YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT: DID HE OR DIDN’T HE?

In 1999 director/writer David Koepp along with star Kevin Bacon came made the movie STIR OF ECHOES based on the novel by Richard Matheson. The film was a successful collaboration between the two but for some reason Koepp’s career never took off from there. He directed SECRET WINDOW with Johnny Depp and GHOST TOWN with Ricky Gervais but then faltered with MORDECAI also starring Depp. Now Koepp and Bacon are back together again with the film YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT.

Bacon stars as Theo Conroy, an older man married to a younger woman named Susanna (Amanda Seyfried). Along with Susanna comes her daughter Ella (Avery Tiiu Essex) who Theo adores. There is some past history involving Theo that is revealed a little later but for now the three of them live a contented life with Susanna working as a top actress. When she get an opportunity to work on a film in Wales the three decide to rent a house there to live in.

The house is a modern looking structure and while it’s open and inviting things aren’t quite going as well as could be expected with the couple. Theo is suspicious of Susanna having an affair which wasn’t helped before they left as he visited the set while she was filming a sex scene before leaving. Hopefully this vacation will give them a chance to work through any potential issues.

As the family settles in they begin having nightmares, some of which have followed them from their previous home. Strangely enough only Theo and Ella seem to be having these nightmares, both involving mysterious passages in the house as well as a man who lives in the shadows there. While disturbed they never share these nightmares with one another.

Going to town to pick up some groceries Theo meets the man who owns the small store there. As he strikes up a conversation with the owner the man gives him cryptic responses about the house and its previous tenants. The last thing he does is give Theo a right angle telling him to check the angles of the house.

While he was gone Ella and Susanna are roaming the property. At one point Ella asks her mother why it is that people hate Theo. This is when we learn about his past. It seems that Theo was a successful banker who came home one day to find his wife drowned in their bathtub having overdosed on sleeping pills. The investigation led to his being hounded by the press with many people viewing him as guilty of murdering his wife, people jealous that someone so successful could not have done it.

As the days progress more and more strange things happen. The house seems to have a life all its own. Checking things out Theo and Ella discover that the inside of the house is larger than the outside when they measure it. But how could this be? Add to this a breakdown in the family structure due to the tension between Theo and Susanna and you have a scene ripe for the strange to overtake them all.

Questions begin to rise to the surface. Did Theo kill his first wife? Is Susanna having an affair? Is Ella sensitive to the supernatural? Is Theo going mad or are things really happening in this house? Is the house haunted or could it be something else?

All of these questions are answered by the end of the film along with many more. It’s a thriller that works quite well with a suspense level that will keep you guessing as it progresses. At the heart of a film like this it is the story that matters most and this one is well told.

All of the actors here do an amazing job. Bacon, who many will forever see as a youngster from his older films, does a great job as the older husband with a younger wife here, worried that he will lose her. Seyfried is perfect as the sexy actress who is years his junior and potentially looking for someone else. But it is Essex as Ella that will either make or break this movie and she makes it work.

My guess is this was one of those movies lost in the covid-19 shuffle, a film destined for theaters that never made it there when they all shut down. That’s a shame because I honestly enjoyed this little film. My guess is you will too so give it a watch.

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JAMES CAMERON’S STORY OF SCIENCE FICTION: SCI FI ON FILM

 

The definition of science fiction is “A literary or cinematic genre in which fantasy, typically based on speculative scientific discoveries or developments, environmental changes, space travel, or life on other planets, forms part of the plot or background.” Since its inception the genre has expanded in numerous ways, including robots, fantasy films with ogres and orcs, mind warping psychological stories and time travel to name a few items.

Alongside the western one of the most prolific genres of film has been the science fiction movie. You can trace it as far back as Thomas Edison’s silent version of FRANKENSTEIN or the George Melie’s 1902 film A TRIP TO THE MOON. The genre inspired writers before film like Jules Verne whose books were the foundation of so many great movies. Who better to examine the genre than James Cameron?

The director of such sci fi hits as THE TERMINATOR, T2: JUDGEMENT DAY, THE ABYSS, ALIENS and AVATAR Cameron now take a look at the genre speaking with notables in the field. Directors like George Lucas who brought us STAR WARS, Christopher Nolan who made INCEPTION and Stephen Spielberg who made E.T. talk about what influenced them and drew them to the genre. Stars like Keanu Reeves, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Christopher Lloyd talk about their love of the genre and how being in films were their big moments.

Broken down into six episodes the series focused on different sub-genres involved in science fiction. Each one focuses on that sub-genre with the stars, writers and directors who have made their mark in each. The first up is “Alien Life”. Everything is covered here from the harmless alien found in E.T. to the dangerous types in the ALIEN films and all things in between. What is it that might be out there and why are we fascinated by it all? Should we be hopeful for another form of life in the universe of fearful?

Next up is “Space Exploration”. Here we get glimpses of everything from films in the 50s and 60s that offered a hopeful look at space exploration to the swashbuckling heroics of the Skywalker family. It seems the largest focus on this genre took place in the 60s when JFK took us into space and ending with the walk on the moon. How did movies look at these events? And what did they foresee in the future when it came to space?

The third episode is “Monsters”. This is so open to interpretation. From the earliest films like FRANKENSTEIN where man attempted to create life to THE FLY, there have been plenty of nightmarish images found in science fiction. Some tipped into the horror genre but at their roots they were science fiction all the way.

Fourth up is “Dark Futures”. It seems that this genre spans both ends of the spectrum, from the hopeful utopias that some predict to the more dystopian futures where everyone bow beneath a central monarch. Should we look forward with hope or give up and accept what some feel is inevitable?

Fifth is “Intelligent Machines” and there is little doubt that the first thing that comes to mind is Cameron’s own Terminator. This creation has been with us through numerous sequels and is part of pop culture now. But there have been others along the way from Robby the Robot to the almost human like creation in Spielberg’s A.I. Will robots help or will they lead to our downfall?

The final episode is “Time Travel”. Once more the genre shows how versatile it can be from the fun filled BACK TO THE FUTURE to the more serious films like THE TIME MACHINE and LOOPER. The question of traveling back in time affecting the future or traveling forward to learn what took place between segments of time is fascinating.

To attempt to do a series like this thinking you can cover every single movie or TV show involving the topics found in science fiction is daunting and most likely impossible. But Cameron does his best to convey the interest in the genre that affects us more than we might realize. In the end it’s an entertaining series that also brings about something that shows like this always do. It inspires the viewer to remember the movies they saw in the past and think “hey, I should pull that out and watch that again”. It brings back memories of treasures we may have forgotten. And in watching them again, older and through different eyes, maybe you’ll find something you missed the first time around.

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YOU DON’T NOMI: WHEN DOES TRASH BECOME ART?

 

It’s amazing to watch as things that were at one time considered to be either terrible of high camp in film suddenly are rediscovered by a completely different set of people who then elevate it to art. Every time it happens I sit and wonder what could someone have seen in what was something so bad that they think it’s wonderful? Don’t get me wrong, there are movies that are terrible that I love but I’ve never gone so far as to call them art or tell others how stupid they were for not seeing how great they are.

This brings us to the new documentary YOU DON’T NOMI, a celebration of the movie SHOWGIRLS. Released in 1995 the film was written by Joe Eszterhas and directed by Paul Verhoeven fresh from their hit BASIC INSTINCT. Starring Elizabeth Berkley in her first adult role (she played Jessie on the kids TV series SAVED BY THE BELL) the film was made for a costly (at the time) $45 million dollars and bombed at the box office bringing in just $37 million. No doubt this was due to the films NC-17 rating and the drumming it took from critics at the time

But when it hit the video market all of that turned around. Whether it was people trying to see if the movie was as bad as they’d heard or boys now grown with dreams of seeing Berkley nude for the first time the movie took off on video raking in over $100 million. The movie was still considered a critical flop but something strange happened. The movie seemed to take on a life of its own.

For those who haven’t seen the movie let’s begin there. It tells the story of Nomi Malone, a rough and ready young woman on her way to Las Vegas to take the town by storm as their top dance. But with one reigning queen already in place, Cristal Connors (Gina Gershon), the odds of her taking over are slim. Working as a stripper to make ends me, Nomi gets into her job there. I mean REALLY gets into it. She catches the eye of Connors one night along with her boyfriend (Kyle McLachlan). Eventually Connors gets Nomi the chance to audition for the big show and eventually she tries out for the top spot. Will her dreams come true?

Directed by Jeffrey McHale, YOU DON’T NOMI takes a look at the movie all over again from his own perspective and discovers he enjoyed it more than he realized. Combining older interviews with cast and crew as well as talking to various people who have found the film their perfect feature, McHale attempts to convert the non-believers out there that the film deserves to be taken more seriously than it has in the past.

Among the various people he talks to are numerous pop culture critics who view the film as an icon of the times, finding more happening on screen than viewers and critics were willing to give it credit for in the past. They champion the films and its story line while at the same time noting the ridiculous dialogue and overblown acting. I know it’s just me but I’ve always found people who find some deep hidden meaning in things like paint splatters to be pretentious folks looking to impress others with how smart they are and how stupid the rest of the world is. No amount of adjectives can make this movie an actual classic. That being said from a craftwork standpoint it is a great film to watch with some great cinematography, set designs and set up from director Verhoeven.

Another person interviewed is a drag queen who fell in love with the film and booked it at a late night screening in a theater where others would join in mimicking the film on stage as it ran. As word spread about what was taking place the cult following popped up much like it did around the film THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, but a little racier.

Then there is an actress who went to New York to be discovered. Instead she was raped and secluded herself until her boyfriend convinced her to try out for the lead role in the stage production of a camp version of SAVED BY THE BELL being done off-Broadway. She got the past and noted how it helped her find the inner strength go on with her life. When the off-Broadway production of SHOWGIRLS came about she got the lead in that as well.

The question becomes can a movie made about what ranks on many lists as one of the worst movies made of all time be entertaining? The answer is yes, perhaps even more so than the original film itself. It was interesting to listen to these varying viewpoints of the film as well as seeing Berkley finally embrace the film for what it was in spite of it nearly killing her career. I finished still not convinced that the film was all that many here think it is but at least I came to appreciate how others could find it so.

One thing should be noted for viewers. The film uses extensive clips from the original movie and that means there are plenty of nude and simulated sex scenes on hand. If you found the original film offensive then this movie will fall into that category as well. If it doesn’t bother you then you might want to watch this and come to your own conclusions about the original film. Who knows, you might even go looking for a copy to watch all over again.

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