The Fuss About Ghostwatch

Ghostwatch, aired by the BBC on the evening of Halloween in 1992, is a masterpiece.

Shot and presented as if it were a factual show going out live on that evening, Ghostwatch was actually a cleverly constructed pre-recorded fictional 'drama' that followed the exploits of a TV crew investigating the strange activities in an alleged suburban haunted house.

What made the program infamous to this day however was the sheer number of complaints it received shortly after airing.

Complaints mostly fell into two categories: either that the audience thought it was real and got really shitted up (sample: ‘my 11 year old son was left shaking and physically sick after 10 minutes’); or that the audience felt ‘duped’ thinking the events were real when it was actually a hoax (ie: they got shitted up but didn't want to admit it).


The fear thing I can kind of understand.

Things that are presented as real definitely ARE scarier than those that you know are fictional from the off. Hence the power of telling a ghostly tale around a campfire being magnified simply by a variation on the words this is a true story or this actually happened to a friend of mine.

Case in point, before ‘found footage’ films became popular in the horror genre, The Blair Witch Project (1999) made a killing at the box office simply in the way in which the film was presented, entertaining the notion that the events depicted just might be true.

With Ghostwatch, it is easy to look back on it now with hindsight and think how can people not see it’s a hoax? But at the time it must have been a very different story. As well as having genuine numbers flash on the screen throughout the program for people to call in on (which they did), the use of household name presenters such as Sarah Green, Mike Smith, Craig Charles and Michael Parkinson, contribute heavily to the illusion. Each of them plays their part entirely straight and, for the most part, convincingly.

After all, they are presenters acting like they are presenting – not much of a stretch I know.

The other actors on the show are a mixed bag – some do a good job (the mother and the various experts are mostly convincing) others fairly transparent in their acting (the two girls). So sure, the majority of it is done well, but watching it now, just based on the performances of the actors in the show, it would be fairly improbable that anybody watching would be taken in by it.


Two reasons I think contribute heavily to this change in audience reaction.

Firstly, the rise of mockumentary (including found footage) and reality TV shows in today’s culture. So many programs now adopt the reality approach in today’s popular entertainment that audiences have become pretty savvy about whether or not something is real, fake, fake passing off as real, etc.

The same goes for the rise in popularity of ‘found footage’ horror movies within the last two decades (the double boon of being cheap to make and the implied ‘trueness’ of the footage adding to the scariness – for example the Paranormal Activity series).

These things didn't really exist in 1992, which could have greatly contributed to the fuss caused following the airing of Ghostwatch.


The second thing vastly different about today’s popular culture is the use of the internet. Back then they didn't have forums or message boards where people could discuss shows like this – picking apart its workings or pointing out telltale signs that it was a hoax; or even YouTube where the prevalence of hoax videos causes people to doubt and look for holes in something from the off.

You could say we now live in a cynical age where nothing can escape the eagle eyes and a thousand minds of the collective consciousness on the web. If there is even a tiny inkling of something being a fake or hoax, you can be pretty sure people will be on to it straight away.

Again, this network of people quickly sharing ideas simply didn't exist back in 1992. It was just you and your family, sitting at home on a Halloween night watching something on TV and being genuinely frightened by it and not knowing what to do - (compounded by the fact that the scary goings on depicted in Ghostwatch were happening in a normal suburban house… just like yours!)


So although I don't agree with the people who complained about this show at the time, I can kind of understand why they did – as something like this must have been genuinely scary at the time in context – much like the Orson Wells War of the Worlds radio drama back in 1938 that people mistook for a genuine alien invasion.

I personally remember watching this program as a child and being terrified by the simple notion of a brown stain mysteriously appearing on the floor, such was its execution.


So my point is that the reaction to the program was to do with when it was aired and not so much to do with the actual content. I’ll bet that if you showed this program on TV now (or one similar to this), say next Halloween, the reaction would be vastly different from how it was in 1992.
Message board discussions and YouTube videos would spring up overnight scrutinizing every detail with a wealth of opinions - and that's even if it gets that far. Most viewers would cry hoax immediately from the comfort of their sofas by scrutinizing the actor’s performances or by pointing out that since they seem to be watching an episode of Most Haunted but something scary is actually happening for a change, it must be a fake.

Sure, there are always people out there who would complain but the overall majority reaction would be totally different in today’s popular entertainment climate than it would have been back in the early 90s.


Still, watching the Ghostwatch today, it’s fascinating to see how effective the programme was in convincing people at the time (the buildup is fantastic) and if anything else the sheer stones it had in its execution. The show was way ahead of its time and is highly recommended for you to seek out and watch.

Similarly the complaints, some of which can be seen in programs such as Points of View and Bite Back, are also interesting to watch (and not just for the hilarious 90s fashion that some of the audience are sporting) to gauge the sheer outrage that some people felt at the show.

In that respect we can at least admire Ghostwatch for managing to shit up an entire nation - which can't be said for many programs aired on national TV.


23 Mar 2012

Platinum Hunt - Batman Arkham Asylum

Main game on Hard mode – finished.

Stealth based ‘Predator’ challenges – all clocked.

Only one freeflow Combat challenge left to do - the infamous Shock and Awe Extreme.

Now at this point I was pretty slick with the fighting system – having to get good scores on all the other Combat challenges saw to that.

In order to get the maximum ‘three bat’ score in each challenge you had to get over a certain number of points, only really achievable by racking up high scoring combos – which means chaining attacks together, countering incoming blows and not getting hit by the enemy. Basically, don't get hit and don't drop your combos means generally you will get a good score.

But the Shock and Awe challenge had something else to contend with: a strict time limit, that once elapsed would electrify the whole arena floor killing everyone who was still standing. With plenty of henchmen to take down within the four timed rounds of this challenge there wasn't much room for error.

The Extreme version of this challenge was by far the hardest thing in the game. Here’s how it eventually went down.


Round 1

The arena is small –making enemies bunch together, increasing the risk of being hit by combo interrupting blows. Constantly being on the move and flipping over the goons to make more room for yourself is a must.

There are two knife guys thrown in there too – they cannot be attacked directly – either stun them with a swipe of your cape before attacking, or better yet build up your combo on the regular guys so that you can use an instant takedown on the knife wielders, using a grapple move to break a bone or two and take them out of the fight permanently.

This first round is not too hard but mess up too much and you may as well restart the challenge.


Round 2

Similar situation to Round 1, except this time the two knife wielders are replaced by electric baton dudes. You cant attack or counter these guys either – you have to flip over them and hit from behind if you want to preserve your combo. Once again, prioritise using the instant takedown moves on them first.

Another difference to this round: as you are occupied in the fight in the main arena, one of the goons attempts to sneak off to the raised area on the right to open the gun locker, sounding off the alarm as he does so. Rather than give chase though, I let him go, trusting that by the time he comes back with the gun to try and shoot me I will be ready to take him out. Problem is, he drops the gun after being defeated, meaning any regular goon can pick it up to use it in subsequent rounds.

Better keep an eye out for that.


Round 3

This is where the time limit gets really strict. With a combination of knife AND baton guys mixed in with the regular goons, strict crowd control and prioritising who to takedown first is a must.
Also watch out for that gun that's lying around somewhere.


Round 4

The final round – its just about beating the clock really and not worrying about your score. The only way you can take everyone out before the time limit is by continuously comboing them anyway so just by being able to finish within the time limit will probably net you the required points for the ‘three bats’ rating.

I start the round by throwing out the batclaw, hooking the three nearest goons causing them to tumble toward me. Letting them fall to the ground I flip over to the right to start hitting a regular henchman to get my combo up. As soon as its ready I use an instant takedown on one of the knifemen, being sure to flip out the way straight after to avoid the vicious mob closing in around me.

Once the combo is built up again, I flip over a guy to reach the edge of the arena. Unleashing a triple batarang followed by the batclaw again means that multiple enemies fall to the floor, thinning the crowd considerably. This makes it easy to jump from one goon to the next – attack then move – giving them less of a window to strike back.

Occasionally I’ll hear the ominous click-clack of someone picking up the gun and make sure I leap over to take him out before he starts shooting. As the timer ticks down I repeat the process, build up the combo then triple batarang and batclaw to get people on the ground.

Almost out of time! The countdown has just reached zero and the warning siren is going off. There are still a few more guys left standing as the floor starts to glow and hum loudly. In a last desperate attempt I batarang the goons to the floor and pounce on them with a ground pound.

As the last henchman is defeated just in the nick of time - the hum of the glowing floor dies down - mere moments away from frying me.


Round 4 finished. Score over thirty thousand means ‘three bats’.

The platinum trophy pops in the top right hand corner of the screen.

I’m Batman.


21 Mar 2012

Assassin's Creed III Concept Art Leaked?

Earlier today a ‘leaked’ image showed up on the net depicting possible concept artwork for the much-anticipated Assassin’s Creed III.

It seems to be stating that the new time period of the game will be around the time of the American Revolution, as the image portrays the protagonist in front of an old style American flag.

Similarly, the fact that he will be of Native American decent is also hinted at by details in the picture, namely by his attire, the tomahawk and bow and arrow as the weaponry and a tooth necklace around his neck.

Click HERE to see the full image.

The time period of the third ‘proper’ installment of the hit series has always been a hot topic amongst fans – with many diverse views emerging. Some wanted it to be set in Asia – in feudal Japan or China, others wanted it to be set in the modern day to focus almost entirely on Desmond’s story.

I disagree about the likelihood of both of these ideas. Firstly, games set in the ancient orient have been done already – any game with ninjas (Tenchu series anyone?) have made this an all too familiar setting for many gamers.

In a similar way, on the flipside, having a modern setting (or even a futuristic one) would not work for the game either, as the Assassin’s Creed series is known for its rich depictions of periods in history – having no historical context would make it too similar to the myriad of openworld/sandbox games out there. To deprive the game from a rich historical setting would be, in my opinion, ridding itself of its USP – akin to shooting itself in the foot.


One further time period that has been hinted at from previous concept art has been the French Revolution (a popular idea for a while), but this new artwork – if it is indeed genuine, seems to have got most people believing it's the real thing.

My personal feelings are slightly ambivalent. To be honest, I don't know much about American history, although the same could be said about the first and second Assassin’s Creed games and how they successfully drew me into the periods of the Crusade-era Middle East and Renaissance Italy respectively – giving me an interesting insight into how people lived back then and to explore the beautiful architecture.

And that's where my main problem with the American Revolution lies – there is not much in the way of architecture. As a relatively new land (in historical terms), America of that time lacks the tall buildings and majestic skylines for the Assassin protagonist to scale (this being one of the core aspects of the game mechanic) – the vertical exploration as well as the horizontal. If the American Revolution does indeed end up being the chosen setting, it will be interesting to see how they will implement or indeed compensate for this.


Anyhow, the game itself is slated for an October release this year – and so an official announcement (and thus confirmation of this artwork’s validity) is probably not too far off and will finally put an end to all this speculation.


Personally, I still wish the game would be set in Victorian London. Although having appeared as a setting in some games, a fully exploreable open world version has yet to be realised. Think about it - climbing around the city and its architecture would be magnificent – meeting grubby chimney sweeps on the rooftops, watching carriages rumbling around on the cobbled streets below. Quacks on street corners peddling their medicine or prostitutes hanging around in dingy alleys. Scaling a smog shrouded Big Ben and Tower Bridge! I’m sure Jack the Ripper lore would feature in the game somewhere too. All this would all fit into an AC game perfectly!

Ah, one can only dream…


[Edit: at the time of posting, new official box art images have been revealed, confirming that yes, the setting will be The American Revolution. I thought I’ll still post this anyway.]


1 Mar 2012

Zombies zombies zombies!

In recent years the whole zombie thing has been so overdone in popular culture to the point of becoming seriously stale.

Despite this, as we all know - you just cant keep a good zombie down and a few choice bits here and there have recently resurrected my interest in all things involving the shambling undead.

Okay. I’ll stop with the zombie puns now…

The first was picking up a cheap copy of Techland’s Dead Island, which first gained interest through this epic promotional trailer – which unfortunately was simply a marketing tool and was not in any way representative of the how the finished game would be like.

Hearing mixed things about the game I held off buying it when it first came out, but playing it recently, I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, its got its fair share of technical glitches and a repetitive mission structure, but as far as creating an open world zombie game, its pretty successful in creating an explorable playspace.

Rather than funneling you through corridors or set pieces such as say, in the Resident Evil games, there is a genuine sense of ‘place’ throughout, especially in the first part of the game where you are free to wander around a tourist beach resort – with objects strewn about everywhere evoking the unsettling aftermath of when the zombie outbreak first occurred.

The combat is focused mainly on melee attacks, and coupled with the first person viewpoint, leads to genuinely terrifying up close and personal encounters with the undead – the first few times causing you to swing away in a blind panic as a zombie lunges at you. The game is pretty violent too, with plenty of blood, dismemberment, bone-crunching sound and great ragdoll physics employed when knocking the enemy down with a particularly powerful blow. There is shooting too when you get your hands on some guns later on, but its unfortunately not on par with other FPS games.

Although it's a game full of flaws, its still one that I am enjoying playing – and I haven’t even tried the four player online coop yet! I’m going to try and finish the game on my own first before I have a go at that.


The other zombie related thing that has been taking my interest recently is the currently airing second season of The Walking Dead.

After the first season ended up deviating a little too much from the story of its comic book source material, it's good to see the second season back on track with the arrival at Herschel’s farm.

What’s great about TWD is that, like all good zombie stories, it’s about the people involved in the situation and how they react to their circumstances rather than overly focusing on the undead themselves. Here, the zombies are pretty much the backdrop to the story - you care more about the characters and whether or not they can survive the dire situation they are in – not only from the threat of being eaten or infected by the undead, but more often from themselves and other survivors, due to the state of lawlessness that comes with the collapse of civilisation as we know it.

I’m currently only two episodes in and have several more to watch until I’m up to date so I’m looking forward to that – and you’ll probably hear more about it in a future post.


28 Feb 2012

Alice - Maddening Level Design

American McGee’s Alice: Madness Returns was a game I was intrigued by – a dark and twisted version of Alice in Wonderland that combined both platforming and combat elements – it seemed right up my proverbial gaming alley.

Managing to snag it at a low price, I recently played through it - and although I did finish it, was left severely disappointed.

First impressions were good. Really good.

The art style, aesthetics, character and enemy designs were all top notch. Exploring the children’s home and the old cobbled streets of Victorian London left me gobsmacked. It was like I was wandering the set of Corpse Bride or something.

Similarly, first setting foot into Wonderland was amazing. Bright and colourful and yet also dark and decrepit – the world was so wonderfully designed. This is what Tim Burton wished his Alice in Wonderland film was like.

So what went wrong? Well at first the combat and platforming seemed fine. Riding gusts of wind, hopping on invisible platforms, weighing down a switch, shrinking to fit through a small space – so far so ordinary. And then… that was it. For the rest of the game! Literally every level just continued to recycle these basic mechanics used over and over ad nauseam. I’m sorry, but a simple reskinning of these platforming mechanics to suit the levels theme simply isn’t enough to keep interesting what is essentially doing the exact same things repeatedly. It doesn't help that the levels are really long either – they just seem to drag on and on.

There are the odd 2D parts to break up the tedium but sadly these are also woefully underdeveloped despite showing initial promise and similarly overstay their welcome.

Usually game don't make me angry – if a game is bad so what I think, just don't play it. But this game genuinely made me frustrated. There was so much potential here –such imagination and an impeccable art style – made impotent here by shamefully lacklustre level design.


Two examples that some up my crushing disappointment with this game:

One - At the end of the first level, the rabbit and the mouse you have been chasing get together in a huge robot monstrosity ready to assault you… except it doesn't. Instead of a boss fight the hulking junk beast just inexplicably falls apart and you go on to the next level – for more of the same platforming. In fact, apart from the very end, there are no boss fights in the entire game!

Two – you are in an underwater realm and you come across a city, where all the inhabitants are fish. The surrounding buildings and are so beautifully realised and you cannot wait to explore this watery metropolis and see what it has to offer… except you cant. Nothing here is interactive, just a place to pass through to reach the next set of floating platforms, the fish denizens wordlessly frozen in place by their cruel creator.


To be fair the combat in the game works well – its just not enough to save it from the mind-numbing tedium of the rest of the experience.

This game is actually a sequel – the original PC game American McGee’s Alice released in 2000 is also included in the package. Just a shame it hasn't aged well and is nigh on unplayable by today’s standards – le sigh….


17 Feb 2012

Lost - The Ending

[Spoiler Warning: Plot points of the TV Series Lost are discussed in this article.]


Finally, I’ve finished watching Lost.

Having just watched the finale of Season Six, I can say that the series does tie up the major events of the story in a fairly satisfactory way.

After 121 episodes, one of the most complex, thought provoking, character and emotion rich stories has come to an end.

The final season would be just as confusing to newcomers as starting anywhere else other than the very beginning as yet another timeline is added into the show. So as well as having the main story of events happening on the island in the present day (no more time travelling now) there is an ‘alternative timeline’ featuring characters and events as if Oceanic 815 had never crashed.

Oh, and there are also a few regular flashback episodes thrown in there too – mainly for Richard, Jacob and the Man in Black. So – it's as complex as ever then.

That leads us on to the subject of new characters – yes, there are more in this season too. As well the aforementioned Jacob and his unnamed brother having more exposure, we have more ‘Others’ being revealed (living in a big temple) and also Widmore’s crew that have finally made it on to the island.

But to be honest, most of them die – in fact a lot of people die in the final few episodes, even main cast members – one particular death nicely bookending how the whole show started.

Emotionally, the show does come full circle and give a sense of closure to the whole thing – plenty of teary moments, many previous characters in Lost popping up for guest appearances (mostly in the ‘alternate timeline’ story) – most big mysteries explained.

On the flipside though, there were so many threads posed in countless other episodes that just weren’t tied up – so many little niggling questions never answered – and now likely never to be answered now that the series is finished. Watch this funny video HERE that brings up just some of them.

My feeling is that the writers didn't have absolutely every detail planned out from day one and often were just writing mysterious things into the script to keep people hooked. The monster of Lost’s greater mythology grew so big and wild that by the end they just couldn't account for every unexplained detail that had happened over the course of 121 episodes.

So if you are a person that needs explanations to everything then the ending of Lost is sure to be a maddening experience – but purely in emotional and story-telling terms the end wraps things up nicely – and I’m glad it got the graceful finish it deserved rather than fading into obscurity due to lack of audience interest or being unceremoniously cancelled without a proper resolution as some other series end up.

It was truly an epic journey – and despite all its flaws, Lost holds a special place in my heart.


For purposes of nostalgia or simply just curious? - check out this article on the Top 25 Moments From 6 Years of Lost for some highlights of the series.


16 Feb 2012

Crackvania!

Castlevania is most probably my favourite game series of all time – EVER.

I am particularly found of the 2D ‘exploratory’ entries to the series - the ones classified as ‘Metroidvania’ by fans due to their Metroid-esque exploration of the environment. Among these are the multiple entries on the GBA and DS, as well as the seminal Symphony of the Night on PSX.


So when they announced Castlevania: Harmony of Despair as a downloadable title on Xbox360 back in 2010, naturally I got excited for it - hoping for a PSN release. This was a Metroidvania styled Castlevania release starring multiple protagonists from previous Castlevania games, played as a multiplayer game online – and in glorious HD! A fan boy’s dream!

When the PSN version was finally released at the tail end of last year, I didn’t have too much time to play it, but now, having played it for the past few weeks, I have been pretty obsessed with it.

At first, I wasn't sure whether or not I liked it. The fact that you could see the whole map from the start of each level, including all the enemies, bosses and chest locations pretty much took out the ‘exploration’ aspect. The other thing that appealed to me about the original games was that you could level up with EXP from defeating enemies and therefore grow stronger over time. That was gone as well. No EXP from enemies now.

It didn't take too long to finish all the levels and beat all the bosses, both on normal and hard mode. Gaining new weapons and equipment through both regular and boss chests meant that you could raise your stats without EXP - and also having other people play with you online to show you tactics and provide assistance in tougher boss battles made things easier. In fact you could probably get through it all in a couple of hours.

If you only played the game for the sake of clearing all the levels you would probably feel a little let down – after all, nearly all the enemies, abilities and graphics are recycled from previous games. The real game lies in the farming and the desire to collect. In the same vein as say, Pokémon, the addictive quality of the game (that exists to a degree in all Metroidvanias) is the irresistible urge to be a completist - whether its simply to get the best stats and equipment for just one character, to max out all characters, to collect all enemy souls and spells or even to go as far as to get everything possible in the game.

Now this isn’t as easy as it sounds as chance plays a big part in getting a hold of certain items – the best items usually only obtainable through rare boss chest drops on hard mode – so even if you do manage to kill the boss it's still quite a low probability that you will get the exact item you want. It’s kind of like gambling or playing the lottery - but without money being involved.

With the rarest items we are talking really low drop rates – only a few percent sometimes – which makes them even more coveted, the hunt more exciting and the reward more thrilling when you do finally manage to obtain that which you seek.

Here is an example of one player's reaction when he manages to snag a certain rare item.

So that's pretty much what I have been doing recently - trying to get all the best equipment for certain characters. Beating bosses repeatedly just to have another roll of the dice to see if the chest holds a rare item that I just plain need to further power up my character.

So for now, I’m addicted. There are a few more items I need to get and the urge to do just a couple more runs is ever present.


13 Feb 2012

The Tragedy of Ou Est Le Swimming Pool

I like listening to all kinds of music and enjoy the thrill of exploring and discovering new bands or artists, at times by perusing sites such as youtube or soundcloud. One band that I came across is the idiosyncratically named British synthpop group Ou Est Le Swimming Pool.

After listening to and enjoying one of their singles, The Key, I was surprised to find they only had one album released and were only active for a year. Further delving revealed a tragic tale involving the death of vocalist and frontman Charles Haddon - which abruptly ended the band’s career.

So what? – one might say, musicians die all the time. However, this particular scenario was especially saddening as not only was it revealed that Haddon’s death was a suicide, but also that the events leading up to it were particularly tragic.

After having read up on the facts that were widely reported at the time, the sequence of events is roughly as follows:

Just after the end of a performance on stage at Pukkelpop festival in Belgium on the 20th of August 2010, an over excited Haddon suddenly dived into the audience. Caught by surprise, most of the crowd in the vicinity instinctively moved away instead of catching him and he ended up severely injuring an unnamed young girl and causing a ‘near riot’.

“I’m sure he didn't mean to hurt anyone,” an eye witness was reported to have said, “The look in his eyes when he stood up and they pulled the girl from the ground was very scary.”

The view of the girl on the stretcher deeply effected Haddon and the performance was cut short - the band later reported to have a ‘furious argument’ backstage. The girl suffered injuries to her leg and four vertebrae and fearing that he may have crippled her for life, Haddon despaired and committed suicide a few hours later by jumping from a telecommunications mast in the backstage car park.

Two further points added to the tragedy of the events. Firstly, Charles Haddon was only 22 years old. Having previously supported for La Roux, Ou Est Le Swimming Pool were just starting to make it big and had a number of other festivals in Europe lined up as well as a tour of Australia. Secondly, despite her injuries, it was later revealed that the girl was likely to make ‘a full recovery’, but by then Haddon was already gone.

Some have called Haddon selfish, but even though we may understand the circumstances, it is hard to fully comprehend the feeling of being racked with guilt that he must felt at the time. It was also speculated that he may have already been suffering from depression at that time and that the incident simply spurred him on to take his own life.


The only album released by the band, entitled The Golden Year, was released posthumously - and listening to it with the knowledge of the aforementioned events adds to melancholic undertone of the songs (frequent lyrics about coping with loss being particularly poignant) despite their initially cheery synthpop presentation.

Of course, this is likely just the power of hindsight influencing our interpretation, but its hard not for me to feel a sense of sadness every time I listen to The Key. If you havent already, watch the video for it (made up of performance footage) and you will see what I mean – Haddon’s final bow being especially affecting – forever linked in my mind somehow to his tragic fate.


10 Feb 2012

Film Roundup January - Part 2

Part 2 of January’s Film Roundup!

Firstly we have the third in the series of Michael Bay Transformers films, Transformers: Dark of The Moon. Despite Bay’s insistence that each film will be a better than the last, alas we are treated to more of the same – all sound and fury with little substance.

Sure, the special effects are impressive - but the film lacks a cohesive story and character development, and is full of misjudged comedy – although the fate of the world is at stake we find ourselves just not caring if anyone lives or dies.

Many have criticised Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s performance but to be fair she isn’t given all that much to work with and really her lack of acting experience is the least of this mess of a film’s problems.

There is talk of making more Transformers films in the future – after all they are profitable at the box office. How about another animated Transformers film instead? With no silly humans getting in the way - switch it up a little.


On the opposite end of the spectrum we have super low budget film The Devil’s Rock. This tale of Nazis dabbling with the occult during WW2 is largely confined to a single location with only four actors and yet manages to be entertaining through its mystery, tension and ‘battle of the wits’ interplay between the characters.

With good acting and make up effects this film was a pleasant surprise and although the budget constraints occasionally do show through, I would gladly watch films like this over the overblown Transformers films any day.

Matthew Sunderland’s performance as Colonel Klaus Meyer is a particular standout. If you like horror films then this one comes recommended.


Lastly we have I Am Number Four, based on the first entry in a series of best-selling teen books a la Twilight and The Hunger Games, and despite going in with low expectations, I was pleasantly surprised. As far as a teen movie goes, this film delivers – striking an odd balance of fitting all the familiar tropes of a the ‘teen’ film genre whilst at the same time being constantly surprising by bucking convention.

For example the film opens with a chase sequence, which despite the expected setup, ends in a brutally sudden fashion. When the main character is introduced having fun in a teen dream ‘paradise’ beach resort, this is promptly ditched for one of a very different kind – a rainy dull backwater town.

In a similar way, the lead actor (Brit Alex Pettyfer - grown up since Alex Rider: Stormbreaker), despite his handsome ruggedness displays a remarkable level of vulnerability.

The film also boasts strong action sequences and good support in the form of Timothy Olyphant (seemingly great in everything he is in - bar Hitman of course) and Teresa Palmer playing the badass chick to full effect as Number Six. Although the baddies may be slightly too pantomime for some, Kevin Durand is awesome as always and having a hoot (again!) under all that make-up.

Chances are that you probably wont enjoy I Am Number Four too much unless you are a fan of teen films – but if by chance you are then this one comes recommended.


6 Feb 2012

Abandoned Places

As the Internet continues to expand every day like the unstoppable behemoth that it is, all kinds of interesting hobbies and niches reveal themselves.

The rise of sites such as tumblr has given blogging a new lease of life, and although most people who use it simply reblog other’s pictures, animated gifts and motivational messages to bolster their own identity with an asinine need to project their personality, some tumblr pages gain fans simply by being dedicated to ridiculously niche topics.

Fancy looking at a collection of photos of various Goths up trees? Then check out gothsuptrees.net. No really, it exists.


Some tumblr pages that I have come across, however, do hold a genuine interest for me. One such blog is Abandoned Places, which is dedicated to photos and descriptions of various abandoned buildings and sites throughout the world. As well as relatively famous places such as Pripyat in the Ukraine or the Japanese Gunkanjima, local places to the author or those submitted by readers are also included. Abandoned malls, theme parks, hotels and other living complexes all make an appearance – dilapidated, crumbling, rusted and reclaimed by nature.

Rather than being presented in a morbid or fetishistic way, there is a genuine human quality to the writer’s approach - a revered and respectful tone, occasionally tinged with sadness for things that once were. Many of the photographs displayed are hauntingly beautiful – one that springs to mind is the abandoned theme park of Takenouma Greenland - shrouded in mist, its rusted rollercoaster tracks spiralling off and disappearing amongst overgrown trees.


In a lot of the cases it is not just how the places currently look, but the stories behind them that are the most moving. Why were they abandoned? Sometimes it is a specific tragic event –such as a natural disaster or an accidental death having occurred at the site. Other times it is simply to do with the march of progress and down to economic factors that these places are left behind. In a few cases the reasons are entirely mysterious.

With many of these places still resembling how they once were due to the sudden departure of the occupants - various items strewn about can also infer their own stories – hinting at past lives.

It’s not merely the bricks and mortar of an abandoned place that evokes feelings in us, but it is the absence of people (in places where it appears there should be) -and it's that strange void that gives us a feeling of unease and melancholy.

Human loss is a powerful emotion and in many of these places the feeling of their abandonment is palpable simply by seeing that which is left behind.


Check out Abandoned Places on tumblr HERE.


1 Feb 2012