MORB 4

'There is really nothing I can say except that I never want to think or speak about that movie again.'

How far is too far? Over the course of Morb, people have obviously differed with their limits, some finding hilarious what others found traumatising. I think with Morb 4, everybody was pretty much in the same boat.

'Not only was the line crossed tonight, it was beaten, decapitated, raped and murdered.'



Some people had felt Morb 3 was a little too light, gory and gruesome but too fun. I'll show THEM, I said to myself. I really, really, don't know what I was thinking. The film in question takes a while to get going but then is just relentless. I'd watched it myself at home for quality control and while it was pretty disturbing, it was manageable. To be honest, because of its reputation, I was actually a little disappointed. But then, in the venue, on a big screen, with pounding music and a horrified audience, it became a different beast altogether.

'To say that it was one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen does not nearly go far enough. The whole setting and atmosphere made it the most affecting and powerful movie experience I have ever had.'

Sitting in the middle of the group, seeing and feeling reactions and suddenly remembering what was going to happen at the end of the scene we were watching, I started to PUMP sweat. The wave of shock and guilt that washed over me was overwhelming. Looking at people's horrified reactions, tears in some cases, hands that wouldn't come away from covering their faces, people literally squirming in their seats, faces directed at the floor instead of the screen, it was pretty horrifying. What was worse was knowing the film was only getting started and there was a good hour left of sheer depravity.



'At my first experience at Morb the group made their way at dusk to a space off a northside alley. Everything in the room was painted in white. I was very eager to see the picture but I soon found myself sitting through one of the most horrendous things I have ever or would ever want to see. Every time I considered leaving I told myself I could maybe stay because it couldn't get any worse, but it continually became increasingly sickening with every scene. For weeks after attending Morb I felt as if my heart had been replaced by an ice cold tin of coke - which had been shaken up and was on the constant verge of exploding. I was despondent and irritable to friends and co-workers. I don't think I have been able to get a proper night's sleep since seeing the film. I think that Peter Dunne should arrested or at least ostracized by society. Maybe he could be shipped to Siberia, or Serbia even. I will definitely be at the next one.'

This time around, the venue was THESHED, a truly perfect setting, the room filled with furniture and objects all painted white, the ceiling partially glass, looking up you see streetlights reflected across the roof. Walking to the venue and taking that sudden turn into the lane shook a few people. I couldn't have asked to work with lovelier, more helpful people than McBett and the people at the space and I sincerely hope I haven't traumatised them.

http://mcbett.net/?page_id=72



'I don't want to see, hear, or think about Morb or what it stands for ever again! By far the most disturbing film I have every seen - perhaps because I have a child but I didn't think people could think up shit like that let alone script it, find actors, film it and then put it about for public viewing - I guess we have you to find these things and share with us!'

As soon as the film ended, I didn't have the usual rush of pride or excitement, I sat there a little numbed wondering what had I just done. I received a few shocked looks and some people almost fled the room.



'I actually cried from thinking about it the night after watching, not on the night as I guess I was still in shock. I could only just about mention the name of the film we were subjected to before clamming up and not uttering a word about it unless it was to someone who had watched it, but none of them really want to talk about it for fear of dredging up the memory.'

'Nightmares alllll night.'

'Thanks for the movie last night,Peter, mentally scarred for life.'

Afterwards some of us went for a much needed drink which definitely helped to break the tension and the group began to laugh a little about the experience. Had I managed to warp them a little? I hope so!

'We all look visibly shaken - like we've just been through a traumatic incident, like a plane crash - but we've all survived and now share a cautiously happy camaraderie.'



In the long run, well actually, about an hour afterwards, I was glad I did it. It was pretty wild at times but there was a real feeling of being at the heart of something big, a true horror film. The audience who were there will probably be among the only people in this country to see that film in its entirety on a big screen, with other people around them. It was taking something dirty and nasty and evil and secret and throwing it onto a screen for a very rare shared experience. Morb, basically.

'That was tough going and I feel emotionally fucked...but I actually thought it was a really good film strangely. It was more realistic and disturbing than the other Morb films and had much more effect.'

'Whoa. I tell ya, it's a braver man that's picking these films! A chilling choice and watching the audience was a fascinating way to look at the range of reactions people have to true horror.'

No one who was there, especially me, will forget it any time soon. I really believe when the film is mentioned in the future, people will look back and give a little inward shudder and always remember where they were when they had seen it or else give a fond giggle at the memory (if they have been as warped as I hope).





'I can still remember each venue for its' distinctly unique atmosphere and of course the unsettling film that accompanied it. Morb's movies are not the kind I would naturally seek out but the experience overall makes it one of a kind. Thanks Morb... I think.'

Oh, and what was the movie? Wouldn't you like to know.

PUTRID DUNNE

Gimme Morb

Aloha kiddies. As you may or may not know, Morb was featured in March's Hot Press magazine. For those of you who didn't get to read the article by the lovely Maeve Heslin, who came up with such wonderful words to describe Morb's parade of slop, for your perusal I enclose -



'A mysterious new underground event has emerged in Dublin, whereby a small, select group of people are brought to an undisclosed location and shown an extremely violent horror movie. Sound like fun? Read on - 'We are so jaded, what could possibly affect us? Morb attempts to provide the answer.' So says Peter Dunne, the creator of the newest and most unsettling (that's a compliment)project in the city. But what inspired this committed film fan to take the next step and start showcasing obscure and violent horror late at night?

'Last year I saw a documentary about the birth of the Midnight Movie in the '70s,' Dunne explains. 'Cinema owners began to show really over the top, subversive and shocking films, like El Topo and Pink Flamingos. I was so jealous of those audiences, of that feeling of watching something new, underground, and a bit illicit. Morb was my attempt to provide that, mainly for myself, but also for an audience.'



Since November last year, Dunne has held three Morb screenings, opting first to show Pascal Laugier's 2008 bloodbath Martyrs (not, I repeat, NOT for the faint hearted). Then Inside (Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, 2007), and finally Braindead, a 1992 New Zealand zombie horror directed by Peter Jackson (yep - he of the hobbits). Though all are extremely violent, Dunne maintains that Morb is not merely about screening a film - it's a far bigger experience than that. I have to agree. For the first Morb outing, a small group - your humble reporter included - were sent a cryptic e-mail, asking us to meet in a city centre pub, one cold November eve. From there we were led (phones switched off) to an empty art studio. In the dark, Dunne led us up a winding staircase to a sterile white room, and instructed us to sit. A brief introduction followed, and then - the film began. An exploration of human endurance, Martyrs features extreme acts of torture; its female protagonist is the victim of a sadistic group intrigued by the concept of martyrdom and the afterlife.



And although that night's Morb was certainly not limited to the graphic images we were shown, I still maintain I am permanently scarred after witnessing that nice French lady being skinned alive. I have to ask - why did Martyrs and Inside appeal to Dunne? Is he trying to relay any particular message? About misogyny perhaps?

'Not necessarily',he responds. 'I knew the films contained violence against women, but they weren't selected because of that. It would be very easy to label these films as misogynistic, but I don't believe they are. Horror films have traditionally sided with the female - the 'final girl' and so on. These films are upfront in their violence, there's nothing underlying.What I find really shocking are romantic comedies like The Ugly Truth or Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which are aimed at a female audience, yet in my opinion, seem to hate women. The fact that their misogyny slips under the radar and is considered acceptable, worries me more.'



He might have a point there: the next Kate Hudson rom-com probably won't see her beaten to a pulp and/or de-skinned, but - chances are - she'll play a 'quirky', career-obsessed loon who just can't find Mr. Right. Graphic violence aside though, there are other factors at play which work to make Morb so unique. dunne utilises the space of the city, incorporating dark streets and alleyways into an experience which aims to unsettle and isolate. How important is Dublin to Morb?


'Very!', he asserts. 'Dublin is perfect, because although it's a relatively small city, and people find it very comfortable and familiar, there's such a variety of little spaces off the beaten track. Dark lanes, empty buildings - just one turn can take you somewhere totally alien. Everyone who has attended a screening says the location has made just as much of an impact at the film'.



Alienation is key then. Freud claimed it's in our human nature to try and familiarise the unfamiliar, the 'uncanny'. Morb's venues are very much at odds with the conventional cinematic experience. No comfy loungers, no popcorn - instead, a hushed, tense, almost uncomfortable atmosphere prevailed in this downright clinical location. Why does Dunne want to take people out of their familiar comfort zones?'Nowadays, we've seen it all', he says. 'In order to get that shock factor,I had to fiddle around with the way the film is experienced. People meet in a pre-arranged location, they have no clue where they'll be led, they don't know about the film they'll be shown. There's that initial rush of excitement, but talking to audiences later, a slow feeling of dread always creeps in. They realise they're totally powerless against what they're about to experience. By the time the film begins, they've built themselves into such a state of nervous tension, almost anything will be frightening.'

Agreed - such was the atmosphere that first night, an episode of Care Bears would probably have had us all cowering behind our chairs. So what does the future hold for Morb?



'I'm going to just keep doing what I'm doing!' Dunne confirms. 'It will always remain underground, there's a limit of 45 people, it won't ever become bigger, or that sense of secrecy and 'specialness' will disappear. I set up Morb because of a deep love of cinema, and sitting in the front and turning in my seat just as an especially 'out-there' moment occurs, to look at the faces of the audience members, is total magic. This is a dream'.


PUTRID DUNNE

Morb 3

'A Technicolour Kiwi Nightmare, I'm too afraid to emigrate now... thanks Morb.'

The best jokes are the sickest jokes. Pretend to disapprove all you want when the 'unfortunate' baby is dressed in a clown suit or something really inventive happens with Pinocchio's expanding nose but there is nothing better than knowing you really shouldn't be laughing at something but just can't help it. The thrill mixed in with the shock. The release of a tension breaking joke at a funeral.





Well, it wasn't Morb's funeral, it was its' third little picnic with bloodstained blankets and something rotten in the tupperware. As per, the select few were blindly led to a secret location (in this case, the lovely La Catedral Studios off Thomas St), frogmarched up the towering staircase and led through the corridors to the dark cavernous attic space lit only by the flickering, projected square of light.


'Having been to the first, highly unsettling but well worth it Morb, I was expecting more of the same. I was wrong! It was a completely different experience this time around. To begin with the attendees had doubled, which leads me to the conclusion that word is spreading. Secondly the venue was more comfortable and had a totally different ambiance. Finally the film it-self, whilst still horror, was a totally different sub-genre of horror, a kind of zom-com as Peter called it, was shows just how broad and varied the horror genre is.
What surprised me the most as I mentioned above was just how many people had turned up. There is obviously a gap in the market for this kind of event and I for one am glad to say I am a part of it. When you come home from morb, you feel as if you've achieved something along with having had a social outing (minus the falling home drunk at all hours). It really is the perfect mid-week escapism, albeit escapism into a world of blood, gore and creepy but hilarious zombie babies!!!! Long live the zombabies.'



One thing Morb is not is a one-trick pony. Yes, this pony may be pus filled, it may be short a leg and only have the strength to carry a half stuffed puke stained teddybear but it doesn't repeat itself. How to top the last witnessed atrocity? Must each film be successively more vicious and disturbing that eventually it must culminate in the actual death of an attendee to satisfy the now warped regulars?

I hope so!

I digress. Yes, people got their violence, their gore, their over the top disturbing sights but they got to do something else as well - laugh. When something is so extreme, when slime, gore, brains and vats and vats of blood flood the screen to such a scale, it actually becomes charming. Well to me anyway.

'Morb is revolting. In my favourite way.
It lends itself to the suspense and mystery of the horrific by being characteristically secretive as an entire experience.
It seduces my own attraction with the terrifying and unknown by tempting me with a lack of information. It plays with my curiosity. It's playing with me. And I like it. Being mindfucked has never been so appealing, especially within a group setting of fellow mindfuckers. I BELONG!'

Ok then, not just me.



'I've always had an unhealthy interest in lawnmower genocide. Seeing Braindead at Morb has given me the confidence to live the dream. I've bought a flymo now and there's no going back.'

All this talk of lawnmowers and zombabies, have you guessed what the film is yet? Maybe, the quote above actually naming the film, does that help?
Yes, Braindead, a wonderfully slimy addition to the Morb family. A constant stream of invention and constant streams of lumpier stuff too.


'LOVED the venue. I felt like puking for the first half and gauging my eyes out for the second. I'm off out the garage to check the lawnmower is working.'



Watching such lighthearted gorefests like Braindead fulfills different objectives, we get our gore and violence kick in a lighthearted manner which helps to desensitise us a teeny bit for the next Morb.
Or does it?

'What a treat to be able to step into a night of secrecy and suspense, escape from the mid-week mundane and revel in the excitement of Morb. I also can't stop talking about it, and am making people jealous.'

All in all, another enjoyable stroll in the fog but this time around The Ripper gave you a little tickle before he slit your throat. People had good laugh and also looked forward to Morb's return to it's dark roots.

But nothing, absolutely nothing, could have prepared anyone for Morb 4.

Including me.


PUTRID DUNNE

MORB 2

'I’ve buried all the scissors in the house under the patio and I advise you to do the same.'

In order to evolve does something have to get bigger or can it become more secret, hide in darker places? Must it build up its’ resistance to old plagues and diseases or decide to become even sicker? There are a group of people who know.

'Please sir, can I have some Morb? Morb provides an outlet for those who would rather not be served cinematic experiences like slops of porridge.'

January 12th begat Morb 2.




The second round of attendees met in a bar on our busy, well lit main street, by now they knew the rules. Secret location, secret film, no phones, no backing out. Be there on time or be left behind. After the greetings and pleasantries the little parade set off in high spirits. The giggling subsided when a sudden turn led them out of the light and into a long dark silent alley, almost a different world, the only illumination - a bulb over a door in the distance.

'Hey, I had a great time and after an extensive interview with questions only he could answer, I eventually opened the front door to my brother.'




The group made their way up a flight of stairs into a room like a secret attic, with sloping ceilings and rain pattering on windows. The wonderful Erin Michelle lay in wait, watching in the darkness, fingers on the controls. Nervously excited people hurriedly took their chairs and benches, arranged around the one source of light – the screen. The pristine white screen on to which the projector flashed up gouts of blood and body matter.

'A superb location added to the suspense and experience, I was already on edge as the movie was starting. Great choice, I'd never heard of it but I don't think I'll forget it anytime soon. Not for the faint hearted or light headed, the film was brimming with everything a good horror thriller could have, and then some. I agree with our host, you could watch the movie in people's expressions and reactions of which there were many.
Roll on number three, thanks a million, you're doing more than just showing films, I'm loving it.'




Half the fun of being the Morb host is looking away from the screen at the worst moments to the faces of the viewers, lit up by the carnage. There are slight moments of guilt.
As only I know what the film will be in advance, in a way you are subjecting people to something they wouldn’t necessarily be comfortable with or are unused to. Could this scar them in any way?

'I was up all night with stomach cramps – I’m blaming you and your torture porn.'

'My own reflection in a window just caused a minor cardiac event.'

'I just nearly shit myself cause I saw my own shadow in my kitchen. Thanks.'

No, I don’t think so. Even if so, consider this a vaccine for Morb 3. What did the needle contain?




'Not looking forward to going to sleep tonight after another sitting of Peter Dunne's Morb. French film called 'Inside', not for the fainthearted.'

Morb 3 will continue to walk down this dark little path through the trees, around the blind corners. What will be waiting? We’ll see when we get there.

It will not be a large event, after all, the best things happen in secret. If people are brave and hearty and interested, they know who to contact.

'Wonder is there any chance of getting him to go on a 'sick fuck' diet for the next Morb.'




PUTRID DUNNE

Films Of 2010

It's been a pretty ghastly year for film. In Ireland we've yet to see dreamy gems like Rabbit Hole or Black Swan but have been subject to such cinematic abortions as A Nightmare On Elm Street, gilded turds such as Alice In Wonderland, neon heaps of illuminous shite such as Tron, soul breaking disappointments such as Wolf Man and over-hyped studio money machines such as Inception and Social Network, which weren't particularly bad films but CALM DOWN everybody.

Most times leaving the cinema I've had a sour puss on my face but there have been a few beauts, like those that almost scraped the list, such as A Prophet, I Am Love, Crazy Heart and Despicable Me; not perfect but entertaining.

Filtering the sludge out, here are my top ten of 2010.

10 The Kids Are Alright




This film just about scrapes in because of the amazing Annette Bening. She is heartbreakingly good, especially in the dinner party scene where she begins to figure everything out. What lets it down is the uber annoying Mia Wasikowska, who was DYING for a kick up the hole for most of the movie. I also didn't like the way the film presents what is supposedly a well adjusted family with gay parents and then shows just how easily it can be torn apart, proving the point of those anti-gay naysayers under the pretense of being pro. But still, Annette Bening - nuff said.

9 Please Give




A little diamond that slipped under most people's radar. Exceptionally well written and well performed by the entire cast. If this had been directed by someone like Spielberg, Ann Morgan Guilbert who played the grandmother, would be up for an Oscar.

8 Shutter Island




Fuck Inception, THIS is how people dream. The mixed up, overlapping, intoxicating things Di Caprio sees in his sleep are the work of a genius. Who dreams of fully functioning office blocks and perfectly laid out streets? Drab Christopher Nolan it seems. Maybe the twist was painfully obvious about 2 minutes in but what a star studded, swirling journey.

7 I Love You Phillip Morris




The bravest film of the year. Never have I seen a mainstream film that didn't shy away from showing a true albeit twisted gay relationship. Jim Carrey was astounding and Ewan McGregor convincingly loveable. Better than that though is the fact the film is genuinely funny, the evolution of the joke Carrey tells as it passes from person to person is CLEVER. Why should this film be celebrated? Why is it such a big step? Take a look at the message boards on IMDB and take a look at the dreadful box office in the states and see how far the gay rights movement has come in some quarters. Props from me to the folk involved as they won't get many.

6 Piranha




Gas craic. The most fun I had in the cinema all year. Puerile, juvenile, terribly written but that's the point. It's a total throwback to 80s gore fests and it works. You haven't seen anything until you've seen a CGI fish spit out a severed penis IN 3D! 'Ass to the glass' became the catchphrase of the month.

5 Ghost Writer



Complete return to form from Polanski. With this film you can feel it's the man who directed Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown behind it. A slow burning, insidiously creeping nightmare. The cast all play blinders and the invisible directing worked a wonder.

4 Let Me In




This might be the most controversial choice on the list, even more so when I say I vastly preferred it to the original. With the Danish version, I knew there was something original and fresh and subversive going on but always felt it wasn't quite there. Something was missing. I was disappointed. Even though at times this is a shot for shot remake, this time round it filled the cracks. The father/daughter relationship is better thought out, better performed. The reasoning behind the vampire's seduction of the little boy is far more disturbing and creepy. It jettisoned the infamous 'cat scene' and the group of drunks and replaced it with a far more satisfying 'Rear Window' style attack of the neighbours. It has that AMAZING car crash viewed from the back seat and the clever 'Snoopy' way of never showing the adults faces, making Owen's loneliness more tangible. Most of all though, the children are superb, especially Kodi Smit McPhee, far far better than Kare Hedebrant who I thought was a slightly wooden original protagonist.

3 Winters Bone



Watching this at a pre-release press screening weeks before the hype began it really felt like being witness to the birth of something special. Disturbing, creepy and convincing, original and brave, the film is a wow. The actors are true and real. See it.

2 Toy Story 3




What can be said about Toy Story that hasn't been said? The film is a wonder. It totally needs to be Best Film above things like Inception or Social Network. The non stop parade of ideas, the heart, the sheer joy and wonder it inspires can't be surpassed. As for Big Baby, my personal favourite character, he/she is the cleverest combination of heartbreaking and frightening and hilarious. It's a rarity, a blockbuster that completely deserves the success and hype.

1 Another Year




This wasn't hard. I forgot I was watching a film and really felt like I was in someone's house watching their lives. Afterwards, things about the film came back to me and made me think of it in another light, actually making me so angry with fictional characters, I was raging I couldn't phone them up and give them a piece of my mind. If there was any justice, which we all know there isn't, Mike Leigh would walk home with an Oscar, after hitting David Fincher over the head with it. Lesley Manville should be joining him, giving hands down the greatest performance to hit the screen in the last 5 years. Stunning.

There we are, a sucky year with some true gems, but 2011 seems to promise to be truly exciting so far. Fingers crossed we get some hot ballet psychosis and Nicole Kidman's newly moving forehead soon and they live up to the impossible, wet-the-bed expectation this particular weirdo has for them.



Bon voyage 2010!




PUTRID DUNNE