Antichrist (2009) - review

This weekend Yvonne and I finally got round to watching the controversial Lars Von Triers film Antichrist (2009). We love movies and have seen a couple of Lars films before, so knew the kind of experience we were letting ourselves in for. He's not our favourite director, but we appreciate some elements of his style, especially (quite importantly for film) the visuals and the sound.

I guess Yvonne and I might be watching his films in the wrong order, as this is apparently the first in Lars' Depression Trilogy - we've already seen the second, Melancholia (2011), which is also visually and sonically great and a bit weird, but not seen the final instalment yet, Nymphomaniac (2013).

Antichrist had a most beautiful and heart-wrenching opening scene that gives us the premise. The locations used were simple, effective and beautiful especially in slow-motion. Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg did a great job too - past interviews with them have highlighted just how gruelling the shoot was, as it's an emotionally extreme film. Unsurprisingly, therefore, Charlotte won Best Actress at Cannes for her performance.

Antichrist has several candid and extreme moments of sex and/or violence that make the film tough to watch in places. But it's in context and makes sense - just don't watch the film at all if you are not comfortable with those kind of scenes.

Aside from the subjects of pain, grief and despair (the three beggars central to the film), there are interesting theological references to explore. These include the darker roles of physical nature (the characters travel to 'Eden', but then refer to the nature that surrounds them as Satan's Church) and human nature (the actions of the characters both historically and in the present, consciously and subconsciously). The Pete Rollins (writer, philosopher & challenger of traditional theology) review of the film explores this a little more and is worth a read.

If you've seen the film, let us know your views in the comments.

Manchester's Autumn Festivals - Gothic

I couldn't complete a round up of this season's festivals without visiting the Gothic Manchester Festival. The youngest of the festivals in this blog collection, it opened last year with a bang. This year presents a more concentrated affair, spread over a long weekend rather than all week. But with Manchester Metropolitan University putting on a wide array of wonderful gothic-themed activity all year round (google their HiP programme), this is no bad thing. Keep up the energy and creativity MMU!

Every good festival should have a fringe & this year see's the return of the Corpse Collective with a pop-up art exhibition inspired by the Steampunk theme of the festival (a few SUB members, including myself, have work in this, so would be great to see you sometime Wed night, Thurs afternoon/night or Fri night at Sacred Trinity to guide you through it). While not an official opener, it's preview/launch night on Wednesday Oct 22nd will be the first event you can go to. Support this group of local artists as they explore different facets of Victorian Mancunian Steampunk and get you in the mood for the festival proper.

Thursday Oct 23rd eases you in with evening events at Ian Anthony Burgess Foundation, Friday Oct 24th is jam-packed. Twisted Tales at Deansgate Waterstones opens Friday with lunchtime discussions and readings about horror literature and the politics of austerity. Run from there to MOSI for an afternoon of Steampunk wonder, including afternoon tea, a guided tour, talks and demonstrations (Claire and myself will be on the panel for this, so come along and support us). Run from there to Ian Anthony Burgess Foundation for an event about gothic landscapes. Then come back to Sacred Trinity  from 9pm to mull it all over at festival-endorsed club night ARA (run by SUB regular Kolyn and where you'll find me guest DJing this month as well). Come in your Victorian / Steampunk finery for this VictoriARA theme night, see the Corpse Collective exhibition, chat to friends new and old about the festival and dance your New Rocks off!

Saturday brings a full day at Ian Anthony Burgess Foundation on the subject of Gothic Spaces and Places, with panels throughout the day and a wine reception to conclude. Finally, Sunday rounds off a very full festival with a series of tours (Gothic Manchester, John Rylands, then Monstrous Manchester) throughout the day. In the middle of this is the ever-wonderful Rosie Garland (aka Rosie Lugosi) regaling us with tales from her life and her books in the terribly gothic John Rylands Library. If that weren't enough happiness to make a goth explode, there will also be a fabulous cake from the Conjurer's Kitchen! The festival concludes with a jolly evening of ghoulish fun at Fab Cafe with a Vampire Pub Quiz and entertainment all night long - fancy dress encouraged!

Manchester's Autumn Festivals - GrimmFest

This is coming up pretty soon, so you need to be quick to get to it. However, continuing the festival roundup is Grimm Up North's GrimmFest. This is all about horror and sci-fi movies, shorts, Q&A, etc.

Classics are kicking off the season with A Nightmare on Elm Street (30th Sept), including the chance to win a signed box set. There's an amazing double-bill planned midway through (3rd Oct) - Goblin playing along to Suspiria and Dario Argento's cut of George A Romero's Dawn of the Dead (which includes more Goblin music!). Goblin will be signing in between those films.

It wouldn't be a horror festival without some silly-titled films, so laugh along with Zombeavers (4 Oct) where you'll all be dammed! and Wolfcop (5 Oct), described as Dirty Harry...only hairier.

They've saved some of the best until last (5 Oct), with new release Life After Beth and personal recommendation Dead Snow 2 - I've seen the first film and not a lot beats nazi zombies...except bigger, gorier and funnier nazi zombies!

Let us know in the comments what films you make it along to and what you thought.

Manchester's Autumn Festivals - Science

Continuing last week's theme, here's a few things to highlight from the Manchester Science Festival this year.

First in the lineup is 'The Serpent's Promise: the Bible retold as science' (Oct 23, Blackwell's Bookshop), in which geneticist Steve Jones discusses his book (a re-write of the bible in the light of science) and highlights things the bible got right and the things it didn't.

'The Archaeology of a Revolution' (Oct 24, meet outside the Angel Health Centre) takes you on a guided tour of Manchester's industrial heritage along Chapel Street, which is also where you'll find Sacred Trinity, the home of SUB and ARA.

On the same afternoon, Claire McDermott and I will be part of the Manchester Gothic Festival cross-over event, 'What is this thing called Steampunk?' (Oct 24, MOSI). Join us in the Power Hall for a panel discussion on all sorts of elements of Steampunk. Claire and I will be presenting God in the Steam, a look into the possibilities of Steampunk to enhance spiritual life.

Every good goth loves bats, right? The 'Urban Naturalist: Bats' event (Oct 25, Manchester Museum) will help you gen up on this flying mammal and guide you through the 18 species of UK bat and many more interesting things.

For the artistically inclined, there's an interesting 'Dress of Glass and Flame' (27 Oct, Manchester Art Gallery) on display, which as the name suggests is an artwork of alchemical wonder that presents a glass dress holding a living flame.

For those interested by the subject matter of the SUB service on the afterlife, 'Ancient Egyptian Mummies and Modern Science' (Oct 30, John Rylands Library) might provide some interest as Professor Rosalie David talks about her life and work as an Egyptologist.

Finally, for those who like a bit of sci-fi, MOSI will host a few double-bills presented by Film Hub North West Central and Grimm Up North as part of the BFI 'Days of Fear and Wonder' season:
Brazil & 12 Monkeys (Oct 29)
Total Recall & Starship Troopers (Oct 30)
Alien & Prometheus (Oct 31)

Let us know in the comments what you're looking forward to and give us an update on any you manage to make it to.

Manchester's Autumn Festivals - Literature

Manchester is a wonderful city. There's usually a lot of things going on in and around it. As autumn starts to reveal her colours and its populous has returned from holidays and is settling back into working/learning routines, the city hosts a few big festivals to keep us entertained.

Manchester Literature Festival (6 Oct - 13 Nov) kicks off with Danish Crime and an event with Arne Dahl (Oct 6) followed by a couple of talks about graphic novels (Oct 7). On Oct 8, Manchester Salon Presents 'North & South' at Elizabeth Gaskell's House (local Industrial Revolution era ghost story writer)! Oct 9th brings a personal recommendation of some local writers I know - David Gaffney being joined by Anneliese Mackintosh and Socrates Adams. Oct 10 has a talk on Underground Crime. Oct 11 showcases some more friends - In the Dark (Nija Dalal-Small and others trying to change how we think about radio) and Bad Language (currently hosted by fellow SUB member Fat Roland). A bit more insight comes from Gaskell's Manchester Walking Tour on Oct 15 and the festival just keeps going.

This is just a few of the darker/gothic items from the listing to draw your attention - I encourage you to have a look through and see what you can catch. Let us know in the comments what you see and what you thought of it :)

Delving into the past

Just a short blog entry this week to say that I've now linked to the write up of the Blood service from within the Past Events page. I'll keep adding write ups over the next few weeks and months, as time allows. Check on twitter for future updates on that.

Also, I'm approaching other bloggers for content, so look out for some new guests blogs coming up soon :)

What do we do in gatherings?

At this year's Greenbelt, we were asked for a copy of the service so that people who experienced it on site could take it home to explore further with their home churches and/or to think about in more detail personally. We're really happy to share what we come up with and are encouraged that you want to spend time on that journey with us.

I've pondered the best way to do this and will provide links on the 'Past Events' page of the blog. Each link with take you to a document that gives details and/or script of what that topic covered. Let me know if there's anything else you would like.

We've been plotting a new gathering for quite some time now, but summer preparations, vacations and house moves delayed us a little. We're just trying to sort out a (really fantastic) location to hold this next gathering, themed on pilgrimage. More details when we know them, but we'd love to see you. If you're coming from outside of Manchester, let us know and we can assist you and try to make your journey smoother :)