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The New Winter Nightmare Ensemble 2015 achieved new heights in sonic glory with the advent of Herr O on lead guitar:
   
   
Herr O arrives:

  
Photo by Herr O:

  
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It’s on …

Now Today Week 2015.

What an evolution.

The good times and fellowship experienced last night at the annual  “Sabitathica Welcome Dinner Party” were unparalleled.
  
Due to “the holidays” (and Captain Cat) I was a little behind schedule. Guitars not in place, not tuned, etc. We still managed some good times. 

1800hrs: doors. Cloud, Sabitathica, Mr Y, and BMF joined the wife and I for bubbly and appetizers.

  
1900hrs: World Premiere of “Now Today Week 2014 Part the First”.

2000hrs: Dinner. “Khoresht-e Bademjan” – a Persian Eggplant stew with chicken. This evoked the first talk of  … “The Flavourhast”

2100hrs “Now a Today Week 2014 Part the Second” followed by dessert 

After dessert we began the rehearsals for NTW2015.

…, so many good times. And once we get tuned … Beware …

  
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….

The Annual Sabitathica Dinner Party.

Sunday December 20th 2015.

Programme:

Good Times and Mingling

“Now Today Week 2014 Part the First” 50 minutes

dinner

“Now Today Week Part the Second” 32 minutes

Dessert

Then, the OFFICIAL Start of Now Today Week 2015

Rehearsal of this year’s programme (if time allows).

The shortest film in years! Highlights include the annual Christmas Eve Breakfast Walk with Brother Jerome and The Abington Ale House with Janice.

Join us!

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It’s time to get in the holiday mode and prepare for Now Today Week 2015.

So, Without further ado, all the reasoning appears in “The Host’s Perspective”, we announce this year’s awards!

Honourable Mention:

DTY for The Haverhast Song

Haverhast the Sixth:

Vlindinhauer Haverhast in kind cooperation with DJ M & The F Jam for “Welcome to the Club”.

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Now tune those guitars!
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From my point of view: How each film is a winner:

(OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT PENDING)
“The Ascension”
The first actual product of horror powerhouse DJ M & the F Jam, has proven to be the most polarizing film to date. For the most part it was either a “1” or a “10” on the scale. Its brevity and clean-yet-haunting message wins the day. 

“Rain Falls on Our Shadow” H3 winner Persephone Haverhast delivered this 11th hour gem. An early version of an obscure Sabitathica track is always a winner in my book. The tune, coupled with stunning visions of flamenco were all I needed to see to put this on top!

” … and I never saw Her again” by H2 winner Vlindinhauer Haverhast was perhaps the most beautiful film of the evening. Most associate the track with the end credits to “Extensions III: The Revenge”, but it is, in fact, from a forsaken melancholic rock concept album penned in the Summer of 1985. Here we see the “Poet” mouthing various things, are they the lost libretto? Only time will tell. Note of interest, we only see “Her” for an instance at the beginning. Later, what is it? In his Lamentations the “Poet” is left in a damnable situation with “Horror” and “The Mistress of the Night Terrors”? Layers upon layers of complexity, as we see the “Poet” mouth: ” … and I Never saw Her again”. A heart wrenching winner.

“Steven” by Vlindinhauer Haverhast (H2), according to Tech Support, this was the surprise breakaway sleeper hit of the evening. Boasting scenes filmed in Manhattan, a remarkable score, and a tour de force performance by Visitor Blim in the title role: this film is pure Haverhast gold. More psychological than most perceive, the director pits the audient against Ghostly himself. What are you asking?

“Banned ’74” by Herr O. What a revelation! An enthralling story that has us begging for more. No other film did that. Winner. It must be noted, Herr O was on the verge of being banned himself after last year’s disastrous pirate thing. It’s fantastic that he’s not just in the game: but a contender.

“The Accolade” from H5 winner DTY. The absolute crowd pleaser of the night! Certainly the “most polished” as they say. While some struggle with practical effects, DTY has led the charge, as ever, in the new technologies. Not only a spiritual sequel to last year’s winner, thus film blazed the trail with what happens when in possession …. of the Haverhast (or was it???!). Again, DTY pulled the carpet from under our feet and we were all back in Hell. Comedic? No, not one shred of comedy in this. The super-stoked recipient opens the wrong box at the wrong time (something we can all relate to) and BAM: damnation. It wins on all accounts, but what sets it head and shoulders above the lot is the original rock song about the joy of winning the Haverhast. Sweet joy indeed.

“Welcome to the Club” the first collaboration ‘tween VH (H2) and DJ M & the F Jam. Just to clarify, DJ M and the F Jam is a union of DJM and BMF. And we all know who VH is. Although the thrust of the work was conceived by the duo, it’s elaboration and production were VH. It’s obvious. That said, the nightmare sequence was clearly an F Jam work. But so harmoniously fused, few knew. No film has reached such collaborative and casting heights since the heyday of “Extensions VI: The Wake” (which also featured Joe Moscaritolo), making this the winner on that alone. Tech Support raises an interesting point about why would we care about some chaps first club sandwich? The mystery. The unraveling mystery that the audient is participating in. What’s with these “testimonials”? What does the 3rd date mean? Born, died, “initiated”? Does initiation into this club guarantee long life (Tab the Minotaur as example)? Between the supreme acting, on point score, and brilliant cinematography, we have a winner. Now I know there’s a minority, or, I daresay, a majority, that thought the final sequence “went to far”, and they are not wrong. But, c’mon!
For that alone, this wins.

(OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT PENDING)

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2. “Welcome to the Club” – 8

This film reaches new levels in collaborative directing, ensemble casting and, dare I say, Extreme Horror. The question at hand: to be in the Club or to not be in the Club? Expecting the audience to be this excited or remotely interested in a “true story” about eating a club sandwich for the first time is certainly a tall order, but as the ironically unnamed antagonist of the story explains at a crucial turning point, “part of joining the Club is the Responsibility”. Perhaps this film is a merely a comment on those who are more acutely aware of their surroundings and the myriad of benefits therein? Eventually we find ourselves screaming at the screen, hoping that Frankie Ribbons (1979 – 2015, 2015) hears our warning and is properly keeping track of his toothpicks.

(editors note: Frankie Ribbons was denied membership, hence the chilling final image of 1979-2015.)

3. “The Accolade” – 8

Triumphantly acted and edited, Mr Y’s latest effort fulfills, for the first time, the requirement that all winners of The Haverhast “complete a film to be submitted the following year which must include footage of The Haverhast” (or something like that). Here we have a concise, and perhaps perturbing film about The Haverhast itself, which apparently does not disqualify it for being considered for yet another Haverhast! Top notch special effects and a very catchy anthem complete what seems to be a short film about graciousness and thankfulness, but could this piece be too sardonic for another run at the grand prize?

“Banned ’74: behind the music” – 9

“Excess, depravity and self-destruction… from the highest highs to a barnyard stall.” Herr O’s latest piece is probably his greatest as it tells the all-too-familiar story of rock ‘n roll self-destruction. Expertly edited and scripted as an episodic cable mockumentary, it challenges the the audience to pay attention to its message thru effective audio manipulation as well as painful Zayre and dog sweater commercials that take us back to a long forgotten time when there were still only 13 VHF channels on a thing called television. The only issue I had with the film is its ending, as it was a bit abrupt, and does leave the audience at a loss, perhaps wanting more.
“Steven” – 7

Despite avoidable technical issues relating to audio and video, as well as a few editing and titling snafus, this film actually does succeed at entertaining. Almost harkening back to the days of the Horror Vignettes-esque storytelling, we find ourselves and our Now Today hero “interviewer” up close and personal with “the world’s greatest chess player”, a very unlikable, arrogant and drunken Steven Ghostly and all his many faults. Pacing at times was far slower than it needed to be, but the original score accentuated the tension nicely. A rating of 7 is well deserved in my opinion for what is an acting tour de force by Visitor Blim and for this year’s surprise “sleeper”.

” … and I never saw her again” – 5

The “lost” full version of this infamous and unforgettable end credit score for “Extensions III: The Revenge” (1987) resurfaces and is sounding better than ever. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to that work again here. However, the imagery is not congruent. I would have preferred lost video footage or even genuine outtakes from that film (perhaps as a retrospective document of that masterwork’s 28th anniversary) to a repetitive vista of the Icelandic coast (as nice as that looks). The editing receives a nod of acknowledgment for the change in scenario during the song’s bridge featuring the Mistress of the Night Terrors and Horror looking straight on (imagery seen in an earlier film however). Still, a better connection between the song and imagery would have yielded a higher rating.

(editors note: although we’ve seen footage of The Mistress of the Night Terrors before, this footage (featuring Horror) has never been officially used. Although we appreciate the writer’s enthusiasm of the song, the song was originally a part of melancholic rock concept album. It’s use in “Extensions III: The Revenge” was coincidental, not the original intent of the author.)

“Rain Falls on our Shadows” – 3

I watched this again, recalling that it was deemed a music video of sorts and decided that it is very difficult to make a connection between the visual and soundtrack. There feels like a loss between the viewer and whatever it is trying to say. Even if it isn’t trying to say anything, it needs cohesion between the music and the assortment of repeating imagery. None of it related to the soundtrack other than perhaps the Grand Central Station footage, which I did like quite a bit. That footage moved with the music better than the rest and it connected to a degree, even though it is obviously a very familiar shot seen countless times since the advent of time-lapse photography.

“The Ascension” – 1

This is the only film I think I’ve ever given a 1. It has received a 1 because the soundtrack was irritating and not at all what I wanted to hear. Furthermore, its title needs not be plastered across the screen for almost its entire 30 second lifetime. That prevented me, literally, from sympathizing with or understanding the individual “ascending” up the staircase. The rating I gave it would have increased quite a bit if the bad music and title were eliminated. I think the idea of an extremely short film like this is interesting, but less is more and there is way too much clutter here.

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The first five winners of The Haverhast:

The Good Times:

Still awaiting a few more perspectives, then, my own analysis …

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Here’s a classic moment from last year:

 
1) xxx – The Carpet series
2) 9 – Welcome to the Club
3) 10 – The Accolade
4) xxx – F2
5) 9 – Banned ’74
6) 8.5 – Steven
7) 9.5 – … and I never saw Her again.
8) 8.5- Rain Falls on Our Shadows
9) 10- The Ascension
Nominee for Haverhast: The Accolade