Darrin Boland (bluehawk2008)

This was an interesting little film. It's probably the best looking Mythos adaptation to date, and the fact that they were able to make a Gay film out of the works of an infamous racist and prude is commendable. What's more, the gay romantic subplot is actually relevant to the main thread: our protagonist is the son of a preacher (cult leader) who needs a grandson before he can move forward so to speak, but his son is a homosexual. Naturally, he runs into a childhood friend and rekindles a relationship that will prove to be the only thing he can fall back on as the events unfold. Returning to his home town for his mother's wedding, inadvertently on the dawn of certain great cosmic events, he finds himself pulled back into everything he tried to flee from in the first place.

The plot however, seems to forget what it's trying to do in the last 30 minutes as allusions to a number of monsters and deities seem to spring up in succession when the story only properly concerns the Deep Ones of "the Shadow over Innsmouth". Was this fan-service or were they genuinely trying to make their apocalypse and chaotic and incomprehensible as possible?

This is definitely a labour of love however, and for its budget, you have to give it some respect. Like the stories themselves, this film builds a great deal of atmosphere and its photography and sound design will definitely peak your (preexisting) fear of small towns, the ocean, and strange offshoot churches with names you've never heard of before.

Apparently the 20th Century Fox version has missing footage, cutting out some of the onscreen deaths, which, if true, is a shame. The film itself is of course missing hours of filmed scenes which would make the film nearly unwatchable, but as a fan of the novel I'd like to see Fife actually say something. etc. etc. This film takes James Jones' tale of the average American rifle company in the iconic battle of Gaudalcanal, and lay over it a gripping message about the natural conflict between good and evil within the human heart and permeating throughout our physical world. Malick combines his own thoughts and feelings with an already unflinching and raw depiction of warfare to create something magical. A truly spiritual and moving tale of heroism, cowardice, greed and love. If you pay attention to the narratives instead of fidgeting in your seat, you'll come out of this film a winner.

Is the Zone the work of aliens, a living thing in and of itself, or an extension of God? Three men attempt to figure this out as they venture into the heart of it to find The Room that is believed to grant wishes of any kind. Leading the hopeless on this quest is the Stalker's profession. A burned out writer who once dreamed of changing humanity with his prose but now hates how his art is received and dreads his profession; a scientist who not only doesn't believe in anything, but doesn't even consider the question and intends to destroy the Zone to prevent the wrong kind of people from making wishes; and their guide, the Stalker, who fears and respects the Zone's many rules and intricacies and is constantly in conflict with his human cargo as he leads them to their destination. The film makes heavy use of slow image and sound to let the viewer begin to feel every rock and tree on screen and become one with the Zone. There are no flashy montages but more natural long takes that give you a more human perspective. Through out the film, you never see any 'traps', and yet there's a constant fear and dread in the otherwise ordinary surroundings. The three characters' constant bickering and philosophizing is at first aimed at the mysteries of the Zone, but soon focuses on their entire lives, their purposes and futures, and it becomes clear what they may wish for though they never speak it. They don't discover any true answers, but in the end they don't feel the need to ask. Their final acts at The Room speak volumes on the potential they possess already, without any need for devine aid. Stalker is a very spiritual film, but even as an Atheist I found it very aproachable and rewarding.