(Week 20: May 12 – 18)
Work continues on the new short story, but not with any great conviction. It’s a bit frustrating to have a story so clearly visualised in my head, but to remain unable to find the ideal way of telling it. I will give it a bit longer before I inevitably get distracted with the Next Big Idea.
Watching
On Sunday I treated the Elderbeast to a repeat viewing of Avengers: Endgame. I have mixed feelings about the movie following the second time around. It definitely still works as an epic and highly satisfying conclusion to Infinity War. However, the problematic moments don’t become any less problematic and, perhaps, stick out a bit more once you’re less distracted by the spectacle. Furthermore, the film is burdened by its overly ambitious plot–a necessary limitation caused by the need to wrap up all the diverse threads left by its predecessor, and others–and proves less satisfying in its own right than Infinity War (which, to my mind, remains a stunning achievement in cinematic storytelling).
For Fridate Horror we checked out Blood on Satan’s Claw, mostly because I’d recently devoured the audio dramatisation (of which more below). It’s a film I’m fond of mostly for its particularly british flavour, but it’s not necessarily been an essential favourite of mine. This may have only been my second or third viewing, but so much if it was unfamiliar that I found myself wondering if I’d ever sat down and properly watched the film all the way through before. While there are a small handful of brutal moments, the film otherwise does a very good job in carving a sense of developing menace without really showing too much. In an era when films were pushing the horror envelope further and further, a bit of restraint is quite a rarity and is definitely the more effective choice given the likely budget limitations.
Reading
So–reverse spoiler–this week I also tucked into the audio dramatisation of Blood On Satan’s Claw (which preceded my viewing of the original film version on Friday of this week). I enjoyed it very much on its own merits, but having now consumed the story in both visual and audio formats, I can confirm that it hews very close to the source movie.
I might even go so far as to say the audio adaptation is superior. It does a terrific job of retelling a slightly obscure plot, and adds in a few well-judged nuggets of characterisation and expansion here and there. It’s still very much a tribute to the original film, but works excellently regardless of whether you know the film or not.
Definitely recommended.