"The Worst Movie Ever Made" The Room and my thoughts on cult cinema

I owe an apology to everyone since I haven't posted here in some time; it's been a hectic month at work, volunteering for the federal election (Vote Green!) and it wasn't until I needed to take a three hour bus trip down to Calgary that there was some sort of dedicated writing time. After Monday I'll be a able to treat you to more and longer posts. With that said, here we go! 

A few weeks ago, the local alternative cinema here in Edmonton held a screening of The Room; supposedly the worst film ever made but one that has built up an intense and very dedicated cult following.

Prior to walking into the theatre, I had honestly not heard anything at all about the film and from the moment I saw a box of plastic spoons for sale at the box office, I could tell that I was about to take part in a unique cultural experience. From the opening credits onwards, not only were we treated to a poorly plotted, badly acted, unintentionally hilarious piece of film; the actions of fellow audience members were as entertaining as the movie. Just as in Rocky Horror, everyone knew exactly when to throw piles of plastic spoons at the screen (for your information; whenever one of the many framed pictures of a spoon is shown in the film), which corrections to shout whenever a plot hole is in evidence or exactly how to make fun of the movie's odd choice of music. I felt like I was being initiated into a new religion, as opposed to just laughing at a bad movie.

I won't bore you with the overall plot details, which are mostly irrelevant at any rate. The movie is supposed to be an epic romantic drama; which it utterly fails at achieving. If you want a synopsis, there are a number of clips up on Youtube which do a far better job of this than I could do on a blog page. When thinking of The Room, I'm far more interested in why such a 'bad' film continues to gain a cult following; especially given that most of the audience on the night I attended would have been children when it was released in 2003.

Personally, while I still watch and greatly enjoy much of what "mainstream Hollywood" produces and am not claiming to be some sort of film hipster; the formulaic storytelling that we are increasingly subjected to at the local multiplex can get tiresome. Really think hard about Furious 7 and why on earth such a movie needed to be released in the first place. Seven of them? Really? How many times can street racing save the world anyway?

The endless parade of mindless sequels (with their months of hype and ubiquitous merchandise) can be quite depressing and the chance to break the mold, watch something completely different and take part in a group ritual activity so separate from what you experience when going to a 'normal' movie theatre goes a long way to explaining why screenings of cult movies such as The Room are frequently sold out.

These reasons, especially the chance to take part in a group ritual, also ring true to me as explanations for the popularity of other cult films, such as the Rocky Horror Picture Show. When attending a public showing of one of these movies you feel as if you are part of a larger community, as opposed to sitting in silence absorbing whatever Hollywood wants us to see.

What's more, the only cinemas likely to even consider showing a cult film are likely to be small, independent picture houses and the willingness of young people to support these businesses can also be linked to the Millennial generation's embrace of city life as opposed to cookie cutter, big box corporate experiences. (more on this in a future post)

With all of these things in mind, I feel that the popularity of The Room and similar cult films will only grow in popularity, especially as people desire increasingly to build new sources of community, support independent business and expand their film tastes. Instead of dismissing the cult film phenomenon as just another form of 'ironic' humour enjoyed by modern young people; instead we can see it as the very modest beginnings of a major cultural movement. 

Fallout 4 Preview

Bethesda will be shortly welcoming players back to the wasteland. The action moves from Washington D.C. and Nevada to the bombed out ruins of Boston. The first official trailer has been released and Bethesda  are touring major events to share the most exciting features. I was fortunate enough to see some footage at Gamescom Cologne. What can we learn from these snippets about the game we can expect?

Firstly, there are many familiar features. The story begins in similar fashion to Fallout 3. In the Fallout world, due to the fear of nuclear war, large underground vaults were built in which citizens could buy a place. The vaults were designed that they would be sealed and the residents could live in comfort without contact with the outside world. Fallout 3 begins when, out of the blue, the character's father makes a break for freedom. The character leaves the vault to try and find him. Fallout 4 also begins with a vault dweller leaving vault life behind for the dangers of the wasteland. The exact reason for this has been kept under wraps. The fact that the character's dubbed 'The Sole Survivor' would suggest it's not a happy story.

The S.P.E.C.I.A.L (strength, perception, charisma, intelligence, agility, luck) trait system returns but has seen significant reshaping. The points you allocate to each category alters the strengths and weaknesses of your character. The big change is that for each point, you unlock a perk. If you place all of your points on strength to bring it to the maximum 10, you unlock the full 10 strength perks, while the perks of other categories remain locked, at least for now. Players are required to put a great deal of thought into exactly what kind of character they want to be. Whether they want to be a strong gun wielding maniac, a stealthy assassin hiding in the shadows, or the lothario that can sweet talk their way out of any situation.

Regarding the other major additions, there's a real feeling that Bethesda has been listening to the fans while developing Fallout 4. They have rectified most players biggest bug bear. Previously, the player hasn't been able continue playing once the main storyline has been completed. With so much to explore in the wasteland, it's a great shame that an arbitrary finish line was imposed. To avoid a premature finish, players would have to postpone the main storyline to complete all of the side quests and fully explore the wasteland. As previously mentioned, in Fallout 3 the player's chasing their father, who always seems to be one step ahead. It felt pretty unnatural that you have to abandon the chase and go and do literally everything else. You can imagine the father sitting there for months wondering what the hell is taking you so long.

One of Fallout's primary innovations was the V.A.T.S shooting system in which players could choose exactly which body part they wanted to fire at when encountering an enemy. It allowed for greater strategy in combat and prevented the game from becoming the first-person-shooter it was never supposed to be. However, it did create difficulties of its own. Each shot you made through V.A.T.S cost action points. Once your action points were used, you must wait for them to replenish. That did not take long, but the player's ability to fight was greatly diminished. As mentioned, Fallout isn't a first-person-shooter and thus the character and weapons lacked accuracy when firing freely. The player was reduced to spraying bullets around or take a few pot shots. It was often the best course of action to simply duck, cover, and wait. The other draw back was that time paused while in V.A.T.S. This issue combined with the action point feature significantly affected the large set piece battles. Amidst the carnage of battle, time was regularly paused and the player would be hiding to recover their action points. It reduced the flow and spectacle of the biggest battles. In Fallout 4, V.A.T.S only slows time and the weapons have been altered to make the player much more effective when action points are running low. After seeing the footage presented, the battles look far more intense, and lack of pace will certainly not be an issue this time around.

The usual crowd of villains reappear, the sadistic raiders, the enormous super mutants, and the whole array of mutated wildlife. However, they have been tweaked to ensure they have not become stale. There's much greater video interaction with your enemies. The footage shows the character being lifted from the ground by a Deathclaw, and the critical hits are much more graphic and individual. The Feral Ghouls, which previously loitered in the shadows, now crawl out of spaces and holes throughout the world like spiders. If their legs have been blown off, they will continue to crawl along the floor to attack you. There's also a greater number of levels for enemies to ensure that the player still meets a challenge as they level up.

The major new feature that's generating real excitement is the possibility for the player to build their own settlement. The player will have total control of their new village, and will be required to provide the resources for their population and keep your new home safe from raiders.

However, concerns do remain. Many have criticised the graphics, which to me seems incredibly harsh. The wasteland looks stunning, and there's a great deal of added detail. The mechanics have been improved though character movement remains slightly clunky. What cannot be known yet, is whether the graphical glitches of Fallout New Vegas have been fixed. New Vegas did feel slightly rushed and there were numerous glitches. Occasionally, a creature would appear to sink into solid ground, or get stuck. Fallout 4 has been in development for a long time, and with advancements in that time, we can have confidence that the game will run far more smoothly.

There are further concerns that there's no level cap. There are complaints that the added choice of character development at the beginning while be lost as you go through the levels and eventually unlock every perk. However, the sheer amount of time it would take to reach that point ensures it will only be a concern for the most hardcore of player. For the completists out there, reaching the final point may even be an attraction.

The biggest worries I have are thematic. Fallout 3 contains my favourite gaming moment. When the character rolled the door of the vault open for the first time the light poured into the dim vault. The character pauses momentarily as he beholds the outside world for the first time. It was a jaw dropping moment, truly cinematic, and showed me how far gaming has come. I loved walking out into a wilderness as confused and lost as the character. There's a small destroyed village, scattered with remnants. Suddenly, you hear Yankee Doodle Dandy and an 'eyebot' flies past. It totally ignores you. I had no idea what to make of it. At the beginning of the game, the wasteland and what it contains is a mystery. Where do you go? What should I prepare for? You discover the wasteland alongside the character; growing in confidence, experience, and direction. Additionally, one of the most enthralling elements of Fallout is catching glimpses of the pre-war world the character never knew. Discarded clothes, the toy car abandoned on a shelf, the diaries and computer entries left behind by long dead individuals. Fallout's set in a 1950s style world. The wasteland's covered with advertisements and posters of smiling individuals enjoying the materialistic paradise of America; bright promises for a future never arrived. I truly hope that Fallout 4 doesn't diminish that sense of the unknown, and reduce the chances for the player to piece together the events of the past by explaining too much and providing too many answers.

Fallout 4 is released on November 10th