the bird on fire

The Bird is the Word: Sophisticated Schoolyard Shenanigans

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If Horror-Film Characters Were Rational

October 25, 2017 by szachik@pvs.org 2 Comments

By Brennan Nick

 

“Hey, Joe! Do you want to go check out that abandoned lighthouse?”

“No, Stan. If you go there you’re just asking to break your leg.”

“Come on, we don’t have to climb to the top, just check out the place.”

“Alright, I’ll get the flashlights”

“We don’t need flashlights, Joe.”

“Yes, we do. It’s already dusk. By the time we get there it’ll be dark.”

“You know what? Scratch the lighthouse idea, let’s go exploring around the closed factory out of town.”

“We still need flashlights.”

“Fine, we’ll bring flashlights”

“Okay, great, but I wasn’t aware that flashlights make you invulnerable from twisted, broken ankles.”

“You’re no fun today, Joe…”

“Look, it’s getting late; I’m gonna go home down the main road that is very well lit and with many people on it.”

“Wow, Mr. Super-Safety Joe going down the well-lit road, where’s your sense of adventure?!”

“Fine then! We can go to the lighthouse tomorrow afternoon.”

“No, you ruined the lighthouse for me and the factory, too. We’ll go to the haunted house on the hill.”

“Ghosts aren’t real…”

“Then we’ll go to the totally normal, but creepy and vacated house on the hill tomorrow NIGHT and then…”

“Woah, Woah, Woah, if we’re going to go tomorrow why would you specifically wait until night?”

“For the sense of adventure! Joe, you just have to see it for yourself to understand what I mean. If we did it during the day, we’d just be going through an old house.”

“We’d be much less likely to hurt ourselves…”

“You really are not any fun today.”

“…”

Editor: Claire Jenkins

Filed Under: Culture, Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Satire Tagged With: darkness, goes bump in the dark, horror

THE RE-VISIT

September 30, 2015 by szachik@pvs.org 3 Comments

–by Gaige Griffintumblr_nuslfzOz4I1u3yl0jo1_500

I unfortunately have to write this article. It pains me to even type these words. But it has to be said…I was wrong. I went into The Visit thinking it was going to be a cinematic abomination, but I was completely wrong. Shyamalan went back to his roots, and for the first time in a while his twist made sense. The only time where I wasn’t able to follow along was during the loud, girly screaming of David Kocen. One thing that I didn’t like, however, was the fact that the movie for the most part relied heavily on jumpscares, and when a movie continually uses jumpscares, it starts to become a rhythmic pattern (I even began counting down to when jumpscares were about to pop up.) On the plus side though, the cinematography was done beautifully. The movie was supposed to be filmed as if it were a documentary made by a high-schooler, and it had the sense that it was actually filmed by a student who aspired to go into film but lacked the traditional professionalism that comes with 1st-party production studios. The Visit had humor to keep you laughing, jumpscares to keep the weak willed scared, and the underlying creepiness you’d expect from a 1st-party thriller. All in all, I find that no words describe this movie as well as those of David Kocen: 11/10 . . . it was okay.

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Filed Under: Media Tagged With: Halloween, horror, M. Night Shyamalan, Scare, Scary, Terror, The Visit, thriller

Maniacal Movie Madness

September 9, 2015 by szachik@pvs.org 3 Comments

by Gaige Griffin

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As an avid moviegoer, I’ve seen a lot of things. Some good, some bad–mostly bad though. However, I’ve been very impressed lately with how good recent horrors and thrillers have been (with the exception of Ouija). Horrors and thrillers are my favorite genre, so I tend to be very critical of them, but movies like Unfriended and The Gift I genuinely enjoyed. So naturally, I was thrilled to see an advertisement for a new horror movie coming to theaters: The Visit. It seemed decent; it had points that seemed to be paying homage to classic possession film–the good ol’ “creepy grandparents are even creepier than we thought” schtick. I was excited to see this with my group of buddies that I go to the movies with. Then I saw it–the most terrifying part of The Visit‘s trailer. I was locked into a mentality of sheer panic: “Directed by M. Night Shyamalan.” I then realized that I no longer wanted to see this movie. I HAD to see this movie! However, not only am I going with my group of friends, I am inviting anyone who wants to endure this atrocity with us. So if you’re near the Rancho 16 theatre at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 12, with nothing better to do, come join us.

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Filed Under: Media Tagged With: horror, M. Night Shyamalan, movie, The Visit, thriller

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We are the Palm Valley Firebirds of Rancho Mirage, California. Join us in our endeavors. Venture through the school year with us, perusing the artwork of our students, community, and staff. Our goal is to share the poems, stories, drawings and photographs, essays and parodies that come out of our school. Welcome aboard!