Saturday, October 18, 2008

Parasomnia


"There are two things a man always wants... danger and play. So what could be more dangerously playful... than a woman?"-The Villain, Byron Volpe.

Last night I went to the Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Traffic had been good so I was in a very good mood from the start. Tourists were milling around outside and taking photos. The usual costumed people were walking around in Halloween themed costumes. I had to crack up when a little person dressed as Chucky came and pretended to stab me when he noticed I hesitated in my walk towards him. He was pretty scary since I stood as tall as my waist.

I have never been inside the theater, but it was nice. I think I still like the set-up of the Arclight better though. In the middle of the lobby they had set up a table where fans were lined up and getting free movie posters. The cast was happily signing each one. I first recognized Dylan Purcell. He's a very young actor with a smile that can rival Efron's. He really was loving the fact so many people were in the lobby to see the movie. I glanced about, taking in everyone in the room. A recognized a man with very long white hair and a beard. He owns a bookstore in Burbank that I've been dying to go to, but haven't had to excuse to drive up to since it's a bit far. Dark Delicacies is a self-proclaimed vampire haven and welcomes all kinds of books about the occult. The owner was a very nice, older gentleman with a wicked sense of humor. I read about them in a "special" encyclopedia I own. I asked him to be sure this was the same man (I'm hardly wrong on faces though) and introduced myself as a future patron. He asked whether I had gotten a poster and autographs and personally came with me to the table. He was on first name bases with the cast and crew.

Dylan signed my poster first and handed it off to Jeffrey Combs. He's a legend in the horror movie genre because of one movie: Re-Animator. Then they handed it off to Patrick Kilpatrick who had just arrived. Now, I have to say Patrick was the nicest of the lot when you got over his physical presence. He's 6'2," very broad shouldered, and fit enough to be a pro-football player.
Now, for me, he was everything how a man should look like. He was also the only one who personalized the poster by asking for my name. Ha! I swear I didn't blush but held my head high and thanked him before moving onto the director. William Malone was in high demand with other writers and horror movie sites making videos. I recognized a couple of the Fangoria people since I've seen them before at the New Beverly. I was tempted to ask them why in holy Hell they didn't hire people who live in California? I bit my tongue and waited until the ushers announced our theater ready.


Patrick Kilpatrick

Right at 6:50pm, they started taking tickets and letting people slowly trickle in. I almost got to sit in VIP because my ticket was silver, but when asked if I was part of the cast, I didn't have the face or urge to "edit" my story. I sat with the plebeians which weren't many in number. It seemed like the cast wanted to get reactions directly from the audience. Purcell sat in the middle. Cherilyn Wilson sat directly across from me. Janet Keijer sat next to me. I recognized other people who wrote from different sites and newspaper. There actually weren't that many genuine curious people such as myself. Everyone seemed to know one another.

William Malone introduced the movie and warned that this was not a final cut.

"It's almost there, but we're still fixing some scenes." Then the movie started.

I really hope this movie finds a distributor because it is very good. The characters were real even though the story could not be possible in reality. Filpatrick's villain, Volpe, was evil. Volpe was a former bookstore owner who specialized in selling anitque and rare editions. He was also a mesmerist. His eyes were as black and cold as his soul. He reminded me of Hannibal Lecter but an even better manipulator since Volpe could force his victims to do anything he wanted. The main character though was Danny (Purcell) who was an art student helping out his friend in rehab. His friend tells him to check out the resident serial killer in the psyche ward and that gets the story running. He sees Volpe in his cell and notices the sleeping girl in the room next to it. The girl, Laura, has been asleep for most of her life. She had never been out of a hospital.

To not give anything else away, the film is full of action and suspense. The characters are real. The CGI is incorporated brilliantly. Laura's dreams are fascinating. The end fits just perfectly. I'd love to see what scenes they'll be incorporating into the final shots. I did see a bit of the rough scenes Malone was talking about.

Anyway, I really liked this film. I wish I got to see more of Kathryn Leigh Scott who played Laura's nurse, but seeing her in something new was a pleasure. Malone is looking for distributor's of the film so we may get to see a theaterical run of it. I surely hope so!

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