Posted Oct 20, 08 09:46 AM
The Hills Are Alive
People are trading in DVD players for Blu-Ray… at a time when I can finally program my VCR. The federal countdown to the airwaves converting to HD looms mightily on that 27” moose of a Trinitron in my room’s corner. And last week, I donated my last vinyl albums to Goodwill.
I’m no techy.
“Webisode?” To me, that sounds like a back-shelf box of Arm & Hammer. But Chiller’s original webisode series, Caroline Thompson’s and Steve Nicolaides’ The Hills Are Alive, happily escorts me into the 21st century. Er, wait… it’s still the 21st century, right?
Premiering Tuesdays and Thursdays each week at just under three minutes a pop – with each installment ready for repeat viewing with the click of a mouse – The Hills Are Alive chronicles three summer school students’ excursion into the mysterious mountains of Ojai, California. There, they attempt to find the un-found: a sacred site on par with unexplained sacred sites that eerily align – “ley lines” -- on the Earth’s grid. The Great Pyramids. Easter Island, Stonehenge. They’re all megalithic: possessing big stone markers precisely on the planet’s energy lines.
Hmm... And after viewing all 21 (and counting) episodes, make that a Big Hmm...
Think a spiritual energy-driven The Blair Witch Project with a bit more polish and budget. Thompson and Nicolaides play on genre expectations. The set-up is familiar: teens taking to the woods for extra credit, getting the proverbial “more than they bargained for.” But employing this usual horror kick-start works in lulling the viewers into a false sense of passivity. That’s when sneaky Caroline and Steve truck out their nasty stick and start smacking away at their creepy piñata. My favorite moment thus far was a montage of tree bark that looked uncomfortably like human faces…
To be purposefully vague, the area’s intangible energies start altering the perception of reality. Thompson, best known for her collaborations with director Tim Burton – Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride – summarizes the internet film as “an experiment in fear.” Burton has a reputation for resisting the standard three-act structure in film, but in retrospect, much of that maverick attitude might rightfully be attributed to Thompson. She calls making THAA “fun”, and the joy of experimentation carries over. (Indeed, Caroline and Steve founded Small & Creepy films – that’s http://www.smallandcreepy.com -- to support independent filmmaking.) As a fan, I’d much rather a filmmaker takes chances in growing the form rather than repeating experiences we’ve already had. Even when they confound us, we’re not frustrated. It’s like being handed random, diabolical puzzle pieces… only the jigsaw picture keeps multiplying.
One of the key’s to THAA’s effectiveness is its emerging cast (Babar Peerzada, Emma Jaster and Tarreyn Van Slyke as – respectively – Peter, Emma and Fran). They’re theatrically-trained and likeable, yet subdued. That’s a smart approach – grounded-ness – which contrasts material that happily lobs warped surprises their way.
Sound designers are a relatively new field in the industry, not often discussed. But I really admired the mood they set here. The opening credits combine trees breaking, howling wind, veiled whispers and crickets, fluctuating in a rush of volume before settling back into each installment’s seemingly doomed narrative.
The very format the filmmakers have chosen – this wonderful new (at least to me) internet cliffhanger – helps to keep disbelief aptly suspended. I’m reminded of those freaky serials that used to run in Boys Life magazine, except the Chiller audience need only wait a week between chapters, not a month.
I’ll see if I can watch them in advance and not tell you.
Or if you haven’t seen for yourself yet, try the Chiller on-air premiere of THAA with special behind-the-scenes interviews. Got a pen? Oh, you think you can remember it? Good. Friday… October 24th… 8pm… 10pm… 12 a.m. All Eastern Times.
Got it? Cool.
Posted by Mike Kalvoda at 09:46 AM