13 Nights of Shocktober: The Blob (1988)

by A.J.

Night 11: Remake Night

“Terror has no shape.”

The Blob (1988)

Horror in the 1980s was dominated by slashers, sequels, and remakes. When it came to remakes, this may have been the only era in which they were justifiable. Advances in special effects technology and makeup, along with the replacement of the oppressive Production Code with the ratings system, allowed filmmakers to do and show more than previous films while also putting their own stamp on the material. John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) and David Cronenberg’s The Fly (1986) are widely recognized as the best horror remakes, perhaps the best remakes of any genre. I would argue that the 1988 remake of The Blob also belongs in the top ranks of remakes as well. 

 

The creative team of director Chuck Russell and screenwriter Frank Darabont did not make very many movies, but they made some good ones. They were the main creative force behind A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, usually considered the best of the Nightmare sequels. The Blob was their follow up. There are enough changes that this could be considered a reboot or reimagining, but the basic premise of the original remains: a goopy, amorphous slime life form crashes to Earth on the outskirts of a small town and threatens to take over the town and then the world. Like in the original, it is the teenagers who are the heroes, but unlike the original they do not work with the police and authorities. In this version, authority cannot be trusted. The lead teens are Shawnee Smith as Meg, the cheerleader, Kevin Dillon as Flagg, the mysterious motorcycle riding outsider, and Donovan Leitch, Jr as Paul, the letterman jacket-wearing athlete. At first it seems like Donovan is set up to be the lead, but he’s easily outshown by Dillon’s rogue mystique. The real lead turns out to be Shawnee Smith; she is the only consistently reliable character and though she has to be rescued she also rescues others and his wielding an assault rifle by the end of the movie. 

To keep their remake from being a rehash, Russell and Darabont decided to draw on Hitchcock and do the unexpected to throw off the audience. So, they decided to break the unwritten rule that kids and dogs do not die in horror movies. No matter how sympathetic or central a character may seem, they are all equally in danger from the blob. This often gets called a “mean movie” but I disagree. Russell and Darabont take the time for the audience to get to know the people that live in this small town. None of the characters, no matter how big or small their role, feel disposable, aside from the mostly nameless government agents in hazmat suits. So death matters and the horror of a pink slime is emotional as well as visual. 

Nearly every special effects shot holds up and looks impressive. Chuck Russell thought that if a special effect is done only one way the audience will get used to it, so the blob was created and shown in different ways. Silk sacks were filled with the blob and squeezed to the point that the sack became invisible. Process shots, green screen, miniatures, and gravity effects (putting a set on its side or upside down to make the blob look like it is defying gravity) were all put to use. The scene of the blob attacking a movie theater uses a strobe light effect that makes the whole sequence feel very chaotic and frantic, but Russell admits in the DVD/Blu-ray commentary that the strobe light was also used to cover up what he thought were the movie’s weakest effects (Trigger warning to viewers with photosensitive epilepsy or aversion to strobe lights). He also admits that the effects team proved him wrong about a life size dummy for a death by blob in a phone booth. The effect worked and ends up being one of the most intense deaths of the movie. Surprisingly, the most impressive stunt in the movie has nothing to do with the blob. It happens when Flagg jumps a broken bridge while being pursued by trucks and helicopter all in one well rehearsed shot.

While I do not believe that this film is mean, I do readily admit that it can be difficult to watch. It is goopy and gory and gross. However, this is not a geek show. This is not a slasher where the whole point is to watch disposable characters die one by one in elaborate ways. Russell and Darabont were smart enough to know that the weakest part of The Blob is that the villain is a pile of goo, so they created strong characters and focused on recognizable themes to engage the audience on an intellectual level while the effects and makeup team worked their magic to engage the audience on a visceral level.

The Blob (1988) is available to stream on Tubi and Plutotv.

13 Nights of Shocktober: Phantasm

by A.J.

 

Night 5: Reggie Bannister Memorial Night 

"You play a good game, boy, but the game is finished. Now you die."

 

Phantasm 

 

Earlier this year, musician, actor, and producer Reggie Bannister passed away at the age of 80. That name might not be familiar to many, but to horror fans Reggie Bannister is beloved for his role in the Phantasm films as Reggie, the pony-tail sporting guitar playing ice cream man turned monster fighting action hero. Though Reggie became the unlikely lead and co-star of rest of the Phantasm series, which had is most recent and likely final entry only a few years ago, his character began as a supporting character in the first Phantasm, which is the only space to start the Phantasm series since each sequel is part of one continuous story. And it's also the best of the series.

Phantasm is a great example of a cult classic: it may not have mainstream recognition, and it may have flaws, but it has enthusiastic fans. Describing individual scenes and plot points can make Phantasm sound odd or even ridiculous and the plot itself does not hold up to scrutiny. Yet, Phantasm is effectively creepy and scary because it relies more on atmosphere and the main character’s fear and fascination with the things he witnesses and encounters than on plot. Dreams, nightmares, and the line between fantasy and reality also play a large part.  I suppose this is what some would call a vibes movie.

On that front, writer-director Don Coscarelli does a great job keeping us in the emotional and mental space of the main character, 13-year-old Mike (A. Michael Baldwin), who is still dealing with the death of parents. He also has anxiety that his older brother Jody (Bill Thornbury), a musician, secretly wants to leave him with a relative. After witnessing strange things around the local cemetery, Mike comes to believe that the tall, grim-faced undertaker has a sinister plan that involves stealing recently buried bodies. Of course, Jody is skeptical but as danger mounts, he and his friend, Reggie (Reggie Bannister), the local ice cream man, join Mike to stop the undertaker, also known as The Tall Man. 

 

Coscarelli makes great use of long shots that play out slowly. He also uses slow motion with eerie effectiveness when Mike sees The Tall Man walking through town. At first, it is jarring to see him out in daylight then he pauses by Reggie’s ice cream truck to savor the cool air from the freezer. The slow motion and exaggerated sound design make a simple moment unnerving and surreal.

 

On the more ostentatious side of Phantasm are the flying metallic orbs that stab people in the face with daggers and then drill a hole in their head and make blood shoot out the back. There purpose is clear: elaborate, horrific death. But like many things about Phantasm the “why” remains a mystery. There are also the hooded dwarves that Mike sees running around the cemetery. They resemble the Jawas from Star Wars, released only two years before Phantasm, but Coscarelli said this was a coincidence. Next to the orbs, what everyone remembers about Phantasm is Angus Scrimm as The Tall Man. Tall, slender, dressed in black, imposing and intimidating, he is like a personification of the boogeyman. The most frighting sight in Phantasm is Mike’s nightmare of The Tall Man looming over his bed.

 

Phantasm is more than the sum of its parts. From scene to scene its flaws are easy to overlook because the story is already on to the next thing. After the credits roll, it still casts a creepy spell. Horror spectacle does not stand in the way of exploring an adolescent’s fear and fascination with growing up and with death. The final scenes seem to come out of nowhere and close the film on an ambiguous note, but tonally and thematically they match everything that has come before. 

 

It is in these quiet and emotional scenes that Reggie has more lines and character depth than has in the whole movie and he and Mike develop a deep bond. Reggie and Mike’s relationship, essentially becoming an adopted family, is what drives the rest of the Phantasm films. Each is a horror film but Part II, made nine years later, is a horror-action movie (this is where Reggie combines two double barreled shotguns to make a super 4-barrelled shotgun, which of course becomes his signature weapon through the sequels). Part III: Lord of the Dead leans into comedy and is also a road trip movie. Part IV: Oblivion goes back to the meditative side of the original and even uses unused footage from the original shoot. The final entry, Ravager, which Coscarelli did not direct, aims for both action and esoteric meditation. Each is entertaining in its own way. Each has Reggie and Mike fighting The Tall Man and looking out for each other. Reggie Bannister is a most unlikely action hero and that is the appeal. He’s just a ponytail wearing, guitar playing ice-cream man who has to protect the people he cares about.

Best Pictures #110: 2024 (97th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: Dune: Part Two

 by A.J.

Best Pictures #110: 2024 (97th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Dune: Part Two

“Power over spice is power over all.”

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One (2021) was an incredible box office hit, pop culture phenomenon, and big winner at the Academy Awards, winning 6 of its 10 nominations at the 94th Awards. Dune: Part Two, the continuation of Frank Herbert's epic science fiction fantasy novel, was also a major box office hit though this installment earned a total of only 5 Oscar nominations (Picture, Cinematography, Production Design, Sound, and Visual Effects). I must admit that I was not caught up in the mania for Dune: Part One; it is without a doubt a technical achievement but I found it too serious to be any fun or have a sense of adventure–unlike David Lynch's maligned turned cult classic 1984 version, which is campy and strange and entertaining. I am happy to report however that Dune: Part Two does have a sense of adventure and entertainment in addition to its sense of grandeur and importance.

Perhaps I found this chapter of the new Dune saga more entertaining than Part One because I was already familiar with Villeneuve’s version of the world and characters of the desert planet, Arrakis, also called Dune. Or, perhaps it is because things like world building and the exposition of an intricate plot were the burden of Part One. With all of that out of the way, Dune: Part Two feels by contrast more focused and less esoteric. There is little talk of the mystical and powerful "spice", a thing so coveted and necessary for this interplanetary society that it is the crux of the entire plot. I would even go so far as to guess that someone who is entirely unfamiliar with the Frank Herbert novel, David Lynch version, or even Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One could watch this movie and not feel lost at all. Dune: Part Two is the story of an oppressed native people fighting colonial invaders and a young outsider who may or may not be–but almost certainly is–their prophesied messiah. The exotic sounding names and creatures and costumes are all just window dressing, which is how science fiction fantasy should be.

The cast of Part One returns with Timothée Chalamet playing Paul Atreides and Rebecca Ferguson as his mother, Lady Jessica, who is part of the mystical religious order the Bene Gesserit. There is no “previously on" or recap but the plot threads are easy to pick up. Paul and Lady Jessica have survived a betrayal and massacre of their entire royal house by the evil Harkonnens, who now control Dune. Paul and Lady Jessica are only welcomed, to a degree, into the society of the native Fremen because one of their leaders, Stilgar (Javier Bardem) believes Paul to be the messiah who will liberate Arrakis and turn the desert world into a green paradise. His daughter and Paul's love interest, Chani (Zendaya) is more than skeptical of the prophecy but she starts to have feelings for Paul. Their moments alone together–her teaching him to walk without rhythm, which still seems to have a rhythm, or her not believing Paul about the idea of swimming–are nice character building and emotional respites. Paul comes to believe that he is the messiah and whether or not this is because of a generations old plan by the Bene Gesserit becomes less important as Paul delivers on the promises of the messiah.

At many points in Dune: Part One I could barely see what was happening even though I had all the lights off in my house and the brightness settings on my TV turned all the way up. With Part Two I had no such problems–I did turn off all the lights in my house but this gave the movie a more theatrical feel instead of being a visual necessity. Perhaps this is because most of the action takes place in the desert daytime outdoors though even scenes in underground caves were also clear. Paul triumphantly riding the gigantic desert sandworm is an impressive sight though it is unclear how he makes it stop. The most visually stunning sequence however belongs to the world of the villains, a world that is not so much black and white as it is devoid of color. Baron Harkonnen's (Stellan Skarsgård) favorite and sadistic nephew Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) slaughters drugged fighters in a massive coliseum but one of them, an Atreides prisoner, puts up a real fight, to the blood thirsty delight of Feyd-Rautha. It is impressive that a scene so devoid of color can be so eye-catching. 

Other new cast members include Christopher Walken as the galactic emperor who set the betrayal of the Atreides family in motion and his daughter, Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), who functions as an audience stand-in, getting filled in on information about the main plot. The increasing severity of Florence Pugh’s headdresses and face coverings throughout the movie cannot go without notice and feels like a joke by the costume designers. Both Walken and Pugh have little to do other than lend their screen presence, though hearing Walken talk sci-fi Dune speak in his unique voice is unintentionally funny 

In the novel Paul gets to be a bit annoying; he has all the bravado and swagger of a regular teenage boy multiplied by his privileged upbringing and discovery that he is the messiah. Thankfully, as played by Chalamet, Paul is a young man who harbors doubts about himself and his abilities. We know that the prophecy of the messiah was created by the Bene Gesserit to control the Freman; Lady Jessica knows this, Paul knows this, Chani knows it instinctually. Yet Paul and Lady Jessica rebel against their religious and political order and make the prophecy come true, so do they not fulfill the prophecy? Can people believe something enough to make it reality? These are surely questions that Frank Herbert meant to stir with his novel. They were absent or muddled in Dune: Part One but are here in Dune: Part Two adding an extra thematic layer that does not distract from the adventure. 

Though Dune: Part Two concludes the story of Frank Herbert’s Dune, it is actually the middle part of an intended trilogy (to be concluded with Dune Messiah, based on the second Dune novel, in 2026). As far as middle film installments of recent trilogies go, this one is pretty good. It ends with a feeling of “onto the next adventure!” instead of “come back next year for the ending.”

Nominees: Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe and Denis Villeneuve, Producers

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Screenplay: Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts; based on the novel by Frank Herbert

Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler

Production Companies: Legendary Pictures

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: March 1, 2024 (United States)

Total Nominations: 5, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Cinematography-Greig Fraser; Production Design-Shane Vieau (set decorator), Patrice Vermette (production designer); Sound-Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill; Visual Effects-Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, Gerd Nefzer

13 Nights of Shocktober: Alien

by A.J.

Night 8: Sci-Fi Night/Creature Feature Night

In Space No One Can Hear You Scream

Alien

Supposedly, Alien was pitched as JAWS in space. It’s also been described as the ultimate haunted house movie because it answers the glaring question: why don’t they just leave? Here the answer is clear: they can’t leave because they are in a spaceship, but it is not a ghost or demon lurking around the corner, it is a terrifying alien creature. Alien has spawned numerous sequels, each moving further away from the original and containing less of what made it such a hit with audiences and even critics—it earned two “yes" votes from Siskel and Ebert, who were notoriously hard on the horror genre and Ebert later included it in his Great Movies essays. Alien is an intriguing science fiction picture and effective horror movie thanks to the skill of director Ridley Scott, the entire behind the scenes crew, the amazing cast, and the alien effects. It subtly introduces ideas that incite awe and dreadful wonder, but there is no time to contemplate this because a monster is hunting the crew of average working class people who are not explorers or soldiers or adventurers. Everything about Alien holds up: the suspense, the scares, and even the effects. 

It seems silly and unnecessary to describe the plot of Alien. This is one of those movies that nearly everyone has seen and even if they haven’t, they are familiar with its most famous scenes. The crew of the Nostromo, a commercial starship hauling mineral ore back to earth, is awoken from suspended animation to respond to a signal from a distant planet. They investigate an ancient cyclopean alien spacecraft and one of the crew is attacked by a strange crablike creature from an alien egg. Once on board the alien evolves and begins stalking the crew. 

Alien is one of those movies with a long, storied production history that somehow turned out a classic. The making-of featurettes on the DVD feel endless but they are also endlessly fascinating. Director Ridley Scott insisted that the cast had to be perfect because his primary focus would be the effects and production. Somehow, a perfect cast was assembled: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, and Yaphet Kotto. The crew of the Nostromo are working class people who all feel familiar. Stanton and Koto complain about their pay and contracts; Ripley (Weaver) is annoyed that her authority is ignored; the captain, Dallas (Skerritt), just wants to get back to Earth to finish the job. Weaver as Ripley is undoubtedly the breakout performance and the character has become iconic.

The most memorable scene is undoubtedly the “chest burster” scene. According to legend the cast’s shocked and horrified reactions are real because they did not know what was going to happen or what the alien would look like. This is only partially true. Weaver and Cartwright had already seen the alien and Skerritt knew because he had been sneaking around the effects department. What the cast did not know is how much fake blood there would be or that it would be spurting everywhere. When a jet of fake blood hit Cartwright she was caught off guard, slipped, fell, and got back up into frame quickly; the look of shock on her face was from her fall. 

The alien creature and spacecraft were designed by the strange and visionary mind of H.R. Giger, who the production staff found so weird that they put his office on the far side of the building (though Scott and screenwriter Dan O’Bannon say they got along fine with Giger, who is not as weird as his work would suggest). In interviews Giger reveals that worms and snakes and tentacles terrify him and he squirms describing the things that make up his own work. Everything about the alien, the spacecraft, and the eggs looks like something from a nightmare; anything familiar looking about the alien only makes it look scarier. The design of the Nostromo by Ron Cobb makes the ship look and feel like a lived-in vehicle, not a flashy adventureship. Having everything about the alien and everything built by humans have two different designers was a stroke of genius because each feels so distinct and also incongruous with the other.

Alien moves slowly but it is well paced whether you’re watching the scenes of the crew members going about their routine or the horror scenes with the alien. Despite gross things like the “facehugger” alien and the “chestburster” scene, and even the alien itself, this movie mainly uses suspense to get at the audience, and uses it well. The scares, even if you know they are coming, still startle and scare and shock, and they’re still there waiting, lurking. 

13 Nights of Shocktober: John Carpenter's They Live

by A.J.

Night 4: John Carpenter Night

They live. We sleep.

John Carpenter’s They Live

John Carpenter’s They Live is a little bit of everything: science fiction, action, horror, comedy, even socio-political commentary. It vacillates from mystery to comedy to sci-fi weirdness to working class drama. Somehow, it does all of this very well. Carpenter fully meant They Live to be a satire of the consumerist culture of the 1980's and a reaction to the effects of the Reagan era on America as a whole. So much about the themes of They Live is relevant today that there’s no need for an updated version. Nearly every line of dialogue about class and economic inequalities and the elite upper class exploiting and benefiting off the work of the lower class feels relevant today. Yet, this is not merely a dressed up diatribe. Carpenter made a thoroughly entertaining and interesting sci-fi film with an important message that never loses its way. 

The plot is pretty simple but also pretty strange. A drifter arrives in Los Angeles looking for work and stumbles across an alien plot for world domination. That’s the simple part. The strange part is that the aliens are broadcasting oppressive subliminal messages through every form of media: TV, billboards, magazines, etc. There are also already numerous aliens living on earth in disguise. The only way to see the aliens or their messages is with special sunglasses that the drifter finds in an abandoned church. The glasses reveal a world in black and white where advertisements of any kind, even labels on food in a grocery store, are actually messages like: OBEY, MARRY AND REPRODUCE, SUBMIT, NO INDEPENDENT THOUGHT, STAY ASLEEP.

Carpenter named the drifter Nada to not so subtly emphasize that though he has skills and his own tools and is more than willing to work for his fair share, society at large sees him as nothing (nada). He looks at a wall of job postings at the unemployment office but when he finally meets with a case worker he’s told that there is nothing for him. Nada is played very well by wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper. Physically of course, Piper is more than up to the task of being an action movie star, but he does a very fine job with the dramatic side of this character too. He starts out as pretty much a blank with practically no backstory. He also has an innocent optimism about his situation, even though he is homeless. He tells his only friend, Frank, played by the great Keith David, “I just want the chance. It’ll come. I believe in America. I follow the rules.” Piper says these lines with a realistic sincerity that is hard to believably deliver. Piper’s time as a professional wrestler came in handy in perhaps unexpected ways, like having to deliver some pretty ridiculous dialogue. When Keith David asks where these creatures are from, Piper replies with “They ain’t from Cleveland.” His most famous line of dialogue in the movie, which he came up with, is without a doubt, “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I’m all out of bubblegum.” And he does this without making the movie silly; instead he makes it fun. 

Carpenter wrote the role of Frank for Keith David, which was something of a relief for David who had not had a film role since John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982), his first film. If Piper plays the beat down but optimistic side of the American worker, David plays the beat down cynical, or pragmatic, side. His character says things like, “They put you at the starting line. The name of the game is ‘Make it Through Life’ only everyone’s out for themselves and looking to do you in at the same time.” Like his role in The Thing, he is the supporting character to a stand out leading man, but he is no less memorable. It certainly helps that his character’s comments about economic inequalities and social commentary are delivered in his memorable, authoritative, and booming voice. Arguably the most famous moment from They Live is the extended fight scene between Piper and David in an alley. You’ll hear that this scene has no purpose and that’s why it is memorable, aside from the stunt work and fight choreography. The counter argument is that it is meant to represent how difficult it is to get someone to change their mind, or even listen to a different opinion, since the fight starts when David refuses to put on the special sunglasses. Carpenter has said that the scene is an homage to the 9 minute fight scene in The Quiet Man between John Wayne and Victor McLaglen.

With They Live, John Carpenter both modernizes and pays tribute to science fiction films of the 1950’s. The look of the aliens, designed by Sandy King, Carpenter’s creative partner and later wife, is clearly evocative of sci-fi aliens of the 1950’s and even the EC horror comics that inspired Creepshow (1982) and the Tales From the Crypt HBO series. They might look cartoonish but they fit the heightened satirical tone. Due to the low budget, stunt coordinator Jeff Imada played nearly every alien with a different voice dubbed in afterwards. This explains why certain aliens might seem awkwardly tall compared to Roddy Piper since the short Imada was standing on a box or walking on crates. 

Nothing about They Live is subtle and that is by design. To quote Roger Ebert, “If you have to ask what something symbolizes, it doesn’t.” That the message and the action do not hinder each other but together create an entertaining movie is a testament to John Carpenter’s skill as a filmmaker. 

They Live airs on TCM on Friday, October 25th at 12:30AM CT. It is also available to stream for free on Tubi and Peacock (w/subscription).

Best Pictures #93: 2022 (95th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: Everything Everywhere All At Once

by A.J.

Best Pictures #93: 2022 (95th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Everything Everywhere All At Once 

“You’ve been feeling it too, haven’t you? Something is off. Your clothes never wear as well the next day, your hair never falls in quite the same way…”

Everything Everywhere All At Once is a wild, weird, zany, outlandish, and thoroughly entertaining film. Its premise feels original but, more importantly, it lives up to the promise of its fun title. Part sci-fi, martial arts movie, action, comedy, family drama, and mid life crisis movie, co-writers and directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (known together as The Daniels) crammed everything they could into their movie, and then squeezed in some more. The combination of over the type action, absurd sights, and a great cast led by Michelle Yeoh make Everything Everywhere All At Once one of the most memorable movies in years. 

Michelle Yeoh plays Evelyn Wang, a woman dealing with the drudgery of running a laundromat, overly friendly customers, unfriendly customers, the growing gulf between her and her daughter, Joy (Stepahnie Hsu), who wants to include her girlfriend Becky in their Chinese New Year celebration, though this would not be taken well by Gong Gong (James Hong), Evelyn’s ailing father who has come from China to live with them. She also finds out that her well meaning but floundering husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan), has just filed for divorce, and has to deal with a confusing tax audit by a grumpy IRS agent (Jaime Lee Curtis). As if this wasn’t enough to handle, it turns out the fate of every possible universe rests with her. 

In order to learn the skills she needs to fight the ultimate chaotic evil force out to destroy the multiverse, called Jobu Tupaki, Evelyn first has to learn how to “verse jump,” that is, to temporarily jump into a different version of herself from a different universe, pick up a special skill and jump back. If you have some trouble keeping track of which version of which character is where or the inner workings of the Alpha-verse and their technology, you’ll be in good company because it takes a while for Evelyn to accept and figure it all out herself. This might be the best thing about Evelyn as written by the Daniels and performed by Yeoh. She is a normal woman who has normal incredulous reactions to the outlandish and extraordinary things happening around her. In addition to believably handling all of the martial arts and action scenes, Yeoh handles the emotional scenes with the same expertise. A lot of the comedy comes from Evelyn’s confusion and attempts to explain everything to her versions of Waymond and Joy. 

The rest of the cast also does an excellent job playing the different versions of themselves and it is easy to keep track of who is which version just from the performances. Ke Huy Quan as average Waymond is so mild mannered he puts Clark Kent to shame, but he brims with self-assurance as the successful businessman version of Waymond, and he is a believable fighter as Waymond from the Alpha-verse. Stephanie Hsu is great as average Joy, dealing with heavy internal conflict about her mother, but she really gets to shine as the multiverse villain Jobu Tupaki, who has been driven beyond madness into sinister nihilism by experiencing all possible universes simultaneously.  

Perhaps the most important factor to the movie’s success and memorability is its willingness to be silly. Very, very silly indeed. There’s a universe where people literally have gigantic hot dogs for fingers; Evelyn misremembers Ratatouille and creates a universe with a cooking raccoon, voiced, briefly but perfectly, by Randy Newman. There is a universe where she trains to fight with only her pinky finger. In one of the less outlandish universes Evelyn is an action movie star not unlike Michelle Yeoh. Evelyn wants to just stay in this universe instead of fighting an all powerful cosmic being (who wouldn't?). Of course, this embrace of the silly leads to some good comedy. All of this multiverse madness is so broad and random that there is bound to find something that matches your particular comedic taste. The action and fights are well choreographed and exciting. They seem spontaneous and frantic, which is what makes them so fun.

All of this incredible and ridiculous action is not mindless or self-serving. It expresses and reinforces the conflicts that average Evelyn is facing in her normal life. Almost all of the action takes place inside the IRS building, a budgetary convenience turned thematic point. Evelyn’s journey from believing that her daughter is possessed by some evil force to realizing that Jobu Tupaki really is just Joy is the most important thing about her journey through a real multiverse of madness. Beyond the visual and conceptual spectacle, Evelyn’s emotional journey, as portrayed by Yeoh, her relationship with Joy and Waymond, and her reflection on her life choices are what will give Everything Everywhere All At Once a lasting resonance.

Nominees: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang, producers

Director: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert

Screenplay: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert

Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, James Hong, Jamie Lee Curtis

Production Companies: IAC Films, Gozie AGBO, Year of the Rat, Ley Line Entertainment

Distributor: A24

Release Date: March 25th, 2022

Total Nominations: 11, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Actress-Michelle Yeoh; Director-Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert; Supporting Actress-Stephanie Hsu; Supporting Actress-Jamie Lee Curtis; Supporting Actor-Ke Huy Quan; Original Screenplay-Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert; Costume Design-Shirley Kurata; Editing-Paul Rogers; Original Score-Son Lux; Original Song-Ryan Lott, David Byrne, Mitski for "This Is a Life"