#He is 75% convinced that Ken is a vampire

[dazzlingskydreams]

I made a fan kid!

So this is Takahiko, my Arukenimon/Mummymon fan kid at about 7 years old. He's pretty sulky and doesn't smile much with people he doesn't know. This boy is much happier reading in a quiet room than dealing with new people. He's not a bad kid though; if he cares about someone, like his parents, he gets pretty attached to the point that it can be considered by some to be clingy. If he befriends someone he will help them out any way he can. His emotional empathy is also surprisingly high, so if someone he cares about is sad he'll do his best to cheer them up in his own way. Plus he has an extremely warm smile that can be disarming to people that aren't familiar with him! (I purposely didn't draw it so his default personality with strangers comes through more. Maybe another time!)

Takahiko's a really musical boy. He plays the recorder really well and, if necessary, can use it to obtain some level of control over insect digimon like his mother. He also can make spirit needles, from the darker hair surprisingly, but since there aren't any more control spires he has no idea what they're for. He occasionally just makes them, looks at them a bit, then leaves them on the table and heads away. (Honestly though even if the control spires were still around; this kid would only use them to make a dog to play with.) He also has the entirely unique ability to communicate with the Oikawa butterflies to some extent, to the point that he's aware that they used to be a single man. He calls him the nice butterfly man. Other than music, he loves the stars since his dad loves horoscopes so much and spends time looking at constellations. He is absolutely terrified of bats though and vampires of any kind, even cartoon ones, leave him in floods of tears. This is probably a subconscious response to the trauma his parents experienced in a certain dream world that got imprinted on his dna somehow.

His darker patch of hair is where Mummymon's data is more prevalent. That area of his face, his right arm and left leg are a similar shade of grey. He also has only the one eye but, unlike Mummymon, the other eye is kinda there just permanently closed. This doesn't bother him though. He can see just fine and he thinks his grey patches and weird eye are really cool! Plus he's so well wrapped up clothing wise, that it isn't really apparent. He is ambidextrous and can summon a sickle, which is connected to his digimon form, but he usually isn't in a position to need one. Also he loves his purple scarf. Seriously, don't try and take it away from him.

Takahiko is unusual in that he picked out his own human name. He couldn't actually turn into a human until he was around 4. Until then his parents just called him by his digimon name(s)/pet names etc; but then one morning they get up and the kid is just standing there in human form asking Mummymon what's for breakfast. (Yes he was originally an egg, but it's more complicated than that and I won't get into it here.) Anyway, once he realises, he decides his human form needs a name too because all his evolutions have specific names. So he looks through his books and picks one he really likes, and is pretty determined to use it. Arukenimon takes a look and sees that it can be written with the kanji for 'resolute prince' and decides 'Yes, that's a suitable name for my son' so she agrees to it. Mummymon gets no say in the matter but is too proud to care.

I know there are other well established fan kids for the pair; but I'm so happy to finally have one of my own that I just had to talk about him at least once! Seriously, I have had no idea what their kid would look like for years, to the point that I was semi-convinced that a child was impossible for them and to have this cute little guy just come flying at me makes me so happy! I'll leave it at that because I could write a lot more about him. (This is a *severely* cut back version of the full bio I wrote for him.) I might put some more stuff in the tags though. If anyone is curious about him feel free to ask. I know a bizarre amount about this kid!

[fullmusicbardsquared]

Ranking JoJo Minor Antagonists, 1-4

Shamelessly inspired by @uppertwist, this'll be long, so be warned

I'll rank other things if asked :3

Phantom Blood

Bruford: Doesn't do all that much honestly, but his design's pretty funky and in retrospect I'm like 75% sure he's got a stand. 7/10

Tarkus: His size is even stranger than Polpo honestly, but I guess it fits with the song being 20 MINUTES LONG. 4/10

Dario: Does he even count? Anyway he was an asshole, & main reason I liked Dio in part 1. 1/10

Wang Chan: My mom burst out laughing when she heard his name so he gets bumped up. 2/10

Random Led Zeppelin Zombies: These guys got their names changed??? 3/10 for comedy

Doobie: 10/10 Doobie is perfect in every way. Snake.

Battle Tendency

Str*heim: die die die die die die die die die get killed by fish die negative infinity/10

Santana: Wonderful guy. We barely learned shit about him but his episodes are so fun. I both wish he'd come back and hope he stays petrified forever. 8/10

Donovan: First dude to really fit into the "worse than the reference" category. Also they changed it to Donobang??? Ew. 4/10

Straizo: Him ranting about Dio vampiring wrong is funny I guess. 6/10

Stardust Crusaders

Gray Fly: Legitimately forgot this lame old man. 2/10

Imposter Captain Tennille: He drove, a boat? Honestly Captain Dragon was a way cooler name. 3/10

Forever: Please just, no. -10/10

Devo the Cursed: ARE WE NOT MEN? WE ARE DEVO. ARE WE NOT MEN? D-E-V-O. (Araki please reference DEVO again) 8/10

Rubber Soul: I like him on principle BUT he created that stupid cherry meme. 6/10

J. Ge*l: Read Forever's entry. -100/10

Hol Horse: This man is genuinely amazing. The instant I saw him my Trigun brain went batshit. Everything about him just makes him funnier. 10/10

Nena: Uhhhh she's a girlboss? I don't remember much about her to be honest. 5/10

ZZ: Car. 3/10

Enya the Hag: Way too funny for a murderous old lady who supports her serial killer son. 6/10

Steely Dan: He's a Kevin. 9/10

Arabia Fats: Amazing. 7/10

Mannish Boy: Is it even legal to rank an infant?? Also if JoJo used literary refs instead he'd probably be called "The Small Assassin" (Ray Bradbury story) 7/10

Cameo: He's okay I guess. 5/10

Midler: Her stand's funky but she's just eh. 5/10

N'Doul: He's the vibe check, he's cool. 8.5/10, too much water

OINGO BOINGO BROTHERS: DO I EVEN NEED TO EXPLAIN??? IF I DO, I FEEL BAD FOR YOU, POOR SOUL. INFINITY/10

Chaka + Khan: They're nice :) 6/10

Mariah: Wish she had more personality traits besides literally being attractive. 7/10

Al*ssi: He looks like Spinel from Steven Universe. Don't lie, you know I'm right. 0/10

Daniel J. D'arby: He has a first name??? Anyways, he's pretty cool. His arc's really fun, and his stand is green. An ugly green, but he's Osiris, so at least it's green. 7.5/10

Pet Shop: Murderous falcon. How could you hate him? 9/10

Telence T. D'arby: Gamer with a weird barn owl stand. 7/10

Kenny G: Loser. Also, Tenor Sax? You can't have an instrument as your stand, bitca. 2/10

Nukesaku: Why is he the loser when Kenny G is right there???? 4/10

Vanilla Ice: I heard his name before I got to the fight and I laughed my ass off. Now I know better. Also his leotard looks stupid. 3/10

Diamond is Unbreakable

"Angelo": Re. J. Geil. -20/10

Keicho Nijimura: I mean, he was an asshole for sure, but you can understand why. He's good. Also, in his three episodes, he doesn't leave his house??? Ahead of the time. 7/10 (bc Okuyasu)

Tamami: He's there? 5/10

Hazamada: Xander Harris But Worse. And with belts. 5.5/10

Akira Otoishi: He's trash, but like, a really fun trash. And his design is sick. RHCP is ugly, but we aren't talking about stands, now are we? 7/10

Bug-Eaten & Not Bug-Eaten: ṛ̶̫͔̝͈͕̟̠͖͙̅̌͒̍̄̉̈̕̕a̶̡̨̧̨̫̰̹̝̘͇̩̩͇̍̂͐̍͐̂̏̈́̐̐̈́͜͝͠ͅţ̸̨͎̥͇͔͕̣̘̜̍̿̔͌͒́́̍̂̅̎̄̓̓͘͜͝.̶̡̧̼͇̬̤̳̹̺̪̟̺͈̣̭̣̞͈͈͕̳̆͒͋͋̈́̔͌̎̉͋͆͑̊̋̈͒̒͘͝ 7/10

Yoshihiro Kira: Enya but not funny. 5/10

Ken Oyanagi (Janken Kid): He's literally a dumbass middle schooler. I'm half-convinced he only fought Rohan because they both had silly headbands and they needed to figure out who was superior. 7/10

Yuya Fungami: He's funky honestly. That stupid bowtie is amazing. (This is a Yoshie, Reiko, & Akemi stan account btw) 8/10

Toyohiro: I was worried when I saw the butterfly and spider pins, but he's fun. I wish we got to see him more. 6/10

Masazo Kinoto (Cheap Trick's user): Sorry you died?? 2/10

Terunosuke Miyamoto: LOOK AT HIS COAT IT'S SO AMAZING 10/10

(Bonus) Yukako Yamagishi: You had so much potential Araki >:( 9/10

[filmstruck]

Folk Horror & Filmmaking: An Interview with Sean Garland by Kimberly Lindbergs

I recently asked director Sean Garland (BANSHEE BLACKTOP, AN IRISH GHOST STORY (2016) and NOKOTAHEART [2011]) a few questions about his filmmaking career. He also shares some Halloween streaming recommendations for FilmStruck subscribers that should appeal to discerning horror enthusiasts.

FILMSTRUCK: Could you tell readers a little bit about your background and how you became interested in filmmaking?

SEAN GARLAND: Well I grew up in a predominantly working-class North Dublin household where there was always a stream of activity. Three Irish sisters and three Irish brothers in one relatively small suburban house. My Ma had a quiet, encyclopedic knowledge of old movies and dad squirrelled us away in the dark of a Dublin cinema as often as possible to keep us preoccupied. I was the youngest, so I got to see a lot of films beyond my years. John Guillermin’s 1976 remake of KING KONG always comes to mind. I recall seeing it vividly in the cinema, with John Barry’s score washing over me, but I must have been only 4 or 5. The Christian Brothers school I attended (until I was 12) would often have a pop-up cinema on Fridays but they’d project the most random and irreverent films. One week it’d be HERBIE GOES BANANAS (’80) followed by Philip Kaufman’s INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (’78). Another week THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT (’74) followed by John Badham’s 1979 version of DRACULA. I was pretty young but old enough to decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my life after sitting up and watching JAWS (’75) with my Da one night on Irish TV.

I painted a fair bit back then, wrote short stories and always had a book in my hand. Two books in particular set me on a path in my teens: Michael Pye’s and Linda Myles’s The Movie Brats and Peter Nicholl’s Fantastic Cinema. It wasn’t enough anymore to immerse myself in other people’s movies, so I started shooting my own short stories on my sister’s video camera, which she brought home from London. It was the Ark of the Covenant to me, and Jim Sheridan and Neil Jordan had shown the world you could be Irish and make great, impactful films for an international audience. Times were changing, so after leaving college after my first year (finding film studies too generic and unadventurous to ever be exciting) I came into contact with Jim Sheridan by sheer happenstance and somehow convinced him to give me a break. I got a job as a production assistant on IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER (’93) and, after a long stint travelling in the States and living in Los Angeles I finally elected to make my first short film, THE MAJESTY OF THE HAUNT (’96). We shot it on Super 16mm in County Wicklow for a pittance, a stone’s throw from where John Boorman shot EXCALIBUR (’81).

FS: Who are some of the filmmakers that inspired you to start making your own movies?

SJG: When I was younger, the filmmakers that inspired me where chiefly within the pages of those two books (The Movie Brats & Fantastic Cinema). It was the Spielbergs, Carpenters and Cronenbergs, the Hal Ashbys and Terrence Malicks of the world that made me pursue a career as a director, but as I got older my tastes diversified. Pretty soon I was watching everything I could get my hands on. Ken Russell, Polanski, Roeg, Parker, Tarkovsky, Schlesinger, Michael Mann, Ridley Scott, Lumet, Leone, all the greats. I fell willingly down the rabbit hole let’s just say. I mean I loved David Lean, but I also overdosed on Romero— that kind of thing. That sense of discovery never really ends, don’t you think? Watching movies is still the best film school money can buy. One is always going to stumble upon a film or a particular filmmaker that slipped your net then resets your palette. It’s healthy. It keeps one intrigued and humble.

FS: I absolutely agree. That sense of discovery and the desire to share my findings with others is what inspired me to start writing about cinema. Before you began making films you worked with other Irish filmmakers including Jim Sheridan and Neil Jordan as a production assistant. What was that experience like?

SJG: I worked with Jim on IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER but never had the pleasure of working alongside Neil. My work on INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (’94) included pre-production just weeks before the bulk of the shoot in New Orleans. It was a straightforward gig really. I was to assist a handful of stuntmen who were rigging up Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt for the vampire flight sequences, which sadly never made the cut. I was just 20, fairly green and newly arrived in L.A. I was happy to get a job and never dreamed I’d be working alongside names like that months after rocking up in L.A. But what made the experience even more surreal and memorable for me was that it all took place at Stan Winston’s Studios. I’d gushingly arrive at least an hour before the crew in the morning and roam the workshops, chat to the staff and hang out in Stan’s display room where he kept his creations. I remember him being a very jovial, approachable man. As for the experience of working with Jim, I remember the first few weeks being something of a baptism of fire if I’m honest. Not because of Jim but because I was the new kid on the block, young and impressionable, but I soon toughened up and started to enjoy it. Jim was unerringly gracious though I probably drove him up the wall requesting to see the rushes and stand alongside the camera. He worked with cast and crew entirely without ego and that stuck with me for years.

FS: I haven’t had a chance to see your first film (ABBOT’S APPROACH, ’00) but I believe it takes place in Ireland as does your most recent film, BANSHEE BLACKTOP, AN IRISH GHOST STORY. The latter film features some stunning location photography and incorporates elements of Irish mythology and folktales. How has your background and upbringing influenced your work and do you plan to make any more movies set in Ireland?

SJG: Anybody who's grown up in Ireland feels an intuitive vein of storytelling in their heritage. It's in the conversational tone of the people, the music you hear and the landscape that’s never too far from the city. You feel more Irish abroad because, until you leave, you don't realize you carry all that inside you on some instinctive level. So I've always returned to Ireland between other projects to make films and always will. BANSHEE BLACKTOP, AN IRISH GHOST STORY was an opportunity to indulge that connection with a lifelong love of slow-burn, atmosphere-laden ghost stories. BANSHEE BLACKTOP was always going to feel oblique and unsettling. It was never going to please the gore hounds or those who like their horror-fare readymade and jump-scared. It was non-horror films that served as inspiration while I was shooting: NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (‘55), WALKABOUT (‘71), PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (’75).

FS: FilmStruck, in association with Criterion, has a wide variety of horror films available to stream this month in anticipation of Halloween, including some films that could fall under the folk horror banner such the Val Lewton classic ISLE OF THE DEAD (‘45) and the Japanese film KURONEKO (‘68). What are some of the horror films currently on FilmStruck that you would recommend readers watch this Halloween?

SJG: Well, right out the gate I’d pluck SPIRITS OF THE DEAD (‘68) off the shelf, if only to experience Fellini’s genuinely unforgettable “Toby Dammit” segment. I think it’s actually my favorite short film. I’d follow that up with ONIBABA (‘64), surely one of the greatest horror films ever made. And then, just to blindside myself, I’d treat myself to another queasy viewing of the hugely underrated THE NIGHTCOMERS (‘71), which I didn’t expect to warm up to upon my first viewing but was pleasantly...well, blindsided. It’s not THE INNOCENTS (‘61) but it’s a worthy ‘prequel’.

To learn more about Sean and his upcoming projects please visit seanjamesgarland.com