The Wicker Man (1973) Review

        The 60s and 70s were a transformative time in terms of Horror. Different types of genre’s were popping up during the two decades. The 60s were laying the groundwork for a variety of subgenres that would become representative for horror. Ranging from zombie, demonic to even the slashers would be a staple for the main genre. I’ll say that the 70s is possibly when the genre was at its strongest. You had a spectrum of films ranging from The Exorcist, Halloween and Alien to name a few that would become staples in pop culture and cemented a legitimacy to the Horror genre. This one is unique since it came from Britain, but it’s easily in the top 5 best horror films of the decade. 

1. Sgt. Howie’s Investigation

        You wouldn’t believe the remake was my first exposure to it. Bees and everything was the first time that I was exposed to the concept of Nicolas Cage being used as a sacrifice. While I would love to tear it apart, the original deserves my full attention and potentially readers who want to view it knowing that it’s a great movie. And I’ll state that upfront that it’s a strong movie through and through. It’s one of those films were it’s firing on all cylinders as far as performance and mystery is concerned. 

        The film is straightforward since we follow a police sergeant as he’s investigating a missing person’s case. He’s flown to an island where the victim has been reportedly died. What follows is his peculiar exposure to the island’s society where it’s not all that normal. Ranging from couples openly copulating with no shame and children being taught some suggestive things. It’s all shot in a way where the film has that gritty look to it. All of it looks real given the film had around a half million-dollar budget. 

        Sgt. Howie is a no-nonsense officer who tries to figure out his investigation. The best part is that he’s the seemingly normal person in a land where he can’t get any good information about the missing person. To the point where he tries every method that he was taught but all of it proves fruitless. All of it is like a wild goose chase where you’d think he’s making progress but something sends him back and tries to interrogate the people who may know something. 

        One characteristic of his that is interesting is that he’s religious. Right from the get go when he sees the salacious acts being performed, he sternly belittles them that all of that they’re doing is morally wrong. His faith is his defining trait where it works in tandem with his investigation. One moment where it’s seen how strong is when he’s being tempted by seduction. At the inn, the innkeeper’s daughter is singing in the nude and Howie tries to refrain from entering her room, to the point where he wants to but can’t. 

        While I’ll talk about the sub-genre of the movie, all of it feels like a descent into madness. We’re focused on the core storyline and I felt like I was loosing it when the civilians weren’t cooperating. It all felt like they were acting dumb and using semantics to say that she died but that the body was exhumed through their beliefs. The execution of all of it slowly reveals to the audience that the whole island is a cult. It’s one thing to have a horror film’s antagonist be one singular person, but a group makes it even scarier since we don’t know how or if the situation will be resolved. 

        So let’s talk about the cult. Just the way that Howie experiences all the odd traditions and rituals is like a cinematic defamiliarization. Meaning that you have one person be so weirded out by something that is completely normal. A fish out of water story if you will, but the fish is slowly losing water as its fried. The moments when we see them either dancing or an isolated person doing something odd is shot in an almost documentary way. To the point that you’d forget that this is supposed to be a horror movie. 

        I love how the film has a mystery angle to it initially. Especially when we see Sgt. Howie do his work as he tries to figure out where the missing person is. It all feels like the cult stuff is very seductive since we want to know how they live their lives knowing that their non-conformist to reason. Just the subtle way the movie does the switch is when Howie realizes that he’s been had. All of it is the dread that hits him and us since the whole premise of why he’s there was orchestrated and he wasn’t aware of it. 

2. Folk Horror

        This is a very different kind of horror where there’s no killer or anything that is supernatural. To the point where this is probably the rare examples of a nonviolent horror movie where we don’t see the usual hallmarks of what defined the genre. All of it was by design from the director who was quoted saying that he wanted to make this film different than its contemporaries. Simply put that this didn’t involve an overall threat to a society but just seeing how faith can be used in its cruelty. 

        I think what makes Folk Horror so different is that it has that isolating feel to it. Any sense of normalcy or just being comfortable is gone since we see the characters being put in a place where it’s isolating to a point where there’s no help to be had. One would think that it’s a foreign concept of a genre where due to paganistic paste that Britain would have exclusive rights to it. The moment in the library where Howie is looking up the pagan background perfectly prepares the audience of what we’ll see. 

        Anything ancient or having a group of zealots who can’t be reasoned with is scary. I think for the most part why the genre is underrated in its pure form is that we’ve advanced so much and yet there’s an underlying feeling that we’re unprepared for the unknown. Such as when Howie’s investigation goes nowhere as his usual expertise fails him since he doesn’t know what exactly he’s dealing with. Also when interrogating the islanders that they’re no help to him since both think differently of what it means to die.   

3. The Remake

        As I mentioned before, my first exposure to this story was many years back when I watched the Nicolas Cage remake. It was at a bus ride where I was accompanied by mother’s college trips and the movie was playing. Years later, I rewatched it and it was just a massive misfire of a remake to the classic. Just the execution and the performance of Cage made the film into an unintentional comedy. The film’s been meme’d to death, especially the bees scene that wasn’t in the theatrical cut of the film. While I would like to do a compare and contrast, it’s clear the original is the best one. Not even in a mile. 

4. Overall

        The Wicker Man is one of the best horror films of the 70s and the best horror film from the U.K..

The Fly (1958) Review

You may have noticed that I’ve skipped the 40s and continuing to the 50s. Reason being is that I couldn’t find the film that I wanted to talk about in either streaming or just renting. I apologize for the slight inconvenience but I must continue. The 40s and 50s are when we see the horror genre go in different directions. Obviously, you had World War 2 happening in which the atrocities were worse than what was being put into celluloid. After, there was a new fear with the invention of the atomic bomb as a legitimate threat to humanity. I call that era the Atomic Age due to the influx of sci-fi horror and B-Movies that were popping up.

1. What Happened to Andre

        Usually I would leave what I’m about to type to the legacy tab, but I distinctly remember my first exposure to this film. Of all the types of movies that I watched when I was little, a Disney movie directly referenced The Fly. The Emperor’s New Groove had a moment when Kuzco sees a fly that gets caught in a web, only to be eaten by a spider. Played for laughs and sometimes I rewatch that sequence due to the fly’s blunt too late response after being devoured. And of course, "Family Guy" had a moment when Stewie was experimenting with a teleportation machine. 

        Anyways, it seemed that in the 50s you have a chunk of horror movies delve into the dangers of science. With experiments gone wrong or human curiosity getting the better of one person, you had it where it was extremely topical due to what was happening in the real world. And it wasn’t just limited to us being responsible, there where monsters and aliens that rounded up just the type of horror films that were popular to an extent with some audiences. That’s where I find it fascinating where the fantasy elements of horror suddenly shifted to something that is still novel to us. 

        So let’s talk about the film. Based on a short story that was published in Playboy magazine, the movie is mostly a good adaptation. We follow Francois as he and Inspector Charas interrogate the former’s sister-in-law. She’s been accused of murdering her husband in questionable fashion. Throughout the interrogation, she recounts what led her to kill him. Initially I thought the story would be told sequentially, but having it be told via flashback is interesting since we see how her husband was. 

        We see how Andre is, he’s an idealistic scientist that has revolutionized teleportation. He’s a family man that doesn’t have a dark side. One would think with a movie like this that he’s gone mad with his creation and goes in way too deep. He’s not even evil but just curious enough to perfect his work. Although, you could say that he accidentally killed his pet cat due to wanting to see if something that is alive can survive teleportation.

        What makes the character interesting for a horror film is that he’s a tragic character. It ties in with the idea of science that the film has going for it. Just to tease it since I’ll be elaborating it in the next tab, Andre uses science to see if he can manipulate things to be better. There’s a moment where he visions that his technology can be used for good. Not knowing that he hadn’t perfected it yet and calculated the tiniest of variables. 

        Speaking of, I’m glad that the movie didn’t stoop to the ridiculous level that is very easily apparent with the film’s premise. Much like Cat People, it’s a concept that given to the wrong hands, could’ve been bad or cheesy. It was originally supposed to release under 20th Century Fox’s subsidiary where it was originally going to be a B-Movie. Given the care and direction the film manages to be suspenseful and curious about what the whole film is about. To a point where we don’t see Andre’s transformation but see the aftereffects of his experimentation. 

        There’s a difference between a horror film being either formal or exploitive as far as content is concerned. Nowadays, you have the obligatory exploitive sequence of being disgusting and gruesome when seeing someone in pain. Given the censored codes back then, it’s more impactful by having the audience not see what happened but to only imagine how it would’ve transpired. And even having the actors/actresses performances sell the dread of the inevitable reveal of Andre’s transformation. 

2. Science

        As I mentioned earlier, science fiction was in for horror. From monsters, aliens and giant bugs irradiated with gamma radiation, it seemed that there was new material to exploit people’s fear of the real-world bomb and it’s use. So much so that this film has a more reserved look into science since it isn’t a weapon that was being tested but a way to get from one place to another. It’s sort of grounded since it attempts to a show an interesting aspect that doesn’t revolve around death and destruction. 

        More so that, it basically showcases to the audience that there’s always one variable that gets in the way of advancement. Thinking about it more, it’s ingenuous to have all things a common house fly disrupt a man’s attempt to experiment. Andre is smart, but he severely miscalculated the chance that anything minute or small can alter his life. I didn’t even talk about his altered state but I guess now since he doesn’t speak for a good chunk. 

        Like I said, we don’t see his transformation only that he has his face covered in a small blanket and hides his hand in his coat pocket. He mostly communicates in written and typed notes to his wife Helene. She attempts to help by retrieving the fly but inevitably realizes that the Andre that he’s been talking to is slowly losing his humanity. I think it’s horrifying to have someone just lose their sense of self and just lash out as an animal. 

        The overall look of Andre’s new look is on par with what the 1950s were all about. A giant head of a fly is the most recognizable image of the horror genre at the time and it seemed that many people confuse this movie with its sequel. More so that I wish the technology was advanced enough to see the fly’s perspective as it’s darting around the house. It’s a minor thing since the film’s execution is good enough. Just the sound of the buzzing works since we and the characters can’t find the fly that has Andre’s head and arm. 

3. Legacy

        The day that I stop talking about movies is the day that I’ll understand why the film received mixed opinions when it came out. Part of it I can understand that the premise is nearly laughable and people were perhaps underwhelmed with how Andre’s fly appearance looked. More so that some critics thought that the film took itself seriously despite having a B-Movie edge to it. To me, it’s an A B-Movie, meaning that it wears it’s premise on its sleeve but doesn’t laugh at itself in just the idea of it. More so that this film cemented Vincent Price’s place in Horror, by making him the star associated with the genre. 

        There were two sequels for the film and it follows the template of dumbing down the execution and making the fly character into a mad man. As I mentioned earlier, this film could be the first example of the Mandela Effect where people confuse this movie with its sequel. Since those were shot in black and white and this one was shot in color and in Widescreen Cinemascope. Might as well talk about the remake with David Cronenberg and Jeff Goldblum. Having watched snippets of it and possibly I’ll talk about it next year, but it absolutely took the concept to the next level as far as having a no holds bar approach. It’s a Cronenberg film alright, and I would even say from what I’ve read one of the best horror remakes alongside John Carpenter’s The Thing. 

4. Overall

        The Fly is one of the 1950s best sci-fi horror films of the decade.

Freaks Review

 

        We’re finally back in the United States. The 30s was a hotbed of horror, in particular with the Universal Monsters making their individual debuts. The studio dominated the decade with it’s release of Dracula and Frankenstein among many others. You had Warner Bros. experiment with their horror by incorporating color before the advent of Technicolor. While all have them have their respective place in the history of the horror genre, Freaks is one of the most unique films that I’ve seen in that time. 

1. Circus Life

        For a good while doing this, I wanted to watch Freaks. As always, I’ve had the tough choice of leaving it out in my retrospective or feel that I was ready to talk about it. I have heard about it from Youtuber James Rolfe as he does his annual look into Horror with his movie reviews. Not saying I’m ripping him off, but he’s an inspiration. Anyways, it seemed like I was seeing and hearing references to the movie and just thought that it was just original for the sake of it. As always, it’s never the case. 

        Based on the short story titled “Spurs”, Freaks is mostly about the circus sideshow performers that we follow. Specifically, a trapeze artist named Cleopatra who “fawns” over the dwarf performer named Hans. She learns that he has inherited a large sum of wealth, she and another performer named Hercules decide to poison him to- you know basically know where it’s all going. So yeah, this is practically different from any horror film type from the time. 

        Horror is a loose word since there’s no killer or anything scary per say since the whole film projects actual people with mental and physical disabilities on the screen. All of it is unique since many people would assume that there’s a killer on the loose in the circus or death defying trick that has to be done. There’s none of that, I think the appropriate word for it is macabre. Just looking at the supporting cast and how all of them look sells what the movie is going for. 

        For one thing, it’s not exploitive to the handicapped. None of the sideshow performers exhibit any sense of danger to anybody but go about their days as being part of the circus. And I give the filmmakers that where they’re not treated any differently but more so that they are just performers to a big show. In a way, it reminds me like a documentary or a day in the life since we see that some of the sideshow people get into relationships and even deliver a baby. 

        It’s only human nature to be afraid of what’s different than us and be curious enough to wonder how does one person survive being different. And I don’t blame anyone for being afraid of how some of these people looked like. In fact, as shooting was commenced, some people for MGM were disturbed by how the cast looked. To the point where a majority of them were relegated to a tent instead of being on a sound stage. 

2. Duality of Man

        Aside from the selling point of seeing people who have physical deformities, I think the central story is interesting. As I mentioned earlier, Cleopatra the trapeze artist tries to poison one of the dwarves who has a vast inheritance. We spend time with Hans as he tries to act normal despite being vertically challenged. It’s a recurring motif in the whole film where we see the normal beautiful people juxtaposed with the differently abled. Perhaps it’s meant to be an allusion for class status. 

        To me, it feels like a tragedy for Hans since he feels that he can be normal. Even though, he was engaged to another fellow dwarf. All of it comes to an intersection when Cleopatra and Hans have a dinner after the wedding. We see that Hans’ colleagues welcome Cleo into their lives and start their famous chant. Cleo in a drunken state laughs and mocks Hans at his expense. It’s sad when we see Hans be denigrated to being lesser than being a man. 

        I think the best part of the film is when the sideshow crew get their revenge. And unfortunately, this is the part where we don’t see how the freaks get back at Cleo and Hercules. For her, it’s teased in the beginning until the end where we see the result. It’s hilarious but gruesome what the sideshow did to her. One of the lost scenes is what happened to Hercules, to put it simply they castrate him. In a way, despite being different what they did in retaliation is human. It’s the only equalizer by showing how they can be cruel as the normal people. 

3. Legacy

        It’s a shame for as unconventional and groundbreaking as the film was in concept, that it was immediately pulled during its release. Test audiences were reported to be running away from the theater and a disputed account of a woman suffering from a miscarriage. I think it’s one of the earlier examples of a film being pulled and having it be chopped up in runtime. No film should be trimmed in any, but the one I watched is the only surviving print that is accessible through The Criterion Collection. 

        As I said earlier, I was indirectly watching some things that were referenced from the film. The first to come to mind was in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street. There was a dwarf that was used, and when Jordan Belfort’s friends were chanting the same chant that appeared in Freaks. Lastly, the whole film was the inspiration to one of the seasons in FX’s American Horror Story. I haven’t watched it but the specific season was aptly titled "Freak Show". 

4. Overall

        Freaks is one of the most progressive and macabre films to come out in the 1930s. 

A Page of Madness Review

        It’s the Autumn season and I’m back to discuss a new slew of films for the Halloween season. If you’ve been following me for a good while, I create a collection of the preceding decades’ best horror films and the ones you’ve never seen before. Cliché to state that it’s something that’s cool for me seeing how the genre started to where it is now. With a spider’s web of sub-genre’s, proto-genre’s and unorthodox approach to tell a scary story. I always get a kick of what was thrilling of how the modes of scaring changed as time goes on. Of all places, this film in particular is set in Japan in the 1920s and I got a kick out of it. 

1. Asylum

        As I was searching for films to talk about for the whole month, I’ve still decided to go way back nearly 100 years ago. I wanted to at least branch away from the American and European silent cinema to go look at something completely different. I think what got me piqued was the poster for the film. While it wasn’t the one used when it came out, but after the fact nearly 70 years later. It catches your eyes since it’s a Japanese mask of a face that is in despair with the mouth that’s smiling in a Joker-esque style. 

        I really had no idea what to expect from this one. Watching the cut that was available to stream, it was apparent that there was no intertitles of dialogue. More so that it’s a very kind of experimental silent horror film. In a sense where there’s no looming threat or malevolent force of darkness, but just one man attempting to free his wife from a mental institution. And how the whole ordeal has driven him mad. 

        And that’s really what the whole film is about. We follow a custodian for the institution who sees his wife in one of the cells. He attempts to break her out but the doctor and patients stall him. To say that this film is very straightforward is only partially right. We see everything play out, albeit in only 1920s cinema can offer. It has some trippy imagery and I think without any sound and the black and white footage makes it feel very grounded. 

        Let’s talk about the custodian since he’s our main guy in the film. We see him doing his duty as he cleans the hallway and pass by the different cells. He’s like our audience representative since what he sees is what we see. One patient in particular is a dancer. Her character is interesting since we see her dance, to the point where she drops down in exhaustion. There’s a lot of mystery with the patients and how exactly they got in there. 

        With our guy, there’s a sense of guilt and redemption for him to try to rescue his wife. With the cut that I’ve watched online, there seemed to be no reason as to how she ended up there. More so that it’s a quest for him to do it and potentially have a normal life. Of course with a movie that’s mostly experimental with how it told a narrative with no audible or visual dialogue, it doesn’t end like that. It gets to a point where he becomes obsessive with how to pull off the maneuver to the point of murdering a doctor. 

        This is where the horror element comes in. As I mentioned earlier, there’s no external threat or a personification of doom per say but maybe horror’s underutilized mode of scares. The human mind is a powerful thing, and with how we see the representation of insanity is creative for the time. One of my favorite shots in the film is mostly a perspective shot where we see what the patient sees. A distorted shot of the person’s face that basically tells us that point of view of the person isn’t very normal. Very blatant on how I phrase it but that’s an interesting idea that the film has. 

        Near the end is when it really amps up where the custodian’s mind and vision blurs the line between reality and fantasy. For example, in one of his visions he passes out masks to the inmates as he wears one for himself. It’s very freaky and of course the whole aesthetic with the context makes it even more creepy. In one way, the scenes involving his hallucinations perhaps mean something more than just his wife and personal life. Prior to that, he dreams of a parade of traditional customs and then we get a series of shots of modernity and maybe that’s what scares him. 

2. Damaged Silent Film

        As I researched the film on what made it different from it’s foreign contemporaries, it was interesting just how different Japanese silent cinema was to the American style. For ours, the basic idea of the silent film was that the actor’s had to use their body language to convey the feelings of the characters. There was no audio, so the audience at the time had to pay attention to what the actor’s were feeling with what was going on. There was even a live orchestra that would enhance the mood for the film to get the audience enraptured dramatically speaking. 

        With A Page of Madness, just watching it or it’s surviving cuts is almost like you’re getting just half the show. Little did I know was that the reason as to why it had the trippy imagery and no dialogue cards was that there were stage actors that would mirror the actions that was being shown. Also, a narrator would tell the audience what was happening and what the characters were doing. Basically, giving commentary to the audience who couldn’t follow the action on screen. Unfortunately, we don’t have that luxury so sometimes the film can be confusing when viewing it. 

        It's really something to commend given that the technology just wasn’t there at the time that made the audience pay attention to what was happening audibly. Like most films from the past, it was deemed lost for awhile. Some lost films are even deemed destroyed due to the flammable material that the reels used. Probably in an act of happenstance where the director found a surviving reel inside a rice barrel. Albeit the film is lacking a section for the third act making what I saw and anyone wanting to see it one of the surviving print. 

3. Overall

        While mostly a footnote in terms of horror, A Page of Madness is one of the most interesting Japanese horror films 

Wicked Review

        My look into the Oz films concludes with the most recent one from last year. I’ll admit, it didn’t really interest me since it was a musical and I couldn’t comprehend on the idea of an origin story of the two characters Dorothy would meet. Again, it was a time where I passed judgement on it without doing my diligence. Right down to getting spammed various TikTok clips of the film and the theater experience as a small majority of theater folk where morphed into Marvel fanboys by going into a frenzy to the songs. It’s easy money for studio to milk that experience and make a sing-a-long cut. Aside from that, here’s what I think. 

1. Before Dorothy

        As I continue to mention in my look into the Oz films, the initial books that the MGM classic was based on went into the public domain. Meaning that the concept and characters can be used in any way without the author’s permission. Time passed as the novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by author Gregory Maguire hit the shelves in 1995. It would spawn a series of sequel books that expanded on the Wicked Witch among other characters. And it’s still going on, no doubt after the subsequent success of the film adaptation. 

        Of course, it inevitably got made into a successful Broadway musical. I think my first exposure and maybe some other people was the poster used to advertise the play. Showing the Witch smiling as Glinda in white whispering to her. Something about it is interesting since it appears to be an inverse of the bad manipulating the good. And did that play win some accolades, winning the Tony award for Best Musical. The actress who plays Elphaba would later get recognition for voicing Elsa in Disney’s Frozen. Her song “Let It Go” has been compared to one of the songs from the "Wicked" play.

        Initially, I was tricked into thinking that the film was a one and done thing. In simpler terms, I got Dune’d. Since the subtitle pops in after a matter of seconds after the main title. Which I feel is needed since the movie going experience can’t exceed anything beyond 2 hours. One can’t condense a hefty play without an intermission. Those things used to be common way back when movies spanning three to four hours would have breaks in between. I think I’m getting sidetracked. The point being that if a movie is going to be a part one, announce that it is going to be as such. Although, one may run the risk of having the first part be labeled as set up instead of being independent. 

        Anyways, Wicked in it’s pure form is how the Wicked Witch became as such. It was when the author was watching the classic and wondered, “how did the Witch know Glinda?”. Inevitably we see the story between both Galinda and Elphaba Thropp. I know I misspelled Glinda with an extra “A”, but when discussing how she met Elphaba. I’ll refer to her as Galinda. So the story follows them as they had a contentious introduction until inevitably becoming friends. Amid that, Elphaba becomes aware of a conspiracy within her university that multiple talking animals have been disappearing. 

        I feel that Elphaba is such an interesting character that she’ll get her own tab. For now, I’ll talk about how this film basically nails everything to be a musical. It feels like after marathoning a variety of Oz films that the one thing that they could not manage to achieve was the overall cinematic tone. The Wiz tried and to me failed with adapting it’s spin off. Return to Oz was an ok attempt to pay tribute to the source material but didn’t match the original. Oz The Great and Powerful attempted to be an interesting origin story, albeit it fumbled the tone. 

        With this adaptation, it sticks through with being a musical and having it all be catchy. That’s one of the secret sauces to make a musical be at the very least enjoyable. The songs are catchy for one and match what’s going on as they help move the story along. The misconception is that the songs are just that, and nothing else. In a great musical, it helps advance the story and what the character is singing about wanting or feeling. A bad musical is just a greatest hits but not contributing to the overall story, just stops any progression of getting interesting. 

        With the music, the camera becomes very kinetic as it follows Galinda and Elphaba with what they’re wanting/feeling. The best moment before they’re friends is when the camera literally splits and we see them divided. How the camera is used is very bouncy and captures the songs visually. Such as when the love interest Fiyero, is dancing through Shiz University’s library. Fiyero is dancing through books, all the while as Galinda tries to get him to notice her. 

        I think everyone’s favorite song is the last one featured. I will admit that I have “Defying Gravity” in my playlist. Cynthia Arivo just absolutely nails her part in great fashion. And seeing it play out in the film is just the cherry on top. While I will talk about her, trust me. I’ll say that the song is practically a culmination for her whole character arc. I just love it when the backup chorus emphasizes that she’s “Wicked” and bringing her down, it’s like oogly moogly I have goosebumps. 

        Now it’s not just the two main characters getting their songs, other characters contribute to the soundtrack and help the story progress where it is basically a tragedy. Not to give it away since I’ll be going to the next tab. What I will slightly tease is that the musical has that tragic element where we know how it’s going to end just by the association it has with the MGM classic. It succeeds as a prequel where any thought of what’s going to happen is overshadowed by the how and why. A lot of times, prequels have it be where the person in question is passive in the plot where it’s preordained what he/she will become. With this, the characters are active enough in the story where what they do literally leads into who they’ll become. 

2. Jon M. Chu

        Might as well talk about the director since I’ve talked about the others in this retrospective. Honestly, it’s quite impressive how his career evolved when you look at it. My first exposure to him is when my Dad took me to watch the action stinker G.I. Joe: Retaliation. The movie was just fluff with loads of action eye candy, but I couldn’t tell you what it was all about. Looking at it more, he was mostly involved with the Step Up sequels and helming two Justin Beiber concert films. Chu hit rock bottom when he directed his worst movie Jem and the Holograms. While I haven’t seen it, just various videos of people unilaterally denouncing it as one of the worst films ever. 

        He rebounded with his adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians. From there he pivoted towards musicals with Warner Bros.’ In The Heights and this one. Just by technical merit, this film goes all out portraying his version of Oz. It all feels practical when we see how much goes into the choreography in the songs. The best one is when Fiyero sings in the library and everybody follows suit. Special kudos for Grande with dancing in heels. 

        What really sells the musical is that he makes it bounce with how he uses the camera. As I mentioned earlier, the camera is very bouncy and kinetic. None of it is very static but follows the characters and keeps up with the beat of the song. The best use of the camera is when the duo arrive at Emerald City. That whole section reminds me of a Disney park since it’s all predicated on The Wizard and a myth involving him. Lastly, that moment is literally a passing of the torch as we see the original Elphaba and Galinda meeting the movie versions of the characters. 

3. Elphaba

        Since the title of the film is called Wicked, we mostly focus on Elphaba Thropp and how she got the title of Wicked Witch. What’s interesting is that the author explained that her name is literally a tribute to the original Oz author L. Frank Baum. Anyways, what’s interesting is that the movie shows and tells how Elphaba was born green and was an outsider. It’s ingenious to think that Glinda tells the Ozians about her association with Elphaba. More so that the preceding song cheers for her death and how Glinda is saddened by it. 

        I’ll get to that in a moment. From the start, we find out that Elphaba was practically born an outsider. To the point that her father has her assist her sister Nessarose with anything. She wasn’t even enrolled in the University, but has her power be in display which catches the eye of the headmistress. Again, possibly the author wanted to know how the Witch threw fireballs and appeared out of smoke. And I like how that she has powers due to her mom being injected by an adulterer who’s implied then confirmed to be The Wizard. 

        So yeah, Elphaba’s character arc is interesting since we understand initially what she wants. She wants to be accepted and feels that the Wizard can help her not appear green. All of it initially, is that she’s being used by headmistress Madame Morrible. Who wants her to control her powers when she lashes out in anger. Moreso that we clearly see that she’s an outsider and bonds with the only animal professor in the school. Peter Dinklage portrays Dr. Dillamond, who manages to say Elphaba’s name but not Galinda’s.   

        As I mentioned earlier, her relationship with Galinda is contentious. Due to their personalities and what they want individually. Galinda wants to be in the good graces of the headmistress but doesn’t take the hint that she looks down on her. Ariana Grande does a great job as portraying the young Galinda. She can sing, especially the high notes in some of her songs which may give Mariah Carey a run for her money. And it’s not by style as to why she sometimes sing high. It’s confirmed that the reason she sings high is that she’s lying about what she’s singing.

        One of the best moments in the film is when they’re together. And it all culminates when both are in a dance hall. All of it focuses on Elphaba wearing the black ensemble with the hat. Immediately being the odd one out, she dances as everyone laughs at her. Until Galinda joins her, in a way it’s sort of emotional because now they’re on the same level of tolerating one another. From there, the film gets even better as Galinda tries to have Elphaba become “popular”. That song is Ariana’s best solo song in the film. With her dancing and attempting to use her training wand just sells her as the next Glinda. 

        Now, with all that as I’ve established. I feel that the film is very contemporary with what it’s trying to go for. It’s an adaptation for one thing, but I like the message that it’s trying to get at. I feel that it’s partly about propaganda and alienation due to how people perceive Elphaba. They don’t like her due to her being called Wicked. More so that the real villain is pulling the strings and deems her as such. Compounding it is that Glinda knowingly goes along with the burning effigy in the beginning but can’t tell anyone who the Wicked Witch was in truth. It works in tandem with the tragedy aspect that I’ve talked about. 

4. The Oz Films

        It’s really quite something to see and talk about just how one film practically birthed multiple spin offs and having an incredible staying power. Now, every film has a fan base be it generally liked or having a cult following. This franchise has it where it’s both seemingly like a spectrum. Catering to the public right down to the non-conformists of society. It says something where it’s currently being put on display in Las Vegas. As The Sphere is showing a massive viewing of the film with the help of A.I. to cover its gargantuan screen. With the sequel coming out, this is the most Oz this year can get.

        I haven’t done a personal ranking of films since I talked about the four individual A Star Is Born films. With these Oz ones, I feel that it’s an experience to get a glimpse of for the technical merits they each have and how reflective they represent the time. From groundbreaking tech, experimentation, faithful adaptation and creating something new is what practically defines this evolving franchise. The future is unknown with how the next subsequent generations will see these films. Either a radical adaptation or a rerun of the Judy Garland classic. Only someone as talented as the filmmakers of the original and Wicked can pull it off. 

5. Overall

        Wicked is one of the best musicals of the decade. And one of the best all time musicals ever adapted.