GUNNZO: The Spectacular Chaos of James Gunn
This is a retrospective, that’s right, of the work of James Gunn, as a writer and a director, both of which are equally as important if you are discussing Gunn’s career, curated by the mighty Beyond Fest and hosted by the splendid American Cinematheque
The event was kicked off, naturally, by showing Gunn’s latest film, The Suicide Squad (the link where you can get tickets or other information on how you can watch TSS right now, which you should) at the Aero Theatre (which is the theatre that you see in the classic Charles Bronson film 10 To Midnight). The preview screening was free and Gunn recorded a special video message for the fans that played before the show. Here are the trailers, the one Medium will let me link and the Red Band trailer that Youtube has to be a butthole about.
The link to peruse the line-up and buy tickets is here. The second film is screening tonight at 10:00 pm and it is the skin crawling, body horror-ifying, hilarious mutant slugfest called SLITHER at the Los Feliz 3, which is the newly reopened theatre venue that the Cinematheque has taken over while their venerable home at Egyptian Theatre is being renovated.
Here’s the synopsis:
When a meteorite crashes near Wheelsy, South Carolina, it brings with it an extraterrestrial parasite that worms its way into Michael Rooker (THE WALKING DEAD), whose tentacled transformation puts the entire town in jeopardy. In his feature debut, Troma alumnus James Gunn (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY) strikes just the right balance between horror and comedy, with tongue-in-cheek nods to B-movie favorites mixed with shots that would give David Cronenberg the creeps. With Nathan Fillion (SERENITY) and Elizabeth Banks (THE HUNGER GAMES).
Here’s the trailer:
The opening line of the narration kills me: “Through out the years. These classic horror films had one thing in common… They were for sissies.”
SLITHER is Gunn’s debut film as a writer and director and an important part of understanding Gunn’s ouevre as much as his work as writer on Troma Films. The next film is screening on Sunday, August 15 at 10:30 pm at the Los Feliz 3, which is a cozy and cool theatre that I used to love going to. The film is THE BELKO EXPERIMENT which is one of the lesser known films that Gunn wrote outside of his days with Troma. Here’s the trailer for the film which is a film that we can probably all really relate to right now.
I mean, check out this synopsis:
Welcome to Belko Industries — a normally calm workplace that’s about to devolve into a blood-soaked battle royale and a shocking case study of bone-crunching horror! When 80 American employees are suddenly locked in their office building in Bogotá, Colombia, a mysterious voice on the intercom orders them to participate in a ruthless game of kill or be killed. Now everyone is a competitor…and everyday objects become deadly weapons. Let the corporate carnage commence!
I think that Beyond Fest’s timing of this retrospective and the choices of the films is right on target. They are films of Gunn’s that should be seen and are most relevant to our lives today. Which brings me to the closing film, which is one of my all time favorites — even though I’m not a fast zombie stan and a George Romero fan.
It’s 2004’s DAWN OF THE DEAD. It’s a remake of Romero’s stone cold classic that was more than able to stand on it’s own and created a phenomenon when it was released. It was the foundation of the style that both Zach Snyder and James Gunn have expanded upon in the following decades. The opening 10 minutes of the film and the title sequence are frequently referenced as being an example of perfect horror filmmaking. From the scenes of the collapsing world to the use of the Johnny Cash song The Man Comes Around was absolutely chilling in 2004 but is even more so in the time of Covid-19 since we’ve actually seen press conferences like this. The most chilling line? “We don’t know.”
You get two chances at watching DOTD 2004 at the Los Feliz 3 on Friday, August 20th at 7:30 pm and Sunday, August 22 at 10 pm. I highly recommended watching as many of these films as you can for a greater understanding of Gunn’s cinematic chaos. I really strongly urge you to catch DOTD 2004 if you haven’t seen it in a theatre. I have, but I intend to watch it again during this series because I suspect it’s going to hit even harder this time. See the origin of the zombie baby fascination.
Don’t miss out on this gonzo series from Beyond Fest and the American Cinematheque. They do their duty and make sure to observe Covid protocols. I trust them more than I trust any of the other theatre chains.