ANNOUNCEMENT
Hello everyone. Back for some small talk.
So, Stranger Things 5 still seems a long way off, and Stranger Things Day didn’t really give us much to talk about other than those episode titles, which are always a source of inspiration for my edit titles. I admit that some of them have a very interesting ring to them, but “The Rightside Up” seems like a very fitting title for both the final episode of the series and my final edit. Although we still have a long way to go, given that this is going to be the biggest season yet, I would predict that I will end up making three film cuts out of the final season, as I did for Season 4.
Speaking of Season 4, the real reason I am posting here today is to announce yet another updated version of my “The Curse of Vecna” film cut. Come to think of it, this must be the most revised cut of my series, and definitely the most challenging one. But I think I finally got it right.
To be honest, I don’t think there is that much wrong with the current version, but there was always something about the pacing that bothered me. I realised that I was too focused on cutting down the runtime and organising the subplots that I didn’t let the film breathe, especially around the middle.
With this new version, while keeping the main story intact, I let some scenes run a bit longer and allowed some storylines to expand a little further, while making some bold decisions that affected both the overall runtime and the narrative of the film. The end result is a cut with exactly the same length (3 hours and 15 minutes), but with better pacing and a slightly more intriguing narrative.
NEW CHANGELIST
- Shorter flashback opening
In an attempt to mirror the opening scene of Season 1 (and save some time), I completely removed the Rainbow Room and Ten’s lessons. In this version, the opening scene goes like this:
- EXTERIOR of Hawkins Lab, accompanied by children’s unnerving screams.
- CUT to the bloody corridor right after the massacre, then CUT TO BLACK.
- CUT to Dr Brenner waking up and finding young Eleven.
- Alternative Chrissy’s death scene
While the original scene is fine as it is, I find it a little too gruesome for the first minutes of my film and a little too telling for the rest of the plot. In this version, sticking with Chrissy inside her vision the whole time and not cutting back to Eddie’s trailer, makes both her fate a mystery and Eddie a possible suspect for her murder. The reveal of what actually happened inside the trailer comes later in the film through Eddie’s narration.
- Removed Elevens’s “1979 visions”
While I understand that these brief glimpses of the massacre at Hawkins Lab are merely a visual parallel to the Rink-O-Mania incident, it makes no sense for them to be in Eleven’s subconscious, as we later see that she has absolutely no memory of those events.
- Added back Lucas joining Jason in his hunt for Eddie right after Fred’s death scene
Firstly, to mirror Max waking up after Chrissy’s death and secondly, to gain further insight into Luca’s relations with his new friends.
- Added back Eleven and Owens at the diner
I only recently realised how important this scene is to the overall plot, as it provides an essential link between Eleven’s training and the events in Hawkins, and how unwise it was of me to remove it in the first place.
- Removed Eleven arriving at the bunker
After her meeting with Owens, we next see Eleven waking up in Hawkins Lab with her hair buzzed. This is perhaps the boldest change in this cut, and it affects this and the next instalments as follows:
- Eleven discovers what is actually happening to her alongside the viewer.
- Dr Brenner’s return is revealed in a more creative way.
- NINA’s actual location remains a mystery throughout the film, which ties in perfectly with the plot of “The Monster and the Superhero” and the ultimate reveal of the bunker’s location in “The Mind Lair”.
- Spread Eleven’s journey more evenly throughout the film + Added back Eleven trying to escape + Removed ‘Buried Mermories’ montage
Over the next few days I will test the updated cut, put together the new subtitles and then announce its release.
Have a nice day!
