Horror Movies Watched & Books Read (April 2010)

MOVIES

Lo (2009) **1/2
This movie proves you make an engaging film with limited budget and a good concept. If the comedy factor would've been toned down, I would have rated it higher.

I Sell the Dead (2009) ***
A campy tale full of fun about grave robbers. Great performances, a splash of comedy, and a some gore. This one is just a good time.

Buppah Rahtree: Flower of Evil (2003) ***
A horror movie from Thailand suggested to me by a friend as it's one of her favorites. This one starts out rather melodramatic as a good looking rich kid wins a bet with his buddies by having sex with shy girl, Buppah. She gets pregnant and has an abortion...and dies. The middle part goes into almost full on slapstick and parody (The Exorcist has big influences here) as it deals with the cast of characters in the apartment building Buppah now haunts and the local shaman trying to exorcise the ghost. The final act is nothing short of Takeshi Miike territory. It has a little of everything and I actually jumped out of my chair once.

The Zombie Diaries () **
It seems to dread over much of the same issues as we've all seen before without bringing anything really new to the table.


Lake Mungo (2009) ***1/2
This fictional tale done in documentary style about a family experiencing supernatural events after their daughter drowns is simply great. It never takes down the path you think it's heading and the final fifteen minutes are down rite chilling.









Hidden aka Skjult (2009) ***1/2
A man returns home after his mother's death and attempts to deal with a tragedy from his childhood. This Norwegian film has a Twin Peaks feel to it in terms of the setting. There are some truly suspenseful moments as the plot unfolds. Nothing is as it appears.

Dread (2009) ***1/2
There's plenty of gore, violence, and sex in this very good adaptation of the Clive Barker story. The tale about a group of college students trying to discover the nature of fear simmers nicely until it explodes into all out chaos at the end.

Society (1989) **1/2
An suburban teen is introduced to an underground society. Some great imagery in an average tale.


The Eclipse (2009) ****
While not all out horror, there are a few scares in the drama about a man who seems ghosts and befriends an author of ghost novels.


The Fourth Kind (2009) **1/2
If I want to watch a documentary, I watch one. What I dont want to see is actual footage either spliced in or side by side with actors portraying the same scene with audio tracks overlapped onto each other. It's annoying and hurts what could have been a good movie about alien contact.

Blackout (2007) **
People are stuck in an elevator. They have secrets.

The Final (2009) *1/2
High school outcasts get revenge on the popular kids. Nothing original or all that interesting.

City of the Living Dead (1980) **1/2
A ton of gore from the master Lucio Fulchi but a thin, thin story. Worth watching.

The Collector (2009) **1/2
I loved the premise, a guy attempts to rob a house which just happens to be already occupied by a deranged serial killer. There's some cool gore and it's stylish, but ultimately too many plot holes for me.

Next Door (2005) ***1/2
Another disturbing mind bender from Scandinavia about a odd neighbors who hold secrets. A little predictable, but the movie has style.

Cabin Fever 2 (2009) **
A lot of good gore but nothing else all that interesting in this one. Huge disappointment from Ti West, who apparently disowns it as the producers made drastic changes.

# Monster Quest, Season 4 (2010) ***1/2
The show tries to find scientific facts on if cryptids exist or why animals are being scene and living in parts of the US that they shouldn't be in. A solid season as usual, but the seem to be focusing less and less on cryptids.

# Destination Truth, Season 3 (2009-2010) ***1/2
More of the same from Josh and the gang. They try to find creatures of lore or occasional ghost and normally come up empty. I still find it more entertaining than most of these type of shows.

Smash Cut (2009) **1/2
This flick is a dedication to master of low budget gore, Hershel Gordon Lewis. It hits the mark fairly well as a movie director adds authenticity to his horror movies.


Paranormal Activities (2009) ****
I'm all about the slow burn in horror and subtleties. This one doesn't disappoint and is very effective.















BOOKS
Horns by Joe Hill ***1/2
An fun little story about a man who wakes up one day to discover horns growing out of his head.
















Best of Fantasy & Horror, Fifth Edition ***1/2
I didn't read all the short stories, but enjoyed the ones I did.

Under Appreicated Horror Author #6 - Richard Laymon

Richard Laymon wrote many well received novels in the horror genre before he died in 2001. His peers knew him well, however to non-horror fans he's basically an unknown. And that's a shame. Also published novels under Carl Laymon and Richard Kelly. Many of his short stories can be found in collections.

I've read Cuts, about a serial killer, which was as graphic and brutal of a novel as anything I read before. This was my first forray into Laymon. A handful of other a setting in my pile of books to read.


NOTABLE BOOKS
- The Cellar (1980) {Beast House Trilogy #1)
- The Beast House (1986) {Beast House Trilogy #2}
- Flesh (1987) Stoker Award Nominee
- Funland (1989) Stoker Award Nominee
- The Stake (1990)
- Bite (1996)
- The Midnight Tour (1998) {Beast House Trilogy #3}
- The Traveling Vampire Show (2000) Bram Stoker Award winner

Horror Movies Watched and Books Read (March 2010)

MOVIES

3/1 - The Children (2009) ***
An enjoyable little fright flick, that probably hits a nerve a bit more if you have kids. It's still effective movie.


3/3 - Satan's Little Helper (2004) **
An interesting idea which becomes kind of a one trick pony after awhile.

3/4 - Organizm (2008) *
I was pretty well drunk when I started watching this movie. And all the alcohol in my body couldn't convince me this didn't have loads of bad acting & special effects. I shut it off, slammed my drink, and went to sleep.


3/6 - Antichrist (2009) ***
I've read other reviews that call this art house horror. I'd tend to agree. The first 2/3 of the movie is a lot of boring dialog and sex. But the third is worth the price of admission alone. This movie has one of the most fucked up scenes I've watched in a movie (I cringed). And there's another scene which contains an image I've never witnessed before in film.

3/9 - Wizard of Gore (2007) **1/2
Gotta love Crispen Glover in this Hershel Gordan Lewis remake that doesn't shy away from blood.

3/11 - The Ferry Man (2007) **
This New Zealand horror movie didn't really do anything for me. Felt way to long. The only reason I didn't hit the fast forward button was because the remote was out of reach and I was lazy.


3/14 - Triangle (2009) ***
This is the type of movie that will either become better after a second viewing when you see all the small touches in this multi-layered story or becomes much worse because the surprises are gone. But after the first viewing, this is an great Twilight Zone feel of a movie.

3/17 - Broken (2009) *
After the first twenty minutes, I was bored with the familiar tale of a woman being held & tortured by a lunatic. I made it through the next fifteen before turning it off to take a shower.

3/19 - Skeleton Crew (2009) *1/2
A film is being made about a crazy, serial killer doctor and it's being filmed at the asylum where the events took place. The director starts going off the deep end. Dispite low budget, it had potential but couldn't pull it all together.

3/20 - Blood Creek (2010) ***
The first half of this movie is a solid suspense tale with a nice backstory. Suspend your disbelief for the second half and get through the bad CGI and this is an entertaining horror movie.

3/21 - 4Bia (2008) ***1/2
Another fine effort from Thailand. This ghost story anthology is a fun outing. The final segment was my favorite but the opening tale had a twist that I never saw coming.

3/23 - Red Sands (2009) **1/2
A good cast, a solid story, and eerie setting makes this one you may want to check out.

3/24 - Colour from the Dark (2010)
I'm a sucker for films based on Lovecraft stories. This one falls a bit short though.

3/26 - Parasite Eve (1997) **
You can skip this adaptation of the kick ass video game. It's nothing too special.

3/28 - The Darkroom (2005) *1/2
Not even good actors can save this mess of a movie.


3/29 - Orphan(2009) ***1/2
A pretty darn good horror flick, which I probably would've rated slightly higher if the big surprise hadn't been ruined for me by watching Tosh.0 a couple of weeks ago (he gave it away). Still it's well worth watching.













BOOKS

Phantoms by Dean Koontz ****
This could be my second favorite Koontz novel (after The Taking). If you've only see the movie, do yourself a favor and pick up the book.











Red by Jack Ketchum ****
Not a true horror novel, but it does explode in violence ala the usual Ketchum way. Actually, it's a rather cool novel about an old man wanting justice for the murder of his beloved dog. What pet owner cant relate?







The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks
Full of facts, witty fun, and general common sense. This it's everything one could want in a survival manual.

Under Appreciated Horror Authors #5 - Ramsey Campbell

Ramsey Campbell is one of the most prolific horror writers working today. Yet once again, he is relatively unknown to people and fans outside the horror realm. And he's had stories published since the late sixites. What I like most about this highly awarded, British author is the fact that he honestly states "I write horror". There's no sugar coating to be found.

A great lover of the Lovecraft's Cthulu, a lot of his work is influenced by it. Later works of fiction focus on both different supernatural occurences and the sheer daily terror which people can encounter.

My first read by Campbell was The Parasite, which is about an entity living inside a human a slowly taking over. A great book which actually helped me figure out a similar story I was working on at the time. I've also read several short stories of his since. And I have a couple of novels waiting in my reading pile.

For about the author, please visit his website



OTHER NOTABLE BOOKS
- The Face That Must Die (1978)
- The Nameless (1980)
- The Incarnate (1983) British Fantasy Award winner, Best Novel
- The Hungry Moon (1986) British Fantasy Award winner, Best Novel
- The Influence (1988) British Fantasy Award winner, Best Novel
- Ancient Images (1989) Bram Stoker Award winner, Best Novel


- Alone With Horrors (1993) Stoker Award of the Horror Writers of America winner, Best Collection / World Fantasy Award winner, Best Collection
- The House on Nazareth Hill (1996) International Horror Guild winner, Best Novel / British Fantasy Award nominee, Best Novel
- The Grin of the Dark (2007) British Fantasy Society winner, Best Novel

Travels to Key West

When I asked if I'd be interested in working an event in Key West, my answer immediately was yes. I've never been and rarely turn down an opportunity to travel to a new destination. Plus it's the middle of March and Spring Break for many colleges and I'm there over the weekend. I became very excited when I found out that my Saturday would be free.

The flight from Indy to Fort Meyers was decent, until the last 30 minutes. Then it became one of the worst flights I ever flown on. I damn near had to use the barf bag. After landing and getting my air legs grounded, I had to reticket and re-enter security. What a pain in the ass. The thunderstorm was still passing through so my flight to the Keys was delayed. Then delayed again. And delayed once again. Normally this annoys me, but the plane scheduled to take us was small ten seater. The other passengers and myself quickly became travel buddies as we were all certain we were all going down together. Unfortunately I did not partake in the bar activities because I was scheduled to start working as soon as we landed.

Eventually the flight took off and landed. Not the worst flight ever, but not the best. I landed and grabbed a cab (immediately noticed the endless bikinis strolling the area) to the Casa Marina and started setting up gear for the next day's meeting. We finished about 6:3opm and went to our hotel. It was so damn muggy. I cant believe that I forgot to bring cargo shorts! About an hour later we hit the city bus to travel to Duvall Street, which is the main tourist area of the island. I wanted to beat down a group of early 20's guys there on Spring Break. They were so damn annoying.

Duvall Street reminded me a lot of a smaller, not quite as wild Bourbon Street. With all the bars and restaurants and party atmosphere, there's a similar feel. We had dinner at the Hog Breathe's Saloon where I at conch fritters and conch chowder for the first time. After walking around a bit and a stop at Irish Kevin's Pub for a couple of more drinks and listened to an entertaining guitar player, we headed back to the hotel for our early morning. Too bad as I felt like I could drink all night long.

After a bad meeting with some audio difficulties, we struck the gear and stored it away. We finished up by noon and had almost 24 hours until we needed to be back for set up and an award banquet.

We hit up a Winn-Dixie grocery store and I ate lunch. I decided to take a stroll up the coast to the beach area. Such beautiful coastline. And not nearly as muggy. It was amazing outside with a nice breeze coming off the ocean. After about an hour, I realized the sunscreen was quickly wearing off so I jetted back to the hotel. Then I went to the poolside bar and had a couple of drinks. There were a lot of regulars there that had a comfortable feel to the place. Went back to my room and got cleaned up for another night on Duvall.

Upon arriving we walked right into the end of a wet tee shirt contest and women flashing their breasts for beads. These are practices and customs that I've never really understood, but I'm all for female nudity so I'll never speak ill of it. Then we headed over to Mallory Square where there are several street performers. A couple of delicious mojitos later and being distracted by some women walking around with only painted flesh for clothes, we found a place for dinner at Guy Harvey's Island Grill. I had a tasty Carribean crabcake sandwhich and the best piece of key lime pie ever.

Now it was time for bar hopping. We started at the orginal Sloppy Joe's, which is now called Captain Tony's. Had a huge glass of island punch. About this time, my stomach was full and my head a bit tipsy. I had to make a decesion to go all out or cut back. I chose to slow down. We then hit up Rick's.

This is where the night turned. Next to us was a table of guys. They were being loud and obnoxious and one was hitting on a married girl, who's husband didn't look very pleased. Suddenly two of them jumped up and decided to arm wrestle (one was around late 20's, the other early 50's). The older guy won. He jumped up and screamed "You got your ass whipped by a gay guY!", repeated in an even more flaboyant nature and proceded to dance and give high fives all around the bar. This included me and my co-worker. He then sat down and started talking with us. Then his husband joins us from the other table. We're all chatting, the table of obnoxious drunk people, the married woman and her husband, and myself along with my co-worker. Then one gay guy was actually orginally from Fort Wayne and he starts talking about things in the Fort. Small world, I guess. Some how it's decided that we will all go to the strip bar, The Red Garter Saloon. I didn't really want to go, but my co-worker did so I agreed. Plus we got in free as the gay couple had free admission tickets. Most of the night I sat at the bar, drinking moderately priced beers, occasionally checking out the all nude dancers, and talking to a bartender from Poland. Eventually the rest of the party fizzled out and left us alone, which was good as they starting to be very annoying. I was getting really bored but my co-worker wanted to stay awhile. I ended up leaving. I grabbed another drink at a Bull & Whistle before flagging down a cab back to the hotel.

On Sunday, we headed back at the Casa Marina to set up for the Awards Banquet. The set was long and tried my patients. We had several obstacles to jump through from not having the right equipment to the room being a lot more packed than we were told. The doors opened and the client fed us an awesome steak & lobster dinner. Excellent. Finally it was awards time. The meeting went long and we struck the gear and stored it until morning. Back to the hotel after a 14 hour day. I was exhausted.

We loaded out gear at 7:30am. My co-worker headed back with the equipment and I went back to my hotel and waited until noon. Going through security at the airport, I got pulled over for a hand swab. The TSA agent said "Hope you're the lucky winner today!" It was not very funny to me. That's not the lottery I want to win. In the waiting area, I saw one of my travel buddies from Friday. She was a very fun gal to talk with and we were both much happier about the sunny skies. Taking off was awesome. You could see the island all around and the ocean. Wish I would've got some pics. The flight got rough as we closed in on Fort Meyers. In fact it was so bumpy that my head hit the air vent. Twice. Leaving two nice marks on my scalp. After saying goodbye to my travel pal, I got reticked and went through security once again. This time no humor from TSA. Two and half hours before my flight. I ate nachos and had some ice cream. A full flight back to Indy and then a two hour drive back to Fort Wayne. I finally got home around 11pm. Another long day.

I really enjoyed the laid back, go at your own pace lifestyle of Key West. No one gets too excited and everyone likes to have a good time. I can myself revisting some day as I could get used to that life. A houseboat maybe...