God of Ma'arkel - An Original Story

Earth, since its existence, has seen many beasts walk on it, swim in it and fly in its atmosphere. Some we know, many we don't and might never will. Beasts so great that even dinosaurs would worship and obey. We have seen the strange fossils and gigantic skeletons, so what reason do we have to believe they don't exist today? I believe they do. Ever since I ventured into that forest of Khaleb and found those strange writings on the rocks and that sound, oh God that sound still resonates in my ears.

I firmly believe there are indeed many strange and peculiar creatures still living among us. Maybe it's for the best that their existence is hidden from us for we can neither fight them nor control them. It's best that we go on about our lives and best not venture into the unknown territories where they sleep, deep within the oceans and the hidden lakes. For if we do, our demise would be no better than that of Ma'arkel. I know what happened to them, some from the rocks they wrote on and some through my nightmares ever since I was found near-dead at the coast of Selsey. I have no recollection of how I was found there since I never went to that place. I went to the forest of Khaleb to find the specimen of a plant I had been researching on and that's where I found the remnants of the Ma'arkel tribe. I will tell no one of this place as I fear our existence will be in peril once the mankind will try to venture into those marshes. But the things I've read and seen in my nightmares are too much of a burden to carry so I'll write my story and lock it away. I'd have to be brief, as my heart can't bear giving vivid descriptions of the incident. The burden is already sinking me day by day. Slowly drowning me into the well of insanity. Every now and then I leap up and have moments of clarity but they are short and sporadic. I'm doing down and deep under, it's pulling me away with its magnetic force. But I have some hope, I'm clinging to the idea that once I'd transfer this tale to the papers, I'd feel much lighter and maybe more saner. I might even be able to finally go outside my house and mingle with the world like I used to. Oh, how much I miss being a sane man.

15 August 1930; The Demise of Ma'arkel.  The tribe of  Ma'arkel  was not too big, probably about 20-30 people in total. They dressed in animal skins which they gathered by hunting and lived their primitive lives near the Lake "Saarth". That lake was deep, how deep nobody knows as I could not find its record in history books. The tribe worshiped anything giant and mighty and what was mightier to them than the bottomless prodigious lake Saarth. Every night the lake water receded in a low tide and revealed a marshy bed full of fish but in the day the water rose and engulfed the marsh like it never existed. A blanket of thick mist also used to pour out from the bowel of the lake and onto the shore whenever the marsh was visible in low tide. The tribe told stories and legends of the lake's enormity and treasures to their children.

One night, lead by curiosity and the desire to hunt those treasures, a group of children from the tribe ventured into the marshes. Carefully taking each step in the marsh, they wandered for sometime, looking for the treasures their elders told them about. They were knee-deep in the marsh when something caught their eyes. Far in the deep marsh was a protruding structure poking through the slimy mud. On top of that protruding was a creature few meters tall. It resembled a crocodile but with longer limbs and a peculiar human-like flat face. Its face was only dimly lit by the moonlight and its grotesque and deformed features were eery and captivating at the same time. The children were all awestruck by this strange beast. It stared at them with its glowing lantern-like eyes and opened its hideously gigantic jaw. Out of its open mouth came a very unnatural and guttural sound. It quickly dived into the marshy water and disappeared without leaving a ripple at the surface. Gone like it never existed, as if the children hallucinated the whole thing. Then within few heartbeats, a giant claw rose from beneath the marsh and grabbed the child who stood the furthest of them all. Just like that the child vanished underneath the marsh as if he never existed. No scream and no struggle, he just disappeared right before their eyes. It didn't take long before the creature came for the others, they ran towards the shore but the monster under the marsh was so quick that they didn't stand a chance. It took them all - all except one. The lone survivor reached the shore and ran, breathless and mortified but he didn't look back.

The next day, the whole tribe of Ma'arkel was at the shore, lead by the surviving child. They held spears and burned in rage but there was nothing to salvage. The marsh had disappeared into the high tide and the fog was gone. There was nothing but the curious stillness of Saarth staring back at them. The tribe's leader was ahead of all, standing knee-deep in the water with a spear in one hand and the ox horn in another. He blew the ox horn and waited for the answer from the lake. A protruding object poked at the surface of water soon after and the leader, with immense precision, threw the spear at it. A strange green liquid bubbled up from the water along with some ripples. The leader leapt at it with his bare hands and came out with the creature who massacred their children last night. Every tribesman ran to help the leader before the writhing creature could drag him into the water again.

That evening was the ritual which Ma'arkel performed, partly in the celebration of capturing the murderer and partly mourning the death of their children. They hung the creature in the center and pierced its skin with many spears. One by one every man came forward and poked the spear further in the creature to satisfy his quench for revenge. The creature was still breathing but only barely.

Night came and the ritual continued in full force. A tribesman beat the drum-like instrument and the men danced, wearing animal skulls on their heads. Women sat on the ground in a circle around the creature and mourned the death of their young. The performance went on for hours before the leader asked the man to stop the drum. Everyone gathered in a circle and the leader stood under the hanging creature. He stabbed the creature's belly and the green goo poured down the creature and onto the leader. The creature let out a loud and horrid shriek. The leader bathed in the blood and danced under the hanging body. Soon everyone joined him and danced and rubbed the green liquid on their bodies. The drum started to beat again and the ritual reached the climax. By killing the creature they were not only rejoicing in revenge but ridding their God of the foul creature as well. For them Saarth was pure and this creature was an unholy guest which must be perished.

Soon came a Rumble! A deep and intense growl unlike any a living creature can produce, emanated from the lake. The sound was closest to that of whales but somehow more deeper and louder. One of the tribesmen stood at the bank of the marshy lake with his jaw dropped. He screamed in horror and soon the whole tribe followed his scream and ran to the shore. There was an oblong shaped and dark-coloured structure, many feet wide, emerging from the marsh. The leader walked towards it carefully, carrying his spear and the torch to investigate this strange form.

Suddenly the surface of the oblong structure cracked and popped open. A creature raised its face from inside it. The look on everyone's face was both horrific and justified. That structure was an egg and the creature emerging from it looks exactly like the one they killed, many meters long and still an infant. Another growl came from nearby. They all stared in that direction and saw two glowing eyes peering at them from the misty marsh not too far away. The leader raised his torch towards it and saw that not one but countless pair of eyes were glowing and staring at them from all around. They were gazing at them from the thick mist and murky marsh like a predator watching its prey. There was no victory to be had, the creatures far outnumbered the tribe. The leader threw his spear in the marsh and raised his hands up in surrender. He bent down in front of the creatures and the whole tribe followed suit.

A deep rumble echoed again. It appeared to be coming from the bottom of the lake. They knew that very instant that the sound was nothing the creatures, or anything for that matter, could produce. That was the sound of death and I curse myself everyday but it still rings in my ear, like a calling. The marsh around the tribe began to vibrate. The whole tribe started to step back but came to a sudden halt after few steps. There were countless creatures on the shore standing behind them, awaiting their prey and snapping their jaws at the tribe. They were circling the tribe from all around. The deep rumble from the unknown, echoed again but this time it was deafeningly loud and very close. Some of the tribesmen helplessly covered their ears. Their ear drums were very close to rupturing. Their auditory sense was overwhelmed but then came a shock for the eyes. The one which would scar their minds and soul and burn their eyeballs with an imagery no eyes should see. Water splashed as if thousands of gallon is displaced suddenly and then from the bottom of the deep lake, something emerged. The tribesmen raised their torches up their heads and towards the sky. It was akin to a gigantic curtain, spawning hundreds of feet, rising from the lake and towards the sky, blocking everything in sight. The moonlight and the torches managed to show a silhouette of a black creature rising from the lake and onto the surface. They saw its charcoal black and moldy skin as it rose from water and disappeared up in the mist. It moved effortlessly as it rose above from water, like a whale thrusting itself out of the water, only this was no whale. Our eyes could not fathom its scale even in the daylight and even the Eiffel tower would not compare to the size of this beast. A creature rising from the hellish bottom of the lake and unleashed onto the Earth. What followed in the dark murky waters of Saarth was not seen but only heard. The screams and gut-wrenching cries of the tribesmen echoed everywhere before complete and utter silence prevailed. The marsh bathed in the red colour and the spears floated aimlessly on it, waiting for the sun to come and engulf the marsh along with the remnants of that tribe.

In the sunlight the scale of Saarth could truly be seen. Its dark water lay soundless and still, covering a hidden slumbering demon under its blanket and I stood there with my eyes wide open and my heart almost stopped. Here lay a beast, along with its countless infants, which the world never knew about and I managed to witness its resting place. Yes, I was here again. I came not out of a desire to see, I had no such desire. In fact, I forced myself to never consciously think about those memories and nightmares. But I couldn't resist in the end. The hypnotizing sound of that beast was indeed a calling. That sound was calling me towards it and it lead me here again through that hidden passage in the forest of Khaleb. My pulse was racing and my body was almost paralyzed but it was beyond my control. That sound and the blurred view of the beast I saw in my nightmare has scarred me for life. It has pushed me to the edge of sanity and oh what wouldn't I give to get my life back, but that life was gone and I knew it. My death might just stop that ringing sound after all, I hoped. But I must close my eyes and stop these scribblings on the papers right away. I would throw the papers on the shore and hopefully someone who's come here would be saved by reading this warning. My story is finished and if my life story would warn others by reading these then I've done my part. My eyes will not see the sight of that monstrosity before I taste the nectar of death. I will not give it that pleasure. My feet touched the water of Saarth as I stood like a statue with my heart in the throat. I heard the rumble from the belly of that lake. It was time!

 (images courtesy of morguefile.com)

                                                                                                                                Mani Haider         

Prometheus gets more hate than it deserves...

 Prometheus gets a lot of hate. One of the reasons is that Alien fans were expecting an Alien-like film. I think before the film released, Ridley and the team tried to ensure that it's not a sequel to Alien to manage people's misguided expectations. It was clear that Prometheus was in the same universe but it wasn't obligated to follow Alien's formula and I don't think trailers tried to convey Alien vibe either. The promo to me felt more like a homage to Alien rather than a promise of a true sequel. The film tried to reach further with its ambitious themes and ideas. It did fail in conveying some of them properly but also managed to achieve many of them and the result was a very thrilling and layered narrative which deserved multiple viewings.

I was watching this film again tonight and I enjoyed the pacing, visual style and ambitious ideas more. I knew its flaws already so my mind just ignored them and focused on what clicked. I found out that there was a lot which clicked. I think Ridley really wanted to make something ambitious(I keep coming back to this word). He created a very tight(both visually and narratively) and suspenseful masterpiece in the form of Alien in 79 and after such a long break from sci-fi if he wanted to come back, the last he wanted was to repeat himself. After I read Jon Spaihts' draft, it became quite clear why Ridley got it re-written(well atleast semi-rewritten). The DNA changed a lot when Lindelof came in. I won't delve into the subject of which writer did a better job at delivering a required script; they both had strengths. In the final film under Ridley's direction there were many great things and all three of them deserve credit for that. David was a great character and I thoroughly enjoyed him. He was a fully formed character with many hobbies, interests, some intriguing ideologies and a goal to pursue. The scene where he asks a rhetorical question to Dr Shaw that who doesn't want their parents dead was particularly interesting. The writers gave his character an opinion without further delving into it. It was just another one of David's thoughts and intriguing ideologies. It didn't need to be answered and I think it wasn't meant to either. It added mystery to his character further and added another curve in his well rounded personality.

But David wasn't the only highlight of the film, Prometheus fulfilled another very strong trait of great sci-fi fiction as well. It asked interesting questions and probed us with new ideas about origin, life, God and humanity's position/place in the universe. It rose above the normal parameter of a summer blockbuster. It was provocative and it relied on implication at many instances instead of lazy exposition. Engineer's motive, internal thoughts and reasons weren't told to us by our protagonist. David utters an interesting quote which  non-verbatim is, sometime one must destroy before it recreates but David is manipulative and have hidden motives throughout the film so he isn't a very reliable source. I don't think his opinion could be taken as fact also because he didn't prove what he says and we never see how he came to this conclusion as he didn't talk to any Engineer at that point either. The Engineer David woke up, didn't say a word and like Weyland, we were left with guesses and assumption which I think worked. Clearly, by ripping David's head off, he was trying to prove a point. But was it that he hated humanity's 'inferior' creation as compared to his own or he did it out of spite/jealousy or he just hated how pitiful and fragile Weyland (and in turn humanity) is so he went on a rampage to prove his point. The film also played with the idea of faith, it's strength and contrast to the science. Dr Shaw was religious clearly and it was emphasized that it gave her strength and specially as she prepares herself to meet the Engineers. But religion wasn't just used as a support system for the protagonist, it was involved also because the film played with the idea of God. If the film showed correctly, then Engineers were our Gods. They weren't the traditional God mentioned in the abrahamic religions, it was an interesting sci-fi spin of the film. It doesn't have to be a God who sits in the sky and watches humanity with obsessive concentration, passing judgements and punishments for minute little things. It was an advanced intelligent species who might have created many others like us in solar systems or even galaxies. The relationship of God and his creation was although similarly bitter. David isn't a fond of his creators and our humanity's creator didn't seem pleased with us. So in other words, we were hated by our creation and our creators. Maybe those silly caricature of characters who died stupidly were intentionally stupid to show what we as a whole, from the perspective of David and Engineer. It's a possible theory but even if it isn't the point remains that Prometheus poked us with these questions and left us to come to our conclusions. This was not a weakness but rather strength of the film. Lovecraft had similar provocative themes about cosmos, humanity, mystery of the unknown and our inability to comprehend the secrets of the great mystery which are hidden in the universe we live in. I'm not comparing Lovecraft's stories to Prometheus but only stating some shared themes. Prometheus had a lot going for it but apart from the above mentioned strengths in story, it also had great cast, crew and director which all made it a great visual and thrilling experience on top of the interesting questions it posed. I don't think anyone shies away from Prometheus's many obvious flaws but people who were put off by the questionable decisions of the side character to the level of not giving the film a chance, missed on very enjoyable experience. Anyways, this is my train of thought as I've just finished watching the film. I might discuss the direction, editing and acting in the proper review later but the bottom line is that Prometheus received negativity because of the prior expectations, comparisons, involvement of lindelof and few flaws of side characters and writing this film off based on any of these reasons is doing the film a disservice.

Penny Dreadful - Review

                                                                                                                                Rating: A-

There is a mystery at hand. A person is missing, an unassuming but skilled man is pulled into the chaos and  horrific creatures lurk in the shadows. This is the barebone setup of this series and is every bit interesting and worth the watch.

Premise: 
Set in late 19th century, this is a story set in Victorian London. Timothy Dalton (Sir Malcolm), Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) and Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) are three key players who are involved in the mission to rescue the daughter of Timothy. Timothy's daughter is taken by vicious creatures of the dark who live in the world between ours and thereafter. But all three of them don't know much about these creatures and in order to rescue the girl, they need to find out who they are fighting. On their path, they seek the help of an ambitious Dr Victor who knows a lot about human anatomy and who is eager to learn a lot more. Thus begins their journey into the dark world filled with unspeakable horror and danger.

Review:
In short, I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it for many reasons, most of all because it was a great horror piece. I'm a big fanatic of horror genre and whenever a good horror project comes along, I relish it like a homemade blueberry cheesecake (with extra cheese). In many ways, it reminded me of Lovecraft's stories (and this is a great plus point). Not just the era this series is set in but many other themes, like the creatures in the hidden world which surrounds us but is somehow largely mysterious. There is a great mystery at hand, much like many of Lovecraftian stories, there is a very eager but scientific and rational mind pulled into the world of credulousness and myths which all turned out to be much more than that. As Timothy says to Dr Victor "..a place where science and superstition go hand in hand". Then there is also an "Egyptian Book of Dead" and ancient hieroglyphs, found on a creature, symbolizing the horror which has lived for many thousands of years. In Lovecraft's stories, that book turns out to be Necronomicon and the hieroglyphs are often the language of some ancient and powerful otherworldly force . These are all quite likely the genuine nods to the literature's classic writer and his stories because apart from this, the series also happen to contain many other creatures and characters from literature of the past, namely Frankenstein, vampires, Jack the Reaper among others which we hope to see later on.

The story is fast paced and doesn't drag but still provide enough personality to the main characters that we believe them and want to continue on this journey with them. John Logan wrote a great script with a fine balance of action and exposition although sometimes a little too much time spent on the latter making few sequences overwrought; namely the meeting of Timothy of Dr Victor. But overall, I liked the pacing and how the mystery was handled. There was a lot of tease of how much more there is to discover and me as an audience craved that unknown information. They showed me through a peephole and now that I've seen what I did, I want to enter through that door and unravel what lies beyond in all its glory. I hope this doesn't turn out to be another Walking Dead where every bit of interesting incident is dragged through till the finale and when you reach there, you've already lost interest. But I have a very strong feeling this won't be the case as Bayona is directing it. J.A. Bayona is a great visual director with great repo, who doesn't like to waste a frame without any beautiful and mysterious imagery. That beauty doesn't come from vibrant colors but often though symmetry of shapes within the frame, the mysterious lighting full of dark corners and slow deliberate camera movement. He uses a lot of extreme closeups of faces too, which instantly bring us closer to the characters and creatures. He knows how to direct horror and he showed this in the wonderful "Orphanage" before.

Conclusion:
As always, I try to keep away from the specifics of the narrative as to give you the whole unspoiled experience but try to explain what worked in terms of script, themes and direction in broader sense. Penny Dreadful is indeed a great horror series; there is horror, dread, mystery and lots of character to this series. The pilot episode was great in setting up the puzzle pieces and slowly moving towards the unknown horror lurking in the Victorian London. Horror which comes in many forms and sizes, not just from outside but also from within, as the logline reads "there is something within us all".