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~ note: more “perspectives” will be added as they are turned in ~
from Herr O:
Circles, seagulls, all male danse parties, teapots, puppets, Haverhast-as-theme, so many uniting themes. Universally considered the Greatest Extensions Saturday To Date (GESTD). E 33 hath raised the bar. The first time in the 8 years of the Haverhast award we reached an evening where all participants were Haverhast Champions.
… and it showed.
Who was the winner?
Easy.
Everyone. Everyone wins the Haverhast. All participants. From the film makers, to the live audience, to those watching remotely … and beyond.
What follows is the Haverhast Perspective on the Films. This will be followed by others who submit their extended perspectives. Also, check back in days ahead as others add their perspectives post initial publication.
The Haverhast Perspective
E 15 The Aftermath
The last known Extensions film recorded on videotape. A party, filmed on the traditional Extensions Saturday night on 2002, during what many historians call “the dark time” of the society. Here we see a little light in the creative tunnel and a fine collection of folks having good times. Perhaps the last known video of “the Jogger”. Culled from about 2 hours of footage, this 20 minute treat was a testament to the Host’s editing strengths. Originally concerned it would have little value to anyone other than those in the film, several “guests” spoke to me directly and mentioned how moving, educational and entertaining the work was.
Why it should win The Haverhast: Great retro look into a time passed. Fantastic editing.
Why it should not win: Very little horror. Very little appeal to those “outside”.
The Two Goofs
The spirit of the mid to late 90’s in a “late 20th Century Black Miracle Play”, wouldn’t ya say? A play I wrote about 20 years ago. Conceived of during a magical mingle round at “The Window” with Brother Jerome, during the heady times of loitering at short-lived “The Firehouse Cafe” in Allston. Mayhap’s not the definitive telling of the tale, but a fine effort considering we honoured theatre craft, to some degree, and did it all in one take on one night with three camera’s rolling. From 4 hours I reduced to 28 minutes. I contend that it remains the film with the most edits to date! I think as the scenes progressed, the talent (on both sides of the cameras) got their groove and we all were left with the devastating consequences of inviting the devil back in for one. End credits also featured the hit single “Ode to Martin Barry”.
Why it should win The Haverhast: a refreshing way to introduce “theatre technique” into film. Supreme editing. A fantastic score and hit single. Joe and Williams’ acting. Franks expressions and one of the most harrowing conclusions ever.
Why it should not: too wordy, inaudible at times. Slow. Too intellectual.
Black Boots
Persephone Haverhast returns with her first major work since “Code Name: Bishop”. A jaw-dropping tour-de-force by Katie Brown as Ella rattled everyone’s cage. There were eruptions of laughter at the screening, but they were all out of shock and awe. The rare female protagonist in the the horror art genre, the story was touching as bleak. A nice use of different time lines kept the viewer engaged in unravelling, with Ella (and the therapist, Dr. Merkel), the mystery of the emerging circles. The musical vacuuming sequence was only bested by the evolution of the seagulls in the circle on the beach. Like many of the films of the evening, fantastic visuals.
Why it should win The Haverhast: A unique, nearly one woman show. Moreover, the film had a decidedly different vibe than any of films that evening and, I daresay: to date. Cloud as the therapist did add a winning gravitas to the work. But, damn, the gathering of the seagulls was “Hitchcockian”…
Why it should not: With the high level of films this evening, we are nit picking. The perfect score, wasn’t original. Oh well. I must admit taking pause at the use of the front of the gravestone. I applaud guerrilla film making but am left with a taste question. I’ll leave that to the “Upper Levels of the Haverhast Oversight Committee”. There was also a perceived missing beat for me into the final act. Dr. Merkel, suddenly almost a buddy, has the salt circle key (and knife) in hand en route to the hotel … never to be heard from again …
Kaleidoscope
The first of two Smart Films this year. The current Haverhast possessor clearly is not resting on his laurels. Again we see the fantastic Kim Deal, this time on some sort of “date” with a chap named “Steve”. The juxtaposition between her on the sofa, what we see in the Kaleidoscope, and the brief glimpse of “Steve” make up the magic of the film. Exquisitely composed and presented, this was a bizarre jewel of inexplicable horror art.
Why it should win The Haverhast: The film maker as “Steve” scene was my favourite visual of the evening. One of the few works of pure horror art.
Why it should not: was it too inexplicable?
Appendage
The return of Frank Squared in a work of queer horror art. A stunning work that relied heavily on the dream life of the protagonist Edward played by Frank 2. Both in his dreams and in real life he crushes hard on Ralph the landscaper, played by BMF. Although many claimed it to be controversial and ground breaking, it did seem a perfectly natural extension of this creative powerhouse. Wilhelm Van Benkerstein as Davey was particularly strong with his powerful eye isolations. The film featured an all-male danse party (the second of the evening) that was chock full of rich characters. F2 are known for special effects and monsters and did they deliver!
Why it should win The Haverhast: the tasteful acting, the danse sequence (always a fave with the head judge) and the practical effects. I must admit, I found the Q-Tip in the wound more effective than the puppet itself. However, the voice of the Appendage was the winner. Great, great original score. Especially for the danse scene.
Why it should not: again, in a world where the level of play is this high, it’s the little things. The conflict resolution sequence was a bit clunky. The aftermath and dream sequence were diminished in their power by a somewhat lackluster bathroom reprise of the creature.
( … and The Host’s name was spelled incorrectly, not for the first time either by an F2 work …)
The Jewelry Box
Why it should win The Haverhast: it shouldn’t
Why it should not: as a “sorbet” of sorts it did not warrant further consideration
The Black Curse of the Seagull’s Seashell
Mr Y returns with what I consider his greatest offering to date! This creative tour-de-force affirms one of the quotes from the first “Extensions” film: “Perhaps the greatest All-Roundsman ….”. Technically superior on so many layers, the music, the acting, the various characters and the seamless insertion of the karaoke was awe inspiring. We see “David” enjoying time at the beach when he is offered a seashell from a maleficent looking entity. Just then a sea captain calls him to warn him against accepting. This “David” will have none of it (we must applaud the strong character of this protagonist, reminiscent of one of the lads David played in “Horrible Mr Tibbs”). Whilst relaxing at the Dry Dock, bartender “Willie” (who has taken a correspondence course in seashells) cheerfully delivers the news. What follows is a harrowing sequence involving a seagull and ending in a blender …. or does it? No, whoops “David” slips and falls and presumably dies as “blood” pours from his head.
Why it should win The Haverhast: film craft par excellence, creative use of “good time” footage, clever puppetry (the needle to the heart-the resurrected to fly tool) and what was going on in the window of the sea captains room? Great end credit score.
Why it should not: again, we can only nit pick, one could almost tell the seagull wasn’t real when attacking “David”.
The Shadow of the Haverhast
Another from current Haverhast champion, this Smart Film addresses the burden of being the winner.
Why it should win The Haverhast: the exquisite detail work: all this whilst entering a room thinking about his walk home after dj-ing the Thursday Morning danse that is never attended. Also, and again, one of the few works of pure horror art.
Why it should not: being the shortest film, maybe it should win!
Revoked
Why it should win The Haverhast: It may be the most authentic new film of the evening. It tells a story, advances the mythology, and has a very grim ending. Nothing vague. Tech Support as Bryant Evans was a top three performance of the night, if not Top.
Why it should not: because it has images of 45.
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From Mr Y
E15 Aftermath – great to see the beginnings of the circle and witness some real good times, even hear some songs we still keep in the roster. A must watch for players of the circle
The Two Goofs- though dialogue heavy and some (one) of the actors mumble too much/were reading (taking blame off the director) a creepy rhythm is obtained, and editing in the second half smooths the film beautifully. Easily has one of the hit songs from this year, it’s still stuck in my head.
Black Boots- a truly beautiful film and katy was a wonderful actor, and really felt the sadness. Clean and original a sure contender. The seagull scene is utterly chilling!
Kaleidoscope- short and sweet, Dave’s appearance is truly horrifying. Wish there was more but at the same time maybe not knowing how it ends is the best part.
Appendage- the audience reaction was what I was hoping for (and for people not in the know creature effects were created by me forgot to mention that in the speech)
The Jewelry Box- a nice collection of shorts and it was great to see some of the material through our year, I would say a very fun film.
The black curse of the seagulls seashell- wow what summer fun to be had, another hit single for sure, this film was a great time, as always use of technology is astounding, another contender for the Haverhast for sure
Shadow Of The Haverhast- truly the most jarring of the films. Seeing the Haverhast destroyed, felt like being told Santa wasn’t real. What are we doing this for, and should we all learn from this and destroy the Haverhast! Compelling thoughts and even more compelling actions.
Revoked- it felt this was a true extensions Saturday film, it felt familiar but intentionally true to what we have come to see during extensions Saturday. Advertised as “grim” and being showed as the last film I can’t help but feel it was overlooked. After rewatch there’s something so true to the spirit of the evening that I feel it too should be a contender for the Haverhast!
Final thoughts- not one film was a dud, and the champions came out swinging in the most intense year yet! I feel bad for the decision maker the weight must be unbearable… so I hope my insight helps….
From Cloud
E15: Plus: Retro editing and the mentioning of the internet machine. Minus : Movie was lost on anybody not familiar with the circle game
Two goofs: Creative shooting, editing, and hiding of the script. Minuses: ending anticlimactic
Black Boots: overall great. Love the musical layover No real minuses. Just missed the Haverhast
Kaleidoscope: Haverhast nominee. David Lynch better watch out
Appendage: Plus: Pushed the boundaries. Great editing. Clay monster. Minus: Pushed the boundaries, Frank’s behind
The Jewelry box: Like the idea, just didn’t do it for me
The black curse of the seagull’s seashell : Liked all of it. My initial pick for the Haverhast nominee. Just like Black boots – just missed it.
Shadow of the Haverhast: been spending the last 10 minutes and frame by frame to see if it was really the Haverhast that was smashed – plus … minus : what monster would smash the Haverhast? Needed better music. Style is kind of repetitive
Revoked: Plus: Josh, storyline, Trump and NYC references Minus: No Josh at extension Saturday. Good movie.
From ANON:
Some of the features moved slowly. I enjoyed the black curse of the seagull’s shell but the puppeteering was nowhere as good as was in black boots .Not sure if that was Katy’s work but the supporting characters and storyline were great. The ending was kinda corny but I liked. The shadow of the haverhast was well done, it was brief and shot very well; the ending however was abrupt and unclimactic. Kaleidoscope however was genius; loved it. Appendage was “interesting”. I think I started to get a boner at some point in the film it got kinda comical. The other films were good but didn’t stand out. Let me know if I should give one of them another look. Except appendage; the wife and I will be watching that when we’re alone later.
The two goofs was also entertaining. I noticed the scented garden of Abdul’s the satirist of Shiraz on top of the book pile with magick in theory and practice and one of his collected works volumes. I also though I noticed a soft cover copy of mystical dimensions of Islam; but that may just have been my imagination calling back fond memories of the past.
From Persephone:
E 15: The Aftermath:
1) “Extensions XV: The Aftermath” (a world premiere event)
For some reason this film felt very familiar to me like I had already seen it a long time ago, but that’s impossible as this was a world premiere screening of the film. On a certain level it was a very nostalgic look better at an earlier time. What Extensions Saturday once was many years ago. The 15th Extensions film 15 years on since the original in 1985. An interesting peak into what was going on at that time period almost documentary in style.
2) “The Two Goofs: A Late 20th Century Black Miracle Play” by Vlindinhauer Haverhast
An adaptation of an original play to film. Quite remarkable really. Heavy on dialogue due to the origin of the material, but also had a slow buildup to a great ending. You really had to stick with this one but the pay off was worth it. It was nice to see this material dusted off and given a proper treatment.
3) “Black Boots” a new work of horror by Persephone Haverhast
My favorite film of the evening. The acting, the film editing, the special effects, and of course the ‘puppetry’ were all superb. I was engaged and entertained throughout its entirety. (8 out of 10)
4) “Kaleidoscope” by current Haverhast Champion DJS
Nice little film. I’ve got way more questions than answers after watching this one. I’m not 100% sure I know what actually became of the lead character. And then there’s the question of Steve. I feel like I need to know more about what that guy was up to. In years past this film might have been enough to walk away an award winner. This year the competition is quite steep, so we’ll have to see. Certainly in the conversation.
5) “Appendage” a new work of queer horror art by the act formerly known as F2
Rated “R” for adult content and subject matter, definitely not one for the kids. The act formerly known as F2 has always been known to push the envelope, and “Appendage” is certainly no exception. This work quite possibly could have launched an entirely new sub-genre, “queer horror”. Only time will tell. Reminded me a lot of some of the horror that was coming out during the decade of the 1980’s. Certainly plenty of shocks and special effects, but is it enough to be award worthy? Again I would say it’s in the conversation for one of the three honors this year.
6) “The Jewelry Box”
I believe this piece was referred to as a “sorbet” of sorts. That’s a fitting description. It was more of a collection of short works. Some I was familiar with and others were new to me. Creative, clever, visionary, but probably not award worthy. Still it was enjoyable for what it was. I’d be into seeing more of this type of work in the future
7) “The Black Curse of the Seagull’s Seashell” by Mr Y
I really enjoyed this one as well. Probably my second favorite of the evening. Perhaps it could be considered a “black comedy”. There were certainly a lot laughs along the way but also plenty of horror too. And once again we witnessed some great puppetry. Hat’s off to Mr. Y for an acting tour de force taking on three distinct character roles. It was a regular one man show. And let’s not forget the original soundtrack material. Well done. Two thumbs up.
8) “Shadow of the Haverhast” another work from Haverhast Champion DJS
A very clever use of the actual Haverhast award, and in so doing the current holder met one of the obligations that come with the title. Although again it is another cautionary tale. Upon closer examination I’m not sure I ever want to win the Haverhast award. It would seem to be a cursed thing…
9) “Revoked” extreme contemporary horror by Vlindinhauer Haverhast
Again we return to a recurring theme centered around the impact or consequences of that winning the coveted Haverhast award has had on past winners. Does it highlight a fierce rivalry between competing artists, or maybe a descent into madness? Jealously, rage, even murder all in the name of winning the Haverhast award!
Conclusion:
Due to the increasingly robust nature of the program the past couple of years it has become more or more difficult to pick just one film. There has been so much high quality film output that I guess you could say we are all winners with the embarrassment of riches on display this year. This was indeed the ‘year of champions’. So many fine acting performance turned in this year as well. From Captain Cat as Whiskers and Gilles to Herr O as Zael the Fallen angel and let’s not forget Beachmont Frank’s appearing in four different works. There is so much to choose from this year I’m glad I don’t have to make any final decisions. I will leave that up to the Haverhast Oversight Committee.
Smart’s thoughts:
The Two Goofs
Ibsen meets Crowley. I may have read this script 20-odd years ago. Good to see it realized at long last, and with such dedicated ensemble acting. Multiple cameras and creative editing keep the lengthy dialogues moving. William Benker is a natural on camera.
Black Boots
Holy hell, real acting? Someone get Katie an award, quickly. A film that’s “about” something. Such pathos. The realization of the circle motif was effective, and the shot with the gulls was a standout. My favorite of Persephone’s films to date.
Appendage
The homoerotic Cronenbergian puppet horror film we didn’t know we needed. The male relationships weren’t played for ick or for laughs, though there was plenty of humor to be found. My favorite line of the evening: “When we get home, you’re going to listen to me play my flute all night!” Now that’s real horror.
Jewelry Box
The Triskelion of Hastinine changes hands again!
Black Curse of the Seagull’s Seashell
The two funniest moments of the night for me: The “Memories” photo of the sand pile, and “Hang on a second. My phone’s ringing. I’ll be right back”. Several welcome new characters, my favorite being the absurdly helpful Ship’s Captain. The karaoke editing was inspired.
Revoked
So unfair! Will Frankie Ribbons strike back? Creative use of archival footage. Maybe the best film of the night.
Mary Y W:
The Aftermath
The footage used here is definitely more personal than previous films, mainly because the ‘characters’ are real. It’s sort of an inside view of what this group is about when the camera is turned off (even though it wasn’t). I can’t help but think how marvelous it is that they’ve stuck together over 3 decades, keeping alive the Extensions dream. I like that music was a main point, and it adds to the festive, if not somewhat confusing atmosphere.
The Two Goofs
This one is sort of My Dinner with Andre meets The Exorcist. My one complaint is that time wasn’t spent equally between the cafe and Satan’s house visit. In short, it starts a bit too wordy for this viewer. But what we are ultimately brought to makes it all come together, somehow.
Black Boots
This is a nailbiter, one that will leave you wondering “what happens next” as the heroine strides confidently down the street. We don’t want to leave her story, having accomplished something so seemingly impossible. The puppetry here is reminiscent of Trilogy of Terror which is always a good thing.
Kaleidoscope
This is truly a mystery that undoubtedly leaves the viewer to decide. The pleasant 30’s music is a nice counterpart to what the main character is grappling with. The upstairs “surprise” was very well executed. I was glad to feel a bit of a Carnival of Souls vibe toward the end. But do we really know her fate? Something tells me it’s better we don’t!
Appendage
If you’ve seen any clips make no mistake, this is not a horror movie. This is about a man who is barely gasping through life who finds salvation. Using a “Tremors” type creature to represent the power our hero so desperately needs really works here, especially because it lends an uncertainty that this can’t possibly have a good outcome. Or can it? The lesson that he was capable all along is learned, albeit with a lot of carnage. By the way, those familiar with Extensions won’t be surprised to find Frank M. again shirtless (and then some!).
The Jewelry Box
This is lighthearted fare, though the subject is death. The main character’s plight seems symbolic of what we’re all going through. We are all “dying and can’t feel it”. So let’s enjoy it anyway.
The Black Curse of the Seagull’s Seashell
The character development of the main character is intense, as he starts out his day at the beach without a care. His careless decision will change the course of his life forever, or least until someone else makes the same bad decision. Though the multiple roles are completely different, they infer a cohesiveness to all this guy is experiencing (although he seemed to already know the bartender). The puppetry is particularly masterful.
The Shadow of the Haverhast
This one is definitely geared for the ‘insiders’. But newcomers to Extensions can appreciate the creepy vibe of Mr. Smart’s dilemma and solution. I’d like to think a stunt double was used for the Haverhast unless of course, he is correct. I experienced some dizziness in the beginning of this film, which I’m pretty sure might have been the idea. The narrator effect was a good one.
Revoked
Another one for those ‘in the know’, yet a timeless story readily available to all. Revenge is best served cold, but not in this case. Terrific use of vintage footage.
May 14th 