Now Showing: OZ

OZ
Genre: Fantasy/Horror/Adventure
Director: Marcus Nispel
Writer: Jack Brown
Based on characters created by L. Frank Baum in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Cast: Maya Hawke, Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis, Jordi Molla, William Fichtner, Ewan Bremner, Jack Kilmer, Gregg Henry, Anna Gunn

Plot: The 1990's... Shy Kansas teenager Dorothy Gale (Maya Hawke) stands at her school locker watching the popular Francis (Jack Kilmer) from across the hallway as he talks about a big party that will happen that night. He catches her eye, and they make eye contact for a moment, before Dorothy quickly shuts her locker and hurries away. She walks home to the small house she lives in with her overprotective Aunt (Anna Gunn) and Uncle (Gregg Henry). That night, she sneaks out of her bedroom and very carefully and quietly leaves the house - even managing to sneak past her uncle's german shepherd, Toto. She stands in front of a house party before finally drawing the courage to go inside. Dorothy is uncomfortable in the crowd of classmates. Francis brings her a drink and begins talking to her. He convinces her to go to a back room with him where he convinces her to have sex with him. Afterward Dorothy reveals that she had been a virgin and always hoped her first time would be with Francis. He tells her she's just another notch in his belt and leaves Dorothy to return to the party. Dorothy walks home, drunk from the party and feeling used by Francis. Just as she gets to the front of her house, an earthquake suddenly begins. The Gale home begins shaking violently. Toto begins barking. Dorothy's Aunt and Uncle wake up and go to check on Dorothy, but find her bed empty. The ground in front of the house begins opening up, becoming a giant hole in the earth. Dorothy tries to run, but falls down the hole.

Dorothy wakes up on the floor of a dense, ancient forest. She rubs her eyes and realizes that hs is very clearly not in Kansas anymore. She begins walking and comes upon a road made of bright yellow stones. She looks down in both directions of the road, but sees no signs of life, just more and more of the same otherworldly woods. The forest is absolutely silent. Dorothy uses "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" to choose a direction and starts walking. She walks for what seems like hours and miles. Exhausted, Dorothy sits under a large tree to take a rest. She awakens to the sounds of footsteps, but heavier like metal - the first sound she's heard in the forest. Dorothy hides behind a tree and looks out as she sees a figure walking down yellow road. As it gets closer, the Tin Man (Hiroyui Sanada) is revealed, looking like a samurai that has been put together with spare mechanical parts. the Tin Man pulls a piece of himself off as a makeshift sword and demands that the girl hiding behind the tree come out. Dorothy comes out with her hands up. The Tin Man demands to know where Dorothy came from and what her business on the road to Oz is. Dorothy says she is from Kansas and has no clue how she got here. The Tin Man lowers his sword and tells Dorothy he is in a similar situation - although he does not know where or even when he comes from - but that there is supposedly a wizard in the city of Oz who knows the truth about where they are. He's headed there now. Dorothy asks the Tin Man if she can travel with him. He says she may as long as she doesn't slow him down.

As Dorothy and Tin Man continue walking down the road, they begin to hear screams. Tin Man draws his sword once again as they get closer. They find a rotting, bleeding Scarecrow (Jordi Molla) made of straw, sticks and barbed wire with a human face tied to a cross and screaming as vicious winged monkeys rip him apart with their teeth. Tin Man kills several of the creatures with sword, which scares off the rest. Scarecrow pleads  with Dorothy and Tin Man to cut him down before they come back. Tin Man obliges. Scarecrow thanks them for their help. Dorothy stares at the Scarecrow, trying to figure out how it can breathe and talk, let alone bleed. Scarecrow pulls some tall grass from the ground and fills his wounds with it.

Dorothy, Tin Man and Scarecrow continue down the road to Oz. The lush forest begins to disapate and soon the trio finds themselves in a frozen, icy tundra. The sun goes down and is replaced by a giant full moon. The trio stops to rest and build a fire when they hear growling come from the darkness. Tin Man draws his sword. Scarecrow removes some of his barbed wire and fashions a trap around their makeshift camp. Suddenly a large, monstrous lion emerges, but it caught in the barbed wire trap. It begins whimpering until it turns back into a man, Leon (Cosmo Jarvis). Leon asks for help out of the trap. Dorothy asks why Leon attacked them. Leon says that he thought they were Munchkins. Dorothy asks what that is, and he tells her that the Munchkins, vicious skinny creatures that roam the areas surrounding Oz. Dorothy makes him promise not to attack them if she is going to let him out of Scarecrow's trap. Leon agrees and Dorothy borrows Tin Man's sword to cut Leon free. Around the campfire, Dorothy asks each of her new companions why they are seeking the counsel of the so-called "Wizard of Oz". All three of them say that they have no memory of their lives before Oz and would like to have their memories back. Leon shows a wooden crucifix from around his neck, saying it is his only clue as to his previous life. Tin Man and Scarecrow say they don't even have that much. They then ask Dorothy the same question. She says even though her life in Kansas wasn't spectacular, all she wants now is to get back to it.

In the morning, the quintet travelers continue on the road to Oz. Soon the surrounding environment goes from snowy tundra to a dry desert. They soon find themselves parched and in need of water. They eventually find a small pond where they get a drink. As they are resting and hydrating, they are attacked by a swarm of winged monkeys. Leon turns back into a lion and fights them all off. After fighting them off, they continue walking and see an emerald tower rising from the flat ground off in the distance. They realize they are finally close to Oz. The group picks up their speed and arrive at the gates of the city. They find the gate is manned by a Munchkin named Charon (Ewan Bremner). He asks them what their business in the wonderful city of Oz is. They tell Charon they wish to meet with the Wizard. Charon laughs at their request, insisting nobody has ever been granted an audience with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Dorothy asks Charon to at least tell the Wizard that she is from Kansas and just wishes to get home. Charon rolls his eyes and retreats from the gates.

The next morning, Charon returns to the gate and asks the quintet to follow him into the city. The giant gates open and they walk in. Charon leads them to the tallest building in the city, the emerald tower. He leads them to a bench in the tower lobby and asks them to wait there. The group discusses what they think the wizard will be like. Charon returns and takes the group up a super tall spiral staircase up to to the top of the tower.

At the top of the tower they are greeted by the Wizard (William Fichtner), sharply dressed in the dark green suit. He immediately addresses Dorothy and asks if she is the one from Kansas. She nods her head. The Wizard laughs and calls Kansas a bland, flat place. She tells the Wizard that she and her companions wish to return to their previous lives. The Wizard scoffs and assures her that her traveling partners deserve to be in this world, but he does mention that he isn't sure why Dorothy is here since she is not like the others. The Wizard leads them to a giant emerald ball and shows them all their previous lives. Leon was a brutal knight in the crusades who killed women and children in the name of the church. Tin Man was Toyotomi, a conniving samurai in feudal Japan that turned on his master, killing him and making it look like an act of seppuku in order to take over his clan. Scarecrow was Tomas de Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor of Spain during the Inquisition, who burned anyone alive that would not bow and convert to Catholicism. Toyotomi steps forward and asks the Wizard if he believes in redemption and forgiveness. The Wizard says it is not his place to redeem or forgive. Leon asks why the Wizard didn't show anything of Dorothy's previous life. The Wizard explains that there is nothing to show from her life as she does not belong in Oz and is clearly only there by accident. The Wizard goes on to explain that Oz is a land where people are sent to get what they deserve - existences of exitential and physical suffering. The Wizard offers to grant each of the group a wish, but does warn that it may not turn out how they desire as the magic in Oz can be unpredictable at times. Toyotomi wishes to have a heart so he could feel remorse for his actions. Leon wishes for the courage to be forgiven for his actions in war. Tomas wishes to have his previous mind back. The Wizard then looks to Dorothy and asks for her wish. Dorothy says wants to go home. The emerald ball begins to glow brightly.

Toyotomi begins bleeding profusely from all of the metal on his body impaling him. The heart he wished for has led to his blood moving again and him bleeding. Leon's body begins moving against his will and is hurled off the top of the tower. Tomas has his mind back, but his body rots even moreso, leaving him a bodyless head. Nothing happens to Dorothy though. She demands to the Wizard to send her home. The Wizard calmly tells her that she must be home already.

The morning after the earthquake, Dorothy's Aunt and Uncle find Dorothy's body underneath some rubble on their property. They pull the debris away, but find that she is dead.

In Oz, Dorothy retreats back to the lush wooded area of the land and begins to build herself a home, resigned to her life in the purgatory that is Oz.