Still from Pans Labyrinth

AUTEUR ANALYSIS

MONSTER
MASTER

Known for his poetically beautiful style, Guillermo del Toros creative
air has led to some of the most visually rich lms of our time. With the
recent release of gothic horror Crimson Peak, lens takes a look at what
makes guillermo del toro such a gifted auteur

Pans Labyrinth, the Hellboy

films, the Blade franchise, Pacific
Rim, The Devils Backbone and
most recently Crimson Peak, these
are just some of the pictures that
Guillermo Del Toro has masterminded.
Del Toros work is characterised
by distinctive insectile and religious
images as well as a fascination with
underworld and clockwork motifs.
Amber and golden colour themes are
dominant throughout his work and
collaborations with actors Doug Jones
and Ron Perlman define his pictures.
Growing up in 70s Guadalajara,
Mexico Gullermo Del Toro was a child
with a morbid curiosity which would
later lead him to be one of the best
auteurs of our time. Scouring the
citys sewers and sprinkling salt on
slugs, the director, screenwriter,
producer, and novelist has always
been interested in the macabre and
the gothic. In a home video from his
childhood he can be heard asking for
a mandrake root for Christmas for the
purposes of black magic.
After Del Toros father won the
Mexican lottery and used the money
to build a Chrysler-dealership empire,
he moved his family into a white
modernist mansion that came to be
the home of Guillermos many pets;
hundreds of snakes, many white
rats and even a crow were young
Guilleroms childhood companions.
Being a lover of monsters, he
began to draw at an early age and
by the time he was in High School he
had made his first short film about
a monster who crawls out of a toilet
only to find that humans are quite
repugnant and scurries back in.
Del Toros craft holds a strong
influence of fairy tales and gothic
horror. Although horrifying monsters
- who he considers great symbols of

power - are a stand-out feature in

Guillermos movies, the real monsters
are almost always proven to be
humans and no film embodies this
theory better than the beautifully
dark and twisted fairy tale Pans
Labyrinth, in which a young girl
meets a faun-like creature who
tells her she is the Princess of the
underworld. This is undoubtedly
Guillermos most iconic picture. The
harsh and cruel human world of postcivil war, Francoist period in Spain
is entwined with the mythical when
the young girl must endure several
challenges in order to return to the
kingdom of the Underworld.
The film employs special effects
make-up, animatronics and CGI
effects to bring the incredible
creatures in this dark fairy tale to
life. The secondary antagonist of
Pans Labyrinth, the pale man is a
particularly chilling creature. Inspired
by Del Toros own weight loss, the
villain has folds and folds of sagging
skin. A lone gaping mouth on his
face is a suggestion of the creatures
everlasting hunger; a hunger which
is made all the more disturbing in
that the pictures on the walls of his
lair show him devouring live children
whole, a particularly taboo theme
in horror cinema. What makes the
pale mans five-minutes of air-time
so unsettling, aside from the fact
that his eyeballs are located in the
palms of his hands, is his complete
lack of speech. He is a perfect
embodiment of gluttony.
Guillermo is so dedicated
to his craft that he will do
anything for his creatures to
be fully realised on screen.
He returned half his salary for
Hellboy and the entirety of
his salary for Pans Labyrinth

in an effort to pay for creature

effects that his financial backers
deemed too costly.
One of his favourite moments in
horror is in Alien when Harry Dean
Stanton cannot run from the alien
creature descending before him
because he is too enthralled by its
appearance. Del Toros creatures can
be both demonic and angelic all in
one stroke. The androgynous Angel
of death in Hellboy II: The Golden
Army is as similar two the principal
antagonist of Predator as it is to the
most beautiful creatures portrayed
on screen.
What makes Del Totos creatures
stand out is that theyre not confined
to the occasional appearance from
the shadows as is the case in many
other monster movies: they are
in fact shown in great detail and
splendour. Guillermo wants the
audience to gawk at his marvellous
creations. The term less is more
really doesnt apply when it comes to
his industry.

As the Abfab movie edges

closer and closer, LENS
takes a look back at why
the iconic sitcom captured
the hearts of millions
around the world

THEYRE BACK,

Sweetie

By Ryan Smith
At the beginning of the 90s an era
of public relations was forming and
engulfing everything with it. Combine
the biosphere of fashion PR, launches,
lunches, red carpets, 90s hedonism
with horrendous parenting, dangerous
alcohol and drug abuse, selfindulgence and fags and youve got a
culturally iconic sitcom spanning two
decades.
Starting in 1992, the hit show
follows the lives of two champagneswigging socialites: Edina Monsoon
and Patsy Stone, who are eternally
engaged in warfare with aging, bodyfat and Edinas teenage daughter.
Edina runs her own PR Company,
while Patsy works as a fashion
director at a magazine, a post
obtained through very fruitful sexual
relations with the publisher. Using
their combined substantial financial
resources the two awfully fashionobsessed middle-aged women spend
their time abusing alcohol, drugs
and Edinas prematurely middle aged
daughter, Saffron.
Starring Jennifer Saunders, Joanna
Lumley, Jane Horrocks, Julia Sawalha,
June Whitfield and countless celebrity
cameos, the show has spanned over
two decades and is ranked as the
17th best greatest TV show of all
time by the British Film Institute. In
short, everybody loves Abfab, but
why? What makes the iconic pair so
appealing to viewers?
Abfab began in a time of
ridiculousness, everything was in
excess and the economic boom
- which only really ended in 2008 encouraged people to spend more
extravagantly. Americas economy
was booming and as a result the UKs
was too. In short, the 90s was a time
of peace and affluence.
Fads, trends and crazes were
prominent; slap bracelets, trapper
keepers, beanie babies, ripped jeans
and the like are now considered
definitive ways to distinguish time
periods in the 90s. This feeling of fun
ridiculousness is vividly apparent in

the early series of Abfab; Jennifer

Saunders fad chasing Edina is a clear
embodiment of the garish, decadent
opulence of the 90s, apparent in one
episode when she spends hundreds
of thousands of pounds on art just to
make herself feel better, while Joanna
Lumleys Patsy signifies the relaxed
attitude towards employment.
Having slept with the publisher of her
magazine she maintains a sinecure
position there throughout the series,
only briefly detouring into retail work
when she works at a high-end shop
barking at people that theyre too
fat to be allowed to shop there. The
pairs only adversity comes when
they stumble from self-induced crisis
to self-induced crisis and neither has
any real responsibility.
In contrast to the PC culture that
had sprung up at the time the pair
are hedonistic in their approach to
life. They dont do anything that
they dont really want to. They eat
what they want, drink what they
want, have sex with who they want
and most importantly they say what
they want to say. There is something
aspirational in the way they dont
answer to anyone and are bleakly
honest about the people they come
into contact with.
Confused and cynical Saffy is used
as the viewers window into the world
of Patsy and Eddy, with no scene
explaining this clearer than one in
which Saffy asks her mother what
exactly it is she does for a living and
a baffled Eddy responds that she PRs
things!
Bubble, Eddys perpetually ditzy
assistant is so clueless and original
that shes more of a concept than
a character. Shes the idea that
you can have a job but a not-job.
A job wherein your sole purpose is
really to just be so disorganized and
unprofessional that your employer
looks good.
Although the characters of Patsy
and Eddy appear ridiculous and
exaggerated, they are very much

rooted in real life. Elvis Presleys

famous lip curl crawled its way onto
Patsys face and Eddys manic and
frazzled vibe is inspired by 80s PR
guru Lynn Franks.
Comedian, Ruby Wax commented
that she and Jennifer Saunders would
trail the hard-nosed PR types of the
80s and 90s and would be captivated
by the confusion of PR and spirituality
and the way they would scream down
the phone at their employees before
holding the phone away from their
ear and calmly chanting in Buddhist.
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!
Absolutely Fabulous is so
successful because people can
relate so well to the pair due to how
reflective it is of a lot of friendships.
Friendships that transcend sexuality
and gender, wherein one enables the
other and is always there to remind
them that theyre a wonderful person
even though they might very well be
a horrible person.
The pair simply do not function
without each other. No episode
shows this clearer than one in which
Eddy descends on Carnegie Hall
Tower, New York in a helicopter to
tell her best friend that she got
bored and that she missed her. If
thats not true friendship then I dont
know what is.
What sets Abfab apart from other
sitcoms is the fact that Eddy and
Patsy arent nice or kind people at all.
Unlike shows of the time, Friends
for example, wherein the main
characters were all likeable people
with big hearts, Patsy and Eddy are
inherently selfish, self-centered, cruel,
wasteful, shallow and just generally
abysmal human beings. It makes for
wonderfully entertaining television.
The Absolutely Fabulous film has
concluded filming and will star the
original cast from the show, with a
few added celebrity cameos, such as
Kim Kardashian West and Kate Moss,
to add to the glamour. The film will
be released in 2016. Really not long
to wait now, sweeties!

11

FESTIVE
FAV URITES
Christmas specials are one of the most dening features of the
yultide season, they are as essential to the holiday as bunnies are to
easter. Whether you like them funny, heartwarming or full of suspense
and drama, one thing can be seen and felt throughout: a feeling of
togetherness
THE BEST CHRISMUKKAH EVER
Possibly one of the best O.C episodes out there, Ryan is initiated into the bireligious holiday of Chrismukkah. Wittily as ever, Seth combines the religions
of his Catholic mother and Jewish father into one supreme holiday. Eight days
of presents followed by one day of many presents. The beauty of the episode is
that the perfect combination of two religious holidays, shows us that if we just
try to be a little creative we can all live harmoniously.

THE ONE WITH THE ROUTINE

One of the funniest episodes in FRIENDS history, The one with the Routine is
everything you want from a sitcom Christmas Special. When Monica and Ross
accompany Joey and Janine to Dick Clarks New Years Rockin Eve, the pair
are so insistent on being on TV that they perform THE ROUITINE! We could
mention other plotlines in the episode but if were being honest the Routine
overshadows everything.

DECK THE HALLS

When Will realises that is Cousin Ashley has never experienced a proper Christmas he endeavours to create one but pisses off the neighbours in the process.
Filled with endless digs at Carltons height and his dating life, what more could
you need from a Fresh Prince episode?

THE CHRISTMAS LUNCH INCIDENT

When Dawn Frenchs adorable Vicar of Dibley character is invited to four
separate Christmas dinners she hasnt the heart to turn them down and must
somehow attend all of them in one night. Christmas in a peaceful English village
sounds perfect, throw in quirky characters and mind-boggling stupidity and
youve got yourself a Chrimbo special.

GAVIN AND STACEY - CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

In this mirthful Christmas special the Welsh end of the cast are invited to spend
the Christmas season with the Shipmans. They travel to Essex in a coach and
although all goes relatively smoothly at first, all hell breaks loose when Gavin
announces his plans to move to Wales. This special truly captures what it is to
be a dysfunctional family during the holiday season. Punches and strops are
thrown and Champagne is poured: a standard Christmas for most families.

SIMPSONS ROASTING
ON AN OPEN FIRE
The one that kicked it all off! We are of
course talking of the premiere Simpsons
episode which seas Homer trying his best to
make ends meet for his family during the festive
period by getting a job as a shopping mall Santa.
Although this proves unsuccessful when he bets the
money earned through his moonlighting all on Santas
Little Helper and loses, the episode eventually ends on a
high with the newly disowned dog becoming the Simpsons
new pet. The episode kick-started the epic series that weve all
come to know and love today.

THE OFFICE - CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

DOUBLE BILL
Some might argue that you must choose between the UK version and the US version
of The Office but I say is it too much to ask for both? I dont think so. Starting with
the UK versions double bill Christmas Special: the employees of Wernham Hogg are
reunited a few years after the show which made them famous. Ricky Gervais and Stephen
Merchant manage to bring their usual British irony to the finale episodes of the series and the
series finishes on a high with a laugh and a group photo.

CHRISTMAS PARTY

COLD TURKEY

Now we move on to the US version of The Office.

Michael is being his usual inappropriate self and
goes $380 over the $20 limit to buy an iPod. He is
disappointed with the homemade gift he receives
and as a result the employees of Dunder Mifflin are
subsequently forced to partake in the most awkwardly
hilarious game of Secret Santa/Yankee Swap ever seen.

Patsy collapses and has to spend

Christmas in hospital, she doesnt mind
though because then she can at least spend
the holiday season alone on drugs. However
when a mix up at the hospital leads Eddy and
Saffy to mistakenly believe that Patsy has died,
Patsy endeavors to enjoy Christmas and in the one and
only warm moment between Saffy and Patsy the pair
exchange a brief merry Christmas and to everyones
horror and the viewers pleasure, Patsy even tries to eat a
slice of turkey.

THE ONE WITH THE

HOLIDAY ARMADILLO
Even though weve already mentioned a FRIENDS
episode on this list, we simply couldnt leave out this
iconic Christmas special. In a bid to teach his son Ben
about Chanukah, Ross adopts the guise of the fictitious
Holiday Armadillo when he is unable to find a Santa
Claus costume and it makes for never ending laughs.
The exclamations of FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS! and THE
MACABEES coupled with the bouncy waddling walk David
Schwimmer adopts whilst inhabiting the garish orange
costume, it makes for very entertaining television.

CHRISTMAS AT DOWNTON
ABBEY
The Downton Abbey 2011 Christmas Special sees Mary
coming clean to Mathew about her secret night with
the Turkish diplomat and Mr Bates death sentence is
lessened to life imprisonment. Although the Christmas
special contains a lot of drama and heartache, it
ultimately ends on a high with Mathew finally proposing
to Mary.

THE ROYLE FAMILY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

The ultimate Kitchen Sink sitcoms first Christmas special is much like the rest of the series: full of hilariously everyday
comedy. The whole family is there for Christmas and even though Barbaras turkey isnt considered quite up to the mark,
everything goes quite harmoniously until Denis goes into labour in the upstairs toilet. The everyday, grainy style of The
Royle Family is what makes it so special. The fact that the characters are perpetually glued to the sofa and it all seems to
take place in real time makes it one of the best and most relatable sitcoms out there.