The Vancouver New Wave will have people talking at this month’s Cinematheque Ontario Lecture Series, presented by the Toronto International Film Festival Group. Also called Pacific New Wave, this movement consists of a group filmmakers, most of them at the forefront of the Canadian film industry, that formed in part to ensure the Western Canadian film scene will continue to thrive without the help of Hollywood. Presenting two films this month is Vancouver director Carl Bessai.
Severed, another political zombie film, will have its Toronto premiere on November 17, even though it was shot last year. While editing his previous art film, Emile, Bessai was introduced to the zombie genre by his editor, Julian Clarke. He was particularly inspired by the politically-motivated horror works of George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead). “He was mapping history and social action,” says Bessai on the phone.
Looking at the political climate in his home town, Bessai decided to make his own zombie film about western political issues. Severed follows a group of environmental activists as they try to take on the logging industry.
Bessai says he set out to make a “populist movie that says something” about the logging industry and the complexity of the issues involved in both sides of the argument.
“Filmmaking is a responsibility. I wanted to say something about the place we live in and pump up our country’s sense of film.” He’s quick to underline his belief that Severed wasn’t made merely for the sake of making a zombie film. Bessai wanted to deal with interpersonal conflict. “There needs to be a balance of fun, camp and earnestness,” he adds.
Choosing to immerse his cast in strict method-direction, Bessai went so far as to lock his actors in a cabin that was used during filming. “These actors were committed to the film. It was no joke. I wanted it to be real, here, now. You have to build character, because the scenes mean nothing otherwise.” This obviously had the intended effect-Severed definitely delivers some intense scenes.
With a slew of horror films stalking the youth market, Bessai is one of the few directors actually trying to make people think about political issues, when they’re not witnessing gory attacks. Upset with recent releases such as Silent Hill and the Saw franchise, he argues that “these films aren’t saying anything. They have so much potential, but they are about nothing.”
While Bessai’s first effort in horror is, at least, saying something, it falls short in other aspects. The main problem is that almost everyone has seen this kind of movie before. Discussing the pros and cons of working in a genre that has been so overdone, Bessai says he felt trapped pitting audience expectations against his desire to make something new. “It’s the kind of thing where you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”
Unfortunately, the zombie plotline overshadows any intelligent political statements. “These are archetypal conflicts straight out of Romero,” Bessai admits. “I wanted to honour the genre.” Fair enough, but honour and innovation shouldn’t be mutually exclusive.
Severed has everything required for a by-the-numbers zombie flick: blood, violence, zombies, and, of course, some sort of political backdrop. The only thing that’s missing is a new spin. It is clear that director Carl Bessai has an intimate knowledge and understanding of the zombie genre, but he unfortunately neglects to expand the genre’s horizons.
In the forests of British Columbia, left-wing hippie protesters are at war with the capitalist lumber industry. Unbeknownst to any of them, genetically altered tree sap gets into the bloodstream of one of the lumberjacks and, well… you guess it: Zombies! Now the protestors and the lumberjacks must work together to make it out of the zombie-packed forest.
There are some intense scenes, namely one involving a group of protestors who have chained themselves to some trees (oh, the irony). There are also some meaningful bonds created and then hacked to pieces with an axe. Unfortunately, though, most of the film is riddled with clichés from the Night of the Living Dead trilogy and all of its successors.
Kudos to Carl Bessai for attempting something that was at least new for him. More points to him for trying to say something with a horror film. It’s regrettable that his righteous vigor is overshadowed by tired presentation.
Rating: VVv
