Apparently, it took me two plus weeks to stop reeling from viewing The Baby Of Mâcon. Apologies for the delay on the next Halloween choice cuts article. Anyway, onto the film, this week David Lynch’s cult classic, Blue Velvet. I am unsure why I keep doing this to myself.
Blue Velvet is a 1986 American neo-noir mystery thriller, written and directed by David Lynch. Blending psychological horror with film noir, the film stars Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, and Laura Dern. Blue Velvet is named after the 1951 song of the same name. The film concerns a young college student who, returning home to visit his ill father, discovers a severed human ear in a field. The ear then leads him to uncover a vast & brutal criminal conspiracy and enter a romantic relationship with a troubled lounge singer.
The lighting and camera work throughout this film is incredible, not surprisingly the lighting is often coloured blue, cleverly tying the themes of the film, mood, visuals & audio together. Strange & unique camera angles and the relaxed but unsettling score by Angelo Badalamenti really add to the tension throughout. Badalamenti has created a very cool film noir soundscape.
Blue Velvet is incredibly cinematic, the film opens with a filming style similar to 1950’s cinema, a period Lynch is reported to be fascinated by. The music throughout the film is mostly from the 1950’s or has a certain 1950’s charm to it. Lynch has been quoted to say the ’50’s were a time of truly meaningful joy that heralded the end of WW2 and a return to normality. David Lynch states it was a time we were content with a simple life & did not want for too much excitement. Lynch has also been quoted to say; as the human race becomes used to or complacent with a simple & quiet existence, we start to crave darker means of excitement, violence and debauchery. Lynch argues this is why cinema & TV has grown more & more violent as time has progressed. Blue Velvet & The TV series Twin Peaks (season 3 in particular) certainly shadow this idea. The 1950’s style cinematography is soon replaced by Lynchian artistic shots & film noir stylised horror. The film quickly descends from absolute reality to an out-and-out nightmare.
Blue Velvet could be described as a commentary on the worm-in-the-bud of “ordinary” American society, if this is Lynch’s true intention than he has achieved an astonishing capacity to hit the viewer below the belt & find a joy in doing so. However, I think the real significance lies not in any general comment but in a series of observations, mainly concerning our fears about what we might become if our familiar constraints were to be blown away.
It has to be said David Lynch has done a great job casting this film Kyle MacLachlan is fantastic as, Jeffery a naive college student and Isabella Rossellini absolutely nails the traits of someone that has been horribly broken & tormented. Dennis Hopper’s character, Frank really dominates this film, Lynch has managed to create a thoroughly depraved but believable character and Denis Hopper fits the role perfectly. I think Frank will remain one of the most unpleasant and terrifying characters committed to film for years to come.
From the nostalgic beginning, to the dark & twisting middle, to the “happy ending” the viewer is made to feel very uncomfortable throughout. Lynch controls the film with the kind of icy expertise it needs, the cinematic vortex swirls this way and that, from innocent naivete to supreme decadence, involving those who watch Blue Velvet in the experience as much as the characters within the film. The happy ending is also thoroughly unconvincing, and I think it is meant to be. The flowers in the garden where Kyle MacLachlan’s character wakes are just too pretty/artificial to be true. The fact the end mirrors the start; may mean more horror is yet to come and the final image of a clearly artificial robin with a live bug in its beak adds to the unease.
Blue Velvet is a very stylised film, a commentary on rites of passage and a psychotic thriller that’s deliberately out to shock.
Zoolander is back but a lot has happened since 2001! Rest assured the Ben Stiller comedy features familiar faces and a few new ones with plenty to get you excited. Read more
Zone 414 is an upcoming American science fiction thriller film written by Bryan Edward Hill and directed by Andrew Baird. The film stars Guy Pearce, Matilda Lutz, Jonathan Aris, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Olwen Fouéré, Colin Salmon, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Read more
It is the final episode of Season 1, and as expected following the somewhat calmness of last week's episode this week is about to go off the scale. Our crew Read more
Episode 5 of Zomboat! is the penultimate episode of Season 1 and it gave the audience a chance to catch their breath before the grand finale. Instead of the fast Read more
In Zomboat! Episode 4 we discover that even a shopping trip can be hazardous to your health in post-apocalyptic Birmingham. With the boat moored and apparently safe Amar (Ryan McKen) Read more
After our diversion last week our Zomboat crew begin travelling in the right direction and end up back where they first got on the boat. This also happens to be Read more
Zomboat! burst onto our screens last week and while we loved it we noted that it felt "a bit rushed with lots crammed in." As Episode 2 washed over us Read more
Debuting on ITV2 in the UK, Zomboat! is filmed in the 2.35:1 widescreen ratio of most zombie movies and answers the life long question of what would happen if you Read more
Homemade horror-comedy feature Zomblogalypse received its UK premiere at Dead Northern Film Festival - in association with Fangoria and Shudder - at City Screen York on 26th September 2021. The Read more
Tony Todd is back in an all new zombie movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBlWz-n-nec When the world is in shambles, plagued by a zombie outbreak, only the strong will survive, but just how Read more
Columbus, Tallahasse, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of the snarky makeshift family... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL6NTQhEqn4 Read more
In Zombieland 2: Double Tap, Columbus, Tallahasse, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of Read more
Zombie With A Shotgun is the feature adaptation of the popular web series of the same name. Aaron and Rachel are on the run due to the fact that Aaron is Read more
Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante, Zombie Tidal Wave aims to pick up where the Sharknado franchise left off. More serious in tone, the film plays more like the original Sharknado Read more
It's a Zombie Tsunami! From the same twisted minds behind Sharknado comes an all-new disaster: Zombie Tidal Wave starring Ian Ziering. Watch the world premiere Saturday August 17th at 9/8c Read more
11 years ago, a zombie virus killed many people, while others had their family members turned into zombies. Society is still angry, and so outside the city, a zombie fight Read more
Haiti, 1962. A man is brought back from the dead to work in the hell of sugar cane plantations. 55 years later, a Haitian teenager tells her friends her family Read more
On her first holiday without her father, Zoey attempts to create a magical Christmas for her family just like the ones Mitch used to do. Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas, an all-new Read more
Zoe Kravitz has been cast to play Catwoman/Selina Kyle in The Batman, a role she recently voiced in The Lego Batman Movie. Kravitz was also recently in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Read more
A UFO lands on Earth, unleashing a giant monster that is half lizard, half gorilla - Zillafoot! The monster rampages, decimating any military response and even awakening a strange dinosaur. Read more
More Stories
New poster released for The Beekeeper
Stigmata to get 2-Disc Limited Collector’s Edition Bluray & DVD release
ARROW’s December line up has arrived