2001: A Space Odyssey, Putting A Sci-Fi Twist On Halloween
If you’re looking for something a little different to satiate your horror-seeking bug this Halloween, it’s Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
You won’t find much gore or gruesome scenes like other classic horror films, but if you’re patient, or simply a fan of Kubrick’s previous work like The Shining or A Clockwork Orange, this film is for you.
Shown in 70mm film on Oct. 7 at the Coral Gables Art Cinema, a full house of spectators were present to enjoy the film. The small theatre needed extra seats and an extra screening day to satisfy the high demand for this beyond the earth flick.
The first 10 minutes of the film are slow, tempting viewers to disengage, but the film promises a more engaging plot and storyline throughout the rest of the film. It is an intellectual film and confusing at times, but the visual and cinematic techniques are stunning and way beyond their time.
The film has a calm and quiet feel to it as viewers watch normal life carried out in space, but Kubrick is a master for creating inward delirium even with little outside action throughout the movie. It’s no surprise that 2001: A Space Odyssey to this day can still draw a fan base.
The movie will guide you through a space journey accompanied by a few space cadets portrayed by Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood, who travel on a mission to planet Jupiter to solve the mystery of a foreign black monolith. The monolith appeared in the middle of the moon, causing several weird occurrences to follow.
It’s a slow and sneaky terror but from the superb sound designs, beautiful cinema of what a modernized space life would look like, to the voice of a crazed and smart spaceship human killer computer named HAL9000, it is an undeniable piece of art.
Kubrick, who loves to tell a story from different points of views in his movies, uses an analogy in the beginning of the movie with flesh eating apes who discover the use of violence after an encounter with the black monolith.
So if you’ve become weary and tired of Hollywood’s typical dose of scary flicks such as Blair Witch, The Conjuring 2, Clown and Viral, give this film a shot.
The one mysterious thing, however, is that Kubrick leaves his audience with the puzzling question of the meaning of the black monolith. It seems Kubrick wanted to explain the evolution of humans or possibly predict the future. The meaning is still debated today.
It is also not clear how or why the bizarre computer, HAL9000, whose ability to function, converse and show emotion became a monstrous silent killer at the end of the movie.
Nonetheless, it’s evident there is some type of higher power behind all of eccentric happenings that occur throughout the film. If you’re a sci-fi fanatic with enough tolerance to endure two hours of space drama, cool spacey colors, a slow journey to Jupiter and even a silly death song like “Daisy, Daisy…” then you’ll like this movie.
