Discuss 2012/Questions

[Patti Feinberg]

Finished watching 2012 again.

In no particular order:

Why did Barnabas want to see what Roger was up to w/coat attendant? (Obviously, he does know), but why does he get so outrageously angry?

And, sorry, but there's no way anyone can justify Barn hypnotizing David to disobey his father .

Next, why does Barn hang out w/hippies; getting a 'feel' for people of the current time, just to 'feast on them all'? Seems quite excessive & needless.

Barnabas has a SILVER HEADED/HANDLED cane in OS....yet in '12, he's 'deathly' allergic to silver. Can we tell if there's any word on vamps v. silver? I don't remember either way in '32(?) Bela Lugosi "Dracula", nor any of the Hammer/Lee flicks.

It always REALLY bothers me that towards the end, Ang says to Liz, "Your House"...." then the various family portraits laugh at her....grrrr!!!!

Alright, when Barn is in Carolyn's room, asking her about the manner of courting in this land/time, there's a sheet of paper on wall right behind Carolyn's bed. I'll assume it's lyrics to a song. Do we know what is on the piece of paper?

Answers I hope to follow,

Patti

[The Doctor and K9]

I'd have to check, but I think there was a throw away reference to his cane being gold in the movie.

[Gothick]

I've never heard of vampires being allergic to silver.  There's been debate about when the idea that a vampire could be killed by a silver bullet came into media vampire lore.  No basis for it any of the European folklore, if I recall correctly.

It's almost not worth bothering trying to make sense of that movie because it was so heavily cut by studio mandate that a lot of it, especially once BarnaDepp returns to the street, is just plain incoherent.  At least it was to me the one time I watched it.

I would think of it as punishment being made to watch the thing again.  The Roger in the cloakroom scene was one of many that made no sense at all.

G.

[Midnite]

Can we tell if there's any word on vamps v. silver? I don't remember either way in '32(?) Bela Lugosi "Dracula", nor any of the Hammer/Lee flicks.

The Brides of Dracula (silver leg chains) and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (silver bullet)

More contemporary:  Blade films, Dracula 2000, Moonlight series, True Blood series, Dracula Untold

Wasn't Depp-as-Barn's cane handle made from ivory?

[The Doctor and K9]

Wasn't Depp-as-Barn's cane handle made from ivory?

I said gold earlier, but I ivory rings a bell. That might be what I was thinking of.

[Midnite]

I'm sure this film has been a part of the debate that Gothick spoke about concerning the earliest depictions in the media of silver and vampires.  (Thanks to Kosmo for telling me about this 1945 gem.)  The Vampire's Ghost is set in colonial Africa (where, unfortunately for the title character, the natives are knowledgeable about vampire lore), and the weapon in this case is a spear tip dipped in molten silver that causes crippling pain the 400-year-old vampire.  If you're interested, you can catch it here. There's a nod to the 1931 Dracula, and in a cool similarity to the Maggie kidnapping, the vampire chooses a mate, and with her in his thrall, implores her to "walk with me through the dark shadows of eternity."  The full movie clocks in at under an hour.

[Patti Feinberg]

Midnite, dahling, I do believe this is the first time I've ever heard about vampires in Africa.

Thanks!!

Patti

[Gothick]

Miss Rice's novel QUEEN OF THE DAMNED involved vampires in ancient Egypt.  I forget the full backstory.  There was a film made with an actress who died tragically soon after, I believe.

Midnite, Kosmo reminded me that he had told you that I had told him (lol) about THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST.  Even though it was only a few months ago, I had COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN about that film.  My short term memory is truly shot to aitch e double hockey sticks. haha

xo G.

[michael c]

Burton threw in A LOT of random subplot that ended up amounting to nothing. between that and the buzz saw editing job it left for a rather disjointed narrative...

for some reason Burton wanted Roger to seem like a complete cad. it didn't really 'add' anything to the overall story but it was all a buildup to Barnabas sending him packing in the third act. the cloakroom scene was just to "reinforce" how shady he was.

a lot of things were left vague/open as setups for potential sequels that have not come into fruition.

[Midnite]

LOL, Gothick.  That happens to me sometimes too but is a normal thing, I'm sure.  {{hugs}}

[Gothick]

btw, in the new book FOLK HORROR REVIVAL: FIELD STUDIES edited by Andy Paciorek, there's an amusing article by Tina Rath, an authority on the scholarly study of vampire lore (particularly in fiction, films, video games etc.).  It's called "All you ever knew about vampires is wrong:  a transcript of a Fortean Meeting talk."  She spends several pages discussing the mythic powers of silver over vampires and explores various possibilities about how this notion came about.  It's a fun read.

G.

[The Doctor and K9]

Burton threw in A LOT of random subplot that ended up amounting to nothing. between that and the buzz saw editing job it left for a rather disjointed narrative...

for some reason Burton wanted Roger to seem like a complete cad

I wonder if someone, Burton, the writer, or Depp wanted him to be like Roger in '66? Maybe they watched early episodes.

[michael c]

indeed the 1966 episodes were referenced...

dueling fish canneries, mentions of Laura and, as the say, the early sleazy Roger. not the pompous but lovable fop we see in the later years of the OS.