc that despite still not being too crazy about him, I appreciate that he plays a significantly large part in the story that gives him some redemption. I'd like to also add that Prince Vorkken's arc is almost the same as most of the "rival villains" of any Platinum Games title you've played. I won't go into spoilers because luckily there's some mild subversiveness but you can see where the majority of his arc is going soon after he enters the plot. Still, The Wonderful 101 has one of the best stories in any action I've played and the lengthy campaign is filled with moments that never slow anything down. 

4. Presentation
 If you noticed the graphical and visual aesthetic based off the screenshots and video footage, the game has a toy-like feel to it. The character models themselves look like little action figures as well as the world itself having an exaggerated depth-of-field to its level design. Some players will find this unique and others won't be on board. There was a plan to approach the game with a child-like design and it was pulled off very well.

During gameplay, the models have little less quality when up close compared if the camera is pulled back, but considering that there numbers of characters you control at once, there's only so much detail that can be implemented in the models in-game. The 101 models themselves are greatly varied with so many different-themed Wonderful Ones that you collect through the compaign. It shows a surmountable level of effort that you don't witness in other games.  The level design itself is fantastic as the game takes you across the world, keeping the visual variety fresh and new. The enemy designs in particular the bosses, are very original and well designed giving them all distinctive set pieces that can be fun to look at as well as purge yourself in during battle.

The music in the game is also fantastic. Composed by Hiroshi Yamaguchi, he injects a level of heroism and hope that compliments the tone of the game itself. During the parts of the game when the Wonderful Ones have the upper hand during boss fights, a the score fits to reminisce superhero themes of both Japanese and American. The score during the final act is the one I'm unable to shake out my head because I've never heard anything like it before.

For the main theme itself, Yamaguchi was inspired by 60's tv show superhero themes, particularly the tokusatsu show Captain Ultra (link posted below for anyone interested in taking a listen). I can't describe the words of the power the score emits during the battle but I say listen to it for yourself. There was such much effort in making the music spirited and heroic that proves how important music is in any game or film.



5. Conclusion
The Wonderful 101 is one of my all-time favorite games and game I can return every now and then. It's a testament to high levels of imagination and quality design in unique ways. Platinum Games have shown clearly that it's a special game to them and thanks to the transfer to other consoles, others can finally see what this game has to offer. Rarely have I been so stricken by something so creative and original that compels me to go back to it and master its gameplay mechanics, or experience the story itself over and over again. I've always considered Platinum Games to be one of the very best developers in the industry due to their out-of-the-box ideas and focusing on involving the player as much as possible in their games. A high recommendation from yours truly. It goes without saying, that this game is truly Wonderful.

NOTE: I believe my thoughts don't do the game as much justice. If you want a better take on the game, I will post a link(s) to the youtuber Matthewmatosis who gives a great and detailed non-spoiler review while still giving some good tips on the combat system that helped me as well.

Have you played the game? What are your thoughts? Comment below!

Captain Ultra Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVPSaXL0bnM

The Wonderful 101 Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvHKxnMv04k

The Wonderful 101 Matthewmatosis Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYEb19dBGzc

Matthewmatosis: How to Enjoy The Wonderful 101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqAAdrSlwws&t=1618s

Matthewmatosis: Recommending The Wonderful 101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rysBiZmYshk

What Lies Under the Silver Lake? (Part 1) Looking at Sam

       WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS!!! 

       Under the Silver Lake is a 2018 Mystery/Noir written and directed by David Robert Mitchell. This has been a film that has been heavily polarized, followed by a very short theatrical release, then followed by a transition to Amazon Prime shortly after.

The first time I saw the film, it left me empty and confused. It engaged me for most of the film's 2 hour and 20 minute run time, until its resolution which left me wondering what was the point of it all. I let the film sit with me for a while and it became one of those movies I ended up thinking about with no control over its impact it had on me. I eventually re-watched it a second time, and the film manifested a whole new meaning for me, followed by a new found appreciation for it. So what I want to briefly discuss is what I believe truly lies under....the Silver Lake.

        Under the Silver Lake introduces us to the main protagonist Sam, (Andrew Garfield) a 33 year old slacker that falls for a woman living in his same apartment complex named Sarah (Riley Keough). They share one brief night that nearly leads to something, until the next day when Sarah completely disappears. Sam goes on a extensive quest to find her as the film becomes a very bizarre and surreal noir mystery in Los Angeles, California.

            One of the first things to understand about the film is that it's full of details. Some details are flat-out blatant, and others are in very different places. The beauty and enjoyment of the film is to know which details actually matter and which ones don't matter at all. This is the strategy of the film that I didn't catch on my first viewing. My first watch had me in the mindset that I knew everything that was going on as the film went on. My interest was glued into the obvious details clearly giving answers of Sarah's disappearance, only for the film to tell me "You're not as smart as you think you are, watch the film again".

1. Stay Quiet

 
     When Sam enters Sarah's now-empty apartment, he sees the double-diamond symbol on the wall which means "Stay Quiet".  He goes to who can be only named the "Comic Man" (Patrick Fischler) who interprets the and numerous other symbols that were used for homeless people years ago to communicate during The Great Depression (Note that in 2011 which this film takes place in, there was an economic recession in the US. I'm not sure how deep that parallel goes but I thought it was worth bringing up).

      How this connects with Sam is the question that has been lingering in my mind for some time. Around the film's first act, we learn that Sam hasn't been paying his rent. Throughout his entire trek for Sarah, he still hasn't paid his rent and has been given fewer and fewer days to do so or he's going to be kicked out of his apartment. Slowly and surely this seems to be more and more apparent. First, his car is towed because he's unable to make the payments, and then there are also several homeless people that either pass him or he briefly encounters.

Lastly there's the Homeless King who he encounters and takes him where he wants to go, and at the end of the film, demands the answers why dog biscuits are lingering in Sam's pockets (we'll get to that later).  By the end of the film, which also marks the final day he was supposed to pay his rent, the "Keep Quiet" when he is in another apartment with the older woman with the birds.

     Before I go further, it's not fully clear, but Sam states that he thought he was going to be something important and feels like he messed up at certain points in his life. He's was most likely a has-been of some sort and whatever life he had earlier, it was much better than what he currently has. It seems like he was destined to be homeless no matter what. His original life is gone and he seems to still be fighting for relevance and purpose but his impending eventuality cannot be escaped from. And he hasn't fully accepted that whatever purposeful path he had, is gone completely. It's only until the end that he seems to understand this and realizes after everything he pursued throughout the film wasn't even worth it and that he's better off homeless and at the very least, free from constraints that he fighting to keep at the expense of dissatisfaction in his life.

Note: He also talks about how much he hates the homeless and thinks they're not good people. He doesn't realize he's becoming the very thing he detests.

2. I Can See Clearly Now and the "Dog Killer"
Another element of the film involves Sam's ex-girlfriend on the billboard (left image) and the legend of the "Dog Killer". This was a very frustrating mystery of the film to solve but it becomes clearer and clearer over time. The Dog Killer is considered apparently a big problem in California as this Dog Killer is heavily responsible for the killing of dogs.

    Sam reads a comic book written by the Comic Man that he visits after Sarah's disappearance. The comic is titled the same as the film. He reads about the failed actor that blamed his failings on dogs, taking out his frustration on dogs by simply killing them saying "No one will be happy until at the dogs are dead".


       

  As I mentioned in the previous section, Sam claimed that he used to be something important in life when discussing it with a friend of his. We learn that he's just a slacker that lives in a apartment he's eventually going to get kicked out of. Another element of the film aside from the dog killer aspect is that he projects the sound of barking onto several woman. One is Sarah, the other is some ugly distorted version of Sarah as it seems, the other is a group of woman in the bathroom just wildly barking at him while he's on the floor after getting kicked in the groin.

With these three strange encounters barking humans what exactly does this mean? How does the Dog Killer connect to Sam and his ex-girlfriend?

 Sam tells Sarah when they first meet and he gives her dog a treat that he had a dog once that recently

died. We also learn that Sam was bitten by a dog when he was a child. The important detail that we learn at the end of the film is that had an ex-girlfriend that he hoped he would get back through the dog.

Could these encounters mean that he's projecting his past failed relationship onto his ex? As we see he sleeps with any woman he can find on the daily. As he blames his ex, he covers this failing by lustfully pursing other woman he encounters.

This could also be subconsciously what he wants to avoid is a failed relationship since Sarah herself has a dog as well. He doesn't want it to end the same way it did with his ex. The element of the Dog Killer ties to the film.

3. The Coyote 
Another key element in this film is the presence of a coyote that is around trash cans a couple of times. As the Hobo King guides Sam to his next part of his investigation, he points out a coyote they come across. Sam asks if it will hurt him and the Hobo King responds that he should follow it instead of running away.

Now a coyote symbolizes several things. One meaning in particular is revealing the truth behind the illusion or chaos. When one crosses a coyote in his/her path, that would mean that there's no need to keep worrying and that a new beginning awaits you.

Sam does follow a coyote that happens to be at his apartment complex and it leads to yet another party. This one has his ex-girlfriend involved and she has a new fiance. They have what seems to be a civil exchange despite how much has changed between them.

I interpret this as the coyote leading Sam to the reality that there's no going back to his previous relationship. The one that he most likely held onto for longer than he needed. She seems happier and more at peace, realizing there's not a future with him and the harsh reality is that there's no future with her. It also notes that a coyote is a type of canine so even though the element of the "Dog Killer" lingers in play, the coyote shows that a new and different path awaits Sam.

4. Smells Like Skunk
When Sam's booty call (Riki Lindhome) visits him after a role she
asks "What's that smell?".

This is a reoccurring part of the film and it's probably the most apparent part of the film. Every women Sam encounters wonders about his "smell". One woman says it smells like skunk.  He responds that skunks are common in LA. Even the Hobo King says that he doesn't have a good smell on him.

One interpretation is that the skunk represents his infidelity and that he pretty much reeks of it. The moment (seen above) where the skunk walks next to him confirms the degree of his infidelity. But one thing that stood out to me was when Riki Lindhome's character lends him loads of tomato juice in the bathroom and tells him after their conversation that he smells very bad. She also adds that she'll be back when the smell goes away. She doesn't ever return though but that's for the next part since she is strictly "The Actress" in this film.

This stood out to me because it tells me that Sam might've possibly had a chance to have a relationship with her but because he has such a lustful sexualization of women, that the smell of his sins drive ones that truly care about him away. I may be looking too deep into this but it's a part of the film that's been on my mind.

5. The Paranoid Protagonist

Sam has been known to have a massive obsession with codes and believing in conspiracy theories. He believes that there are things that more important people know that they hide from the lesser important. He's known by many fans of the film as very paranoid. He tells the Topher Grace character that he feels he's being followed.  The Topher Grace character tells him that's the "Modern Persecution Complex".

The Modern Persecution Complex is a real thing. It simply means that you believe that someone is constantly after you. After the 1950's during the Cold War, psychologist Brooke Cannon recorded that the patients believing they were followed increased five times the rate than normal.

Another study by psychiatrist Borut Skodlar (bottom left image) and his researches concluded that "Demons, ghosts and witches as sources of influence and persecution were replaced by radio waves, television and computers,". Topher Grace's character says this

same thing only wording it differently by saying "Who needs witches and werewolves when we have computers?"

What does any of this have to do with Sam? Sam is under the impression that 's being targeted, and he also believes that important people know things. This is also incorporated by his believing to decipher codes and find hidden meanings. Is he trying to rediscover his meaning in life? Is he trying to find answers that aren't there and believes something/someone is trying to rob him of his journey for answers of himself away? It's a pretty vague element of the film but I believe Sam is narcissistic enough to think that he's able to find the answers to what went wrong in his life by resorting to deciphering complicated codes when the answer is much more simpler but he denies the more harsher and face-value truth. He uses his deciphering
to find out where Sarah is, and it leads to only seeing her one more time before he never sees her again. But instead to confess to the Hobo King that he can't let go of his past and that he hoped his ex-girlfriend would go back to him.



6. In Conclusion

        By the end of the film, Sam learns that Sarah is in her tomb and that he's never going to see her again. His entire journey led to no real answers and at the very end of the film after he confesses his true internal struggle, he goes home and accepts that there is no real depth or meaning except what we create. Going back to his "smell", when he has an affair with the older woman in his apartment complex she asks if he's wearing a certain fragrance called "patchouli". He tells her "no". This type of plant can be a fragrance, an antiseptic, or an oil. It can cure depression, it has a naturally sweet smell, and it can heal certain types of wounds. After confessing to the Hobo King of his mental dilemma, it seems as if he's  finally let go and has been taking steps to being true to himself. His infidelity seems to be gone and despite being homeless, he in my opinion, has a chance to start a new path, even if it starts with him living on the streets.

This is Part 1 of my thoughts on the film. If you have anything you want to add, leave a comment and follow my FB page!