“The inclination to aggression constitutes the greatest impediment to civilization.”
—SIGMUND FREUD, 1929

 
NEW YORK — Why is the world so violent? Why can’t civilization contain it? Freud knows!

Few thinkers understand human aggression as powerfully as the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud.  His 1929 essay, “Civilizations and Its Discontents,” remains the definitive text on human destructiveness. As beheadings, school shootings, war, police brutality and sexual violence continue unabated contemporarily, its relevance is undeniable.

“Men are not gentle creatures,” Freud wrote, “but … creatures whose instinct (is) aggressiveness.”

Judson Memorial Church and New Books in Psychoanalysis will host a reading of Freud’s seminal essay to ring in 2015. Readers includes psychoanalysts, actors, academics, Pulitzer prize winners, architects, clergy, diplomats and war veterans who have lived Freud’s words personally.

“Freud tells us that humans have destructive urges that we direct outwards,” said Tom Carter, the managing director of the Hanover Search Group, and a longtime U.S. diplomat who served in Nicaragua and was a delegate to the U.N. Security Council. “Freud was also correct in saying that violence demands catharsis. Today, in response to pronounced racist aggression in America, protests such as we see around NYC have a cathartic impact.”

“I spend a lot of time trying to convince myself and others of innate human goodness,” added Micah Bucey, Community MInister of the Arts at Judson Memorial Church, “but this is meaningless without acknowledging the destructive and violent impulses we all feel. ‘Civilization and Its Discontents’ explores what it means to be human, warts and all. In our current crises of human destruction, we need honest exploration now more than ever.”

About the event:

“Civilization and Its Discontents: A Marathon Reading”
Saturday, January 3, 2:30-7 pm

Judson Memorial Church
55 Washington Square South (bet. Sullivan and Thompson Sts.)
New York, NY

Map here.

From Bloody Disgusting:

“Robert Kurtzman’s Creature Corps sends everyone Howling holiday wishes with some exclusive behind-the-scenes images from one of their latest projects, Late Phases (review), out now on VOD and select theaters.

The film was picked as one of Patrick Cooper’s favorite films of 2014, and features some absolutely astounding practical effects work.

Take a look [here] as Kurtzman and his team work with director Adrian Garcia Bogliano on the werewolf movie that stars Stake Land‘s Nick Damici, Ethan Embry, Lance Guest, Erin Cummings, Rutanya Alda, Tina Louise, Caitlin O’Heaney, Karen Lynn Gorney, Dana Ashbrook, and the great Tom Noonan.”

From BuzzFeed:

Late Phases

Directed by: Adrián García Bogliano
Written by: Eric Stolze

There are no teenagers in peril in Late Phases, a horror film that’s as much about the fears of growing old and feeble as it is about werewolves. Nick Damici stars as Ambrose, a blind Vietnam veteran who moves into a retirement community and is almost immediately attacked by a werewolf. Ambrose is not your typical horror film protagonist, and that’s what makes him so fascinating to watch: His age and disability, so rarely seen within the genre, give the audience so much more to invest in. Because Ambrose knows exactly what attacked him and when the creature is coming back, the story itself is simple; the thrill is in watching him prepare for the next full moon, all while convincing his son Will (Ethan Embry) that there’s still a lot of fight left in him.
 

The Sacrament

Directed by: Ti West
Written by: Ti West

It’s easy to feel weary of found footage horror: The success of the Paranormal Activity series ushered in a surplus of copycat films, most of which were — much like the majority of Paranormal Activity sequels — disappointing. But there are still a few worthwhile found footage tricks emerging, as evidenced by several entries on this list, starting with Ti West’s Jonestown Massacre-inspired The Sacrament. Vice reporter Sam (AJ Bowen) and his cameraman Jake (Joe Swanberg) follow Patrick (Kentucker Audley) to utopian community Eden Parish, where Patrick’s sister Caroline (Amy Seimetz) has fallen under the sway of a Jim Jones-esque religious leader who simply goes by Father (Gene Jones). The story largely proceeds how you’d expect it to, but the found footage format gives The Sacrament an urgency that makes the devolution into violence almost unbearably stressful to watch.

Check out the full list at BuzzFeed.com.

From Patrick Cooper at Bloody Disgusting:

For his English-language debut Late Phases, Spanish director Adrián García Bogliano has done something special. He’s crafted a werewolf shocker that reads more like a revenge/vigilante flick than a horror film. All of the traditional werewolf elements are there – silver bullets, full moons, etc. – but at its core its really the tale of a tired Vietnam vet who was blinded in combat and went dark to the world, including to his family. It’s funny, brash, and exciting, but knows when to pull back and let the emotion sink in. Simply put, it’s a masterpiece of the werewolf genre because of what it accomplishes on top of the scares, which is deliver a truly emotional, heartfelt story of a father and son. And Nick Damici does badass old blind man very, very well.

Check out the full list here.

From BJ Colangelo at Icons of Fright:

LATE PHASES

I love me a good werewolf flick, and LATE PHASES was the best werewolf flick all year.  Spanish director Adrián García Bogliano (HERE COMES THE DEVIL, COLD SWEAT, PENUMBRA) debuted his first English speaking film in a big way. On his first night in a retirement community, blind army veteran Ambrose discovers his neighbor and dog are savagely attacked by a monster that he cannot see.  Not one to dismiss the weird, he soon realizes that a werewolf is living in his community. Before the next full moon arises, Ambrose prepares to fight and to figure out who the monster is among him.  Robert Kurtzman’s special effects are on display in full glory, as practicality wins out over CGI.  LATE PHASES is filled with characters I actually cared about, and Ethan Embry (we’ll get to him later) is in top form as Ambrose’s son, Will. Due in large part to the fantastic script penned by Eric Stolze (UNDER THE BED) LATE PHASES is one of the best werewolf films in a very, very long time.

THE SACRAMENT

At this point, Ti West can do no wrong in my eyes.  Proving he’s much more than the “deliberately slow paced” horror films, he presents a mockumentary about a strange cult relocated to a remote area in Africa.  THE SACRAMENT is arguably Ti West’s strongest film yet, and it’s roots in a real life horror situation just amplifies the fear factor.  We as the audience quickly realize what’s happening and know how it’s going to end, which makes witnessing the character’s travels all the more heartbreaking.  We know they’re doomed, and there’s absolutely nothing they can do to stop it.  AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg, and Amy Seimetz are all wonderful (as usual), but Gene Jones as the mysterious “Father” gives one of the best performances of the year.

Check out the full list at IconsOfFright.com.

From ComingSoon.net:

“Though we saw a piece of it during The Game Awards 2014, Sony and Supermassive Games have released over seven minutes of gameplay footage from their upcoming horror title Until Dawn featuring Hayden Panettiere (“Nashville,” “Heroes”) as Sam. You can check it out in the player below!

Set at an isolated mountain lodge where nothing is as it seems, eight friends try to stay alive with a killer on the loose. Players define the relationships between the characters through dialogue and experience the night from their unique point of view. Written in collaboration with famed horror writers and directors Larry Fessenden and Graham Reznick, find out who will survive Until Dawn.

…

Until Dawn will debut exclusively for the PlayStation 4 in 2015.”

Glass Eye Pix is teaming up with Deep Focus Records again to bring I SELL THE DEAD to vinyl!

Check out the release announcement from DeepFocusRecords.com:

We’re super excited to announce a second collaboration with Glass Eye Pix! Deep Focus Records will be releasing a vinyl pressing for Jeff Grace’s fantastic score to I Sell The Dead, starring Dominic Monaghan, Ron Perlman, Larry Fessenden and Angus Scrimm.

We’re also delighted and honored that Angus Scrimm will be contributing exclusive liner notes for the vinyl release. As many fans know, Angus was a Grammy Award-winning author of liner notes well before he became an icon of horror. Under the pen name of Rory Guy, Angus wrote for Capitol Records for decades, penning liner notes for the likes of The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole.

Upon its release, I Sell The Dead (written and directed by Glenn McQuaid) received a warm reception from horror fans and critics alike. In fact, Jeff Grace’s score was also nominated for Best Score in the 2011 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards.

“The film moves with a darting confidence and it literally soars via the evocative and aggressive score by Jeff Grace.” – Hammer to Nail

Check out the full release on DeepFocusRecords.com.

GEP’s first collaboration with Deep Focus Records, TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE on vinyl, is currently available at DeepFocusRecords.com.

Glass Eye Pix production LATE PHASES by Adrian Garcia Bogliano makes Fango’s TOP 10 MOVIES OF THE YEAR list, along with Glass Eye Alum Ti West’s film THE SACRAMENT, produced by fellow alums Peter Phok and Jacob Jafke.

From Fangoria.com:

“LATE PHASES” (dir. Adrian Garcia Bogliano, dist. Dark Sky Films)

A throwback to character-friendly ’80s horror, LATE PHASES is not defined by it’s near-perfect mix of horror and humor, but rather by its charm, which it offers in lieu of genuine heart. And it’s in this way that LATE PHASES is much like its curmudgeonly protagonist in that there’s a lot to like, especially when looking in on the outside, even if there’s something darker and flawed on the inside. But LATE PHASES, while far from perfect, is a winning combination all around, sporting a great cast of dependable genre actors (headed by a career-best Nick Damici) and some of the best practical werewolf SFX in recent memory. Even more impressive is this was all achieved underneath a language barrier, as Adrian Bogliano undertook LATE PHASES as his first English-language production, injecting the project with attitude, confidence and just the right amount of nostalgia. Luckily, Bogliano delivered in spades, as LATE PHASES is an instant addition to the top tier of werewolf horror, and absolutely worthy of your time.

“THE SACRAMENT” (dir. Ti West, dist. Magnet Releasing)

As a longtime Ti West fan, I was highly anticipating THE SACRAMENT since it’s announcement, as his take on a Jonestown-esque scenario would guarantee some remarkable intensity in almost any case. Yet I still think I was wholly unprepared for THE SACRAMENT, which admirably treated its concept with a terrifying and heartbreaking sense of credibility. West brings his natural gift with character to the table with THE SACRAMENT, all through a first person perspective that allows him to play with the spatial nature of his story unlike ever before. But West also piles on his signature brand of unbearable dread, perpetuating it through slow stylistic and dialogue flourishes. And by the time West takes you where you want to go, THE SACRAMENT doesn’t feel like a horror film, but rather an examination of humanity at it’s most desperate, punctuated by a bloody, stark and unforgettable third act that resonates unlike any other of the year.

Check out the full list at Fangoria.com