Month: February 2010

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Balance Issues in Pen & Paper Roleplaying

My brother used to run Shadowrun games at conventions, back in the days of the 2nd and 3rd Edition rulebooks.  He could look at a party of power-gaming assault types, flowery role players, and quiet support characters, and give them all an important part of the story.

The assault type had to shoot down the doors to get everyone in.  The mage could usually help.  The rigger had his drone on the scene to record everything for verification purposes.  The face sweet talked the client for more money, then sweet talked the opponent into letting the party through with a minimal of damage taken before the inevitable firefight would start.  The insane Raven shaman could show off for the camera hooked up to the drone.

So now I’m looking at gaming again.  My wife and I both used to be avid gamers, and we want to play some more.  Yet so much of what I see is “lack of balance.”  This is true if your game is one-dimensional.  Shoot everything.  Talk a lot.  Pure stealth.

So, honestly, just look at the character sheets.  Look at the players.  Adding a spur of the moment detail to your game to include everyone rather than blaming the rules will not only make the session more fun, but make it more memorable.

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Scared to Death

Scared To Death

Directed by William Malone, Co-Written by William Malone.

Synopsis:
Ted Lonegran is a retired detective turned writer. Now seemingly carefree, he finds himself drawn into romance and ready to face the world again as an adult. His former partner, however, draws him into investigating a horrific string of murders. Even more terrifying is the true face of the murderer. How many more people will be scared to death by this creature?

Thoughts as I watch:

The movie is playing.  This is what I think of it as it happens.

William Malone’s first full length movie begins with a yellow road sign reading the solitary word “end.” Thankfully, this was only the beginning. By the 4 minute mark, we are treated to the best kind of gratuitous horror movie nudity: the elusive full frontal.

My inner 16 year old already loves this movie.

My inner 16 year old is also feeling nostalgic. Phones that didn’t leave the table. Big hair. Cigarettes everywhere. Brown paper bags. Component stereo systems and twelve inches of black vinyl love. Electric typewriters with no “undo” feature. I remember living like that! William Malone as “Alex Waverly” is just a fun treat, given the nature of this blogging project.

And a love scene. First half of the woman’s eyeshadow abruptly vanishes. Then, she looks more than a little bored right as the act commences. Or maybe she’s really in the zone.

That has to have been the most effective use of roller skates I have ever seen in a horror film. In all film, I doubt anything can match the roller skates at end of Rock & Rule.  This was cool enough to remind me of that.

Interesting choice of colors on this telephone conversation. Shades of blue on one end, shades of brown on the other. Each character’s shirt, phone, and backdrop all possessing a common hue. I would normally not think twice about this if not for having skimmed over Creature.

The blood effects get better as the movie goes on.

This woman looks like Velma from Scooby Doo with Joey Ramone’s hair. I find it extremely compelling, but can’t tell if it’s really hot or really unattractive.

Final Thoughts

The pacing was very interesting. Much of Scared to Death is relaxed, taking its time to let us know the characters before they meet the Syngenor. At times the relaxed pace borders on awkward, but it was really hard to launch a protest during that first drawn out nude scene.

You can definitely see that this movie came from a different time. All of that is nearly periphery. The focus on characters over the easier horror elements does a lot to make the technology less noticeable. The plot is almost ahead of its time, more resembling late 90s Japanese science fiction than late 70s creature features.

And the creature? Most of what we see is its face, which is a good thing. William Malone’s background is deeply rooted in monster effects, and it showed from the neck up. The biggest problem with the rest of the Syngenor is that none of its unique features were put to any use. Had it used those spikes for defense, offense, or simply its main purpose of eating, then the Syngenor itself would have appeared much scarier without a single change to its design.

The characters themselves are an eclectic mix of 1970s influence with 1980s buddy cop tones.

Overall, I can strongly see this movie mirrored against Parasomnia. Despite being a creature feature with Malone’s artwork at the purpose of the story, the focus is on the characters. This is what Malone does when he’s in charge: He draws us in with the lure of his artistic eye, and keeps us in with a story about his characters.

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On the other hand…

Posting from work/shopping/anywhere else from a smart phone is really nice too. I’m also thinking of repurposing my Nokia into s portable media player. It has always done s great job of that.

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William Malone Love Fest – Prologue

The last two comments on this blog have been kind of negative.  I really would prefer to keep things on a happier note.  And so I am beginning a project: The William Malone Lovefest.

William Malone is a writer and director.  His big moment to shine was the 1999 remake of House on Haunted Hill.  He has been directing (formally) since 1981’s Scared to Death.

My introduction to his work was no doubt his turn at the Director’s Chair on the television show Freddy’s Nightmares. Freddy’s Nightmares was a near religious experience that was worth staying up all hours of the night to watch.  So what if I was in sixth grade and the show didn’t come on until 2:30am?  I was a die-hard fan of the show, and can say with certainty that his work was enjoyed in the middle of the night on my brother’s 12″ black and white television set.

House on Haunted Hill was an oddity of the 1990s.  The movie was not a slasher, and not a comedy with some blood thrown in.  House on Haunted Hill was a roller coaster ride custom built for the big screen and for the large, loud speaker system playing along with it.   Nearly every aspect of the film was designed to scare the audience.  The house creaked and moaned constantly.  The set design featured the most deviant basement everyone never wanted to go into.  The ghosts lived in their own world of terror that bled into ours.  Finally, the movie did not shy away from gore.  I am by no means a gorehound.  Yet when neither shied away from or added gratuitously, a good deal of gore can turn an unsettling moment into a terrifying one.  (Also see Clive Barker’s Candyman for the excellent use of well-timed splatter.)

These are the reasons why House on Haunted Hill still remains the single most frightening movie experience I have had in a movie theater.  The 90s were a sinkhole of comedic horror films and unwatchable slashers.  Malone and Barker stood out as the only two directors to even frighten me in that entire decade.

A One Sheet Poster for Parasomnia signed by William Malone
A One Sheet Poster for Parasomnia signed by William Malone

So what brings me to this point is Malone’s newest film, Parasomnia.   I fell in love with the artwork on the site.  This is classic, beautiful, and a style all-but given up on by the current crop of horror movies.  This appreciation for both Malone’s prior work and the art for Parasomnia ultimately inspired a quest of sorts.  The quest has led to a poster for the film, signed by the writer / director himself.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will load up my laptop, put one of Malone’s movies in the DVD player, and review the movies.  House On Haunted Hill and FearDotCom enough times that those films will probably be enjoyed with the Director’s Commentary enabled.   As much as I wish a proper release was available for Freddy’s Nightmares, or that finances allowed the purchase of Tales from the Crypt Season 6 on a whim, this project will be committed to Malone’s longer works:

These movies will be reviewed in roughly chronological order.  There is a good chance that Creature will still be the first movie tackled.  Scared to Death is currently on its way from Amazon, and will be reviewed no later than second.

Parasomnia will be released on DVD in the United States on July 31, 2010 as of this writing.  It has already found European distribution, and I will have no problem paying for two different pressings of this movie.