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[DVD Review] Blank City

Published

14 years ago

on

BLANK CITY (directed by Celine Danhier) is a documentary snapshot of the late 70’s post-punk, underground film and music scene out of New York City. Monikered as “No Wave” – it was an antithesis of the New Wave movement that followed immediately after – low tech and completely independent.  While most readers, like myself, were not around to appreciate this era, BLANK WAVE gives you all you’ll need to know about it from an inside-out point of view.

Manhattan Island is one of the most expensive places in the world to live, with rent in the uber-thousands per month, and sometimes years waiting lists just to get in.  It wasn’t always like that.  In fact, in the mid to late 70’s, it was the exact opposite.  It was a place to fear – smutty, crime and rat ridden – broken down and dirt cheap.  It was a garden where music, film, and art grew forth from a bed of drugs, prostitution, violence, and ruins.  Inspired by punk rock, and molded by poverty, it sprung beanstalks of talent, ranging from the likes of Steve Buscemi, Deborah Harry, Lizzie Borden, and even early pre-rap Beastie Boys.
It was a time when desperation was the flavor of the day – it reflected and held back the artists as much as it molded and drove their ideas. A time when artists of all natures pushed through the concrete and smut, forcing their otherwise undiscovered talents upon the world by picking up a camera, hitting the streets of NYC guerrilla style (no permits), and just making what they felt.  Often, these productions were thrown into theaters the same week.  It was the YouTube of the pre-cable / pre-digital era – self created and progressive, edgy and poor-man artsy.  On one side, these films were extremely amateur, rough edged, and not palatable to the average consumer – but the flip side was golden.  They were 100% uncensored and unproduced.  Complete originals, brought to cellulose with then purity of only the film maker’s imagination and inspiration.
While this home-made and short lived era of No-Wave music and film came and went within a five year period, it permeated the cerebellums of creators with its silver lining of production with commercialism.  BLANK CITY documents this into a neatly wrapped 90 minute package like no other, summing up the times with footage and music that can only be understood and appreciated if looked at within the context from which it had sprung.  That is the value of the experience BLANK CITY offers to share with today’s post New Wave viewer.
BLANK CITY features a soundtrack driven by bands like early Sonic Youth, and James Chance and the Contortions (among others),  features film makers James Nares, Seth Tillett, Eric Mitchell, Amos Poe, Jim Jarmusch, Scott B and Beth B, and is embedded with countless interviews with talent springing from that era, such as Deborah Harry, Steve Buscemi, Nick Zedd, Fab 5 Freddy, etc.  Documentary wise, it offers a unique perspective of a time I personally had long forgotten, when despair was embraced and reflected, instead of grappled with, fueling the fire of those who had forged art from a wasteland of anarchy and plight.  Modern music listeners and filmmakers may find this a bit too grimy and artsy-fartsy, with most footage playing out more like amateur hour in black and white with a lot of cigarettes – but if you’re a fan of New York style independent film and the Grunge genre in music – its good to know who your forefathers were.
While its an informative piece thoroughly detailing the flash in the pan known as no-wave, BLANK CITY just comes across a bit black and white and dry for someone bred post of the era.  You can tell BLANK CITY makes great efforts to be fully accurate reflection, and those who lived the music and film of the day will probably enjoy this playback reel of its arts, but to others, it may drag with B&W, cigarette littered art that is sometimes so rooted in poverty and experimentation that it can be dreadfully dull.
As a music/film documentary you can’t help but respect the quality of BLANK CITY as a snapshot of the time and genre – its well made and belongs in every fully schooled music historian’s realm of knowledge – its just a little hard to get through from a pure pleasure angle, especially for persons under the age of 40 who have no other self identification with the time or style.
4/10
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Music

‘Play Dead’ – Watch the Official ‘Dead by Daylight’ Music Video from Ice Nine Kills!

Published

3 days ago

on

June 26, 2026

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We learned a couple weeks back that the band Ice Nine Kills is joining forces with the slasher video game Dead by Daylight, with an Ice Nine Kills Collection inspired by the heavy metal band now available. Along with the collection, a tie-in music video has been unleashed.

Ice Nine Kills enter the fog today with “Play Dead,” a brand-new single and music video created in collaboration with Dead by Daylight. Written for the game’s 10th Anniversary, “Play Dead” brings Ice Nine Kills into one of horror gaming’s most iconic worlds, uniting two genre-obsessed universes built on suspense, survival, mythology, and the thrill of the kill.

The track was created in collaboration with longtime Dead by Daylight composer Michel F. April and arrives alongside the in-game Ice Nine Kills Collection, allowing players to represent the band inside the game’s ever-expanding horror universe with unique DLC.

Stream “Play Dead” here and watch the Ice Nine Kills music video below!

Ice Nine Kills’ brand new music video for “Play Dead” features Devon Sawa (Final Destination, “Chucky”) and Krsy Fox (Terrifier 3), along with the legendary Tony Hawk.

Ice Nine Kills mastermind Spencer Charnas tells us, “Ice Nine Kills has always lived somewhere between menace and mischief. ‘Play Dead,’ our take on Dead by Daylight, is a collision of hooks, horror, and total chaos. As lifelong horror fans, we find it surreal and an absolute honor to have Ice Nine Kills’ music officially tied to Terrifier, Scream, Ready or Not, and now, the iconic survival horror game Dead by Daylight.”

“Collaborating with Dead by Daylight gave us the chance to step into a world that feels deeply aligned with our creative instincts,” Charnas continues. “The game has an incredible legacy, and that chaotic, eerie, immersive energy is something we respect and admire. We wanted the song to feel like a real extension of that universe, not just inspired by it, but genuinely part of it.”

“Dead by Daylight has always been about celebrating horror in all its forms, and Ice Nine Kills shares that same passion for the genre we have,” said Mat Côté, Head of Partnerships for Dead by Daylight. “We’ve always been big fans of their music, and their creativity and deep connection to horror culture made this collab feel incredibly natural. We’re excited for our players to represent the band in-game with the Collection we created together, and we can’t wait for everyone to experience the new Dead by Daylight crossover track the guys cooked up.”

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