LogFAQs > #979870700

LightningStrikes posted...

I dont see whats so confusing about Prince of Darkness, its just bananas.

At the end of the day its all art. It doesnt really make sense to call art artsy as positively or negatively it implies that some films are not art or are more art than others. I mean when you look at The Fly its basically concerned with the same issues Videodrome is and making the same artistic statements. Without getting into spoilers my list has a very avant garde film near the top and another one near the bottom!

I strongly disagree with the latter assessment. In terms of theme and messaging, I can see a similarity between The Fly and Videodrome. Both share a theme of modern advancement being bad and leading to the loss of humanity. And in both cases, the main characters goal at the start of the film is to advance himself by finding the next big thing, but his life goes off the rails as a result, leading to his downfall.

In The Fly, however, the plot is far more well-executed. First off, Jeff Goldblum is presented as a scientist who is working on a major breakthrough. Its his desire for fame and glory that leads to his obsession and sloppiness, and ultimately his downfall. The arcs in the movie make sense.

In Videodrome, first off, James Woods being a network exec trying to find new, more explicit shows to draw in viewersalready youre starting with a less rational premise. But then his transformation is weirdly supernatural, and while I can accept the concept of Videodrome creating a brain tumor, the body feels completely forced and unnecessary. Even if its a hallucination due to the brain tumor, the movie treats James Woods weird chest wound as a real thing that he uses to hide a gun. And then the movie turns into a weird plot about a shadowy cabal facing off against a light cabal and its just utter nonsense. Its too focused on visuals and theming to create the films framework of a solid plot first.