Dissecting a Myth - Polyphemus

As I have started watching American Gods, I decided to take some time and look back at some of the ancient Gods and the mysterious lore that surrounds them. Today I will take a journey back into the vaults of time, to an era governed by gods and documented in the mythos. The specimen is a creature so horrible and hideous, his name can still strike fear in the masses. Throughout antiquity, the legend of Polyphemus, a man-eating Cyclops with a single orb-shaped eye set in the middle of his forehead would be heard throughout Trinacria (Sicily) and the Mediterranean world. Today I plan to dissect it for you. 

Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and the southernmost region of Italy, lying south of mainland Italy separated by the Strait of Messina. This region, consisting of nine provinces: Agrigento, Caltanissetta, Catania, Enna, Messina, Palermo, Ragusa, Siracusa, and Trapani, has a vast history and is a modern link to the folklore of an enlightened day. At the heart of this beautiful garden lie Mount Etna, Europe's largest active volcano, and ancient home to our vile destructor. 

"The wild Cyclopes in Aetna’s caverns watch the straits during stormy nights, should any vessel driven by fierce south winds draw nigh, bringing thee, Polyphemus, grim fodder and wretched victims for thy feasting, so look they forth and speed every way to drag captive bodies to their king. Them doth the cruel monarch himself on the rocky verge of a sacrificial ridge, that looms above mid-sea, take and hurl down in offering to his father Neptunus [Poseidon]; but should the men be of finer build, then he bids them take arms and meet him with the gauntlets; that for the hapless men is the fairest doom of death.” - Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 4.104

It is said that Polyphemus would feast on raw human flesh, devoured from the unexpecting seafaring merchants that would unwillingly cross his path, washing down their remains with raw milk. This legendary banquet, a typical midnight snack for this creature, held religiously before he retired into the depths of his volcanic lair for the evening amongst his beasts. Unfortunately, this civilization had much to fear besides the Cyclops. In mythological times, great Mount Etna was home to the forges of the Roman god Vulcan, Polyphemus, and the monster Typhon. 

If the seafarers of the day luckily survived an encounter with Polyphemus the penchant of death still burnt bright, with the six-headed monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis (two of the perils faced by Odysseus in Homer's epic poem Odyssey) surrounding the Strait of Messina 

Fortunately, for us humans, Polyphemus is said to have met his demise at the hands of Odysseus, who once became trapped in the cave of the giant, bearing witness the horror of the Cyclops grand meal (his men). Unable to escape, Odysseus showered him with wine and as he slept and pierced his eye with a burning stake, blinding the great beast. The blind giant attempted to exact revenge by sinking Odysseus' escaping ship with rocks, but failed, ending his reign over humanity and etching his name into infamy.

American Mummy (2014)

After spending yesterday with the family, I figured that it would be a good time to jump back into the blog with another low budget entry that I grabbed at Family Video. That selection is the 2014 entry American Mummy (AKA Aztec Blood)

Plot/ A group of university students in the New Mexico desert unearth an ancient mummy, on which one of the students performs a secret, primeval blood ritual. This awakens the death-hungry spirit of the Aztec Lord Tezcalipoca, intent on finishing his centuries-old reign of terror. Soon, the mummy's curse possesses the students' souls, turning them against each other in a bid to spread his evil to the entire world.

When I picked this one up, I expected a low budget, mindless horror flick and that is exactly what I got. This one was extremely laughable from start to finish with uneven performances, strange soundtrack choices, an incoherent storyline that was a head scratcher at best, and a script that not only left many things unexplained created some weird dialog choices. Yes, there was gore and blood, but even the overall feel of the effects was nothing memorable or to write home about. In the end, I can look past the titling and the description (although keeping the title Aztec Blood would make more sense), but the execution was not there even for a low budget flick. Honestly, this one felt more like a school project that a true production. Stay away, you can definitely do much better.

JeruZalem (2015)

After spending some time in the world of documentaries last night, I decided that I wanted to take a trip into something darker. After some debate, I decided on the 2015 found footage flick JeruZalem.

Plot/ When a couple of American young adults fly to Israel to visit the city of Jerusalem, a biblical nightmare falls upon the city.

This film is definitely one that will be polarizing, especially viewing it as strictly a found footage film. Yes, this one suffers from many of the flaws that plague the genre with overdone acting and a narrow view of everything that is happening in an around the city (yes, I would have loved to see more of the demons). To me, the historic references, biblical overtones, and some of the underlying social conflicts make it interesting on a higher level than most mindless horror that comes out in this age. While it is found footage, the idea of using something similar to Google Glass is a thought-provoking approach to filmmaking and there is just enough creepiness with the creatures (Nephilim?). Yes, the acting is a bit uneven and there are some giant holes in the storyline, but those should be expected with this type of found footage entry. In the end, this is not the best movie in the genre, but it is far from the worst. If you like this style of film, give it a shot. If you do not, I would likely stay away.