Carpe Noctem

When it comes to dressing up, I’ve never been a fan of the plastic and tacky, preferring the restrained but real. So I went for the top of the food chain as Lucifer himself, taking a sort of well-dressed Al Pacino approach, black suit combined with some intricate devilish jewelry that I happened to have lying around. There’s something about tapping the claw of an armour ring against a your glass of red wine that’s just plain intimidating, I’m told. Especially when said red wine is a carefully selected Casillero del Diablo (“Cellar of the Devil”), which is actually highly drinkable Chilean at a very reasonable price.

Everyone had thrown themselves into the fancy dress so the Great Hall was felt more like veritable haunted mansion, replete which ghouls, witches, and even a few axe-murderers and roving wizards. I was sitting with the third years from in and around M, but had a coven of suitably ribald freshers on my other side. Since Janine was rowing the next day, I ended up finishing most of the bottle myself, resulting in a slightly blurred ent afterwards. Roger provided a decent musical assortment despite the various complaints he has been receiving recently, and proved the Great Hall can be just as good as the Howard Building. The new online booking system means that tickets disappear virtually instantly for the big events like this, so unfortuantely my camera was unable to attend. However I will try to obtain photos from elsewhere…

I loved last Hallowe’en’s deliciously twisted Saw, but must admit I’ve been dubious ever since I heard of plans for a sequel, rushed to be produced within a year. The more I hear, the less convinced I become about another outting with the Jigsaw killer, since this version has 8 people locked in a room, losing the intense dynamic of the original two men knowing one was going to die. Since we’re talking horror, Three…Extremes looks like an intriguing slice of cross-culture fear-induing filmmaking, helmed by three masterful Oriental directors. I’ll admit my interest is mostly due to Takashi Miike’s involvement, since he still bears the crown of producing the only film that freaked me out enough that I had to switch it off and come back to it later. On the more fantastical side, a new Narnia trailer has emerged through the Wardrobe. WETA have clearly outdone themselves once again with some incredible creature work. Their movements are awesome and they don’t just talk, they speak to you — this December release should certainly curb most people’s LOTR withdrawal symptoms. Finally, and by no means least, rumour has it that Michael Vaughn of Layer Cake fame may be directing Neil Gaiman’s adult-oriented fairytale Stardust.