Category Horror Films
Women in Horror Month: Black Girls Love Horror, Too
February 1, 2021 February 1, 2021 Michelle R. Lane 2 Comments
February is Women in Horror Month (#WiHM) and Black History Month, so I decided to feature Women of Color and Black women for a month-long series of posts about horror writing and the love of horror. Fact: Black girls love horror. This month I will feature some amazing horror and dark speculative fiction writers who started out as fans and turned their love of the genre into amazing stories that you should add to your TBR pile.
But first, let's talk to die-hard horror fan, Dimi Horror (aka Diamond Rae Cruikshank), who has created a social media presence and podcast series examining horror and other speculative genres from the POV of a Black woman, Black Girls Love Horror Too. Her often unique and humorous approach to reviewing horror media provides a perspective that has traditionally been marginalized or completely invisible.
Dimi Horror's Origin Story
I have been a fan of Horror since elementary school and a fan of the mysterious since I was atoddler. As a toddler, I found myself climbing into my Dad's friend's piranha fish tank and nothing happened to me. Not even one scratch was on me once I got out of that tank. I just wanted to swim with the pretty fishes, lol . My love for all things Horror came from watching A Nightmare On Elm Street numerous times with my older cousins during our cousin sleepovers. I loved me some Freddy Krueger played by the handsome and iconic Robert E. Englund. I even once dubbed Freddy my Horror husband until I recently got married in real life. I didn't think it was respectable to call someone else my husband even if he was just a Horror husband, lol . Jaws is also a film that made me fall in love with the Horror world, and alongside that, finding my everlasting love for Sharks all at once. I had always been one to be creative and be inspired by amazing things that would leave an impression on me in my life, so blogging, posting, editing, creating content, photography, and podcasting is not new to me. In a previous relationship, before my marriage, I was inspired to create my Horror blog, it was a goal I always wanted to bring to fruition that finally happened during the process of that relationship ending. I needed an avenue to express myself. I'd normally keep behind closed doors due to my upbringing and being on my P's & Q's all the time. I also wanted to make a blog where people like me could come and feel seen, heard, loved, welcomed and respected. I wanted people to know that in this world we exist…the Akward Black Girls, the Family Black Sheep, and anyone who feels like they are categorized under "other", or living in a society that always tried to force them into boxes to fit in with mainstream culture. That doesn't work for everyone because we are all unique and different in our own ways. We live in this life while continuing to learn to be who we are as people. Horror and Nerd Culture brings all of us together. I also wanted people to know that being a Black woman doesn't mean we only love the legendary and beautiful Beyoncé but we love our Horror too, there are levels to us.
I work most days so getting to post and create Horror content for my CreepSKWAD/My Horror Familia (Family) is something I look forward to be able to do as consistently as I can. I will be getting back to making more podcast content and starting my Youtube channel soon, but until then I'm always so elated and open to collab with my CreepSKWAD/My Horror Familia (Family) whenever they invite me to be a part of their creative journey and projects.
Five Questions
GMM: Welcome to Girl Meets Monster, Dimi. Happy February 1! And, thank you for helping me kick off Women in Horror Month. In your bio you mentioned that A Nightmare On Elm Street and Jaws were the first horror movies that grabbed your attention. Would you say that you are mostly interested in horror movies from the 1970s – 1990s, or do you also enjoy the classic black and white Universal monster movies? What are some of your other favorite horror movies?
DH: Thank you, Michelle, happy to have been invited to Girl Meets Monster, such a cool name by the way! Happy February 1st, I can't believe we are in February already! Sheesh time flies. It's an awesome honor to be able to collab with awesome people in the Horror community and to be a part of this Horror month is amazing, so thanks for having me. I honestly love Horror movies from the 1970s -1990s but I also love older classic Horror films such as James Whale's Bride of Frankenstein as well as the newer Horror films like Jordan Peele's Get Out. I definitely love all the many different spectrums of Horror for sure, I feel I'd be a lame Horror fan if I didn't enjoy and get to know all the variety of Horror that's out there. Thirteen Ghosts is one of my favorite films that's highly underrated in my opinion. I love that film and all the different ghosts' histories and background stories. One of my favorite Horror film intros is Steve Beck's Ghost Ship where everyone is having a splendid, dashing time and dancing then get cut into halves and the only one left standing is the little girl who was dancing with the Captain of the ship. However, Ghost Ship overall tanked like an anchor to the bottom of the sea. It had great potential with that intro, but it just ended up being mediocre. Bernard Rose's Candyman is a terrifying favorite and I can't wait for Nia DaCosta's Candyman to finally come to theaters or streaming networks …looking forward to that and Scott Cooper's Antlers as well. A few notable mentions (favorite Horror films wise) Halloween, Scream, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, and It Follows was an absolute game changer story telling wise. The film was a totally different way of making Horror so creepy and nothing is scarier than an unseen villain that possibly never dies.
GMM: Who are your favorite movie monsters, and why? Are they the scariest in your opinion, or do really scary monsters fall into a different category?
DH: Jaws is one of my favorite movie monsters because I am a shark and Shark Week fanatic! Jaws ruled those waters and the Summer. No one was getting in that water without Jaws' permission. To this day there has been no shark film in Horror to beat Jaws, close but no cigar when it comes to other shark films. Deep Blue Sea, The Meg and Open Water are the best shark films able to compete with a classic film like Jaws.
In Creepshow 2, "The Raft" (Lake Blob) creature/monster was terrifying and pretty awesome. You couldn't escape the "Lake Blob", it was gonna take your friends out while hearing their screams as they disintegrated in front of you one by one. Then on top of that it saves you for last as you try swimming to the shore thinking you would survive, and it eats you alive anyway. Deep sea creatures are the best because we have only explored like 5 percent of the oceans on our planet and the possibilities of discovering dangerous yet beautiful never before seen species/creatures/monsters are endless. Mirror creatures like in the film Oculus and Mirrors are also my favorite because it's terrifying when your normal perception of life becomes an illusion that leads you to your fatal end. Straight up mindfuck. You have the typical great classic Witches, Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies, lab experiment creatures that went terribly wrong, Spiders, Sirens, Ghosts, Demons, and Aliens that all have their own categories and I love those monsters/creatures, too, but it's the unusual ones that scare me even more than those do. In It Follows, the creature/monster was a walking paranormal STD, like you had no clue what the hell that thing is or its origins as to where it even came from. Similar to Jeepers Creepers, "The Creeper" who wanted to eat your peepers was so horrid because it has wings, sharp teeth, can smell you in an animalistic way (forever knowing your human scent and if it liked your scent he was going to do whatever it took to find you and there is nothing you can do about it), it can regrow its limbs and is scarily intelligent, and also weirdly human like. The fact that "The Creeper" was based on a real-life serial killer gave it even more chilling vibes. It's the unknown and never before seen elements to a creature/monster that gets anyone to shake in their boots.
GMM: I love your cosplay pictures. Do you attend cons or other events where you cosplay? What characters have you cosplayed as in the past? What characters would you like to cosplay as the most?
DH: Thank you! Once things open back up, I would definitely love to attend my first Horror related Con, first Comic Con, and other Con events. I haven't attended any Cons as yet, but in the future, I definitely will experience more than a few of the Cons. I did the Pink (Soulful) Power Ranger, Melanin Eleven from Stranger Things, Regina King's Watchmen character Angela Abar/Sister Night, Bride of Frankenstein, and Teen Wolf's Were Jaguar just to name a few, and definitely more to come in the future. Some of the cosplays I'd love to do is a female version of the gray suited Gary Oldman in Dracula. I'd love to cosplay as the villains from MTV's Teen Wolf: Kanima, Oni, and Nogitsune, all female versions of them. And, it would be fun to recreate Backstreet Boys' "Everybody," inspired by classic Horror creatures, with a female twist to it. I love Cosplay but I'll always put my own twist to it, and it will never be an accurate version of that Cosplay character. It's more fun adding my own twist to my Cosplay character of choice. So many Cosplays to choose from and so little time. I'd try all of them if I could.
GMM: What does your family think of your interests? Were you discouraged from watching horror movies or participating in "nerd culture" while you were growing up? Does your husband share your interests?
DH: I feel that I'm definitely the Black Sheep in my family, and I'm honestly proud of that now. It took some time to really own, honor, and understand why I am the Black Sheep in my family. I've decided that being a Black Sheep is my own inner superpower and my path in life is my own path. No one could ever take that away from me. No one in my family really likes Horror, with the exception of my dad, and no one in my family understands nerd culture and cosplaying. I believe for some time they really didn't understand me and would try to change the fact I that I do love Horror and things connected to nerd culture. I was told by my grandma (my mom's mom) that liking Horror means something is messed up in my head and only serial killers like Horror. My grandma is the diamond of my heart and she grew up in Trinidad and Tobago with a Catholic upbringing, so honestly our mindsets are very different from one another understandably, and the same goes with the majority of my family, including my mom. My dad's mom, whom I am also super close to, has always been super accepting of my nerdiness and my love for Horror. She's not a fan of Horror but she absolutely supports my love for Horror and the things I'm passionate about. It's because of her that I love listening to scary stories on audiobook to peacefully fall asleep to, especially during rainy weather.
My love for Star Wars, Jaws, and films in general, comes from my childhood experiences with my dad and grandma (Dad's mom). I watched Jaws as a child with my dad and fell in love with sharks from that point on. Everyone else in my family was terrified by sharks, and I was absolutely fascinated by them and any deep-sea creatures like the Kraken/The Giant Squid.
Nowadays, I'm far too grown to be told what I can and can't do. However, back in the day, I'd get scolded and into trouble for doing what I wanted to do while growing up. Some of that helped me stay out of serious trouble and some of that blocked my growth, which also blocked my understanding that it is okay to be my own person even if I stand out in my family or elsewhere. To really learn about myself, I had to "crash into the wall headfirst" and give myself my own crash collision course to understand myself and what I'm about…what's for me and what's not. Growing up, I got into a lot of arguments because I wouldn't allow someone in my family to have the last word over what I was going to do. Then, I learned how to pick and choose my battles and also learned that not everything had to be an argument or a battle. I usually went against the norm, and was always curious as to why I couldn't do something. The whole parental authority attitude/mindset of "because I said so" and "I'm the adult you have to listen to me" or "when you get your own house and pay rent then you can do whatever you want to do" thing did not agree with me. Between family and some teachers, I had major beef growing up, but all were valuable life lessons. My husband, Cole, and I got together because of our similar passions, interests, hobbies, creative natures, and he loves Horror just as much as I do. Honestly, he's the only man that I've ever been romantically linked to, who has loved Horror and films just as much as me. He's a brilliant, rare, special, vibrant, and endlessly talented soul, and I love him so infinitely. We come from very different cultural backgrounds and upbringings, but Horror is definitely a major factor in our union/marriage. Plus, he's hot AF! He's really tall, has gorgeous eyes and is beautiful on the inside as well as the outside. He's also tough/brave and served in the military. I am truly so grateful to God/the Universe/my Spiritual Family for bringing this union together because our bond is so mystical and out of this world. That's enough mush for now.
GMM: What horror movies are you looking forward to the most in 2021 and beyond? What is your dream cast for a remake of one of your favorite movies?
DH: Horror films I'm excited to see are Candyman, Antlers, Halloween Kills, A Quiet Place 2, and Spiral. The non-Horror films I am excited to see are Batman, Sinister 6, and Suicide Squad 2. I'm excited to see The Conjuring world expand and the old-school Universal monster movies reboot and expand. The Invisible Man was an awesome start to that thus far. I am excited to see the new Blade and (my guilty pleasure) Fast and Furious (future) films. I heard that Jordan Peele is remaking The People Under the Stairs, and I'm excited because that's also one of my favorite films and Jordan Peele is an amazing director/producer. I'm undecidedly excited for the rumored Gremlins remake and I'm PISSSED about the rumored Jaws remake. It can't be done. It just can't. Leave perfection at peace. As much as I'm a sucker for the Jaws film franchise, the Jaws sequels, should have taught people that Jaws doesn't need to be remade because not all Jaws films were created equally, or skillfully made as the first Jaws (I still love all the Jaws films though, lol). It's best to leave a film like Jaws perfect as is. Some remakes are awesome, but I feel that once a movie is already great it doesn't need a remake, but if an original film version is crappy, it could possibly use a remake but it's gotta be done well. It's very risky making a remake or reboot. Even though I enjoyed The Meg, I really would have loved for Eli Roth to direct the movie like he was originally supposed to, with one scene directed by Quentin Tarantino like he did with Robert Rodriguez for Frank Miller's Sin City. The Meg was a cutesy action-packed film. I WANT THE GORE AND HORROR on a similar level as the first Jaws and they can cast Samuel L. Jackson, Naomie Harris, Zoe Saldana, Angela Basset, Taraji P. Henson, Regina King, Yahya Abdul-Mateen (based of their chemistry in Watchmen), The Rock (Dwayne Johnson), Idris Elba, and Kevin Hart for comical relief. Plus, Kevin and Dwayne are bffs in real life. It's a perfect cast! A slightly comical, horrifying, and gory shark film, but with an almost all Black cast. No one has seen that in a shark Horror film. I would also remake Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark from top to bottom. Guillermo Del Toro would be the director and costume director/creator because that film was absolute TRASH! I wish that was a copycat version of the film and not the actual film…(however there are plenty of copycat films that are even better than the original, but not in this case AT ALL). The books are super scary and though it was introduced to me in my elementary school years, doesn't mean the film needed to be directed at children. If anything, the children who grew up reading those books are all grown up now, and they needed to direct the film to the adults who grew up with the stories as kids. It was too cutesy. Those stories are still scary even though I'm an adult. However, great costuming done by Guillermo Del Toro as always.
GMM: Thanks again for stopping by, Dimi.
DH: Thank you for having me, it was lovely to do this Horror interview, wonderful and great questions.
Fiction Fragments: Jessica Guess
October 16, 2020 October 16, 2020 Michelle R. Lane 1 Comment
Last week, I spoke with Mexican American expat V. Castro about her erotic vampire fiction and I'm still thinking about that scene in the Irish pub, wondering what filthy delights await her vampire protagonist.
This week, I'm excited to welcome Jessica Guess to Girl Meets Monster. I recently picked up a copy of Jessica's horror novella, Cirque Berserk (2020) and couldn't put it down.
Jessica Guess is a writer and English teacher who hails from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She earned her Creative Writing MFA from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2018 and is the founder of the website Black Girl's Guide to Horror where she examines horror movies in terms of quality and intersectionality.
Her creative work has been featured in Luna Station Quarterly and Mused BellaOnline Literary Review. Her debut novella, Cirque Berserk, is available for purchase on Amazon. You can get weekly content from Jessica by joining her Patreon at www.patreon.com/JessicaGuess
GMM: Welcome to Girl Meets Monster, Jessica. I loved Cirque Berserk, because it captured so many of the things I loved about watching slasher movies while I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s. The major difference being that one of your main characters is a young Black girl, and her love interest is Latino…or possibly Native American. Most of the slasher movies I watched didn't have Black people in them. The ones that did have Black characters usually killed them off right away, to the point that this is now considered a trope in horror films. How did this absence of Black characters affect you as a viewer and reader?
JG: I think that being a huge fan of horror while being constantly reminded of how much the genre disregards Black people created a resentment in me. Don't get me wrong, I really do love horror. I love the mythologies, and the blood, and the monsters, but for a very long time it has felt like we're a punchline in the genre. I think it's like that for anyone who isn't a white, cis-gendered, heterosexual person in horror. That makes me want to kind of right that wrong in my own writing. I want to see all the things I didn't see growing up.
NOTE: Jessica told me Rocehelle's love interest is Native American, but asked me not to reveal his name to avoid spoilers. So, go pick up a copy of Cirque Berserk and find out for yourself.
GMM: I recently watched American Horror Story: 1984, and during each episode I was calling out the names of the movies or characters they were referencing based on the way someone was murdered. What are some of the horror movies or scenes from movies that inspired your work? Are there murders in your book that mimic the tropes of slasher movies?
JG: Definitely Urban Legend. I think that movie has some of my favorite slasher kills ever. I wanted the kills in Cirque Berserk to be as memorable as those and have a type of irony that they did in Urban Legend. An example of that is the opening of when the girl in Urban Legend is driving with an ax murderer in her back seat and "Turn Around Bright Eyes" starts playing. That's definitely an inspiration for a scene in Cirque Berserk. That scene in particular also takes some inspiration from The Strangers: Prey at Night. I just like the idea of upbeat music playing when something horrific is happening.
GMM: AHS: 1984 uses music not only to trigger nostalgia, but to put us in the setting and create a sense of atmosphere to remind us which time period we're witnessing on screen. How did you use music in your novella to create nostalgia for the characters and your readers? What other details did you use to give us a sense of the time and setting? Did you rely on any specific horror tropes, or did you try to create something new?
JG: So, the song titles set up the sections of the novella, but they also give a hint to what the theme of that section is. For instance, in the "Rhythm of the Night" section, we finally figure out exactly what is happening, which is to say we're figuring out the rhythm of this night. It helped me to frame the story while also relying on the nostalgia and atmosphere those songs create. As for tropes, I hoped to take some old tropes and re-invent them. I think that's what we're supposed to do as writers, take tropes that could be stale or overused, and find a way to make them new and fresh. I like to think I did that with Rochelle and Brian. I wanted the reader to start out thinking they knew exactly where the story was going and then realize they didn't know at all.
Karlie, Karlie, Where Did You Go? (Excerpt)
I watched Erica's blue impala through my rearview mirror. I was parked with the back of my car to the back of her car. Why had she pulled in to an orange orchard? Did she spot me? Why wasn't she getting out of her car? A cold sweat formed on my forehead. What if she told Aaron?
Just then, Erica got out of her car and walked up to the storefront that was shaped like a cottage. Maybe she wanted to pick oranges. Or maybe she was calling Aaron to warn him. My palms were suddenly slipping off the steering wheel from sweat. Should I follow her or just go home? I gripped the keys ready to start the ignition but stopped. I had to find out what happened to my cousin.
"Hello darlin'," an old gray-haired white woman said from the cash register. "Care to try some orange and peach jam? I make it here myself."
"No, thank you. I'm uh, just looking around," I said.
"If you want to pick from our grove, you just come on up here and grab a basket and go on out back. You can take a guide with you. Sometimes people get lost back there you know."
I smiled at her. "Did a girl just come in here? One with deep brown skin and frizzy brown hair and a red hoody? We're supposed to meet up."
The woman nodded. "Said she was pickin' some orange for her mom."
"I guess I'll take a basket."
"That'll be a dollar fifty for the basket."
I gave the woman the money and she offered me a wide wicker basket and pointed me towards the back of the cottage where the wide grove started.
Was Erica really doing something kind for her parent? Did I follow her for nothing? Maybe this was a distraction so that Aaron could hide evidence while I was off chasing Erica. Damn it! Did I fall for some trick?
I walked down a row of oranges and looked for a glimpse of Erica's hoody. The sun was beating down hard but there was a breeze so the sweat forming on my forehead wasn't as much as it had been for the past few days. The citrusy smell of oranges invaded my nostrils as I turned and looked for any glimpse of Erica.
I moved further and further into the grove trying to keep the entrance in sight.
Sometimes people get lost back there, you know.
I moved passed orange tree after orange tree but still, there was so sign of Erica.
"Erica?" I called finally. It was a long shot but maybe she'd answer. "Erica, I just wanted to talk to you for a second. My name is Lisa Yen, I'm Karlie Yen's cousin. The girl who died? I saw you with Aaron earlier. I just need to ask you some questions."
Just then I saw a flash of the red to the right of me. I turned. Nothing there. Instead just more orange trees. I moved to where I saw the flash.
"Erica?" I called, running further into the grove.
A feeling of dreadful realization rose inside of me. No one knew where I was. I didn't tell Travis where I was going. That woman in the cottage thought I was here with a friend. This grove went on for acres. I looked back to try to see the entrance but all I saw was more orange trees.
"Shit," I whispered. I tried retracing my steps to find a way out. My heart was beating loud and fast in my chest and sweat poured down my neck.
My bra was noticeably wet now and uncomfortable. I had only been in the grove for a few minutes, but I was lost and drenched and starting to get scared. I tried to take a deep breath but couldn't.
"Fuck," I whispered as I frantically checked my pockets for my inhaler.
I must have left it in the car. I forgot how bad my asthma got in Everpeirce. Orlando was a little better even though the air was dryer there. The problem with Everpierce was that there were more swamplands, dust mites, and pollen from all the different citrus orchards in the air here. And here I was in the middle of a field of oranges, with no inhaler. Smart girl.
"Shit," I whispered trying not to panic. I stopped walking and managed to slow my breathing a bit though knew I still needed my medicine. I walked in the direction that I thought I came from, but nothing. No entrance, just oranges.
Just then there was another flash of red just to the left of me.
"Erica? I just want to talk!"
"Is that why you were following me?"
I turned around and there she was. Her hoody was pulled over her head and her sleeves pulled all the way down to her wrists despite the overwhelming heat.
"Erica?" I said stupidly. I was out of breath again now. The heat, orange blossom pollen, and fear not doing my asthma any favors. Erica on the other hand looked fine, cool, and not scared in the least.
"Why are you following me?" She stared at me, her hands in her hoody pocket.
"I-I just wanted to ask you some questions," I said, hands on my knees. "Hey—do you—know the way—out?" I said between gasps. "I'm—lost".
Erica stared at me silently, not moving. Her face was expressionless and unreadable, but it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention. Her dark brown eyes moved around, seeming to look if anyone else was in the orchard with us.
"It's r-really hot out here," I said gasping a little. She turned back to face me but remained silent. "Aren't you hot?"
Her eyes narrowed in on me, her face still unreadable.
"E-Erica," I said, starting to get dizzy. "Can't breathe—please—help."
Do you have a fiction fragment? How about your friends? Would you like to recommend someone to me aside from yourself? Drop me a line at chellane@gmail.com. See you next week!
Guidelines: Submit 500-1000 words of fiction, up to 5 poems, a short bio, and a recent author photo to the e-mail above.
Fiction Fragments: Jeff Carroll
December 6, 2019 December 2, 2019 Michelle R. Lane 3 Comments
I'm almost embarrassed to admit that it's been a year since my last Fiction Fragments post, which featured black female horror writer, R. J. Joseph. In the time that has past since the last post, a lot has happened. I published my debut novel. I published two short stories in horror anthologies (Terror Politico: A Screaming World in Chaos and The Monstrous Feminine: Dark Tales of Dangerous Women), and wrote a bunch of other blog posts for Girl Meets Monster, Speculative Chic, and Medium. I attended my first Necon and sold all the copies of Invisible Chains my publisher brought to the Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival, and was finally able to answer the question: Am I a Real Horror Writer? Spoiler alert: The answer is yes.
But, that's enough about me. Today, I am thrilled to share a fragment by Jeff Carroll with you. I met Jeff Carroll a few years ago at StokerCon, but I didn't have a chance to pick his brain and talk about his writing. So, I'm excited to have him as my first guest in this second season of Fiction Fragments.
Jeff Carroll is a writer and a filmmaker. He is pioneering what he calls Hip Hop horror, Sci-Fi and fantasy. His stories always have lots of action and a social edge. He has written and produced two films, Holla If I Kill You and Gold Digger Killer which won BEST Picture at the International Hip Hop film festival. His short stories have appeared in both The Black Science Fiction Society's anthology and their magazine. He is also is the Hip Hop dating coach is a leading voice of Hip Hop reform and his book The Hip Hop Dating Guide is used by public schools and community groups nationwide. Jeff Carroll is also the author of the non-fiction book The Hip Hop Dating Guide. When he is not writing Sci-Fi stories he enjoys speaking on Healthy Dating to college and high school students everywhere and goes by Yo Jeff. He writes out of South Florida where he lives with his wife and youngest son.
GMM: Welcome to Girl Meets Monster, Jeff. Tell me about Hip Hop horror, Sci-Fi and fantasy. How do you define these genres? What characterizes them as having a Hip Hop element? And, when did you begin developing these genres?
JC: I started calling my works Hip Hop horror in 2003 when I was promoting my movie Holla If I Kill You. The movie had some basic differences from many of the other films. It wasn't just Black people in a horror film it was a different type of character behavior. Hip Hop Horror and sci-fi are stories that have the energy of hip hop subculture. They are multicultural, urban and young type of stories. Hip hop horror and sci-fi are based in hip hop culture and not the music only. However, I did write a hip hop story. Rasheeda the Zombie Killer is the closet story I have to a Hip Hop music influenced story.
GMM: Why speculative fiction? What draws you to these genres? What stories influenced your writing?
JC: I was drawn to speculative fiction because I am a big dreamer. I am also a futurist at heart. I love thinking about the future and solutions to the problems of the world. I loved "What if" stories like The Spook Who Sat by the Door and Planet of the Apes. Those stories influenced my Harlem Shake series. Stories like L. A. Banks' (RIP) Vampire Huntress Legend series motivated my first horror book Thug Angel: Rebirth of a Gargoyle. I enjoyed the urban setting and the real world connection. I remember reading Street Lethal by Steven Barnes and was blow away about the freedom of sci-fi. You could destroy the world and reshape it in any way you want. And finally, my favorite sci-fi book Zuro!: A Tale of Alien Avengers by the late William Simms showed me how revolutionary a Black imagination could be. My book Welcome to Boss Lady's Planet was more like Star Wars and Serenity than Zuro!: A Tale of Alien Avengers because I thought I needed to lay off the Black story lines to get a publishing deal.
GMM: Do you have any new film projects in the works? Can you tell us about it?
JC: Yes, I have a movie coming out this winter called The Death Pledge. It tells the story of a group of pledgees that have to spend the night excavating an African burial ground. It features my first monster like Jason and Freddy.
Excerpt from The Programmable Man, by Jeff Carroll
Lonely Love
Sometime in the not too distant future a girl waited for a booty call. Stacey Maplewood a single independent woman who is the head pharmacist and the only female in charge of a drug store in the city. In her bedroom the smell of jasmine flavored incense filled her candle lit room as Stacey lay in her bed. Her arm dangled off the side of her bed holding a glass of wine. On a well-decorated table not far from her bed was another wine glass, which was empty and next to that was a bottle of 1978 Merlot. The décor was straight out of a Rick James song. On the same table was a plate of scallops wrapped with prosciutto crudo (raw ham) with small cubes of aged cheddar cheese and wheat crackers. Her bedroom was decorated in a dark red and white matching the wine. Inside the wall opposite from her bed a clock said 12:00 a.m. Dressed in a red silk nightgown with a matching red waist clenching garter belt skirt and red net-laced stockings, which came right above her knees Stacey looked like a French can-can dancer. Not wearing any panties on she let her hand slide between her spread open legs and lightly massage her vaginal hairs to the soft tunes of her classic love music mix with all of the import old school singers and groups. She mixed groups like Journey and Foreigner who song Feels like the first time is her favorite. She had singers like the two Barry's Barry Manilow and Barry White and of course that British singer Maxwell whose album runs from beginning to end with no interruption. She drifts into a semiconscious slumber. She listens to the words of the love from all of the crooners.
"That's right love me baby" she says under her breath. After being single for so long she had become a skilled pro at pleasing herself and in fact she had gotten so good at it she was scared she had ruined herself. Maxwell's music had become her regular stimulant. "Damn they don't write songs like this anymore" Her hand moves with melody and her back starts to arch. Her eyes close and her body temperature increases. As her natural body fluids start to mix with the jasmine incense, she lets out a soft sigh. Her sigh reminds her that no matter how good she is she can only make up half the feeling that a real bedroom partner can give. I can't believe I have to do this to myself again and whoever said the hand is mightier than the sword never had a good sword she thought.
Stacey is a child of the early years of music, which she refers to as the second golden age 1980's and 90s. She feels nothing has changed since then. Men are still dogs and it's still hard for an independent woman. Even though the 80s was decades ago things haven't changed. To her it was weird how man had solved so many problems with science but still doesn't have a clue how to deal with man to woman relations. We could create a man for a cell of another man in something as small as a Petri dish but we can make one who knows how to treat a woman. Bullshit future. People in the 80s use to dream about the future flying cars and stuff but with no man who gives a fuck about a flying car. Stacey would rather go back to riding horses when a man only traveled around in his village. Shit of it weren't for selfsex she would have surely slipped into a permanent depression. She was so close to marriage with her X two years ago. So, close she could taste it.
Damn she thought Martin was going to be the one who was a break from the norm. He was fine. She met him filling a prescription for Vicodin. He was recovering from knee surgery after a basketball accident. He even came to her spinning class with her. For the life of her she could not figure out why he wouldn't call her when he was running late. She had been dating him for only two weeks and he had given her just about every excuse for coming late to their dates. He had such interesting conversations. He was her African prince. He talked about how his father had three wives and he never wanted to be like him. He had gained her trust. Maybe he was different than American men. She was still willing to give him a try. Waiting for him always made her mind wander. She would not let her head drift into fully out distrust because once she went there breaking up was the next thing to happen. So, she focused back on her handwork to take herself to a place where her thoughts could not penetrate.
"Excuse me ma'am" the voice made Stacey jump interrupting her magic. It was a mechanical voice. One Stacey had gotten used to but in this moment any voice would have startled her. She quickly moved and sat up so fast she spilled her wine. She looked at the clock and it was 1:00 a.m. She covered herself with her gown. A human like robot stood outside her bedroom door and continued "I have finished washing the dinner dishes and bagging the garbage". Spike's metallic finish was clean and sparkling like the day she bought him. "May I stand by the door until your date arrives?" he continued.
Damn these men she thought. Turning the music off she says, "Thank you Spike." Taking a deep breath, she finishes "Sure stand by the door and let Martin in when he arrives." She rolls over and takes a sip of her wine finishing it.
"As you wish ma'am" Spike says as he turns and walks down the stairs.
Spike was the treat she bought herself after she heard of her X boyfriends wedding. She ordered the male Z200 home protection model. She named him Spike after the bulldog on her favorite old school cartoon Tom and Jerry. Her personal robot made her feel secure guarding her house at night and charging itself during the day. The Z200 is very life like it looks just like a human. The come in male and female versions for the comfort of the owner. In a short time these robots have become a staple in almost every household. They provide both security and assistance replacing both domestic help and home security systems. Many people like Stacey have gotten so comfortable with their laser red eyes that they have allowed them to replace even pets.
Stacey grabs a small remote and pushes a button labeled Digi screen. The entire wall lights up and a woman standing in Times Square in front of a women next to a male robot.
"That's right We've heard from hundreds of satisfied customers. So, why should you be unhappy and lonely. Let The Ultimate Companion fulfill your needs."
That's it I quit. Martin is just like every other man. I should have never given him my number. Why do I keep believing Jennifer when she says he's nice? Stacey thought.
The picture on the wall changes to a man throwing a Frisbee in a park with a dog running to catch it in the air. Then the picture changes to an old man playing chess in the park with a robot man. "There are limits to what your dog give you."
Paying no attention to the infomercial Stacey turns the channel to a lifetime movie and slowly falls asleep.
Next week, Girl Meets Monster chats with Lucy A. Snyder. Do you have a fiction fragment you'd like to share? Send it to me at chellane@gmail.com. See you next week!
Am I a Real Horror Writer?
July 14, 2019 Michelle R. Lane 2 Comments
Last night, I finally sat down to watch Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019). If you're a horror fan and haven't watched this amazing documentary, I highly recommend it. Based on Robin R. Means Coleman's book, Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present (2011), the film not only discusses the historical lack of representation of black characters in horror films, but also examines the misrepresentations of black people when they appeared in them. As you might expect, the filmmakers and actors discussing the films and their historically important contexts talk about their fears and experiences with racism while trying to create art within a genre that subconsciously depicts monsters as The Other in relation to white people and culture in place of ethnic minorities.
After watching the documentary, I was inspired to watch a film from the Blaxploitation era, Sugar Hill (1974), which is about a woman, Sugar Hill, who uses Voodoo to avenge the death of her fiance. The film opens with what appears to be a Voodoo ritual with black people in traditional Haitian Voodoo garb dancing to a serious drum beat. I couldn't help thinking of Angel Heart (1987), and expected to see Epiphany Proudfoot show up with her chicken. As the opening credits end, so does the dance and we become aware of the fact that the people dancing aren't in a secluded location away from prying eyes, they are actually performers at a place called Club Haiti. They are performing Voodoo for a predominantly white audience. They are literally performing an aspect of blackness that is a stereotypical representation of black people in horror films. This also made me think of a similar scene in Wes Craven's The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988).
Typically, in horror films, Voodoo is shown as something evil, something to be feared. Depicting Voodoo practitioners as women who use their magic to hurt others, or exact vengeance, is a trope that I worried about perpetuating while writing Invisible Chains. I didn't want to stick to the common stereotypes associated with black women, especially mambos, in horror narratives.
While Sugar is a strong female lead in a horror film, the film is still riddled with tropes like dangerous black women using magic for revenge. Her fiance, Langston, owns Club Haiti. A white gangster wants to buy it, but Langston refuses. So, he sends his henchmen to kill him. They beat him to death and leave his body in the parking lot of the club for Sugar to find.
Sugar doesn't just use magic, she calls upon Baron Samedi who raises an army of the undead made up of former slaves who died of disease while still on slave ships. Their bodies were dumped in the water and washed up on the shore near Sugar's childhood home. So, this movie has a lot going for it in terms of supernatural horror that looks at racism in the United States (in the past and in the present of the 1970s).
In exchange for Baron Samedi's help, Sugar offers up her soul, but he's more interested in her body. But, Sugar's final revenge is taken when Baron Samedi takes the racist girlfriend of the gangster back to the Underworld with him in place of Sugar. In my opinion, that gave the film a happy ending.
Black women in roles like Sugar are viewed as frightening and dangerous because they wield power. My protagonist struggles to accept her strengths and often downplays or hides her abilities for fear of being punished for either her knowledge or power. Her strength is a secret and she doesn't make use of her power until she's pushed to the limit. She protects herself and others, rather than seeking vengeance.
I worried that by writing her in this way, people wouldn't accept her as being "authentic," and I struggled with my decision, which I think says a lot more about me as a writer and how I see myself than it does about my character.
I also struggled with the belief that because this narrative isn't a traditional horror story — a slave narrative with a black female protagonist — people wouldn't recognize it as a horror novel. In fact, people challenged the notion that I was writing horror while I was in my MFA program. But, as Tananarive Due puts so succinctly in Horror Noire, "Black history is black horror."
I already knew that what I had written is without doubt a horror novel, but having my beliefs confirmed by another writer I respect and admire made me feel a lot better about releasing this novel into the world. Black women have plenty of horror stories to tell, and perhaps, a female slave is the most qualified protagonist for an historical horror story set in America.
Invisible Chains will be released in a week on July 22, so my anxiety is on the rise. But after watching Horror Noire and Sugar Hill, I feel more confident about how I chose to write my protagonist, Jacqueline, and I may actually be a horror writer.
Fuck, Kill, Eat: Werewolves and the Death of Love
June 13, 2018 August 22, 2018 Michelle R. Lane Leave a comment
I've been thinking about werewolves a lot lately.
No, really, like a lot.
I recently listened to the audiobook of Glen Duncan's The Last Werewolf, which is probably one of my favorite books of all time. I own a print copy and have read it twice, but decided to listen to it in my car on my way to work over the course of two weeks. I have a 40-minute drive to and from work Monday – Friday, and when I don't feel like listening to music I listen to audiobooks that I download for free through an online service provided by my local library.
Over the past several months I listened to two Joe Hill novels, Heart-Shaped Box and NOS4A2, and the first two novels in the Vampire Diaries series by L. J. Smith. I had to stop listening to the Vampire Diaries novels, because I was getting pissed off at the fact that there are no people of color in the stories, and Elena Gilbert is a spoiled rich white girl who doesn't deserve the love and attention of either Salvatore brother. I prefer the TV series to the novels mainly because of the diversity of characters and well…Damon Salvatore is a beautiful monster.
I would happily listen to more Joe Hill novels in my car, but I've either read or listened to all of them and last summer I even listened to Doctor Sleep and got my Charlie Manx fix through the world(s) shared between Joe Hill and Stephen King. I got very excited while listening to NOS4A2 when Charlie Manx talks about the different "inscapes" and the people he's met that use them — Pennywise's Circus (IT), the True Knot (Doctor Sleep), Christmasland (NOS4A2), the Treehouse of the Mind (Horns), the Night Road and Craddock McDermott (Heart-Shaped Box). Seriously, NOS4A2 is an Easter egg treasure-trove for readers of King and Hill. Treat yourself!
Reality has been kicking my ass, so my goal when choosing entertainment of any kind is to get as far from reality as possible. I often jokingly tell people that if a TV show, movie, or book doesn't have vampires, werewolves, demons, witches, ghosts, or other paranormal characters, I'm not interested. But, it's not really a joke.
I have been feeding my brain a steady diet of paranormal romance and dark speculative fiction. I binge-watched seasons 12 and 13 of Supernatural recently and now I'm suffering from Winchester withdrawal. Fox decided to cancel Lucifer, so I watched the last two bonus episodes and now that's over and done. I started rewatching season 2 of Preacher to psyche myself up for season 3, but I'm not 100% sure of the date of its return to AMC. Then, on a whim, I decided to finally watch Lost Girl on Netflix. It has a Buffy vibe that I really enjoy and it is loaded with sexy, interesting, and often hilarious supernatural creatures. I like the dynamics between the Dark and Light Fae, I like the slow unfolding of the long cultural and political histories of this dual society, and I like the relationships that form between the characters. But, I'm not going to lie, the main reason why I'm watching right now is because of a certain werewolf.
In the first season of Lost Girl, Dyson and the main character, Bo Dennis, become lovers. Because he is a werewolf chock full of Id and raging sexual energy, he is the first lover she's ever had that didn't die after having sex with her. Which, you know, is kind of a big deal when you're a succubus.
I mean, imagine if you had spent most of your adult life making love to people you're attracted to or have strong feelings for, and each time you follow through on your sexual attraction, they end up dead. Sex with you is literally deadly. You are the embodiment of the death of love. Then, one day, you not only discover what you are and why your partners are dying, but you also find a mate who can provide you with what you need — companionship, acceptance, answers to your questions, finger-licking mega-boost sexual energy, and death-free sex. Death-free sex that is totally mind-blowing for both of you. You'd be tempted to think that love might still be in the cards for you.
I mean, love is still in the cards unless the person you love loves you so much that they inadvertently sacrifice their passion for you in an effort to save your life. Hence, the death of love. I mean, what's more tragic than loving someone so much that you sacrifice everything for them with the consequence of never being able to love them again?
I've been on a werewolf kick for a while. Like I said, before I started watching Lost Girl on Netflix roughly a week ago, I listened to Glen Duncan's The Last Werewolf, read by the late Robin Sachs, who lent his uber-sexy deep British accent to the first-person narrator, Jake Marlowe. Jake is a 200-year-old British werewolf who is facing the certainty of extinction of his species.
For most of the novel, he accepts the fact that death is coming for him. In fact, he welcomes it. After 200 years, 147 of which he's spent as a monster killing and eating humans, he's done. He believes he's seen it all and there are no new mysteries awaiting him. And then, the Universe has a few more laughs at his expense.
I suppose that most werewolf stories are really about love and it's loss when you examine them closely enough. Lycanthropy is typically viewed as a curse that ruins the lives of the people who contract it. In most cases, lycanthropy is passed from werewolf to human through a bite. Unless lycanthropy is inherited through a family bloodline, or achieved through magical means, like wearing a belt made from a wolf's pelt with a little black magic for good measure, werewolves are usually the survivors of violent attacks. And, once their physical wounds heal, the psychological ones are usually just beginning. If the werewolf has a conscience, they will most likely experience the early stages of a mental collapse after the first full moon when they turn into a homicidal maniac in wolf form.
Jake Marlowe became a werewolf because he was bitten by one and during his first transformation he killed his wife. After killing and eating her, he read her journal and discovered that she was pregnant. His first act as a werewolf was to literally kill and eat love. For 147 years, he spent his life observing the sacred rites of werewolves: Fuck, Kill, Eat. He never found love again. At least, not until he realizes he's about to be extinct. The Universe likes to laugh at us, but it seems to be especially jovial where monsters are concerned. At least romantic monsters who cling to their humanity in the midst of an extreme identity crisis. Jake assumes he's the last living werewolf on Earth until he meets his female counterpart, Tallula Demetriou. So, not only is Jake no longer the last werewolf on Earth, but now he has a reason to live: Love.
So, what's the deal with werewolves and romance? Well, who doesn't want a passionate lover driven by their Id with superhuman strength, stamina, and a biological need to mate for life? A werewolf mate will literally kill people to keep you safe…or as an insane response to their unbridled jealousy.
At the heart of all werewolves is murderous rage and rapacious sexual energy. Left unchecked, they commit atrocities like Jake Marlowe killing his wife and unborn child, and while in human form they are often slaves to their libido. Without love, werewolves are basically fucking, killing, and eating machines.
Typically, werewolves are portrayed as strong, handsome men suffering from some sort of identity crisis, or extreme guilt over becoming a murder once a month, and possibly an unbearable, soul-crushing melancholy brought on by unrequited love.
What I like most about Glen Duncan's Last Werewolf Trilogy is the fact that we see the lives of werewolves from two perspectives, both male and female. Jake Marlowe's acceptance of his true werewolf self — the good, the bad, the ugly, and the murderous — makes him an oddly likeable character. He has sex with prostitutes and somehow manages to not be a misogynist. He kills and eats humans once a month and somehow manages to be endearing in his descriptions of his own psychology. He's a conundrum of horror, repulsion, intellect, cynicism, and raw sex appeal. Werewolves are mythological bad boys and they make excellent romantic characters when making terrible choices is your raison d'etre. I probably mentioned this before, but falling in love with monsters is usually a bad idea, regardless of what popular paranormal romance tells us. Whether you join Team Jacob or Team Edward, you're essentially signing up for assisted suicide.
But, what if the werewolf is female?
If the 2000 cult horror film Ginger Snaps teaches us nothing else, it teaches us that female werewolves are dangerous monsters (and super-fucking cool). Their danger lies not only in the physical power that comes with their transformations each month, but in the empowerment that comes from shedding all the bullshit societal expectations of femininity. Female werewolves embrace their sexuality and engage in the mental gymnastics required to deal with the implied duality of being vessels for the creation of life and choosing to murder to satisfy the bone-rattling hunger for human flesh.
But hey, don't most women deal with similar dualities in every day life? Women are expected to be attractive to appease the ever-present male gaze, but only if they maintain the illusion of virginity. Women who ignore the male gaze and express their unique brand of sexuality or lack of interest in sex all together are accused of being sluts or hags. Let's face it, there's nothing more monstrous than sex-positive women who take full ownership of their bodies and decide who can and can't have access to them.
Female werewolves choose their own paths. They embrace their sexuality. They choose multiple partners or mate for life. They become mothers or remain childless. They give the middle finger to societal expectations and rip out the patriarchy's jugular.
As it turns out, Jake Marlowe is not the last werewolf. Tallula, his lover, his mate, his salvation, the love of his life (no pressure), makes the inevitability of extinction less likely. In fact, he gains strength in knowing that she is a better werewolf than he could ever hope to be. Tallula struggles with internal chorus of right and wrong that developed from her American upbringing and the expectations that women can only occupy certain roles — maiden, mother, and crone. And possibly, harlot. Tallula likes sex and engages in murder with the same ardor. She and Jake kill together and then have sex over the corpse in werewolf form, which ironically brings them closer together as a couple in their human guises. Essentially, their a serial-killing couple. Murder mates. Even monsters need love, right?
So, if female werewolves are more powerful and scarier than male werewolves, that might help explain how male werewolves have become sexually-charged eye candy in a lot of paranormal romantic fiction. I'm just stating that as a fact. It's not a criticism in the least, because that would make me a hypocrite. There's nothing I enjoy more than objectifying sexy werewolves…and examining the potentially dangerous ramifications of sexualizing monsters.
Peter Rumancek of Hemlock Grove, the Netflix original series based on Brian McGreevy's 2012 novel by the same name, is an interesting monster. While he is physically appealing, his real attraction comes from his delightful irreverence and cynicism, and while his Romany upbringing predisposes him to criminal activity, his internal struggles are more geared toward keeping the people he loves safe rather than his guilt over killing and eating people.
Then we have Alcide Herveaux, who could possibly be the sexiest werewolf ever in paranormal fiction. Charlaine Harris has kindly given us countless fuckable fictional characters, but Alcide is in a class all by himself.
In Alan Ball's adaptation of Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels for the HBO series True Blood, Alcide gets a much broader story arc than he does in the novels and his flirtations with Sookie Stackhouse got much further. He's an interesting character who embodies strength and loyalty to a fault. And jealousy. Let's not forget jealousy, which is essentially Alcide's kryptonite.
I have a soft spot in my heart for Alcide because he makes worse relationship decisions than I do. I mean, this guy has TERRIBLE luck with romance and his choice of partners, including Sookie Stackhouse, are pretty much all bad ideas. Plus, there's the added bonus of him being naked a lot of the time.
So, in the process of writing this blog post I realized that I have a lot more to say about werewolves and this post might be the jumping off point for a short series of posts. I definitely feel like I have more to say about female werewolves vs. male werewolves, and I'd like to talk more about Glen Duncan's trilogy. But, I need to think about the subject a little more deeply.
Which reminds me, while I was listening to the second audiobook in the trilogy, Tallula Rising, I was able to solve or at least recognize the solution to an issue in my own writing. Tallula talks about her feelings in relation to motherhood and the acceptance of the terrible things she does and that are done to her. It was a moment of clarity that confirms the idea that in order to become a better writer, you need to read more books. I'm not going to talk about that moment of clarity in this post. I'll save it for a future post. But, I will say that the irony of finding clarity about my own identity, my own writing, and the world I live in through stories about monsters is not lost on me. My own otherness has made me feel connected to monsters since childhood and I have always felt empathy toward characters who have no control of who or what they are. I suppose, I feel a kinship to monsters and the older I get, the more I take pride in that fact.
I'm going to keep up the ongoing process of self-discovery through writing in the hopes of becoming not only a better writer, but hopefully, my best self. And, I'm going to keep thinking about werewolves.
I mean seriously, can you blame me?
Top 10 Haunted Holiday Movies
December 2, 2016 December 2, 2016 Michelle R. Lane Leave a comment
There is a time-honored tradition in Britain of gathering around the fireplace at Christmas to tell ghost stories. In fact, one of the most famous ghost stories of all time is Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. A few years ago, BBC Radio 4 featured a series of 20th century vampire stories read by David Tennant. In my opinion, there's no better Christmas treat than listening to Doctor Who read vampire stories.
Vampire hunters: sexier than vampires? Discuss.
As a long-time fan of ghost stories and horror fiction in general, and a writer of dark speculative fiction, December is one of my favorite times of year (aside from Halloween) to watch scary movies. Let's face it, any time of year is a good time to watch horror movies, but there's something about this time of year that brings out the desire to contemplate the supernatural. Maybe it's because winter is the metaphorical death of the year, or maybe it has something to do with the veil between worlds being thinnest on the Solstice, or maybe the long dark nights cause our imaginations to run wild with inherited fears of hungry wolves lurking at the edge of the woods.
Whatever the reason, it has become a tradition in my house to watch horror-themed (or at the very least black comedy) movies this time of year. I mean, sure, we watch the classics too – Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, and The Year Without a Santa Claus – which, if I'm not mistaken all have some form of monster or element of dark magic. That's right, dark magic. No one is going to convince me that the black top hat that brings Frosty to life doesn't contain black magic.
So, rather than trotting out a tired old list of holiday classics, I thought I'd share my top 10 picks for holiday films that make you laugh uncomfortably, raise the spirits, and possibly the hairs at the back of your neck. Whether you prefer suicide humor, serial killers, demonic possession, mental illness, or just a good old-fashioned ghost story, my list has something for everyone.
Black Christmas (1974): If you hate sorority girls and love serial killers, then this is the holiday film for you.
Gremlins (1984): A traveling salesman buys his son the worst Christmas present EVER.
Scrooged (1988): A modern retelling of A Christmas Carol starring Bill Murray. What more do you need to know?
Better Off Dead (1985): One of the funniest movies about teen suicide you'll ever see. Happy holidays!
The Conjuring 2 (2016): Just in case you weren't sure, The Conjuring 2 is totally a Christmas movie.
Krampus (2015): Want the kids to stop acting like sugar-fueled psychos before the holidays? Skip "Elf on the Shelf," and show them this movie.
12 Monkeys (1995): A time traveler is sent to the past to prevent the release of a deadly virus and gets a stay at a mental institution for his troubles. Holly jolly!
Edward Scissorhands (1990): A Frankenstein-like man with scissors for hands has his heart broken after leaving the safety of his home to mingle with monstrous suburbanites.
The Polar Express (2004): Children are stolen from their homes and taken on a terrifying train ride to the North Pole.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993): A heart-warming tale about cultural appropriation gone wrong.
Fuckable Fictional Characters: Lucifer
May 27, 2016 August 22, 2018 Michelle R. Lane 10 Comments
I have a confession to make. I love Lucifer. To some, this will come as no surprise, since many of my friends already know that I have a fondness for darkness. But I'm only drawn to it if there is a spark of light shining in that darkness. The promise of redemption. Evil, while intriguing, usually leaves a bad taste in my mouth — actually, it makes my guts churn and fills me with dread. True Evil (notice the capital E) is something I hope to never have to confront face-to-face. Just because someone has a reputation for being monstrous, doesn't automatically make them Evil. Especially if they've been misrepresented since the beginning of time. Lucifer is only mentioned a few times in the Bible, but talk about a reputation. People have been blaming him for all the e(E)vil in the world since he made his fabled fall from Grace. Well, him and that bitch Eve.
I recently finished watching the first season of Lucifer. Twice. Initially I was skeptical. I mean Lucifer is one of the most misunderstood, misrepresented fictional characters of all time. Yes, that's right, I said fictional character. In fact, this particular character made his first appearance in Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics in the late 1980's. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there (cough, cough, Christians) who will read this and be angry that I'm referring to Lucifer (Satan, the Devil, the Prince of Darkness, Lord of Lies, or whatever you're most comfortable calling him) as a fictional character. But here's the thing, I'm not a Christian. I'm not an atheist either. I believe in something, but I'm not exactly down with the concept of one all-powerful creator, especially not one as temperamental as the Judaeo-Christian god. If we're to believe all the promises of damnation and hellfire, there's no pleasing that guy. If Hell does exist, I'll probably end up there. Not because I'm an inherently bad or cruel person, but I tend to question everything. Including the word of God. I'm an educated uppity Negro who believes in self-determinism and indulging in hedonistic pleasures. And, since the first overly judgmental Christian pointed a finger in my direction and deemed me a heathen, I've had a special place for Lucifer in my heart.
Is it just me, or did it get hot as Hell in here?
Sympathy for the Devil: Lucifer Morningstar
Before I start talking about my new TV boyfriend, Lucifer Morningstar, I'd like to talk a little bit about the mythical origins of Lucifer and why I – as well as many other people – find him so fascinating, and yes, deserving of our sympathy.
"But who prays for Satan? Who, in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most?" – Mark Twain
Talk about a tragic character. He's the original scapegoat. In his fascinating book, The Devil: A Biography, Peter Stanford looks at the role the Devil has played in shaping how people view evil and how our perception of evil has evolved over time.
In the modern mind it [evil] is located within each individual — what Jung called our "shadow." Historically, the tendency was to place it [evil] outside — on the Devil, who exploited a weakness in the human makeup. Of the two placements, the contemporary option is harder to deal with since it imposes a responsibility on each and every individual. The traditional route, while emphasizing that God gave each man and woman free will — the capacity to choose right or wrong — did have the bonus of off-loading some of the burden onto an external force. That is why the Devil still attracts a following. He represents the easy option when we are confronted with evil. (6-7)
All of the world's sins are blamed on him, and he must forever carry the burden of punishing the wicked – or anyone who doesn't follow God's commandments. Once one of God's favorite angels, Lucifer was cast into Hell after refusing to follow God's word to the last letter. Pride was his downfall. He exercised his free will and challenged his father's authority. He rebelled.
12How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isaiah 14:12-14 (King James Version)
As a teenager, I developed an interest in Lucifer's story even though I didn't attend church. Maybe because I didn't attend church. I drew parallels between his banishment to Hell and the punishment my friends received for expressing themselves honestly. I had friends who were kicked out of their houses because they could no longer conform to the expectations their families had established for them. I don't know about you, but when I was a teen I rebelled. Most of us do. I dressed all in black (wait, I still do that), wore makeup that made me look dead, experimented with drugs, climbed into cars with strangers, flirted with married men, rode on the backs of motorcycles under the stars past midnight, made out with boys in leather jackets, read vintage smut and other banned books, watched lots of inappropriate foreign films, listened to loud rock and roll (1950's – present), wrote poetry about killing people I hated, daydreamed of becoming a vampire or succubus, partied with drag queens, played with Ouija boards, read Tarot cards, and hung out with juvenile delinquents. Sounds fun, right? There were plenty of people willing to lead me down the primrose path. Oddly enough, none of them were Satan. No matter how badly they wanted to be.
Just to piss people off, or fuck with their heads, my friends and I declared an alliance with Satan and all things considered evil by mainstream culture. We'd shout, "Hail Satan!" and then giggle like schoolgirls. Because we were schoolgirls. Schoolgirls with a very dark sense of humor who were bored with mainstream ideals of good and evil. Let me tell you, we had a great time. If we had done any of those things prior to the latter part of the 20th century, we would have been labeled as witches (in some cases we were) and punished severely. None of us really made a pact with Satan, despite what some of our classmates and teachers thought. Being accused of practicing witchcraft and worshipping Satan only made us laugh, and oddly enough gave us a certain amount of power, independence, and individual voices. Wearing black lipstick to high school doesn't make you a witch or Satan worshipper. It makes you a scapegoat. But if you stand up for yourself, speak up for your rights to wear whatever you want, and the rights of others to be different, that makes you a strong teen girl. I didn't know it at the time, but I was becoming a black lipstick wearing feminist. An uppity Satan-loving Goth Negro.
Role model.
It wasn't always easy to wake up in the morning and be myself. Some days it was fucking horrible. Knowing that about myself, I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Lucifer's plight. I knew what it meant to be misunderstood, and feared or hated for being different. People shouted at my mother from a passing car when we walked down the street, "Nigger lover!", because she was holding my hand. I was five. If there is a Hell, I hope every evil racist asshole who ever made me and my mom and dad feel afraid or feel bad about ourselves goes straight there and suffers the punishments of the damned for all eternity.
Aside from the fact that people treated my family like shit because we were ethnically mixed, I was always too heavy (fat), didn't wear the right clothes (poor), liked to read for fun (nerd), talked too much (behavioral problems), and collected Star Wars figurines (um, those are for boys). I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but at some point I decided, maybe not even consciously at first, that if people were going to see and treat me differently anyway, I might as well give them something interesting to look at.
I wish I knew the exact moment when the light bulb in my brain switched to black light and I decided to give conformity the finger. I like to imagine I was born that way, but a very specific chain of events occurred to make me think it was perfectly acceptable for a seventeen-year-old girl to smoke pot in her bedroom and listen to the Velvet Underground while lying in bed with her older punk rock boyfriend.
Before I fell under Tom Ellis's spell as Lucifer, there were a few other devils who captured my heart (and mind) in film and television. He's in good company. Although technically I'm talking about the same character, the way that different people portray and/or write about him makes this character fresh each time we encounter him in fiction. A purely evil Satan wouldn't interest me, but a complex character who finds humor in our misery, can make fun of himself, and shed light onto the human condition in a way most of us can relate to, can provide hours of entertainment for me. He's the ultimate antagonist who can inspire fear or sympathy, and more often than not, lust.
Sweet Baby Jesus!
In 1987 I went to the movie theater to see a film starring Lisa Bonet (Epiphany Proudfoot), Mickey Rourke (Harry Angel), and Robert De Niro (Louis Cypher). I wanted to see Angel Heart for two reasons: 1) it was set in New Orleans, and thanks to Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, I had developed an infatuation with the city, which would eventually become a life-long love affair, and 2) I wanted to see an interracial couple having sex on screen. I may never be as tall and thin as Lisa Bonet, but at age 15 I viewed her as the closest physical representation I could see of myself on TV and in movies. And, she was starring in a movie about voodoo set in New Orleans having completely inappropriate blood-drenched sex with an older white man who is running from the devil. Seriously? The only thing that could have made this movie any better for me as a teen would be for her to somehow turn into a vampire. But hey, she's a mambo, so I can't complain. I would LOVE to talk about the intersectionality of racial, gender, and sexual politics in Angel Heart. And, someday I will. Today is not that day.
Today I'm talking about Lucifer, and in this particular case, Louis Cypher (say it aloud in a French accent). If you ever have a chance to pick up the novel this film is adapted from, Falling Angel (1978), by William Hjortsberg, you will be amused by how many parodies of Lucifer's name one author can think up. And, it's a great story.
1996 Mass Market Cover
Robert De Niro's Lucifer is handsome, charming, well-groomed, wears expensive suits, has a taste for unusual jewelry, manicures his nails into pristine points, and has the air of a mysterious European aristocrat. He's also spooky and sexy, which is always a great combination of personality traits in my book. Louis Cypher hires a law firm, Macintosh and Winesap (get it?), to hire a private investigator, Harry Angel, to find a missing person. If you've never seen Angel Heart, shame on you. But just in case, I'll be nice and won't spoil it for you.
'Mephistopheles' is such a mouthful in Manhattan, Johnny.
Needless to say, I love this film. I've owned various copies between 1987 and the present, and I come back to it from time to time when I need a pick me up. That's right, devil-themed suspense films about voodoo cheer me up. What's it to ya'?
De Niro's Lucifer is a tough act to follow. He has so many quotable lines, and you can see he is clearly having fun in this role. I always liked Robert De Niro's work, but this role gave him a whole new depth that made me fall a little bit in love with him. It was a long time before I saw another Devil quite so appealing.
One of the most lust-inspiring, yet unsettling portrayals of Lucifer is Viggo Mortensen's in The Prophecy (1995). When I discovered this gem of a film I watched it over and over. I made my friends watch it with me over and over. It's dark, it's funny, it delves into the age old debate over good and evil, we see glimpses of the war in Heaven, Christopher Walken plays the archangel Gabriel and Viggo Mortensen is Lucifer. What's not to like?
Humans…and how I love you talking monkeys for this…know more about war and treachery of the spirit than any angel.
Mortensen, dressed in a black cassock like a priest and wearing black nail polish, is somehow simultaneously aloof, bored, insightful, petulant, mean, creepy and sensual. He's attractive, yet repulsive, like a big piece of decadent dark chocolate cake dusted with arsenic. You'll probably take a bite even though you know you'll regret it later. He's beautifully monstrous.
He inspires fear in the people who cross his path in the film, until his mantle of power and control slips and we are shown his desperation, a peek at his loneliness, cravenness, as he threatens to take the two main characters back to Hell with him. As we see the motivation behind his threats to drag them to Hell, his threats seem more like the pathetic attempts of a lonely drunk at last call looking for someone to go home with him. Physically appealing, but loathsome. Pitiful. But not exactly Evil.
Viggo was my favorite Lucifer until I met Peter Stormare's Lucifer in Constantine (2005).
Constantine – Lucifer
Seriously, Stormare's Lucifer is super fucking cool and spooky. When he shows up dressed in all white to collect John Constantine's soul — in person — it's like the Godfather showing up to collect an unpaid debt. Rather than ascending from Hell as we might expect, he enters this realm descending from an unseen portal above. His bare feet and the cuffs of his white suit are stained with something that looks a lot like tar. His eyes are red-rimmed, like he hasn't slept in a very long time. Managing Hell is a full-time job after all. It's open 24/7.
Sonny, I've got a whole theme park full of red delights for you.
Aside from Tilda Swinton as Gabriel, Peter Stormare's Lucifer is one of the best things Constantine has to offer. Actually, his portrayal of the Devil is one of the best I've seen and it invariably makes it onto top ten lists of all time best Devils in films. Ironically, the only bad casting choice in this film was Keanu Reeves as John Constantine.
After Stormare's, my favorite Lucifer became Mark Pellegrino's on Supernatural. Pellegrino first appeared as Nick/Lucifer in the 2009 episode, "Sympathy for the Devil," in which a man with a tormented past, consumed by grief, with apparently nothing left to lose or live for, accepts a demon's offer to become the vessel of Lucifer. That's not an easy gig. Especially if you aren't genetically predisposed to contain the soul of a deity. Nick is only a temporary skin suit, and we soon learn that Lucifer really has his sights set on Sam Winchester.
Michael turned on me. Called me a freak. A monster. And then he beat me down. All because I was different. Because I had a mind of my own.
Pellegrino's Lucifer is a bit more complex than the previous ones I've mentioned. He's an emotionally disturbed fallen angel who will never get over being banished to Hell by his father. The way he sees it, his family abandoned him and the psychological aftermath has made him into a sarcastic, spiteful, jealous asshole seeking vengeance in the form of world annihilation. He believes the only thing that will make him feel better is to start the Apocalypse. He hates humanity and wishes to destroy it to spite his father. Some angels support his efforts, while others think he's acting like a spoiled jerk.
Don't hold back, Gabriel, tell us how you really feel.
Like I said, Lucifer's soul is slowly eroding his vessel (Nick) and is looking to take up permanent residence inside Sam's skin. So, he tortures Sam psychologically by making himself invisible except to Sam in the hopes of driving him insane. Hilarity ensues.
Resting Bitch Face Championship Finale
I like Pellegrino's Lucifer because he is hilarious, but also because when he explains why he does the things he does, no matter how atrocious, he's very convincing. Does this Lucifer have any hope of redemption? Possibly, but I'm not going to hold my breath. Just because I agree with some of his arguments doesn't mean I would blindly follow him to Hell. When it comes to charismatic figures, I reserve a certain amount disbelief. I've been lead down the primrose path by attractive men with compelling stories more often than I'd like to admit. It's alluring and exciting for a while, but eventually the emotional roller coaster stops being fun. Especially if your sweetheart has apocalyptic aspirations.
Like I said, pulling off this character isn't easy. If he's portrayed as being nothing more than mindless evil, I'm not only bored, but insulted. If he's portrayed as a simpering, child-like man who throws temper tantrums because he doesn't get his way, then I'm probably only going to keep watching for the spectacle. Most people fail at portraying Lucifer, because they don't fully grasp or appreciate his complexity. Tom Ellis is not one of those people.
Admittedly, even if he wasn't hilarious, tall, dark and handsome, seductive, sensitive, sexy, well-dressed, sarcastic, and yes, at times scary, the fact that he's a bit geeky in an overly-educated way and has a British accent would have been enough to capture my attention. I mean, for Christ's sake, look at him! I know what I'm about to say may offend some Whovians, but I don't care. I think this man would make a fine Doctor. There. I said it. I'm not taking it back. I'd love to see him traveling through time and space in a blue Police Box…with a young woman of color as his companion…and at least one episode with Captain Jack Harkness. Look, you have your fantasies about the Doctor, and I have mine.
Jesus, Mary, and Lucifer.
When we first meet this Lucifer, he seems pretty shallow. A rich handsome playboy driving an expensive car who buys his way out of bad situations. He owns a club in LA and has a reputation of being a ladies man. Initially, I wasn't impressed.
Yeah. Not feeling it.
Not until he began interacting with people and we had a chance to explore how he manages his relationships with them. Through certain relationships he begins to grow emotionally and each episode we see a little deeper into his soul. His personality is what makes him so fucking attractive. He's taking a vacation from Hell, but the longer he stays on Earth and builds more friendships, he has even less of a desire to return to his job of torturing the damned. His allure is in his vulnerability, which he tries to hide and deny. Not only because he needs to maintain his reputation, but because he is afraid of this transformation and doesn't understand it.
Totally feeling it.
Over the course of the first season, Lucifer develops feelings for a police detective, Chloe Decker, and she develops feelings for him. Feelings he doesn't understand, because he's never felt that way about a woman. Aside from his confusion about his emotional state, their relationship is complicated by a long list of reasons why they can't and probably shouldn't become more than friends. They have some really heavy emotional scenes together, and each time they get a little closer, one of them pulls back out of fear.
In fact, he's so freaked out about these new and confusing feelings, that he starts…seeing a therapist. I'll give you three guesses to figure out how he pays for her services.
Although Lucifer is enjoying his time on Earth, there are a few people who really wish he'd go back to Hell.
Even the Devil needs a BFF.
Mazikeen, or Maze, is a demon who has faithfully followed Lucifer since his fall from Grace. She's his friend, sometime lover, bodyguard, and assassin. She's having a good time on Earth, too. Well, most of the time. But as she sees him changing, becoming more sensitive to the plight of humanity, she advocates for returning to Hell so he can become his old devilish self again. His emotional attachments to humans terrify her, and yeah, makes her jealous.
But, the one character who pushes him to return to his duties of punishing the damned more than any other is his brother, Amenadiel, the archangel.
That is one good-looking family.
Despite Lucifer's openness about being the Devil, the detective, Chloe, refuses to accept that he isn't just an eccentric and overly-dramatic, but well-meaning nutcase. However, there are a few things she witnesses that make her question who he really is. But, like most sane and practical people, she keeps denying the proof that he's telling the truth.
Ironically, her daughter has no trouble believing he is who he says who he is.
While this Lucifer is fun-loving, cynical, charming, likes to help people he cares about, and…I said sexy, didn't I?…you still shouldn't piss him off. Especially when it comes to people or things he's emotionally attached to.
Yeah, I'm absolutely smitten with Tom Ellis's Lucifer. He's everything I'm looking for in a convincing Devil. Smart, funny, emotionally damaged, but open to growth, and I said tall, dark and handsome, right? His body was made for suits (or nakedness), and his accent sends shivers through me.
Let's make a deal.
If you haven't watched the first season, treat yourself. Honestly, I'm probably going to watch it again. I'll be fantasizing about Tom Ellis with a sonic screwdriver in his hand, and contemplating the fate of my immortal soul.
See you in Hell!
Fuckable Fictional Characters: Lawrence Talbot
April 6, 2016 August 22, 2018 Michelle R. Lane 6 Comments
Human behavior is often weird and scary. And, unless real monsters actually walked the Earth in days of old, all monster myths are most likely inspired by some truly terrifying things people did to their fellow humans. Rape, torture, murder, cannibalism and trophy collecting are not just products of the imaginations of horror writers. People have been brutally killing each other since the dawn of time. Violence is part of the natural world, no matter what the new age hippies try to tell you. Humans are animals, and no matter how many civilizations we erect, how many Starbucks we build, or how many PTA meetings we attend, the truth is humans are the scariest things on the planet. Humans like to kill things and each other, and whenever possible, they like to blame these icky feelings on someone else. Scapegoating is a national pastime in many cultures around the globe and it has been that way since before the Romans started nailing Christians to crosses.
On October 31, 1589, Peter Stumpp, the Werewolf of Bedburg, was executed for killing and cannibalizing 18 people. Stumpp's trial and execution is one the most famous cases of reported lycanthropy in European history, and it has fed the imaginations of writers ever since. Werewolf trials occurred simultaneously with witch trials, but the sheer volume of executed witches places these atrocities at the forefront of our dark past, and often overshadows the werewolf hunts that also took place in Europe and colonial America. Peter Stumpp was caught, sentenced to death, brutally tortured and executed after he confessed to killing 14 children, two pregnant women and their fetuses, which he later described as "dainty morsels."
He admitted to killing and eating parts of his victims, but claimed that he only did these terrible things while wearing a magical belt given to him by the Devil. When he wore the cursed object he transformed into a wolf-like creature with sharp teeth and super-human strength. When he removed the belt he would revert to his normal human form. This type of werewolf, one changed through the use of a magical belt, is called a Boxenwolf, and doesn't require the bite of another werewolf to achieve transformation, but it does require a pact with the Devil.
Stumpp was a cannibal and claiming to be a werewolf may have made it easier for him to deal with his own insanity. Blaming the Devil makes it easier to sleep at night I suppose. Stumpp also had sex with his daughter and a female cousin, and claimed that he had sexual relations with a succubus, which was another gift from the Devil. Is it just me, or was Peter Stumpp batshit crazy?
Clinical lycanthropy is a rare form of mental illness in which the patient believes himself to be transforming into something animal-like, and is classified as a form of schizophrenia due to how it manifests, with the first criteria being delusions.
I have a special place in my heart for the mentally ill. My father was a therapist, but before he earned his master's degree in counseling, he started at the bottom of the crazy ladder by "driving the van of retards" (his words…and my mother's), then he lived in a group home, then he worked nights at the hospital doing crisis intervention, and then he worked on the psych ward, and then he became a licensed therapist with a specialty in hypnotherapy. No shit. My dad was a hypnotherapist. Guess who was one of his early test subjects. Yep, me. In grade school. I was a great test subject, because I suffered from night terrors, and he used hypnosis and basic relaxation techniques/meditation to help me fall asleep at night. My nightmares were so bad that I was afraid to go to sleep, and had panic attacks when confronted with bedtime.
Because I was taught to respect as opposed to fear mental illness, and view it as a medical condition that can be treated with medication and/or therapies, I gained an appreciation and a simultaneous fascination with madness. I grew up in a small town where everyone knows everyone's business. And, the town crazies, at least the ones with a diagnosis, were very familiar to me because of what my dad did for a living. They liked my dad, so they would talk to him when they saw him in public. They liked me too. Sometimes a little too much.
When I was about 13 or 14, a man who I knew to be a schizophrenic, and who preferred to medicate himself with booze as opposed to taking his prescribed medication, followed me home from school one day. I'm not sure what his plans were, but he would always try to engage me in conversation when we would see him around town. I liked him. And, I had done some reading about schizophrenia in the school library and knew it was something he couldn't control. Like I said, I have a special place in my heart for the mentally ill. Anyway, once I was safely inside the house with all the doors locked, I called my dad. He called the police, but made sure to get there before they did. While I watched from inside, my dad tried to talk to the man and explained the situation to the police. He never followed me home again.
Although I was genuinely afraid that afternoon while that man stood outside the house pacing back and forth, as if arguing with himself about what to do next, there was a part of me that still felt compassion for him. His illness had taken control. An illness without a cure. Would he have hurt me? I don't know. I'm also glad I had the sense not to find out.
Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, theorized the existence of libido, "an energy with which mental processes and structures are invested and which generates erotic attachments, and a death drive, the source of repetition, hate, aggression and neurotic guilt." Lawrence Talbot is Freud's wet dream. A truly tragic character, he is a textbook example of how repressed memories and emotional abandonment in childhood can lead to mental instability that manifests itself in inappropriate behaviors in adulthood.
What could be more inappropriate than allowing your rage to transform your id into a monster that rampages through the countryside (and London) ripping, tearing, murdering, and eating everyone unfortunate enough to find themselves in your path? If you had the ability to control this transformation and continued to kill people, that would make you a true monster. But, if like Lawrence Talbot, you were cursed with this terrible illness and not only despised your own actions, but sought to put an end to the curse, would you still be considered a monster? Not in my opinion, but I've been called crazy a few times, too.
Crazy is the New Black: The Wolfman
There are several versions of Lawrence Talbot's story. The first time I encountered Lawrence (Larry) was in the 1941 Universal film, The Wolf Man starring Lon Chaney Jr. I loved this movie when I was a kid. A Gypsy curse, fortune telling, lycanthropy, Claude Rains, Bela Lugosi, pentagrams, and a werewolf transformation involving nothing but makeup and lap-dissolves. What's not to love? I mean, seriously this film set the standard for 20th century werewolf tales and inspired writers, filmmakers, and TV producers to take the legends of old and turn them into the iconic monsters we love so much.
Modern audiences would most likely find this version kind of cheesy and not very scary. To be honest, I enjoy watching The Wolf Man now because of its canonical importance, nostalgic value, and the fact that it makes me laugh hysterically. Besides, CLAUDE RAINS and BELA LUGOSI. We're talking Universal monster movie gold here.
Here's the basic premise (I stole from IMDb):
When his brother dies, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) returns to Wales and reconciles with his father (Claude Rains). While there, he visits an antique shop and, hoping to impress Gwen (Evelyn Ankers), the attractive shopkeeper, buys a silver walking cane. That same night he kills a wolf with it, only to later learn that he actually killed a man (Bela Lugosi). A gypsy (Maria Ouspenskaya) explains that it was her son, a werewolf, that he killed, and that Larry is now one himself.
While we feel sorry for Larry for finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time…although the fortune teller might say otherwise, Lon Chaney Jr.'s Talbot doesn't inspire a whole lot of empathy. I mean, sure I feel bad for the guy, but the level of tragedy he experiences pales in comparison to the 2010 Universal film, The Wolfman, starring Benicio Del Toro.
Here's another basic premise (I stole from IMDb):
Though absent from his ancestral home of Blackmoor for many years, aristocrat Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) returns to find his missing brother at the request of the latter's fiancee, Gwen (Emily Blunt). He learns that a creature has links to an ancient curse turning people into werewolves when the moon is full. To save the village and protect Gwen, he must slay the bloodthirsty beast, but he contends with a horrifying family legacy.
Sounds a bit more compelling, doesn't it?
In this version, which takes place near the tail end of the Victorian Era (post Jack the Ripper), Lawrence Talbot is a celebrated actor who has lived in America since childhood. When we first meet Lawrence he is performing Hamlet on the stage, which we later find is part of a London tour, conveniently placing him near his ancestral home, Talbot Hall in Blackmoor, Northumberland.
Why do I never see men who look like this when I ride the train?
After receiving an unexpected visit from his brother Ben's fiancée, Gwen Conliffe, he returns home. Lawrence learns of Ben's disappearance soon after he goes missing, but by the time he makes the train ride from London to Blackmoor, his brother's corpse has been found in a ditch near Talbot Hall. He arrives too late to save his brother, and memories of his dark past are stirred up when he must face his father for the first time since childhood.
Victorian werewolves are un-fucking-believably cool.
Like most people confronted with the mysterious and violent death of a loved one, Lawrence wants answers. But that's not all he seeks. He is also desperate for the love and acceptance of his father, an emotionally crippled man full of dark secrets and brimming with alpha male testosterone. Lawrence never fully recovered from his mother's death. When he meets Gwen, who not only looks remarkably like his mother, but also seems to embody many of her rare feminine qualities, he finds himself almost immediately attracted to her. Ben and Lawrence are emotionally and sexually attracted to a woman who reminds them of their mother. While Lawrence has repressed the exact details of his mother's death, he still blames his father and hates him for sending him away at the age of nine.
Poor young Lawrence witnessed something so terrible that he had a mental collapse. He was sent to an asylum, presumably after he recounted what he saw the night his mother died. Due to the fantastic nature of his story, he was believed to be insane and treated as such until he accepted the story that was fed to him over and over: His mother committed suicide. She did not die at the hands of his father, who killed her because he is a monster. Once Lawrence was "healed," he was shipped off to live with his aunt in America. Much like our dear friend Oedipus, Lawrence desires to be back in the arms of his loving mother and wishes his father were dead in her place.
Soon after Lawrence arrives in Blackmoor, he begins his investigation into his brother's death. Against his father's wishes, he examines the body, which is so terribly ravaged that…well, it's worth watching the film just to see the look on Benicio Del Toro's face. It's one of those moments in horror where you know something really awful has happened, but instead of reacting the same way the character does, your brain interprets the horror as something inappropriately comical and despite how gruesome the situation might be, you laugh out loud.
Get ready to laugh in 3…2…1.
After the shock of seeing his brother's mangled corpse, Lawrence seeks refreshment in the local pub, which immediately made me think of The Slaughtered Lamb in An American Werewolf in London (1981).
That's Rik Mayall in the turtleneck if you never noticed before.
Apparently, pubs in the UK are a great place to learn about werewolf lore. And the locals will most likely interpret your lack of knowledge as a sign that you're going to be the werewolf's next victim.
Maybe it's just my hormonal pre-teen self talking, but David Naughton was a totally fuckable werewolf, and he was the first werewolf I ever lusted after.
Despite the intentional humor of American Werewolf, there are still some pretty chilling scenes that bore deep into my subconscious mind, where fear and sexuality meet up in some very weird ways.
I had a lot of dreams about this monster. Not all of them were scary.
ANYWAY. Lawrence hears the local bumpkins talking about werewolves, their hatred of Gypsies, distrust of Sir John Talbot, and their belief that Lawrence's mother was not only a Gypsy, but a whore to boot. You know, pointing fingers and making wild accusations. Scapegoating. But, in this case, they aren't too far off the mark. Except for their beliefs about Gypsies. Oh and, the rumor about the late Mrs. Talbot having questionable morals. Because, as everyone knows all of Victorian (and our current) societal problems can be directly linked back to foreigners (and anyone who isn't White) and overt female sexuality.
Nothing upsets these dudes more than Blacks and vaginas.
And, apparently the same things upset these dudes.
Truly, nothing warms the heart or makes you feel more at home than when you overhear some local jackass talking shit about your dead mother as you mentally prepare for your brother's funeral.
Remember that moment when you first realized that Victorian funerary garb is totally a fetish? No? Me neither.
After the funeral, and again, against his father's explicit instructions to stay in the house, Lawrence continues his investigation into Ben's death by visiting the nearby Gypsy camp. Shortly after he arrives at the camp, so do some of the local bullies. They threaten the Gypsies and blame Ben's horrific death on an elderly trained bear. Lawrence isn't an idiot. He doesn't think the bear hurt anyone, but he's sure that something is up and the Gypsies might have some insight. As he begins questioning people in the camp, some major carnage happens. Did I mention there's a full moon?
Unlike the men from the village, Lawrence grabs a weapon, protects women and children, and chases whatever has been slashing its way through the camp with a shotgun. He's a pretty good shot, but the creature is too fast. He stalks the beast to a misty stone circle where he quickly loses his bearings due a complete lack of visibility. This is a really intense scene that keeps you on the edge of your seat. You feel Lawrence's fear and adrenaline mounting as he tries to find the creature he's been chasing. When the beast attacks Lawrence, you anticipate it with your nerve endings, but you don't see it coming until it's too late. Just like Lawrence.
Almost mortally wounded, Lawrence receives battlefield surgery Gypsy style in a scene that always sends chills through me. Watching someone getting stitches is one thing, but watching them get stitches in a bacteria-ridden Gypsy vardo with a hooked needle to essentially reattach their head to their neck and shoulder takes you to completely new levels of body horror, Mysophobia, and trypanophobia. Realistically, even if he survived the injury, the ensuing infection would have probably killed him. But that wouldn't be a very satisfying end to this story, would it?
Lawrence not only survives the attack, but over the course of a month he has a complete recovery that raises some questions for his doctor and an Inspector from Scotland Yard, Aberline, who comes to Blackmoor from London to follow up on Ben's murder. Aberline is aware that Lawrence spent time in an asylum as a child and insinuates that his ability to portray so many characters on the stage may stem from a deep-seated mental illness like schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder. Without coming right out and saying it, he suggests that Lawrence may have had a hand in the carnage at the Gypsy encampment. Again, Lawrence is no dummy. He knows what Aberline is getting at and asks him to leave.
Hugo Weaving in a psychological pissing contest with Benicio Del Toro? Is it getting hot in here?
After Lawrence's miraculous recovery, he and Gwen get to know each other a little better.
Fig. 1 – Victorian Flirting 101: Devise clever excuses to press your body against a lady's.
So, I mentioned that the doctor is a little more than concerned about the fact that Lawrence not only healed quicker than medical science could explain, but also, he doesn't seem to have any scarring, disfigurement, or signs of an injury that should have permanently crippled if not killed him. Those darn Supernatural Forces laugh in the face of Science. Which apparently, the villagers don't find funny. They show up to a) prove that he is a werewolf, and b) kill him once they have their proof.
Fucking nosy neighbors.
When the lynch mob shows up outside Talbot Hall demanding blood, Sir John Talbot comes to his son's rescue and threatens to kill anyone who trespasses on their land again. Before Sir John comes outside, the villagers grab Lawrence (it takes three to subdue him), and in the struggle he sustains a minor injury. A cut on the lip that sends Gwen into nurture mode.
Fig. 2 – Victorian Flirting 101: When seeking a man's affection, dab blood from his sensually open mouth with a pristine, white handkerchief to metaphorically suggest that you'd like him to violently shove the candles off that table and deflower you in the most face-flushing, bodice-ripping way he knows how.
Clearly, there is mounting sexual tension between these two characters. But, since there is a lot of taboo wrapped up in their feelings, and this story is set in Victorian England, they dance around each other as if they are made of glass. Psychologically, that may not be far from the truth. Especially for Lawrence. His brother's death has forced him to return to his childhood home that he has avoided his entire adult life. His chosen profession is as an actor, a career in which he literally pretends to be someone he is not. The ghosts of his past still haunt Talbot Hall. He's attracted to Gwen, but he must be experiencing some level of guilt for having lustful thoughts about his brother's fiancee. And, he is aware of the physical changes in his body. He is freaked out about the fact that all signs of his injury are gone. When Gwen administers first aid and they are only inches away from each other, he recognizes that his appetites have become heightened. His yearning to touch her is palpable, but he's afraid he might do something to hurt her.
Does she really want me to tear off her clothes and fuck her on this table, or are the voices just messing with me?
Lawrence's fears continue to mount. He knows something terrible is going to happen. He's experiencing an increase in what Freud referred to as libido. He's had sexual relationships with other women, so he isn't afraid of touching Gwen. What has him concerned is the weird connection his brain is making between fucking, fighting, killing and eating. As the full moon rapidly approaches, Lawrence's sense of propriety is quickly eroding away. The werewolf is about to emerge, and it terrifies him. Fortunately for Gwen, Lawrence truly cares for her well-being and sends her away before he or anyone else has the chance to harm her.
I'm sorry, but I can't stop thinking about tearing open your throat to gulp down hot, coppery mouthfuls of your blood, and it's making me insanely horny. Seriously, pack your shit and go.
Soon after, Lawrence goes through his first transformation. He basks in the light of the full moon in all his skin-flaying, tendon-ripping, face-biting werewolf glory. I mean, he tears the shit out of all those nosy neighbors and leaves a trail of carnage through the forest and onto the property of Talbot Hall. When he awakens with a murderous rage hangover, he has no memory of the atrocities he's committed, but fortunately his father is there to get him up to speed and let him know that he's done "terrible things."
Maybe some coffee and a long hot shower will help…
Next stop, the asylum.
Hydrotherapy: the waterboarding of the 19th century.
If this film were a history of mental illness in European cultures, it would fit perfectly with Freud's theories of mental illness. However, it's a horror film and we're talking about literal monsters. In the world of The Wolfman, werewolves are real and when left to their own devices, they kill anyone who happens to be in their path of destruction. It doesn't matter if you believe in them or not. They are a fact and a very real threat to modern living in 19th century England.
This is not a manifestation of a disturbed mind. This is a fucking werewolf.
Several characters refuse to accept the truth that werewolves exist, even when they are witnessing their manifestation. Unlike Peter Stumpp's neighbors who wanted to believe that the Devil was at work, and supernatural forces made him kill and eat 14 children, science and logic are at the core of the accepted belief system in Victorian England. The doctors and staff at the asylum and Inspector Aberline refuse to believe that werewolves can exist in their world. That's pure nonsense, crazy talk, tales of superstition shared among backward cultures. These men only believe in what they can see and quantify.
One of my favorite scenes in the film takes place in the asylum, when Lawrence is able to exact revenge on the people who tortured him. After Sir John Talbot visits Lawrence and finally tells him the truth about the night his mother died. The repressed memories are unleashed, and Lawrence relives that night in his mind. Everything he believed was true. Sometimes, having your beliefs confirmed isn't a good thing. Lawrence's father is much worse than he ever imagined. Not only is he the monster that killed Lawrence's mother and brother, he's also responsible for turning Lawrence into a werewolf.
Men of Science.
Lawrence is so overwhelmed by this information that his mind shuts down and he falls into a deep sleep. When he awakes, he finds himself strapped in a wheelchair by the orderlies of the asylum and prepped for a demonstration prepared for his doctor's colleagues, the police, members of the press, and other community leaders to prove that werewolves don't exist. He insists that Lawrence suffers from a mental illness, delusions that are related to the trauma he experienced as a child.
Caring more about the plight of his fellow humans than the asylum staff, Lawrence attempts to warn them that they are in danger. The moon is full and he will transform at any moment. When the doctor and Inspector Aberline finally see Lawrence's transformation they are unable to completely process the facts before them, and they are momentarily crippled by their mind's desire to shut down. The doctor meets a well-deserved violent end at the hands of the creature he refused to believe in.
Aberline is made of stronger mettle, because he forces himself into action to deal with the reality of a werewolf running amok on the streets of London. And I suppose you could consider him a hero of sorts in this tale, but I was too busy rooting for Lawrence to care.
After Lawrence kills most of the asylum staff and escapes from the mental institution, he whoops it up and kills a whole lot of people in London. Aberline is committed to stopping him, but soon realizes traditional methods won't work.
The next morning when Lawrence wakes up hungover again, he has a better sense of his Fate. He knows he has to put an end to the curse. He has to return to Talbot Hall to avenge the deaths of his mother, his brother, and ultimately himself. But, before he resigns himself to an untimely death, he goes to the one place he knows he can hide, regroup, and find a little human compassion.
Holy shit, finally!
Yes, it's true. I am a monster sympathizer. Judge me if you must, but Lawrence Talbot is an excellent example of a monster we feel sorry for and wish we could help. Fate has dealt him a terrible hand, and no matter what he does, his story will have a tragic end. Traumatized as a child, he witnessed the murder of his mother at the hands of his father, the true villain of this tale.
As an adult he seeks the love stolen from him when his mother died, but doesn't find it until he meets Gwen. Even if Benicio Del Toro didn't play Lawrence Talbot, I would still feel sorry for this character. However, I'm a sucker for a handsome man in Victorian garb, especially if he transforms into a tragic monster of myth and legends.
Seriously, werewolves are hot.
If by the end of this tale you don't feel sorry for Lawrence Talbot, there is seriously something wrong with you. Yes, he's a monster, but he did not choose his fate. And, all he ever wanted was to be loved and accepted. Who can't relate to that? A life of hurt, betrayal, and tragedy is bound to end badly. Lawrence never had any hope of a happy ending.
Hot and tragic.
I waffled over talking about yet another version of Lawrence Talbot. I'm not going to talk about him extensively, but I think I should at least mention him in this post. For those of you who haven't seen a single episode of the Showtime masterpiece, Penny Dreadful, SPOILER ALERT.
One of the main characters has a secret that we don't find out about until the final episode of the first season. In hindsight, there were plenty of clues, but when all the pieces fell into place, it was a glorious revelation. Prior to this wonderful surprise, this character has a lot of other personality quirks that make him incredibly interesting, mysterious, but totally likable. If he chooses to befriend you, you have a reliable friend and ally. Unless you betray him.
Victorian clothing should totally make a come back.
Like I said, I'm not going to talk about him too extensively because I will probably write about him in another post. I've considered dedicating an entire post to the cast of Penny Dreadful. What I will say is this, when we're first introduced to this character he's working as a sharp shooter in traveling wild west show like Buffalo Bill Cody's. I thought that was pretty cool considering that Penny Dreadful is like porn for people obsessed with Victorian literature and culture. And monsters. First and foremost, Victorian monsters.
Fuck yeah, werewolves!
Anyway, we are led to believe his name is Ethan Chandler all through season one and two. It's not until near the end of the second season that we learn his true name. When I heard it spoken, I literally raised my hands over my mouth in a gesture of mock surprise with my mouth forming a perfect O. I felt pure delight. Actual giddiness. The revelation that the mysterious Victorian werewolf character, who I already adored, is actually one of my favorite werewolves was like an extra special treat. Think what you will, but stories about werewolves in Victorian England make me happy. And Lawrence Talbot's story is one of my favorites. Penny Dreadful's take on the story is fascinating and fresh. And I love the fact that when Ethan/Lawrence is in his human form, there is no doubt that he is one of the good guys. His relationship with Vanessa is a complicated one, and their sexual tension is maddening.
Outwardly, they seem like a great couple. They trust each other, care deeply for one another, accept each other's flaws, and let me tell you, their flaws aren't things you could easily ignore. But hey, he's a werewolf, and he's trying to deal with the guilt of killing a whole bunch of people and yeah, eating them. And she is a witch coming into her true powers and, oh yeah, Lucifer wants to make her his bride. A relationship would be difficult at best, and sometimes when Vanessa has sex it brings out the demon in her. Literally. Like I said, the sexual tension between them is pretty intense. So much so that sometimes Ethan has to channel his energies elsewhere.
Chopping down trees keeps your mind off having sex with witches possessed by the Devil.
Afterward
For those of you who have been following along with my series, "Fictional Characters I Would Totally Fuck," this is the first installment of my now monthly blog series. If you haven't been following along, back in February I challenged myself to write a blog post a day about some of my favorite fictional characters and why I think they are totally fuckable. That was no small task. Out of 29 days in February, I managed to write 21 posts. Still not too shabby if you ask me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this post and have a chance to read others. I'm having a great time writing them and look forward to your feedback.
Fuckable Fictional Characters: Francis Dolarhyde
February 25, 2016 August 22, 2018 Michelle R. Lane 4 Comments
Last weekend I had an interesting conversation with one of my really good friends (don't worry, Stephanie, those posts we talked about are coming, so stay tuned). We talked about a personality quirk (disorder?) that we share in common. The desire and attraction we feel toward all things that dwell in darkness. No one should have to make apologies for what they find attractive or erotic. We all fall somewhere on the spectrum of sexuality and desire, Honey. I'll try not to judge you if you don't judge me, unless you're hurting people (physically, mentally, or emotionally) without their consent.
Darkness promises mystery, adventure, and fear, an unburdening of the perception that we must always remain on the straight and narrow, and yes, even pain. As counter-intuitive as it sounds, some folks just aren't happy unless they're unhappy. I know I'm not alone in this troubling and confusing state of being. I don't like the fact that I continually seek out inappropriate relationships. At least I don't climb into cars with strangers anymore. I'm trying to break myself of these self-defeating and potentially life-threatening habits. It's a work in progress.
I like monsters. A lot. But I don't want to date them in real life. That still won't stop me from getting all hot and bothered for them. Vampires? Love 'em. Werewolves? I'd hit that. Fallen angels? Do you have a few hours to talk over coffee or Bourbon? I'll admit that my taste in fictional characters might be a little unsettling to some people, but once again, I'm not going to apologize for what turns me on.
February 25: Francis Dolarhyde
Francis Dolarhyde is a glorious monster. When you talk about Thomas Harris's work—his novels, the films and TV show they have spawned—most people automatically think of Hannibal Lecter. Actually, most days I find it hard NOT to think about Hannibal Lecter. In the novel Red Dragon, Harris masterfully created a character who, in my opinion, is just as scary as Dr. Lecter. Without a doubt, the monster at the end of this book is the Red Dragon, Francis' alter ego and the driving force behind his well planned, cleverly executed serial murders.
At first glance, I didn't like him very much. Every slight, every dirty look, every unkind word gets tallied up by Francis, as if he's some maladjusted, compulsive, vengeful bean counter and the rest of humanity are the beans. I hated when he spit on the woman in the convertible simply because his gaze made her uncomfortable, self-conscious. I hoped he wouldn't end up being just another emotionally crippled misogynistic jerk.
Do you want WWIII? Because this is how we get WWIII.
Thankfully, as the story unfolded and I learned about Dolarhyde's unbelievably traumatic childhood I became more interested. And, with every new horrible discovery about his past, I grew to love him more and more. I mean, come on, this serial killer has it all. He is physically deformed at birth, abused and abandoned by his mother and grandmother, sexually repressed, and a voice inside his head tells him to kill families that remind him of the family his mother formed without him. The family he was allowed to visit, but never welcomed to join. He is an outsider that many readers can relate to, and if not empathize with, at least feel some sympathy toward.
He seemed like such a nice, quiet man.
Dolarhyde's childhood was wonderfully atrocious, and Harris's descriptions of his life in Grandma's house reminded me of several dark Victorian classics. Dolarhyde's two personalities made me think of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, especially toward the end of the novel when Francis tries to stop the Dragon and form a relationship with his love interest, Reba. His two sides struggle for dominance as Francis tries to protect the woman he believes he loves. At other times I thought of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, with his physical deformities and inability to join "polite" society. Francis is filled with rage and envious of the "normal" people around him. He kills them to ease his pain and take revenge on the people who abused him. The Dragon is essentially the end result of Grandma's psychological experiments on Francis that further transformed his already damaged psyche.
And then, we have Grandma's dentures. Quite possibly one of the most disturbing images I have encountered in a novel, the dentures almost have a life of their own, which ramps up the body horror aspects of this tale. Grandma's choppers allow us to venture down several literary paths. We could go Big Bad Wolf here, "oh Grandma, what big teeth you have." Or we could take the Gothic Horror path since Dolarhyde makes a pretty convincing Dracula with false teeth filed into sharp points. He literally bites his female victims to death.
As I said, Francis Dolarhyde has a lot going for him as a character designed to make us check under the seats before turning the key in the ignition and double deadbolt the doors at night. Thomas Harris created an amazing killing machine that commits unspeakable acts and yet somehow convinced me to cheer for him when he fights against his murderous urges. I hoped he would escape capture at the hands of the FBI and Will Graham.
This is my design.
There are elements of romance in the novel. Apparently Thomas Harris believes that even serial killers deserve love. Or maybe he's suggesting that if they received love in the first place they may not have chosen to murder people. Harris elicits even more sympathy for Francis when he meets a woman who is attracted to him. He reciprocates and they begin dating.
Lucifer offering Eve an apple.
This is how a grown man reacts to being shown love for the first time.
He's never seen anything more beautiful.
They are the perfect fairy tale couple, a blind princess (literally, not just too dumb or unwilling to see the truth) and her prince who is magically transformed into a dragon by an evil wicked witch. Bryan Fuller made all of my dreams come true with the intense emotional and physical connection between Francis and Reba in season 3 of Hannibal. Their sex scenes were gloriously erotic. I must have rewatched the sex scene at least six times after I watched episode 10. So effing hot. Seriously, when he grabs her, picks her up, and carries her to his bedroom, I was like SPLOOSH!
I hoped Reba's affection would be strong enough to rescue and redeem him in the end. His own delusions and lack of impulse control ultimately lead to his demise. Rather than trusting that Reba cares for him, he listens to the Dragon. His immaturity, lack of experience with live women, and delusions prevent him from achieving a normal and healthy life with Reba. Like most of us, our faults and bad habits tend to undo our efforts to improve ourselves no matter how hard we try to overcome them.
You should probably let someone get to know you a little better before you show them your dark side.
I don't just like this monster. I am sexually attracted to him and find him totally fuckable. He's fuckable in the novel and as portrayed by Ralph Finnes (Red Dragon, 2002) and Richard Armitage (Hannibal, 2015) (especially Richard Armitage), but the thoughts I have about him make me a bit uneasy. Why? As I said, I love monsters. I have no problem with the idea of liking Dracula or the Big Bad Wolf. Maybe my feelings of unease come from the fact that I know those monsters are fictional, make-believe, fairy tales, but serial killers are very real. While I'm fascinated by their crimes and their motivations to commit them, I do not idolize real serial killers. I want the police to catch them and punish them to the full extent of the law. Serial killers cause me to waffle about my stance on the death penalty.
Francis Dolarhyde is a fictional character, but Harris breathed so much life into him that he seemed disturbingly real. Serial killers are real. Dracula is not. Monsters that are created to represent the darker aspects of the human psyche or to examine and comment upon questionable societal norms are safe. The aging Goth teen queen inside me craves stories about monsters who prevail despite their physical deformities and emotional immaturity. Weird and horrifying is acceptable as long as it has a message or a purpose. But here is the Red Dragon standing before me, engrossed in his own gloriously terrifying acts of violence against women and their families, and somehow I find beauty there. My adoration of this character gives me pause.
Even his death is beautiful.
Typically, I would use the excuse of Hollywood's knack for putting attractive actors in horrifying roles. The Devil is tempting not only because he encourages you to do the sinful things you crave, but also because he shows up as the thing you want most, and probably wearing a nice suit. Even before Bryan Fuller provided us with a visual buffet of horrific beauty on Hannibal, I desired Francis Dolarhyde.
Sometimes you can't ignore the voices.
But Bryan Fuller cranked up the voyeurism, spectacle, and the eroticism of evil by making Francis exceptionally desirable and giving him an object of desire that I could relate to. I could imagine myself in her place. Eroticism is subjective, but when erotic images and art mirror your own fantasies, that's not only psychologically satisfying, it's magical.
They make a beautiful couple.
Fuckable Fictional Characters: John Constantine
Yesterday in my post about Mr. Darcy I talked a little bit about how he wrong actor can make an excellent fictional character a disappointment to fans on screen. I mentioned the poor casting choices of two of my favorite fictional characters, Lestat and Louis in Interview with the Vampire. Anne Rice's vampires are some of the most interesting characters on the page and they deserved to be played by actors who could capture their essence on screen. I'm sure most of us can think of at least one example of how our favorite characters from books have been destroyed by the wrong actors.
One of my favorite comic book characters comes to us from the DC Universe. To be more specific, from their Vertigo imprint. Typically I fall for heroes and villains from the Marvel Universe, but sometimes DC does certain things a little better. And, when you've got Alan Moore involved it's kind of hard to go wrong. My love of this character gives further credence to the fact that I am a hopeless anglophile. An anglophile who loves stories about magic, demons and Hell. If you haven't checked out the Hellblazer comics you probably should. I need to thank my good friend David Magaro for turning me on to these comics. Don't you love having friends who clue you in to things that make life a little bit more interesting?
February 20: John Constantine
John Constantine is an antihero who battles demons and you know, tries to save the world from time to time. Sounds like a nice guy, right? Well nothing is every truly black and white, so don't get your hopes up too high. Constantine's heart is usually in the right place, but his decision making often has dire consequences and his methods for achieving his goals are a bit shady and usually dangerous. Like using black magic to combat darker magic and supernatural beings.
Constantine is called Hellblazer because he's been to Hell and back. More than once. I mean he doesn't consider it a vacation spot, but his job sometimes requires him to visit. That alone gives him serious street credit when it comes to hunting and exorcising demons. But he's got other mad magical skills. Aside from his grasp of magic, he can summons demons and angels. He wears a snazzy trench coat full of demonic power, and he's an accomplished con artist and lock picker.
Constantine's an interesting guy. He's been described as a "working class occult detective," and while he comes from Liverpool, he's usually stationed in London. Like an well-crafted character he's got major backstory. His mother died giving birth to him, and while in utero he strangled his twin brother with his umbilical cord. His mother's womb was weaken by a previous abortion his father forced her to have, which caused the birth complications. Rather than taking responsibility for his wife's death, he blames John and they spend his childhood hating each other. His dad was an alcoholic, abusive, and arrested for stealing a neighbor's underwear. So, you know, excellent role model.
Constantine's bloodline connects him to some very powerful magicians, and as he discovers his ancestry he develops a keen interest in magic, and he began practicing magic at a young age. Some pretty complicated and impressive spellwork for someone his age, like hiding his childhood vulnerability and innocence in a box so he no longer has to deal with it. Growing up in London in the 1960's and '70's he formed a punk band, Mucous Membrane, and later become a stage magician in the 1980's where he earned a name for himself by predicting Reagan's assassination. Seriously, how cool is this guy.
One of his first attempts at becoming a hero in the occult realm went terrible wrong. In order to banish a demon that was conjured by an abused child to take revenge on the adults hurting her, Constantine and his friends summon their own demon. As you might imagine, it doesn't go well. They didn't have control of the demon, and when it destroys the child's monster, it torments John's friends and drags the child to Hell. Soon after, he commits himself to a mental hospital because he can't deal with the guilt.
Are you hooked? You should be. That's just the tip of the iceberg for Constantine's adventures. When I began this post I mentioned that problem of casting the wrong actor to play a great character. Well, the first attempt at putting Constantine on screen was the live-action 2005 film starring Keanu Reeves in an Americanized version of the story.
Well, he is smoking. That's a start.
The film itself isn't terrible, but Reeves just isn't believable as Constantine. The rest of the cast is impressive—Tilda Swinton as Gabriel, Peter Stormare as Lucifer, Djimon Hounsou as Papa Midnite, and Pruitt Taylor Vince as an alcoholic priest who communicates with the dead. Oh, and Gavin Rossdale plays a half-breed demon, Balthazar. Great cast, right? Sure, but the most important character missed the mark almost completely.
Cats have something to do with magic, right?
In 2014 NBC brought Constantine to television with Welsh actor Matt Ryan. Finally, a believable Constantine. He looked like Constantine. Sounded like Constantine. Had his bad attitude and a big heart. And they did their best to stay within cannon.
Yep. That's John Constantine.
I was glued to the TV each week. But apparently I was one of the few people watching, because the show got canceled after one season. I was disappointed. It was off to a great start and I had so many high hopes for the show. In the short time it was on TV, I fell hard for Matt Ryan's Constantine.
Wow, it's like someone bothered to read the comic book.
Matt Ryan has reprised Constantine in a 2015 episode of Arrow on the CW. I would hope that this might inspire another network to pick up the series or at the very least think about bringing a more believable film adaptation to the big screen. A fangirl can dream, right?
Smoking is sexy. You should start tomorrow.
Am I the only one who enjoyed this show? I can't possibly be the only one who sees how Matt Ryan is perfectly cast as this super fucking cool fictional character.
John Constantine is hot. Seriously, he's on fire.
I mean he's even in the mental hospital in the first episode.
Don't people usually check themselves into a psychiatric facility to avoid crazy shit like this?
Seriously, give this show another chance.
I need more magic in my life.