Mount Hood

Thrills and chills

By: Darien Campo
Staff Writer

October is slowly coming to a close, but the horror movies keep playing in my house.
This week I watched “Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993), “Sweeny Todd” (2007), “Tusk” (2014), “The Frighteners” (1996), “Goosebumps” (2015), “Cabin in the Woods” (2012), and “Friday the 13th” (1980).

2015 saw the revival of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series with a new film starring Jack Black.

While the movie was a bit lacking in places, it was a fun nostalgia trip back into the classic series that used to occupy me for hours. I used to collect all the Goosebumps books as a kid — I loved the creepy, gross, scary, and shocking tales R.L. Stine had provided for me. I was a horror fanatic in a child’s body, and authors like Stine fed my fascination.

I used to read all the ghost story collections I could find back then.

Authors like Bruce Coville gave me plenty of chills, but there was one trilogy of books that really stuck with me all of these years. Alvin Schwartz’s “Scary Stories to Read in the Dark” trilogy gave me legendarily bad nightmares. The grotesque illustrations of Stephen Gammell were twisted beyond all belief and made those books transcendently terrifying.

I’m not alone either, adults still celebrate Schwartz and Gammell’s work, and in fact, a new documentary about their trilogy is currently in the works. Those books may have frightened us, but even as children we knew that it was fun to be frightened.
I don’t feel that enough attention is put into horror entertainment geared toward children.

We tend to assume that it’s an adult-only genre, but there’s a world of opportunity for juvenile horror. We’ve seen some great examples before with movies like “ParaNorman” (2012), and “Coraline” (2009).

These movies know how to scare children and keep them laughing. But the undisputed master of children’s horror would, of course, be Tim Burton. No one else quite has that perfect blend of wondrous, childlike fun mixed with a sick fascination with the morbid and macabre.

Movies like “ParaNorman” are usually met with opposition from parents wanting to protect their children, and the “Scary Stories” trilogy is a regularly challenged book year after year.

It can be hard to imagine horror as an acceptable genre for children. But it’s important to remember that it is a ton of fun to be scared, no matter how old you are.

“Pan” doesn’t fly in weekend box office

By: Ashton Newton
Freelancer

Warner Brother’s (WB) “Pan” was a huge disappointment at the box office opening weekend. The film cost more than $250 million to make and market, but took home about $40.5 million worldwide.

This just adds to WB’s list of recent box office disappointments with films like “Jupiter Ascending” and “Entourage” also doing poorly. Even with the upcoming Chinese release on Oct. 22, WB is planning on losing at least $100 million on the film. This makes “San Andreas” WB’s only box office success of the year.

Not only was “Pan” a box office disappointment, it was also ripped apart by critics.
Michael Philips, the Tribune Publishing critic, called the film, “The official worst-ever Peter Pan adaption of any sort,” and Peter Bradshaw in a review for The Guardian said, “Joe Wright’s fantastically dull origin-myth reboot of the Peter Pan story resembles nothing so much as a John Lewis Christmas TV ad.”

Director Joe Wright faced some controversy earlier this year for casting Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily. Since the character is supposed to be a Native American, a lot of people were upset about the apparent white washing of the role.

The Harry Potter series was hugely successful for WB as it appealed to younger audiences and adults alike, so the studio wanted to fill that gap with retold classic stories. The studio was already developing a sequel to “Pan” and has a re-imagined “Tarzan” coming next summer.

WB needs a success with a huge year coming up in 2016, featuring “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice”, and “Suicide Squad” hoping to kick off a large DC Cinematic Universe.
With the modern superhero movie craze, those films are projected to do very well for the studio.

There’s also the hotly anticipated Harry Potter Spin-off “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” coming out 2016 that looks extremely promising, but now the pressure is really on for WB with their upcoming lineup of films.

Goosebumps: frights, delights, pretty alright

By: Declan Hertel
Entertainment Editor

When I was a kid, I was a wimp. As such, I only read a few of R.L. Stine’s bestselling “Goosebumps” stories. They were “2spooky4me,” as the joke goes.

That said, the ones I did read, I really loved, especially “Night of the Living Dummy.” They were spooky, fun reads starring kids just like me! And with 350 million copies sold as of 2014 and a further two million copies a year according to Scholastic, there are far more people who are far more invested in the series than I ever was.

The new film, starring Jack Black (“School of Rock”) as R.L. Stine himself, is clearly meant for that dedicated fan base, right down to the story following the same formula as many of the books: kid moves to new town, many spooky things happen, and the spooky things are eventually triumphed over.

This may sound disparaging, but I think keeping the formula intact helped the movie achieve its purpose: a healthy dose of nostalgia for the older viewers, while introducing the younger generation to these old tales of terror.

I expected three things out of this movie: scares, heart, and laughs; what I consider the three pillars of children’s horror cinema.
While the movie was lacking in the first and decent in the second, it definitely had plenty of the third.

The lack of any appreciable frights is easily the biggest disappointment of the movie. Even though the source material was kid lit, it was called “Goosebumps” for a reason.

While the visual rendering of virtually every monster from the book series is really cool, none of it ever approaches frightening, and the “greatest hits” parade of monsters unfortunately feels rushed. However, the inclusion of Slappy the Dummy (also Jack Black) as the main antagonist of the story was pretty darn freaky.

“Goosebumps” was better at delivering on the heart, though it took some time to get around to it.

While the lack of scares was disappointing, the biggest problem with the movie is that it takes far too long to get off the ground. Though once it does, it starts to pick up speed admirably with the introduction of Hannah (Odeya Rush, “The Giver”) to our handsome, witty protagonist Zach (Dylan Minnette).
I was initially skeptical of the impending romantic subplot, but I was pleasantly surprised by the chemistry and charm the two brought.
Speaking of pleasant surprises, “Goosebumps” is really, really funny, mostly thanks to Jack Black devouring the scenery. Black dominates every scene he’s in, carrying with him his trademark high-energy antics, a complete embrace of how ridiculous this entire exercise is, and a very conspicuous and utterly made-up accent (seriously, his exclamation of “Slappeh!” during the climax of the film made me double over with laughter).
If I am being honest, “Goosebumps” was nothing special, but if you like the books, want to see promising young actors deliver solid performances, or just can’t get enough Jack Black, you can’t go wrong.
3 out of 4 Paws.

Gory and Groovy: The Triumphant Return of “Fargo”

By: Declan Hertel
Entertainment Editor

When my father asked me several years ago if I had ever seen “Fargo,” the Coen Brothers’ 1996 cinematic masterpiece, I told him I hadn’t. Without saying another word, he went into our living room and turned it on.

There was no question about it: “Fargo” immediately became one of my top three films of all time.

It was sometime in 2012 when I heard that a television show was to be made, also called “Fargo,” that continued to build on the setting and themes of the film: somewhere in the frozen Midwest, in or around Fargo, ND, there are people too desperate and ambitious for their own good, ruthless-yet-quirky criminals who would gut a man for a buck, and good-hearted, innocent police officers forced to come face to face with the darkest face of mankind.

The news filled me with a delight and anticipation I had never felt for pop culture before.

Much to my delight, the first season was unbelievable. It was near-perfect in every facet. “Fargo” ran to nearly universal acclaim, and though it was initially touted as only a miniseries, it seemed like FX, and creator/show-runner Noah Hawley would have been insane to not make another season.

That is precisely what they did. The new season premiered on Oct. 12.

Early reviews stated that it was even better than the almost flawless season one, and I am pleased to announce that two episodes into the second season, it looks like they were right: “Fargo” round two is absolutely killer.

Centering on the “Sioux Falls Incident,” an event oft-mentioned but never explained in season one, season two takes us to Luverne, Minnesota and Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1979.

The nation is reeling from Watergate and the end of the Vietnam War; and as is the way in the “Fargo” universe, someone with too much ambition and too little brain creates a huge problem in a small town for both the local police and criminal populace.

This season stars Patrick Wilson (“Watchmen”) as Lou Solverson, a State Trooper recently returned from combat in Vietnam, Kirsten Dunst (“On the Road”) as Peggy Blomquist, a hair stylist with a creeping obsession with having a better life, and Jesse Plemons (“Breaking Bad”) as Ed Blomquist, Peggy’s dutiful husband and local butcher.

All their performances thus far are pitch perfect, especially Kirsten Dunst as one of the most compelling characters I’ve ever seen in any medium. The aforementioned are just scratching the surface of an amazing cast, which includes Ted Danson (“Damages”), Nick Offerman (“Parks and Recreation”), Jean Smart (“24”), and Bruce Campbell (“Evil Dead”) as Ronald Reagan on the campaign trail.

Thus far, season two’s most promising aspect is that while it’s retained the dark charm, murder, and mayhem that is the essence of all things “Fargo,” it is absolutely coming into its own as a piece of television.

If I have but one real criticism of season one, it’s that it stuck too closely to the movie in terms of plotting and characterization, at least early on. Not so with season two, which takes place almost ten years before the movie, and almost twenty before season one.

The only thing this season needs to do is make the “Sioux Falls Incident” something worth remembering, and with a vehicular mansla
ughter cover-up, two crime syndicates facing off, and a brutal triple murder already, I can’t wait to see how this season escalates.

I feel the phrase “must-see TV” is a cliché, but I am using it here. “Fargo” is truly must-see TV. When “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men” ended, all of a sudden the honor of “Best Show on Television” was up for grabs.

I’m calling it now: “Fargo,” by midway through this season, will have one major entertainment news outlet declare it as such. And they will be right.

If you have any love in your heart for black comedy, for murder mysteries, for perfectly executed drama, for the art of the television show, the verdict is simple: if you are not watching “Fargo,” you are criminally misusing one hour of your time every week.

Adam Carter Sets out to find America’s Sound

By: Declan Hertel
Entertainment Editor

I sat down with WOU Student and musician Adam Carter over a pint this weekend to talk about his upcoming documentary project.
Declan: So what is this documentary all about?
Adam: Me and my friend JT [Mozingo], we’re going to go around the country, trying to find amateur musicians, and professional musicians, we’re going to do everything music. We’re going to go to recording studios, talk to teachers, talk to students, and we’re going to try to record intimate sessions with them, interviews, and live performances of songs. We want to give exposure to amateur artists, and we want to show everybody that there’s a lot of hardworking people out there that have a lot to offer, but aren’t going to get the exposure.
D: So the super underground?
A:Yeah, the super underground and the super popular. We want to do everything. Doesn’t matter who it is, we want everybody.
D: How did the idea come about?
A: I was walking home from school, and I was thinking about the road. Last summer, I went on a trip for a month last summer, we went all around the west coast. And I was thinking about life on the road, and how I missed it, because it’s different, you know? There’s no routine, something new every day. I was thinking about how I could do something like that for the rest of my life, or make some kind of career out of it, something like that. And I thought, “wouldn’t it be cool to make a documentary about a road trip?” But that’s really not enough, and I love music, and everybody around me loves music, making it, listening to it, so why not put the two together? Go on a road trip for a year, interviewing amateur artists from all over the place. It’s a travel documentary, people like traveling, people like music, there’s a market for it, and this is the kind of thing that doesn’t happen that much, people don’t really go around doing this. And what really inspired me: Alan Lomax, in the 30s and 40s, him and his dad would go around in the south and record a bunch of blues musicians, blues was their favorite I think, but they went all over the world, at least Alan did, and recorded music that wouldn’t have been documented if he didn’t do that. A lot of my favorite songs were recorded by him, and we wouldn’t have them if he didn’t go around and do that. So I think it’d be cool to discover some stuff that wouldn’t normally be out there, and turn people onto some new things.
D: I love that. The idea that there’s so much music that’s beautiful and worth listening to in the world, and I’m not going to hear even half of it…
A: Yeah! And even if I’m not a fan of it, other people will be. What we want to do is give exposure to every single person that records with us. We don’t want to take ownership of any songs or anything.
D: What’s the time frame for getting started in earnest?
A: We want to be on the road in spring of 2017. We have a lot of work to do though; we need to get experience with cameras and editing. We just got a couple cameras; we’re hoping to start shooting pretty soon. We’re going to start shooting locally before we branch out, so Portland, Salem, even Monmouth. Another thing we want to do is go around to bars in the Salem area, and if they have live music, interview the musicians there, the owner, the patrons, just to get some sort of a following first. I think just even locally there’s so many people working hard and making music, and they deserve some exposure.
D: Amen. Speaking of support, are there plans for a Patreon or something where people can support your efforts?
A: There’s not right now, but we’re going to do a Kickstarter when it’s closer to being time to go. We’re gonna be saving up ourselves, a lot. The main thing you can do to support us right now is share. Tell your friends.
D: If we know people, send them your way?
A: We would love to hear from everyone we possibly can. We want to answer questions, we want to give no misconceptions that we’re trying to screw anybody over. We’re in it for, I mean obviously it’s selfish in some ways, but we really do want to give exposure [to artists] and have an adventure while we do it.
We’ve got connections so far in a few different places around the country; we’ve heard from a lot of people in Indiana, we’ve been talking to a guy who lives in Georgia, [some people in] Arizona, Utah, New Mexico. We’ve got a lot of different prospects going on, and we want to get as many people [as we can], all around the country. So we want to advertise and make it available for people.
D: Do you know of any places that have a super vibrant indie scene? I know San Francisco’s got a crazy scene.
A: I’ve heard Austin, Texas has a lot, they’ve got some good stuff going on, San Francisco like you said. I don’t know about indie, but I know Chicago’s got a big urban blues scene, I believe that they are the blues capital currently. And I have family in Chicago, so that’ll be nice. What I’m looking forward to most is Mississippi, I love that Delta Blues.
D: Are there any other places you’re especially looking forward to?
A: The whole south I’m looking forward to, just because I’m such a huge blues fan. But I want to try to go to as many national parks as we can too, because I love national parks. Our country is very beautiful, and a lot of people don’t know just how insane some of the natural wonders are. We want to document those too, that’s part of the adventure. We visited seven of them last summer, it’s amazing. Yosemite National Park, if you’ve ever been there is just… I think we went to seven national parks and Yosemite was by far my favorite. Grand Canyon’s got nothing on it.
D: How do you think the acoustics are at the bottom of the canyon?
A: Echoey. Maybe we’ll do a session down there, ride the mules down.
D: Do you have any plans to shoot in cool locations like that, or mostly living rooms?
A: We want to be able to record outside, definitely. We also want to rig the video we have to have a little studio so we can record if we don’t have anywhere else. We’re also probably going to be renting a studio. One thing I’m really excited for is, apparently, JT knows a guy[…] who runs this bus in San Francisco, and it’s like a punk bus, there’s a stage in the back and there’s punk shows on the bus. They drive around San Francisco with a punk band playing in the back. That sounds really, really cool and I can’t wait check that out.
I’m really excited to shoot the WOU too. As many people as want to do this, I want to do it with them. Just shoot me an email, we’ll set up a time. I would love samples, I can’t get enough of them.
D: You’ve already got some people, yeah?
A: Yeah, we want to do a few practice sessions by ourselves [first], and then we want to start doing that. We’ve got access to microphones and editing equipment through the recording studio. We’re probably going to do our first session […] within the month, then make the Facebook page live. Our goal is to start putting out weekly videos, after we get a few videos, so I want to get three or four before we start. We want to keep people updated and keep them into it; we want to have content coming out at a consistent rate.
D: Do you have a route planned?
A: We’re going to go down south through California, the same route we took on our trip last year. We’re going to go all the way to the bottom, there’s this place called Slab City, you know where that is?
D: Yeah! That’s kinda like a… commune or something? Lawless?
A: Yeah, it’s a squatter’s community. We met some cool people there last time we went, we want to go back. They have concerts every Saturday night. There’s this place called the Range, it’s a bunch of buses put together with a stage. We met some people there, you know, we hung out with them for a few hours, but when we were leaving it felt like we were leaving our family a little bit. It was amazing. We want to go back and connect with them, and that’s going to be interesting to shoot. There are so many crazy people down there. Insane. Meth-heads, their pastor came while we were there to say a prayer over Mariah, the woman’s foot… fun fact, Mariah is, if you’ve seen the movie “Into the Wild”, the girl that Kristen Stewart plays is based on her. But anyway, he was this guy, he was really skinny, he had his shirt off, he looked like a miner. He had this huge beard and this hat, and he was the pastor! I’ve never seen a pastor like that. Everything down there is pretty crazy.
D: Then down through Arizona?
A: Through Arizona, through Texas, there are a couple places in Texas like Austin and Houston; Lightnin’ Hopkins is from Houston and I want to try to delve into that, see if there’s anything about him down there because he’s one of my favorite performers. And then make our way into the South, kind of zig zag through the Midwest, go up the East Coast, then head back through the North. I’m from Illinois originally, I have some family, southern Illinois and Chicago, so I hope to visit them. A guy that’s going to be one of our camera men, he’s from Indiana, so he’s got connection out there. We’re going to try to hit as many states as possible. And we have a year, that’s what we’re planning on doing it in.
D: This is super cool. I’m guilty of this, people talk about big plans, and like “I’m writing a novel!” or something like that, and you never do it. And to see a couple of dudes who said, “let’s do a thing,” and then are going to do the thing, it’s reassuring.
A: My whole life people have been telling me “follow your dreams,” right? And then whenever it’s time to do that, people say, “well, is that really realistic? Is that really going to work, you’re kind of going out on a limb here.” But my whole life people have been saying follow your dreams. So let’s do it! We would regret it if we didn’t, so we’re going to do it. That’s what it’s about, you know. Not having any regrets, looking back when I’m thirty and saying, “wow, I wish I had made that documentary, I wish that I had done that. That would have been a really great life experience but I can’t really do that anymore.” I have a kid or something, you know. I don’t have any kids! I’m 21 years old, I don’t have anything really tying me down. So we’re going to do some cool stuff. Try to travel as much as I can, see as much of the world as I can before I settle down.

Dead by dawn

By: Darien Campo 
Freelancer

Continuing my October horror movie marathon, this week brought me … “Coraline” (2009), “House on Haunted Hill” (1999), “Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984), and “The Babadook” (2014).

I also had a chance to re-watch my favorite trilogy of movies — and just in time, because with a brand new television show premiering this month, Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” series is about to come back in style.

I watched “Evil Dead” at a young age, and I’ve been hooked ever since. The original “Evil Dead” (1981) is a testament to perseverance, brimming with the potential of fledgling director Sam Raimi and actor Bruce Campbell.

Reading Campbell’s autobiography “If Chins Could Kill” gives a great insight into the impossible odds these college students faced trying to make their first feature-length film. It may stumble in its delivery, but “Evil Dead” is an accomplishment in gore cinema.

“Evil Dead II” (1987) is by far my favorite of the series. The sloppy mess of violence that made the original Evil Dead great is now mixed with Bruce Campbell’s unique style of Three Stooges-esque slapstick overacting.

This sequel/reimagining takes a more comedic turn on the genre, giving us a hilariously twisted romp that has you gasping in shock between peals of laughter. “Evil Dead II” knows you’re not taking it seriously, so it doesn’t bother either.

The final film in the trilogy is the funny and endlessly quotable “Army of Darkness” (1992). While “Evil Dead II” strikes a perfect balance between scares and shticks, the third movie has made it all the way to other side of the spectrum, where it is now a straight comedy with horror elements.

The second film may have had its over-the-top moments, but “Army of Darkness” is an over-the-top film. The entire setting of the series is flipped on its head and our hero, Ash, becomes a cheesy one-line spewing powerhouse of hilarity.

But true to its themes the “Evil Dead” series lives on.
2013 brought us a fantastic remake that had all the heart of the original and all the special effects of today. A hilariously messy musical has also found its way to the stage, which you can see at the 2nd Street Theatre in Bend, Ore. every year.

Finally, you can catch the fast-approaching “Ash vs. the Evil Dead” series on STARZ, premiering Oct. 31, 2015. It is a terrific time to be a fan of “Evil Dead.”

Late Night’s New Kid: The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

By: Declen Hertel
Entertainment Editor

Like a great many Americans, I was very sad to see Jon Stewart leave “The Daily Show.” I first started to watch “The Daily Show” in my freshman year of high school, and seeing Jon Stewart take on all the hypocrisy and stupidity in the world was where I got most of my news. But after sixteen years in the captain’s chair, Stewart decided it was time to move on.

When Trevor Noah, a 31 year-old South African comedian, was announced as Stewart’s replacement, I was intrigued and a bit skeptical.

I liked his work on “The Daily Show” during Stewart’s run, but he still seemed untested. This also came on the heels of “The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore” taking the spot of “The Colbert Report,” which I felt (and still feel) was a lackluster replacement. How would the new host do filling such big shoes at such a tumultuous time in fake news?

Having seen most of Noah’s run thus far, I can say with confidence that “The Daily Show” is in good hands. The first few episodes were rough, as it was obvious Noah was still settling into this new role, but he has been steadily getting better and more confident as the show plugs along.

While I miss the biting, somewhat world-weary sarcasm of Jon Stewart, the youthful energy Noah brings is a welcome change of pace. There’s more room for silliness and shenanigans with him in charge.
He still brings his own spirit to the more Stewart-like pieces as well; there was a hilarious piece recently on Donald Trump’s similarities to corrupt African presidents that just wouldn’t have felt right with Stewart, but played very well for Noah.

I think if Noah can find what he can bring, and not try to be the next Jon Stewart, he’ll do very well at the helm.

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