Review: “Screamers” – Christian Duguay

PODCAST:

S4E8M – Screamers (movie)*

SHOW NOTES:

Wherein we dissect this Peter Weller enticing Canadian-American production of a Philip K. Dick short story with a screenplay that originated from the writer of the first “Alien” movie. I am rejoined by former co-host Richard Mehl a/k/a Rick for another dueling duo of discussion as we fight our way through the miasma of psychological distrust, shock, action/adventure, and science fiction horror.

Ryan enjoyed the film, but expressed that some of the changes made lost the claustrophobic feel that heightened the suspense of uncertainty and distrust which were at the hallmark-heart of what he enjoyed about the short story. Rick liked the visual clarity the film brought to the narrative, but was more engaged with how much of the underlying elements were used elsewhere across the filmic landscape.

While Rick and Ryan were both impressed with the level of special effects employed during film, Rick felt that some of this effort was unnecessary or wasted. That said, nobody questioned the high-quality contribution made by the unflappable Peter Weller (Rick even deigned to delight us with a brief impression!). 

So, suit up for this shorter NDIOS journey and don’t forget your evil-robot-warding-tab while you join us on this mid 90’s exploration of robotic evolution and mind game trickery! 

-Ryan

 

WRITTEN MOVIE REVIEWS:

“Screamers (1995)” by Christian Duguay (Peter Weller) (movie)

Ryan: 3 Stars “…This lesser known b-movie effort falls just short of cult status tracking decently with its fun PKD source material, but there are enough choice bits for science fiction fans to enjoy…”

Rick: 3 Stars “…a top Canadian production and not really a b-movie, but, yeah, it had some memorable moments in it and I think they really capitalized on some of the imagery from the story ‘Second Variety’…”

 

FUN FACTOIDS:

Not mentioned during the episode, the website www.philipkdickfans.com has an article pulling together information about the originating short story (Second Variety) as well as quotes from the author himself concerning the story and his feelings about the original script written by Dan O’Bannon (who also wrote the script for the movie “Alien“). You can read this short article here: http://www.philipkdickfans.com/mirror/websites/pkdweb/short_stories/Second%20Variety.htm. Within this web article is a quote from PKD: “My grand theme — who is human and who only appears (masquerading) as human? — emerges most fully.” The author talks about the difficulties of exploring this theme and how he kept coming back to it. This quote is from the original magazine publication of the short story (Space Science Fiction, May 1953) and is also quoted in the appendix notes of one of the anthologies which this story appears (“Second Variety – Collected Stories Volume 2″).

There are a couple blog posts on SFF Audio by Jesse Willis concerning PKD’s work and the copyright status of some of his stories that mentions the two stories talked about in our book review episode (“Second Variety” and “Jon’s World”). These posts include scanned images purporting to be copyright renewal forms of PKD works. Check these out here: https://www.sffaudio.com/commentary-philip-k-dicks-public-domain-short-stories-novelettes-and-novellas/ and also https://www.sffaudio.com/philip-k-dick-copyright-renewal-and-registration-scans/.

Ryan mentioned a few podcasts that talked about this movie and even discussed its similarity to the 1990’s cult classic Kevin Bacon film “Tremors.” One such show is Venganza Media‘s “Now Playing Podcast” and that episode can be heard here: http://nowplayingpodcast.com/episode.htm?id=675. It’s sister show “Books & Nachos” covered the written work here: http://www.booksandnachos.com/episode.htm?id=48. Check them out, too!

A few other articles either mentioned on the show or worth reading that are about this topic are as follows: “Screamers Is the Most Underrated Philip K. Dick Adaptation Ever” by Cheryl Eddy for iO9; “From The Vault: Screamers (1995)” by Simon Fitzjohn for Movie Ramblings; and “Peter Weller on feminism, sequels, and more” by Will Harris for AV Film.

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.

Advertisement

Preview Episode (Screamers)

PODCAST:

S4E8P – Preview Episode (Screamers)

SUBJECT MATTER:

“Second Variety (1953)” by Philip K. Dick (short story)

“In the aftermath of a devastating nuclear war between the United Nations and the Soviet Union, sophisticated robots nicknamed “claws” are created to destroy what remains of human life. Left to their own devices, however, the claws develop robots of their own. II-V, the second variety, remains unknown to the few humans left on Earth. Or does it?“ (from Goodreads.com)

“Jon’s World (1954)” by Philip K. Dick (short story) ++ bonus story++

“An expedition back in time shall get hold of the papers written by Schonerman for his artificial brains that were responsible for the success of the Claws described in Second Variety, but this time to the betterment of civilization.“ (from ISFDB.com)

*** * ***

“Screamers (1995)” by Christian Duguay (Peter Weller) (movie)

“A rebel commander (Peter Weller, Robocop, 1987) must protect his outpost from the programmed weapons that are mutating into killers of all human life.” (from Amazon.com)

 

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.

Review: “Naked Lunch” (book/movie) William S. Burroughs – David Cronenberg (Peter Weller)

PODCAST:

Listen to the podcast here (click to play/right click and select “save target as” to download):

S2E7 – Naked Lunch (book/movie)*

 

WRITTEN BOOK REVIEWS:

Ryan: 3 Stars “…A mad trip into the tattered drift of subconscious undercurrents…”

Wilk: 1 Star “…I would not recommend this book in any sense other than offering a person the opportunity to taste milk that I already knew to be sour and spoiled…”

Rick: 5 Stars “…I found my experience hilarious and fascinating and I consider the book to be a true classic. Those who hate the book i fear only hate it because it is the safe thing to do, but hopefully it was only because they didn’t prepare to consume it...”

(Click the links to read full written reviews on Goodreads.com)

 

SUBJECT MATTER:

“Naked Lunch” by William S. Burroughs

Book: “Naked Lunch” by William S. Burroughs

“Since its original publication in Paris in 1959, Naked Lunch has become one of the most important novels of the twentieth century. Exerting its influence on the relationship of art and obscenity, it is one of the books that redefined not just literature but American culture. For the Burroughs enthusiast and the neophyte, this volume—that contains final-draft typescripts, numerous unpublished contemporaneous writings by Burroughs, his own later introductions to the book, and his essay on psychoactive drugs—is a valuable and fresh experience of a novel that has lost none of its relevance or satirical bite.” (from Amazon.com)

*** * ***

“Naked Lunch” by David Cronenberg (Peter Weller)

“Naked Lunch” by David Cronenberg (Peter Weller)

“In this adaptation of William S. Burroughs’s hallucinatory, once-thought unfilmable novel Naked Lunch, directed by David Cronenberg (Videodrome), a part-time exterminator and full-time drug addict named Bill Lee (Robocop’s Peter Weller) plunges into the nightmarish Interzone, a netherworld of sinister cabals and giant talking bugs. Alternately humorous and grotesque—and always surreal—the film mingles aspects of Burroughs’s novel with incidents from the writer’s own life, resulting in an evocative paranoid fantasy and a self-reflexive investigation into the mysteries of the creative process. ” (from Amazon.com)

 

 

 

SHOW NOTES:

It’s a new month and you know what that means—here you are again. Meanwhile, Australia calls your name as you rot behind the illusion of work and family. So, while you waste away into obscurity, why not dive face first into the resounding groin-punch-opera of our latest podcast?

This month we read and watched William S. Burroughs’s “Naked Lunch.” This book provided a lively exchange between our hosts, and it even brought forth a stunning pre-written statement by Rick. It is the hope of all of us that one of our fans will take his words and forever etch them on their body in the shimmering ink of a local tattoo artist.

We also watched the cinematic version of Naked Lunch, which was met with a better reception overall from the three hosts. This podcast promises to be one of our most controversial, as the hosts did not have a consensus on the overall merit of “Naked Lunch.” Wilk, could not bring himself to say that he liked anything about the book and was unsure if it was art or if it was simply a contemporary companion piece to an era that has long since passed us by. The personal life of the author made it difficult for Wilk to give the book a pass, or the benefit of the doubt, since his life was utter chaos brought on only by himself. The book seemed to be a reflection of that, to Wilk, the simple mutterings of a horrible mind that were little more than noise. Rick loved it.

Anyways, please listen and explore for yourself. Until next time, have a dog with beautiful breath lick your body, because there is no deodorant in outer space!

-Wilk

 

FUN FACTOIDS:

This book even made its way onto an episode of The Simpsons. Check out this clip below:

Also, thanks to our good friend and podcast ally Dole for pointing out to me that William S. Burroughs even made a connection with some 90’s era bands.

In 1992, Burroughs can be heard and seen in this classic “Ministry” song off their album “Psalm 69”. Check out: “Just One Fix”:

 

Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) also met Williams S. Burroughs. There is an article about the two by “Reality Studio” titled “William S. Burroughs and Kurt Cobain: A Dossier” and you can check it out here: http://realitystudio.org/biography/william-s-burroughs-and-kurt-cobain-a-dossier/

An audio recording came of this relationship in 1993 (though it was recorded remotely): “The Priest They Called Him”

 

Still confused by this book and movie??? If you care to watch an in-depth film analysis on the movie “Naked Lunch,”  check out this video by Rolling Bottle Films:

 

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.

Preview Episode (Naked Lunch)

PODCAST:

Listen to the podcast here (click to play/right click and select “save target as” to download):

S2P7 – Naked Lunch (preview)*

 

SUBJECT MATTER:

“Naked Lunch” by William S. Burroughs

Book: “Naked Lunch” by William S. Burroughs

“Since its original publication in Paris in 1959, Naked Lunch has become one of the most important novels of the twentieth century. Exerting its influence on the relationship of art and obscenity, it is one of the books that redefined not just literature but American culture. For the Burroughs enthusiast and the neophyte, this volume—that contains final-draft typescripts, numerous unpublished contemporaneous writings by Burroughs, his own later introductions to the book, and his essay on psychoactive drugs—is a valuable and fresh experience of a novel that has lost none of its relevance or satirical bite.” (from Amazon.com)

*** * ***

“Naked Lunch” by David Cronenberg (Peter Weller)

“Naked Lunch” by David Cronenberg (Peter Weller)

“In this adaptation of William S. Burroughs’s hallucinatory, once-thought unfilmable novel Naked Lunch, directed by David Cronenberg (Videodrome), a part-time exterminator and full-time drug addict named Bill Lee (Robocop’s Peter Weller) plunges into the nightmarish Interzone, a netherworld of sinister cabals and giant talking bugs. Alternately humorous and grotesque—and always surreal—the film mingles aspects of Burroughs’s novel with incidents from the writer’s own life, resulting in an evocative paranoid fantasy and a self-reflexive investigation into the mysteries of the creative process. ” (from Amazon.com)

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.