I am, of course, aware of the site and the films, and, in fact, have made my “donation” and received my “free gift” of a DVD containing all nine films.
(I put the quotes in because while for all intents and purposes I bought the DVD from them, calling the purchase price a “donation,” and calling the DVD a “free gift” helps them get around copyright issues.)
Prior to the loss of my Internet connection I had intended to post a review of the DVD, but never got around to it. I suppose that now is as good a time as any.
The nine short films are based on the following tracts: Bewitched, La Princesita (The Little Princess – they went with the Spanish language version of the tract for some reason, despite the fact that the film is mostly in English), Doom Town, Titanic, Angels?, Wounded Children (I’ve posted the YouTube videos of this one), Party Girl, Cleo, and Somebody Goofed.
Overall I enjoyed the film adaptations of these classic tracts, though I have some personal “favorites” among the tracts that I would have rather seen adapted than some of the ones that were. I would much rather have seen Dark Dungeons, or The Nervous Witch adapted to the screen than Cleo, which I’ve always thought to be one of Jack’s weaker pieces.
Some animated versions (a la Peanuts) of the Lil Susy tracts would have also been welcome additions.
Also, while sub-porno production values and performances are totally in keeping with the quality of Jack’s work, it would have been a bold choice to produce an entirely earnest, well-acted, and well-budgeted version of one of the tracts. Playing it with a totally straight face and an apparent reverence for the source material would have made the end result that much funnier, I think.
Even so, there were many bright spots on the DVD, not the least of which was the appearance of French Stewart as the Devil in Party Girl (“Bye-bye Jill; I win again!”)
Being an uninteresting tract, Cleo, naturally, was an uninteresting short film.
Titanic had a lot of potential, consisting of scenes from the blockbuster movie of the same name overdubbed with dialogue from the tract. In theory, this was a great idea; in practice it fell short. However, it did have its redeeming points, such as the scene of people falling to their deaths as the front half of the ship heaves up and begins to sink, each one yelling something like “I accept Jesus Christ as my personal saviorrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”
The scenes of Hell, which were taken from Jack’s own move, The Light of the World (a review of which, I promise, I will one day post), were very effectively disturbing, particularly with the choice in music. I had not previously known that Tori Amos had recorded a cover of the classic Slayer song Rain In Blood before hearing it in Titanic.
I have to say, it’s a far spookier song when she sings it.
The same people who made Titanic also made Somebody Goofed, which was far more effective than their first effort. By taking the actual artwork from the tract and animating it, having no spoken dialogue and instead opting to include the word balloons from the tract, and through an effective choice in mood-setting music, they managed to create something that I’d have to describe as hauntingly beautiful, and somewhat reminiscent of the work of Dave McKean.
Words can’t really do this one justice, but, sadly, it doesn’t appear to be available on YouTube.
Doom Town was played with a little too much camp, and, in some way that I can’t quite articulate, the wrong kind of camp. And while I can understand why the people behind it made the decision to do so, I really wish they hadn’t used footage from 9/11 to depict the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could easily go the rest of my life without having to see that again.
In fairness, though, the scenes of people acting out the laundry list of sins that were committed in those doomed cities were entertaining, but where was the big hairy pederast telling the kid “It’s that time Again!” which is one of the most famous (or perhaps infamous) scenes from the titular tract?
Wounded Children is probably my favorite of the bunch, having the right amount – and the right kind – of campy content, though to be perfect, it would have featured Will Arnett, of Arrested Development and the upcoming The Brothers Solomon fame, in the role of the demon. Of course, I only say that because the guy playing the demon – who, in fairness, did an excellent job – sounded so much like him.
La Princesita and Bewitched also hit all of the right campy notes, and all are acted, appropriately, with a great deal of enthusiasm and high school play levels of acting ability.
Ultimately, the content of the DVD was worth the cost of the “donation,” and I hope that others will pick up the gauntlet thrown down by Hot Chicks and bring even more tracts to life.
For those looking for more Chick action, check out Enter The Jabberwock, a site that regularly features hilarious dissections of Chick Tracts.
And of course, all of the tracts that are still in print can be found at the Chick Publications Official Site.
No comments:
Post a Comment