¡Qué horror! 2013

Candidate #8

THE DAY

(September 2011)

It’s a film brought to us by WWE Studios, with Iceman and Meriadoc Brandybuck in it in front of the cameras, and as co-producers.

How can you possibly resist?

Sure, it’s yet another dark, nihilistic post-apocalyptic tale, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that it’s a well-made one, with just enough moments in its narrative to make you want to see it through, if only to see who lives and who dies past the end credits roll.

Plus, aside from Shawn Ashmore and Dominic Monaghan, there are some other familiar genre faces here: Ashley Bell (from The Last Exorcism), Michael Eklund (from yet another dark, nihilistic post-apocalyptic tale, The Divide), and Shannyn Sossamon (who you may remember from either A Knight’s Tale, Wristcutters: A Love Story, Life Is Hot in Cracktown, or the English-language remake of One Missed Call, depending on your particular cinematic leanings).

Plus, Marc Blucas is also in here as a co-executive producer (I presume because he’s collaborated in the past with director Doug Aarniokoski, on the less than stellar Animals, which I believe has a review stashed somewhere in the Iguana Archives*).

So, if dark, nihilistic post-apocalyptic tales are your horror speed, you could do a whole lot worse than The Day.

* Reviews for The Last Exorcism, Wristcutters: A Love Story and The Divide can also be found in the Archives as well.

(The Day OS courtesy of shocktillyoudrop.com.)

SMALLVILLE
Season 6
Episode 21
(WARNING:
SPOILERS)
“Prototype”

Time for another of my semi-regular visits to Smallville. The reason this time out: January’s a ways off, and the TV movie this fall is about the Pegasus, so it’s probably mostly gonna be about that psycho b*tch, Admiral Cain.
I just wanted a Battlestar Galactica fix. Sue me.

Karl “Helo” Agathon himself, Tahmoh Penikett, plays Wes Keenan, an Army brat-turned-war hero, who happens to have been the first boy Lois ever kissed, and is now Ares Mark IV, the prototype for Project Ares, Lex’s little science project to create his own super-soldier.
And wouldn’t you know it, the witness to Wes’ assassination of the crooked Senator Burke (who’s threatening to shut Project Ares down) is one Lois Lane. Of course, plot conveniences and contrivances are nothing new on Smallville, so let’s just roll with the punch, shall we?
At any rate, the episode actually allows some of the cast to shine; Erica Durance, pleading with Penikett (who has been ordered to kill her), “Remember me!”; Tom Welling, telling Annette O’Toole that she should become Kansas senator in the wake of Burke’s death. (Isn’t there a line of succession here? Aren’t there Junior Senators or something?)
Penikett meanwhile, is underutilized, though is at least given something more to do than some other past Smallville guest stars (like WWE’s Batista).

In the end, “Prototype” isn’t a horrible episode, though also isn’t any indication that Smallville is a better show than when I last checked in.

(Image courtesy of supermanhomepage.com.)