Saturday, January 2, 2021

Mar Veeks interview!

In 2010 film Beyond the black rainbow, quietly made its way across the web with its mind-bending esoteric trailer. Written and directed by a virtual unknown at the time, Panos Cosmatos son of director George Cosmatosis (Leviathan, Rambo 2, Tombstone and Unknown Origin) and Birgitta Ljungberg-Cosmatos, a Swedish sculptor with a hard lean to avant-garde and surrealism. Birgitta and was a big inspiration on Panos giving him his cinematic eye for surreal.  Beyond the black rainbow is equal parts of its creator's mind-body, and soul.  Panos almost single-handedly funded his first opus with royalties from his father's film Tombstone which Panos worked on as a camera operator.  

This film crept under the radar of most movie lovers with a film that would sear itself through our amygdala into the pineal gland of all that saw it. The deliberate slow pace, the gorgeous visuals, and set design, the storytelling and the actors who exceeded all expectations, and the sonically inebriating music of the film scored by Jeremy Schmidt aka Sinoia Caves who is part of another band that one should listen to, Black Mountain. Be warned though, watching this film could make you fail a drug test!  

And the next person that I had the privilege to talk to was as affected by this film as I was.

 

Can you tell me your name and a little bit about yourself and where you are from?

Hi there! My name is Mar Veeks and I am twenty-two years old. I am a huge fan of filmmaking, animals, and all things horror! I am from Maine, which is great because I love the woods and most of this state is covered with woods. There is not a huge film scene here, though. 



Have you lived there all your life?

I have lived in Maine all of my life, but someday I want to move even more north where there is only cold winter and endless woods. 

What got you into making horror-themed masks? What is the attraction for you? 

I started making horror-themed masks when I was twelve as a way to cope with my negative self-perception and scary psychosis symptoms. I found that transforming myself into something that was creepy or supernatural or odd helped me process emotions and experiences better. Building my own “face” gave me a really unique sense of control over the more difficult things in my early life. As a kid I would run around my school wearing the masks I’d make and it helped me gain confidence. My first mask was an albino werewolf, but it just kept getting progressively more grotesque from there!




 

So when did you discover this film and how? The film was on the cusp of the closing of brick and mortar video stores. Were you able to find it around that time? 

I first saw “Beyond The Black Rainbow” last year (2019) in November after having first watched Mandy in October. I had heard of Mandy’s success from film circles before, but I had not once heard of BTBR. When my film-school girlfriend showed me Mandy for the first time, I absolutely fell in love with Panos Cosmatos’ dark ethereal storytelling. The film moved and enchanted me like nothing else ever had. After that, she was really excited to share Black Rainbow with me. At first, she was worried I wouldn’t like it as much as I liked Mandy, but oh boy she was very wrong! If only I had been more sentient back in 2010 when BTBR came out, I’m sure I would’ve loved it then, too. At that time, my favorite film was Wes Craven’s classic 80s hit “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”




What was your first impression of the film? Was it love at first sight?

My first impression of Black Rainbow was that it felt like a near-death experience. My entire body was cold as if I was physically sitting outside on a chilly night in the fall. I felt a deep, distant sadness that welled up within me and sent me into a strange melancholy trance. It was like Elena’s grief and Barry’s psychosis were tangible tendrils that latched onto me and would never let go. When Elena was able to escape the seemingly inescapable darkness that was coming after her, it was like I could suddenly feel warm again. With the ambiguity of Elena’s future at the end of the film, I felt deeply inspired to help her find warmth again, as well. The moment the credits rolled I knew that I was in love with this movie. 




What are your thoughts on control and what the film conveys about this subject?  

I think BTBR has a great understanding of the various psychological aspects to human beings controlling other humans. We see the highlight reel of Dr. Mercurio Arboria’s grand ambitions as a cult leader, and later, his overwhelmingly miserable demise. Mercurio devoted his career to finding inner peace and lost everything truly important in the process. He couldn’t control the horror that he created in the same way that he likely controlled his follower’s minds with spiritual nonsense. Dr. Barry Nyle goes through a similar arc of being in complete control over others and then later finding himself unable to stop the world he built from falling apart. Without the power-suppressing ability of the Triangular Prism, Barry wouldn’t be able to stop Elena from escaping the facility. Without mentally breaking down and emotionally manipulating Elena, she wouldn’t stand for his abuse. Barry, although more powerful and scary than your average creepy man in a position of power, is still weak without that which keeps him above those he tries to suppress. ( The film’s very name “Beyond The Black Rainbow,” implicates that the “black rainbow” itself is an unattainable state of being that both Mercurio and Barry never stop trying to meet despite having already gone “beyond” its reach. It is an intangible perfect reality that could never exist. )



Have you been writing for very long? What was your first venture into the life of the mind? 

I was always writing and drawing comics even as a young child, but my brain was way too chaotic and emotional to convey a compelling story back then. But in my head, I was still constantly building new worlds and adding to pre-established ones. I am always day-dreaming and thinking of things to create. A couple of years ago I wrote my first ever fan-fiction for a different film. It helped me deal with the trauma I was experiencing and I found the whole process really fulfilling. My writing ability and understanding of grammar was not very good back then, though! Haha! So, I made a commitment to learning more writing skills before I worked on anything like that again. 




Did you feel compelled to write this fanfiction or was it something that gestated slowly? 

Writing a fan-fiction for BTBR was an inevitable occurrence once I saw the film. I love the movie too much. I care about the characters too much. The film moved me waaay too much. My only apprehension in writing a fan-fiction was that I know how deeply personal Pano’s two films are to him and how they were a way for him to channel his grief. I wanted to be sure that I wasn’t disrespecting the story or diminishing how perfect BTBR actually is in all its ambiguity and finality. I think my continuation “Return To The Black Rainbow” is really just a tribute to how much I love “Beyond The Black Rainbow” and the art of storytelling. The ideas for what would actually happen in the plot of RTTBR came gradually, but I always knew I wanted to see Elena find some sort of real peace and closure. 



How far do you feel this story will go? Do you have a lot planned for the characters?

I am happy to say that the entirety of the fan-fiction is already complete and has been since late October! Right now, I’m just taking my time editing each chapter and making sure everything lines up and makes sense. I’m sure there will still be errors but my goal is to write a compelling story that fans could really visualize as a faithful sequel. I love receiving feedback and new ideas, though! I hope more fans discover my writing and art and take enjoyment in it! One day I hope to make a stop-motion tribute to BTBR and maybe even animate scenes from RTTBR. All I can reveal to curious readers of the fan-fiction is that yes, all characters will get their moment to shine! Even dead ones! 


Ellena and her friends feel well rounded and knowable, was it easy for you to give her pathos but also good conscious after all those years in Arboria?

Writing Elena ten years post her escape from Arboria felt very natural. I empathized with her all throughout the events of BTBR even though she never gets the opportunity to verbally describe how she’s feeling. Through visuals and sounds, we are able to get a window into her emotional world. Truly, I don’t think Elena is a cruel or dangerous person despite having every right to be that way. I think she longs so badly for a sense of normalcy and basic human compassion. I believe that she would choose to internalize her pain rather than go on an enraged psychic rampage. Let’s face it though, she’s earned one! In RTTBR, I gave her an extra helping hand in her emotional healing process by allowing the Sentionaut “Sky” to become her first true companion. Sky is the kind of friend who will always put Elena’s well-being before anything else. Sky also helps keep Elena in check until she wanders into Marie’s life




In the film, the Devil's Teardrop comes out from under Barry's bed like it had always been there. As if it were in a state of flux, of nothingness and tangible. As if it was just waiting to be willed onto this realm. What are your thoughts on this cult-like and definitely fetishized weapon?

The Devil’s Teardrop is honestly the coolest thing ever and I’m kinda mad there are no clear still images of it because I’d love to get it’s silhouette (along with Red Miller’s Beast Axe) tattooed on my arm one day! Honestly, it strikes me as something that was forged in sheer malice and holds a great amount of ethereal dark power. I think for Barry, it symbolizes his complete dominion over the physical bodies of others. When he chooses to wield the weapon, I believe it’s a sacred ritual for him. I don’t think his intention was ever to kill Elena with it. (Barry does a fine job of killing others with just his hands anyways!) I think Barry intended to use it as a way of physically demonstrating his power over Elena in the hope that she would physically submit to his control. I sort of fail to see what Barry would gain from killing Elena. As messed up as the situation is, she is everything to him. She is his way of attaining power. She is his only emotional connection. Barry isn’t just going to waste tons of resources building caretaker Sentionauts and injectable tracking devices just to have one fleeting moment of vengeance. He wants to control her forever. That being said, when Elena escapes and Barry’s paranoia and jealousy overtakes him, he still uses the weapon to metaphorically (and literally) penetrate and overpower the two Heshers. Whether it’s through violent killing or just the perverse act of Barry rubbing the dagger against his inner thigh, The Devil’s Teardrop is an absolutely wicked creation! 

How did you feel about adding to the Black Rainbow universe? Were you apprehensive or confident about what you had in mind?

Once I felt like I could create a meaningful story, I just started writing! I wrote the prologue to RTTBR first and just left it there for a while. It took a little time to decide whether or not to delve back into the horrific trauma of Elena’s past or just let the poor girl live a happy life as a closeted telekinetic being. I decided that as cute as it would be to see Elena’s shenanigans around town, delving back into the deep dark stuff felt more honest. 


Do you have any future projects that you would like to share with us?

As far as original work goes, I am in the process of writing and illustrating my own horror-themed graphic novel! Whenever it’s complete, I will self publish it. My hope is that it inspires others to create and share their own stories. I really genuinely believe that making art is one of the best ways to live a happier life! My girlfriend and I also plan to start making horror short films that incorporate my masks sometime in 2021! Thank you for taking an interest! 

You can find more of Mar's drawings and writings here at: