Songs in the Afterlife

BALMORHEA IN SHORT FILM
According to Balmorhea’s Myspace their haunting, etheral music was recently used in an equally haunting and moving short film by Jared Hogan of the Savannah School of Art and Design. I’m a film student first and a music critic second, so this post is perfect for Cannibal Cheerleader! Watch the film here and comment on what you think. That picture of there is of the real Balmorhea, Texas skyline and fits the band’s music pretty closely as well.
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NEW FACELESS WEREWOLVES VIDEOThough this particular piece isn’t Cannibal Cheerleader produced, we’d nonetheless like to show it to everyone, as it features some solid live action from our favorite local garage-rock act the Faceless Werewolves. Check this out!

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NEW BAND CHEER – THAO NGUYENThao Nguyen, more commonly known as Thao with The Get Down Stay Down (the name of her backing band) is a Kill Rock Stars signee with a smokey croon that recalls CC fave Cat Power and a Southern rock vibe that’s equal parts joyous bounce and terrific pathos, all rolled into one. We here at Cannibal Cheerleader saw her perform live opening for Rilo Kiley and we’ve been in love with her new LP We Brave Bee Stings and All ever since. Definitely check this one out if you like acoustic-y southern songstresses as much as we do (and we like ‘em A LOT).
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THE HORROR, THE HORROR – THE HAPPENING
I went into The Happening this weekend not expecting much, as the critical reception of M. Night Shyamalan’s newest film had been lukewarm at best. However, I was pleasantly surprised with what was a taut, well-formed thriller, with plenty of guts and gore to offset the the dreamy dread that has become one of the director’s trademarks.
First however, I have to contextualize my feelings on Mr. Shyamalan, whose films I’ve always unabashedly adored. While the current zeitgeist in horror filmmaking might be leaning towards horror-porn and increased shock-value (not that I don’t like that stuff mind you), this director has chosen to approach the genre from a different direction, employing his own vision that I’ve dubbed ‘horror slowcore’, a steady stream of dread mixed in with intense introspection, religious questioning, and philosophical and political undertones. Excellent films like the Village (my personal favorite of his) come across as so divergent from the horror norm that many fans of the genre fail to engage themselves into the world of the film as they would with another scare-flick. Still, Shyamalan crafts layers upon layers of meaning into his worlds and is one of the only directors evolving the genre beyond its slasher roots (for better or for worse).
That said, the Happening isn’t the Village or the Sixth Sense, but it does have its share of great kills (death by lawnmower and suicidal construction workers for the win) and truly beautiful moments (Mark Walhberg’s and Zooey Deschanel’s final attempt to be together at what seems like their last moment is stirring and genuine). However the film’s evil force and its tendency to make people kill themselves sometimes comes off as absurd and the acting beyond the leads was spotty at best. Still, more than worth the price of admission and deserving of three out of four bloody pon-poms. Go see it folks.

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