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Lo

No, this isn’t the story of Lo Bosworth. This is much more interesting than that and there’s a lesson learned here that’s one of the most important ones to remember. What is it, you ask? That demons have problems too, man, and when they do, they’re going to sing and dance to work them out just like the rest of us. Admit it, we all have those moments where things aren’t going quite right and in a fit of frustration we break into song. Don’t lie, you know you do it too. It’s alright, no one’s judging.

Demons and musicals aren’t an uncommon phenomenon. Just check out “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” or “Angel” if you don’t believe me. (And Mr. Joss Whedon, if you are by some chance reading this, I just want to mention that I think you’re bloody brilliant and if I could work for you some day, it would be quite possibly the most wonderful day of my life. I can even just go pick up your dry cleaning or something. Anything. Just call me. Okay??) Ahem….sorry about that. So demons and musicals aren’t as uncommon as one might think but the demons in Lo take things a step further. They have theatricality. Literally. The entire movie is staged as if the audience is merely sitting in a theatre watching a live show with certain light sequences reminiscent of the lighting in “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”. Random fact that makes me geek out, is that the writer and director created this after watching Jan Svankmajer’s “Faust” (and I am a HUGE Svankmajer fan, I adore him!). Not only is there song and dance but there’s comedy (sometimes of the absurd and sometimes of the Three Stooges variety) and there’s drama, sweeping drama in the heartbreak of a young man who’s lover has been kidnapped by demons. What you thought this one was all about the demons? Puh-lease.

Demon conjuring has never been more fun!

The moral of the story here is very clear. When in doubt, when in pain, summon some demons to put on a show. Might cheer you up or they might kill you but either way you’ll be in a better place than before!

Posted in American Cinema, American Indie, Experimental, Horror Comedy, Lo-Budget, Musicals

12 Comments

Tags: angel, buffy, cabaret, demons, indie film, jan svankmajer, joss whedon, lo, lo bosworth, musical

Closets – The First Five

May 21

Posted by mistylayne

I’ve decided that every once in awhile I’m going to do a bit called “The First Five”. Why? Because sometimes, the first five minutes of a movie are enough to convince you that you’ve made an unwise but hilarious choice in viewing material.

For my first entry into the “First Five”, I’d like to introduce to a movie called “Closets”. Now “Closets” came my way via a 6 movie pack I picked up called “Deadly Games” (you know those 6 packs you get at Walmart for $5? Oh yeah…. ;)).

The first thing you should know about “Closets” is that it’s a true indie film. So indie that the entire first scene is green screened. As in, one guy is in a parking garage and another guy is standing in a street but it’s actually done via green screen. Now, I was once a part of a very indie, lo-budget sci-fi webseries that was almost completely green screened so I’m not knocking the green screen….exactly. But do you need some kind of permit to film one man in a parking garage? Do filmmakers not sneak into places they’re not supposed to be anymore?? Anyway….this scene ends with an explosion and the death of a young girl, who was in a supernatural cage (I dunno, she was surrounded by these wavy lines??).

Our main guy is blamed for her death. He has a trial. They didn’t have money for a courtroom scene either. The entire trial is intoned over shots of a woman driving down a highway, fixing her hair. I don’t get it either. Oh and in Arizona, you go to jail for 3 – 5 years for murder. Does anyone else find this less than accurate? I mean, young kid dying and all. Fictional Arizona is apparently way more lenient than real Arizona!

Finally (after the woman is done driving), our guy gets out of prison. The woman appears to be his wife who has remained loyal all these years. Now it’s up to our guy to go get a job to support the family! But wait, he has that pesky murder sentence hanging over him….so after one lousy interview where a suited man snarks to his co-worker “I remember giving those shoes to Goodwill, hahahhaaaa….” our guy is completely and totally bummed. He goes to a bar and pulls out a handful of change and asks for whatever that will get him. It’s about a jigger of whisky (yeah. I used the word jigger. Cause I’m cool like that.) The bartender notices how depressed our guy is and offers him a magic pill. DUDE, why do bartenders never give ME drugs???? I’m not some older guy who just got out of prison, I’m a cute chick! We live in a messed up world, people, messed up I tell ya……Oh and the bartender gives him a shot on the house.

So what happens next? Well after his two sips of whiskey and the happy pill, our guy heads out stumbling along the streets till he comes upon a psychic. He goes in and meets what may be the world’s only BDSM psychic. No hippy-dippy, flowy skirts here. Oh no. This chica is dressed from head to toe in black leather and spandex with a dog collar. I don’t know whether to applaud this costume choice or cry over it.

And this, my friends, this is where I stopped…..because the first thing this psychic does is have an apparent orgasm when she gets a “vision”. This guy lives in one seriously f’ed up world. (I kinda want to go to there).