A favorite of mine when I was younger was Rockwell’s The New Moon. This is one of my favorite horror movies of all time. I can still vividly recall the scene in which the narrator, played by Robert Downey Jr., is in a mental institution, watching his old friend Josef go insane. The narration literally says that Josef is watching everyone, “Everything”. Then we cut to some creepy shot of a lunatic as he’s about to execute a mass killing spree. Well, back then, it was big news, and a few decades later, it still is.
If you’ve ever seen the film or read the book version: you’ll notice that there’s a great deal of symbolism in the play. For instance, one of the most memorable lines is from the book (which you definitely should get if you haven’t already): “If you had the power to see you would see that I had once lived in a dream.” What I find interesting, too, is that it’s not the dream, the individual seeing himself/herself living in a fantasy, but rather, in the subconscious mind of everyone around him/her. And that the narrator is standing right in front of the crazy person, showing everyone that everything they’re doing is their fault. Brilliant.
It’s a brilliant little film and the acting is totally amazing: (especially Downey Jr.’s role), but one of the best things about it is Rockwell’s use of time lapse to show the effect that his actions are having on everyone around him. See, the narrator is in a mental institution watching everybody act like children when they shouldn’t be. He then walks through the halls and notices things around him that he doesn’t notice at any other time. The beauty of it all is that it all makes sense.
For example: when someone’s watching me lyrics like “You better watch out / I’m heading for the red carpet” should in reality be “You better watch out / I’m heading for the red carpet!” But because he’s in a mental institution and therefore not fully awake to all the dangers, he’s totally oblivious to all the people running around him, thinking he’s going to die or is a target. And it’s up to him to keep them away from him until he gets back. It’s a brilliant little moment.
Or take this one from another of his underrated works: “I’m not afraid to live my life how I want to live it.” Again, we have the manic person on the left in a mental institution, completely oblivious to what he’s doing and completely unaware of what’s going on around him. He just wants to be free and doesn’t care what happens to him. Except to himself. Because he’s a great writer.
These are just a few of Rockwell’s most famous quotes: taken from his Deluxe Dictionary. His work is still hugely popular with children and adults alike. I highly recommend it for anyone who loves words and phrases. A quick Google search will bring up a bunch of websites where you can get the books.