~~~

Got to spend some holiday car time with Brother Jerome. Driving between Porter Square and Allston and back again. Digging the jazz Christmas of Jimmy Smith, Duke Pearson, Bobby Timmons, and Kenny Burrell.

Returning to his parking lot for these numbers to land the ship:Joy and Celebration manifest indeed!

Photographic evidence:

The Good Times

Now Today

~~~~

~~~

First we began with The Haverhast Ceremony:

Here is what we paced to:

Pretty nice, right?

Here is a film of the event:

The Good Times.

… how the final film of the evening related to the first?

~~~

In these unprecedented times we have, of course, an unprecedented announcement.

We have our first:

Triple Crown Winner

Yes, you read that correctly.

Haverhast XI goes to:

“When the Alarm Goes Off”

Honourable Mention:

Holly Mulone as Tomothy’s companion in the above mentioned work.

The Saint’s Choice:

Frank Mulone for the score in his film.

Never before has a film in our series made my eyes well. A stunning achievement!
Yes, tears have come via fits of laughter, but never from the bittersweet fountain of poignancy.

Thank you Frank.

And congratulations! Another achievement unlocked: he gets to maintain possession of the trophy!

~~~~

Pandemic, isolation, anxiety, guns, alcohol, and the lure of self-harm. Welcome to “20 effing 20”. Now on to my reviews.Extensions II: Victory (2020 Version)
Interesting time capsule. It was an entertaining glimpse into the lives of several of the Extensions stalwarts 34 years prior to Today. Ah, youth…The band rehearsal footage was good fun. The final segment was disturbing with its Columbine-esque ending. Bone chilling actually.

The First Tasting
Good to see The Gourmand Society moving on from cannibalism to other foodstuffs. I detected a subtext on today’s obsession with photographing food for FaceGram and InstaBook fodder. Poor Gordon Stacks didn’t get the memo about being present and experiencing the rare “Fromage de luné”in the moment. His agonizing yelps had to be muted while we watched him helplessly flail about, condemned to see the prized morsel before him evaporate just out of his grasp. A cautionary tale to be sure. Special thanks to Vlindinhauer for liberally using my musical cues throughout the film. It should be noted that they were all written without the benefit of screening the film. 

Sea Peoples
A stellar film in so many ways. I had more questions than answers at the film’s conclusion, but that’s part of what I loved about it. Each viewing provides more insight and more queries. The naturalistic acting by the entire cast gave this film a quasi-documentary feel. Excellent cinematography, score, and performances. Will we see a companion piece to this film sometime in the future? I hope so. There’s so much content yet to be explored. 
The Sleep Demon
This claustrophobic little gem grabbed me and shook me! I’ve heard several tales of sleep paralysis from my nephew and this short captured his description of it vividly. Shades of “The Babadook”. 
The Will
I understood this to be a Zen parable. In English the Buddhist word Nirvana literally means “to blow out” or “extinguish”. “The Will” depicts four participants in a Zoom meeting gathered for their fifth annual Russian Roulette ritual. Talk about the potential for a blow out! Three of the four men appear to outwardly embrace the act while The Preceptor (played by yours truly) is a skeptic who no longer wishes to play along but seems bound by an irrevocable pact. Gregory Silver speaks of how cheating Death only makes one feel more alive. He, however, has his affairs in order should it be his turn to reach the ultimate state of nothingness. Stories and grievances are aired and many toasts are offered before it’s time to spin the cylinders and pull the triggers. What this film lacks in cinematography it more than makes up for with writing and character study.

On the Transmigration of Marjorie Nolan
A welcome desert after the heavy main course. Very funny and a much needed breather.
The Tasting
Same setup as “The First Tasting” but with a wholly different outcome. Did The Count feign a deadly seizure in order to spur the three participants into rushing to his home to snag the remaining moon cheese? Or was he truly incapacitated by one of his turns? We may never know. All I know is no good can come of this! What fate awaits the first to arrive and attempt to steal The Count’s “Fromage de luné”? Perhaps further episodes will tell… Great makeup and special effects in both tasting films. 
When The Alarm Goes Off
This was truly harrowing stuff and, as a creative type myself, a situation I can relate to. F2’s film captures the fear of a blank canvas/page so well. Factor in the isolation bought on by a pandemic and throw in lots of alcohol and you have a recipe for disaster. The cinematography was top-notch, as was the score and the acting. The film-within-a-film injected much needed comic relief. The malevolent little creature that goads the artist into creating his ultimate masterpiece could have been more mysterious. Maybe shrouded in shadow or translucence? Solid film score and use of narration. Great job all around.
The Realization
A satisfying finale to the evening’s festivities. Frank as a MAGA zealot was hilarious. Cool to see the labyrinth and other seaside footage. Nicely edited and scored too. 
girl with the most cake What a shame this wasn’t screened as part of the official festival. An intense short that captured so many 2020 emotions. A leather jacket, a knife, a cake, and barely contained rage combined with the B&W and pink palette gave this film a punk rock sensibility. A brave and bold statement.
2020Another offering from Cherry Maraschino that captured the zeitgeist of a pretty shitty year. Even the adorable Pepper transforms into a wolf like creature in the final frames. Can’t wait to see more from her.

My nomination for The Haverhast: Sea Peoples

When the Alarm Goes Off was a close second.

Victory: 2020 Version

Another great collage of the past. I always enjoy these pictures as they serve as puzzle pieces to the current ‘Now Today Society.’ I was happy to see your old A.V. Teacher appear, and the finale certainly drove home the early ideal ‘Art-horror’ you continue to strive for.

The First Tasting

Part 1 of what I consider the “Zoom Dialogue Trilogy’ of the night. I’m curious as to where the Count exists in the timeline and what his presence might mean for the future of the society, since we the audience know where several of the characters’ stories end. (Or do they!?) Happy to see Steven Ghostly and Rhy’s Terrible back to their old tricks. Since the trilogy is predominantly stationary, I find the characters’ physical movements to take on more importance, and to me Gordon Stacks immobilized on his back was perhaps the most apt metaphor for 2020. MUTED.

Sea Peoples Despite the covid restrictions I was happy with the way the film turned out. No longer living by the ocean has given me a bit of nostalgia for Winthrop and Sea Peoples draws upon that. Big thanks to all those involved. I hope that this film can join the ranks of previous Extensions Saturday ‘sea-centric’ classics such as Herr O’s ‘Sea Virus: Pilot’ and Mr. Y’s “The Black Curse of the Seagull’s Seashell.”

2020 & Girl with the Most CakeGreat experimental work by Cherry Marashino. I was really lucky to have her deliver a pitch perfect voice cameo for Sea Peoples and I look forward to more of her films in the future!

The Will

The 2nd of the Zoom Dialogue Trilogy, The Will wields silence to its great benefit, creating tension throughout. Was happy to see the Professor, Herr O, Blim and Vlindenhauer duel it out through the dialectic dance Reek Crudely choreographed. As a sort of meta-commentary on the Gourmand Society, I assume that this is a seperate faction of the society – they share the same slogan, but their gruesome ritual is less cannibalistic and more determined by chance…or is it?

Sleep Demon & On the Transmigration of Marjorie NolanTwo quaint pieces from Reek Crudely serve as a perfect sinew between the heavier works on the night. Always amazed by the animation Reek puts together and having been privy to his bodily sound effects for years I find them to be perfectly suited for the Transmigration.

The Tasting

The 3rd film of the Zoom Dialogue Trilogy. I enjoyed participating in this work and was happy to revisit Navin Tickwillis. The presence of Count Vrahalyse again infers some kind of intergalactic coordination by he and Stephen Ghostly. What does the moon cheese mean for the Gourmand Society, and more importantly, how does this affect the later events of the Haverhast winner two years ago? With that type of twist ending, baited by the Count, and Navin’s potential murderous intentions, new things have come to light!

When The Alarm Goes Off

F2 once again delivers for this year’s Extensions Saturday. Somehow able to execute both comedy and horror in single sentences, I’m once again blown away by the special effects Frank is able to so deftly intertwine with his self-reflexive narrative. His own personal war on drugs continues, but this time I feel a sense of completion. The projector sequence not only wows the senses, but examines the past of F2 and potentially signals towards and future. And the future looks…limitless!

Realization

Another great finale that explores the absolutions Vlindenhauer and friends have experienced over the course of this tough year and the Political Frank skit at the end was a cherry on top of a grim but hopeful sundea.

Final Reflection:Cheers to all the participants! I’m curious about the recurring and unintentional theme of guns that were scattered throughout the line up. Maybe the media has something to do with it.

Extensions II: Victory (2020)

This year’s redux of Extensions II I found to be mostly engaging.
There are some great meta moments. The Nightmare sequence was very
well done– the scratchiness of the film really helped make it feel
more like a nightmare, and the cartoon colored bedroom felt
appropriate. The finale featuring the assassination of three friends
in the snow was a great moment in cinema history. All in all, I found
this to be inspiring from a story-telling perspective. May the new
Extensions films perpetuate the spirit of the earlier Extensions
films! oh and also, boobies.


The First Tasting

I was surprised and pleased by the high energy that this film
manages– this is a difficult feat, especially when composed via zoom.
Each of the performers settled into their roles nicely. Taken as a
stand-alone film, it works. Taken as part 1 of a two (or three) part
series, it also works, albeit, moreso as a display of Count
Vraqwhhfsdhkwawse’s character change. More on that in the later
review. A delightfully silly piece. The world needs more Gordon Stacks
laughs.


The Sea Peoples

There are some incredibly well-done moments in Willhelm’s quarantine
feature. There’s good characterization, and moments where the tension
is palpable (the final sequence leading to the reveal of the face
wound inside the belly of the shark was really effective). The opening
sequence is a clever riff on modern dating. The scenes in the belly of
the shark were really well done, especially the foggy bits with the
skeletons and the gun. I found a few moments in this film to be
funnier than maybe the rest of the live audience thought, especially
the scene at the Seals exhibit outside of the Aquarium, and the line
“Lakes from here on out” which gave me a hearty chuckle I think this
is because of my understanding of what was going on– I thought the
character was slowly turning into a were-shark, and was thirsting for
the flesh of a seal. By the end, my read on the story became more
unclear– was he duplicated? a were-shark? Something else? I dont
know. With that said, the final sequence featuring the character in
the bathroom, with his ‘doppleganger’ (?) in the bathtub, was
particularly unsettling. I would have preferred the film ends there,
leaving the audience with the question– What just happened?– with a
side dish of dread and uncomfortableness. The final Coda that was
included, featuring yours truly being attacked by a shark while the
female scientist friend finds the gun, was fun to film, but maybe not
necessary for the feature. That said, all the performances were great.
The music, especially the Sea Shanty jig, was really cool. All in all,
a technically well done film!


Girl with the Most Cake

Props to Maraschino for submitting some films. “The girl with the most
Cake” is effective in that it made me sort of uncomfortable. I felt
the raw energy of the cake being cut. A 2020 release of anguish. A lot
of the color choices were pretty cool, too, and made the piece more
interesting than it would have been otherwise.


2020

It’s lovely to see Pepper. I’m reminded of my times with my animals.
The telephone pole with the stickers was strangely compelling, as was
the door with the dent beneath the peephole. Pepper’s ascension was
the high point of this film.


The Sleep Demon

This was the film I originally wanted to make for this year’s
Extensions, dating back to a Sleep Paralysis event that occurred to me
on the first of April of this year. I’ve had sleep paralysis episodes
occur three times in my life, and all three times it has happened in
the same bed, in the room, in my grandparent’s attic. Of all the
places I’ve lived in my life, my time in this room has been the
shortest (one year from 09-10, and now since March). But during these
combined 15 or so months, this random unsettling act has happened
thrice, and only in this location. Akin to a nightmare, but I’m awake,
and I can’t move. Each time I’ve sensed some unwelcome feminine
presence attempting to get into bed with me. Usually, after a minute
or so, I’m able to snap out of it, and once I snap out of it, I’m
filled with dread–it doesn’t feel scary or like a nightmare when it’s
happening, only until after I’ve “woken” up from it does the fear
become palpable..
What’s particularly unsettling about the last occurence is that
immediately upon waking (this occurred for me around 615 AM), I texted
two friends, Nick D’Agostino (who helped me shoot the “Cribs” episode
from Extensions XXXV), and Billy Deeb (who’s created music for many of
the Extensions Features), and BOTH had had the same experience that
night. I found that to be exquisitely odd that I knew Nick and Billy
had had similar experiences that very same night. I also put a notice
out on Facebook, and two other people who I was friends with in
college also had it happen that night. Cosmic strangeness! A
coincidence? Or something else going on? (Likely stress related due to
the new conditions of the pandemic, but a boy can dream (or
nightmare), can’t he!).
Anyway, this was fun to shoot. I got to do planks in a dress for like
20 minutes to get the shot of the sleep demon levitating above the
bed. It’s good to know I can still fit into my sister’s prom dress…
not that I ever wore it back in the day, but I thought that I woulda
fit in it then, and I confirmed that I can fit in it now (at least my
waist does, I couldn’t zip it up). Anyway, BOO!


The Will

This turned out much better than I had anticipated, mostly due to the
miraculously engaging performances by VH, The Professor, Visitor Blim,
and Herr O. I had written the script to feel like a play, but using
Zoom to flip the ‘will reading’ cliche we’ve seen so many times into
something a little bit more ‘in the moment.’ Vlindinhauer Haverhast’s
turn as the loquacious Gregory Silver, aka “The Minister” is laden
with the right amount of gravitas and bombast. Herr O & VIsitor Blim’s
performances as “The Doctor” and “The Czar” are equally tender and
resigned, as much as one would expect people to be who have resigned
themselves to play Russian Roulette. The Professor’s turn as “The
Precepter” was a highlight for me, and digging through some of the
off-dialogue moments of his character’s reactions were a joy.
There are several things I would like to have changed, or at least
tidied up, if I had given myself more time. The common complaint was
that people thought the two survivors had somehow duped the two who
had killed themselves, when it was a once-a-year group event where
everyone plays Russian Roulette. I could have made this more apparent
during the conversations by actually mentioning “Russian Roulette,” or
in the final moments before leaving the frame, each character could
have been shown loading a single bullet, and spinning the revolver,
but the props didn’t really allow for that. I also could have cleaned
up some of the edits and the audio a little bit more; there is a
single Toast where I miss the bells, and which irks me upon rewatch.
Otherwise I found this to be somehow harrowing and engaging, despite
the fact that the actors did no rehearsals, and only read through the
script twice, live. More than anything, the actors should receive
special acknowledgements for their performances here. Bravo!

The Transmigration of Marjorie Nolan

VH and I riffed on this idea during the summer months, when we were
creating the Labyrinth. We were talking about the esoteric idea
encountered in the work about “food for the moon,” and, coming off the
heels of VH’s writing of the Tasting (where Mooncheese plays a pivotal
role), someone– I think it was VH– said the line “Who’s Cheese
Now?!” And so that inspired the tale of a much-beloved woman, who,
upon her death, believes her soul worthy of ascension. Unfortunately
for her, she was worthy only to be… food for the moon.


The Tasting

Partaking in the creation of this Zoom-film was a highlight of my
midsummer quarantine months. I hadn’t laughed as hard as I did during
the zoom filming of this than I had in months prior. VH’s reprisal of
Count Vraehdhalysner was full of crazed, controlled energy (this was
the fist time he’d portray the role in actuality). I was a little
less-than-pleased with my overall performance as “Fitzy,” but there
are some choice silly moments throughout. Maraschino makes an
appearance here as the lovely Soledad, and William returns as Navin
Tickwillis– I don’t know of a more fitting faux-name. The editing,
while choppy at times, kept the pace moving. I did feel sort of duped
by the false ending though. I honestly didn’t know what Count
Vraehalyse’s motivation or goal is. We know he was given the cheese by
Rhys Terrible in “The First Tasting,” and somehow, between then and
“The Tasting,” the Count has taken on a bit of a larger presence, and
seems to be pulling some sort of strings. Bu to what end?! Was his
gorey death (which I found to be incredible in the moment, and utterly
hilarious upon watching) some sort of manipulative subterfuge, or was
it actually brought on by having eaten the mooncheese in the past? And
where did he get the Mooncheese from this time? I guess we’ll have to
wait for the next installment to find out what the fuck is going on!


When the Alarm Goes Off

There’s some sick genius shit going on over at the Mulone household.
And I like it. A lot. This is fucked. Probably the most fucked up film
F2 has ever created. NoI take it back. This IS the most fuckedup film
F2 has ever created. ANd also the most beautiful. And weird. And
uncomfortable. Is it perfect, no, not really, but how perfect can you
get with no budget, no crew, and like a week to make it? Pretty close
to perfect, I think. Even where things didn’t go as planned– the
scene in the living room where Frank is half cut off– still works
thematically. It’s almost better we can’t see Frank’s head, it shows
that he’s so detached. PLus it makes the audience focus on Holly, who,
up until this point in the film, we don’t get a lot of. Both Holly and
Frank’s performances are top notch, feel real, and are actually
affecting. The Suicide shot is immaculate, and a primo- gif-worthy
sequence.
WHile the performances actually elevate this film to another level,
the actual philosophical foundation is equally engaging. What is
death, but entrance to another realm, closer to perfection? I had just
read “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” where the notion of the next world
after this one is one closer up to perfection, and there was some
thematic resonance that this film has with what I’d been thinking
about recently, too. Plus, this film seemed somehow to wrap everything
that every other film of the evening was trying to say into one
under-30-minute feature. There’s thematic resonance, then there’s meta
resonance, When the Alarm goes Off manages to transcend. My vote for
the Haverhast.


The Realization

A perfect way to end the event. The finale sequence, where Frank is
revealed to be a secret 45 supporter, was riffed on by myself and VH
on another day down by the labyrinth, and it was great to see that
brought to actuality. Captain Cat’s toy segment was cool to see just
how dang smart animals can be. I like all the labyrinth stuff— look
for my naked ass at the 4:08mark (you might have to zoom waaaaaaaaayy
in. the water was cold!). Harlan Haverhast’s song and dance in the
graveyard was great and silly and weird. Overall a fun time!
And the final shot of Frank rolling around was also oddly meta; as our
real life live Zoom hangout can attest, Frank wasn’t far off.


Bravo!

Herr O – Reviews 2020

Extensions II: Victory (2020 Version)

Too bad about the people we lost along the way huh ? Bravo to DJM for his courageous re edit, which was was long overdue. As we look back, we can only forgive so much nonsense for so many minutes and E2 is the perfect length. Great to see Bob Berry, the OG Master and “mechanic to the director”. There were some great things happening in videoland back in the winter of 86 / 87 and Extensions 2 (2020) sits high on the mantle.

The First Tasting
A for effort. Great to see the reassembly of some of the cast. We have to work with Zoom, but when we do – we miss the dinner table scenes, the joviality and madness – which made the prequel so damn good.

Sea Peoples
Willhelm Benkerstein takes it to the hoop with this beautiful and strange work – his and now our beautiful masterpiece and the OBVIOUS WINNER OF THE HAVERHAST

The Sleep Demon
Brilliance in fast film making. The demon reminds me of the hallway scene in Rycortian’s “Picture them Damned” which won several awards for special effects that year.

The Will
This was a joy to make and OD’s maturity in writing – is on display here. Shout out to DJM for the very emotional twists and turns in his fine performance as Gregory Silver. Bob’s saturnine turn as The Preceptor is subtle brilliance.

On the Transmigration of Marjorie Nolan

The Transmigration in the form of Marjorie Nolan. Interesting concept, very cool animation.

The Tasting

Great costumes.Dark. Strange.

When The Alarm Goes Off
I always enjoy the work of F2 even without shit jokes. Bravo again for great film making and tripping ballz.

The Realization

A fantastic assortment of clips. Great editing.

colin’s first wave of reviews ( more to come, hopefully ) 1 ) “The sleep demon” — Short & VERY scary ! I’m afraid to ever sleep again ! 2 ) “the will” — A good ( “modern” ) version, of an old cliche’ concept. 3 ) “the tasting” — I really liked the foreshadowing, leading up to the big death scene (it kept me watching, waiting to see the death ) ! I also liked, the 4 different personalities, brought together, for A shared event ! 4 ) “the realization” — was enjoyable to watch, but not so sure about “realization” 5 ) “the sea peoples” — I have no idea why, but I really enjoyed watching this !

colin’s 2nd wave of reviews ——- 6 ) “When the alarm goes off”– when I was first watching this, I stopped watching, when the couch commentary started ( I hate when people narrate tv ). I’m glad I resumed watching, & it didn’t take long, to get the satire aspect. & the film, just kept getting better, as it went on. GREAT. 7) “the first tasting”– not as good, as “the tasting”, but still good. The comic ending, made it almost very good. 8 ) “the girl with the most cake”— almost didn’t watch, because it’s named after A line, from A song Kurt wrote for the murderous bitch, before she had him killed. when I did watch it it wasn’t A total waste of time. 9 )”2020″— I didn’t get it ( at all )

It would be an understatement to say 2020 has been a challenging year for everyone. However, the creativity and ingenuity shown by all the filmmakers this year was quite inspiring. Once again we were treated to a broad range of stellar film submissions.  Understandably many of the films were a bit more “serious” and “darker” this year. Picking just one is once again all the more challenging.  For what it’s worth, here are my own opinions…

Extensions II: Victory (2020 Version)
Great reworking of the original.  The 2020 version was both quite enjoyable as well as a more palatable experience to watch (clocking in just under 20 minutes). In a way both a “director’s cut” with some never before seen added footage as well thoughtful edits and omissions from the original.  Well done.

The First Tasting
It was a great pleasure and honor to be able to be a part of this project. Good to see the return of Steven Ghostly. However I think we are all wondering what happened to Gordon Stacks. Will we ever see him again? Looking forward to a potential sequel.
Sea Peoples
I quite enjoyed this one. Really well done. Good story and great camera work. And how could we forget that outstanding original soundtrack. Probably Mr. Benkerstein’s best film to date.

The Sleep Demon
A nice, succinct horror short.  A bit of a palate cleanser.  Felt like a movie trailer leaving me wanting to see more. Enjoyable.
The Will
Again, in keeping with a bit of a theme for the evening this one was a serious and rather dark work. It was again a great pleasure to be able to act in this film. I thought the script was very well done. Great soundtrack too. Not sure I completely understand the ending. Probably need to watch it a few more times.  Well done.

On the Transmigration of Marjorie Nolan
Nice little animated short.  Again another “palate cleanser”. As with “the sleep demon” could these ideas be flushed out into a feature length film?

The Tasting
In a way the two “tasting” films start out quite the same but then diverge in dramatically different directions.  While the first film veers more toward a rather comedic, light-hearted conclusion, this second film turns into more of a classic horror tale.I wonder if maybe in prior years without all the restrictions we now face the two films could have possibly been part of a larger story. The door is certainly open for a sequel. Either way it was both well done and enjoyable to watch.

When The Alarm Goes Off
I for one am always looking forward to seeing a new release from the F2 team, and once again they did not disappoint.  While there were some comedic elements at play in this film, there was also a tinge of sadness to the story.  I found this to ultimately be a rather melancholy and cautionary tale. Shout out to the grainy, black and white, silent ‘film within the film’. I almost thought that character was going to jump off the screen and enter the story.  It’s somewhat ironic that this is the favorite television show of the ‘struggling artist’.  I suppose it brings some solace to him during his dark days. When Saturday evening came to a conclusion I walked away thinking this was my favorite film. As I review all the films again a few days later my opinion has not changed.  Well done F2.

The Realization

It’s become a bit of a tradition that the final film of the evening is a compilation of random footage from the host. A compendium of the good times from throughout the year. As always there are some great nuggets. Always good for a few laughs and a nice way to see out the program.

The Haverhast: When the Alarm Goes Off
Runner up: Sea Peoples