Like many fans of fantasy, I’ve always harbored a hope I’d one day stumble upon proof the supernatural, the magical, was real. From “Narnia” to “Neverwhere,” wee baby Angie sought out stories of normal people happening upon secret worlds to live vicariously through them.
Someday — someday — maybe that could be me.
Obviously, that dream has yet to come true. But until it does, I’m forever hungry for adventures, mysteries, dark fantasies where there’s more than meets the eye. Where the mundane world is just one layer of many, and ghosts, superpowers, secret societies and angels really exist. This week, a look at four of my favorite movies built around pocket worlds, starting with:
1. “Stir of Echoes”
The focus of this contemporary Chicago-set, blue-collar ghost story is Tom (Kevin Bacon), a newly-awakened psychic thanks to a bit of hypnotism at a party. While Tom’s ability comes and goes in spurts, his young son Jake has a much stronger, more consistent power and is long-accustomed to talking to dead people.
It’s through Jake — and in particular, a scene where Jake and his mother Maggie encounter Neil, a policeman at a cemetery — that “Echoes” really tantalizes us with a wider hidden world beyond Tom’s personal experiences. There’s a whole community of psychics in Chicago (and, no doubt, throughout the rest of the world) that long pre-date the current story, full of people who have “experienced some sort of trauma” that’s opened their eyes to the dead.
The implication the “normal” world we take for granted is actually full of restless spirits, and that almost anybody could see them given the right catalyst, is an unsettling yet intriguing one. Be honest now: haven’t you always wanted, at least a little bit, to see a ghost?
2. “Constantine”
Long ago, God and Satan struck a bargain known as the Balance: angels and devils can only subtly influence humanity, not directly affect the mortal world. In the current day, John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) is an exorcist trying to buy his way into heaven by sending as many demons as he can back to hell. When the demonic forces start to ignore the Balance, targeting Constantine’s allies and a psychic detective, he’s got a helluva fight on his hands.
Alright, so this is not a great adaptation of the source material, the “Hellblazer” comics. The original Constantine is a cheeky blond pansexual Brit, so Keanu was definitely a miscast.
HOWEVER, if you ignore the fact this is based on a comic, and measure the film solely on its own merits, it’s a fantastic bit of dark fantasy. (It also features one of my fave takes on Lucifer, played brilliantly by Peter Stormare, but I digress.)
The atmosphere is cemented in the first 10 minutes, when John performs an exorcism using a full-length mirror, then throws said mirror (now full of snarling demon) out an apartment window to smash onto a cab. The rituals and religious framework, the Balance and look of the demons and angels, Papa Midnite’s arcane bar serves both the divine and the damned all combine into a colorful “world beneath the world,” as Constantine describes it.
They say “the devil’s in the details,” and it’s in the myriad details “Constantine” really shines. John has warding runes carved into his doorframe to keep his apartment safe, and uses the sigil tattooed onto his forearms to combat otherwordly powers. His armorer lives in the pin retrieval space of a bowling alley. Cats can be used to channel because they’re “half in, half out” creatures. This is a paranormal reality that feels developed, well-established.
No matter how many times I watch this, I’ll always be delighted by its dark vibe and meshing of the magical with the mundane, where angels and demons exist in the same space as liquor stores and CAT scans.
3. “Push”
Nick (Chris Evans) is a Mover — someone with telekinesis — who’s been on the run ever since the nefarious Division organization murdered his similarly super-powered father. Now lying low in Hong Kong, he meets a young Watcher named Cassie (Dakota Fanning), the daughter of the most powerful psychic Division’s ever known. Cassie’s visions have sent her to Nick, convinced he’s the key to rescuing her mother and bringing Division down.
Super-powered people fighting an evil force founded during WWII is hardly a new concept, I know, but there’s plenty about “Push” that sets it apart from the typical Marvel/DC film.
There’s the hectic, colorful Hong Kong setting for starters, far grittier and more realistic than a polished soundstage covered in green screen. A multicultural cast that includes Ming-Na Wen, Cliff Curtis and Djimon Hounsou. And some wild power classifications — Bleeders can make a person’s head explode with a scream; Sniffs can trace anyone just by holding their possessions; and the titular Pushers can put any thought into your mind and make you think it’s real, which is quite the terrifying power to have.
And as the action unfolds, and we see just how much Cassie’s mom set into motion years in advance? Phew, that is some heady plotting right there.
There’s so much built into this story’s world that I’m forever sad we’ll never get a sequel. It’s just a shame to waste all of this juicy potential and leave us with a half-finished adventure.
4. The “John Wick” series
John (Keanu Reeves) is a lonely widower who treasures his puppy, the last gift his wife gave him before she passed. When a group of delinquents break into his house and kill that sweet, sweet doggo, John understandably gets upset.
Little did the delinquents realize just who they were messing with: a much-feared retired assassin once known as Baba Yaga, the Boogeyman himself. John’s quest for revenge has far-flung consequences, and he quickly finds himself pulled back into the shadowy underworld he tried so hard to leave behind.
When the first trailers for “John Wick” hit the internet, I assumed — like everyone else — it was yet another paint-by-numbers shoot-em-up action flick. Keanu’s presence assured I’d give it a watch, but I hardly expected to be wowed.
Hoo boy, was I wrong. Not only is “John Wick” one of the most beautiful gun-fu series out there, with its neon color schemes, incredible fight choreography and sumptuous cinematography.
It’s also a brutal fairy tale.
No, seriously. Like the Fae of Celtic tradition, the assassins of “John Wick” live by ironclad rules of hospitality (no killing at the Continental, a sacred hotel of neutrality) and blood oaths that must be honored no matter the personal cost (via Markers and Talismans). Jobs and information are paid for with ornate gold Coins.
There’s a Court (the High Table) that passes judgment over everyone, and anyone who breaks the immutable laws is exiled (made Excommunicado). Many characters go by mythic titles (Charon, Ares, the Bowery King) and rule over their own smaller fiefdoms within the High Table’s arms.
It’s this fantastical quality that elevates the “Wick” series above other action franchises. This isn’t just a revenge story; not just a guy on a shooting spree. This is the legendary Baba Yaga doing whatever it takes to bring down an unjust system and, more importantly, live long enough to mourn his lost wife properly. It’s a hyper-violent, very bloody fairy tale where very little is what it seems at first glance.
There’s just something about hidden pocket worlds that will always get my blood pumping and adrenaline flowing. As silly and impossible as it is, I’ll continue to live in hope that tomorrow will finally be the day I find the right door, the right path, the right wardrobe that will prove all of my childhood dreams true. If that ever happens, I promise to send y’all a postcard.
• ANGIE BARRY is a contributing columnist for Shaw Media. To suggest future topics for The B-List, which covers topics in pop culture, history and literature, contact her at newsroom@mywebtimes.com.