Reluctant Endorsement of Horror

He looks nothing like Viggo! Excellent!
(not that Viggo's bad looking or anything ...)

One night (a couple weeks ago) I couldn't sleep. I reached over, unslept (unsleeped?) the iPhone, and dialed up the PBS app. There wasn't anything on Masterpiece I felt like watching, so I scrolled down to this program called Tavis Smiley. Turns out Tavis is a real man (as opposed to the main character in a show) and an excellent interviewer who talked to David Cronenberg about "A Dangerous Method."

Awhile back I gave up on the whole Cronenberg/Mortenson duo. "A History of Violence" followed by "Eastern Promises" was too much violence for me. However, I still have a solid respect for Cronenberg as director, so I watched the Tavis interview.

A bit of the slanted distorted face jiggle. And good job
getting a smoker to play a man with a cigar.

During the dialogue they showed clips from "A Dangerous Method." I knew Viggo was involved and yet as I watched the clip I didn't recognize him until he did that characteristic distorted face jiggle. And it was right in character! Not only was it in character, but he refined it to the point that you just know Freud had that mannerism. He did such a fine job in that clip that I am now looking for a volunteer to go to the movie with me. I need someone to  text me when the voyeuristic sex scene is over so I can enjoy the rest of the show. (I hope that's the only land mine.)

Another good interview with Cronenberg is the one with Elvis MItchell on KCRW's podcast The Treatment. Also, a nice companion interview (since we're into horror now) is Elvis's talk with John Landis about Monsters in the Movies. Which can take you (as it took me) to the book. And in the book is another interview with Cronenberg by John Landis. It's a good book full of pictures of monsters and interviews with horror's major creators.

Although I don't mind a touch of horror, like the way Neil Gaiman uses it, I don't like horror for horror's sake. After watching "Aliens" I swore off for good. Well, until Viggo came along. I'm still off horror and still into good acting, so if you'd like to volunteer to be my censor for Cronenberg's latest, leave a comment and we'll work something out.