Editorials
Three Months After His Passing, We Look At David Bowie’s Legacy
Three months ago today, legendary musician/actor/producer David Bowie passed away after a lengthy battle with liver cancer. His passing came a mere two days after his 69th birthday as well as two days after the release of Blackstar, his 25th studio album. To say that his passing sent shockwaves throughout the world is an understatement. Many felt that Bowie was essentially invincible and immortal, destined to provide us with his unique music and his charming and accomplished acting abilities for years to come.
I personally find the thought of seeing Bowie as some kind of deity-like figure somewhat offensive to the memory of him. He was no god and, in many ways, he was no saint either. He was a human being, which meant he was flawed and he was vulnerable. And for me, that’s what made his creative work so special. That’s what made it stand out. By avoiding the starry gaze that many have for celebrities and the work they craft, I find that I’m more amazed and appreciative of their work because it comes with pain, fear, rage, sadness, joy, excitement, and every other gamut of emotion that one can think of. It’s what makes me able to relate to Bowie’s music, to let it really have an impact on my soul.
When a celebrity passes away, there is often a discussion on the legacy they left behind. We look at the movies they made, the art they painted, the music they wrote, the books they’ve written… Whatever their craft, we look at their output for solace and comfort, knowing that we’ll always have those works with us, even though their creator has moved on.
Bowie’s longtime collaborator and producer Tony Visconti wrote a poignant and touching statement after the star’s passing:
He always did what he wanted to do. And he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it the best way. His death was no different from his life – a work of Art. He made Blackstar for us, his parting gift. I knew for a year this was the way it would be. I wasn’t, however, prepared for it. He was an extraordinary man, full of love and life. He will always be with us. For now, it is appropriate to cry. [Source]
On January 10th, a small part of me died when I heard of Bowie’s passing. I grew up with Labyrinth, much like nearly everyone else of my generation, and had always enjoyed The Hunger and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. Additionally, his music was a staple at one of my neighborhood friend’s home, so I always heard his voice wafting through the rooms and down the hallways whenever I went over.
As I said earlier, I prefer to look at these celebrities as human beings. Yes, Bowie left behind a library of music that can be pored over for years without becoming repetitive. Yes, he starred in movies that are acclaimed and cherished by millions. And yes, he lived a life in a manner that is enviable, never seeming to care what people thought of him, allowing him to be himself. But I think he has a legacy that many are overlooking: his family.
Bowie left behind supermodel Iman, who is known for her charitable works with programs such as Keep a Child Alive, Enough Project, and Save the Children, amongst others. Her efforts in these endeavors have gained her much recognition, all of it well deserved. The couple also have a 15 year old daughter, Alexandria Zahra Jones. Many posts have spoken about how the strength Bowie had in his final months were due to his want to “…spend as much time as possible with Lexi. [Source]”
And then there’s Duncan “Zowie” Jones, David’s son from his previous marriage with Angie Bowie. Duncan has carved himself as one of the smartest directors in the movie industry, blowing people away with his 2009 feature length debut Moon. The film won 18 industry and festival awards, including the NBR Award for Best Directorial Debut, and was nominated for a further 17. Afterwards, Jones directed Source Code, a sci-fi/thriller that was almost universally acclaimed by critics but was ultimately a sleeper hit, one that fared better overseas than domestically.
But Jones’ biggest project is the upcoming Warcraft, the film adaptation of the wildly popular Blizzard video game series. Coming this summer, the movie tells the origins of the conflict between the humans and the orcs, using lore from the games as well as the novels. With a budget of $100 million, the movie is already generating huge amounts of buzz and could very well become the next fantasy film franchise.
Circling back to David Bowie, I spoke about the idea of leaving behind a “legacy”, leaving something that lives on beyond ourselves. Obviously, Bowie has his collection of music and his films that will be studied, appreciated, and loved for decades, perhaps longer, to come. However, I choose to believe that his legacy lives on not just in the music he shared or the films he created but also in the work and endeavors of his family. After all, what could make a father and husband more proud and feel like his life had meaning than to see his family succeed?
From child-eating witches to village-burning dragons, fairy tales have always had a foot in the horror genre. That’s why it makes sense that, for every The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia, there are also darker and more adult-oriented stories about magical worlds inhabited by ravenous monsters and cruel villains.
Funnily enough, these sinister tales were precisely the ones that I gravitated towards back when I was a kid, and I was reminded of this while watching Netflix’s recently released I Am Frankelda, Mexico’s first ever feature-length stop-motion animation and one hell of an entertaining parable about the intersection between fiction and reality.
In honor of this special kind of horror-adjacent fairy tale, today I’d like to share this list recommending six Dark Fantasy films that horror fans might enjoy.
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be defining Dark Fantasy as fantastical stories that don’t shy away from the more macabre elements that fuel classic fairy tales. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own grim favorites if you think we missed a particularly thrilling one.
With that out of the way, onto the list!
6. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
I’m fascinated by bizarre attempts at blockbuster filmmaking – especially when the resulting movies are somehow still fun despite their corporate-mandated origins. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is precisely one of these strangely compelling studio projects, as this surprisingly successful action-thriller boasts a lot of heart (and tongue-in-cheek humor) for a CGI-heavy creature feature.
Directed by Dead Snow’s Tommy Wirkola, Witch Hunters re-frames the classic fairy tale as an origin story for a duo of badass monster-slayers. Of course, it’s the flick’s anachronistic aesthetic and overall visual flair that make it stand out from other action-horror endeavors from around the same time.
5. The Wolf House (2018)
Made in the tradition of faux cursed films in the same vein as Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made, the eerie backstory to 2018’s Chilean animated flick The Wolf House (La Casa Lobo in the original Spanish) already makes it a nightmarish experience before the flick even really begins.
After all, the movie is presented to us as a faux propaganda film produced by the leader of a death cult (heavily inspired by the real life Colonia Dignidad), with this hybrid animated feature using complex movie magic to simulate a single uninterrupted shot as it tells the story of a lazy young girl who runs away from an isolated colony and encounters a creepy old house in the woods.
4. The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Out of all the Monty Python alumni, Terry Gilliam has had the most interesting career outside of the original comedy group. From fascinating canceled projects (such as his scrapped adaptation of Watchmen) to dystopian parodies that feel more relevant by the minute (1985’s Brazil), even his “lesser” films are still intriguing in their own way.
2005’s The Brothers Grimm is one such project, with this peculiar movie attempting to combine the comedian-turned-filmmaker’s unique visual style with a more blockbuster-oriented plot reimagining the titular brothers as con-artists rather than mere writers. The end result isn’t exactly a masterpiece, but it’s still a legitimately fun ride with plenty of memorable monsters and wonderful performances by both the late, great Heath Ledger and Matt Damon.
3. Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic (2010)
2010’s Dante’s Inferno game may have a reputation as something of an unapologetic God of War clone, but I’d argue that the now-obscure game was aesthetically unique enough to deserve a bigger fanbase. However, while the title remains trapped on the seventh console generation, its highly underrated anime adaptation is a lot easier to get a hold of!
Animated by 6 different studios in order to make the 9 circles of hell feel unique from each other, this may not be a completely faithful adaptation of Dante Alighieri’s poem, but it’s still one heck of a great (not to mention gory) time that I’d highly recommend to fans of Netflix’s take on Castlevania.
2. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)
My personal favorite entry in the Underworld franchise, Rise of the Lycans, is a highly ambitious prequel that actually works better if you haven’t had the story spoiled to you by the previous Underworld films.
While the rest of the series features plenty of urban fantasy elements as the movies combine machine guns and modern environments with gothic storytelling, Patrick Tatopoulos’ prequel fully embraces its fantastical origins and tells a classic tale about a doomed romance between a werewolf and a vampire amid a medieval uprising.
And the best part is that we get a lot more Michael Sheen as the fan-favorite Lucian.
1. Solomon Kane (2011)
One of my personal favorite movies on this list, MJ Basset’s criminally underseen adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s other iconic warrior is thoroughly steeped in horror ambience and features plenty of memorable monsters. However, it’s also a classic origin story for a swashbuckling hero that wouldn’t feel out of place in a tabletop RPG.
While I’ve already written about how the film deftly combines both horror and fantasy elements without breaking the bank, I’ll never pass up an opportunity to recommend the bizarre movie where James Purefoy expertly plays a puritan John Wick.
It’s just too bad that we never got the other films in this intended trilogy.
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