10 Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 Features The CW's Cult Warm hearts, A fresh take on a stale genre By Stefan bautista ContributingWriter Last Tuesday, The CW premiered their new psychological thriller show Cult comes to air after the original pitch was refused six years prior. The creator, Rockne O’Bannon, is also Some lovin' for the undead Farscape and served as a writer for the. The second show incarnation has finally of The Twilight Zone series. By sean leavy knownCult takes as the the co-creator idea of obsessive of the sci-fi fans series of shows such as LOST and provides dramatic spin. This per- Assistant Features Editor spective allows the show to craft a reality where the conspiracy theories all have some amount of legitimacy. Cult The show. genre is rising While this idea is leadsnot only to some the name potentially of the series, confusing but alsomoments, of the thefictional show series does athat good exists job withinof making the again in cine- ma. After break- clever ways and is compelling enough to potentially stand on its own as a series, all without overshad- ing out big in clearowing what the real is and show isn’t that a part is actually of the show being within presented a show. to theThe viewer. fictional version of Cult is incorporated in the 1970s with The use of a show within a show leads to some jarring real-world references in an attempt to ground George Romero Cult and again in the producers also make references to shows that they’ve worked on in the past. The references stack up early 2000s with anditself become into reality. a distraction The fictional after version a while. of is explicitly shown to be a show on The CW. The fictional Danny Boyle’s 28 The cast, made up of relatively unknown actors, all do an impressive job of portraying a sense of Days Later, it’s confusion and paranoia. The characters who know more about what’s going on sound convincingly clear that crazy, and the lead actor, played by Matthew Davis, does an excellent job of playing the skeptic. will never die. The mysteries that are set up in the premiere are engaging and thought-provoking. There are many Since Boyle’s questions posed throughout that will give viewers a reason to continue tuning in. Cult succeeds in reinvigoration of giving enough of a tease to pique the curiosity of anyone who enjoys mysteries and their conspiracies. the genre, theaters It is in the most unsettling moments of the show that Cult truly shines. It’s overwhelmingly clear that the show is designed for a younger, tech-savvy audience. A majority of with new zombie the detective work in the show revolves around digging through the internet for fan sites and hacking have been flooded into technology. While it effectively adds to the cult phenomena of the show, these plot points would months. Eventual- likely present a problem for anyone over the age of 30. filmsly, audiences every fewgot The beginning of Cult - tired of the usu- COURTESY wikipedia rated on will inevitably determine how strong the show will continue to be, but the show certainly has al ‘rising from potential. Cult manages to bring a fresh concept into the thriller genre and it’s a show worth watching. the dead, eating Warm Bodies offers a fresh take on the rapidly decom- is a very promising one. Whether or not the mysteries are sufficiently elabo posing zombie genre. neighbors, bullet- [email protected] to-the-head” rou- pled by disappointing scripts, tine. With this latest zombie half-baked ideas and poor di- Warm Bodies, the genre rection. Films such as Shaun - of the Dead and Zombieland vative twists that it desperate- Mobtown Swing flick, have captured the appropriate ly needs. finally displays the fresh inno blend of zombie and humor to A trip back in time up I-95 all the expected elements of follows the same strategy, “Every song is about food or sex. And if it’s a Jonathanzombie movie Levine’s and film meshes takes becomeshowing box that office after hits. 50/50 Levine he By martha robichaud them with a teenage romance about food, it’s probably about sex,” says Charlie can provide sharp direction ContributingWriter straight from a better-written - and clever dialogue. Twilight. While staying safe- town. To accent his style of writing ly in the PG-13 rating, Levine When Michael Seguin and his girlfriend Nina Wieprecht,Charlie has the a story “official that unofficial” is at once familiar intern at and Mob in- and directing, Levine provides manages to twist the expecta- Gilkensen took over Mobtown Ballroom in Sep- spiring: “My previous girlfriend thought it would be a soundtrack that not only ac- tions of the modern audience tember 2011, they moved the venue from a small, fun to go swing dancing, and I decided yeah, let’s do cents the tone of the movie, drafty warehouse in Hampden to a big, abandoned this, whatever. And we went out … and it was aw- Warm Bodies tells the story church in Pigtown. ful. I danced only with my girlfriend and with this the two leads. Featuring clas- other girl who was always looking away from me at ofand R, craft a zombie an enjoyable who spends film. his butsic '80s reflects love theballads love and between new stage for live music and classes just about every day other people doing something interesting because days riding around the airport and thinking about how he of Withthe week, the additionthe venue of is beautifulnow a hotspot wood for floors, people a I could just do the basic step. And then I just decid- presents a lively and engaging young and old who want to shake a leg for cheap. ed that I would take lessons to get better because I hates being dead and. After contemporarysound that will music,make audienc the film- deciding to go into the city to Mobtown Ballroom is located on Washington es fall in love. search for food, R meets Julie, Boulevard in Baltimore, a 15-minute drive from get better. And after a while, I lost the girlfriend and Warm Bodies is a unique the girl of his dreams. Slowly, campus. The venue focuses on swing dance, al- figuredkept the if dancing. my girlfriend’s I ended gonna up enjoying do it, I mightit.” as well experience, as it combines R begins to change and offers though they also offer classes in blues dancing, sal- Three years later, Charlie is now a competitive a teenage romance with the the chance for humanity to sa, belly dance and aerial silks. swing dancer. But, he says, “Especially for guys, it’s classic zombie genre elements change their fate. On Monday and Friday nights, they offer $5 intro- hard to start — you’re learning how to speak a lan- audiences will expect. Levine ductory swing classes, followed by a dance ($5 for guage.” So why continue with it? provides a witty script and an perspective, thrives on the students on Mondays, $8 for students on Fridays). “A lot of the dance is actually getting to know engaging visual style that ac- performance of its leading The regular class sessions last six weeks, and are people, and it’s not so much like ‘Oh, I’m great at The film, told through R’s cents the two lead actors. couple. Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: only $65. According to Seguin, the co-owner and dancing, or I’m bad at dancing.’ It’s ‘Oh, I feel like I With a cameo performance First Class) is the charming, founder, the turnout has tripled since the company have a place here.’ You go out dancing at a club and from John Malkovich and an thoughtful and energetic R. got a permanent venue. you wiggle your butt a couple times, and you’re like incredible soundtrack, Warm He shyly falls for Julie, captur- Michael and Nina have been dancing since they ‘Sweet, I moved my butt!’ and that’s awesome, but Bodies is a fun escape during ing those moments everyone were teenagers, and are internationally renowned you’re not interacting with another person. Swing Oscar season. Just remember: can relate too. As Julie, Teresa in the swing world. While swing dancing is, accord- dancing is a social, two-person dance. You can’t do regardless of whether you are Palmer (I Am Number Four) ing to Michael, “all Nina has ever really done,” Mi- it on your own. Interacting with someone other dead or not, your heart will go - chael studied the ancients in college. than just a butt on a crotch is part of the merit of on. But when asked how he came to own a dance stu- this type of dance in itself.” dependent all at once. Palm- dio, Michael said simply, “I decided I didn’t want to Mobtown makes it very easy to start learning. iser crafts confident, a character scared different and in go try to get a job as a Latinist, so I started a venue.” The one-hour, $5 introductory classes are every 4.5 paws out of 5 Paws Monday and Friday at 8 p.m., and are usually taught straying away from the typical Those who think of swing dancing as an innocent by Michael and Nina themselves. And if you’re feel- fromdefenseless, most teen thoughtless romance types.films, danceSwing for dancing old people first shouldbecame know popular that in back the 1920s. in the ing extra adventurous, they’ll probably invite you - day it was practiced only by the most scandalous to go to karaoke afterwards. Most zombie films are crip members of society. “Jazz” was actually a euphe- [email protected] mism for sex. [email protected]