#maybe even victorian england vibes if she’s more gothic

[ghostdrinkssoup]

if I had a nickel for every time a Dark and Mysterious and probably Morally Ambiguous character was soft for a young girl from his past (probably blonde and probably dead) then I would have a handful of nickels, which isn’t a lot technically speaking but why does it keep happening ??

[pachathegreat]

Day 19: The Wolfman (2010)

“Even a man who is pure in heart, and says his prayers by night; May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.“

Welcome back to A New Beginning (Famous Monsters). This is our 5th entry for the week and we take a look at the 2010 remake of The Wolfman.

So Hollow Man wasn’t necessarily a remake of The Invisible Man, but a reimagining of the H.G. Wells story in a contemporary setting. 

FUCK OFF KEVIN BACON! BEGONE WITH YOU, FUCK NUGGET!

This movie however is a full remake, done by Universal so we see a lot of recurring themes from the original, and some of the characters of the original. 

The film apparently had a rocky production with director Joe Johnston joining a little under a month before principal photography and a score by Danny Elfman that was rejected, then re-used. 

The film still follows Lawrence Talbot, but he is no longer an every-man, but a famed Shakespearean actor from England. Benicio del Toro plays our wolfman this time.

 Let me just say that Lon Chaney Jr. was supposed to be welsh in the original, that’s why Claude Rains played his dad. Dude, did not remotely sound British, at all. Dick Van Dyke did a better job convincing me he was British. Del Toro does very well to do a good accent, it’s a bit Americanized, but they explain that away as having an education over in America. Also coincidentally, Anthony Hopkins who plays Del Toro’s father in the film is Welsh in real life.

The film changes the year it takes place, no longer in 1941, and it takes us to the 1890′s where Victorian Goths run amok, and people say things like GIVE US A KISS THEN, GUVNAH! as they die from not brushing their teeth or whatever. 

ANYWAYS! The setting it is a nice change, and it feels like the director was really challenging himself. For those that don’t know Joe Johnston worked on the first Captain America movie, The Rocketeer, and Jumanji. He’s usually done American period pieces, but this feels like he was testing himself. I think this might be his first R rated movie too. 

The lighting and whole aesthetic of the film is gothic, kinda what I expected from the Hammer films. It looks amazing and helps the vibe of the whole film. The color within the film is usually on the cooler side with the candles providing warmth and aiding in the deep shadows of the film. Usually I get to this stuff last, but it’s a really nice movie to look at. 

While I did like the 1941 version, the setting was usually a generic looking manor and a heavily fogged induced forest with some trees thrown in. 

On second thought...

There’s a great shot when Lawrence reaches the Talbot estate and you can see the entire countryside and it’s this huge sprawling thing. It looks really good, I swear. 

So the original movie dealt with an everyday man afflicted with this curse, struggling to find a cure before anything bad happens. He doesn’t and his father beats him to death with a silver cane.

Our 2010 films sets the story up as a suspense thriller with eruptions of violence. Lawrence is asked by his brother’s fiance, Gwen (Emily Blunt) to help find him as he’s gone missing. Lawrence goes back home to begin the search, but as soon as he arrives, he meets with his estranged father who tells him he’s been found dead. Upon seeing the state in which his brother died, Lawrence will not leave until whatever or whoever mutilated his brother is found. Along the way Lawrence is haunted by his mother’s apparent suicide when he was a young boy. Eventually he goes to a Romani camp to find answers to his brother’s death, the camp is attacked, and while Lawrence is saving someone he’s bit by the creature attacking the camp. Having survived the attack, he’s now cursed to become a werewolf. Lawrence begins to uncover the truth until his first transformation and is taken in by the locals the morning after. He’s committed to an asylum. While there, his father reveals the truth, he is the werewolf that bit him, and his mother didn’t commit suicide, he had killed her. After her death, Lord Talbot didn’t see the need to fight his curse and began to embrace it. Lawrence vows to kill his father and escapes when he transforms. He has a climatic battle with his dad, and chases down Gwen in his wolf form. Before he can do anything, she shoots him with a silver bullet, putting Lawrence peacefully to rest. I might’ve left some things out to save time. 

I first watched this movie when it came out and I remember really liking it.Watching it again, it felt a little long this time around. Then I realized that I had just watched the director’s cut. While I did enjoy the mystery of the story, I think the theatrical cut is the best way to go. Those extra 17 minutes can be felt. It takes a while before we see the first transformation, and as good as a story is, sometimes we wanna watch cool shit happen. Case in point: this scene

while this isn’t the first transformation in the movie, it’s the one that stands out. The first transformation is good btw. Much better than doing a cross dissolve from bare feet to uggs like the original. The design and make up of the wolfman in this were done by Rick Baker who did the work for An American Werewolf in London. This movie has the type of effects I like, the use of both practical and CGI. Though the movie does rely on it for a lot of the moon shots. I mean, a lot of them. The transformations are impressive and even the way they show Victorian London looks good. 

🎶HawoooOOOOOoooo werewolves of London  🎶

Baker was inspired as a kid watching the original Wolfman and asked specifically to work on this one when he heard it was being done. His work on the film is so nice. Look at the detail between these two photos and see what I mean. 

We don’t see Anthony Hopkins in his wolf form for long, but you can see a lot of work had been put into what’s essentially one scene (though it is the big climatic battle).

It feels like such a good update of the original. It doesn’t deviate too far from the feel of the 1941 version, but adds contemporary elements to bring it to the 21st century.

I’ve mentioned Anthony Hopkins so I guess we should talk about performances! Del Toro brings a weight into his rendition of Talbot. Even before he’s bitten, he’s a man whose haunted and hurt. He’s unsure if he should return home at all, if his brother’s death means anything to him. The Lawrence of this movie initially channels that pain by playing tortured characters like Macbeth before being made to confront his past and the trauma he’s witnessed and suffered as a child and now being blamed for the gruesome murders happening. 

Emily Blunt’s performance is good. To be honest, she’s just kinda there. I always have a hard time recognizing her sometimes.

Anthony Hopkins plays Sir John Talbot, and at first he’s this kinda eccentric and emotionally distant character, but as Lawrence gets closer to understanding what’s happening to him, Hopkins begins to show this subdued ferocity to the character with a kind of matter of fact malevolence when he reveals he killed Lawrence’s mother and brother with this add sense of pride in his son.  

Hugo Weaving also plays Francis Aberline based on the main inspector after Jack the Ripper. I found Weaving’s performance to be pretty good, but wondered why he was there to begin with. He does get bit at the end of the film and survives. Maybe they were hoping to capitalize on a sequel? We’ll never know.

Box office wise this was considered a bomb, and while it didn’t make as much money as was spent. I don’t think “bomb” would be a good description. It cost $150 million to make, but only made around $140 million and was thrashed by critics. Now I personally don’t like critics (ironic given that I am at this very moment critiquing) cause they’ll usually just shit on things and beat a movie down unfairly. Being on @filmaweekpodcast I’ve noticed a trend of decent to even good movies being just eviscerated unjustly by critics. 

Not that this is a perfect movie, watching the director’s cut stretched out the plot more than it needed to be. The effects in this are great, and Johnston did a good job coming in so late into production for this film. This a good remake. For me it delivers on what the original kinda missed out on, and that was more wolfman. 

This film does not shy away from gore either, and that was surprising given Johnston’s previous films, but again, I think he was challenging himself. 

I think I’m done with this now. I enjoyed the movie, but stick with the theatrical cut and I think you guys would dig it too. 

Oh! Before I go, check out this sweet werewolf on werewolf action!

Alright that about does it, tomorrow 

Play me out Warren Zevon!

[b-sidemusic]

INTERVIEW: STRANGER THAN FICTION - REAL LIFE VICTORIANA WITH THY LAST DROP

Once upon an evening stormy, as I pondered there before me A quaint and curious band of fellows gathered close within As the rain outside was lashing and the lightning bolts were flashing And the rolls of thunder crashing through the walls so old and thin The leader raised his glass and turned towards me with a grin Quoth the Crowe: “Let us begin…”

Thy Last Drop are as unlikely a group of vagabonds as you’ll chance to meet in Bury St Edmunds – a band of storytellers who weave their tales through toe-tapping tunes and morbid, gravelly vocals. Friend of the band Sivy named the genre 'Victorian Murder Punk', and it stuck. Inspired by Poe, Hogarth and a slew of folk styles from Cornwall to Russia, the band’s songs cover subjects from witch-hunts to insane asylums, grave-robbers to hangings at Tyburn.

I joined Thy Last Drop in one of the members’ place of work, a printing warehouse that he’s turned into an extension of their Odditorium. I noticed several bird cages, various dismembered mannequins, a dodgy looking leather contraption, and Donald Trump’s head in a jar. Ask nicely and you’ll get a demonstration of a 1920s gramophone - in my opinion, a far more interesting audio throwback than the current vinyl resurgence.

Thy Last Drop came to be after singer/guitarist Mr Crowe and accordion player Squeezy met up after years of musical inertia, both having come out of a decades-long drought to discover a desire to play some folk music. They ‘made noises’ for about a year before picking up first bandurrian player Amil (an occupational therapist/heavy metal musician from the Philippines) and then bassist Momo (former founder/producer at Vibe FM), who – after some coercion - each brought their own style to the outfit.  

The band is a favourite in Bury, but is more often called out into surrounding areas for gigs. This is partly because Bury St Edmunds just doesn’t have that many big venues, although the newly revitalised Constitutional Club, their old haunt The Hunter Club and a willing Oakes Barn have meant a few more local gigs of late.

B-Side: So, who’s in charge here?

Momo: It’s Mr Crowe.

Mr Crowe: I’m a diva. They humour me.

B-Side: Do you all get on pretty well, though?

Mr Crowe: Yeah, it’s easy. I mean, we’re older as well – we’re not chasing the same things as a younger band. We couldn’t do ten months of tour without dying.

B-Side: How did the band get from anonymous noise making to being booked several times a month?

Mr Crowe: We started out in open mics and folk nights – but we became a bit loud and energetic for them. So we started setting up things and working with other bands and things went from there. We now only try to do the things we want to do.

B-Side: So, the Victoriana aesthetic and matching themes in the music – going largely by moustache here, Mr Crowe, I’m guessing it comes from you?

Mr Crowe: It’s definitely a major obsession of mine. There’s such a dark side to Victorian history. Hogarth was a major influence for some of the songs – I’ve always loved that satirical artwork from the 18th and 19th Century. Then, literature-wise, Edgar Allen Poe and Dickens. When I say my stuff’s historical, it comes from a literary side of history – I want to reinvent the gothic stories rather than reflect reality.

Amil: I’ve learned a lot of history. Even if I don’t learn the words to the song I’ll ask “What’s the song about?” and it’s always interesting.

B-Side: How do Thy Last Drop’s songs get written?

Mr Crowe: Most of the songs get written around a phrase I particularly like and mull over in my head for a while. I write lyrics and melody at the same time – not one before the other. Then it goes to the band, who add twists that I didn’t imagine.

B-Side: Your music is definitely very upbeat for the morbid subjects it covers.

Mr Crowe:  Yeah, absolutely – but that’s folk music for you. Folk music’s storylines often have awful things happening, but it’s set to a dance because that’s what the peasants wanted. And that’s what it’s all about: drinking and dancing.

B-Side: Who are your peasants? What’s your audience demographic like?

Mr Crowe: Very varied. We’ve got a bunch of 40-and-overs, but also a lot of young people who like to come and bounce around. We’ve done a lot of festival stuff (Latitude, Maui Waui, Strawberry Fair, Secret Garden Party), so it’s that kind of crowd.

B-Side: How have you found the local music scene? Is East Anglia a good place to do music in?

Squeezy: It’s changed a lot since we were kids. When I was a kid in a band it was very hostile, the punk scene. People were envious of each other and a bit scornful of folk. But since things like Washing Machine started, Bury St Edmunds has had a really nice crowd, very supportive.

Mr Crowe: Although there are some great venues there are certain restrictions – residents, time restrictions – in Bury that can be difficult, especially for the younger lot who play heavier music. But across East Anglia, in Ipswich and Colchester, there are some great venues for them as well.

Amil: We played Oakes Barn recently, which is good - it was absolutely packed. Apparently it was so good that some of the people who just popped in got so excited that they ate daffodils.

B-Side: What?!

Amil: Yeah.

(The band offers no further explanation.)

B-Side: Right, okay then... outside of daffodil season, do you have a favourite venue to perform at?

Mr Crowe: The Coronet Theatre in London. It’s a fantastic venue.

Momo: We actually perform best on a tiny stage, or tent, or whatever it is, though – it’s the atmosphere.

Amil: Anywhere, I don’t care, as long as we don’t mess up.

B-Side: Ooh, have there been any big mess ups?

All: No, no!

B-Side: Hmm.

Momo: You probably can’t tell when we’ve messed up, unless we’re up there laughing.

Mr Crowe: We can tell if we’ve messed up, because our fans know all the words – so they’re standing there staring at us if we get it wrong.

B-Side: What’s the most memorable gig you’ve had?

Amil: The first time I saw Hallowe’en was at the Coronet Theatre. I thought it was crazy – people were naked, wearing only antlers and glitter. I’d come from the Catholic Philippines and thought the UK was a proper pagan country!

Squeezy: We played the International Burlesque Festival, that was a bit crazy. There was someone dressed as David Icke, doing a routine to a backing track of him. It was perfectly choreographed.

B-Side: So you’ve ended up doing some pretty weird shit.

Mr Crowe: Yeah, weird is our remit. Having said that, the one that stands out for me, really, was the album launch at Moyses Hall. It was a home crowd for us, and the resonance in that building is fantastic.

B-Side: Speaking of which, it’s been two years since (debut LP) ‘Tales from the Triple Tree’ was released – when are we getting a new record?

Mr Crowe: We’re working on it. It’s in the pipeline.  We’ll be re-releasing our first EP – ‘Dead Drunk for Two’ – properly first. Look out for new material next year.  

B-Side: Any idea which media you’ll be releasing onto?

Mr Crowe: We can’t really afford this vinyl stuff. Maybe mini-discs. Phonographs. But come to see us live if you can, that’s really what it’s all about. We try to contain it on a disk, but it’s really all about the mistakes, and the laughs, and the live noise.

Amil: The pressure of cracking cables. The buttons getting stuck. “Amil, you have small hands, fix it!” Ah, the excitement.

B-Side: Who are your musical influences?

Mr Crowe: 80s bands such as New Model Army; Justin Sullivan is one of my favourite songwriters ever. I’m influenced by really dark music from that era. I love Abba, obviously. Also things like Strauss, though – I probably listen to classical music the most. I just don’t like anything that has apathy.

Squeezy: Classical music, of course. My parents listened to a lot of folk music as well. I’m married to a Russian, so there’s also the whole Eastern European/Asian thing going on at home.

Momo: Mine’s very eclectic. The punk scene was my thing, it was when I had my first proper band – not loud punky stuff, more like The Police, The Stranglers, The Jam. I moved to London in the 80s and the whole decade went over my head, so I started again in the 90s. I also listen to a lot of classical and jazz stuff.  

Amil: I respect so many bands but honestly I can’t often remember the names of them. Everything I hear around here is foreign to me. Some of the groups we’ve been able to play with have been so great, though. We played with The Thinking Men for Washing Machine and they are so good. These guys also introduce me to lots of tunes, like The Rolling Stones.

Mr Crowe: Oh, god, Amil’s point of reference is amazing. Coming from the Philippines we’ve been able to introduce him to all sorts.

Amil: Lots of British music got to us, but we always just assumed it was American. I told my mum that Eric Clapton was British and she was so surprised. I was in Ireland before I was in England, and it was amazing to see people singing a capella in pubs and things. But then again, in the Philippines, you’ll get karaoke machines in bus stops.

B-Side: I suddenly desperately want to visit the Philippines, so we’d better wrap up. Let’s have the cliché question: do you have any tips for our readers that want to go into music?

Mr Crowe: Just. Do. It. Don’t second guess yourself, just get out there and get involved. Sitting at home going “I’m not good enough” for 20 years is no good. Getting out there can lead to anything. Nowadays around here, everyone’s so supportive – you don’t have to be good!

Momo: What he said with an extension. Do everything. Don’t just say “I’m going to be a rock God”. Do everything and learn from it all, so you can get back to a point and say “that’s me”.

Squeezy: It’s a bit like a foundation course in art where you try everything and then you find something you want to be.

Mr Crowe: Yeah, don’t be a genre snob.

Amil: Anyone who wants to get into music needs to know themselves.

Mr Crowe: As Ashlene said on Big Brother…

Amil: No, wait: you have to know yourself. In particular if you’re in a group. If you’re starting a band there could be lots of personalities and styles. If you’re comfortable with how you are musically and artistically, you can always stand back and let the song writer write the song with no clashes.

Squeezy: One extra thing that’s so important: just be mates.

Listen to Thy Last Drop on Bandcamp (https://thylastdrop.bandcamp.com)

THE LOWDOWN: THY LAST DROP Members: Mr Crowe (lead vocals and guitar - the guitar is arch-top, strung like a mandolin with only five strings – and twirly-moustaching), Squeezy (accordion, manic grinning), Momo (bass, drums, vocals, multi-tasking), Amil (bandurrian, vocals, prancing), Swampy (unofficial member, Carnival Minister and roadie). From: Bury St Edmunds Listen to: ‘Tales From The Triple Tree’ album, CD and download, out now. See them live at:  Bury St Edmunds Constitutional Club, 7th October (Fundraiser for Gatehouse with Scare The Normals) Keep up with them on: Facebook - Twitter

Words by Francine Carrel Photo by Towillen.com