Real Crime Real Movie

 Americans love to watch crime and crime fighting. Turn on HBO or ABC and any given night there are half a dozen crime shows. From Dexter to NCIS to Chuck. As much as we love our heroes and superheroes, we idolize our villians and supervillans. The beauty of Gormorrah is that it a film  that does not permit that.

Gomorrah is not an American film, its Italian. It is a film that takes a close look at the reality of crime. Not for even one moment does it allow the preposterous idea that the gangster/mafia life is one of glamor, women, and food. This film takes you in the dark real place of crime. The place where families are divided, neighbors are killed in cold blood, and there is no safety. This is a brilliant film, that as a viewer made me feel very uncomfortable.

Cinematography is not my forte but the power of Gomorrah comes from the way the images are created in this film, they are not shiny or glossy. In fact many of the shots are hard to tell what you are looking at because it is a very raw look. This made me feel, like i was not watching in a theatre, but indeed on the street with the characters. Gomorrah is pointed about the fact the murder, violence, drug deals, and death are not things to be romanticized. This film felt like some one got on a loud speaker and said "Hey this isn't a joke, this a real problem costing real lives, and its not funny, and its not cool." A nice touch to this film was the fact that no actors were hired, but real Sicilians.

Beneath the Cabin

Cabin in the Woods was unlike any  horror film I have ever seen. Granted, I am not a fan of movies that the entire premise is that by the end of it I may possibly have fecal matter in my pants. Thus, my viewing of films in the  horror genre has been limited. I have seen enough 'scary' movies to understand the conventions that there are typically several youthful stoked college kids heading for an awesome scantily clad party in the woods, then HORROR strikes, and they all probably die, in gruesome disgusting manners. When the film is complete, your pants need changed, and you check the shadows for any lurking terrible monsters looking to commit some strange senseless act of violence. When Cabin in the Woods was over, my concern was not of the all possible fantasy evils that may or may not exist. Rather, my concern was set toward something that I feel is much more relevant. At the end of this movie I found myself quaking in fear of folks conspiring behind closed doors to do the 'right' thing. Fearing completely those that set out to affect the world for the greater good without considering the human element.
One attribute of Cabin in the Woods that stands out is that the horror occurring to this group of college stereotypes is being orchestrated by a crew of scientists lead by two males monitoring the events. The fear I felt through out this film began with the stark contrast between these two main images: the sterile, organized, white, laboratory and the colorful, dark, realistic cabin setting.
For me the portions of the film in the cabin, before all the death and destruction, represented a quick montage of normal life. Life is filled with discovery, conflicts of interest, serious decisions, sexuality, and goofing around. We see all of this happen in the cabin, as initially the five come in and look around, discovering their environment, reaching around trying to understand the space they have to exist in for the following week. A conflict of interest represented by the token black guy finding the glass window into the virgins room. A true moral dilemma. Our five future victims then face a serious choice when the basement hatch blows open, they can ignore the unknown, or go to face whatever lies below. This a nod to reality as every day this a choice presented to masses. Additionally, in the cabin we see both the ideas of sexuality and goofing around, as the 'whore' makes out with an overwhelmingly creepy wolf head during a mostly playful game of truth and dare.

Below the representation of normal life, we have the image of conspiracy and control: the laboratory where all the horrors are devised. As previously stated, for me this was where the frightening part of this film happens. The idea here is that it is the job of these scientists and white collar workers is to keep the gods satisfied by sacrificing these young people in the correct order. We see a number of things that I hate to think exist out there behind closed doors. First there is the reduction of each of the five college students to nothing more than a type. For example the newly turned blond girl is only a whore. Any of her other characteristics are entirely ignored, and she is only viewed as the slutty one. Maybe outside of her blantant sexuality she is a young lady who wants to engineer solutions to the fossil fuel issue that plagues conversations amongst many Kentuckians? Perhaps she intends to use her college background as the platform to dive into being an international ambassador to Israel? No. She has been judged by a few characteristics, and her type has been determined. To the people who hold her future in their hands, she is nothing more than a slut. I found this a distinct parallel to the fact that there are a bunch of folks in sterile spaces across the world and our nation that make choices about who gets healthcare, who can have car insurance, and who is suspended from universities. Let me restate, this is scary.

Mic Check

Alright! So this is my first go at blogging. Lets see if it works!!