September 2014 – THE HORROR REPORT

The dawn of a new dead

A friend of mine posted photographs of herself with blood dripping from her mouth and her limbs hanging off.. it’s not every day you see such things. After an inquisitive message was sent asking where she was able to masquerade in broad daylight as a brain eating zombie, I found out she was an extra in a film called THE SOULLESS. Luckily, I followed a chain of people and was able to interview the director, Chris Eilenstine, of the film.. I am inspired by what he said.

Let me first step back a bit.. Zombie movies are out of control. They are everywhere.. and they are hungry for viewers. Most zombie flicks I have seen featured the same tired and lackluster acts. The dreadful soundtrack along with the blood curdling noises of the dead slurping up cartilage and brains. That gets tired, quickly..

There have been a few gems in heap of trash, but those are far and few between. One such movie that made me scratch my head by yet appreciate the desire to do something different was PONTYPOOL.

The SOULLESS sounds different. It is inventive, and it does not sound one bit like anything I have seen before.

Chris Eilenstine started making movies when he was 14. He has a long history of productions behind him. The movie THE SOULLESS is in post-production.

According to the information, Eilentine’s film is budged at $50,000—a low budget film by any definition. But when you consider the plot, you may want to give it a try.

Eilenstine gave the HORROR REPORT the backstory on the film. The movie is the story of David and Nicole Peterson, a father and daughter who have survived a genetic plague that has turned the majority of the human race into a primitive, animal like race. David and Nicole have a special immunity to these new humans.

Here is where things get different: The main characters are completely ignored by them and can walk amongst them without fear of being attacked.

Eilenstine said that he conceived of this idea while reading an article of the mapping of our DNA and that aging is not decay, but a form of mutation we go through in life. “I wanted to tell the story of a scientist who rewrites our DNA and sends us back to the beginning. He does this believing the human race will destroy itself unless he helps it. So he releases a virus and ‘reboots’ humanity.”

The majority of THE SOULLESS was shot in Monmouth County, New Jersey. That’s where my friend was able to don her best zombie attire to rampage the streets as an extra.

Eilenstine seems intent on recreating the zombie genre, toying with the concept almost like the scientist who rewrites DNA. Eilenstine said,

This film series is very different than other zombie films. It has gore, but never dwells on it. It is used in the way I believe gore should be used- to horrify, not just shock. But The SOULLESS is very much a human drama about David and Nicole and he will do anything to keep her alive and try to give her a chance at a normal life. It is also a very sci-fi driven storyline, with a horror framework. The ‘Zombies’ of the story are a surprise, and I do not want to spoil that for anyone. The series is so different in fact that we adopted a tag line for it that goes ‘Forget Everything You Know About the Living Dead…THE RULES HAVE CHANGED!’.”

Eilenstine joked, “There are no shambling, decomposing corpses digging themselves out the grave and eating brains in this series. The ‘zombies’ are all sympathetic characters, some are animals, yes- but still human, still deserving of existence.”

The rules have changed indeed. The idea of a sympathetic zombie is reminiscent of the mellow and mild mannered Frankenstein that appeared on film decades ago. Are we ready for zombies with (and without) a heart?

Eilenstine is no stranger to horror. It’s his favorite genre, along with science fiction. He said that George Romero and Alfred Hitchcock were his inspiration. And it was the movie ALIEN, along with DAWN OF THE DEAD, that moved him enough to make movies himself. He told the HORROR REPORT, “The visual style of Romero’s films influenced me greatly. Today I really look forward to learning more about the independent horror market and the people making them. There is a lot of interesting work being done in this genre today.”

But what scared Chris Eilenstine? Zombies? Slashers? Darkness at midnight hour? No.. not at all. What scares him is what scares me–and what should scare all of us. Eilenstine said, “People who feel that the lives of other people are worthless, and those who believe people who think differently than them deserve to die.”

“They are the true monsters,” he finished, “they scare the hell out of me.”

While low on budget, the SOULLESS appears to be in depth on horror on even more on the big pictures in life. One big picture is death. Eilenstine revealed, “The Soulless does explore these ideas, and in ways that will be fresh and thought provoking for those who view it. It is my sincere hope that when THE SOULLESS becomes a series it will be a show people passionately discuss and think about.”

The HORROR REPORT looks forward to thinking about it, and seeing the film. We will certainly pass along any other information as it becomes available.

THE SOULLESS is a trilogy Part One: Z-DAY is scheduled for December 2014 with Part 2: Sanctuary for the late spring and Part 3: Revelations in the late summer, 2015.

The jumper got into the White House

When a quiet Friday night was ruined by a White House fence jumper named Omar Jose Gonzalez, I made the joke on the HORROR REPORT that perhaps someone in the Obama Administration’s security team needed to watch WHITE HOUSE DOWN to see how bad things could get.. Little did I realize how close to a scary accurate that joke was..

I was chilled tonight to read the latest information regarding Mr. Gonzalez’ jump into the White House. Initially we were all calmed down as a nation and told that, even though the President was boarding his helicopter only minutes before, his life was not in danger.. Officials said that the jumper was stopped at the front door of the White House—though they admitted he did step foot into the mansion, he was quickly apprehended.

We were lied to..
Big time.
The real news is much worse..

According to the latest information appearing tonight in an article by Carol Leonnig in the Washington POST , the jumper not only made it into the White House but actually sprinted through the front door, knife in hand..by the First Family’s living quarters..

Perhaps you should pause here and understand the consequences.. A knife in hand, Omar Gonzalez barreled past the front door (and whoever guarded it), ran into the 80-foot long East Room. With a knife…

And the best part, as Leonnig reports,

An alarm box near the front entrance of the White House designed to alert guards to an intruder had been muted at what officers believed was a request of the usher’s office, said a Secret Service official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

While no one has yet to call this an assassination attempt, what else could it be labeled? Call me zany, but.. when an intruder rushes across the South Lawn, all the guards, security boxes, and could have potentially made it where the President, First Lady, and children live and sleep—with a knife—that is an attempt to do something… that is something more than a simple “I wanted to talk to the President” type of insanity.. This is a much worse example of lax security..

….or something else?

I don’t want to create conspiracy theory where there is none, but when the initial event happened on September 19, someone who is immersed with theory of all political nature wondered aloud if someone permitted Gonzalez to enter the White House.. perhaps a message being sent to the President? Perhaps someone in the security detail attempting to infiltrate the nation with crisis? I don’t know. But I do know this: When I read this information tonight that the intruder not only got onto the lawn without anyone stopping him–including all of those snipers we are told famously wait on top of the White House for just this type of moment–and then got into the place where our President lives… that hit me like a ton of bricks..

Another comment I received tonight on the matter: “Before we know it, we will be told that this guy got into the Oval Office and smoke some of Clinton’s cigars still there.”

Case of the Mondays: The good, the bad, and the three-breasted Halloween costumes

A Monday roundup of the strange, the unusual, the obscene, and the unexplainable, presented in snippets for your brain to quantify..

Enjoy.

If you sprinkle when you pray, please be neat and wipe the seat.. Of all the places you would not expect to find the Son of Man: On a newly laid toilet floor..

MAKE LIKE A SAVIOR AND LEAVE: When he’s not busy on someone’s bathroom, floor, Christ is elsewhere.. like on lumber ..

Dateline England: APPARENT “exorcisms” of children have been taking place in the early hours of the morning on a street corner in South Norwood… Members of the group were heard to say “release your spirit” and “get the demon out” – which has alerted the council and police to monitor what is feared may be an exorcism.
The child stood in the middle of the group appearing not to move while the leader – a woman – repeatedly shouted “in the name of Jesus”.

Drugs or demons? Police investigating a woman’s death.. she took her clothes off in a liquor store.. when cuffed, she began acting ‘like crazy’ .. then she died.

We have not heard about the black eyed children in some time.. but apparently they’re back. The latest haunt they have decided to roam: A place called Cannock Chase.. And answering the call, a paranormal investigator (who writes books) from London..

Dire situation continues in Japan: The rescue of people trapped by volcano now halted due to toxic gases..

More fear: Economists warn of coming crisis. *Apparently no one told them we haven’t exited the one we are still in*

The family of Oklahoma beheading suspect defends him..

A must read editorial from CAMILLE PAGLIA is appearing in TIME.. Among some many important things, she writes: Wildly overblown claims about an epidemic of sexual assaults on American campuses are obscuring the true danger to young women, too often distracted by cellphones or iPods in public places: the ancient sex crime of abduction and murder. Despite hysterical propaganda about our “rape culture,” the majority of campus incidents being carelessly described as sexual assault are not felonious rape (involving force or drugs) but oafish hookup melodramas, arising from mixed signals and imprudence on both sides.

Hot costumes for Halloween..

Some Halloween costumes for women who don’t want to be sexy cops.

Three’s not a charm.. but chances are you’ll be seeing three-breasted women this Halloween..

Ditch all of the typical costumes… this year be an alien-human pilot.. A really cool Halloween costume to scare the kids.

NEW DAWN OF THE DEAD

Dawn of the dead

Things are truly getting bizarre. A few days ago I implored zombie hunters to get their twinkies ready as news broke that two Ebola patients in Africa reportedly rose from the dead..

The steady stream of people coming back to life has not abated. The latest is from Greece.. We’re being told by some of the lamestream media across the pond in the UK that a cancer patient—dead, mind you—began shouting from her casket in her grave.. This is what the LONDON TELEGRAPH reported:

Police said a cemetery worker and two people visitors heard a woman’s voice from inside the 49-year-old cancer patient’s grave on Thursday.

The sounds were reportedly heard by the passers-by shortly after the last relatives of the deceased had left her funeral in the northern town of Peraia.

They are believed to have dug up the grave to try to save her, but by the time they got her out of the ground she had suffocated inside the coffin, according to Greek media.

A doctor summoned to the cemetery pronounced her dead, but dismissed claims that she had revived and had called for help.

Of course a doctor would poo poo the claim that someone rose from the dead .. After all, real zombies don’t exist.

Except this week.
Three.. two with Ebola, one with cancer..

In this case, the ending was sad, times two.. After the family left the gravesite, the woman actually died again.. If she was dead to begin with, of course.

But at this point, there will be no proof to offer anyone that someone rose from the dead.. The story is complicated. Perhaps the first trauma didn’t kill, and a funeral home didn’t notice.. Maybe embalming did not happen. I don’t know. But I do know that the news has been freaky lately..

As to whether or not she rose from the dead? She’s dead now.. So…….

Sunday morning came down

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED5s1-Fe9FA]

Another Sunday morning coming down..
This week’s version of the Sunday morning sidewalk news and information review comes with Johnny Cash’s version as the soundtrack..

I would love to know how many people consider Sunday the beginning of a week or the end of one? Or perhaps that loose end that somehow ties two together..?

I frankly never considered Sunday a day at all.. At school age, it was just a series of hours that created a monster of nervous stomach pains and headaches as the dreadful witching hour of school on Monday came closer.. As I aged, and work began, I still disliked it. But now in a world where we are constantly connected, and at times weekends don’t feel like time off anymore, it just has morphed into a dull set of moments. However, as a parent, I see my own child thinking about Monday morning day care.. and the cycle begins all over again.

Speaking of cycles, the 24 hours news cycle has left some entrails along the information superhighway for all of us to enjoy and read. So read at your own peril.. make sure you listen to the Cash sing about the magic Sunday as you traverse the news.

More news coming from the volcano in Japan that suddenly erupted.. Ash rained down on climbers.. some met their fate.. others thought they would but lived.. The volcano has yet to cause any disruptions to air traffic..

More than 12,000 people have been forcibly evacuated in the Philippines as seismologists raise alert over the potential eruption..

Earth shaking news from California as the Mammoth earthquake swarm happening now is the largest in a decade.. More than 600 in less than 36 hours. The magnitude ranged from 1.0 to 3.8..

Two American citizens beaten and tortured to death by Mexican Cartel..

We did not hear much about Fukushima on news as of late.. a big part of me knows that’s on purpose.. But just before your mind idles away from the story, here’s some new information: A worker from Fukushima said “All sorts of troubles going on in plant” and employees wear disguises over fear of retaliation..

I have implored people to follow Seph Lawless, an amazing photographer who sets out across the nation to photograph abandoned places.. This morning, Lawless said that he is working with the makers of BATMAN VS SUPERMAN to find some good locations that are abandoned to film scenes for that movie. I am sure any one of us could figure out a place in our own town to share with him.. the nation’s abandoned infrastructure is sad.. But it certainly makes for good filming locations for movies like that..

Some local news from my own state, my own county.. In Shenandoah PA, there were three fires last night with reports that a fourth was also started.. along with that, rumors in nearby towns that a firebug was being sought by police.. If it was a firebug, hope is they get him or her fast.. Also some more news from Pennsylvania.. the massive search for Eric Frein continues.. Police activity picked up Saturday night in the Poconos but there has yet to be any real clear evidence that cops are on a hot trail. Police searched an abandoned hotel for him.. Also there is a report that Frein tried to call his parents. I frankly still believe the bear ate him possibility exists.. according to PPL Electric, the provider of electricty in Price Township, at least 80 people lost power at 7pm Saturday night.. Police activity picked up immediately.. Power was restored a few hours later. While it may have nothing at all to do with Frein, and simply an act of nature as a tree fell on a line, you could imagine how it would create an air of tension of fear as the skilled assassin is on the loose as darkness falls over a community..

Abuse still goes on: Pope Francis removes Scranton Bishop who promoted abusive priest..

20-year-old Pete Davidson celebrated as the new face of Saturday Night LIVE after season opener last night..

Sex drive stunted: The British are losing their libito..

The first trailer for BABADOOK revealed.. It looks intense.

And finally at this hour, MILEY continues to be Miley.. this time spicing things up with a penis nose at her latest concert.. Pop culture continues to sink like a hot knife in butter.

HORROR SINKS TO NEW LOWS

FORBES: The Scary Future Of The Hollywood Horror Film »

2014 has been a pretty lousy year for theatrical horror films. Is it merely a fluke of the calendar, or a sign of things to come?

Maybe a sign of things to come if things to come don’t improve, moviewise.

It’s been a bad year all around for films .. in general. Not just horror, but drama, action, family.. You know the genre and I’ll name the flop, or the film that underperformed at the box office. At least in the United States.

There are a few cultural things happening. China and other nations increasing in wealth are fast becoming the target audience for many movie companies. That’s why China’s censors get such ability in choosing what should be cut from certain films. Even more than that, independent films are just better lately. More imaginative and fresh, less confined and restricted by the red tape and bureaucracy that Hollywood offers filmmakers.

But .. as far as horror itself, Scott Mendelson is correct in his FORBES story.. Horror is taking a hit.

There may be one external factor causing that..

Over the past 12 or so years, movies have ramped up the blood and gore, almost making that the central point of a movie overtop of even the actors or dialogue. And with news headlines and real life events being a hell of a lot scarier than any fiction on the screen, people just aren’t buying it .. What does sell, though, are paranormal tales of demon possession, haunted houses and haunted dolls. The CONJURING did well. I think ANNABELLE will, too..

The audience is evolving, as it does every ten or so years.

This may have becoming a tired saying on my part, but I argue that horror movies and professional wrestling speak volumes about our pop culture at any given time you look at it. In this instance, our world is violent and bloody. So gore doesn’t scare people much more anymore, they frankly are tired of seeing it. What does scare them? The idea that someone dark and sinister is present in the world.

If movie makers can key in on that fear and create new and exciting movies, then it will be a hit.

Finally, I’d dare say that if some movie maker out there created a big studio version of SLENDERMAN, a new series would be born.

Until then… it’s no go for bad movies.

Tis the season for ghosts on camera, fa la la la la, la la la la

Police Officer: I captured ghost on camera »

A police officer from Espanola, New Mexico, says he captured a ghost on camera while on duty.

The video is quite convincing actually.

Police are notorious for being a little paranormal…. sometimes sitting in their squad cars late at night, listening to talk radio, especially Coast to Coast AM, letting the bumps in the night rattle them a bit.

But even with that said, the video that this police office thinks contains a ghost clearly does contain.. something. And it’s not a person, or a moth, or anything much with a form. It’s … a light. Or a figure.. or something.

Or a ghost.

Tis the season…October is here.

And paranormal is in the news again.

Breathing uneasy

The New York TIMES reports on the respiratory virus hitting the US: An outbreak of respiratory illness first observed in the Midwest has spread to 38 states, sending children to hospitals and baffling scientists trying to understand its virulent resurgence. »

Even more information shows that this virus, when it hits towns and cities, is causing an influx of child patients with breathing problems—an influx that often far outweighs the resources of the facility..

From the Catherine Saint Louis article:

“Parents would love to know why this virus is causing severe disease and why there are more cases,” said Rafal Tokarz, an associate research scientist at Columbia University who has studied the virus, “but we won’t be able to answer that until a lot more research is done.”

From Aug. 18 to Sept. 24, roughly 3,600 children were treated at emergency and urgent-care facilities at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Most were sent home, but roughly 10 percent were hospitalized because they needed continuous breathing treatment, supplemental oxygen, or even to be placed on a ventilator in the intensive-care unit.

The hospital has had a “bed crunch” and is struggling to maintain supplies of albuterol, a rescue medication used by asthma sufferers, said Dr. Christine Nyquist, the director for infection prevention and control.

Oh yes.. albuterol was a friend of my own family throughout the first year and a half of my son’s life.. He had some very bad cases of somethings—something that could not be really explained by doctors.. We made some ER trips late at night throughout my son’s first and second years of life.. Each time we’d be sent home with a diagnosis of ‘something’.. At one point asthma was blamed, but he does not have that.. however albuterol and a nebulizer were purchased and are always on standby for the next necessary night.

Last night, it was reported that the virus has spread to Maryland..

There are some common sense ways to protect yourself.

And finally, as reported yesterday, it would appear that the children being hit hardest by EV-D68 are the vaccinated..

And this tonight:

Health officials are investigating nine cases of muscle weakness or paralysis in Colorado children and whether the culprit might be a virus causing severe respiratory illness across the country. »

This is getting intense—and pretty scary to be perfectly honest.

This from the AP news dispatch tonight..

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday sent doctors an alert about the polio-like cases and said the germ – enterovirus 68 – was detected in four out of eight of the sick children who had a certain medical test. The status of the ninth case is unclear.

Polio-like!?

And the AP goes on to report:

Investigators don’t think it’s polio – eight of the nine children are up to date on polio vaccinations

…Okay.. take a breather, but I am going to re-re-remind you of something have linked to for days now: The vaccinated are being hit the hardest by this illness.

I am not a doctor, an expert.. just an observer. And I am observing something really bizarre happening concerning this virus..

FIREBALL ALLEY

There have been four fireballs seen in the Eastern United States in just the past 24 hours.

The info:

Event #2305-2014 was seen at approximately 1:11 local time (EDT) in FL and GA.
Event #2306-2014 – Over 77 witnesses from MI, IL, OH, IN, ON WI, PA, NY and KY reported a bright fireball over Michigan around 21:55 local time.
Event #2307-2014 – 29 witnesses from TN, AR, AL, MS, MO and KY reported seeing a fireball over Tennessee at approximately 20:30 local time
Event #2308-2014 – 42 witnesses in CT, PA, NY, NJ, MA and MD reported seeing a bright fireball in North Easter Pennsylvania near 20:47 local time.

This has not been the first rash of fireballs sightings. It seems like the pink stars have been falling for some time. Even I have seen a few over the past weeks, some that seemingly were only witnessed by me and a handful of others. Last week, there was one in Florida that was reportedly visible by parts of the entire state as it traveled the sky and left earth’s orbit.

Makes you wonder and ponder the chances that PLANET X is close.. or just way better reporting with the AMS’ website being the focal point for all observations. And they are good at what they do, tracking the fireballs lightning up and blazing through night skies across the nation..

But four major fireballs in one 24-hour period? Interesting.
Isn’t that how TRANSFORMERS started?

STOP! The traffic light on Mars!?

There’s been the Mars rat. The Mars face. The Mars figure walking.. the Mars arm.. leg.. You name it.

And now this: Photos of the red planet are intriguing for people looking close. Now apparently, some would so happen to claim, a street light has been found!

This random rock formation has become a phenomenon online. And it’s fun.

But I don’t think Martians would have street lights. I really don’t. That’s too earthly. And anyway, that light clearly looks like it had four bulbs, nothing like us Earthlings’ types.