I Know Catherine, the Log Lady—Obviously from Twin Peaks

She was the Oracle of Twin Peaks. The show wouldn’t be the same without her or David Lynch. Sadly and strangely, the 2015 return almost happened without either of them. Wisely, Showtime came to their senses and brought Lynch back on-board after previously deciding to proceed without him. There is no way Lynch would have left out his old friend Catherine Coulson, a.k.a. the Log Lady, but accommodations had to be made for her failing health. Friends and fellow cast-members pay tribute to Coulson in Richard Green’s documentary, I Know Catherine, the Log Lady, which has several special screenings starting today in New York.

Eraserhead started her long, close association with Lynch, even though her scenes were cut from the film. Instead, she played key roles behind the camera, which turned into an unlikely career for the academically trained thesp, who notably served as Eraserhead cinematographer Frederick Elmes’ focus puller on Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan.

Coulson also happened to be married to Jack Nance, the lead on Eraserhead, but that marriage would not last. Perhaps ill-advisedly, Green (who played the Magician in Mulholland Drive) spends a lot of time on Coulson’s hippy early days in the 1960s, perhaps not realizing the extent to which he alienates the children of Vietnam vets and Vietnamese “Boat People” refugees, but the Twin Peaks sequences are redemptive.

There is indeed extensive footage of Lynch, Kyle MacLachlan, and Michael Horse. The latter might not have had the most PR at the height of the show’s success, his character had a special rapport with the Log Lady, so his presence is quite fitting. However, the three cast-members who graced the cover of Rolling Stone are absent and unaccounted for.

Of course, Nance (Pete Martell in Twin Peaks) only appears in archival footage, since he passed away in 1996. Green also documented his life in the film I Don’t Know Jack. Regardless, colleagues and fans all explain how Coulson was the glue that held the Twin Peaks community together during the wilderness years. Consequently, even casual fans will get choked up when the second unit crew describes Coulson’s grit and grace filming her scenes for the revival series, shortly before her death.

Dead Ant: It Came from the Desert, Again

1980s heavy metal hair bands haven’t died. They are just in denial. Sonic Grave is convinced they will make an inevitable comeback, despite changing tastes and their lack of talent. However, the rampaging giant formicidae might finally force them to face what passes for reality in this goofball stoner movie. They can blame the peyote for unleashing some massively bad mojo, but it is all really their own fault in Ron Carlson’s Dead Ant (trailer here), which opens this Friday in select cities.

Frankly, Sonic Grave does not take itself too seriously, so why should we? Their loudmouth manager with a martyr complex has booked them at No-chella, the down-market alternative to Coachella. Naturally, they stop for some peyote on the way. “Bigfoot,” the native dealer warns them not to harm any element of nature while they are tripping or it will boomerang back on them. Of course, Art the bassist starts tripping early and then “disrespects” some ants. It works out badly for him.

Soon, Sonic Grave have an early Roger Corman movie on their hands, except it isn’t as fun (despite being an intentional comedy). Yes, this might be hard to believe, but it turns out a giant ant movie starring Tom Arnold is kind of lame. Arnold certainly does not help much as the compulsively verbose manager. Dude, shut up. It is also pretty stunning to see Michael Horse, the reliably tough and cool Native American actor, playing the shticky Bigfoot (seriously, he was Deputy Hawk on Twin Peaks).

As Sonic Grave band members, Sean Astin, Jake Bussey, and Rhys Coiro mug and chew the scenery shamelessly. Arguably, Sydney Sweeney gets the biggest laugh of the film old-shaming Coiro’s Pager, but then script has her acting like a super-available groupie minutes later.

Reportedly, Carlson spent a year perfecting the digital effects for the rampaging ants. Some of that time might have been better used punching-up the script. The ants look okay, but the “wow factor” in this film is minimal. Yet, let’s be honest—in a movie like this, we want the ants to look cheesy.

It is not obvious from the final film whether Carlson has nostalgic affection for either old Corman-style monster movies or 80s hair bands, which is a problem. Frankly, it makes It Came from the Desert look like Young Frankenstein. Not to repeat ourselves, but the tragically under-screened Attack of the Bat Monsters is the best film for early 1960s monster nostalgia—and it doesn’t even have any real monsters.

Carlson maintains a well-caffeinated energy level and there is plenty of silliness to keep drunk or stoned fans giggling, but the film does not have any real heart or soul. It is no Ahockalypse, that’s for sure. You are better off watching Them! instead. Not recommended, but whatever, Dead Ant opens this Friday (1/25) in LA, at the Laemmle Music Hall.

Skinwalker Ranch: Strange Things Happen in Utah

It is an area notorious for weird happenings, but this is northern Utah, so they can’t be blamed on drunken misperceptions.  In fact, a private paranormal research team could probably use a stiff shot when things start going bump in the night in Devin McGinn’s Skinwalker Ranch (trailer here), which launches on VOD and screens in select cities this Wednesday.

Some locals believe the home video purportedly showing a young boy whisked away by supernatural forces is legitimate, while some suspect it is a hoax concocted by his father. Desperate to find his son, distraught rancher Hoyt Miller welcomes a team of scientists from Modern Defense Enterprises and a journalist recruited to serve as a neutral observer, hoping they can supply some answers.  They wire the house and surrounding property with motion sensor cameras and settle in, but they will not have long to wait.  An unearthly high pitched tone rudely awakens them their first night in the field, with subsequent uncanny events preventing them from getting much sleep thereafter.

Although not entirely found footage, a great deal of Skinwalker unfolds from the perspective of the surveillance cameras.  By genre standards, McGinn shows admirable patience in the early going, nicely setting the scene and establishing the ranch’s atmospheric nooks and crannies.  For a while, it is surprisingly creepy, thanks to his skillful use of suggestion and mystery to build the tension.  Unfortunately, the conclusion seems rather rushed, but with horror movies, a good set-up often compensates for a weak ending.

Although the helmer directing himself is usually a red flag, McGinn is actually quite respectable as Cameron Murphy, the semi-skeptical journalist.  Jon Gries is also better than average as the poor, suffering Miller. Frankly, Skinwalker earns a recommendation just for casting the eternally cool Michael Horse (a cult favorite from Twin Peaks) as Ahote, a vaguely shaman-esque figure who offers the helpful advice to get the good golly out of there.

Skinwalker’s fusion of the horror and alien abduction genres is hardly original, but the execution exceeds expectations.  After all, for a low budget programmer, not bad is pretty good.  Recommended for a Halloween outing with like-minded viewers, Skinwalker Ranch screens this Wednesday (10/30), Devil’s Night, in theaters throughout Texas, Florida, and Alabama.