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rottenprincessshura100 · 2 years

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Idk if you already covered this or not but whats your opinion on Shiemi seemingly being the next Shemihaze or something?? And that connected relationship with Amaimon?

Hi there!

Thanks for the ask!

Here's my take on the Amaimon, Shemihaza situation.

First off, what is the new Shemihaza, really?

Shiemi is the next Shemihaza, or rather Shemihaza Nephilium. The original Shemihaza crystalized her body to keep Amaimon under control. Luckily Shemihaza has children living in Assiah, that continue on her legacy, children that are part human.

What we can surmise, each incarnation of Shemihaza gives birth to the future Shemihaza, and all of them are named Shiemi. We have no idea who the father is.

Each generation of Shemihaza gains her power by absorbing energy from the crystallized version of the original god. Yet, not all Shemihaza's children have powers. Shiemi's mother was born a normal human, as the bloodline had weakened and diluted. Also, the crystal seems to be losing power.

But here's the weird thing our Shiemi from the current timeline seems very powerful. I have a hunch that she was made differently. Was Shiemi a specialized clone? An IVF pregnancy conceived in section 13? There's something fishy to her story and we don't know all the secrets yet.

We know that something happened between Shiemi's grandmother and Lucifer. Is Shiemi part demon? Originally conceived as a potential body for Lucifer? Whatever the original plan was, Jeremiah sympathized with Lucifer and is somehow trying to corrupt Shiemi's soul to make her easy to possess.

In Shiemi's past, Jeremiah treated our Shiemi as some sort of puppet and made her do something terrible, something that warped her mind and caused her to forget who she was. That's why Mephisto enrolled the girl at True Cross Academy and had her integrated with other teenagers. He's trying to enrich her heart so she survives any possession attempt. Thanks to Rin and Yukio's love and friendship, she's strong and has a fighting chance.

Shiemi might also get out unscathed because Angel is the other potential vessel of Lucifer and I need to quickly talk about that.

Shiemi is the planned vessel, Angel was created through a happy accident for Lucifer. He infected one of his clones with temptaint.

But is Angel a pure Lucifer clone? I still think he looks like one of Uzai and could be a combination of Shiemihaza and Lucifer. That would make Jeremiah a blood relation to Angel and Shiemi. I think Angel and Shiemi were created through a similar process.

Jeremiah meanwhile, is a snake in the grass of the Uzai. He's trying to weaken the minds of both Angel and Shiemi and give Lucifer lots of options for vessels. He's been on team Lucifer for a very long time.

AMAIMON AND SHIEMI

Now for the fun stuff.

What's up with these two?

Amaimon is an immature little fuck of a hellraiser. In the early days, sometime in Mesopotamia, between 4100-7500 BCE Amaimon went on a rampage and tried to destroy the world. Shemihaza used her incredible power to stop Amaimon, by sealing his powers within her own. In essence, Shemihaza tamed and tempered the demon king.

Shemihaza, considers Amaimon as a servant. Yet, Amaimon has other ideas. He thinks they are soulmates.

Amaimon is a single bachelor living the high life until a new Shiemihaza turns up. Then he has to grow up, have responsibilities and be a decent "spouse."

This entire "bride" theme Amaimon likes to talk about. It has roots (no pun intended to the original fight.)

Amaimon loves to battle and hates to be forgotten.

The fact that the Shemihaza bloodline has devoted its life to taming him is the closest thing to love Amaimon has. Shemihaza always brings the action, and they recreate the first fight over and over. He always has her undivided attention and it completes him. He would wander aimlessly trying to find worthy opponents without her until the world was nothing but ash.

Other demons need to find human life partners, but Amaimon hates humans. Besides, why would he lower himself to socialize with weaklings when has a goddess to torture?

Losing to Shemihaza must give him the warm fuzzies. She curbs his boredom, kicks his ass and keeps him in line. Secretly, I think the little masochist enjoys it. The Shemihazas are super cute, mean little kewpies, totally his type.

Now did Shiemihaza love Amaimon? I'm not sure, but she allowed him to keep his ego and body. That, at the very least, shows a great deal of empathy. Plus, they combined powers when she bound his heart, they are both a part of each other now. And that isn't an easy decision to make unless the devotion was mutual. If you take a look at Amaimon's heart, it's encased in the vines and raspberries of Shemihaza....awwww.

The current Shiemi.

Amaimon doesn't like her because he's weak. He wants his sparring partner back and feels that Shiemi is defective. He goads her into fighting harder and tries to jog her memory. He doesn't want to win, he wants his partner to wake the fuck up.

Amaimon made it work. Got Shiemi so mad that she started fighting back, and she was suddenly made aware that Jeremiah did something to her. Amaimon was helping.

Now, did Amaimon and Shemihaza have any kids?

Going into crack theory land, I discussed this before that I had my suspicions. Demons can't make children like humans can, they have to possess things. Either directly or indirectly.

The Direct Method.

The direct possibility, Amaimon loses his body sometime during the inception of section 13. Did he pull a Satan and try to possess a pregnant Shiemihaza, tainting her offspring? Maybe.

Mephisto eventually was successful, creating Amaimon a body. (But maybe that's how Mephisto gets the idea to make Satan's sons? Who knows.)

The Indirect method.

Amaimon's crystal is intertwined with Shemihaza's crystal.

The future Shemihazas are sent to absorb power from the crystalized goddess as children. That's how the power is carried on

But I think the occasional flaw happens in the process. The Uzai had a baby who equally absorbed Amaimon and Shiemihaza's crystalized energy.

That child was probably Yuri Egin.

Amaimon and Shemihaza had a kid. And that screwed with everything!!! Amaimon had a daughter, not a bride! The bloodline was corrupted!

Yuri was seen as a terrible mistake and an embarrassment. A creation that shouldn't exist. The Uzai probably wanted the child destroyed.

Instead, Mephisto and Shiemihaza hid Yuri with exorcists in deep cover as homeless people. Granny Shemihaza couldn't kill her child and Yuri was probably the rightful heir to the Shemihaza throne.

(That's why Shiemi's mom had no powers, she wasn't next in line.)

Yuri has combined powers and the ability to control golems and green men, has taming abilities and reminds Rin of Shiemi. That's because she's related to her.

That would mean that Yuri was Shiemi's aunt, and would make Rin, Yukio and Shiemi cousins. So, unpopular opinion. Neither Rin nor Yukio gets Shiemi...but because they're family, they don't lose her either.

It makes sense, that granny Shemihaza is the one to kill Yuri at the end of the blue night.

She felt that the terrible deed was her responsibility because she hadn't done the right thing. Her sin attracted Satan's ego into Assiah and she allowed her feelings to get the better of her.

#blue exorcist #ao no exorcist #amaimon #amaimon and shiemi #shemihaza #uzai

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fallinforgyu · 2 years

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okay its me 🍾🍾🍾 AND I'M SOBER

!!!!!!! proud moment anyway

I'm watching horror movies because I fucking love them, one of my biggest hobbies. So I thought Id drop some txt horror qs?

-Who takes what role in a horror movie? Personally I see Taehyun surviving. I think Soobin would die first but I am definitely just pulling that out my ass with very little justification so please prove me wrong.

-Who is the most likely to be the horny one who fucks in a horror movie and dies? Imma say beomjun. I think they're most likely to die by coochie/dick LMFAOO

-As far as soft thoughts go, I love when nervous people cling to me during a horror movie. Shit's so cute. Yeonjun says he has seen fucked up shit so Id love to discuss movies with him but then again he likes Boss Baby and Tall Girl so like how fucked up could these possibly be?

Also wanna drop which horror movie I think suits them each. Yeonjun is Suspiria 10000% (colorful dance school murder time). Soobin can be uhhhh uuhhh I mean he seems to scare easily so let's just give him a classic like Halloween. Or Donnie Darko just because rabbit. Beomgyu fits a horror comedy immediately, like Scream or Housebound. Taehyun is like a scared little robot idk how else to describe it so I'd pick something pretty tame. Maybe he can get the Lost Boys..? LMAO. Kai has like, the Wickerman vibes just bc his family is a niche religion and he traveled a lot.

And obviously, because they are celebrities, they ALL get Misery. Fanatic horror!!!

Also since this is a hard thoughts blog most the time I feel I should mention hellraiser bc that whole movie is just scary kinky people.

If you have no interest in horror movies, rip, please pass this message on to the public for me gddgfffgf

I don't know, give me your txt horror movie thoughts!!! Everyone comment!!!

-🍾🍾🍾 anon

HI 🍾 ANON!!!!! unfortunately i am not sober right now but i DO love horror movies and i will give you my thoughts:

taehyun would definitely be the one to survive. he's the smartest and the strongest and the monster should fear HIM. and soobin and gyu would definitely die first 😭 soobin would try to run away and wouldn't be fast enough and beomgyu would fuck the the monster to be annoying and then get eaten

honestly i think soobin would be the one to fuck and die too 😭 idk i could just see him getting seduced by a sexy monster and that would be the end for him

and omg i agree 🥺 i actually think kai likes scary movies a lot if i remember correctly?? but i think it would be so cute to have lil horror movie dates with him and ugh :(

and pls i agree with all of these 😭 i haven't seen all of them but yeonjun with suspiria and beomgyu with scream just makes perfect sense to me

#🍾 anon #bunny's mailbox 📬

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neon-green-reagent · 4 years

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And here are the rest of those horror questions!

Favorite Slasher film : This is painfully difficult. I'm clearly a big Chucky fan and a Jason fan. I've become a Halloween fan recently. There are tons of one-off slashers that I think are wonderful and everyone should watch. But ultimately I want to answer this question as which slasher film do I think represents the highest quality you can get in a film with it still being a slasher. That answer is easily Candyman. Hands down. I'm sure most of you agree or can at least concede the point. When I think of favorite slasher icons alongside films that are incredibly well-made and I could watch over and over, Candyman always rises to the top of the list very quickly.

Scene that always terrifies you : I find this question difficult mainly because "terrifies" is strong. And I don't think I'd be a horror fan if I were that easily terrified of and haunted by the films I watch. I'm likely to be disturbed by something I see, which is a lesser emotion and more manageable. It's also not one that lingers necessarily, because if something disturbs me enough, I probably won't try to go through that again. The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre comes to mind as a film that was just an uncomfortable sit, and though I recognize the importance of the film, I don't want to sit through it a second time.

Favorite Horror film director : John Carpenter. There are a lot of people who have come and gone and even some newcomers that are incredible, but John Carpenter is always just a cut above the rest for me.

Favorite Cult Classic horror : I think it's safe to say that Reanimator is the midnight movie that stole my heart.

Movie that scares everyone else that you’re not afraid of : That has turned out to be The Exorcist. I was more afraid of the movie's reputation than I was of the movie itself. That's not to say it wasn't good. Just that the hype is nowhere near how dramatic and quiet the movie actually is.

First ‘scary’ movie you saw as a kid : This will probably seem tame to a lot of you, but Critters. I was very sheltered and over-protected as a kid, so I didn't begin my real horror obsession until I was thirteen. So to my little self, Critters seemed pretty hardcore, and I was very proud that I had seen it. I'm still really attached to the franchise because of it.

That one really bad horror movie that you love to watch : SO MANY. But my most recent would be The Suckling.

Most fucked up horror film you’ve seen : If I'm being real, probably something like Se7en. I tend to avoid movies that have the YOU'LL THROW UP AND DIE IT'S SO FUCKED UP reputation. For some people, horror films serve the purpose of challenging their ability to hold down their lunch. For me, the point is to be entertained and have fun.

What scary movie you’ll be watching this Halloween : I tend to have the tradition of putting on Hellraiser. Last year was the year of Halloween III. I'm not sure what this year will bring yet.

Most annoying character in a scary movie : I've said it before, but Shelly in Friday the 13th Part 3. Here's one I've never mentioned. That screechy demon in Demons 2? That chases the woman around the apartment? God, I hate that thing. I had to mute all its scenes.

Unintentionally funniest horror film : I already mentioned The Suckling, but that does count. Let's go with Spookies. That definitely fits.

Best death scene : So are we talking best KILL, or are we talking best reaction to being killed? Because best reaction goes to the guy in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. The guy who goes HE'S STABBING ME AHHH HE'S KILLING ME! Classic.

Grossest horror movie : Body Melt. Anyone else ever see this? It was gross to the point that I didn't enjoy it. Do not eat while watching this. It's just people melting, that's all it is. Ugh.

Favorite Zombie film : Day of the Dead. As many zombie movies as I love, I'm taking a hard stance and saying Day is my favorite of all time.

The sequel/prequel that pisses you off : The Thing prequel. Also called The Thing. <__< Don't even get me started. Talk about missing the point in about a hundred different ways.

Scariest Soundtrack : Halloween (1978). Probably the most effective use of music ever. It set the standard, and no one has been able to replicate it.

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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How Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Unlocks the Marvel Cosmos for Gamers

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You know the gang: Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, Groot. The space-faring band of heroes is back in Eidos Montreal’s Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and once again, they’re in deep trouble. They’ve crossed the wrong warlord—the monster-collecting Lady Hellbender—and now she wants their heads. So, as per usual, Peter Quill and his ragtag team of weirdos hatch an outrageous plan to save their own skins while preventing an intergalactic war from breaking out.

As comic fans know all too well, the Marvel cosmology offers a deep well of stories, characters, and locations to pull from, and the team at Eidos Montreal delved deep into the Marvel mythos for inspiration.

“From the Nova Corps to Knowhere, from the Blood Brothers to Cosmo, from Lady Hellbender and her Hellraisers to Seknarf Nine, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy delivers big on sci-fi shenanigans,” says Marvel Games creative director Bill Rosemann. Franchise mainstays like the aforementioned Cosmo the Space Dog and Mantis can be spotted in the handful of game trailers released so far.

But a Marvel story is only as good as its villains, and Guardians of the Galaxy has some very interesting big bads. First appearing in Totally Awesome Hulk #1 in 2015, Marguerite Hellbender, known as Lady Hellbender to her subjects (and enemies), is the mace-swinging warrior regent of Seknarf Nine. Her mission in life is to scour the galaxy for rare beasts to add to her ever-growing menagerie of monsters who do her bidding and act as something of a found family. In Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, her monster-whisperer gifts are on full display when she tames a deadly tara-tara in front of the Guardians’ very eyes.

Lady Hellbender is joined by the much more peculiar Grand Unifier Raker, a Cardinal of the Universal Church of Truth, who intends to deliver the Guardians to the Church’s mysterious, almighty Matriarch. And while it’s yet to be seen whether the game will feature other fan-favorites from Guardians stories, like Adam Warlock, Yondu, The Collector, or Galactus, it’s a safe bet that we’ll see a few familiar faces across the game’s planet-hopping campaign.

Deep space is a major shift from the Earth-set locales of recent Marvel titles like Avengers and Spider-Man. According to the game’s senior creative director, Jean-François Degas, Eidos found the cosmic setting to be nothing short of “liberating.”

“It was actually really fun to explore crazy ideas that didn’t have to be explained on a terrestrial scientific level all the time,” Degas explains. “We aimed at developing believable concepts, not necessarily realistic ones. For example, since we travel from location to location, sometimes we end up on weird planets. We wanted the enemies the Guardians encounter to feel just as weird as the planets themselves.”

One of these planets is Seknarf Nine, where the Guardians face enemies called “Jack-o-Gels,” which look like giant, jiggly Jell-O™ cubes on the outside but are actually deadly, sentient spiked balls on the inside. There are also Tara Taras, which are seemingly feeble, rodent-like creatures covered in gurgling orbs that allow them to mimic the forms of more formidable beasts. Unsurprisingly, they’re high on Lady Hellbender’s wishlist.

And then there’s one of the most iconic locations in Guardians history: Knowhere, the planet-sized severed head of a Celestial where travelers from across the universe gather to trade (and rip each other off). It also serves as an enormous science station where the greatest minds in the galaxy can perform secret experiments. It’s definitely the kind of place where the Guardians could find a bit of trouble.

Strange planets and grotesque creatures are essential ingredients in the Guardians formula, but what the game is about, at its core, are the social dynamics between the Guardians themselves. Players play exclusively as Peter Quill, better known as Star-Lord, who must navigate the different interpersonal relationships within the team both on and off the battlefield. It’s a bold design choice to limit player control to Quill when all of the more unique alien team members are right there, but according to Degas, the idea is to allow players to experience what it’s like to be the leader of a dysfunctional family of mercs and misfits.

“When you are a leader, it doesn’t mean that people agree with your direction all the time,” Degas explains. “You have to act as someone who can rally people towards a common goal. We wanted to tap into this while making it fun.”

During the game’s story-driven sections, Peter is presented with choices, and the decisions he makes will please some team members while pissing off others, which will affect how they act on the battlefield. For example, annoy Rocket and he may not want to follow your orders during a big fight. As Star-Lord, players can dart around the battlefield using his rocket boots and fire off his signature blasters and bombs, but more importantly, players must coordinate the team’s attacks. Learning to operate as a team is vital if you want to take down the game’s most challenging enemies, and it’s also one of the main themes of the story.

“Every great Guardians of the Galaxy story boils down to the idea of family,” says Rosemann. “Each member of our motley crew feels that they are the last of their kind, lost amongst the stars. One of our themes is grappling with, and hopefully overcoming, past trauma, which each character will face along this adventure.”

While the game’s characters and story are clearly inspired by the comics and movies that came before, the team at Eidos Montreal set out to make a version of the Guardians that stands on its own.

“Whether it’s the story behind Drax’s tattoos, the detailing on Gamora’s fearsome battle suit, or the original take on why Peter Quill took on the name ‘Star-Lord,’ as you play you’re going to enjoy how authentic and familiar the Guardians feel, but also be surprised by all of the originality that Eidos Montreal delivers,” Rosemann says.

Degas explains that from the very first meeting with Marvel, the goal was to make something that felt authentic yet new. “The key for us was to make these characters look familiar. But our Guardians also have different backstories from what people may know from movies or comics. There is a lot to discover in our game that doesn’t exist anywhere else.”

But one thing fans /will/ recognize right away is the killer soundtrack. Yes, the game has its own “Awesome Mix.” Culture Club, Blondie, Hot Chocolate, and Iron Maiden are just some of the bands on the tracklist.

Guardians of the Galaxy looks to offer brand-new space-capades for MCU fans and gamers alike while preserving the essence of what made these characters so popular in the first place—bad attitudes and a thirst for big adventure.

Just before heading into Lady Hellbender’s Menagerie Gardens for the first time, the Guardians pack Groot into a crate as bait—a rare species of monster she really needs to see—using him to bargain their way into the warlord’s fortress. Their plan isn’t exactly foolproof—but these aren’t just any fools. They’re the Guardians of the Galaxy! And if they fail miserably, well…at least they’ll do it together.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is out on Oct. 26 for PlayStation and Xbox consoles, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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smokeybrandreviews · 3 years

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Smokey brand Select: No One Can Hear You Scream

While i was writing my review for The Little Things and how much of a true January film it turned out to be, it made me recall several films that came out in this, the cinematic graveyard month. It was odd that this film, the first, real release of this wonky, post-2020, world, would be so aggressively mediocre. Just last year, we received several excellent films around this time, a few of which turned out to be brilliant sci-fi horror films. The More i thought about it, the more i realized just how much of this genre. Science fiction Horror, I've allocated to my all-time favorite films. I’ve seen a great many of these movies and wanted to throw a spotlight on a few that i think, are great example of the sub-genre.

10. Screamers

Screamers isn’t very good but it is a guilty pleasure of mine. I remember seeing this thing as a kid and thinking how great the concept is. The idea of Screamers, the evolution of artificial life rising to dominate organics, is always an interesting take to me. Some of my favorite films deal with that transhumanism and existential horror. Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly, are all favorites that kind of center on what it means to be human in the face of exceptional technology. They’re all also adaptions of Philip K. Dick stories, just like Screamers. The film is a bit different than the Dick story it’s based on, Second variety, but it’s an entertaining, high budget, B-movie with a great core concept. I think if this is remade today, with a decent budget, and an auteur director with great vision, Screamers could really be one of the best sci-fi horror films to every grace cinema.

9. Honeymoon

I caught this one on Netflix, early in the life of the streamer. Before they got super big, Netflix was a gold mine for smaller budget, indie, gems like Honeymoon. I actually saw this thing a few years later when that momentum started to peak but there was still a great deal of awesome to find. Honeymoon is all of that and more. I don’t want to spoil too much about the plot because it is, technically, a mystery but i had a fantastic time with this movie. It’s very challenging, very surreal at times, and never really gives you room to breathe with its story but the stress only adds to the viewing experience. This thing probably didn't have a kind run in theaters but it should have because, seriously, it’s pretty great.

8. Underwater

Underwater was the whole reason i decided to write this Select. This and The Invisible man. Both films were surprisingly excellent, though Invisible Man definitely skews more thriller than horror. Underwater, though? Yeah, that’s a horror. I was incredibly surprised by how good this film turned out to be. It boggled my mind why the Disney machine would release this thing in January and not October because it was, quite literally, one of the best horror films released that year. Obviously, this flick was a victim of that merger but it really should have gotten a better push from the Mouse House because it’s definitely a gem. Underwater cribs a great deal from Alien, the perfect movie to snag sh*t from for a film like this, but it does it in a way that pays homage, never imitates. That’s a fine line to walk. I wrote a proper review for this bad boy that you can search out but, needless to say, i had a great time with it.

7. Vivarium

Vivarium is a sci-fi horror in the strictest sense. This one feels a lot like Annihilation in that the horror comes from that familiar unfamiliarity. Everything is just off, but off on a fundamental manner. You know sh*t is wrong on a primal, survival, level and you know it from the second that couple walks into to the “Realtor” office. Vivarium is unnerving and disgustingly cruel with how overt it’s alien nature is toward the audience. It slowly ramps up the tension, never really letting it go, raising the stakes on the surreal and horrifying as the run time closes in on it’s climax. This film is a lot, especially if you commit wholly to the experience.

6. Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Invasion has been remade several times over the years. This story if a staple of cinema and it really has the flexibility to be told so many times, in so many ways. One of my favorites is the Nicole Kidman vehicle, The Invasion. There’s this scene where one of the pod people tries to infiltrate Kidman’s home but can’t get in so it just spazzes. The f*cking thing just stops blinking and starts shrieking. It’s so f*cking horrifying, i had to leave the room the first time i saw it. It then just walks off the porch and into the night. That one scene, wigged me the f*ck out so bad. So why isn’t that version of this list? Because the Seventies take on The Body Snatchers narrative, has the same energy from that one scene, throughout the entirety of the goddamn film. It’s insane how much unrelenting tension that thing builds. It winds so tight and never releases you from it’s malevolent grip, even when the movie ends. It might feel tame nowadays but, when i saw it as a kid, it kept me completely hostage with that unrelentingly oppressive atmosphere.

5. Event Horizon

Where to even begin with this gothic nightmare? Event Horizon is an experience. It’s easily skews the most horror on this list and, yes, it earns that title with gusto. I saw this thing at the drive-in when i was, like, thirteen years old. I remember it was the b-movie to a brand new release, the only way i could have watched it because there was no way my ma would allow to see this thing otherwise. Horizon is a brutal watch. It hangs it’s hat on disgusting and disturbing visuals, coupled with this foreboding animosity in the set construction around these actors. The ship, itself, is pure malevolence and you feel it the second they step on the Event Horizon. This is another film that takes a great deal from Alien but it definitely does it’s own thing with those themes. Event Horizon is basically Hellraiser in space and that sh*t works beautifully. The most ridiculous thing about this film is the version we all have seen? The one released to the public? Yeah, that’s the toned down cut. The first cut has about thirty minutes of extended nightmare fuel but it was lost in a fire or something, never to be seen again.

4. The Thing

I’m talking about the original from the Eighties. That new, prequel is a pale imitation but the original? Yeah, that’s a classic. Everyone praises the effects because, of course they should, but my takeaway was the absolute dread which just infects all of this movie. The entire run time, you’re uncomfortable. Every single second of it. That opening scene with the dog running through the snow gets you off balance and the film never let’s you right yourself. You are forced to experience all of these surreal and horrendous events, from a compromised perspective. It definitely works out because, holy sh*t, but that is exactly why it works, why this film works. Without that initial pivot, this film wouldn’t have been as great as it turned out to be, f*cking master craft in effects and all.

3. Annihilation

Annihilation is f*cking brilliant and does not gt the due it truly deserves. Most people tend to check out because of how methodical this thing is with it’s narrative but that’s part of the experience. It is deliberate and very deliberate, very purposeful, with what it shows you and how it tells this story. I, personally, think it’s brilliant. This film is lousy with existential dread, bordering on straight up eldritch. These thing is saturated with the fear of that “other”, the fear of not being you. It’s insane how palpable that eeriness runs through this content and it real is a shame that most of the audience never gave it a chance to inflict that upon them. Plus, it’s f*cking gorgeous, man!

2. Fire in the Sky

This one is kind of a cheat. Sky is more of a sci-fi drama that horror but, there is one sequence in this flick that is just debilitating. This movie is based on the two-week abduction of Travis Walton. That demonstration of what happened to him in that fortnight was the most harrowing sh*t i have ever seen in my life. It viscerally disturbed me. Look, I'm an Eighties kid. We were raised on slashers and body horror. I saw my first Nightmare on Elm Street when i was three. I saw Cronenberg's The Fly when i was five. I don’t rattle. Fire in the Sky did much more than that. Admittedly, the majority of the film is completely absent of horror. It’s all about the disappearance and how that effects the people around Travis, then it shifts to Travis, himself, as he miraculously returns along with all of the fallout from that. That is, essentially, what this movie is at it’s core; a drama. But that one scene, though. Man, f*ck that one scene.

1. Alien

Alien is in a three-way tie for my all-time favorite film. It’s a near perfect film. Excellent acting, outstanding direction, and arguably the best effects work in cinema. Seriously, this thing came out in 1979 and still gives modern films a proper run for their money. Alien, as a film, is f*cking stunning. The plot is a little light but it’s more a framing device than it is a driving force. No, the real heavy lifting in this thing is definitely done by the actors, all of that solid character work, and the effects worm. Just he look of all that retro-future tech, the detail of the Derelict Ship, and the utter horror of the Xenomorph, itself, are f*cking timeless. I’ve written an entire review of Alien so if you need detail, you can look that one up if you like but, suffice it to say, Alien gets my highest praise and recommendation.

Honorable Mentions: The Endless, Pandorum, Mimic, The Astronaut’s Wife, Attack the Block, Dark Skies, A Quiet Place, Scanners, The Fly (1986), High Life, Overlord, The Mist, 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Faculty, Slither

#Smokey brand Select #Sci-Fi Horror

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smokeybrand · 3 years

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Smokey brand Select: No One Can Hear You Scream

While i was writing my review for The Little Things and how much of a true January film it turned out to be, it made me recall several films that came out in the cinematic graveyard month. It was odd that this film, the first, real release of this wonky, post-2020, world, would be so aggressively mediocre because, just last year, we received several excellent films around this time, a few of which turned out to be brilliant sci-fi horror films. The More i thought about it, the more i realized just how much of this genre I've allocated to my all-time favorite films. I’ve seen a great many of these movies and wanted to throw a spotlight on a few that i think, are great example of the sub-genre, itself.

10. Screamers

Screamers isn’t very good but it is a guilty pleasure of mine. I remember seeing this thing as a kid and thinking how great the concept is. The idea of Screamers, the evolution of artificial life rising to dominate organics, is always an interesting take to me. Some of my favorite films deal with that transhumanism and existential horror. Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly, are all favorites that kind of center on what it means to be human in the face of exceptional technology? They’re all also adaptions of Philip K. Dick stories, just like Screamers. The film is a bit different than the Dick story it’s based off, Second variety, but it’s an entertaining, high budget, B-movie with a great core concept. I think if this is remade today, with a decent budget, and an auteur director with great vision, Screamers could really be one of the best sci-fi horror films to every grace cinema.

9. Honeymoon

I caught this one on Netflix, early in the life of the streamer. Before they got super big, Netflix was a gold mine for smaller budget, indie, gems like Honeymoon. I actually saw this thing a few years later when that momentum start to peak but there was still a great deal of awesome to find. Honeymoon is all of that and more. I don’t want to spoil too much about the lot because it is , technically, a mystery, but i had a fantastic time with this movie. It’s very challenge, very surreal at times, and never really give you room to breathe with its story. This thing probably didn't have that kind of a run in theaters but it should have because, seriously, it’s pretty great.

8. Underwater

Underwater was the whole reason i decided to write this Select. This and The Invisible man. Both of these films were surprisingly excellent, though Invisible Man definitely skews more thriller than horror. Underwater, though? Yeah, that’s a horror. I was incredibly surprised by how good this film turned out to be. It boggled my mind why the Disney would release this thing in January and not October because it was, quite literally, one of the best horror films released that year. Obviously, this flick was a victim of that merger but it really should have gotten a better push from Disney because it’s definitely a gem. Underwater cribs a great deal from Alien, a perfect film to snag sh*t from for a film like this, but it does it in a way that pay homage, never imitates. That’s a fine line to walk. I wrote a proper review for this bad boy that you can search out but, needless to say, i had a great time with it.

7. Vivarium

Vivarium is a sci-fi horror in the strictest sense. This one feels a lot like Annihilation in that the horror comes from that familiar unfamiliarity. Everything is just off, but off in a fundamental manner. You know sh*t is wrong on a primal, survival, level and you know it from the second that couple walks into to the “Realtor” office. Vivarium is unnerving and disgustingly cruel with how overt it’s alien nature is toward the audience. It slowly ramps up the tension, never really letting it go, raising the stakes on the surreal and horrifying as the run time closes in on it’s climax. This film is a lot, especially if you commit wholly to the experience.

6. Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Invasion has been remade several times over the years. This story if a staple of cinema and it really is that flexible to be told so many times, in so many ways. One of my favorites is the Nicole Kidman vehicle, The Invasion. There’s this scene where one of the pod people tries to infiltrate Kidman’s home but can’t get in a d just spazzes out until it doesn't. It then just walks off the porch and into the night. That one scene, wigged me the f*ck out. So why isn’t that version of this list? Because the Seventies take on The Body Snatchers narrative, has that same energy throughout the entirety of the film. It’s insane how much unrelenting tension this thing builds. It winds you so tight and never releases you from it’s malevolent grip. It might feel tame nowadays but, when i saw it as a kid, it kept me completely hostage with that atmosphere. The ending is kind of wonky though.

5. Event Horizon

Where to even begin with this Gothic nightmare? Event Horizon is an experience. It’s easily skews the most horror on this list and, yes, it earns that title with gusto. I saw this thing at the drive-in when i was, like, thirteen years old. I remember it was the b-movie to a brand new release, the only way i could have watched it because there was no way my ma would allow to see this thing otherwise. Horizon is a brutal watch. It hangs it’s hat on disgusting and disturbing visuals, coupled with this foreboding animosity in the set construction around these actors. The ship, itself, is pure malevolence and you feel it the second they step on the Event Horizon. This is another film that takes a great deal from lien but it definitely does it’s own thing with those themes. Event Horizon is basically Hellraiser in space and that sh*t works beautifully. The most ridiculous thing about this film is the version we all have sen? The one released to he public? Yeah, that’s the toned down cut. The first cut has about thirty minutes of extended nightmare fuel but it was lost in a fire or something, never to be seen again.

4. The Thing

3. Annihilation

2. Fire in the Sky

1. Alien

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replicarters · 7 years

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hellraiser 3 funtime carnival, pt 2

PREVIOUSLY

so my dude @yvenly, unbeknownst to me, loves a hellraiser and has a fuckin shirt of the scary man that he was wearing while reading the first part. jake assures me that the scary man is not going to come and get me and nothing i own is haunted. i trust jake, so fortunately i am able to continue what i started to do the other night, which is watch a scary gory movie starring a space angel. i can confirm it is both gory and scaring me. let me remind you, me, and god that i am only 20 minutes into it, and it took exactly 6 minutes to get to the point where i was gently pissing myself. i shudder to think what the remaining hour and ten minutes hold.

i would very much enjoy if it held more of this:

and less deep crimson rivers, but i know i'm wishing for too much.

hot topic is making breakfast, terribly. this charred, molten husk, for instance, lying atop a burner, is either toast or a severed steak. i think it's toast. everything is burning and she should stop. now, just last night, hot topic was bumming smokes, recklessly flipping curtains open, sitting on the couch weird, and emptying the contents of her backpack all over the floor. but now all of a sudden it's "hey what's up let me make breakfast", so, great, now i'm invested in this blossoming love story. god, what if hot topic dies??? i don't think i could handle that. she and joey are friends now! hot topic's trying to make her food to repay her kindness! it's all fine with me as you might guess.

hot topic's name actually is... terry... or teri... or something. hmmmm. i like to imagine the mental force of will required to not constantly go "yeah?" at your own name not being used to address you. acting!

here's where it starts to cross over into the gay danger zone, when hot topic says it's her first time cooking. and the turn of phrase she uses is that she's a... kitchen... virgin...?

is that... so...?

joey offers to boil some water and says it's a specialty of hers and they laugh awkwardly like two heteros having a hetero time. joey also starts to make a suggestion to hot topic, and i thought to myself, "is she going to tell her to go watch cartoons?" and that's Exactly what she fucking did. i bet hot topic is a big fan of the snorks.

that cookbook appears to be campbell's microwave cookbook, which is wonderful on about 15 different levels. microwave cookbook being levels one through ten.

hot topic dances on the edge of the gay event horizon by sneaking a peek in joey's closet Come On Now is this for real

and joey is apparently not that great with toast either so i don't know how these girls are going to feed each other after they defeat the hellraiser and get married.

one LITTLE detail left out until the change in camera angle is that hot topic isn't wearing any pants. that seems like it was pretty important information for me to have, for the f/f hellraiser 3 fanfic i am now writing.

everything is all fine and dandy until the music starts going again and hot topic gets upset. she really loves it here. she wants the movie to flip into a lesbian romcom instead of being the mind-crushing hack-and-slash that it is. you guys what if she gets hacked and slashed?! oh god i don't want it

"uhhh a guy's head exploded in the first six minutes; we can't go back." yes, joey has to solve this mystery, which, i mean, she's braver than me; if i watched a guy get blasted all over the hospital walls after chains pulled his head apart i'd have a repressed memory that wouldn't resurface until years and years later, at which point i'd pass out in the grocery store as a grown adult with kids or something, and when i came to i'd remember the hell out of it and wouldn't stop screaming until my vocal chords snapped.

oh my good god

there's something important happening here but all i heard was "we're going shopping." forrrrrr strap-ons?

oh, they came to the hobo man's art gallery that's only open at night, and that i keep calling the pyramidhead gallery in my head. also check out those pants. yikesaroo! i can hear 1992's sears catalog calling from a landfill!

gracious me this whole ensemble! noooo.

"maybe they're closed." they're not closed, they just cannot let you in dressed like you belong in a parade on stilts. it will offend the art and we'll have more bad guys roaming around in the spooky shadows.

some man with a dog across the street says the pyramidhead gallery is closed every day, except for he apparently doesn't know it's open exclusively at 12:01 am. he says it's been there for months, closed. hot topic says that's bs; her boyfriend just bought something there last week. ew so the boyfriend that threw her out is imitation danny zuko. girl, run far away because that guy's busy communing with unholy messenger rats.

then for no reason at all, this poor pup gets dragged away by its neck, growling because dogs know stuff. does the dog also know its owner is an irresponsible sack of shit who needs to learn what a proper harness is? sheesh.

"chill," hot topic says. "there's a back door, right?" and then she pulls a lock pick out of her tits. like, not on a chain or anything, so i guess it was just resting freely in her cleavage. another important detail for my fanfiction.

there are more ugly paintings inside but joey gets right down to business and finds a file drawer that's pretty much exactly like every file drawer we have at work. just full of accordion folders with papers shoved in them.

"ughhh," joey says, "this is gonna take Forever." i literally... had that moment with my boss at work yesterday trying to find some paperwork. but it's not gonna take forever, not with the music going, it's not...!

the most illuminating revelation is that the gallery is a total scam; everything they have comes from bankruptcy sales, high school art classes, insane asylums... wait, what? uh oh.

uhhhhh ohhhhhhh.

thankfully we leave immediately and head straight back to the loser room. yeahhhh fistbump brah! fistbumps existed in 1992! imagine that. we can truly trace all tradition back to our ancestors.

danny zuko spies a hot blonde and motions to his mark sheppard-looking bartender that he wants to hit that, so the bartender pulls a rose out from the... ice bin...? "here babe take a cold-ass rose" "oh baby the frozen petals are burning me up" - is that what's supposed to happen?

so danny zuko comes over, the girl's like, "oh, it's you~" and he tells her she's beautiful she says "oh no there's lots of girls here more beautiful than me" and he pretends like he cares about how she feels blah blah blah

and then we come to sex noises so the arctic rose worked pretty well. i think i'll spare you a screenshot of the actual sex; i'd rather take a picture of a head split in half. my favorite part though is that he constantly has his hands on her tits so you don't see any nip. so we can watch the other graphic shit we've seen and yet we're not allowed to look at a boob? the fuck?

oh ps the statue is in the background, watching them.

and at the exact moment danny zuko comes (ugh) the statue's eyes open. ohhhhhhhhhhhohohoho fcukinggfkhgkldhgl

then the eyes close again.

hot topic and joey are back at her apartment. joey's broken out of a pair of scully specs so i guess things have gotten serious in here.

hot topic prepares to walk out the door and joey is like HOLD ON???? WHY LEAVE??

she's trying to get some tape and succeeds and this is extremely untoward and i am offended!!!

hot topic guesses joey got what she needed, and prepares to show herself out. joey's face immediately falls and she's like no????? and she invites hot topic to stay in her spare room.

hot topic gets very emotional and says that's great, and offers to do breakfast! oh boy!!

even at the thought of inedible trash breakfast, joey is thrilled. this is Fucking Gay

"so cool... Radical!"

the girl danny just boned stands in front of this painting which, to be honest with you? kind of looks like dukat? maybe dukat if he roided up before the reckoning.

danny's already done with this and has important things to do like getting a scuff off his ugly red cowboy boots. it all goes south pretty fast.

"but you gave me a rose."

"and tomorrow, i'll give one to somebody else." ooooooh

"you shit," the girl says, speaking the truth.

there's yelling, the girl backs up toward the statue, i'm biting my nails because something's clearly gonna happen

LAUGHS NERVOUSLY OHHHHHH NOOOOOOO

chains, chains, it's always chains, hooked chains come out of the statue and sink into her. danny zuko, for as vile as he is, didn't plan this at all as even he's like "what the ffffuuuuuuccckkkk"

hello!! furby's awake!

the statue gets one more hook right into her forehead and then? and THEN, the all-time grossest fucking thing happens, and i swear to god i'm not making this up but also you're kidding if you think i'll actually screenshot it: the hook pulls THE ENTIRETY OF THE GIRL'S SKIN OFF HER BODY IN ONE SHOT, and THEN, STILL ALIVE and screaming bloody fucking murder, the girl, looking like a page out of any muscular system biology book, is DIGESTED BY THE STATUE.

and then once properly absorbed, her face appears SO ALL THE FACES ON THIS STATUE ARE PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN SKINNED AND EATEN HKFLGRHLGKLSKB I'M SCREECHING

i guess a nutritious meal was just the thing to get ol stoneface back to normal. HE'S HERE, THIS IS HIM, THIS IS THE GUY!! jake says his name is pinhead? just going to call him pincushion, hope that's okay. honestly it's more like nailcushion, those look like a bunch of nails sticking out of him. why does he love metal so much!!!

and all danny zuko has to say is "jesus christ!" like he couldn't even pretend to barf.

and pinhead FUCKING RESPONDS: "not quite." buddy, i'll say.

he starts getting poetic and i never expected him to have an accent. who do you think you are, shakespeare? i've never heard of shakespeare writing a scene where taming of the shrew ends with a flesh barbecue.

pinhead does one fun thing which is compare himself to danny zuko, which in my mind is exactly right but danny zuko cries and whines and says "no that's fuckin evil man!!!" yeah, just. like. you!

according to pinhead, there's no good, there's no evil, only flesh. is this what he does, just eats people? i didn't expect this either.

"you will help me," he says.

no Fuckin way danny zuko says, bringing out a gun like this is going to do anything other than increase pinhead's desire for flesh cakes.

oh my god and then pinhead laughs and says "how touching, that is the gun you used to kill your parents?" LMAO WHAT????

zuko unloads the gun and pinhead spits every bullet out of his mouth. just lets em drop right out onto the floor. danny zuko then drops his gun.

looks like you're in this for the long haul, pal!

he drops to the floor and starts sobbing. puny man sobbing in his boxers dot jpg.

there is a place, pinhead says, at his right hand for this manchild. yucky.

aaaand true to form, danny zuko takes a minute to think it over and then signs right up. this is so insulting to danny zuko; maybe i ought to start calling him his real name which is JP, which also is not really a name.

meanwhile, joey is full on channeling murphy brown and lookin cute. her friendly grandpa cameraman runs up to give her a package. something for her story? mmm something for something. grandpa cameraman, ever a decent person (oh god what if HE dies?) says if there's any way he can help, just give him a call. i think the first thing he can do to help is contact a priest specializing in exorcisms, get to that statue, and end this before it starts hopping railroad tracks.

scully specs are back on, tape is in the vcr, quest to quit smoking is shot, and we are go.

the tape is of a girl in a room at what looks like that asylum that was referenced before, and she's talking about The Box.

"demons," she says. "demons live in the box." well girl, we are way past that, the demons are out of the box, in statues, in hospitals, that box barely has anything to do with anything anymore.

"it's a gateway to hell." yeaarrrrgghhhhh somebody close it, then!

this is a really nice shot, i just wanted to stop everything and have you look at it. hands!

uhhh thennn the tv switches to an image of a dude

and that dude

starts talking

to joey

NOOOOOOOOPE

"she's telling the truth, joey," this guy that sounds Suspiciously like pinhead says.

joey tries to rewind the tape to see what the hell that was, but there's nothing out of the ordinary there... nnnnggghhhhgdhflk

anyway, demons live in the box. it "opens itself", they come out, that's the sitch. fuck all this.

s-s-s-speaking of the b-b-b-box, here it is at joey's apartment, where hot topic is currently all alone. god if anything happens to her i will be devastated beyond belief. pleeeease don't eat her please don't eat her.

hot topic stares at the box the same way i stare at the box: with off-the-charts trepidation. but she notices what i also noticed, that it looks a little different, like now it has color.

"man, joey must've polished you up some, huh?" oh no please don't

i'm pretty much. gonna shit. please put it down please please please joey will be so sad if you are dead and i can't take it!

oh god and then the phone rings and she puts it down thank jesus

absoLutely not the phone call i wanted her to get.

jp wants hot topic to come over. no no, no, no no no, no, and no!

pleeeeeease just wait for joey to get home she'll protect you and you can both be safe! if you go over to jp you're literally going to be devoured by a hell beast aaaaahhhhhhhh

well thank the lord she says she just can't and slams down the phone. score one for pure love! can you win against the delicate softness of girls being nice to each other, pinhead, can you?!

uh wait, then hot topic triggers joey's messages and it sounds like cameraman telling her she got a job that she wanted across the country. ??? what happened to pure love?!

joey comes home and the place is just a sty. it's dark and hot topic's not there.

and she finds this note that says, "enjoy monterey, you liar".

welp, love is dead and the demons are coming! might as well start breaking ourselves down into bite-sized chunks!

that's all for this evening. we’ll have another fun jaunt tomorrow! now, what do you think is the best technique for cutting off your own arm? just grab a hacksaw and go to town?

#picspam #terry farrell #ds9

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odilekuronuma · 7 years

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Thoughts on Berserk

With the latest chapter (348) release I began wondering about a bunch of things, including my commitment to Berserk.

How dare you bitch about Berserk, Berserk is perfect!!

While I still consider Berserk to be easily one of the best titles around , and even of all times, it’s not perfect by any means, in fact it’s flawed in its own right albeit less than other titles.

Of course the views expressed in this post only reflect mine, and not two people will feel the same way about certain aspects. So you’re free to disagree with me on this.

I’ve been a fan for almost 8 years now, and it’s not an understatement to say that it’s not easy being a Berserk fan, not just because of the content itself which can be disturbing at time, but lately it’s been synonymous with some rather questionable long hiatuses from Miura.

My main issue with last chapter was that it didn’t accomplish much, aside from showing us how Caska sees herself and Guts.Now I don’t expect Miura to close the deal with Caska in a single chapter, let’s just be clear on that. This is obviously a very complicated issue, and it would take at least 3 chapters to see a resolution to it.But my biggest fear right now is that knowing how Miura works, and how it seems that the manga is resuming pretty much around the same time as the anime, we might not see the resolution to Caska’s problem before the manga goes into hiatus again.

Which would be devastating for fans, especially for those who have been waiting the longest. Now the second season of the anime is scheduled to air on April 7th in Japan and it’s going to be 12 episodes long from what I gather, so that’s 3 months more or less.

So we have still 3 more chapters to go before we see Miura go into hiatus again. Let’s hope he manages to wrap up the Caska stuff by then, and I’m really expecting something huge, in other words on a bigger scale to happen at Elfhelm too.

But more importantly, it’s the resolution of this ordeal that worries me the most. I will be pissed if things went back to normal, like nothing happened. Delving in Caska’s psyche, and learning how she sees herself and Guts specifically is interesting. Because other than the fact that she’s aware that she’s a burden to Guts, there might be some resentement on her part, in the way that she sees Guts still as a mad dog. Which he’s been acting as when he abandoned her and went on an Apostle killing spree. So to me that might show that she still sees him as a mad dog, like when he was in the Band at the beginning, which offers some hope that things won’t be all rainbow and sunshine in the end. Namely that Guts has some serious explaining/apologizing to do.

Aside from that, there is also the fact that I’m one of those who find that Berserk has changed too much in tone, as in it’s not as dark as it used to be. And no it’s not because of the kids....Changing things around is fine on itself, since no one should expect an author to do the same thing over and over again, in this case have Guts go on and about in the world acting like a complete mad dog, killing Apostles left and right (no matter how cool that sounds).

But for me Berserk was more appealing when it was more like dark fantasy, instead of going the high fantasy road. I never liked the Tolkien stuff, or just barely. And I always preferred inside Berserk all the Hellraiser references, with the God Hand notably being inspired by the Cenobites. Which is why ever since Griffith’s resurrection I felt like Berserk became too much about High fantasy, although granted Dragons are cool and I want Guts to tame one instead of killing it and he deserves to have his mighty stead, just like Griffith has Zodd....

But you get the point. Another thing that I didn’t like all that much ever since Griffith’s resurrection, was that the story is much bigger in scale if that makes sense, maybe too big actually.The stakes are higher, and Griffith’s actions namely are having some worldwide effects. I feel like Guts’ struggle is more relatable because it’s centered on his inner conflicts, not because he’s some kind of saviour. Because you can be sure he’ll be pushed into that role, because of him knowing Griffith the best.

Even if Guts officially went to Elfhelm to heal Caska, his meeting with Hanafubuku will have some large scale effects, as she’ll prolly see him as the only one who can really bring an alternative to Griffith, again because of his intimate knowledge of him.

My next point is one that I’ve been bitching about a lot, which is the art. And you’re free to stop reading now if you don’t want to see me bitch for the thousand time about how the art has taken a toll.

When I sat down and wrote this, and after I reread it I realized it was too long, and I still didn’t manage to go into details about how Miura’s art has changed, which is why I prefer to make an entire post dedicated to the evolution of Miura’s art. That will allow me to speak in details about the pros and cons of Miura’s new technique, if we can call it that.

But to summarize, it’s based on 3 major changes

1-The use of digital art inside the manga:not just for colored pieces but also for backgrounds from the looks of it

2-The lineart that seems to use more thick lines.

3-The shading that is simplified.

This of course is a very personal matter, but for me the major con of using digital tools for manga is that it makes everything look more airbrushed, and the art loses its grittiness as a result, which it so happens is the aspect I like the most about Berserk’s art, period. I even prefered when it was more manga-ish, as opposed to its latter instances where the art became more realistic, but it was way more gritty which I think fits Berserk’s dark theme perfectly.

And it is aggravated by the fact that it’s not some top notch digital art either, especially when you look at the colored pieces...

Miura simplifying his shading technique is rather sad tbh, but I’ll give more concrete details in a future post, with comparisons of similar shots between earlier volumes and the latest chapter release.

I know that this opinion of mine holds no value,and it certainly won’t affect how Miura is making his manga, but then again this is my blog and I created it specifically to talk about stuff that I like or dislike for that matter.

I talked about my commitment to the series, I think all these points I have brought up factor in it, and how I perceive Berserk right now. While I think it’s still heaps ahead than most titles, in terms of story and even in art, I think I’m just less involved in the story as a whole, in contrast with the past when I used to be very hardcore about it. Maybe it’s because I’ve been a fan for so long, or all those break took a toll on my passion for Berserk, or maybe it’s really because the tone that seems to be lighter now....Or and that is more likely it’s a combination of all those factors.

But the art alone wouldn’t make me less passionate about it for sure.

....That’s a longass post.

Don’t mind me, I’m just rambling.

#berserk #kentaro miura #thoughts

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idreamtofmanderleyagain · 7 years

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Hellraiser as a Horror Fairy Tale

So for a while now I’ve been struggling to come to a clear, concise take on what I feel the classic Hellraiser’s are actually trying to be about. There’s a lot of themes here that are easy to emotionally grasp, but it’s been a bit of a struggle to try and build a coherent logical analysis on what all of these layers are conveying when properly understood all together (let alone figuring out how to verbalize what I was seeing). This is going to be a MASSIVE post, so buckle up for a long ride.

This has been especially frustrating because so many people have already asserted so much. There’s a lot of analysis out there that feels very unfocused and vague, or focuses far too much on very specific aspects that someone has isolated, like the unsettling theme of “pain and pleasure, indivisible.” The problem of course being that these aspects isolated like this are taken out of their full context, divorcing them of the very necessary emotional/psychological depth of the narrative, resulting in a rather simplistic, confused, or vague understanding of what kind of story we’re actually being told. This is problematic because it’s very clear that these films, the first two (and even three!) in particular, are deliberately using these horror elements as metaphor and analogy in a way very similar to traditional, dark and bloody fairy tales (see the outright fairy tale themes and references in H2). These are films that seem to function with a similar kind of gothic unreality that say, Angela Carter’s works do. And in any good fairy tale, a wolf is not a wolf.

Overall, I feel like the classic Hellraiser films are narratives discussing the nature of physical versus spiritual experience, the intersections thereof, and how this applies to the complexities of human suffering, trauma, abuse, etc. First, I should clarify what I mean by “spiritual.” I don’t mean “spiritual” in a faith/religious/superstitious sense, but as in humanity; in other words our personhood, the part of us that experiences emotion, empathy, craves human connection and emotional intimacy. So in turn, when I speak of “physical vs. spiritual,” I mean “physical” as the body divorced from it’s humanity. With me so far?

The first two films cover this this topic in different ways, with the second adding layers of spiritual complexity to the initial ideas laid out by the first film (and the third film, while extremely flawed, adds a few more intriguing elements that kind of bookend the themes for me), so there’s a lot of ground to cover. But hopefully, this will clarify my take on the themes of these films and how they suddenly became some of my favorite films of all time. I was actually quite surprised I enjoyed them so much, because I kind of expected something more akin to Nightmare On Elm St., or worst case scenario the subject matter would completely repulse and offend me, but instead I found something rather sophisticated and more fitting on the shelf where I put Cappola's Dracula, Labyrinth, Legend, In The Company Of Wolves, etc. It's much more like a gothic dark fantasy series than your general 80's horror franchise. I felt like I was watching a long-lost classic that nobody told me about, and nothing has really given me the same feeling I had back when I first watched all those nostalgic cult classics. Hellraiser 2 might even be ripping Labyrinth off a tiny bit, actually. If you're only familiar with Hellraiser because of the awful sequels (movies 3 to 9), you don't really know what the originals are like at all.

So without further ado, here’s my long-winded, [TOTALLY SPOILERIFIC, YOU WERE WARNED] analysis under the cut. ;P

[Warning for discussion of difficult subject matter from the films, including implications of past child abuse, attempted sexual assault, objectification of women (intentionally depicted, not as a failing of the films), allegorical kink-themed demons, etc. In the films It’s all imo presented rather tamely/tactfully outside of the over-the-top 80′s gore, but we’re talking a bit about all of this under the cut.]

I see the first Hellraiser film as dealing specifically with the evils of selfish, consumptive physical gratification, devoid of spiritual substance/humanity. Frank opens the door to Hell through a desire to reach new pleasures, because he’d exhausted all other avenues. He’s unsatisfied with what this world can give him, so he seeks out “the pleasures of heaven or hell,” he doesn’t care which. And I feel this speaks to what is at the heart of Frank, namely nothing at all. Frank is a being that exists purely for his own physical gratification. He is a textbook sociopath; essentially empty, devoid of emotional substance, and so he seeks to fill that void in him with physical pleasure. In that endless consumption Frank dehumanizes women; they become objects who’s humanity he disregards entirely. I’ve seen people try to call Frank a somewhat “sympathetic” villain (in the literary sense, not the ~redeemable~ woobie sense) even if he’s revolting, because apparently people can relate to his (and Julia’s) dissatisfaction with the banality of life, but Frank’s dissatisfaction comes from a place of spiritual emptiness. He is disconnected from his own humanity and the humanity of others, and so he wanders endlessly in search of the next base, physical high (so uh, personally, I find it hard to relate).

This is mirrored in Julia, who abandons the “emotional” roles of wife and step-mother in order to resurrect Frank, who gave her the physical gratification she holds above all else in her life, including her own morality and the lives of others. Julia is slightly more sympathetic because her dissatisfaction seems to stem from a sense of being pushed into traditional female roles that give her no fulfillment, so there are interesting elements of women’s oppression creating a human disconnect for Julia (particularly when it comes to the ways in which men dehumanize/use her). That said, I think it’s clear from Julia’s behavior across the board that her disconnect from her humanity is exacerbated by her obsession with the physical fulfillment she finds with Frank. There is an interesting line in the film from Frank, where he describes the relationship they have as being “like love, only real,” implying that he rejects the highly spiritual, emotional concept of “love,” as though he perceives what is purely physical as the only thing of real value. For Julia, I’d imagine that this has become a truth for her, because the traditional “loving” relationships of “wife” to Larry and “mother” to Kirsty brought her no fulfillment.

The men in general of the film seek this same selfish gratification - Julia seduces men home to feed to Frank, all of them seeking to consume her. You can see this underlying consumptive menace when the first man she drags home reveals his true colors, spitting angry words under his breath at her when she starts to seem hesitant. (it is interesting that she in turn is “consuming” them; they serve a material purpose to her that has nothing to do with their personhood. She’s feeding them to Frank, who literally consumes their life-force.) Larry also reveals a consumptive side when Julia tries to distract him with sexuality; she starts to shout “no!” (at Frank, who is looming menacingly in the shadows ready to strike at Larry), and it not only takes him way too many “no’s” to actually stop kissing her, he gets indignant at Julia’s “hot and cold” behavior, as if he was owed her body and denied. There’s little regard for her needs; he does not ask if something had hurt her, if she was okay, he only says with indignation that “he just doesn’t understand her,” rather than make any attempts at understanding.

H2′s Dr. Channard is another case of a consumptive soul, single-mindedly obsessed with his pursuits. However, unlike Frank, Channard’s obsessions are, for the most part, non-sexual. Channard has a sadistic, clinical fascination with the mind, endlessly consumed with a need for knowledge and discovery. But while Channard’s obsessions are focused in a mental space, it could be said that this too is a soullessly physical pursuit; he views the mind as an object to viciously plunder, and so human beings become objects for his purposes. So, like Frank, he is a character utterly incapable of empathy, humanity. The sexualized Male Gaze is unnecessary for dehumanization.

Despite all this objectification and abuse, despite the heavy underlying sexuality in these two films, they both seriously lack any Male Gaze whatsoever. In fact, all images of sexuality are pretty much entirely given to us from the perspective of women. There is a single exception of Male Gaze bullshit in H2, where there's a woman hanging topless for no justifiable reason in Julia's murder room, though you could actually blink at the right moment and miss it entirely (and we don't see a man or monster perpetrate violence against her, it's just Julia who promptly eats her). While Clive Barker directed the first film (and is a gay man), the second film was directed by Tony Randall (who is I believe a straight man), and it's things like that one little topless moment and the mild focus on Channard's enchantment with Julia that makes H2 lean slightly further away from H1's Male Gaze-less track record. That aside, Hellraiser 1 and 2 are rather unique for their time period in this way, because it's such a hard-hitting focus on women's experience of sexuality, or how women experience male sexuality in particular, which in Hellraiser is almost always predatory, un-self-aware, or in Steve and Kyle's romantic designs on Kirsty, a little bit too self-focused and limp. This is starkly contrasted with Hellraiser 3 and pretty much all Hellraiser films after it (particularly the constant callous objectification and violence perpetrated against women in Revelations, which surprise surprise, is the most recent film. Thank's modern cinema. Don't fucking remake Hellraiser you sociopaths). Hellraiser 3 was the first film to feature Pinhead committing violence agains a woman (that fact right there? that's fucking amazing for an 80's horror franchise. Especially one featuring these themes.), who in the moment is scantily clad and just had somewhat graphic sex with J.P., and the visceral and negative reaction I had to this dumb, cringey scene is very different than any of the reactions I had to the gore of the first two films. It's nothing too hard to handle (he rips her skin off with a hook in a bad effect and then the evil pillar eats her, so it's very gory but nothing shocking), but I mention it because the first two films really stand out as horror films that managed to deal with the abuse and objectification of women as a subject without actually objectifying them or showing us gratuitous, fetishistic shock-value surrounding that abuse, the way so many contemporary horror, thriller, and crime-procedural media does.

Beyond Frank and Julia, the other half of this story deals with Kirsty and the Cenobites. First of all, Kirsty is someone directly harmed by the consumptive, selfish gratification of both Frank and Julia - with Frank, there are fairly blatant implications of child abuse that may have occurred years prior (and if not, most certainly he intends on abusing her now). As for Julia, Kirsty likely wanted a mother figure after the death of her biological mother, and she was denied this emotional connection from Julia. Later, Julia becomes a direct agent facilitating Frank’s attempt at abusing Kirsty. Julia doesn’t seem to care who is harmed in the wake of Frank’s consumption, as long as she can still receive gratification.

Kirsty is the major character who breaks this mold of reckless obsession with the physical. All of Kirsty’s dilemmas are focused in a spiritual, human place. She lost her mother years prior and is still struggling with her grief. Her relationship with Julia is strained, so any hope of a mother-daughter connection after that loss has been entirely torn asunder for her. She loves her father dearly, but she’s just gained her independence and is dealing with worry over her father. Her father wants her to play mediator in his strained relationship with Julia, who she dislikes. She’s starting out a new relationship with Steve, possibly her first adult relationship ever. She’s dealing with either a secret abuse trauma and/or traumatized over Frank’s re-appearance and physical assault of her. Where Frank and Julia are obsessively absorbed in their need for physical gratification, Kirsty deals with many layers of spiritual/emotional realities, positive and negative.

The Cenobites, as we know them in the first film, are cosmic beings that exist in extreme, grotesque excess of sensory experience, far beyond any human comprehension of “pleasure.” All they truly understand is pain. Their function is to reap the souls who intentionally open Hell’s door and enact literal eternal torture; Hell consumes souls like meat to rend and tear (an interesting juxtaposition of flesh and spirit that I’ll discuss more when I get into H2). These creatures seem almost devoid of anything recognizably human in terms of emotionality (in the first film anyway), they are Borg-like. But again, a wolf is not a wolf. These beings, and Hell itself, are supernatural allegories for the human character’s dilemmas. In this film, they are the looming threat of eternal consumption devoid of humanity, given face. The oblivion on the other side of the threshold. You invoke their presence, they come at your call.

There’s more to say about how all this plays out in the first film, particularly when it comes to how Kirsty is the second person (after Frank) to summon the Cenobites and how she uses them against her abuser, but first I want to bring up aspects that are more prominent in the second film to pull this whole picture together (the films really are a “Part 1 and Part 2,” to me).

The second film (my favorite, if you couldn’t tell) focuses much more heavily on spiritual themes. It’s set almost entirely in either a mental hospital or Hell, respectively. So immediately, we’re given two pictures, one of a place of spiritual/emotional healing, and one of eternal spiritual and physical torment, the lines between the two blurring and distorting as we get further into the story. This is important because this film seems to focus much more on the experience of psychological/emotional trauma.

“The mind is a labyrinth,” Channard says, as he artfully performs a grotesque procedure on the brain of a patient. And so too is this reflected in H2′s depiction of Hell as an endless cthonic Labyrinth, where lost souls experience hallucinatory reflections of their traumas and vices, subjected to psychological and physical punishments eternally under the watchful eye of Leviathan, the “god of flesh, hunger, and desire.”

Leviathan as an entity is a rather interesting and ambiguous being. Certainly, it is a “god” of baseness and physicality, but it’s realm is made of psychological torment, perhaps more so than it is a place of physical torture. Whether you are a “good” or “bad” person is utterly irrelevant; if you are in Hell, your soul gets reflected back to you, often with a heavy focus on traumas of your past. For Kirsty this manifests in her childhood home and images of her mother, which begin bleed and transform into an image of Julia - and perhaps it manifests in Frank’s presence. Although according to Frank, Kirsty has stumbled across “his” little corner of hell which manifests “his” punishments, the first time I watched the film (before he explained where they were) I initially was convinced that behind this second door was another reflection of Kirsty, that it was another trial for her to face. It looked to be the exact same door as her own, and well, the writhing ghostly women under sheets seemed to be an image of sexual repression or fear of sexuality (the brief glimpse of the woman who Kirsty pulls the sheet off of has her hair, as well). Is this piece of hell reflecting Frank’s punishments, or Kirsty’s fears, trauma, possible repression, etc? Or is it reflecting both simultaneously? It’s still rather ambiguous to me, actually. But I digress.

The point is that there is this heavier focus on trauma in H2, where H1 was much more tightly focused on the folly of reckless, single-minded physicality without human connection. This focus on trauma adds a whole new layer of dimension to the narrative because “pain” itself is something much more complex, here. Here, it is revealed that the Cenobites were once humans, and that humanization of these creatures that were once presented to us as allegory and pure cosmic evil is very interesting. Rather than present the Cenobites as the ultimate culmination of personalities like Frank when consumed by Hell, it’s presented as if these Cenobites were perhaps relatively innocent people. Why then, do some people become Cenobites, while others stay as tormented souls? To me, the answer is still unclear. I'm not sure there actually is an answer, beyond the whims of Leviathan. (Channard is the obviously monstrous person who was changed, but he seemed to me to have been chosen as a tool in the moment and then discarded. ) That said, “suffering” itself is more than just the experience of physical pain; the psychological nature of hell implies that this is also internal suffering, and the Cenobites aren’t just entities there to enact physical torture. They are beings that exist in this eternal, perpetual suffering of all kinds, who speak of that experience as something sublime.

The Cenobites spend the majority of their time in both films popping up periodically to speak to Kirsty, from ominous threats of eternal torture, to invitation of joining them, to mocking her with insinuations that some part of her wants their world. For Kirsty, they are demons that reflect back to her all those fears and repressions, all her internal confusion and torment, which is what they spend most of their time doing in the first two films. In Hellraiser 3, there's more of this element of Cenobites as psychological reflections: Pinhead acts as a tempter, using the psyches of the humans he encounters to ensnare souls, which is why with J.P. he's literally consuming women, and for Terri, he switches gears to be the voice of female vengeance.

Earlier in the film, we are given multiple references to fairy tales, usually as used by older adults to mock and belittle Kirsty. The detective mocks her for making up fairy tales about “demons,” and Julia mocks her by comparing Kirsty to Snow White and herself to the Wicked Stepmother/Evil Queen. These side characters demoralize Kirsty in her idealistic efforts to rescue her father from Hell and fight back against forces much larger than herself that a more cynical person could scarcely imagine overcoming. Later, quite similarly to the west wing sequence in Beauty and the Beast (I think coincidentally so, Disney’s BATB came out a few years afterwards), Kirsty explores a dangerous place (Channard’s home) and finds an old, faded picture of a man who she recognizes as the monster she has previously encountered. Ultimately, Kirsty saves herself and another girl through an act almost unbelievably idealistic and naive, especially for such a dark story. She finds a way to transform a monster back into a human being. This was a victory won not with physical violence, but through humanity; a fairy-tale-esque triumph that flew in the face of those who tried to demoralize or deny Kirsty’s reality. Furthermore, this victory is not about the tragedy of Pinhead, but the triumph of humanity and empathy overcoming darkness.

There are a few expressions of human connection and empathy in these two films, like the care between Kirsty and her father, or the attraction between Kirsty and Steve, Kyle’s attraction and care for Kirsty, or Tiffany holding Kirsty as she cries over her father, But for me there was never quite a moment as striking and emotionally raw than when Kirsty and Spencer are looking at each other across the darkness once his human face is revealed. It feels like very artful, deliberate visual contrast to the circumstances and surroundings. But I digress.

So to clarify this picture: Kirsty is faced with monsters personifying everything that represented her trauma and fears, etc. They represented all-consuming physicality without humanity, they represented the things in herself she may have tried to suppress (sexuality, trauma, etc.). Monsters that wanted her to be as consumed by their world as they were. She then utilizes her demons to destroy her abuser, and later recognizes the humanity in her demons and transforms them, frees them from their spiritual and physical eternal torment, and in turn is saved from the same fate, herself.

The third film (which I enjoy despite the fact that it is admittedly a raging trash fire) features a cast of characters all dealing with similar situations. J.P. is our endlessly consumptive user, and Joey and Terri are two women dealing with spiritual trauma. Joey through the loss of her father, and Terri through a broken home life and later abuse at the hands of J.P. The reason why I include the third film in this is because of those additional elements and the insight it gives into Pinhead’s human self, Captain Spencer, and how he perfectly bookends the narrative. Spencer is another person who once opened the box, but it was never clear why he did so in the second film. In the third film, he explains that he was trying to escape spiritual suffering (war trauma/PTSD) through physical means ("forbidden pleasures,” aka kink). At some point he came across the box and opened it. While there are plenty of monstrous men in all three Hellraiser films, and Pinhead himself is a literal monster bent on taking any soul who opens the box with some form of desire in their hearts, my take away from H3 was not that Spencer himself was ever an abuser like Frank or J.P. (and indeed his behavior when lucidly himself in H2 and 3 is decidedly in immediate defense of women he cares about, up to and including two counts of total self-sacrifice), but that Spencer was perhaps pushing his explorations into unsafe realms of self-harming. He was punishing himself, and was thus made into a cosmic punisher of others by Leviathan. So, unlike Frank or Channard or J.P., people who are susceptible to the box/Hell’s temptations because of their need to endlessly consume, Spencer was susceptible because he was so effected by spiritual suffering that he turned towards unhealthy physical means of escape. In my mind, there is something in this idea of self-punishment/self-blame that is also potentially true of, say, Kirsty. How else would she be genuinely susceptible to the box (beyond basic desire having opened it initially), if not that she was teetering on a similar edge, herself? (However, I think perhaps her darkness also veers into a streak of sadistic vengefulness.)

This actually makes the extended cut of the H6 Pinhead/Kirsty reuinion scene a lot more tragic and distressing for me, because underneath all the bullshit, there’s this subtext of Kirsty still running from her Hell and yet still encountering consumptive, abusive men and being pushed off the deep end into untempered vengefulness and violence. And Spencer, who once was freed by her and in turn sacrificed himself to free her from Hell, trapped once more in his monsterous form and obsessing instead over dragging Kirsty down with him to be as endlessly consumed by her pain as he is within his own. No thanks on that grimdark noise, H6. ...but fucking wow, tho. If you've seen Hellseeker but have never seen the extended cut of this scene, I'm linking it Right Here. Warning for...just...ugh. Badly written infuriating creepy grimdark bullshit that genuinely sounds like a bad fanfiction writer wrote it. But at least you have that one moment right at the end where you can hear Spencer's voice come through to help her get free.

In conclusion, I think Hellraiser is a story about, well, Hell. But Hell not as nebulous place where the really bad people go, but Hell as an allegory for eternal spiritual suffering, that absolutely anyone can reach and be effected by once a gateway is opened for them. Particularly so when it comes to reckless physical indulgence, or consumption, or unsafe vice overtaking one’s humanity to others, or towards one’s self. So ultimately, the “moral of the story,” if you’d like to call it that, is that in order to protect one’s self from being consumed by spiritual suffering, one must cherish and cultivate their own humanity, and in the case of people who have been traumatized and/or victimized, one must fight back against the consuming force of that spiritual suffering through confronting the hell that exists within. Sometimes that doesn’t mean blasting the darkness away and ignoring it’s existence, it means reminding the darkness that it is only human.

[Regarding the content of the films, feel free to message me if you decide to watch them but you feel you need a total break-down of what to prepare for.]

#Hellraiser #This is my meta post for this weekend #some of you are not as keen on DW or are on it less often I know #so here you go my dudes #if you see me around too often call me out on it #Horror #Meta

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musingsofanangryginger · 6 years

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31 Days of Horror 2017 Round up

Hello and welcome to the fruits of my labour. Below is a list and mini-reviews of each thing I watched during my 31 days of Horror. Some reviews are a bit beefier than others but I hope you enjoy nonetheless.

Day 1: The Invisible Man:

So I decided to start my horror by going old school…very old school, like 50 years before I was born old school. Back the 30’s Universal had a chain of monster movies which by today’s standards might be considered a bit on the tame side but from what’ve seen of that era and this one, this film stands up. So unlike the big-budget remake Hollow Man (come on now it is a remake), there is no transformation scene but instead, we meet our character after the damage has been done and we join him through his journey and his descent into madness which is excellently portrayed by Claude Raines.

Day 2: Shaun of the Dead:

After telling a few folks at work about watching this as part of my 31 days of Horror they immediately claimed it was horror. I respectfully disagreed, at least I think it was respective. Yes, of course, it falls way more into the comedy genre but it’s very clearly a horror comedy. I can’t imagine that there are folks that have yet to see this film but for the uninitiated, Shaun’s life is going nowhere fast, content to frequent the same pub over and over, stuck in a dead-end job (Pun count 2) his lady kicks him to curb. Turns out you need a good zombie outbreak to give you that motivational boost. Directed by Edgar Wright and penned by Simon Pegg & Wright and what’s delivered a genre comedy which wears its love of that genre on its sleeve. Hilarious, Gory with some emotionally powerful punches throughout. If for some reason you’ve been in a bunker with the Mole Women your excuses are limited as to why you’ve never seen this slice of fried gold.

Day 3: Gerald’s Game:

King’s back in a big way thanks to the success of IT and so it seems there appears to be some clambering to get his work adapted, this one such effort being a Netflix offering. Directed by Mike “Oculus” Flanagan we’re treated to minimalist horror which takes place for the most part in a single room with some passionate naughtyness goes tit’s up (Pun machine). This is bolstered by two great performances by Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood. Unsettling and just that little bit harrowing this was an enjoyable surprise. I don’t want to elaborate too much on this one as I feel that going in blind is the key. I will say that Mike Flanagan has the uncanny ability to creep me out with violence. What I mean by this, is that I’m so ridiculously desensitised to film gore and violence that media would probably label me and some kind of mental. In 2 of Mike’s films to date, I’ve shuddered and shivered one being this and the other the aforementioned Oculus which is also brilliant. I also completely recommend Hush as well.

Day 4: Red State:

Again another debateable horror. I firmly plant this in the horror genre as it completely uses so many of the tropes. There’s the young high school guys looking to get laid and it going badly. By badly I don’t mean “oops an std and a paternity test” no I mean kidnapped by fanatics and faced with their deaths. Where this is different is that it twists all over the place it hardly gives you time to catch your breath. I loved how Kevin Smith described writing this, he said that each time the plot got familiar he skewed off in a different direction to what would be expected and it shows. Fitting in with the “this is horror” claim by myself there is an extremely unsettling vibe in the first half of the film that is perpetrated by the late great Michael Parks. Good god, his sermon monologue is downright terrifying. Brrrrr. One of Smith’s best films and a genre I think he should revisit….well of course there is Tusk. Ha ha Tusk.

Day 5: Ash Vs The Evil Dead (Episodes 1-3):

I had seen the first 2 eps a while back so decided to get some of this watched again. This harkens back to the brilliance of Evil Dead 2 (more on that later). Here the idiotic but pretty capable Ash sets loose the deadites once more to the gratuitously gory delight of fans and newcomers alike. It’s hard not to love Bruce Campbell, He’s a genuinely charismatic presence. This is a show I desperately need to catch up with and feel there’s no excuse that I haven’t. I’m sorry!

Day 6: The Autopsy of Jane Doe:

It may be creepy to say, it may be weird to say, but I’m in love this film. These days you’d be very hard pressed to come across decent horror films which is sad. It’s a genre that has been limping along since the 70’s. Every once in a while though you get that gem that one in a thousand film that comes along and says “Boo” and you squeal. This is not one of these films. “But Mark” I hear you say “You seem to have bigged this film up” Why you backtracking. Oh contraire readers of mine, this here is the finest examples of the genre in last several years. The point I’m making is that it relies very little on the “Jump scare” formula and instead treats you a murder mystery with Horror along for the ride.

In wake of a horrific crime a body is found with no Id and who has no real ties to the crime that can be ascertained. It’s up to the Coroner and his son uncover why she was there, I will say no more. I felt that going into Gerald’s Game completely blind was the way to go, Jane Doe, I'd recommend a sensory deprivation tank of ignorance before going near this. Don’t even read the back of the dvd/blu ray case or google it. No trailers nothing, just rest in the knowledge that this film is entirely worth it. Creepy and gripping throughout with scares and revelations coming in equal amounts. Trust me when I tell you, you’ll want to know how this wraps up.

Day 7: The Scream Trilogy:

20 years ago this series of films kicked off (technically 21 but who’s counting…oh wait I appear to be sorry!) 20 years since the immortal “What’s your favourite scary movie” line became engrained in popular culture. The premise was simple a killer who had seen waaaaay too many horror films went a bit of a slaughter. Their knowledge of movie trivia is used against unwilling victims…crap, this person sounds a bit like me. Don’t worry folks I use my trivia for good or at the very most to annoy folks slightly. So with the decline of the horror movie genre or more accurately during its current dip Scream was released in an attempt revitalise the industry and to be fair it did. It spawned 3 sequels (with 4th coming out way later) and a current TV series. Like the killer, this franchise stayed alive longer than it should’ve. While 2 was probably my favourite of the original trilogy, this was due to the fact that I owned it on VHS and watched it constantly and that, of course, Sarah Michelle Gellar was in it (What can I say I had a crush on Buffy), I also really like the first one. 3rd is a bit pants but has its moments, notably Parker Posey playing Gail Weathers is hilarious and Kennedy’s cameo is also great. It’s clear though that quite ironically that by the 3rd this franchise was pretty stale. Doesn’t seem to be able to stop it though!

Day 8: The Void:

This film is absolutely MENTAL. A clear homage to the body horrors of the 80’s with the clearest being references to Hellraiser I felt, this starts off relatively sane and then skips down Insanity Drive, Crazy Avenue with a brief stop-over in Gross-ville. The films kicks off with a bloody bloke popping out the woods conveniently in front of a Sheriff’s car. The Sheriff takes him along to the local hospital where the weird begins. Cultists stop the folk from leaving and from there; well I won’t say too much more. I will say right out of the gate that this is most certainly not for everyone, most notably my good lady Evonne. She hated it with the passion of a fiery star. I, on the other hand, enjoyed the unhinged nature, body horror creepy vibe. Give it a bash if you’re looking for some nostalgic originality.

Day 9: Slither:

Before James Gunn was fanboying the crap out of Guardians of the Galaxy he made a horror comedy called Slither. This stars the always likable and charismatic Nathan Fillion as a small town sheriff having to deal with an alien invasion. Much like The Void, this seems to homage the body horror of old with truly Cronenbergian creatures, but unlike The Void this is flat out hilarious. All characters stretch their comedy legs keeping the laughs coming thick and fast but the stand out character for me is Mayor Jack McCready played by Gregg Henry. His intro as a crass a$$hole (there really is no better way of describing him) is comic gold and each time he’s on screen he kills it. I feel that this is a film that everyone should see once because it’s brilliant. Yes, there is a lack of articulation in that sentence so let me just say, It’s gross, a bit violent but extremely funny.

Day 10: Cannibal The Musical:

I want you to read that title again and know a few things. 1. It is not made up and 2 and one of my favourite things, of which there many, about this film, is that it is based on the True story of Alfred Packer. On their way to seek riches in a Colorado gold mine, a party lead by Packer end up being snacks for the would-be guide. Or so it would appear. I know what you’re thinking, this doesn’t sound funny. What if I was to tell you this was made by the guys responsible for South Park. I first caught this on Channel 4 back in the late 90’s as part of a Troma film season. It played late night and with good reason, within the first few moments, the blood and gore flowed in gratuitous and over the top fashion. Of course, that was nothing compared to when the songs began. Much of this can be considered a blueprint of the tropes that would end up furnishing the long-running and widely popular South Park. Poking fun at almost everything in the genre including but not limited Alfred Packer’s lost love Leighanne, it gleefully bashes all kind of clichés, notably of the musical numbers and horror variety. With musical earworms, you’ll find harder to get out of your head than human flesh out your teeth and many numerous comedic moments this is worth your time… or at the least is certainly worth mine, again!

Day 11: Dawn of the Dead (2004):

Oh man do I remember the uproar when this was announced: “Arrrrgh you can’t remake a classic, rah, rah rah etc.” Of course Hollywood was like “Shut it, ya pr!cks” but no doubt in a less Scottish vernacular. What we were presented with was a remake that paid homage to original but was in its own right also original. First off there is no shuffling but full pelt Zombies tanking it after folks, to the point where this out of shape chubby ginger bloke would be a Zombie entre, and while 28 Days Later may have had the same trope 6 years prior Danny Boyle is adamant the 28 Day’s Later is NOT a zombie film so Kudos to Zack. There is a larger group as opposed to original’s 4 which makes for a better character dynamic and there is care when likable characters go bye bye and catharsis when the bad characters join them. This is fairly relentless from the get-go, takes less than 10 minutes to get to speed and opening scene sets you up for a great movie. Potentially get some flak from DC folks over this but I maintain this is Zack Snyder’s best film. It’s Violent, Gory, Action packed as well as funny and emotional at all the right bits. Enjoy!

Day 12 Curve, Night of the Slasher, Blinky & Breathe:

On the 12th day of Halloween, my true love gave to me 4 GOLDEN SHORTS. Yes I know I’m off on the song and the lyrics but I just can’t seem to care! So I’ll break these down Short by short without going too much into depth because too much means “why would you watch it?”

Curve is the story of a girl who wakes up Clinging to a smooth, curved surface high above a sentient abyss. What more do I have to say about this that doesn’t have you intrigued; let’s just say that despite the simplicity, it’s very very tense.

Night of the Slasher is shot in a single take and follows a young lady looking to violate the code of horror by committing all the sins in order to confront her would be killer. This wears its John Carpenter influences all over its blood-soaked sleeve.

Blinky is the only Short I’d seen prior. The story a young boy and his robot who “just wants to be your friend”. Only he might be the most stable of friends, pretty sure we all have a fair share of those (if not you're obviously the mental one) I do love this short immensely. Emotional and a bit sad and pretty creepy.

Finally Breathe a very short piece in which a ghost who a young gentleman is enamored with, only appears when he holds his breath. Given how short this is I won’t say too much, but I will say it’s quite effective for the runtime.

Day 13: The Babysitter:

This dropped on Netflix on the same evening and I thought I’d give it a bash. The film follows your standard nerd, bullied, disliked, my childhood before I became the cool hip awesome bloke you all know and love etc etc. The only person who treats him with a modicum of respect is his hot too good to be true, nerd sympathising Orthodontist....pffft, of course, it’s his Babysitter. On a standard evening of Babysitting our Nerd-do-well spies some truly nefarious dealings which features his favourite babysitter and things go pear-shaped. Hijinks and some pretty gratuitous violence are unleashed. A film that doesn't take itself remotely seriously and quite fun. The only pitfall is the shite acting, but I’m not sure if this is a stylistic choice or laziness. All cards on the table I enjoyed this film, though a bit silly, it was a good laugh.

Day 14: Christine:

How many folks reading this have films that make you smile, that warm you no matter the genre. The equivalent of a comfort blanket? This is one such blanket for me, This here is one of my favourite Carpenter movies and Stephen King adaptation. This is a childhood classic for me and yes I was no doubt way too young to watch it but I’m so glad I did. This just your age-old typical tale of Boy meets car, boy falls in love with car, car turns out to be sentient and evil. No of course on paper this sounds guff and not too dissimilar to King's disastrous foray into Directing “Maximum Overdrive”, though trust me when I say this isn't that. What sets them apart is the creepy vibe present in Christine which is achieved by the acting talent with particular note of the leads decent into madness. The special effects are awesome and practically done and despite being 34 years old have aged better than me. My favourite of these practically done effects is the Flaming car scene. This still rings out a chorus from me screaming “HOW THE FUCK WAS THIS DONE?” The neighbours are not as appreciative as you might think. The final thread that ties this gem together is John Carpenters score. A cherished childhood memory and a long-standing favourite of mine which is yet to get old.

Day 15: Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension:

Ahhhh the never-ending gravy train that is the Paranormal Activity franchise. By this point I assume Oren Peli is surprised that this franchise just wont rest, yet it endures. Its a very hit and miss series of films with none really capturing the originality of the first. So far I’ve not liked one of them, which was the third. The latest entry is by no means good, in fact its predictably flawed but there is an inherent difficulty keeping things fresh. This one attempts the whole 3D thing, but to be fair that is probably just an obvious attempt to squeeze that little bit of cash. Thankfully I watched it on Netflix and so I didn't have to deal with the 3D. I did however liked the explanation, in that the 3D was due to a modified camera designed to catch spectral energy. Bit flimsy I know, but better than just ignoring why a found footage series is now 3D. The story is one of those predictable flaws mentioned earlier and is on the generic side. The scares are decent but of course because the film is devoid of score builds up a background noise rumble (if you've seen any of the films, you'll know what I’m talking about) which is that cue that basically is telling you when to be scared. I hate this trope in horror films which is usually marked by the rising music. “Get ready to get scared people, woooooooh” Its false tension. If a horror film is well done it doesn't need to rely on this cheap trick. But I digress. The film was enjoyable, there’s something very gleeful in being able to see the spectral entity that the characters can't. Even if looks a tad mucus-y

Day 16: The Sixth Sense:

A film, like the original Planet of the Apes, that everyone knows ending of. However if for some reason you’ve never managed to see this gem, I shall remain spoiler free here. So why would you watch this a second time despite knowing how it wraps? Well because it’s a very well put together creep fest and a hell of a debut from M Night Shyamalan. Yes that guy who ruined Avatar the Last Airbender. It's hard to imagine but there was a time that he was held in pretty high critical regard, his first two movies are masterworks and The Village is critically divisive but I believe its one of his most underrated films, that's right I said it, come at me, bro, and by bro I mean the internet! Also in recent years The Visit and the excellent Split has Shyamalan on a pretty clear comeback. But back to his feature debut. For those cave dwellers, the film centres on the relationship between Broken psychologist Malcolm Crowe played by Bruce Willis back when he gave a shit and Cole Sear a troubled child with the darkest of secrets. Malcolm see’s Cole as his redemption case and Cole just wants to be helped and to be rid of his curse. You see Cole is visited by some pretty darned scary spectres and he just wants to not be, which is fair enough. The two leads work very well off each other and feel for both but it the relationship between Cole and his mother that really sell this film, at it’s hear despite all the creepiness you have this Mother/son relationship which is not only believable but filled with emotional heft, I challenge you not get overwhelmed by the scene between the two in the car. Another re-watch point is absolutely fantastic score by James Newton Howard, The scares though generic these days are still quite unsettling but what makes this different from other horrors is the aforementioned emotional depth from all involved. This is a movie I’m happy to revisit.

Day 17: The Final Destination:

This series is an extreme guilty pleasure for me. There is not much in the way of the story of depth and all follow the same generic formula, Big disaster happens or supposedly happens as standard character get the old bit premonition and stops him/her and bunch of other him’s and her’s from being part of the disaster. However given that they’ve gone and wound up Death and he’s like “NO, I’M NOT HAVING IT, THAT’S JUST NOT ON” the survivors are dispatched in creative, over the top and pretty darned gruesome fashion. This entry sees the main disaster set piece taking place at a Nascar race and after all the carnage takes place, shock, our would be protector warns a group of folks off. The deaths come thick and fast after which. This film is probably the worst of the bunch but was put on due to the relative “brain switch offedness” if afforded. There is a few highlight, the swimming pool scene, and my particular favourite Red neck + Tow Truck but this is very much a meh movie. Marred by the whole 3D inclusion the death scenes look a bit pats and very CG’d but it’s enough to switch off and enjoy.

Day 18: 30 Days of Night:

Imagine a town where once a year there is a month of no sunrise. Now that might be unsettling in its own right but imagine that vampires discover this place exists! Buffet time and humans are the snacks. The isolation and the threat at the heart of this are simultaneously brutal and subtle. Yeah, there are some pretty spectacular set pieces but the film decides to go down a route where the fight for survival is more central. The build-up is quite slow and creepy with strange occurrences happening before we're introduced the Vampires. Carnage ensues but We spend more time with the survivors to in their claustrophobic hideout feeling just as powerless as them. The vampires are dealt with is suitably terrifying fashion, totally selling the predatory habits and ancient lineage. Very few lines of English dialogue is uttered by them, instead opting for the use of an ancient sounding language. These days in the wake of Twilight, it's hard to think of Vampires as scary creatures, this film harkens back to a time where you know you’d sh!t yourself coming face to face with one these Scary b@stards. You should also check out the source material written by Stephen Niles and drawn by Ben Templesmith. Sorry, Niles but it’s Templesmith's artwork that always draws me back, which is not to say the writing isn't good, but pick it up and you'll know what I mean.

Day 19 Holidays:

An anthology piece around certain yearly holidays Starting with Valentine's day and culminating in New years. There are some truly dark and fuckked up shorts in this film probably taking the cake for latter is St Patrick's day & Easter. The standouts for me were Fathers Day, Valentine's day and Christmas Day. As with most anthology films there are hits and misses and a couple fall short but all in a decent little bunch if segments, like an evil Chocolate Orange!

Day 20: Fist of Jesus:

Tonight was Games night and so I introduced my friends to the wonder of Fist of Jesus. Now, this sounds like a very dodgy title but it's not that kind of sacrilegious, it's sacrilegious in a completely different. After Jesus performs the miracle to resurrect Lazarus, things go south in an undeady type of a way. It's then up to Jesus and his bestie Judas to dispatch these strolling corpses...with lots of fish. But don't take my word for it, here are quotes from watchers:

"Made me convert to Christianity"- Archie

“Too tired, for this pish Mark!”-Evonne

“I’m at Church every Sunday now”- Liam

This is definitely worth 15 Minutes of your time!

Day 21 The Blackcoats Daughter (February):

The danger these days with horror is to make a relentless 90 minute to 2 hour Jump scare fest and therefore make the film ultimately forgettable at its conclusion. The horror films that stick with you are the subtle slow burners that will build atmosphere throughout and only employ the jump scare periodically. You see this with the likes of The Innkeepers and It Only comes at night and in this case with February (Aka The Blackoats Daughter). From the outset, there is already something not entirely quite right and the unsettling undercurrent continues to wash over you until the film's conclusion. Often showing very little and allowing you to imagine the scenario that’s unfolded just out of eyeshot. The premise see’s a couple of young girls left at their boarding school for a winter break due to the parent’s “forgetfulness” to come and collect them in time. There is an age gap between the two ladies with youngest of the 2 going through some unsettling changes. I feel in terms of giving a synopsis that this should be enough. I suggest just going in and watching without much prior knowledge. If you prefer your horror atmospheric and slow-burning then this is the gem for you.

Day 22: The Love Witch:

This film is stunningly shot and immediately gives you the impression you’re watching 70’s era hammer type film. While not your typical horror, it brings you in with a captivating lead and Rom-Com type of premise. Elaine (Played by Samantha Robinson) just can’t seem to make love stay. More accurately every man she falls for kind of ends up not alive, it’s pretty unlikely. Being a practicing Witch she uses her oh so considerable power and allure to reel in the unfortunate gentlemen until of course, she meets the “right” one. She then does everything she can to get him to love her back. This is a gloriously mental, at points funny kind of horror. There not full on gore for those violence hounds and there isn’t an awful lot to be scared about. It skirts the edge of “horror” very well giving you a unique experience that is likely to linger Not for all and I suspect some folks, particularly the horror aficionados may not rate this quite as highly as I do but I suggest giving it a try, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Day 23: Evil Dead 2:

Oh man, this movie fills me with a genuine sense of giddy glee whenever I think about putting it on or previous viewings that have some pretty happy memories for me. Cheesy as it sounds Movies serve for a lot of my happiest memories, taking my mum to see Marvel films, my girlfriends and I’s first date and the source of many others and my collective entourage viewings where I drag a group of my friends to see the big releases or even the tiny ones. Evil Dead 2 has particular significance in my growing up and memories with my Aunt. A day many years ago, two young folks with horror in their hearts trawled the Jack Kane centre park where a car boot sale was taking place. Through the hubbub a young Mark spots Evil Dead 2 on VHS split seconds before his Aunt Claire does and before she knows it he’s bought it from a guy, who let's be honest, shoulda checked the young Marks Id. Claire's frown slowly fades as realises what our afternoon now entails of...we’re bloody gonna watch Evil Dead 2.

I watched these films in reverse order having been shown Army of Darkness first but this is my favourite given its history. That day, as Claire and I sat in front of her tiny TV and watched this splattering of genres was a day I fondly remember and as a result will get just slightly giddy when I hear the narrator say “Necronomicon Ex Mortis, roughly translated “book of the dead” or when Ash has his maniacal laughing fit, or Henrietta in the fruit cellar or the Iconic “Groovy” and punch the air moment. Each of these moments, as well as the rest of the film, will get me goosbumpy. For those who haven't seen this (and come on if you haven't, have a word with yourself) Ash played by the always brilliant Bruce Campbell takes his lady for a romantic getaway in an isolated cabin in the woods. Of course now one draws a line in the fucking sand and Ash reads the Latin, or the latin sounding words. Either way, it's a dead language (been a while since I punned, was getting the shakes). Anyhoo this awakens something dark in woods and what follows is a blending of some excellently brilliant slapstick comedy and genuine moments of terror. It's a mix that should never work, the serious dark tone of the horror and the outlandish ridiculous humour. But man does it work and work extremely well, there's gore, dismemberment, pratfall, hands with evil intentions and a laughing mounted deer head. It's hard to express praise any higher than I already have for this film. It has a special significance to me which will won't dissipate.

Day 24: Happy Death Day:

Groundhog Day with stabbing. Oh, you want more than that, gosh needy lot are you not! Tree Gelbman wakes up on her Birthday in a strange blokes room and goes about her standard college (University) type of day. Goes to classes, get's off with folks she's generally not supposed to until, when on the way to a party, she’s brutally dispatched. Well maybe not brutally, as the violence is pretty gosh darned tame. She then wakes up in the same boy’s bedroom...at the start of her Birthday. TIME LOOP YAAAAAAS! This rinses and repeats until the film wraps. This film could've been standard plop if not for a charismatic lead played by Jessica Rothe. She is having an absolute blast and you're along for the ride! This is a lot of fun and made me smile. My only real criticism is the lack of gore being that it's a PG-13 in the states. Now neutered horror can be good, this is a prime example but I feel my bloodlust could've been pandered to Just a little.

Day 25: Halloween:

Remember what I said about Evil Dead 2? I mean how could you not, its the largest chunk in this. Well, Halloween is another of those memory makers but don't worry I won't gush...too much. So yeah Black Christmas may have come first but this film is almost predominantly responsible for the slasher Horror subset of the genre, it was in the wake of this that Freddy & Jason came along (more on them later). Michael Myers is the Grandaddy of horror villains and despite treatment in recent years, started his tenure as a bloody terrifying presence. John Carpenter uses his bogeyman sparingly first, building suspense before the inevitable slaughter-fest. He stalks the poor babysitters, with Jamie Lee Curtis center stage. It still stands up because of its subtle build up, creative dispatches of those horny teens and that score. Carpenter’s scores are all pretty much iconic and sound excellent live. If you haven’t, watch this film which I was obviously too young for when I first viewed!

Day 26: Jigsaw:

Let's get this out the way, the first Saw film is an excellent isolation thriller with a gripping story and engaging characters and with the notable exception of the 2nd film the rest of the franchise is pure shite. The films central core is completely overshadowed in the previous entries by the increasingly elaborate gore creating traps and the convoluted ways the keep using to tie each entry into it's predecessor. None have been as clever as the first. The second comes close but it is ALL downhill from there.

So was Jigsaw any good? Well it's premise is suitably intriguing with Jigsaw murders kicking back off 10 years after the franchise villain John Kramer has gone to the trap creating factory in the sky, or perhaps more likely the ground. There are obvious clues pointing to Kramer's unlikely return but something is not quite right. That is where the smartness ends as the film find it hard to decide what it's gonna do and therefore the big "reveal" is pretty much "saw it coming". Despite my misgivings, I did enjoy this film but more in an " awwww look it's trying so hard to be as good as the first". If you want to capture that previous macabre magic of the first, strip down the budget, the location and characters and tell what seems like a simple story. I suspect there's a Hollywood exec thinking of doing the complete opposite which is why this film and any subsequent entries will ever be as good as the original.

Day 27: Tucker and Dale Vs Evil:

You know the old horror genre trope of those backward Hillbillies being those to avoid horror films cause you'll be "doomed" if you cross them? Well, prepare to have your prejudices reversed. Tucker & Dale Played by Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine respectively are off to fix up their summer cabin when these pesky kids start dying all over their property. The film pokes all kinds fun at those standard genre cliches by flipping them on their head and keeps poking fun until the end. It's violent but only in over the top to prove it's commitment to its irreverence. Laugh out load throughout and quite heartwarming at others. This is a particular favourite of mine and I'm glad I included it.

Day 28 Stranger Things Season 2 (Episodes 1-5- at the time but. season complete now):

So we paced this. I firmly believe that binge-watching is not a good habit to get into. It's so easy to sit for 8/9 hours, or higher, straight and tank a series thanks largely to Netflix's model. The problem is that once it's done in record time...you have nothing for a year. Ordinarily, I prefer to watch 2/3 eps at a time over several days or sometimes weeks. Restraint means better enjoyment, so despite having the whole the season at your fingertips pace yourself. So now my rant is over on to How good was Stranger Things S2...VERY! Before I start gushing I'd like to address the Demogorgon in the room by saying Episode 7 haters gee yerself peace! There was absolutely nothing wrong with the episode and it's placement, Jesus they establish the fact that this will be addressed in the very first episode. It gives some much-enjoyed character development to Eleven and despite claims that it kills the pace I think it gives a needed breather, especially if you are binger. Also, anyone else I've spoken to in person very much enjoyed the episode so there is that. So this season kicks off a year after the events of the first. Will is still having a rough time of it with it being claims of him struggling with PTSD but something more sinister is present. Joyce is dating Samwise Gamgee and Nancy and & Jonathan are pretending they don't love each other and so on. Look the story is great and I could outline plot thread by plot thread but lets put it this way if you want to sit through a compelling nostalgia trip with some of the best ensemble of talented child actors to grace the screen in many years then this is your cuppa tea. There are some pretty great stand out moments, Farrah Fawcett Hairspray anyone? I'm curious to see where the Spielbergian Steven King by a jaunt through Silent Hill goes next and will be like the rest of you. Eagerly anticipating Season 3, which just in case you were in speculative doubt has just been greenlit! Can't wait.

Day 29: Brain Damage:

Saw this back at Dead by Dawn a few years back, it's certainly a film. I have quite the fondness for this schlocky tongue in cheek affair in which Brian awaken one morning not feeling the best. it turns out that this is because he has a new companion in a smooth-talking symbiotic parasite known as Aylmer. Aylmer's friendship is not free, in exchange for some mind-expanding chemicals that Aylmer excretes, Brian must hep his new friend acquire Brains...human brains to be exact. Not to Brian's credit, he remains fairly oblivious to this for the most part due being trashed out of his gourd.

This film is more comedy than horror but there some pretty gratuitous moments of gore and the films core concept means that there is a whole of lot creative ways to dispatch the brain buffet's and I mean creative. For those who have seen this film, You'll know exactly what scene I'm referring to and those who haven't well go ahead and give it a bash. A great but insane 80's offering.

Day 30: Freddy Vs Jason:

God this movie is stupid. I mean really stupid. But let's put some of the old bit perspective on this bad boy. Before the MCU, before WB was struggling with the DCEU we had a crossover that horror fanboys were geeking out over as much as I did watching the Avengers: Infinity War trailer. This was the showdown that was eagerly anticipated since Krugers Razor accessorised glove dragged Jason's Mask to depths of hell 10 years prior to the closing seconds of Jason goes to Hell. Was it worth the wait, well probably not but I was still excited to see it, to the point I nearly elbow dropped a boy for spoiling it while I was up a ladder adjusting a Finding Nemo banner. Reckon I'm going to leave that there with no hint of context. As stated the film is stupid but sets it's self up is sort of clever SORT OF. Freddy is in a bit of a funk as now he's all but forgotten due to a plot by local police to hide the truth about the previous murders (yup, that's not made up). The irked Kruger decides he'll dispatch a would be slaughterer for hire and goes about waking Jason up from his rest and sets him loose on the Elm st kids taking credits in a bit of a dick move. When Jason won't come to heel, well that's when the old "Vs" comes into play and the scraps take place in Freddy's dream realm as well as in the real world, and I have to say the set pieces are pretty cool. It's not the best film, hell it's not even a good film but it brainless as the "teenage" fodder in the film and pretty darned enjoyable.

31. Train to Busan:

And finally, my horror films came to a close for the month with this South Korean cracker. A father escorts his young daughter to Busan by train to see her mum for her birthday. A journey the young girl insists she's capable of going alone, you'll be glad the Father decides not to listen to her as all hell breaks loose when some of those pesky living impaired board the train with a lack of tickets and etiquette of the biting of humans. The rest of the film thunders from one tense set piece to another ensuring the sphincter remains puckered throughout. There is some also very surprising emotional heft throughout and moments that make me test my manly non-crying limits. Director Sang-ho Yeon is definitely one I'll keep an eye out for.

So there you have it. Took me a month to write, next year if I do this I'll be sure to write the reviews as I'm going along. I would appreciate any feedback, comments or discussions you want to have as I require constant validation. This includes suggestions for 2018's 31 Days of Horror. If you have made it this far, thanks and I hope you enjoyed this Macabre Madness.

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