Tag: horror

A HORROR MOVIE FOR A SNOWY THOR

Another snowy night.. potentially a housebound day tomorrow for lots of folks in the eye of THOR.. So why not turn off the lights, close the blinds, and entice your mind with a movie about the surreal, unreal, and paranormal. DARK SKIES is one of those films. Try it on for size—an abduction movie with dark shadow aliens, the Greys, evolves quickly into what I think was one of the most legitimately scary and good movies I’ve seen in quite some time.

There are some memorable scenes.. memorable characters. Specifically the idea that the other worldly suddenly presents itself into the lives of mundane people is freaky.

Besides one annoying scene I thought was plagiarism—a family sitting down to a dinner prior to an alien invasion like in SIGNS—the movie was strong and had a good alien premise. If you like alien movies. Or scary ones..

Add to the agenda a dark room and healthy snacks..I think it’s worth it.

Find it on NETFLIX if you can’t find it anywhere else..

After the movie, lighten the mood with the Ballad of the Greys.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu7bmvkgWEg?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque]

March 4, 2015
THE TRUE HORROR OF ‘LAZARUS EFFECT’

The LAZARUS EFFECT showcases the newfound popularity of reanimation horror.. WIRED’s Jordan Cruccihola examines this premise in an article posted today, saying

“Reanimation horror is not the most populated of sub-genres. We’ve surely had more cabins in the woods, unbeatable super killers, and haunted houses. But reanimation has a special place in our hearts thanks to its scientific roots. Sure, it’s all ridiculous science with little to no connection to reality, but there are still a lot more lab coats than in your standard-issue slasher. And if there’s one thing we wish there were more of in horror flicks, it’s lab coats..”

An the author is dead on right! The LAZARUS EFFECT, being released this weekend for public consumption, has an interesting premise: A group of medical students find a way to bring the dead back to life. It’s a horror classification, but easily travails into the science fiction category as you read more about the idea.. And really, we are living in this world.

This horror encapsulates perfectly our fears about future shock, the advancement of medical technology, and how we are on the verge of some amazing but possibly scary things.. The movie is getting intensely bad reviews, not only from the paid informants in entertainment rags, but also the masses who have already been privileged to see and write about it.

The common thread is that this is a rip-off of FLATLINERS. Maybe that’s true, but it’s also bringing to theaters the concept of the future and how it can be dangerous if in the wrong hands.. there’s a cultural allegory here if you pay attention. A commentary on society..

LAZARUS is not expected to rise to the top of the heap in the movie theaters over the next few days, but it is predicted to do fine for its genre for a winter weekend..

February 27, 2015
The message of IT FOLLOWS explored

IT FOLLOWS trailer lays out rules for upcoming horror film.

The movie is highly anticipated.. it’s a modern movie about the dangers of teenage sexual promiscuity. Instead of exchanging bodily fluids that lead to an STD, the couple involved will become victims of a sexually transmitted CURSE.. that follows.

I have read a number of accounts and early spoiler information about this movie–it looks to be one of the freshest and most creative horror movies that we will be getting in 2015.Some have even called it a ‘masterpiece‘!

Reviews like that often don’t happen in the mainstream world for this genre..The UK INDEPENDENT’s Geoffrey Macnab reviewed the movie with a positive four out of five star conclusion.. Macnab wrote,

“The ingenious new teen horror film It Follows will intrigue, puzzle and trouble audiences by turns.”

And this:

“This may be a horror movie but it has some of the same feel as Larry Clark’s cautionary tales about mixed-up, laidback American kids. It is shot as artfully as Clark’s films and, like them, portrays a self-enclosed teen society in which parents and teachers don’t intrude.”

For many years, any watcher of horror either random or astute would know that films often play on the fears of the youth.. Jason Vorhees killed the immoral, in a sense he was the ultimate champion of religious fervor–slaughtering the promiscuous party animal teens that skipped foreplay and went right to the deed at Camp Crystal Lake.

Perhaps no one saw the irony in his kills, the idea that he was the biblical old testament God reigning judgement down on those who sinned.. This new film seems to keep with that same idea: Sin and sex.

In IT FOLLOWS, the predator and villain can only be seen by those who have been cursed with the sexual relations that spread it.. An keeping with my long held notion that horror movies, in any given time (and professional wrestling), perfectly symbolize the current state of modern pop culture for that generation, Macnab paints a similar picture in his INDEPENDENT review, writing:

“It Follows plays not just on the kids’ ambivalence about their own sexual desires, but also on their disgust at the idea of their parents’ sexual lives. The Freudian elements sit alongside action sequences (a car crashing in a cornfield, an explosive final-reel stand-off at the local swimming pool). This is also a love story of sorts. Paul (Keir Gilchrist) is besotted with Jay. He is just a little too geeky for her to consider as a suitor but he is persistent and loyal. His innocent devotion is in very stark contrast to the depravity that surrounds the teenagers..”

February 27, 2015
How wayward are the Pines?

TWITTER and all things entertainment exploded a bit today with a surge of news about a director who made his star shine bright at the end of the last century: M Night Shyamalan.. His newest conquest is not over movie theaters or strange SIFI ‘documentaries’ but instead prime time television..

Shyalaman’s bringing WAYWARD PINES to FOX.. and with it comes a strange and elusive trailer for the show.. Matt Dillon stars in the show. And quite obviously the trailer, as well.

It speaks for itself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o51W3_QyXGM

The official description:

Imagine the perfect American town, beautiful homes, manicured lawns, children playing safely in the streets…Now imagine never being able to leave. You have no communication with the outside world. You think you’re going insane. You must be in Wayward Pines.

For those who don’t know much about this soon-to-be hit series (I predict) it’s based on a novel by Blake Crouch and the series, with M Night Shymalan shepherding it, will feature Matt Dillon as a secret service agent on a mission to find missing federal agents..

The immediate and overwhelming reaction online has been critical of Shyamalan but receptive of the trailer for the May 14th premiere of the show.. even the description on the trailer poster deeming this an ‘Shyamalan event’ rather than a ‘series’ has some scoffing.

Shyamalan has had a series of love-hate relationships with fans after several of his movies were criticized as stinkers following after the hit SIXTH SENSE.. while some lament the fall of his star, I still believe SIGNS and even LADY IN THE WATER had appeal..

It remains to be seen how many fans, or former fans, go into the journey to WAYWARD PINES..
But for me, it can’t be any worse than UNDER THE DOME.
Or could it!?

February 20, 2015
Poltergeist then and now

A few months ago, I introduced the classic film POLTERGEIST to someone younger in my family.. She was born in the late 1990s and did not have a notion of pop culture of the 1980s or the reason the Stephen Spielberg film changed everything. I really played the movie up to her, as well. I mentioned the spooky scenes, the scary clown, the bizarre tiny psychic, and the tree that came to life during a thunderstorm. By the time she had made it through the movie she was unimpressed.. It wasn’t scary compared to the compelling gory snuff films of today. And among the horror of our modern world, you can find a few gems, don’t get me wrong. But I still find the original POLTERGEIST compelling, deeply frightening, and yet amazingly beautiful and a story about how love perseveres.

Enter into the fray the newest incarnation, or should I say reincarnation, from Hollywood: Poltergeist is back. With iPhones and flatscreens.. no fuzzy TVs in this version.

I saw the trailer a bit ago for the film. Every fiber in my being wanted to hate the remake. I wanted to loathe the trailer.. But I ended up being a little more enthusiastic about it than I imagined myself to be..

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCmAaNk_iIQ?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent]

There’s a few things to contemplate here.. The 1980s’ version was amazing because it took on the ‘feeling’ of pop culture of the 1980s and made it the very essence of the film.. take for example the television set going to fuzz after the nightly NATIONAL ANTHEM played.. That scene, more than anything, constantly stuck with my as I grew up. Because I recalled the time when TV did that–when channels signed off for the day and networks would give people their Star Spangled Banner, complete with the video featuring lots of creepy subliminal messages. Beyond that, there’s the nostalgic feeling I still get when I watch the original movie.. There’s something deeply troubling, now as a parent, thinking about the loss the main characters were feeling during the film. And then the amazing miracle of love bringing them back together at the end. This movie is as much a drama as it is a horror. Spielberg created an immense classic..

So while I figure nothing will ever diminish his work with this movie, the newest trailer put me in a much different place than what I assumed I’d be in after watching it..

Let me first say, I dislike remakes for the most part. The Rob Zombie HALLOWEEN films were simply trash worthy of a garbage heap.. the newest NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET had no meaning in my life.. Sometimes there’s a score but for the most part it’s Hollywood rehashing old ideas and attempting to get some street cred with the use of modern gadgets and phrases.

While I think the new POLTERGEIST may still do that, I sort of changed my tune when it comes to this movie.

I think this generation needs that ‘pop culture’ fit .. I think it needs a film that one day, when they go back and watch, they too will become nostalgic for the 2000 teens. Maybe this movie will do it. It could, and it should.. If it sticks to the Speilberg concept of keeping a family together with love, ensuring the triumph of good over evil, and reinforcing the notion that you don’t busy yourself conjuring up demons under your bed, then it may have an impact.

There are a few notable things in the trailer. First off, the use of a flat screen TV is an obvious thing.. no more big giant boxed versions with antennas on. The is the new world.. There will be more cellphones and technology will be showcased–just as it was in the original .. What seems missing is the enigmatic 4-foot-tall psychic Tangina Barrons.. Maybe we will have a new memorable character in the latest..

There is debate within circles of fanboys and horror sites as to whether this movie will be a kids’ story or an R-rated horror.. back in January, there were rumors that this movie was going to be a 3D family friendly child abduction film *(if that is possible)*.. But the new trailer looks a bit more intense than a family friendly film.. The inclusion of a clown makes it even more worthwhile of horror..Even BLOODY DISGUSTING thinks the trailer looks ‘bonkers’ ..

Time will tell as the who will be happy seeing this movie and who will not be.
But as far as remakes go, POLTERGEIST may finally be one I deem worthy of viewing.

In the mean time, I went back in time and found the original trailer for POLTERGEIST in 1982.
I dare stay no matter what Hooper and company do in 2015, nothing will ever defeat the classic or the theme song, one of the scariest and yet most beautiful scores ever written:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ytjaMfoF2M?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent]

February 8, 2015
BLACK MIRROR to get a United States adaptation..

….and with that, the helium was just let out of my balloon..

I am not a big fan of UNITED STATES versions of amazingly great shows.. There is something so fresh and deeply inventive, disturbing, and scary about the BLACK MIRROR shows I have seen..

There actually not been enough of them in my opinion.. and quite frankly each one could be a must see three hour film, in my opinion..

Here is the news, as reported in major trade publications tonight: BLACK MIRROR faces a US adaptation..

Paul Harris writes this in a VARIETY report:

A U.S. rendition of “Black Mirror,” the British sci-fi series that has been a buzzy hit for Netflix, is in the works, the new leaders of Endemol Shine North America said Wednesday at the Real Screen confab.

The keynote session at the Washington Hilton marked the first major public appearance by Cris Abrego and Charlie Corwin since they were tapped co-CEOs and co-chairmen of Endemol Shine North America.

Corwin confirmed that “there is a plan” regarding a U.S. version of the “Twilight Zone”-esque series created by Charlie Brooker and produced by Annabel Jones for Endemol U.K. He declined to elaborate other than to say that Brooker and Jones “have really touched on something and I agree – we need more.”

There are other shows that may get some US versions.. You can find those more in that Harris report in VARIETY.. my focus was clearly and solely on BLACK MIRROR.

I have not done any official reviews of the programs for this website, but certainly should. There is something compelling and additive about each one of them, and when one program is over you’re leave searching for more.. yearning for just another half hour, or longer..

BLACK MIRROR is heralded as the TWILIGHT ZONE of our age. I think that’s accurate and I can’t add more than the praise already showered by so many on this series..

I just don’t trust any US version of it.. But certainly will give it a try to see how it holds up compared to the original series from Brit land..

In the mean time, NETFLIX if your best bet if you actually want to catch some episodes. Hold your nose for the first one, but be amazed by it as well.. and each one thereafter..

January 29, 2015
HOW TO MAKE A WALKING DEAD FAN ANGRY ON THE WEST COAST

The WALKING DEAD show had a major development last night in its midseason finale.. a major character died. And the East Coast knew it first.

Unfortunately in our wired world of uber connectivity, it’s tough to keep things of the pop culture category secret for very long.

Normally its fans that spoil the show.. last night, though, it was the show itself..

After the EAST COAST airing of the was complete, someone thought too fast and posted this image on the official WALKING DEAD Facebook page:

The response was immediate–and angry. The entire West Coast audience just had the major plot twist revealed with a photo and an “RIP BETH” underneath..

At the time of this post, the image has garnered 190,000 shares, 540,000 likes, and 140,000 comments–most of them negative and containing humorous memes insulting the people behind THE WALKING DEAD for revealing by accident such a major affair on the program..

One demanded to ‘fire your social media manager.’ Another posted these

There were countless others–countless in the hundreds of thousands now–that most people cannot humanly have time to read..

But that’s the net..

There is a report circulating in the UK press that the image was pulled from the Facebook page–probably an OH S&*T moment occurred in a dark office somewhere, or a badly timed pre-written update went viral too quickly.. While the image may have been pulled quickly, the UK TELEGRAPH reports accurately that far too many people saw it already for the sudden pull down to become effective..

And with that: You have a PR disaster for a program that has a dedicated fan base who defends it to the death. Even Beth’s death.. Except the West Coast. They’re a bit angry..

December 1, 2014
The political wind coming from the cesspool nearby

I am becoming redundant.. I just wrote about the deluge of politics just three days ago. But this newest rant I am about to go on is inspired by a horror movie inspired political ad being used by the governor of my state in his bid for re-election.. A certain part of me thinks that horror icons are sacrosanct, and that they are off limits to people of a political nature..

Because here is the thing.

I consider myself well informed on issues of political importance. I even often link up and write little quips and opinions about political situations, news of the day, and act as a bit of a small-website-that-does-not-matter pundit..

But I am so tired of politics right now..
I think it’s because, being this time of year, we are inundated with political ads, constant Facebook links, and over-bloated blowhards on TEE VEE telling us why their opinion rates higher than the other overweight blowhard..

There are a few things I have taken away from life, only 34 years into it.

First thing: Nothing will ever change. Every election will have the same shape and form.. a different party may escape with the victory, but the same tired party will always win. No new independents.. no new beliefs.. same old, same old. The lesser of two evils becomes the evil when elected, and the new guy always wears a brighter shade of gray.

Second, we will always complain that ’s election has been the meanest and dirtiest ever. No it has no been. Maybe the cruelty has shifted and been served up in different mediums, but it is still the same as it ever was..

Third, we will still vote for the people we say we hate. That’s right.. we will complain until we step into the polling place. When don’t pull levers now, but instead touch screens. And when we do, we will vote for the same people who we have complained about for the previous two to four years. The reason? We like the security of sameness, we fear change, and we especially love the pork and sausage of financial gain that brings home every year. New sports complexes that no one visits, new arenas in towns no one heard of, and bridges to no where. Or somewhere. And we love it.

There is one more thing we will undoubtedly do after the election. We will say we did not vote for the person who won, because so often the winners immediately become unpopular and go through the same cycle of public criticism..

I often want to take a break from politics. The heat of the campaign trail is not a dry one, but instead drenched in the filth and sweat of overwhelming lies and innuendo.

I think all of the ‘news’ sites I follow on Facebook may have to change. I am growing really weary and tired of how they make everything political. Things that should not be.. like the clown thing in France.. or Ebola. Or Halloween costumes. For Christ’s sake, just let us be.. Let people be people. Give us a break from the Republican vs Democrat nonsense. If we all took a poll, a real one, we’d realize how we don’t mostly agree with either one of the two parties’ platforms.

And we will complain and decry the two party system.
And we will demand a third party..
And we will still pick the same party we claim is the lesser of the ‘two evils,’ ignoring the potential endless amount of saints that could actually come out way if we just paid a little attention to the ballot beyond the first two lines.

October 31, 2014
SOAKING UP THE BLOOD
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl6CGlBVpCA]

The video you see here is an ad for a haunted house. This one was from 2013. But you’ll get the point.

It is called McKamey Manor. It’s in San Diego. And the waiting list to get into the attraction is 24,000 strong. No doubt growing not that it has found itself getting worldwide attention.

The reason so many are suddenly finding out about this is because of the extreme nature of the attraction..

Among the many enjoyable things that will take place when you go to this little gem:
- Force feeding. Expect it..
- Your head will be put into a cage with rotten eggs.
- …and snaked
- You will have your hands bound..
- You will be placed in small boxes
- You will be screamed at..
- Expect to be drenched in blood, presumably not real
Things may get bad. That’s why you have to sign a waiver prior to admittance.

The trend of the extreme is all around us—from movies and the macabre to events of the real. Beheadings grace our evening news and now, as this testament provides evidence of, you can now ‘live your own horror movie’..

While some decry this place of rest and recreation and torture and rotted mayhem of the mind, others will defend it to their deaths..

You will undoubtedly judge for yourself..
The evidence of the video will speak volumes..

For me, someone who is a follower but not a fan of the paranormal, I can only state that I’d steer clear of this type of entertainment..

But not for the reasons you’d assume.

Would I be scared? Well, take a peak at the video. Of course I would be, and you would be, too..

Now, the real reason I would avoid this quagmire of a not so good time is because, while I often write about the paranormal and strange, I also write about current events.. current horrors. Real horrors.. My mind is already filled with the overwhelming gore and hatred that pervades daily news.
There are times I would just like to banish reality from my view..

A haunted house where reality and guts with gore are shoved, quite literally in this case, down peoples’ throats does not come off as entertaining to me..

Now, does the video make things look worse than they are in reality? I suppose you can say that. And I’d bet my next week’s salary on the chance that people who want the to go to the most extreme haunted locations will absolutely devour this like a flesh eating zombie.. but I wrote about those people before, too.

But there is one last valid point to make.. Should you be believer in the paranormal, the other world, and the more devious presences that some say exist, perhaps a place like this is the final place you should step foot in.. The evil that may be conjured by the actions there are intense.. Perhaps it will be enough to let the real scary show up in your life..
October 24, 2014
The Pro Clown world is testy over AMERICAN HORROR STORY: FREAKSHOW

When AMERICAN HORROR STORY: FREAK SHOW debuted this month, strong ratings gave the show one of the biggest premieres. Ever..

But the theme of the show was unsettling to some who enjoy the finer things in life. Such as clowns..

According to various reports now, the ‘pro clown’ community is freaking out over the freak show. While it is strange to even comprehend an entire community of people being pro clown, it appears to be the case..

The show’s scariest character is killer clown. In all actuality, the role in the show actually has people truly freaked out.. People are scared .. and real life clowns are lamenting the bashing of their cherished trade.

Clowns in pop culture are nothing new.
When I was young, Pennywise the Dancing Clown appeared in the television adaption of Stephen King’s IT. Tim Curry’s role as the dancing clown was haunting and effective. Until FREAKSHOW, Pennywise may have been the scariest clown to grace our society..

Michael Myers is also a bit of a clown–the blank face of pale death is reminiscent of the appearance of the zany circus actor. Even professional wrestling tried the clown role with “DOINK and Dink” in the 1990s–of course he was a good guy at first and then took on the role of a villain.

Why are clowns scary?

You may want to check out an truly amazing and listenable GROUND ZERO WITH CLYDE LEWS radio program from the other evening he called “MEDIEVAL CARNIVAL 666.” Lewis did he best to track back the origins of the pale white figure to the Middle Ages, when clowns were introduced to the masses dying from the Bubonic Plague. The clown’s appearance was devised to mock death–the embellished aspects of a clown all had a meaning to represent some part of the process of the body decomposing.

In a 1989 PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER article, the paper profiled a fiction play –based on reality– in which the church employed a squadron of clowns to entertain the dying. But clowns could be traced back even further than the dark times of the middle ages.. Some say they can be found in ancient Egypt in 2400 BC. The ghostface appearance came somewhere in the 1800s..
Film and literature always made them seem scary..
And the fear of clowns blossomed into the phobia it is today.

Even the SMITHSONIAN studied the reasons why clowns were so frightening in a 2013 report. They conclude that people have been fearful for centuries of the appearance of a clown.

Recent news has given us more reason to be unsettled.. Only days ago, parts of California were haunted by the appearance of a clown at night named Wasco. Some reports actually had children claiming that clowns were chasing them around the streets at night with an ax.

The notion of a clown showing up at a time when reality has become unfathomably scary is frightening in itself. Imagine the planet suffering through deadly disease, a possible upcoming food crisis, droughts and plagues, and beheadings across the Middle East, and a clown shows up to sit on your local park bench. Armed with the persistent smile, balloons.. or an ax to chase a child across town..

Goosebumps times 50…

Some disagree that clowns represent death–as we see from the outcry over AMERICAN HORROR STORY, the pro-clown posse is existent.

I argue, though, that they do. Or they at least represent the attempt to mock death–the wild actions and bizarre makeup do have corpse-like features. And more, their mischievousness is tame at face value but also disturbing in a deeper way. Perhaps that is why children jump in fright so often when they initially come in contact with a clown.. especially a clown out of the element, a place such as a bus terminal or under a street light in the middle of the night..

We all seem to be a little unsettled by a clown..But we also latch on to staring at them when we see them. That may explain the amazingly high ratings of AMERICAN HORROR STORY..

So while the clown troupe is annoyed with the representation of their job, perhaps another group is going to get angry at the latest FREAKSHOW.. In the latest episode, conjoined twins played by Sarah Paulson disturbed viewers even more with the singing of the song CRIMINAL by Fiona Apple.. Let the outrage over that begin.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQKJ3jlRhG8]

October 16, 2014