 |
| From https://hiddenhorrors.files.wordpress.com /2014/01/cry-baby-lane.jpg |
Director: Peter Lauer
Screenplay: Peter Lauer and Bob Mittenthal
Cast: Jase Blankfort as Andrew; Trey Rogers as
Carl; Larc Spies as Kenneth; Frank Langella as Bennett; Anne Lange as Ann Weber;
Marc John Jefferies as Hall; Allison Siko as Louise; Jessica Brooks Grant as
Megan; Sheri Drach as Kathy; Gary Perez as Gary; Steve Mellor as Dick Weber
Synopsis: In a small town, there is a tale of a pair of conjoined
twins who, when they died as infants, were severed from each other, one buried
in the cemetery and the other buried at a place called Cry Baby Lane. Andrew (Jase Blankfort), and his older brother Carl
(Trey Rogers), have a mock séance at
a grave to exploit this with a group of girls, only to release an entity that
is significantly malicious.
The story goes, like any good spooky tale, that on October
28th 2000, a TV movie was shown on the American channel Nickelodeon that was deemed inappropriate for its young audience,
and buried never to be heard of again. Over the decade or so that would follow,
this work directed by Peter Lauer and
originally meant to be a theatrical release, costing $800,000, was even
questioned in terms of whether it actually existed. Some suggested, on the
other side of the spectrum in a form of Creepy Pasta (online created urban
legends) that it was suppressed for having incredibly disturbing material
onscreen. Finally in 2011, a viral Reddit
thread lead to a user ugnaught1, who claimed to on the "lost"
film on a VHS copy, uploading it online. Having seen the original broadcast
version, which began with an introduction by Melissa Joan Hart, who I grew up with watching Clarissa Explains It All (1991–1994) and Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996–2003), I can attest that such a
film did exist and, when that leaked VHS copy came about, Nickelodeon played into the hype by showing Cry Baby Lane again, claiming it was a "banned" film and
then eventually showing it at Halloweens over the 2010s, particularly in a nod
to a 90s nostalgia boom.
The fable of the horrible things
said to exist in the film - as Creepy Pasta have included a SpongeBob Squarepants episode that was
created by a psychologically disturbed figure which horrified the producers, or
a cursed Mickey Mouse animation - is
probably more horrifying than the actual TV movie, but it itself in the context
of a one-off for a young audience is still weird, gruesome and frankly creepy
in implied metaphors even for a crowd (like myself) who grew up on Goosebumps. Beyond the initial story
told by the undertaker character Bennett (Frank
Langella, who director Peter Lauer
originally wanted to be played by Tom
Waits) - where two conjoined twins (one good and one evil) die in infancy
and are sewn away from each other - there's still a film here where which plays
into a dark and fascinating premise. That, once the evil twin is accidentally
released as a malevolent spectre, he infects people in the central town and
makes them destructive and evil, particularly a group of girl scouts who become
sadists, building off as well a central theme of our young male protagonist Andrew
(Jase Blankfort) and his fears of
puberty and masculinity.
And no, that's not between the
lines either in the text, as he's shy and hates how he's scared all the time,
at point confessing this and accusing his mother for having caused this by being
over protective. His older brother Carl (Trey
Rogers), obsessed with being macho and a diehard pro wrestling fan (1999 WCW and WWF merchandise on the walls), constantly picks on him and calls
him a wimp, all whilst their father is a fascinating character, laid back and
sardonically charming, also with one gag about him implying so much complexity
when, watching monster trucks on the TV when his wife's in the room, one scene
has him switch to coverage of supermodels on a catwalk when she's out the room.
 |
| From http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xaz5GrH_-WI/Vh_YkulS3uI/ AAAAAAAAJ78/GR4AlB153n8/s1600/CryBabyLane5.jpg |
Andrew's life is complex as he has a crush on a girl, who unfortunately is among those scouts possessed and becoming evil, among those tormenting him alongside his eventually possessed older brother and even trying to harm him; it reaches the point mid way through of him being stripped to his underwear, nearly being gored by a bull, and having to flee for his life half naked. Then there's the threat to kiss his beloved, whilst she's possess and threatening this or "chi chi", involving a significantly bigger and gigantic girl looking at him as if she'll easily break his spine in two. That's without his mother not believing him and even the adults, like a version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, becoming possessed, where police will try to run you off the road, farmers with trying to run you over with a combine harvester, and guys for shits and giggles with beer will blow up their own boats in madness.
The eccentricity grows as a
virtue. Whilst it would've been interesting to see Tom Waits in the role, Frank
Langella, the major actor hired, also happens to be a great character actor
who in his mere presence raises the material up. More so as, part of the film's
sick sense of humour, he's openly a bad undertaker who will even replace
coffins of those about to be buried with cheaper ones, as scummy as you can get
despite still being a good, moral man at heart. His assistants include a
stoner, (well an implied stoner who just acts sleepy), and another who digs the
graves who pretends to always be ill but, when no one is looking, dresses up as
a cowboy listening to country music in his home and prepares the dining table
as if he's about to have a date there, never seen or even hinted at for a
weirder twist. The production is as much like this, even if it evoked my
childhood of watching shows like Goosebumps,
with its moody atmosphere on such a low budget and the instrumental surf rock
theme sounding like it's going to break into a song by The Cramps.
The result, appropriate for a
more mature young teenage audience, is one I really liked and wished was more
easily available. Yes, I admit the mythos is fun and there's something really
rewarding in seeing old American commercials - alongside probably one
incredibly weird and inspired mock "news report" that, barring one
cringe worthy reference to Mexican food, is from a reporter inside a young
boy's intestines, interviewing the staff within it just before it's about to
blow with potent gestated fart gas. But, again, it'd be something great to see
a proper release of just to learn more of its background - just to have
witnessed a film which, far from below my expectations, provided its own
interesting and blatant subtexts to its horror was enough for me to admire it.
 |
| From https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BODQ4YjExM jgtNjEyNi00YmY1LWI5NzAtMmZmNTlmYjhiZWU1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM0ODAyOTc@._V1_.jpg |
====
1. https://archive.is/20130204104051/http://www.thedaily.com/page/2011/08/13/081311-tech-news-crybaby-1-2#selection-345.12-345.20
No comments:
Post a Comment