Toronto After Dark – The Forbidden Door/Trick R’ Treat
The Forbidden Door Review By Adam A. DonaldsonThe weather outside was frightful Thursday night. Now I know a lot of scary stories start out with “It was a dark and stormy night…” but this was ridiculous. So bad was the storm that it played havoc with the projection equipment at the Bloor. “In the history of After Dark we’ve never had to cancel a screening,” began festival director Adam Lopez about 15 minutes in, “and we won’t tonight,” he finished to the sighs of relief from the faithful. But instead of the film print, the screening moved ahead with the “Preview Only” DVD copy. But technical issues still persisted through the screening, as if some unseen force didn’t want this movie being screened. Unfortunately, I think that these technical snafus probably tarnished some people’s impressions of the film.
It could have been worse though. A few miles away in Vaughn several dozen houses were mowed down by tornados, and on the same block of Bloor and Bathurst several businesses were without power – even the Starbucks. I suppose by comparison, those of us in the Bloor Cinema should have counted ourselves lucky that the show went on, in spite of the fact that the theatre was one circuit down, meaning that watching the movie meant sacrificing the air conditioning. Technically frustrated and slightly uncomfortable, if it weren’t a sweltering summer night the conditions might otherwise have been perfect for this Indonesian made mind messer-upper.
To those in the know, Indonesia is next in the world cinema round table to get their place in the sun and Joko Anwar is at the front of the line. With The Forbidden Door he constructs a Twilight Zone-like puzzle box that’s constantly making you question just what the heck is going on. Part film noir and part David Lynch inspired, non-linear mystery, Forbidden Door will not appeal to everyone’s taste, especially those that think highly of stories with limited symbolism and a straightforward narrative. For the little more broad minded though, Forbidden Door is a Rubik’s Cube, with every side a mesh of different colours desperately calling out for you to sort them, though you might never be able to.
Gambir (Fachry Albar) is a talented artist, a sculptor whose latest collection of works features a series of pregnant women. On the surface, Gambir seems to have it all, a brilliant career, a lovely wife (played by the smart and elegant Marsha Timothy), a beautiful home, all the possibilities in the world, including a group of haughty, art world detractors. Bur Gambir’s got some secrets of his own, some dark secrets. Primary among them is a secret, red door in his basement that stands locked with no known key. Gambir’s wife warns him not to open the door for any reason, and that he should trust her and do as she wishes. So guess what becomes Gambir’s obsession?
Dealing with deep themes like weakness, masculinity, secrets, pride, infidelity, murder and insanity, Anwar doesn’t leave a lot of room for laughs in his screenplay based on a novel by Sekar Ayu Asmara. The Forbidden Door is an artful film of skill and atmosphere, with dark foreboding and careful construction. Where the film ends up is not where you expected it to go, and Anwar keeps you on your toes all the way through. Ordinarily, I abhor any ending that requires a secret decoder ring, but by the time the film reached its final crescendo, I was prepared for anything. I initially wanted to dislike this movie, in much the same way I dislike Lynch’s Lost Highway on first viewing. But the more I think about it, the more Forbidden Door has grown on me. Hopefully, the next time I see it, there won’t be any technical disruption, but big props to the After Dark for handling the emergency situation with grace and aplomb.
Trick ‘R Treat Reviewed By Andrew Skinner
Finally a Halloween movie! For those of you who love Halloween this movie is a real treat and you won’t want to miss it when October nights are here. Director Michael Dougherty has created five tales with all of the day’s orange paraphernalia and weaves them together into a great Halloween spookeroo of fun.
With more than one out of sequence plot, stealthy surprises are plentiful and the director tricks us often. This is the night when the separation between this world and worlds beyond is weakest inviting all manner of supernatural incidents, menace, ghouls, sexual frenzy and shenanigans. The carnival-esque parade that runs through the movie helps to hold it together around stories that weave perfectly back in time visited by a little burlap bag headed character named Sam who appears on this day the way Santa does on Christmas. The picture perfect American town is affectionately decorated all Halloween-y with pumpkins and skulls everywhere, but it’s as Americana as Denise the Menace, and not overly gothic, which is all the better to the drama. A young couple returning from the Halloween parade blows out their jack-o’-lanterns before midnight not protecting themselves and honoring the dead, a recurring theme we will learn again and again. There are bits of Halloween legend and tradition like when Sam throws an egg at a window. And be warned that it’s always a good idea to check your haul of candies, and probably not a good idea to smash pumpkins. The movie continues to add new little skirmishes earlier and earlier in the evening. Some kids use an old local horror story involving a school bus tragedy to
frighten the wits out of other kids. And there’s a story of an old Halloween grinch (Brian Cox) who must pay the piper because he hides out in his house scaring kids and not giving out candy. Another story involves a girl (Anna Paquin) dressed as Little Red Riding Hood who is hoping to lose her virginity to the chagrin of her friends, and there are plenty of masked Dracula’s roaming the Samhain streets who might help her out with it. The school principal (Dylan Baker) continues his work as a disciplinarian, teaching children not to be too greedy on Halloween, taking a more direct approach than Willy Wonka. It has a sweet punchy script by Dougherty, and a great score by Douglas Pipes (Monster House), with a pinch of Marilyn Manson. It is not unsettling horror but more eye candy theatre as mastered by cinematographer Glen MacPherson (Rambo). Something like you’ve seen in comic book movies the opening and ending credits are layered fast with graphic images created for a realm and franchise that is all Trick ‘r Treat. Finally we can get away from the Michael Myers association with the name Halloween. A little bit Addams Family and Donnie Darko but much more of a live action apex to animated Halloween TV and Tim Burton’s work.
Don’t miss this if you’re a Halloween or horror fan and if you’re not it just might put you in the mood for the season. It will remain for many years to come at the top of the list as a video to watch on Halloween. It’s an instant classic, and I can’t think why it took so long for someone to do it. A fantastic fun bag of treats by first timer Michael Dougherty, who we are told is thinking about doing a Part 2!
