What does it take?

Rating: 10/10 (16 October 2009)

How much terror, violence, tragedy and irony can a group of diverse human beings take when thrown together in one of the most frightening of scenarios? Existentialism, atheism, fanaticism, agnosticism, are tossed into one big pot and left to stew.. I loved the character Mrs. Carmody, not because of her radical religious fanaticism, but because of the absolute darkness and hypocrisy her obsessions methodically propagated..She sticks to her convictions no matter how violently she and her herd violate the laws of man to become the leader of an ever growing cult within this minute population..No small feat and not someone with whom to be trifled or written off as 'crazy'..African American Mr. Norton wasn't angered by his perception that the townspeople rejected him for being an 'out of towner' but by the self loathing which he perceived to be the result of years of exposure to racism and bigotry by white men (most of whom make up the population of this town).. Human frailty, the human will to survive, the fear of being alone and primitive human reaction to danger (panic) seem some of the messages of the movie.. I reel from the movie's end..The absolute desperation followed by such extreme human sorrow, sacrifice and pain are combined to create one of the most tragic and ironic climax ends that I could have never imagined..The effects are cheesy, the premise of the terror that envelops the town is only slightly silly and less unbelievable..I dig the extent to which ALL of the townspeople delve into the deepest, darkest bilges of their souls to come to terms with their fear..In my humble opinion, evil and darkness is the true basis for measuring good..Rod Serling frequently wrote about this scenario for the earliest Twilight Zone episodes..Human frailty and strength in times of trouble...Exquisite and well acted..