|
|
|
|
Since its original release back in 1999, many people have referred to Eric Stanze's ICE FROM THE SUN as an “acid trip of a film.” Personally, if I ever had a trip anything like the 2 hours of surreal savagery that is ICE FROM THE SUN, I'd turn straightedge and join a monastery. This is the kind of movie that shows that “indie film” doesn't air on the Sundance Channel, or has to be tragically limited to the me-too slashers and zombie apocalypses that have been flooding the genre recently. This is a labor of love from start to finish, as brutal and somber as it may be.
Years ago, a wizard named Ambolin and his apprentice Abraham sought to transcend normal human existence. They did this by drinking the blood of Abraham's murdered lover (done in by Abe himself), which turned to salt in their throats and dried out their hearts. Building their own dimension from ice that they scraped off the surface of the sun, they began their game: capturing six souls and subjecting them to their worst fears, destroying them in the process. These “games” continued on until, in an act of desperation, Abraham murdered Ambolin, attaining semi-godhood and becoming known merely as The Presence.
Ambolin and Abraham's actions did not go unnoticed, as both heaven and hell are threatened by their games, because the souls they captured remained trapped in this alternate dimension by the icy walls. However, the angels and devils have hatched a plan: contact the human soul of Alison, who recently committed suicide, with an ultimatum: penetrate the ice and destroy The Presence, or face eternal punishment for her sin of suicide. Alison accepts, and enters the dimension, just after The Presence has brought in six new souls to torture with their fears.
Surprisingly, these fears are far from traditional horror staples. The obvious route would be for our unlucky sextet to be afraid of spiders, the dark, and so on. However, Stanze fills his characters with dread for things more universal and mundane: fear of suffocation, becoming an invalid, betrayal by a loved one...as they suffer their tortures at the hands of The Presence, the viewer can't help but squirm, as these types of fears are buried in most people's psyches. As one man is smothered to death, first by sheets of plastic, then by his own swollen tongue, I felt that dread start to coil in the pit of my stomach. This is the best kind of horror, folks, this is horror that works on a universal level, even if the movie can be inaccessible to some.
Indeed, if there's one problem that one can have with ICE FROM THE SUN, it's that it's a toughie to fully digest at times. Stanze's gorgeous art house imagery is an awful lot to get your head around, as it's certainly not what one would expect out of a film of this type. The six soon-to-be lost souls are represented by metal rings dangling from lengths of ribbon. As the victims are destroyed by The Presence, the rings disappear, leaving their ribbons fluttering loose. In another scene, a preacher abuses his chained human “dogs” as he munches away at a gargantuan platter of fried chicken. The mixture of images beautiful and hideous is daring, to say the least.
However, all of this would be for naught if the actors and actresses didn't help us believe in The Presence's dimension of pain. Everyone acts out their part quite well, despite the rough spots of amateurishness that occasionally peek through. Ramona Midgett at times seemed a bit wooden in her delivery, but all was forgiven in her final match with The Presence, as her emotional range suddenly blossomed like a flower. Speaking of The Presence, DJ Vivona's performance, despite being somewhat masked by voice modulation, was thoroughly stunning, lending a genuine air of menace to the proceedings.
Now, here comes the tough part of the review: the A/V quality. The normal litmus test doesn't apply, for two very good reasons. One, the film was shot on Super 8, which virtually guarantees a fairly rough picture. Second, Stanze is experimental with his stock, intentionally overexposing or underexposing his film, undercranking or cranking backwards, all to achieve the desired effect. Hell, the man willingly hacked at his negative to give it a damaged look! He's a filmmaker to an extreme degree, using every tool at his disposal to maintain his vision. Even the audio sports stretches of white noise or intentional distortion. How does one talk about the quality when the director has intentionally mangled it? However, I can say this: compared to its previous release under the Sub Rosa Studios label, Image's re-release of the movie is light-years ahead. Colors manage to reach a richness that wasn't there before, the picture is much more defined, and I certainly can't imagine it looking better under the circumstances. Audio was given a similar kick in the pants, with the important dialogue achieving greater clarity than before. The amazing score by Matt Meyer and Brian McClelland also manages to show off a greater range and depth that was lacking in the Sub Rosa release. Simply put, if you own the previous release, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up!
If the promise of a better transfer isn't enough, how about some extras? On top of the first disc, which gives us no less than three commentaries, we're presented with a second disc completely stuffed with goodies. First, we've got the feature-length documentary “On Thin Ice,” which hasn't been presented on DVD before, despite it's production waaaaay back in 1998. There's also behind-the-scenes footage detailing auditions and soundtrack composition (I was unaware that a guitar could sound so deranged), an extensive gallery of stills, a trio of music videos directed by Stanze, and trailers for many other Wicked Pixel releases, including the re-releases of SCRAPBOOK and SAVAGE HARVEST, and Stanze/WP's latest production DEADWOOD PARK. Neat!
ICE FROM THE SUN, to put it bluntly, is the kind of movie that makes me happy to be a Monster. It's a deftly executed, relentless nightmare, unapologetic in its brutality or its experimental nature. This is the kind of movie that makes me love the independents even more, as I can hardly imagine Hollywood financing a film even approaching this level of intensity and artfulness. Highly recommended for new viewers, and just as highly recommended for existing owners. It's well worth the upgrade.
|
|
|
|
