Giant from the Unknown (1958): What Makes a Giant?
Richard Cunha’s Giant from the Unknown is not good. However, like a lot of bad older films, there’s so much wrong with it that it’s curious thing to watch.
Richard Cunha’s Giant from the Unknown is not a good movie. However, like a lot of bad older films, there’s so much wrong with it that it’s a curious thing to watch. Frankly, it’s brimming with a lot of stupid 1950s tropes (as overused as that expression is). Then again, some aspects seem to predate the 1950s, like the racist sentiments against a character named “Indian Joe” (Billy Dix). While not a fan of playing this race card, what can I say? This part of the movie sucks, and not in the better sense of the word. Still, in an odd way, this element only augments the other bad aspects, and needn’t be focused on exclusively. After all, the giant “itself” is the most ridiculous part of the movie.
What Makes a Giant?
Dwelling near a place called Devil’s Crag, the so-called Giant from the Unknown (AKA “Vargas the Diablo Giant”) is played by boxer-turned-actor Buddy Baer. While the actor’s name is cute and lovable, the Giant in this film is not. However, just what is this character? He’s called a giant, but is he? According to Google, Buddy Baer stood at 6′ 7,″ which is pretty tall. However, does tallness alone qualify one as a giant?
I’ll use myself as an example here. I am 5′ 6,″ which is considered short by some. Still, I’m only 13 inches shorter than Baer was. That’s only one full-size Subway sandwich + 1 inch of difference. Does this mean I could easily terrorize people had I been born with an extra Subway footlong sandwich to my height? Something about that calculation doesn’t seem right.
So it must be in the attitude of the beast, and the fact that he was freed from a state of suspended animation after 500 years. Weird, right? Yep. Weirder still, his suspended aimation somehow made him imperivious to damage from bullets. How does that work? No one knows, least of all the frickin’ giant himself. All he knows now is to act like a bewildered, violent beast. He is also a former Spanish Conquistador, which means he is no longer a “Giant from the Unknown.” His origins are actually very well established pretty early on, and certain people from some hick town or another fight him before he kills more people and stuff. Honestly, wouldn’t you if you were in their shoes?
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The End
I’m going to spoil the very end for you, just for the hell of it. He falls down a waterfall (or that’s what the effects are supposed to convey). You really won’t care that I spoiled it, or at least shouldn’t. Here’s a picture of that glorious moment:
The Actors
In addition to He Might Be Giant, this film stars Ed Kemmer as the unmemorable Wayne Brooks, Sally Fraser as Janet Cleveland (who faints very easily, as all women do), Bob Steele as the racist Sheriff Parker who is racist, and also Morris Ankrum as Dr. Frederick Cleveland who uses his Dr. skills in this movie to spellbound the audience (just kidding). Of course, you’ll probably find these characters rather interchangeable, and they honestly could have been played by an endless array of alternate actors (no offense — and surely none taken, as most of these people are either dead by now or well on their way out). Finally, no actual giants were harmed in the making of this film.
What are your thoughts on Giant from the Unknown? Then again, why would they matter?
The Substance is 2024’s body horror film that does not exhale until it’s final scene. It is a saturated and gory creation from French writer-director Coralie Fargeat, the creator of the 2018 movie Revenge. Fargeat created The Substance’s from her own personal experiences with body dysmorphia and unmet societal expectations. To be a woman or woman-presenting is to have one’s entire autonomy challenged and dissected. The Substance uses satire and classic movie references — ranging from Kubrick to Hitchcock — to dramatize female aging a one big body horror.
You Can’t Escape from Yourself
Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) turns 50 and is no longer relevant to a world that once loved her. Her boss, Harvey (Dennis Quaid), fires her from her long-running aerobic TV show and crudely decides to go with someone younger, all while shoving fish in his mouth. A breaking point comes when Elisabeth is in a near-fatal car accident after being distracted by construction workers tearing her face off a billboard. When she gets back home from the hospital, she realizes a young male nurse slipped a USB drive labeled THE SUBSTANCE in her pocket with a note that reads “It changed my life.” After a moment of reflection and realizing she is something of a has-been, Elisabeth decides to sign up for the Substance.
The Substance, much like Fargeat’s Revenge, relies heavily on visuals. The characters rarely speak, instead conveying their thoughts through their body language. The male gaze is its own character in the predominately male-casted film; exposition is conveyed through the character’s actions more than their words.
In one dialogue-free scene, Elisabeth is about to go on a date, but cannot stop fretting over her appearance. She looks at her younger self, Sue (Margaret Qualley), whose perfect body and makeup and hair and face only add to the turmoil. Several times, Elisabeth redoes her makeup, changes her outfit, then exasperatedly wipes her makeup and tears off her lashes, ultimately missing the date. Elisabeth sits on her bed, alone, captive by her insecurities. It is a quandary that drags her down a rabbit hole of self-destruction and hatred. This scene is particularly heartbreaking, because rather than being satirical and disgusting like the rest of the film, it is honest and real.
Elisabeth, in a desperate attempt to treat herself with love, only hates herself more.
Bring On the Practical Effects
The Substance is a practical effects and sound design goldmine. From the birth of Sue to Elisabeth’s devolution to the climactic Monstro Elisasue, makeup and prosthetics are the key to the movies shock value. Makeup artist Pierre-Olivier Persin and his team used an array of materials like plastic and silicone models to bring the Substance’s gruesome side effects to life. Practical effects are noticeably becoming more common in modern horror movies again; Terrifier 3 and Smile 2 are recent popular examples of such. Practical effects add an impact of surprise and awe, that, let’s face it, CGI does not produce. CGI is of course an impressive and important medium in movie making, but had Fargeat decided to go with CGI over practical, The Substance would have been an entirely different and less entertaining viewing experience.
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The Substance So White
The Substance is, by minimal definition, a feminist horror movies. It is also so, so white. No artistic medium will please or include everyone; the attempt to do so often damages the very concept of art. But it is worth noting that The Substance‘s approach to female aging and womanhood is specifically a white perspective. There are Black and POC actors in the movie, but they are either minor characters or silent extras. The fact that Elisabeth, Sue and Harvey are all rich, cishet, white characters is a statement in itself.
Another interesting aspect of the film is its refusal to indicate a specific time period. The internet evidently does not exist, but everyone uses iPhones. Aerobic TV shows are prominent and Harvey’s office looks like it was decorated by an 80’s interior designer. This could either be a simple filmmaking mistake or a metaphor for the timeless degradation of women’s bodies. Whatever time period the film takes place, The Substance proves that, even though being a woman often sucks, white women historically have reached success faster and easier than marginalized women (e.g. Sue immediately lands a role for a new TV show mere moments after her incarnation from Elisabeth’s spine). Is Fargeat’s new movie horror? Yes. Is it political? Definitely. Is it feminist? It depends.
The Verdict
The Substance is a deeply personal body horror. It picks apart the expectations that come with femininity and aging, then twists it into an amalgamation of terror, quick cuts and uncomfortable closeups, sprinkled with body mutations and all the perverted men you could dream up. Elisabeth and Sue are over-the-top, but honest, illustrations of the damage resulting from generations of men controlling women’s autonomy. It is visually stunning and saturated, and the practical effects are pure fun. The Substance, from beginning to end, is a gnarly body horror absolutely worth the watch.
(4 / 5)
We’ve reached the final episode of Marvel’s Agatha All Along. And after an emotional week for those of us living in the States, it was exactly the heartfelt, funny and inspiring ending I think we all needed.
The story
We begin this episode in the 1700’s, with Agatha in labor. As she struggles in the woods alone, Rio comes to her. It’s clear that she’s there for the baby. But Agatha begs for the life of her child. Rio says she can give her only time.
We then see ten years of Agatha with her son. They play together. They sing together. And they lure witches to their deaths together.
But of course, Rio’s warning hovers over their lives. Because she was clear, Agatha wasn’t going to be able to raise her son to manhood. She only had some extra time. And it could never have been enough.
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What worked
I want to start by pointing out that our two main characters, Agatha and Billy don’t exactly get happy endings. One of them, Agatha, is a horrible person so I’m kind of okay with that. And Billy gets a happy enough ending for now.
Jen, on the other hand, gets a happy ending. If you’ve already seen episode eight, I don’t think I’m ruining anything by telling you that she gets what she wanted and can now move on with her life. It isn’t flashy, it isn’t spectacular. But she has her life, and she has her powers. She deserves those things. All the other witches deserved them too, but at least Jen made it out alright.
I also loved the depiction of Rio as Death. While she was certainly not cuddly, she was comforting. I especially liked it when she sent Nick back to kiss his mother goodbye.
I think we like to write Death this way. As a friendly face and a caring companion who will someday come for us all. Think of Death from American Gods or Discworld. Rio felt similar.
There was something I enjoyed about this season that I frankly didn’t think I was going to enjoy. And it was unexpected.
Agatha is not a good person. Agatha has never been a good person. She’s a bad person who happens to have a soft spot for Billy because he reminds her of her son. She loved her son fiercely, but that didn’t stop her from using him to trick innocent witches. She continues to use his song after he dies.
Likewise, Agatha loves Billy and even sacrifices herself to save him. This shouldn’t be surprising, since she literally drank poison earlier in the season to keep him from doing so. But she’s still mean to him. She’s still constantly pushing his buttons.
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I kind of love that they didn’t give her a redemption arch. Especially since I know Disney had a hand in this, and they tend to like black-and-white morality characters. Agatha is not a good person. But she is still capable of love. She is still capable of regret. She is, in short, more realistic a character than we tend to see.
Finally, I loved this ending. And let me explain why.
If this is all we get, and there’s a good chance it will be, this is a satisfying enough ending. I can live with this ending. But this ending also leaves the door open for a season two.
We never did find Tommy, after all. And Agatha was too afraid to move into the afterlife and see her son. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a plotline right there.
What didn’t work
Unfortunately, nothing is ever perfect. And this season has had one big plothole as far as I’m concerned.
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Why did Billy care so much about Agatha? Right from the start, he wanted her to like him so much.
Part of this is because he wanted something from her. In that way, they are very much alike. Part of it is probably that he remembers her from his past life. But I don’t know that this is enough for him to be almost entirely loyal to her.
Yes, he has his moments. But she always manages to get him back on her side with a smile, or a moment of honesty. It just doesn’t make sense. But then, the show doesn’t work without it.
I think it would have been better to have a scene, or maybe a flashback, of him remembering some kindness from her in Westview. Maybe her tucking him in and singing The Ballad of The Road to him and Tommy. I think that would have gone a long way toward explaining why he always seems to be looking for a reason to forgive her.
All things considered, this was a great mini-series. It was funny, dark and touching. And for having such an unrepentant monster for a main character, it’s surprisingly inspiring. I hope they make another season. But even if they don’t, Agatha All Along was a wonderful journey.
Happy Election Day for all those who choose to celebrate. I was originally planning to run down the list of the most extreme American Presidential portrayals featured in Doctor Who. However I quickly realized this would not be possible. This is because most times when the American President appears in Doctor Who, the series treats them nicely.
Sure, the Eleventh Doctor said Richard Nixon was “Not one of the good ones” in “The Impossible Astronaut,” but that was the limit of the criticism. The very real Harry S Truman, and the very fictional Tom Dering, were manipulated into almost starting a nuclear war. However the Doctor in both cases sees them as victims of the manipulations of beings arriving from outside of Earth. Since Donald Trump’s election in 2016, most references to him in Doctor Who media have been jokes on the basis of his appearance.
Compare this to how the series treats the role of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. We’ve had Prime Ministers who wanted to start a nuclear war, for no clear reason, in Roger ap Gwilliam. One Prime Minister was secretly a Sea Devil in the comic strip Clara Oswald and the School of Death. Prime Minister Greyhaven acted as a Quisling to the invading Ice Warriors The Dying Days. And of course, the Master as Harold Saxon became Prime Minister of England, and proceeded to wipe out ten percent of humanity.
So unlike the leaders of the UK, Doctor Who tends to be slightly more respectful when it comes to Presidents of the United States. So there’s not a lot of terrible, weird, or dangerous Presidents to discuss.
Except for one. And to discuss this one, we need to talk about the world of Faction Paradox.
Faction Paradox – Origins
The year is 1997. The TV Movie from the previous year introduced the world to the Eighth Doctor as portrayed by Paul McGann. However, a new series, or sequel following on from that did not appear. Instead, the ongoing story of Doctor Who continued in the world of BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures.
This series developed in response to the Movie, allowing people to see what the Eighth Doctor did next. Initially the series focused on safer and familiar Doctor Who story tropes. Previous series had tried to push the boundaries and concepts for a more mature audience, but the BBC returned to attempts to replicate the TV series.
Until “Alien Bodies” written by Lawrence Miles was published. This book introduced the Doctor Who Universe to the world of Faction Paradox.
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Who are Faction Paradox?
To put it imply, The Faction Paradox, also known as just the Faction, are a time traveling voodoo cult. The Faction live in opposition to the views and beliefs of the Time Lords. Time Lords aim to keep timelines pure and free of contradiction. Therefore, the Faction seek paradox and disorder in time. They wear skulls that are bigger than their faces, because their skulls are bigger on the outside. While the Time Lords are based in Gallifrey, the Faction Paradox mostly claim their home in the Eleven Day Empire – the eleven days “skipped” when England moved from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian Calendar.
While the Faction opposed the Time Lords, they were rarely direct enemies of Gallifrey. Instead they tended to manipulate and take advantage of factors effecting the Time Lords. In particular, with the Faction Paradox we see also the first Great Time war.
This is not the same Time War we see in the TV series between the Time Lords and the Daleks. Instead, in this earlier war we know the Time Lords will be eventually fighting a war with an unknown enemy. While this war has not started yet, elements of this future war are drifting backwards into our present time. The Doctor purposefully tries not to find out too much about this war, in particular who the Enemy is. By doing this, he hopes of keeping the war a hypothetical reality, rather than a pre-determined future.
However, the Doctor was unable to avoid the technological changes the impending war would bring. For example, the Doctor begins to see the development of future sentient and humanoid TARDISes. While still being a time and space vessel, carrying Time Lords within them through the vortex, they appear as people. Able to hold conversations and physcially walk, they are both time ship and companion in one. Eventually, the Doctor rescues one humanoid TARDISes from being sent to a breeding camp, drawing parallels with slavery imagery.
Faction Paradox leaves the Mainstream
Faction Paradox continued to be a major theme in Doctor Who books up until the release of The Ancestor Cell. This story ends with the Faction Paradox invading Gallifrey. Subsequently, the Doctor destroys Gallifrey to prevent the war (They got better).
Controversially, Peter Anghelides and Stephen Cole wrote “The Ancestor Cell,” not Lawrence Miles. Miles created his own “Faction Paradox” spin off series of books, comics, and audio plays in response. This series continues the concepts he created in “Alien Bodies,” in being explored in the way he had planned.
However, Miles does not have the rights to directly reference Doctor Who concepts. So instead of the Time Lords, we have the Great Houses. Instead of the TARDIS we have “Time ships” And instead of the Master we have the “War King.” And through the “War King” we get to know Lolita.
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Who is Lolita?
Faction Paradox as a series has to be coy, as it is not able to directly reference the Doctor Who series without breaching copyright. But it is still able to use the concepts Lawrence Miles created, including the sentient humanoid TARDISes.
Lolita, originally known as Lillith, is one of the first of these sentient Time ships. While she was originally said to be bonded to the War King, how much he actually controlled her is unclear. In “Toy story” she states she chose the dangerous looking Time Lord to flee with prior to becoming humanoid. She also says in this story that some of her adjustments to become human were due to her own choices, not the Master.
However, as she realizes her power of sentience she flees Gallifrey to develop her own plans. She attempts and fails to form an alliance with her sister, implied to be the Doctor’s own TARDIS. The Master then brings her back to Gallifrey, to ally with the Time Lords.
However, Lolita does not feel any connection to any side in the war. Instead, Lolita decides to become history itself. She starts by consuming most of the Faction Paradox inside her internal dimensions. She thenputs herself in various points of history, guiding human history to her own whims. This includes becoming Queen Charlotte, consort to King George III of England. In modern times, her new persona became Lola Denison, Congresswoman for the State of Arizona.
Lola Denison – Path to the White House
Lola Denison was originally a Republican, was criticized for her Libertarian beliefs, and became an independent. Matt Nelson, former Democrat and Presidential candidate for the new Radical Party, sees a common vision, and invited her become her running mate. She accepts this offer, and gains prominence in the campaign due to her direct speaking. However, during this time young women connected to the campaign were found dead, drained of blood. Rumours developed that Nelson was a Vampire, killing these women.
Nelson did win the election, and was inaugurated as President, with Denison inaugurated as Vice-President. However, the rumours of Nelson being a vampire lead to him being assassinated shortly after inauguration. Thus, Lola Denison, really Lolita, really the Master’s TARDIS becomes President of the United States.
Immediately upon becoming president, Denison places restrictions on the media to avoid any space for dissent. Her main policy involved developing energy independence by drilling into the Earth’s Core. While the story does not directly reference Doctor Who, this plan is similar to “Project Inferno” which the Doctor sees results in the destruction of a parallel world in Inferno.
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End of Lolita
Eventually the combined forces of the surviving Faction Paradox Members, the Master and the Osirans are able to defeat Lolita. However prior to her defeat, she is able to entirely consume the Master and taking full control of Gallifrey. Only a trap left by the Master allowing her few remaining opponents to unite against her prevents her ultimate victory. A peculiar statue of pure black Onsidian in the shape of a beautiful woman is all that is left of her at the conclusion of her battle.
And thus ends the story of the only truly evil American President, ever seen in any form of Doctor Who fiction.
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