The Clackamas print., October 25, 2017, HALLOWEEN SPECIAL EDITION, Page 5, Image 5

ARTS
AND
C U LTU RE
5
Movies that will put you in the Halloween spirit
B Y W IL L I A M
r f c K K lo
THE CLACKAMAS PRINT
When O ctober rolls around every
year people w ill usually bring out
y s their favorite movies to watch with
the season. This ranges from old classic
children’s movies, classic horror and even
more recent horror movies io get into the Halloween spirit. But
one o f the movies I always talk about and watch this time of
year that I feel doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves is
“Paranorman.”
Released back in 2012 by Laika pictures, the same studio
behind the stop motion hit “Coraline” and even more recent
successes like “Kubo and The Two Strings,” “Paranorman” is a
movie that has gained a bit of a cult status over the years. But
the movie at the time and even now wasn’t very popular in the
mainstream like some of Laika’s other films. Which, like I said
before, is a real shame since this really is a funny, memorable
and just plain good movie.
of twists and turns that I won’t dare spoil here.
The story is about a small tourist town known as Blight Hallow
that in the 1800s supposedly hung a witch who lived among them.
Legend says the witch cursed her accusers to die horribly and
then one day rise from The grave as the living dead.
The comedy is also amazing and is one of the best parts of
the movie, with jokes that are geared more towards an adult
audience with a darker tone, which makes sense given the grim
subject matter.
The town uses the legend to boost business and sell tacky
The darker tone, combined with the stop motion animation, also
trinkets to people. A young kid named Norman lives in the town makes for some brilliant slap stick and physical comedy. Some
and is known as a local freak because he says he can talk to and of the jokes involving the living dead that are introduced later in
see ghosts. But, big shocker, Norman really can talk to ghosts the film are some of the highlights of the movie in my opinion.
and as it turns out the curse is very much real and threatens-to
The stop-motion also lets them do some amazing looking
destroy the town if Norman doesn’t stop it.
effects that range from visually stunning to simply gorgeous.
That can seem like a standard premise, and for the first part
So, if you need a Halloween movie this year and you want to
of the movie it can feel like it’s pandering to the audience.
be amazed and intrigued, you should try “Paranorman.” With a
The reason “Paranorman” is such a great movie is because its blend of grim comedy, likable characters, and unique storytelling,
story is anything but standard and goes out of its way to subvert it’s one of my favorite movies and I bet that if you give a shot
■ tropes and make a unique narrative. The story itself has a number it’ll be one of yours too.
tempted to walk out o f the theater. I felt the pacing
could have been better, and some characters could
be focused on more, such as Mike Hanlon (Chosen
Jacobs) w ho is scarcely in the m ovie and has ju st
about zero-character developm ent throughout the
movie. H e w as a character I feel should have been
included a little more because he seemed to fade into
nothingness and was just fodder compared with the
rest o f the group o f friends.
W hat makes the movie good is how it executes its
jum p scares. They’re timed perfectly from the tunes o f
the music to being creative, like when Geoigie’s walkie
goes off in multiple scenes o f the movie.
While the praise is fairly well deserving, being a
great adaption to the novel, just like Tim C u n y ’s TV
adaptation. Though the 2017 adaptation isn’t nearly
as comical with Pennywise as with Curry, though it
leaves m e hoping they will do so when w e return to
the Losers, the nam e o f the group o f friends, when
they’re adults.
BY AUTUMN BEREND
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Spoilers ahead for the
m ovie “I t ”
T h e c raz e a b o u t th e
short, was extremely lackluster in m any areas and o f
Finn Wolfhard, and Pennywise. Between Wolfhard’s
W ith all said, the acting could be better and the
poor quality, ushering in questions o f the budget This
excellent execution o f his witty and childish jokes and
C G I, i f used, should be far b etter o r they should
sad look at the CGI is seen early in the movie when
Skarsgard’s stellar job as the scary Pennywise, I was left
ju s t use props, but the m ovie otherw ise hits hom e
Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) has his arm eaten off
happy, but only because o f those two. They carried the
and is less o f a horror than it is a grandiose m ovie
by the demonic clown, Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard),
movie on their shoulders and did an excellent job o f i t
about a group o f kids and th eir adventure w ith
M ost o f the characters are rather forgettable, save
m y stery involved. T he h o rro r is ju s t th e icing.
the eponymous “ft.”
rem ake o f Stephen K in g ’s
In one o f the first scenes, we also witness a moment
for the pedophilic father o f Beverly M arsh (Sophia
A nd I th in k this is h o w “It” is seem ingly one o f
famous sta y , “ft,” has been well received by critics
where his older brother, Bill (Jaeden Lieberher) is sick,
Lillis), but only because ofhow gross it is to watch him
the few contem porary films reinventinglthe horror
alike, earning a whopping 85 percent Fresh Tomato
but I’m left wondering i f this was staged, because it
on screen. W hen he is knocked out by his daughter,
genre by tellin g a com pelling story over trying
score by critics and an 86 percent by the audience.
w as an obviously fake cough, like one w ould make
you feel yourself cheering in glee after his attempt at
to b e scary. U nlike m ost horro r m ovies, w hich
to try and stay home from school.
abusing her and likely potential sexual assault.
b rin g ju m p scares filled w ith obno x io u sly arid
W hile the film is far from horrid, good in facf
it doesn’t come out on top as it is marketed. O f the
T he best p a rt o f the m ovie com es from tw o
The other issue I had was the progress. During the
flaws, the computer-generated imagery, or CG I for
characters, Richie, played by the Stranger Things star
first and second act, I was so tired and bored I was
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---------------------- October 25, 2017