The Transparent is a 2013 American Psychological Supernatural Slasher horror film written, produced and directed by Terry Gilliam starring Mickey Rourke, Maya Rudolph, Johnny Simmons, Emma Watson, Julianne Hough, Rebel Wilson, Michael Cera, Luke Hemsworth, Zoë Kravitz, Skylar Astin and Brenda Song. The film quickly became a cult classic after it's pre-screening success at the Los Angeles, Cairns, Palm Beach, NY and Florida Film Festivals.
It was first screened on January 17th, 2013 and then theatrically on February 24th, 2013 to box office success and good critical reception.
The film has been nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Horror film (losing out to Joss Whedon's Goners), a Satellite Award for Best Ensemble Cast and MTV Scream awards for Best Actress: Emma Watson and Best Supporting Actress: Rebel Wilson.
The film is scheduled for DVD, Blu-Ray and Ultraviolet compact release on October 11th, 2013.
Plot
Professor Johnathen McCormack (Mickey Rourke) is the professor of film at Northern Wisconsin University.
He teaches a brilliant class of freshmen interested in breaking into the media industry and instructs them alongside assistant Professor Serian Isley (Maya Rudloph) his longtime friend and occasional girlfriend.
Having discovered an ancient uncovered woodland that has yet to be documented he warrants for an excursion for his freshmen film class to go out and capture the site and talk on how it once was the site for salem witch burnings in the 16th-17th century.
Renting out a tired old combi van he collects his partner Professor Isley and a group of eight students and his freshmen camera-man.
The group descend into the woodlands after their combi comes to a stop at a certain point and eventually stumble upon their pre-destined location.
From there the rumored ancient curses of the burnt witches are proven to be true and one by one the group succumbs to death, re-animation and the true history of the village that once stood there is revealed.
First shy asian girl Tina Burlingham the roommate of head strong photographer girl Penelope who succumbs to the Curse of the Smouldering Tar after hearing voices whilest crossing over Elaine Border.
She flees from the group seeing flashes of a burnt Ezetieth among the group and runs into a creek of hot tar which encompasses her.
Tina emerges screaming and her skin melts away and is instead then encased with the tar as she becomes a re-animated monster which advances the group and attacks Penelope and Elena.
Colton fends her off and hot tar comes from her arm onto his body injuring him as Hayley springs with a shovel and knocks her backwards causing her to dissolve.
Penelope, Elena and Hayley with Trackson and Professors McCormack and Isley tend to Colton's wounded right arm whilest Adam paces back and forth in shock and April has a breakdown screaming out about what's happened.
After the group tend to Colton's arm he tells Penelope he is sorry about her roommate Tina and she collapses into his arms crying as he notices his arm worsening from the injury sustained from her.
Adam and Elena approach the Professors demanding to know about where they are and what's going on and why one of them is a skinned puddle of tar lying by a creek bed.
Hayley comes to comfort a still distressed but now quiet April who is standing peering off into the distance and who remarks this is gonna end like any stupid horror movie they've seen: Blair Witch Project or Wrong Turn.
Hayley attempts to reassure her that this is real life and they are going to be fine because their not fictional characters in a fictional situation.
Professor Isley attempts to with Professor McCormack assure the group that the tragic demise of Tina may be just the result of whatever was in the creek she stumbled into and there may be something wrong with the water supply around the Northbound Woods and they better hike back to the combi and call the authorities.
The group come to the combi where they discover Thomas attempting to contact the authorities and who informs the patch through is busted.
The combi suddenly then sprouts a leak of gasoline which catches alight and Thomas evacuates from the combi running with the group away from the combi as Hayley and April look on as it catches fire and explodes.
Penelope who is supporting an injured Colton is knocked back by the blast as is Trackson and Adam and Professor McCormack is forced to take hold of Professor Isley and navigate her out the way.
Elena collapses to the ground sobbing believing them to be finished though Penelope and the two Professors interject stating they removed all their food, water and shelter supplies from the combi and have them partially set up over the hill and that might possibly be clean water in the forest past the Elaine Border field.
The group then roll up the tents and supplies and head into the woods despite Elena's objections.
Elena in an act of generosity as Penelope is called upon by Professor Isley to assist her offers to step in merely to help Hayley heave an injured Colton over to a shelter spot where they will set up her and his tent.
Professor McCormack then calls out and tells the group to acknowledge everything that has just happened: that they have lost one of their own under tragic circumstances and they themselves for the time being are deserted in unfamiliar territory and will be split into pairs of two divided amongst the tents: Professor Isley and myself to a tent, Colton and Penelope to their own tent, Hayley and Elena to a tent, Adam and April to a tent and Trackson and Thomas to a tent.
Cast
- Mickey Rourke as Professor Johnathen McCormack- Professor of advanced media and film as well freshman media and film 101 at Northern Wisconsin University. He has been the occasional boyfriend of assistant professor Serian Isley and their relationship ended everytime with his deceiving and cheating. He dies and succumbs to the curse to the ninth marking his body to serve as the vessel for the witch Ezethieth.
- Maya Rudolph as Professor Serian Isley- Assistant Professor of advanced media and film as well as freshman media and film 101 at Northern Wisconsin University. She was the occasional lover of head professor Johnathen McCormack but he constantly cheated on her and deceived her. She is secretly an actual salem witch looking to resurrect her long dead mother Ezethieth who was burnt at the stake in the late 16th century. She had orchestrated the whole excursion for the freshman class as she needed nine souls of sacrifice and one to to serve as the vessel for her mother.
- Johnny Simmons as Thomas Kendall- Longtime bestfriend of Penelope and roommate of Adam. Freshmen film student hoping to break into the major film industry as an actor. He dies and succumbs to the curse eigth though garners control over his re-animated corpse and stops Professor Isley and Ezethieth.
- Emma Watson as Penelope Sandhurst- Beautiful, intelligent and reserved freshman film student who is studying to becoming a film director. She is the longtime bestfriend of Thomas Kendall and bestfriend to fellow freshmen film student Hayley Bennet who constantly drags her along to parties. She is the roommate of the kind fellow freshmen film student Tina Burlingham who she talked into joining her freshmen film class.
- Julianne Hough as Hayley Bennett- Beautiful, voluptuous freshmen film student aspiring to be a leading actress. Bestfriend of Penelope and roommate of Elena. She dies and succumbs to the undead curse seventh.
- Rebel Wilson as April Sommers- Female comic relief character, wise-cracking freshmen film student aspiring to be a comedic actress. Twin sister of Adam. She dies and succumbs to the undead curse sixth.
- Michael Cera as Adam Sommers- Male comic relief character, practical joker and freshmen film student aspiring to be a comedic actor. Roommate of Thomas. Twin brother of April. He dies and succumbs to the undead curse fifth
- Luke Hemsworth as Colton Haynes- Freshmen Camera-man and boyfriend of Penelope. He dies and succumbs to the undead curse second.
- Zoë Kravitz as Elena Serville- Feisty, promiscuous and artsy freshmen film student who was the roommate of Hayley Bennett. She dies and succumbs to the curse third.
- Skylar Astin as Trackson Willard- Friendly, apsiring brainiac freshmen film student as well as the roommate of Colton. He dies and succumbs to the undead curse fourth.
- Brenda Song as Tina Burlingham- Shy, conservative freshmen student and roommate of Penelope. She doesn't have much aspirations to becoming involved in film apart from producing possibly as expressed to roommate and friend Penelope. She dies and succumbs to the undead curse first.
The Re-Animation Ritual
The ritual offering of 10 lives, nine of which will be taken by nine of the 10 deadly curses of the Witches of the Northbound Woodland and will be re-animated so as to eb the slaves of the witch Ezethieth.
The 10th offering will not be merely killed and re-animated but simply killed and have their body be used the flesh and bone vessel for the witch Ezethieth.
The following are the nine lives who are offered and re-animated and the deadly nine curses which claimed them:
- Tina Burlingham- The Curse Of The Smouldering Tar- Tina in fleeing from the incorporeal spectre of the witch Ezethieth accidentally comes to fall into a small creek filled with mysterious tar which begins to instantly burn her skin upon contact. Despite being brought out and having her bends tended to with anti-septic she suddenly has her flesh spontaneously melt away and the tar cement itself as her skin, encasing her. It is then revealed from the Book of the Northbound Woods proccured from the Northbound shed that Tina has been killed by the Curse Of The Smouldering Tar: One of nine deadly curses the witch Ezethieth cast upon the villagers who burnt her at the stake and used to reside in the villages of the Northbound Woodland. Tina then re-animates as forementioned in the book and attacks the group before being destroyed by Colton who in the process has the hot smouldering tar land upon his side and burn him.
- Colton Haynes- The Curse Of The Swarming Locust- Despite Colton also succumbing to the curse Tina died and was re-animated under Colton is hit with the second of the nine deadly curses of the witch Ezethieth. As the group retreat to the woods and set up camp there tending to Colton's injuries and speculating wether he will end up like Tina considering what happened to her when the tar made contact with her skin, he comes to in a disorientated state sway away from girlfriend Penelope who argues they are not leaving Colton behind. Colton falls down to a small tree hollow where another mark of the witch Ezethieth like near the Tar Creek and Woodland Shed appears. Swarms of Locusts then erupt from the tree containing the mark and swarm the area. The rest of the group evade but as Penelope comes to rush towards Colton and is pulled away by Thomas and Hayley he has swarms enter through his mouth. He then shortly begins to stand and walk towards the group as his eyes begin to bleed and yells in a deep monstrous voice before his head implodes and the swarms of locust from the inside flee the area.
- Elena Serville- The Curse Of The Misplaced Sight- Elena is hit third by the third of the nine deadly curses of Ezethieth following the group abandoning the wood area where Colton was killed hiking back towards the Woodland Shed they found earlier. After further investigating the shed upon returning to it diaries and journals are found telling that Ezethieth once had a child though the gender is undisclosed and with her last spell (which was not a curse but rather a protection spell) she sent her far away from the Northbound Village. Elena succumbs as a headless re-animated Colton attacks her and she flees to a cliffside just as Penelope, Thomas, Hayley and the others come. Elena's eyes suddenly turn blatant white and she is left completely blind. She stumbles and then walks straight off the cliff to her death below on the large rocks. The re-animated Colton who was injured by Professor McCormack suddenly then re-grows his blown apart head and begins speaking to Penelope taunting her. Penelope jumps at him and the two wrestle on the cliffside before Thomas and Hayley intervene and Hayley runs in kicking the re-animated Colton off the cliff destroying him.
- Trackson Willard- The Curse Of The Dissolving Flesh- After the group is seperated by the cliffside collapse and they are stranded in two different sides of the wood it comes down to two groups: Professors McCormack and Isley with Hayley Bennett and Trackson Willard whilest on the other side is Penelope, Thomas, April and Adam Sommers. Trackson succumbs to the fourth deadly curse of Ezethieth as whilest progressing forward with the two professors and Hayley he becomes entranced by some berries which come across sight. He entranced eats them and despite Hayley trying to stop this he then from there begins to have his chest and skin dissolve until he implodes into nothing but blood and organs.
- Adam Sommers- The Curse Of The Breaking Points- Upon Penelope's group reaching a woodland area on the map known as Fueller Field which connects up with the others' side of the Northbound Woods Adam succumbs to the fifth of the nine deadly curses of Ezethieth. Adam's bones begin to break one by one to the horror of the others until lastly his skull breaks backwards from his body decapitating him which leaves his horrified sister April screaming. Adam then soon re-animates as April and Penelope come to Adam's headless broken body side. All his bones repair and his his head rejoins with his body as he begins to taunt and torment his sister much in the fashion the re-animated Colton did to Penelope. Penelope strikes him down with a shovel and they flee.
- April Sommers- The Curse Of The Boiling Blood- After the group flee from the field back into the woods they reunite with the others and learn of Trackson's demise. A re-animated bloody Trackson then appears taunting Hayley and the others as does the re-animated Adam who has caught up with them. April attacks the re-animated Adam screaming for it to give back her brother and as she strikes the re-animated Adam multiple times he comes to spew blood into her mouth. From there April then quickly succumbs to the sixth of the nine curses of Ezethieth. The Curse of the Boiling Blood in which April's vision becomes blurred and obscured as disorientation takes over and she begins to spew up all her innards as her blood begins to boil within her. Thomas then stumbles upon an abandoned truck with full gasoline and begins to splash the now re-animated April with the re-animated others before Penelope sets them ablaze with a molotov cocktail. In the spiralling fire Trackson seizes hold of Thomas' right arm burning it and inflicting him with the eigth curse of Ezethiel which he doesn't succumb to yet.
- Hayley Bennett- The Curse Of The Barbed Vines- Progressing to the woods border the remainder of the group find themselves at the location on the map where Ezethieth and her original coven were burnt at the stake. Out of sight Hayley discovers Thomas' infected burnt arm and keeps his secret on his insistance. From there the group attempt to summon and reason with
Soundtrack
- Life is a Highway- Rascal Flatts
- Powerhouse- Raymond Scott
- You Rascal, You- The Mills Brothers
- Caravan- Duke Ellington
- Can't Shake It- Kate Miller-Heidke
- Gold On The Ceiling- The Black Keys (End Credits Song)