Friday, October 26. 2007
0 Days of Night frightens horror fans unconventionally
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By Matt Schwabenhauer
assistant sithient etino,
inr,s . 48 - ',Nu cdti
Picture yourself in this situation: vou are in
Barrow. Alaska. The sun has just set and will not
rise again for thirty days. The last airplane has just
flown out of toss n, and there won't he another com
ing for a month. On top of that, a pack of blood
thirsts \ amplics has e just cut the town's power and
are slamthterim2 es er \ onc in siiiht.
This is the situation that k depicted in 30 Days of
,Vigla. director Da\ id Slade's newest him starring
Josh Hartnett and produced hv Sam Raimi. Slade's
adaptation of the graphic novel h) Steve Niles had
people in the theater screaming out loud on more
than one occasion. Instead of reling on cheap
scares to frighten his \ lem.ers. Slade takes a differ
ent approach. The characters in the movie are often
in a state of hopelessness. focusing more on surviv-
ing than getting rid of the vampires.
The film centers on Sheriff [Then Oleson, played
h‘, Hartnett. Oleson is sour run-of-the-mill small
town pOliCt2lllall. eryone knows him and
acknow ledges him as the to n enforcer. Oleson has
just ins estigatcd some odd crimes around town. A
pack of sled-dogs were slaughtered, and all of the
tusyn's satellite phones were stolen'and destroyed in
a fire. To inake things worse, Oleson's soon-to-he
es-site Stella has ills( missed the last plane out of
town. which means she will he staving there for the
next month. Ls entuallv. Oleson is able to trace the
odd crimes to a stranger ho has just shown up in
town. Lntortimatel \ for Oleson, this stran per was
Gone Baby Gone keeps viewers guessing until surprise ending
Casey Aft . leek plays private investigator Patrick Kenzie in the new film Gone Baby Gone
By Scott Muska
student lye edit°,
iiisllB2 pq.l edu
"He lied to me. I can't think of one reason big
enough for him to lie that's small enough not to
matter," says Patrick Kenzie, a private detective
who is haunted by his investigations and deter
mined to find the real truth behind them. Kenzie is
the protagonist of Gone Baby Gone, a new film that
was directed and co-written by Ben Affleck.
Gone Baby Gone, a mystery thriller based in
Boston, is an offering that Affleck decided to keep
in the family. He cast his younger brother, Casey, to
play Kenzie, which is his first leading roll in a high
profile movie. The movie is apparently one of
many firsts. as it is Ben's first attempt at directing
and writing without the aid of his renowned friend
and partner. Matt Damon.
The film is based on the best-selling novel by
Dennis Lehane, who became extremely well-known
when Clint Eastwood adapted his novel, Mystic
River. for the big screen in 2003. Lehane is known
for his attention to detail, mastery of suspense and
uncanny ability to create surprising and unfath
omable endings.
The movie begins with mock news coverage of a
young girl's disappearance from a house in a Boston
neighborhood where she lives with her mother, aunt
and uncle. Following this, the aunt seeks out
Kenzie and his girlfriend—who is also his part
ner—at their home to hire them so that they can
augment the investigation by approaching sources
they know in the town.
At the commencement of their investigation,
ri EJLEI fa' 1J
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just preparing the town to he massacred by vam
pires. All the stranger says to Oleson is, "They're
coming
The vampires. who are led by a Dracula look-a
like named Marlow, make quick work of the town.
With the vampires slaughtering everyone they can
find, Oleson has no option but to lead what remain
ing townsfolk he can find to hide out in the attic of
a house. From there, Oleson has to find a way to
keep the group alive for the next 30 days, along
with rescuing any other survivors he can find. As
the end of the 30 days approaches, the vampires
break open the Alaskan pipeline and fill the town
with oil ill order to burn it down as to leave no
traces of their actions.
Slade puts his characters in unimaginably hope
less situations. The streets of Barrow are cluttered
with dead, bloody corpses and the only places to
hide are tiny attics and bloodstained police stations.
Hartnett gives a performance that is unlike any
character he has portrayed before. He plays a bro
ken man going through a divorce who has the
responsibility of saving as many people as he can in
impossible conditions.
Slade does a remarkable job of sustaining a feel
ing of sheer terror throughout 30 Days of Night. By
not relying on cheap scares and shock value to
frighten his viewers, Slade uses a more conservative
style. While contemporary horror films are shifting
their focus from truly scaring their audiences to try
ing to gross them but, Slade takes the classic
approach with 30 Days of Night and brings back
that true feeling of terror that has been missing from
current horror films
Kenzie and his partner believe they are simply
going to canvas the neighborhood that they have
inhabited all of their lives, but the case beings to
take many unexpected turns, and they become very
emotionally attached to the search for the abducted
girl.
When drugs. murder and authority corruption
become frightening factors in the case, Kenzie finds
himself and the people close to him in potentially
career and life damaging danger, but he is so
obsessed with the truth that he continues to delve
deeper into the investigation.
Kenzie's pursuit of the truth is a large theme in
the movie, and it factors into the astounding ending
of the movie, which is even more surprising than
Mystic River. There is absolutely no way that any
one seeing the movie for the first time can predict
the way that it will end before the last ten minutes,
but it's easy to feel like you've figured it out. There
are so many twists and possibilities for conclusion
that it gets extremely confusing, but in a good and
suspenseful way.
At the end of the movie, Kenzie's moral convic
tions and unwillingness to leave things unsolved or
unjustified drive the movie to its stunning and
mind-boggling ending. Affleck's adaptation of
Lehane's novel for his directorial debut shows that
he is a very capable movie-maker that should con
tinue in the same vein. His younger brother also
emerges as extremely talented in his first major
leading role, and it looks as though he will become
a major star in the years to come.
Gone Baby Gone is one of the best films to come
out thus far this fall, and is easily the most entertain
ing of those that fall into the mystery genre.
Balconites bring "Magic" to life
By Aeriale Cooksey-Kramer
staff writer
aaks I 01 @psu.edu
You pass them as you're leaving Bruno's around
lunchtime, casually glancing their way and giving
the occasional nod. They are there when you run up
the spiral staircase, pushing past them in an effort to
make it to your next class on time. You might notice
them with their card decks splayed across the table
tops of the balcony, their intense stares boring holes
into the other players, daring opponents to make
their next move.
Who are they, and why are they seemingly always
playing cards with misshapen creatures and other
unidentifiable "things" pasted on the front of them 9
Some people recognize them as the "Balconites"
and others smile and timidly call them the
"Magicians." They are average people, Behrend
students, who are immensely interested and daily
engaged in the card game 'Magic: The Gathering'.
These students devote their free time to meeting
each other at the balcony right outside of Bruno's
café, never bothering to give specific meeting times
because at least a few players are guaranteed to be
there. This dedicated, enthusiastic, prepared, and
possibly obsessed group of people have this in com
mon; they love the game of Magic and are consis
tently willing to sacrifice their free time for this fan
tastical card game almost every day.
Many of these students are a part of the Fantasy
Garners Club (FGC); a student organization that
promotes the practice of role-playing games
through collectible or fantasy cards. The club began
in 1996, uniting garners from all around campus.
One member of the FGC, a sophomore, eager to
explain the game and all it has to offer told his story
while playing an opponent at the same time. "I've
been playing for about four years, then stopped for
awhile, but then started playing again last year. - He
went on to talk about some major rules, and ways to
play the game. "The goal of the game is to reduce
your opponent to zero life totes. Everyone begins
the game with 20 life totes and that number can
increase or decrease. That's just one of the many
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A few terms related to the game of Magic could
easily he confused with sexual connotations.
'Tapping' is what you do to a card after you've used
it. By tilting the card slightly to the left, you have
'tapped' it and it has no remaining power to be re
used at any other time. 'Scooping' is when you
promptly end the game because it becomes impos
sible to win. Although the 'BFM' could be mistak
en for a few other acronyms, in the game of Magic,
it is more commonly understood to he the Big Furry
Monster. It is apparently not a card to be joking
around with, as it's power can he quite extreme.
Many students' opinions have risen to the surface
when asked about the "Balconites.-
One student is unabashedly outspoken and had
plenty on her mind when it comes to this group of
fantasy card players. "They are like some kind of
secret cult! It's almost as if they have their own lan-
Another student commented on the fact that they
are seemingly playing cards every time she glances
their way. "They must not go to class. Don't they
ever have homework?
And still, another student mentioned that the peo
ple on the balcony are always very helpful. "They
were all friendly and willing to help new players
just starting into the game.. ,
The sophomore, and member of the FGC, men
tioned that most of the players on the balcony don't
use their own names. but nicknames that they made
up. Most of the time, it's a person's last name that
he or she will go by. hut other times, players make
up code names to use while in game mode.
He laughed, still enthralled in the game, and
looked up with a grin on his face. "If you're ever
here when the balcony is in full swing, you'll see
that we are a little 'Out there'.-
There are varying opinions and decidedly differ
ent outlooks on these FGC members, but one fact is
certain: they all have a knack and a passion for what
they choose to put their time into, and dedication is
a nice trait to recognize amongst campus organiza-