8A - Monday, November 4, 2013

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

8A - Monday, November 4, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

FILM REVIEW -
Behind the effects
of famed KNB

TV REVdEW
'Styled' to unnderwhelm

EPIX original
documentary looks
at horror icons
By DREW MARON
Daily Arts Writer
This past month, Video-on-
Demand provider EPIX featured
their 2011 documentary "The
Nightmare Fac-
tory" in honor A-
of Halloween.
The film depicts The
the rise of KNB Nightmare
EFX as the pre- '
mier practical Factory
effects mae- Avaiable for
stros in televi-s
sion and film.
Their 'work EPIX
spans multiple
genres; how-
ever, their specialty is definitely
their work on cult favorites
like George A. Romero's "Liv-
ing Dead" saga and the films of
Quentin Tarantino. For those
who faint at blood or avoid horror
at all costs, you probably won't
enjoy "The Nightmare Factory."
As for hardcore fans who binge-
watch old horror movies this
movie might as well be nirvana.
The documentary focuses
on KNB founders Greg Nico-

tero, Howard Berger and Rob-
ert Kurtzman as they pursue
their dreams of making mov-
ies, monsters, zombies and gore.
They sport '80s rock hair and
work long, demanding hours all
for "the love of the movies," as
Berger puts it. It's a film geek's
paradise and atruly inspirational
story for anyone interested in
joining the industry.
The movie's an original pro-
duction from EPIX, and it's
nice seeing EPIX pursue con-
tent like "The Nightmare Fac-
tory" instead of just competing
with Netflix. "Factory" itself is
a fantastic expose on an art form
largely ignored by the public,
which is a shame because Nico-
tero and his colleagues embody
the words "master craftsmen" -
their work provides an Authentic-
ity seldom seen in today's world
of CGI blockbusters.
After re-watching "Evil Dead
II" and "Land of The Dead," both
worked on by KNB, I'm reminded
of something horror is slowly los-
ing: the terror of reality. To me,
that's what makes Greg Nicotero
invaluable. His creations look
so real yet stem from the illu-
sory wonderment of cinenia in a
way that is both bloodcurdlingly
scary and oddly statuesque.
Think Michelangelo's David, but
covered in blood and guts.

The documentary includes
interviews with filmmakers
Quentin Tarantino, George A.
Romero, Frank Darabont, Robert
Rodriguez and John Carpenter,
among others. There are also
several behind-the-scenes clips,
including Sam Raimi's "Evil
Dead II" and Robert Rodriguez's
"From Dusk Till Dawn." Addi-
tional cameos are supplied by Eli-
jah Wood ("Sin City") and Simon
Pegg ("Star Trek"). If that lineup
doesn't fill you with nerdish glee,
this movie might not be for you.
It's understandable that a great
majority of film-watchers don't
really care ifa movie has practi-
cal or digital effects. In fact, for
a great many, the effects of '80s-
and '90s-genre pictures would
be considered campy or obsolete.
"Factory" definitely touches on
this through revelations of how
bad the studio system has got-
ten about the tiny details and the
bottom-line profit versus pure
love for movie-making.
Despite this bitterness, "The
Nightmare Factory" still suc-
ceeds as required viewing for
film buffs. It's a modern day Hol-
lywood success story, a tragic
bemoaning of the current state of
special effects and an unabashed
celebration of some of the most
influential figures in the indus-
try.

By EMILY BODDEN
DailyArts Writer
Bravo has successfully created
a show that we all will probably
catch ourselves watching a mara-
thon of acci-
dentally, not be C
able to find the
remote and qui- Styled to.
etly succumb Rock
to. "Styled 'to
Rock," the net- Fridays at
work's latest 8 p.m.
venture, holds
aspects of the Bravo
best trashy TV
shows. While not bringing any-
thing new to the television indus-
try, the show is hostedby Rihanna,
mentored by Pharrell and wel-
comes an array of celebrity guests.
The only thing bad about @bad-
girliri inthe series premiere is her
hair in the opening commentary.
While explaining the premise of
theshow,the attentionturnstothe
strange mullet-inspired hairstyle
that not even Rihanna can rock. A
bit concerning considering the
show literally centers around the
concept of celebrity styling. Lucki-
ly for the rest of the show, she looks
flawless per usual.
While these designers were
chosen from "thousands of appli-
cants" for their blossoming talent,
personal style doesn't seem to have
been requisite. Two contestants
wore essentially the same outfit at
one point in the episode - and no
one seemed to notice. Ahni wore
her barelythere, cut-up black shirt
with a neon-yellow bikini top,
while Andre wore his barely there,
cut-up black shirt with black short-
shorts. It's hard to imagine that
designers supposedly on the cusp
of fashion greatness would create
unintentional his-and-her shirts
that look they were made by a sev-
enth grader.
"Styled to Rock" combines ele-
ments of MTV's "Real World," any
singing competition ever to air and
"Project Runway." The contestants
share living space with minimal


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BRAVO
to the mesh.
'a la "Real World."Without other designers' flamboyant per-
m for choosing beds, drama sonalities. Considering the com-
ranteed to arise later on. petitors are designers competing
f "cute undies" and sleep- to become celebrity stylists, this
ked occurred within about confessional seemed unnecessary.
te of the housing arrange- "Runway" had a multitude of
eing revealed. great catchphrases with Heidi
Klum's signature "Auf Wiederseh-
en" reigning supreme, but "Styled
to Rock" only has a lame attempt.
Not even "This has been your last look"
ihanna can does not have the same power as
Klum's formal German goodbye.
make this Since theyare creating a show that
is bound to be compared to simi-
vo flop rock. tar past programs, these writers
should work on something with
more punch to send the designers
packing.
particularly captivating "Styled to Rock" appears des-
t occurred when . the tined to remain mediocre and
ers realized thatthe produc- uninspired. Thankfully Rihan-
kindly stocked the cdntes- na has other talents to fall back
ridge with champagne. The on, because her endeavor in TV
rs responded by squeal- may not last long. Unfortunately,
ad bottles were promptly "Styled to Rock" does not offer
I open to much delight. One up anything exciting enough to
designers, Jordan, looked waste DVR space on - wait for
ately frightened and made the inevitable Bravo marathon
ute observation about the instead.


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