Fear Itself: Family Man
Nope, this isn’t Eureka, and that isn’t the friendly Sheriff Carter up there. But it is Eureka’s Colin Ferguson, and with Clifton Collins Jr. he has created a truly chilling installment in NBC’s increasingly “must see” horror anthology Fear Itself. Well, much of the credit to the success of this episode belongs at the feet of Dan Knauf, who proved himself an absolute master of the macabre with his darkly brilliant HBO series Carnivále. He’s also been a writer for Supernatural, so this stuff is clearly old hat for him.
And I’m pleased to say that the “old pro” really came through with “Family Man.” Easily the best episode of the young season so far and one of the best stand-alone hours of any anthology series I think I’ve ever seen. Ferguson, who we’ve come to know and love for playing the nice guy really shines here. And due to the complexity of the story, both he and Collins get a real chance to flex their acting muscles to brilliant effect. From the chilling scenes at home to the overwhelming drama in the prison, each moment propelled the story forward. The only thing that blows me away is that director Ronny Yu, who does wonderfully here, has Freddy vs. Jason and Bride of Chucky as his horror directing pedigree.
I’ll admit there have been times in my life that I’ve wondered what it must be like to be falsely accused of something you had nothing to do with and wind up in prison or worse. Let’s face it, it really does happen to people. And as a family man myself, the thought of being ripped away from my wife and son and forced to face the unimaginable is a real, if highly unlikely, fear. Knauf takes this notion and mixes it with a healthy dose of Freaky Friday minus the Lohan and Curtis (or Foster and Harris if you’d rather). The result is a tour de force of not supernatural horror, though it was the catalyst, but an internal and psychological terror.
Knauf proved himself a veritable genius when it comes to complex relationships and emotional turmoil with the expanded cast of Carnivale. (Note to HBO: I still haven’t forgiven you for cutting Knauf’s vision short there.) (Note to Knauf: Go back to your idea of finishing the story in comic book format. Tons of other shows are doing it (*cough*Buffy/Angel*cough*) and your story deserves proper closure!). And here he is with one hour, minus commercials, fleshing out these two mix-n-matched guys so completely that you feel the frustration of Dennis Mahoney (Ferguson), and the horror he feels when he realizes that the serial killer whose body he inhabits, Richard Brautigan (Collins) is alive, free and well and living his life with his family in his body.
What I didn’t expect was the struggle that Knauf would build into the character of Richard Brautigan. After he inhabits Dennis Mahoney’s body and starts to try and live his life, he finds it difficult to give up his homicidal compulsions. It would have been so easy to just have him be a psychopath through and through, but it seemed as if he was genuinely thinking that maybe this was a new chance for him to stop being a murderer. To get away scot-free with all his killings and move on to a new chapter in his life. But it just wasn’t as easy as all of that.
His unraveling of concern about his new family, when he unloaded on his “wife” about how easily the kids could be taken from them showed that he really wanted to make this new life work. He was struggling mightily with his internal demons. Ferguson masterfully plays his slow unraveling, and the scenes between him and Collins throughout so beautifully show his slow deterioration. And you can tell in Collins portrayal that he can see the inevitable looming.
I can’t really say enough about the strength of the acting on the part of both actors. They completely sold their various characters and helped creating the escalating terror throughout the hour. And even though, we may have seen the ultimate ending coming, I’ll admit that I hadn’t fully thought through the ultimate result of what could happen to Mahoney even after he does reclaim his own body and life. That was a classic horror ending.
POINTS OF INTEREST (TO ME AT LEAST)
- The show opened with a disclaimer that the following program contains scenes of an intense nature, followed immediately by a shot of a church with the congregation singing “Amazing Grace.” Religion is intense, man!
- I loved seeing Chris Burke (Corky from Life Goes On) but man did he have no real part at all.
- I kept expecting to see Melinda Gordon from Ghost Whisperer during the hospital sequence at the beginning when both Brautigan and Mahoney were wandering around as displaced spirits.
- Are prisoners really as abused as Brautigan was by the guards in prison? I get that he was a murderer of innocent women and children, which doesn’t go over well, but I’m sure such abuses are technically against prisoner policy. It makes sense, for those reasons, why he appeared to be completely isolated from the other inmates.
- Wouldn’t there be a conflict of interest with the officer who’s fiance Brautigan murdered. Surely he wouldn’t really be assigned to guard him. That’d be like hiring a prosecuting attorney who’s daughter he murdered to try his case. Or worse, defend him.
- Do they sing “Amazing Grace” every week at church? There are a lot of songs in most hymnals they could sample from.
- I love the parking lot scene for showing Brautigan that he can’t control everything the way he wants to, and the dinner sequence for showing the climax of his ultimate collapse with such subtlety and tension.
Donald Trump: No Love For Angelina Jolie
Donald Trump: No Love For Angelina Jolie
Right now, Angelina Jolie is in Los Angeles filming the period piece “The Changeling” with director Clint Eastwood. But back in New York City, Donald Trump is giving her the “Rosie O’Donnell” treatment.
The real estate mogul told press that the “Girl Interrupted” actress is “no great beauty” and he wonders what the big deal is about her.
The Donald said, “Angelina Jolie is sort of amazing because everyone thinks she’s like this great beauty. And I’m not saying she’s an unattractive woman, but she’s no beauty, not by any stretch of the imagination.”
He continued, “I really understand beauty. And I will tell you, she’s not - I do own Miss Universe. I do own Miss USA. I mean I own a lot of different things. I do understand beauty, and she’s not.”
It’s no surprise that Trump has something negative to say about Ang. In the past he’s lambasted her treatment of her father, Jon Voigt.
“I know her father. Her father is a nice guy. I think she treats him like a dog but maybe they have some kind of a thing. I mean this poor sap, he comes along and he practically begs her: ‘I want to see my grandson (Maddox). I want to see this.’ I mean, if I were with him, I’d say: ‘Forget it. It’s over.’ She just treats him terribly…. I’m not a fan of hers as you probably noticed.”
There’s no word of any rebuttal from the Brangelina camp.
Theaters Give Chace on Halloween
While CW fans get to know him as lacrosse-playing teen-about-town Nate Archibald on Gossip Girl, Chace Crawford has also been busy screaming for his supper.
The Haunting of Molly Hartley, a supernatural thriller starring the 22-year-old heartthrob (who also made magic in the teen-witch chiller The Covenant), has been given a Halloween 2008 release date after indie distributor Freestyle Releasing acquired the U.S. rights to the film, the company announced Thursday.
Crawford plays Joseph, the nice guy who befriends new-girl-in-school Molly (Haley Bennett), who, for unknown reasons, is becoming increasingly freaked out by… something.
Crawford is one on a long list of current and former CW/WB/UPN stars, including Chad Michael Murrary, Jessica Biel, Sophia Bush, Barry Watson, Tom Welling, Kristen Bell, Brandy and Emily VanCamp, who have flashed their scary sides to beef up their big-screen credentials.
Silent Treament for Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo
Tony Romo may have been Jessica’s date for sister Ashlee’s wedding, but there’s no doubt who really has this girl’s heart.
Daddy.
“It’s always been daddy,” says a source close to the eldest Simpson girl. “That was the problem in her first marriage, putting Nick second. And it’s been a problem for Tony.”
Following the weekend nuptials, Jessica headed to Cabo San Lucas with her father, Joe Simpson, and mom, Tina. And while Tony was invited to go, he opted to skip it.
Not only that, the two haven’t spoken since the wedding, according to a Tony pal.
“I almost think it’s not so much that he’s tired of Jessica’s attention,” said the source. “He’s tired of Joe. He’s always giving Tony career advice. Even advice on how to date his daughter, like where to take Jessica out. Tony hates it.”
Like a good daddy’s girl, Jessica defends her father’s motiveswhich really irritates Tony.
“He wants to date Jessica, not her dad,” says the friend, adding, “Tony took her to the wedding to be a nice guy. But at this point, he just wants to back out gracefully.”