Our Asylum, in the Middle of Our Street

Film: A Page of Madness (Kurutta Ichipēji)
Format: Streaming video from Tubi on Fire!

This blog takes me to some weird places. A Page of Madness (Kurutta Ichipēji in the original Japanese) is one that would interest me in general, but a little reading would make me think twice about watching. This is a rare early Japanese silent. Apparently, for audiences in Japan, this would have been screened with someone who acted as a narrator, essentially telling the story that was playing out on screen. As such, the film has no intertitles. Just as important, the film was thought missing for more than four decades, and when it was rediscovered, a third of it was missing. So what we have is two-thirds of a show with no actual explanation of what is happening.

But, it’s on the They Shoot Zombies list, and I’ve certainly watched longer films that were less coherent. So in I dove, head-first. I’d be lying if I told you that I didn’t spend a lot of time looking at the plot summary on Wikipedia. Again, there are no intertitles and no dialogue. It’s also very clearly an experimental film, so even if there were some intertitles, it’s not going to be the most coherent film around.

Power Trip

Film: Superman (2025)
Format: Streaming video from HBO Max on Fire!

The problem with Superman as a character is that it’s difficult, at least on the face of things, to make him compelling. When you have a character who can essentially do everything and whose weakness is extremely rare, how do you craft a story where that character is challenged? It’s been tried a number of times, of course, most recently by James Gunn in the rather simply named Superman. Gunn has proven himself to be a smart filmmaker and an equally smart screenwriter. I went in relatively cold but with a good deal of hope.

And it paid off. As I said, Gunn is a smart filmmaker and a smart screenwriter. The problems with Superman are mainly around giving him a compelling challenge. That’s hard to do physically, and in the case of this film, that does feel like a bit of a cobble. Other challenges, though, are probably more interesting. Public opinion is mutable, and becomes one of the mina problems in the film (although more could be done with it). We know that Supes is eventually going to defeat the bad guy, but how does he overcome bad press and failing in the court of public opinion?

Night of the Mad Max

Film: Wyrmwood
Format: Streaming video from Prime on Fire!

I have said before that the zombie subgenre is pretty packed right now. Unless you make something that is so gonzo and amazing that it can’t be denied (say, Train to Busan), you have to do something else to stand out. Wyrmwood, also called Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead, takes this to heart, offering a number of completely new ideas into the zombie world. It’s an inventive screenplay, and because of that, it’s a movie that is hard not to enjoy on some level.

If you aren’t aware right away that this is an Australian film, you’ll be made aware the moment someone speaks. Barry (Jay Gallagher) lives in the outback with his wife Annie (Catherine Terracini) and their daughter Meganne (Megann e West). Barry’s sister Brooke (Bianca Bradey) is a photographer working with an assistant and a model when the model suddenly and unexpectedly zombifies, and, biting the assistant, zombifies her. Brooke manages to climb into the rafters of her studio, keeping herself safe. She calls Barry and tells him what has happened, and soon enough, he and his family are being attacked as well.

I Would Walk 500 Miles

Film: The Long Walk
Format: Market Square Cinema Theater 2

When I was a Junior in high school, I was just starting out as a horror fan. Around that time, it was revealed that Stephen King had published five books under the name of Richard Bachman. Four of those books were published in a single volume called “The Bachman Books.” I liked all four of them but of them, The Long Walk was the best of them. It is not an exaggeration to say that I have been waiting 41 years for this movie. It is a brutal, vicious book, and I was hoping that the translation to film would be the same. The Long Walk has some significant differences, but it tells the story extremely well.

You’re going to hear people talk about this in the weeks ahead, and they are going to make comparisons to things like The Hunger Games and Battle Royale, and I’ve heard someone dismiss it as just a new version of Squid Game. Please know that this came first—King’s book was published in 1979. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that this is derivative of those stories, since those stores came later.

What I've Caught Up With, August 2025

August was an interesting month, and I didn’t watch a ton of movies. I also didn’t actually get through a full television series. Not a great deal to say, honestly. As the sign says on my office door, I can’t wait until we get back to normal fucked up instead of super fucked up.

It's Mr. Stay-Puft!

Film: Marshmallow
Format: Streaming video from Hoopla on Fire!

I can’t honestly say that I’ve been getting more and more into obscure movies lately since there’s definitely a part of me that has a sort of hipster mindset with film. Years ago, when I was a lot more involved in music than I am now, I liked looking for little-know bands and artists simply because I got bored with a lot of what was out in the mass market. I love a lot of pop films (Sinners remains a favorite from 2025, for instance), but I love uncovering a gem that most people don’t know. Such is the case with Marshmallow, which is honestly better than its current reviews on sites like Letterboxd (Rotten Tomatoes has it more accurately).

Marshmallow is set up like a classic slasher movie, at least after the first couple of minutes. We’re going to start by being introduced to Morgan (Kue Lawrence), who witnesses his grandfather (Corbin Bernsen) have something like a stroke. Soon after, Morgan is sent away to summer camp, something he’s not very excited about. Morgan is a shy kid and doesn’t look like much of an outdoorsy kid. He’s also plagued with nightmares and has a desperate fear of drowning.