Rotting Politics

Last night I watched Joe Dante's first installment from Showtime's "Masters of Horror" series. It was a politically charged story titled Homecoming, which was about soldiers who had died in the line of duty during the Iraq war coming back from the grave to vote. If you think this sounds like a ridiculous plot, then you and I would have been in agreement twenty-four hours ago; but what a difference a day makes.

This episode was actually one of the better ones that this series has produced. It wasn't really at all scary, nor was it that gory; but rather, it was one of the most blatant film criticisms of the Bush administrations and the war in Iraq that I have seen. While horror movies have always had a tendency to symbolically reflect underlying political and social unrest in society, Homecoming makes no bones about what issue it is bringing to the table. This piece has no problem suggesting, if not declaring, that the current engagement in Iraq was based on nothing but "horseshit and elbow grease" provided by the republican spin doctors. Just for good measure, it also sprinkles in some serious suggestions that the outcome of the national election is shaped by the party which has the most power and not by the American voting public.

Besides the strong political message, Dante's work also had another surprise in store for me...one of the most tender zombie scenes I have ever witnessed. His use of a shuffling, decomposing, corpse to elicit the sympathy that Americans feel for those soldiers out there making such a large sacrifice is enough to make your eyes mist up.

There are some viewers that would accuse Dante of putting words in the mouths of the deceased, but the observant viewer will notice that he is careful to account for soldiers, citizens and casualties who both approve(d) and disapprove(d) of our country's actions.

Again, not scary...at least not in a supernatural fictitious way.

Same to same,

Capt. Hendry