The Girl Who Loves Horror

TEXAS FRIGHTMARE WEEKEND 2016: Day Three

2016-05-05T22:27:00.000-05:00

It may have been Sunday and the last day at the con, but there were still so many more things to experience and do! I usually use Sunday as a shopping day, so here is all the cool stuff I picked up from vendors that day (and the other days, but I'll just put them all here). I said before going to the con that I was going to slow down with the t-shirt buying this year, but of course that didn't happen.

And thanks to one of my favorite vendors, I finally got an original one-sheet for Child's Play!

Still haven't seen Green Room yet but I'm sure I'll love it! The Alamo Drafthouse table had these mini posters for free so I snagged them both.

I had also said before going that I was going to find at least one cool art print this year, and I actually got a bunch. This is a great collage poster from Pallbearer Press.

And another nice mini print for Return of the Living Dead.

Mondo always has the best art that is usually only available at the convention, so I finally got one this year! I loved this Scream one, but I really could have bought all of them - there were awesome ones for Jaws and A Nightmare on Elm Street as well.

And because I don't have enough movies already (JK, I do, but you can never have too many movies) I got these import Blu-Rays of Night of the Living Dead 90 and Night of the Creeps from Severin Films.

Actually, one of the coolest things of the whole weekend happened before the convention even started for the day. I went downstairs in the morning to get my coffee (which was muchly needed) and then went outside to drink it and enjoy the weather. As I'm just out there chilling, Lance Henriksen came outside for a cigarette and sat down next to me on the bench. I was kind of freaking, but didn't want to say anything until a guy came up to talk to him. I took a picture for him, and then we all just chatted for a bit. I mentioned how fun one of his latest movies, Harbinger Down, was and then when the other guy left, Lance kept up the conversation with me. We talked about how nice and friendly everyone was at the con and where we were from, and holy shit, I couldn't believe that I had just had the most casual talk with Lance freaking Henriksen!

There were still some huge names I had to meet today, so I headed right for Robert Englund before the show started. His line was of course huge (there were actually people who were waiting all day the day before that had to come back!) and I actually had to leave it after a while because he had a photo op and then I had a photo op, but don't worry! My time will come!

During this break that I had, I got in two more meets. First was Matthew Lillard. He was so wonderful to the fans, just sitting on the edge of his table and giving everybody a great meeting. I of course got a hug from him (he gave my shoulder one of those real squeezes as I was leaving), told him how much fun he was in Scream, how great the Scooby Doo movies were, and thanked him for being there at the convention for Wes. And he wrote "Liver Alone" on my Scream picture that I picked out for him to sign, which made me so happy! This guy just rules.

Another big name that I never expected to meet in my life was Rose McGowan. I love her as an actress and a person (there's a video on the TFW Facebook page of her singing karaoke at the party Saturday night!), and this was another honor. I had bought my autograph ticket the day before and picked out a Planet Terror picture for her to sign. I told her how fun that movie was, and she was just like, "Yeah, it's so rad, isn't it?" I asked her if she had a quote from the movie to put on my picture, and we talked a little about her gun leg and how real it looked, not like CGI at all, and then I just thanked her for being there and what a pleasure it was to meet her. Thank you again, Rose!

Now it was time for yet another amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience. With all the big names from Scream there, they were doing a Scream Team Up photo op with Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard, Skeet Ulrich, and David Arquette. It was expensive, but who cares! When I was the next person in line, David Arquette glanced over at me, noticed my Wes Craven shirt and was like, "Oh, you got one of those!" Then he pointed it out to the other guys, and said, "Guys, look at this, it's a tribute to Wes." They loved it. When I was getting into position for our picture, I said, "Oh my god, this is like a dream come true!" and Rose said, "For us, too." Just look at this picture! It fucking rocks!

Only two more meets left! I skedaddled back to Robert Englund's table because there was no way I was going to miss him. A guy a few people in front of me in line had this awesome standee of Robert as Freddy in New Nightmare, and Robert stopped for a second to show it to everybody and said how rare it was. I love seeing how amazed and surprised the celebrities are by the stuff fans bring to them, it shows how much they appreciate the experience. One reason Robert's line took so long was that he was being awesome to everybody that came to meet him and having a great conversation with each of them. I thanked him for being there and said what an honor it was to meet him. Then I said that he reminded me a lot of Vincent Price, which he was thankful for, and talked about how being in horror movies was such a blessing for him because it made him known all around the world, just like Vincent Price. Wow, dudes. Another bucket list item checked off! Robert Englund is the man!

It seemed like every time I went by Lance Henriksen's table, he wasn't there, so when I finally caught him, it turned out to be the perfect time because after these last people in line, he had to go to a screening for his new movie, Daylight's End, and then he was done for the day. It was kind of funny when I got up to him because I was like, "Well, I already got the chance to talk to you earlier today!" and he laughed and said he remembered me. We chatted a bit more, he talked about his new movie, and I absolutely love this guy! What a great picture from Aliens, right?!

I met up with my podcast friends Joseph and David after this last meeting, bought some of my swag, and then they saved my life by offering to take me out to dinner when they were done getting their interviews. But first, I had to catch this Freddy cosplayer, who was totally into it and gave me some great pictures!

We all said goodbye to Texas Frightmare Weekend for the year and then went to get some food. I went to their place so we could record a quick wrap-up episode for their podcast, and met their dog who tried to eat my face.

I may say this every year, but I really think that Texas Frightmare Weekend 2016 was my best convention experience yet! Thank you once again to Loyd Cryer for putting on one hell of a show and bringing in so many people that I have wanted to meet for years. I will absolutely treasure every meeting I had with every celebrity, all the other attendees, my new friends, the vendors, and the dedicated and hardworking TFW volunteers. The show was absolutely KILLER and gave me so many awesome memories and experiences. I will most definitely be back next year, and every year after that if I can! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU Texas Frightmare for the most phenomenal weekend of my life!!!

TEXAS FRIGHTMARE WEEKEND 2016: Day Two

2016-05-04T16:49:00.000-05:00

Oh, wow. What a fantastic day with so many great people, experiences, and pictures! Here's a picture of the crowd waiting to be let into the doors:

How could that not make you excited?! One important event I wanted to get to this weekend was a not-to-be-missed panel, which started at 1:00 on Saturday, so I had two full hours to get in as much as I could. My podcast friends were back, but they had their own stuff to do, and we split off after a little while of hanging out. I still had a ton more people to get and swag to scope out, and I got right down to it!

First meeting of the day was with a lady who should need no introduction - Danielle Harris! She's super talented, super adorable, super nice, and of course a horror icon. I couldn't wait to meet her. I told her how much I loved pretty much everything she did with Adam Green, gave her huge praise for her fantastic directorial debut Among Friends, and asked if she had any plans to direct more in the future. She said she would probably do something later this year (I think), and that it would of course still be in the horror genre. Awesome. The last thing I blurted out was that her tattoo is beautiful (it is, go check it out!). I was nervous about taking a pic with her because I thought I would just look like an idiot and maybe I do, but I don't care! This woman was the best and I loved her!

Aside from meeting your horror heroes, one of the best things about conventions is making connections with other fans. I had already reconnected with a few people as I said in the previous day's post, but there were also a bunch of other new friends that I kept running into throughout the convention. One of them was this guy Dean, who traveled all the way from the UK for his first convention and his first visit to the states ever! I met him either on Thursday night or Friday morning, I can't remember which, but we were both down at the coffee bar Friday morning so we had breakfast and a great conversation together. He's actually a really talented artist that does book covers and he showed me some of his stuff, which was stellar. Anyway, it was after meeting Danielle that I saw Dean again, and we both wanted to meet the same person at that time so we went together. Here's to new friends!

But who were we meeting? Only one of the most awesome men in the business, TONY TODD! We talked to the really nice woman who was working his table while we were waiting and trying to pick out a picture for him to sign. I saw a pic from Sushi Girl there, and the woman and I were telling Dean and this other lady in line how good it is and how much they need to see it. I let Dean meet Tony first, and I could tell how excited he was, which made me so happy for him. Then it was my turn, and Tony immediately commented on my Hatchet Army t-shirt. Then I said that I feel like I should be bowing down to him in an "I'm not worthy" way and actually bowed down to him, and he just laughed and started bowing back! We talked about Sushi Girl a little, he signed my Candyman picture, and I also told him about the article I wrote for Wicked Horror about the Five Horror Actors I'll Watch in Anything, and that he was one of them. He was very appreciative of that and told me to Twitter a link to him. Before posing for a picture, I asked for a hug which he was happy to give and then I got another one as I was leaving. Tony Todd seriously could not have been more cool - he was so nice and chatty to everyone, and just a down-to-earth, real guy. What a blessed meeting!

Dean and I reveled in the high of meeting Tony for a bit, then I had to say goodbye because it was time for my panel. A huge draw of the convention this year was that Loyd Cryer put together a large roster of guests from Wes Craven's films. To honor him, there was a "Remembering Wes Craven" panel with guests Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, David Arquette, Skeet Ulrich, Ronee Blakely, Mitch Pileggi, Amanda Wyss, and Miko Hughes. The moderator asked a few questions and each person got their opportunity to share funny and touching stories about what Wes was like on set and in life, what he meant to and taught each of them, and what his legacy means for film. I loved hearing all of it, and even though I didn't full-on cry, I definitely teared up at times, especially when David Arquette said Wes was like a father figure to him and you could see the emotion on his face. Great, great panel.

After the panel, it was time for a meeting that I was so freaking stoked about that I couldn't contain myself. Unfortunately, just as I got in line to meet this person, they left their table! They had a photo op scheduled at that time and I was right near the beginning of the line so I decided to wait. Heather and Acacia stopped by and kept me company for a while and we took a selfie version of our yearly group photo together.

Our line got moved closer to the guest's table, and a short time later he came back. I was finally going to meet Kane Hodder! I saw how he could come off as intimidating to some people, but I felt like I knew how he really was so I wasn't nervous at all. Just like Tony Todd, the first thing he said was that he loved my Hatchet Army t-shirt (I knew it was the perfect one to wear when I met them both!). I told Kane "thank you" for his book Unmasked, and he was like, "Oh, did you read it?" and I said of course, man, and that I cried while reading it. And he said, "But then you were laughing out loud, right?" Absolutely! He said how amazing it was that something like that could make you feel all these emotions and I totally agreed. Then I mentioned how excited I was for his upcoming documentary, and he was, too, saying that it was going to be really good because they were going to talk to the woman who helped save his life the day he was burned. I can't wait to see it! I sat down for a picture with him, and before I left I asked him if he gave out hugs, to which he replied "You know I do," and pulled me in. He told me again that he loved my shirt, and this was truly a fantastic meeting!!! I fucking love Kane Hodder!

As Matthew Lillard was a guest this year, one of the cool, extra special things they had for the convention goers was the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo! It was parked outside the hotel all day Saturday, and later on, Matthew was doing a photo op with it, but for now I just got a picture of me with it!

I went back onto the convention floor and noticed that David Arquette didn't have much of a line at that time, and I jumped right in to meet him! It was so hard to pick a picture for him to sign because he was in so many movies that I love, but I didn't have anything from Buffy the Vampire Slayer yet so I had to go with that one. I told him as much when it was my turn to meet him, and he was so sweet and smiley, such a doll. I mentioned the Wes Craven panel from earlier and how great he was there, and he appreciated that. As you've probably gotten by now, I am all about the hugs, so I got one from David and another great picture!

I caught some more super creative and fun cosplays while deciding what to do next, including...

Have I mentioned yet how much I love my fellow horror fiends?? These cosplays were so awesome to see! Other horror fiends I love are the wonderful vendors that come to Frightmare and the fantastic goodies that they bring with them. My favorite people are the folks behind Atomic Cotton t-shirts, Erica and Zach. I think I have bought a shirt from them every year since my first con, and this time I scored an Event Horizon one and finally asked them to take a picture with me!

It was around this time that I got a Facebook message from my good online buddy Craig Edwards, who asked me if I had met Adrienne King yet. I was very grateful for this because I actually kept forgetting about her! Her table was in a different room than the rest of the celebrities, with the Dark Arts exhibit. I headed straight there and didn't have to wait long at all to meet the totally sweet and personable Adrienne! She was wearing this badass hockey mask necklace that I commented on, and then we talked about how cool her wine business is, her art, and I dropped Craig's name for him! She was happy to know that I knew him (well, sort of, I guess!) and mentioned their ghost hunting trip together. She signed my Friday the 13th picture, gave me a "camper hug" as she called it, and like most everybody I met this year, she could not have been more sweet or gracious. One of my best meetings ever!

It was dinner time now, and I met up with my bud Chris again, who sat down with me while I ate. We were in the same room where they were having the Twisted Trivia game, and we tried to play along in the back. I also got some pics with the Tarman display they had!

But oh no, the night still wasn't over yet! Acacia and I were going to the VIP party that night, but she was running a little late because the photo op with Matthew Lillard and the Mystery Machine got backed up. I met her out there and got some cool pictures myself!

We made it to the VIP party where all kinds of awesome shenanigans went down! Okay, maybe not really shenanigans, but we had a blast hanging out and getting all kinds of great pictures with the celebrities who showed up! Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ulrich were there together and with so many people wanting to take pictures with them, they just started a little line to get everybody. Couldn't pass up this opportunity!

Next, we caught the guy who is just a super class act, Lance Henriksen! I have a great story about him that happened the next morning, but for now, I have this!

I had just watched Nightmare 4: The Dream Master again shortly before I went to TFW and was reminded of what a good movie it is, and what a great character Rick is, so when I saw Andras Jones at the party, I had to go up and tell him. We talked about Nightmare 4 and then we all just joked and laughed about random stuff. Another great guy and one I wasn't expecting to love so much, but I did! Meet him if you ever get the chance!

We met Andras on our way to Kane Hodder and I was so freaking excited that Kane was at the party because there was something I still needed to ask of him. When he saw me, I think he recognized me from earlier and before I knew it, he grabbed me in the best bear hug of my life!

Now this coming up was one of the best moments of the convention (and again, of my life!). When I had met Kane earlier that day, he had just come back from a photo op and was maybe not in the groove yet of the meet and greets, so I hesitated to ask for what I really wanted. But not this time!

I FINALLY GOT CHOKED BY KANE HODDER!!! Anybody else that has ever experienced this, you know how awesome it is. And in case you were wondering - yes, he really does choke you! He doesn't just place his hand on your neck, he really squeezes, and it was the most amazing goddamn feeling ever. I couldn't stop laughing while he was doing it, so after Acacia got the picture, he was like, "Oh yeah, she really likes that" and he was pulling my hair, and again it was fucking awesome. I got another hug goodbye and he told me again that he loved my Hatchet Army shirt. Life mission accomplished.

Some other people we met up with at the party were...

...Nora Hewitt, the winner of Face Off, and the badass who helped apply Howard Sherman's Bub makeup for the photo op that day. Really cool chick, wish I had more time to talk with her. After Nora, we caught James Remar!

James was also a very cool guy, of course. In the picture behind us is Sean Clark, an all-around horror guy who does all kinds of stuff in the genre including representing a lot of celebrities for conventions. I told him that I had heard his episode of Killer POV and marveled at the fact that he owns a screen-used clown doll from Poltergeist. Then, while we were talking, Adrienne King came up to Sean to talk to him, saw me, and said "Hi, Michele!" I had just met her a few hours before and she remembered my name!

Composer Alan Howarth was also a guest this year and he was sort of DJing the party for a bit, and even played a little guitar. There was a video screen that was playing some experimental-type footage from movies, and it was so boss to hear him play the Halloween theme music! Later on that night while I was talking to some other friends, he just randomly came up to us and asked us how we enjoyed the party and the music. What a guy! I got a picture with him, too.

Soon after this, it was time to call it a night. This whole day was absolutely fantastic, and I just can't believe all the amazing experiences I had! One more day to go but even more awesome to come, of course!

TEXAS FRIGHTMARE WEEKEND 2016: Day One

2016-05-03T17:11:00.000-05:00

Texas Frightmare Weekend 2016 was absolutely amazing, my fellow horror fiends, and I cannot wait any longer to tell you all about it! So let's just jump right in and talk about all the awesome that this past weekend had in store for me.

The show ran from Friday, April 29 to Sunday, May 1, but my weekend really began on Thursday night. I got to the hotel, and then later on that night, I met up with three of my online horror friends who I was seeing in person for the first time. Joseph, David, and Shaddai are Dallas natives who run a podcast called Cinefreak Critique, and I've actually been a guest on that show twice now (on the first show, we talked about Diabolique, and on the most recent show, we talked about Sleepaway Camp 2). They picked me up from the hotel and took me out dinner at this amazing place where we had the best burgers and sweet potato fries (marshmallow fluff dip, holy shit). It was so cool to finally meet them all face-to-face and we got on like we'd been friends for years.

But of course Friday night was when the awesome really began. I had again purchased a VIP ticket for the show, so I headed down into the main room to pick up my wristband and goodies. Here's what was inside my VIP bag:

Official TFW Day of the Dead inspired program.

Bub artwork.

Lots of movies!

TFW koozie and a Scream (TV show) cell phone cleaner pad.

Random goodies and magazines.

Official TFW t-shirt, and a shirt from Arrow Video promoting their
American Horror Project releases.

When the show actually started and we got to head into the rooms, I honestly spent much of my time just wandering around and feeling totally overwhelmed! This was my fourth year at Texas Frightmare Weekend, but I really didn't have much of a plan this time of what I wanted to do or what order I wanted to meet people. The first thing I ended up doing was meet up with a previous TFW friend Chris (who actually took me to Wal-Mart earlier that day - thanks again!), and we hung around the Full Moon table. Chris had a great Puppet Master record that he wanted Charles Band to sign, so we waited for our moment. We both had a great chat with Band all about Puppet Master and other Full Moon awesomeness, but unfortunately did not get a picture with him.

Actually, we had a wait a bit to talk to Band because he was chatting with TFW founder and showrunner, Loyd Cryer. I had met Loyd last year and got to thank him for what an amazing show he puts on every year, but for some reason I didn't ask for a picture then! I had a goal to catch Loyd sometime this weekend to remedy that, and was so happy that I got him first thing on Friday night.

After this and doing some laps around both of the rooms to take everything in, I was finally ready to get that first meeting under my belt. Since I had my Chucky doll with me and was wearing my Child's Play 2 t-shirt, I knew the first one had to be Mr. Gerrit Graham, who played Andy Barclay's foster father Phil in CP2 (he was also in Chopping Mall, hell yeah!). This guy was great, so high-spirited and engaging, and what he wrote on my picture was exactly what I was hoping he was going to write! And so I have added another awesome picture and autograph to my collection of Child's Play people! Yes!

Around this time, I caught a picture of a hilarious Dinosaur Freddy cosplay...

...and another great cosplay from one of absolute favorite movies, Carrie.

One big thing that I had to get done that night was my professional photo op with Robert Englund. You guys. ROBERT ENGLUND. I didn't actually meet him at his table until Sunday, but he wasn't doing photos at his table for the show (probably because they knew he was going to be crazy busy) so I couldn't pass up this opportunity. While waiting in line, I saw some of the pictures that other people were coming out of the room with, and was unbelievably excited to find out that he was wearing the Freddy glove for the pictures! One guy was like, "You're going to love it, he's having so much fun in there!" And it was definitely true. Robert was rocking the glove, putting each person in a different pose for their pictures, and just really getting into it and giving everyone a great experience. I love, love, love how the picture turned out! This shit is getting framed for sure.

I met up with Joseph, David, and Shaddai again as they were covering the show for their podcast and we spent some time enjoying the show, until I suddenly ran into my long-time TFW friend, Acacia! I met Acacia and her sister Heather at my very first Frightmare and we see each other every year, and hang out with each other as much as possible while we're at the show. I seriously love these chicks, they're so wonderful.

Now, I had changed into my Pet Sematary shirt (and put the Chucky doll away) because of the next person I wanted to meet, and that's where I was heading when I met Acacia. But while we were catching up, he left his table and I thought that I would have to get him later. Luckily, though, he was only gone for a bit and came back after about an hour, so now it was time to meet... Miko Hughes! Miko was of course Gage Creed in Pet Sematary and also Dylan in Wes Craven's New Nightmare, two more of my favorite movies ever, so I was ridiculously excited to meet him. The guy meeting him in front of us actually had a pretty badass Pet Sematary tattoo with Gage on it, and Miko loved it. When it was my turn, I couldn't decide which picture for him to sign and asked him which one was his favorite and he jokingly said none of them. I finally decided on the one below, and he was like, "That's actually my favorite one, I was testing you." So cute. I told him how great it was to meet him and that those two movies were so important to me. We also talked about the upcoming Pet Sematary documentary, which I cannot wait to see. Miko was so sweet, and when I asked for a hug, he hugged me back like he really meant it. Amazing guy!

The convention was over for the night shortly after this, but I still had the annual Friday Night Party to go to! The theme this year was for Halloween II, so the MC and other people were dressed up like doctors and nurses, and there was a cool hospital backdrop in the room where people could take pictures. I ran into another old TFW friend at the party and he ended up being my dance partner for the night, which started with the whole room singing "Bohemian Rhapsody." Then there was lots of dancing, a costume contest with some even more amazing and fun cosplays, and I got a picture with the winner! Great idea for a cosplay from Dream Warriors!

At about 2 o'clock in the morning, I had to call it quits because Saturday is the craziest day of the convention and I knew I needed to get at least some sleep! Everything I got to experience so far had been so amazing, but the best was still yet to come in the next two days! Stay tuned for more awesome!

Movie Review: The Witch (2015)

2016-02-19T15:59:00.002-06:00

Returning from my viewing of The Witch on an unseasonably warm and sunny day in February, it's still hard to shake the feelings with which the film left me. The unlikely horror period piece has been generating a lot of buzz ever since its festival debut, and has now been given a deserving wide release in theaters. You don't have to believe ALL the hype if you don't want to be disappointed, but I really hope that if you see this creepy flick, disappointment will be the last thing on your mind.

In 16th century England, a man and his family are excommunicated from their village for religious reasons. They settle on a small farm of their own in the middle of nowhere, next to a dense forest that is most assuredly hiding something evil. Witchcraft seems to be the main culprit when their infant son goes missing one day, and the mix of desperation and fear causes the family to slowly turn on one another as they suspect one of them may be the one in deals with the Devil.

As The Witch was just released today, I'll forgo my usual spoilers and find other ways to convince you to see this movie. The big name of the game here is dread. The Witch is consumed in this constant feeling of dread. Even in the simplest of scenes, I was completely on edge about what was going to happen next. An early scene involving the titular witch sets the audience up for how far the movie is willing to go, and those visuals stay with you as the story goes on, keeping that tension tight. Sometimes the movie delivers with a break in the tension, but sometimes it doesn't. You never know when something creepy is going to happen or what it might be, and that's what makes The Witch so compelling.

The movie is methodical with its direction, editing, and music to help build this tight atmosphere and keep it going throughout. It savors the use of long takes and holding on a particular shot to pull you into the scene, sometimes offering a crescendo of beautiful, but insanely eerie, music to accompany it. There were times when I was absolutely terrified, even though there wasn't really much happening on the screen. There is just enough information given to propel the story, but there is also a lot held back in The Witch. The insulated location doesn't allow for outside influences, except the belief system of the characters, which only goes downhill as their situation gets worse. Neither they or the audience knows who or what to believe. Adding to the family strife is their spotty food supply, and the possibility of having to send their children off to another family to survive.

This breakdown of the family unit also brings about much of the movie's suspense. The eldest daughter, Thomasin, is the main person targeted for being a witch, as she was with the baby Samuel when he disappeared. Mother Katherine seems to put the blame all on her, but she gets sympathy from her younger brother Caleb and father William - though that doesn't last long. Jonas and Mercy are the young twins who are both adorable and quite creepy at the same time (kids always are). This cast of unknowns excels in each of their roles - they all get a chance to shine and do so brilliantly. And though the language of the time period may make some lines difficult to understand at times (I have developed somewhat of a reliance on subtitles for all films, so I definitely missed them here), it doesn't put any kind of burden on the story. You still get it, so don't worry about that.

If The Witch succeeds at what it's trying to do, there will be some scenes that will shock you, or at least thoroughly freak you out, but it is not all that violent or gory. It is really just intense, and it gets there solely through the atmosphere. Even seemingly innocuous animals like bunnies and goats are made terrifying from the way the movie is shot, and the amazing score only intensifies this all the more. For a truly moody film that expertly ratchets up the tension in almost every scene, see The Witch.

Franchise Review: Leprechaun: Origins (2014)

2016-01-13T09:06:00.001-06:00

Another franchise is in the can, fiends, and it's time to say goodbye to the Leprechaun. Well, actually, we said goodbye to him with the last film, because things went in a much different direction for this "origin" story. More on that later, though. I enjoyed the Leprechaun movies a lot - there's no doubt that Leprechaun 3 is my favorite and by far the most fun film of the bunch - but all of them had their own quirky charms. Haha. Charms. Anyway, let's finish things up with Leprechaun: Origins.

Four young friends backpacking through Ireland come to a small village that promises to hold exciting historical sites. Staying overnight in a local cabin, the kids suddenly find themselves the prey of an ancient creature that is out for revenge and especially blood - and it's not the only foe they have to fight as they try to survive the night.

So this is definitely a complete 180-degree turn from all of the other Leprechaun movies in that this is the first film of the series that is a real horror movie. The comedy side has gone almost completely out the window, and this movie takes on a far more darker, serious tone. Warwick Davis is sadly nowhere to be found. Instead, the leprechaun is a growling, bloodthirsty creature that is kind of like an evil Gollum, the Uber Vamps from Buffy, and the crawlers from The Descent put together. The events play out like any similar flick does, in that it is your typical chase movie with the kids getting picked off one by one. And in that regard, it's not bad at all, I have to say. It hits all the right beats and has a few good surprises.

But my overall feelings about Origins are still conflicting. When looking at it as just a horror movie, it's totally fine. I love creature features. And I understand the filmmakers wanting to take the story to a darker place, and use the actual ancient mythology of the leprechaun as the basis for the story. The thing that I kept thinking about after watching it, though, is that that was never what the series was in the first place. Origins doesn't fit at all. It's not like the Child's Play series where the first one was scary and then the series got campier so they tried to bring it back to its creepier roots with Curse of Chucky. The Leprechaun was never scary, it always had that campy appeal, so this sequel could have easily just been another run-of-the-mill creature flick without adding the Leprechaun name to it. Doing so changes the trajectory of a franchise that never seemed like it was heading in this direction at all. But... I still dug it on a certain level. See what I mean? Conflicted.

The four main characters are Sophie, her non-interested boyfriend Ben, and the fun-loving couple Jeni and David. Sophie is the obvious heroine and final girl from the start, and she's good in that role. You get sympathy for her character because Ben is pretty much a dick, a trait that he shows several times in his actions throughout the movie. We don't get to learn hardly anything about Jeni or David but I still liked them. The film is much gorier than I was expecting, and the practical kills and other effects are great looking.

There's really only a few nods to the original films, and I'm not even sure that one of them was a nod, but I like to think that it was. The obvious one is at the end with the line "Fuck you, Lucky Charms!" Got a good chuckle out of that. The other one that might not actually be one was at the beginning when the leprechaun obviously attacked a character and there's a shot of his hand with one finger missing. In all the previous movies, the leprechaun has got a thing for either biting or ripping off people's fingers, but I don't even know if anybody else ever cared about this, so it might just be an homage in my eyes only!

Like I said, as a straight creature feature horror film, Leprechaun: Origins does its job, and does its job pretty well. It doesn't really belong in the Leprechaun franchise, but the fact that it is so different from all the other films makes it easy to separate it from them.

Franchise Review: Leprechaun [6]: Back 2 Tha Hood (2003)

2016-01-05T14:32:00.001-06:00

Because we didn't have enough fun with the wee little Irishman duking it out with some people in the hood, we've come back to that place for part six of this crazy odd franchise. I didn't enjoy Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood as much as the previous entry, but the two movies are still pretty similar in that they suffer from some similar problems. They're still way fun, though, don't forget that!

A group of down-on-their-luck friends think they've found the answer to all their problems when one of them, Emily, finds a chest of gold hidden underneath an abandoned construction site. But of course, that gold belongs to the murderous leprechaun who soon returns to take back what is his and kill anybody that stands in his way.

Leprechaun 6 does have a lot of good points that work in its favor. The characters are all sweet, likable, and relatable to the audience even if they are not in the same situation. Actually, the story that is going on between the four principals could easily work in a different movie and be a pretty good crime drama or something like that, no joke. Emily is the lead girl who has ambitions of leaving town to go to school, and she has the support of her friend Lisa, who also seems to aspire to higher things. Rory is the drug dealing playa, but he also just seems like a good guy playing the cards he was dealt. Jamie is the loud clown of the bunch, and I couldn't get over how much he looks like Biz Markie. So there's a good group here that does a good job with what they're given.

And what they're given is unfortunately not much. Leprechaun 6 suffers from a similar problem that I had with Leprechaun 5, where the entire tone of the movie is just off. The titles for both movies alone suggest something that should self-referential and ridiculously fun but neither one of them fully live up to that. Back 2 Tha Hood has several moments of cheesy, tongue-in-cheek humor for sure, but it needed that tone throughout to be much more enjoyable. At times it just feels like the movie is taking itself way too seriously and forgetting that it is Leprechaun-Freaking-SIX. There's really no need to think much beyond that. Another small problem I had was in the change of the characters' motivations with the gold. Once Emily realizes the trouble they are in with the leprechaun, she keeps trying to convince everyone that they should just do what he says and give it back. Yet, every single time they are confronted with the leprechaun and have the gold in their hands, they keep running away from him instead of giving him the gold! That got a little frustrating after watching it happen a few times.

Those humorous moments that I mentioned before are really great when they come along, and are some of the most enjoyable parts of the movie. Probably the best exchange of dialogue is between Jamie, Rory and later on this white guy who comes to buy drugs from Rory. Jamie and Rory have a talk about how the word "nigga" has been replaced by "ninja" and that they should start calling each other ninja. Then the white guy enters the conversation and tries to prove how "down" he is by calling Rory "my nigga" - and there is literally the sound of a tire screeching in the background as everybody stops in shock, even the background actors. Kind of genius, if you ask me. Other good moments include the scene of the lep smoking a bong (hey, you knew they were going to have a scene like that again!) and then stabbing a guy with said bong; and the encounter with the cops where one winds up getting his entire leg ripped off. A bit more humor comes from the fact that the leprechaun just keeps getting his ass kicked through the whole movie by pretty much everyone, and the reactions that Warwick Davis gives for these scenes are priceless. This series would most definitely not be the same without him, as I'm everybody would have been severely disappointed to see another person try to step in his role. We love you, Warwick!

And that's really all she wrote, folks. Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood is a nice try, but I still can't help but feel that this movie would have been more successful if they had just committed to one tone and ran with it. Otherwise, the movie feels very disjointed at times. Next up is the origin story that isn't really an origin story (or so I've heard)! Can't wait!

Franchise Review: Leprechaun [5] in the Hood (2000)

2015-12-19T13:43:00.001-06:00

Rap it out with me, folks: "Lep in the hood, come to do no good/Lep in the hood, come to do no good/Lep in the hood, Come. To. Do. No. Good!" I was actually pretty excited to be reacquainted with Leprechaun 5 recently, because my memories of it were once again sketchy, and the title alone practically guarantees a good time. I definitely got something a little unexpected with this sequel, which actually endeared me to it a lot more.

The movie starts out in the obvious 1970s (afros and platforms for the win!) as Ice-T and a crony follow a map to the leprechaun's gold, but the only thing Ice-T wants is the magical flute. Years later, Ice-T has the leprechaun imprisoned in his statue state, and a group of wanna-be rappers accidentally unleash the terror when they break into his office and remove his necklace. Pot-smoking and rapping hijinks ensue.

Truthfully, I kinda dug this installment quite a bit, because of the cool character choices and despite the stylistic flaws. For one, I loved our three main guys - Postmaster P, Stray Bullet, and Butch. They are so completely lovable, guys, and I liked the little twist that they put on their characters by making them rappers who want to put out a positive message, and that they are not serious gangsters. They're good guys and they're smart guys, and they have cute relationships with the other people in their neighborhood, like Miss Fontaine the transvestite and Chow the pawn shop owner. Ice-T is the former pimp turned hip-hop producer Mack Daddy and he plays that role just it sounds. It kind of sucked because I turned on a Law and Order: SVU marathon right after watching Leprechaun 5, and I've always loved Ice-T on that show, but I don't think I can ever watch it the same way again.

A cool thing that they did with the story here again with this movie was to introduce something new so that the whole movie would not just be the leprechaun chasing after these guys because they stole his gold. The flute that Mack Daddy stole in the beginning is a magical flute that hypnotizes people and makes them think the person with the flute is more talented than they really are or something. It's obviously helped him with his success, and the boys discover its power too. Really, they are so cute: All the boys want is to get their rap career off the ground and win this contest in Las Vegas. So anyway, you have both Mack Daddy and the leprechaun coming after them for the flute, and all the moral quandaries and selfishness and bullshit that they have to go through is kind of the incentive for the whole movie.

I think what surprised me the most was how freaking serious Leprechaun 5 gets at times. The tone is often completely different from what you would think it would be from a movie about the leprechaun dealing with pimps and rappers. The dialogue goes along with the campy nature of the movie, with more "fuck"s than I could count, and some of the situations, but there is something off about the whole way the movie presents itself. I think it's really the music and the editing that throws things off. There are some odd editing choices in parts where scenes just kind of end or fade out at weird times, like they didn't know how to finish the scene or something. The movie is really slow, and probably would have played out a lot better if it was tighter and faster. Adding to the serious tone, Warwick Davis is actually pretty freaky sometimes. A couple of times, he would give these facial expressions that were way more sinister than he's been before.

But of course, this wouldn't be a Leprechaun movie if there wasn't some crazy shit in it. The kills are pretty meh, but I was happy to see the leprechaun continue his obsession with fingers by ripping off one of Mack Daddy's fingers to take his gold ring. There was only one really good kill where the leprechaun blows a big hole through a guy's body. As for the weird stuff, they include the whole thing with Miss Fontaine, who is the only person in the series who sees the leprechaun and her first impression is to... want to fuck him? Whuh? There's a funny rap performance in a church where Coolio randomly walks in; there's the zombie flygirls with glowing green eyes; and there's the part where Post and Butch have to dress in drag in order to infiltrate the leprechaun's pad (which is also a weirdly serious scene). All this stuff is funny, but again, it would have played out a lot more effectively if the tone of the movie had been in the right place.

So this was a different experience than I thought I was going to get with Leprechaun in the Hood, but I don't know - it worked for me on some level. The movie is totally scatterbrained tonally, but I really like the main characters and that gets a big plus.

I gots me a Twitter account...

2015-11-19T20:22:00.001-06:00

In an effort to continue being perpetually late to every new trend in the world, I finally broke down the other day and signed up on Twitter. Mostly I just did it because I was getting a little annoyed with being left out on stuff that people only do on Twitter, and I'd be over in the corner grumble-grumbling, saying "But I don't have a Twitter account and I don't WANT one!" So now I have one and I feel more a part of things.

I also like to talk to my peeps in the horror world and just in the few days that I've had the account, I've already had little exchanges with two different filmmakers that I like and that is just freaking weird and awesome at the same time.

Anyway, if any of you peeps want to chill with me on Twitter, pretty much all variations of The Girl Who Loves Horror handle was taken so I just had to go with my name -- @micheleneggen, but my name still appears at GirlWhoLovesHorror so I got the blog worked in there some way! Tweet away, horror fiends!

Franchise Review: Leprechaun 4: In Space (1997)

2015-11-09T21:13:00.000-06:00

Well, I mean... It's all pretty much right there in the title, guys. The leprechaun. In space. Not exactly my idea of a very logical step in this particular franchise, but maybe they just figured, Fuck it! Let's do it! And actually, I'm kind of glad. Because if I wasn't doing these reviews, I might not have ever bothered with Leprechaun 4: In Space, and then I would never have been introduced to its brand of cheesy. And cheese is like one of my favorite things ever.

The leprechaun is back and this time he has kidnapped the beautiful Princess Zarina, so that he may wed her and usurp her father as king of her home planet. However, a small group of Marines have been sent to destroy the leprechaun (thinking he is some kind of alien). They are joined by their commander, the elusive Dr. Mittenhand; his plucky assistant, and a pretty biologist tagging along to collect any alien samples they come across. Things are about to get crazy on this boat.

Okay, first off - don't ask me how or why the leprechaun is in space. Don't ask me how he has managed to come back in any of these movies thus far after being destroyed in the previous one because the only explanation they come up with to answer that is that he is "eternal." I guess after he gets blown up at the end of these movies, he just, like... re-materializes somewhere else? Sure, let's go with that. Anyway, he's in space now. He still cares about his gold, but now it seems like he wants a little power, too, because he wants to be king of some ridiculous made-up planet. He's not into this marriage for love, that's for sure.

As for our Marines, they are your typical rag-tag group of hot dudes and one chick (there's always just ONE chick), under the rule of a Platoon-style sergeant known as just Sergeant. I started calling him Metal Head just because of the obvious fact that half of his head is covered by a steel plate, and found it absolutely hilarious when I saw that the actor is actually credited as "Metal Head." What's also absolutely hilarious are his cross-dressing scenes later in the movie. You might want to watch the movie just for that. That and Mittenspider, but we'll get to that. Anyway, the only other recognizable face to me (besides Warwick Davis, of course - always a sport for returning!) was Jessica Collins as Dr. Tina, the scientist who also ends up being really hot and brave and kicks a lot of ass. And NO, I don't know her from The Young and the Restless. I know her from Nip/Tuck.

Oh man, so much craziness to mention. How about when the leprechaun gets blown up (as usual) at the beginning of the film? Of course that's not the end of him, because one of the Marines pisses on his body, and something seriously wicked happens because when the Marine is hooking up with the female Marine, he starts to have problems with his junk, and that problem is the full-grown leprechaun emerging out of his body... out of his junk. Kinda reminds me of the birth of Venus - only I'm not really sure which is the weirder story out of those two. For the climax, the leprechaun gets to be a big boy when one of those super-techy futuristic laser beam machines causes him to grow exponentially. But then all he does is fumble around the cargo bay for awhile instead of really taking advantage of the situation, so that was kind of disappointing. What wasn't disappointing was seeing the leprechaun with a light saber, albeit briefly, or seeing Harold (the pervy lab assistant) getting his head smushed flat with a silver serving tray. Almost had one of those moments where soda came flying out of my nose on that one.

So Dr. Mittenhand gets his own paragraph. This guy is awesome. At first I just liked him because he had a hilarious accent with hilarious acting to match, but then he got way more awesome when it was revealed that he is part cyborg, in a way. He's literally only a head and shoulders and one arm, with liquids and other unseen stuff keeping the rest of him alive and functioning. When Mittenhand (second best name ever, by the way, behind Bugenhagen) finds out that Princess Zarina's DNA has powers of rejuvenation he of course decides to try it on himself. But the leprechaun decides to play and adds a spider and a scorpion to the DNA, then injects into Mittenhand. He then becomes... the Mittenspider! Just imagine a much larger version of the Brundlefly and with more legs and the scorpion tail with these nasty little white sacs all over it. Did not see that development coming, but it definitely made the movie a lot more interesting than I was expecting it to be.

It all ends (sorry for all the spoilers, but that's kind of what I do) with the giant leprechaun getting sucked out into space and exploding again and then the giant leprechaun's hand flips off our remaining survivors through the space ship window. Leprechaun 4: In Space is crazy, silly, and weird, and I really wouldn't have it any other way. Can't wait to go into da hood with the next two movies!

Some More Stuff I've Been Writing at Wicked Horror

2015-10-30T08:49:00.001-05:00

Back in January, I shared with you guys some of the articles I have written over at the other site I write for, Wicked Horror, and because it's been almost a year since I've done that, I thought it was time for round two! So if any of these articles strike your fancy, please head over to Wicked Horror and let me know what you think!

First up, my feature titled Noteworthy Heroines of Horror has definitely grown. This feature allows me to spotlight some of my favorite female characters in horror films, who are not really the typical "final girls" that you see pop up in people's top ten lists or whatever, as the description explains. They are just ones that seem to be somewhat underappreciated and this is my chance to say why they are the best! Among these fabulous females are...

Jessie, from Wrong Turn
Rhonda, from Tremors
Lisa, from Red Eye
Erin, from You're Next
Sara, from House on Haunted Hill
Selena, from 28 Days Later
Stretch, from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Sam, from Eight Legged Freaks
Sarah, from The Descent
Mary, from American Mary
Buffy, from Buffy, the Vampire Slayer
Marybeth, from the Hatchet series
aaaaaaaannnnnndddddd
Donna, from Cujo

More to come with that feature!

I also got to do two amazing interviews with equally amazing people for WH. The first one was with Camden Toy, whose name I did not know before but definitely do now! He played several villains on the greatest TV show of all time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer! So it was definitely an honor to talk to him. Read the interview below to find all about what it was like playing one of the Gentlemen, the Gnarl demon, the Ubervamp, and the Prince of Lies!

Exclusive Interview with Camden Toy: A Buffy Retrospective

And I've shared this one before, but in case you missed it, I also interviewed director Adam Green from the Hatchet series, Frozen, and Holliston! This one was truly amazing because as I've also shared before, Adam has been a big inspiration to me lately.

Exclusive Interview: Adam Green Talks Horrified! and the Return of Holliston

I also delved into some controversial topics with these two pieces for WH...

In Defense of Rape-Revenge Films - What?! A girl can "like" these movies? Yes, they can and here's why I do.

The Misidentification of Misogyny in Horror Films

Then there were these other fun articles on some topics that are of great interest to me.

Why Hannibal and Bates Motel Work So Well - Two great television shows with similar premises. I look at why they have been so successful when they maybe shouldn't be on paper. I also did recaps for each episode of season three of Hannibal!
And OHMIGOD I just realized that I never finished the second season of Bates Motel. CRAP!

Six Great Horror Filmmaking Duos - Pretty self-explanatory.

Why I Stopped Using the Phrase "Guilty Pleasure" - A very important idea for horror fans, I think! STOP CALLING MOVIES "GUILTY PLEASURES"!!!

And just in time for this fabulous Halloween season, I (and all the other writers at WH) made a list of my top five favorite films to watch during the holiday. They are really just my top five favorite horror films of all time, but I think Halloween is a great time to catch up on the favorites. Of course, I also watch stuff like Halloween, Trick 'r Treat, Hocus Pocus, etc.

Michele's Top 5 Films to Watch on Halloween

But I'm definitely not done with Wicked Horror! Right now I'm in the middle of reviewing the latest batch of After Dark Horrorfest's 8 Films to Die For (which is back after five years!), and the first two reviews of those are up!

Review: 8 Films to Die For - Murder in the Dark
Review: 8 Films to Die For - The Wicked Within

So if you're even the least bit curious about what other kind of shenanigans I get up to outside of the reviews I do on here, please check out any of the articles above. I know I'm a shameless self-promoter but, hey, somebody's got to do it! And I'm actually very proud of pretty much all of these pieces, and when you're proud of something, you want to share it.

In closing...

Short and Sweet: Over My Dead Body

2015-10-27T11:26:00.002-05:00

I'm really intrigued by the influx of sorts lately of rom-zom-coms. Though the zom-com has worked for years in many different movies, adding romance actually seems like a natural progression, if only because it adds to comedy element. A cute example of this is a short film sent to me by producer Alrik Bursell called "Over My Dead Body," from filmmaker Timothy Plain.

In it, a woman is home waiting for her blind date to arrive for dinner, and she's not so thrilled about the fact that he's a zombie. With one location, two great actors, and a simple, but really well-written script, this short definitely works. The comedic timing is on point from both leads, and the conversation they have works well as an awkward first date conversation... and an awkward you're-a-zombie-and-I-don't-know-how-to-deal-with-that conversation. Really funny and cute. The tone also works well at being comedic and sort of serious at the same time, which was nice to see. There's a bit of a lull in the last minute or so, but then the final shot brings it all back and had me laughing again. Take six minutes and watch "Over My Dead Body" for yourself right now!

Franchise Review: Leprechaun 3 (1995)

2015-10-20T20:45:00.000-05:00

The leprechaun in Vegas, baby! Two sequels in and we're still having a great time with the green guy and his whacky exploits. To show that direct-to-video doesn't really mean squat, I liked this entry a lot more than the previous one, and it's maybe even a bit more fun than the first film. But that one still has the pogo stick death, so it can't be dethroned just yet. Anyway, let's see what kind of trouble a leprechaun can cause in Sin City.

A pawn shop owner buys a statue of the leprechaun and tries to take his gold. But by removing the protective medallion from his neck, he brings the leprechaun back to life to continue his quest of protecting his gold from greedy humans. Meanwhile, young Scott is traveling through Vegas when he meets beautiful magician's assistant Tammy, and the two of them get tangled up with the devious and relentless leprechaun.

When you look at how things play out in Leprechaun 3, the plot is full of all these different characters coming in and out of each other's storylines and scenes and changing things around at just the last second. But surprisingly, director Brian Trenchard-Smith (who would also direct the next entry in the series) and the editing make everything all work out and make sense. The movie then becomes a fun series of comedic mishaps and run-ins with the leprechaun, while still providing the audience with more information that adds to the mythology of the leprechaun. However, they do go against one established rule: in the previous films, if a mortal got a hold of the leprechaun's gold, he or she was given three wishes. In this movie, the mortal gets one wish for every piece of gold that he or she was able to take.

This setup, though not in line with the story's continuity, actually works really well for Leprechaun 3, especially because it is set in Las Vegas. Scott and Tammy have their adorable meet-cute at the beginning of the film, and they are the nice, good people in the movie that we are supposed to be rooting for. Everybody else is a greedy, sleazy fuck. These people include the lecherous Mitch; the desperate Loretta; and the deluded Fazio. Of course the best characters ever are Arthur, the guy Mitch owes money to, and Tony, Arthur's muscle. Oh wow, these guys were hilarious. Let me just say that at one point, they have an entire conversation about underwear

Leprechaun 3 actually seems to be making some societal comments, if that doesn't seem weird. The people who take the leprechaun's gold are seen as more of the enemies than the leprechaun is. So then there is a lot to say about the greed of humans, again enhanced by the fact that the movie is set in Vegas, where greed and excess is rampant. Strangely, there are also some jabs at the health care industry. This comes up when Mitch ask Arthur what he wants, and Arthur says jokingly that he wants everyone in America to have health insurance. It comes up again when Tammy takes Scott to the hospital and the weirdo doctor and nurse ask him the most "important" questions - Do you have health insurance? Then they find out how much money he has and order a bunch of useless tests. I don't know what any of this has to do with Leprechaun, but it was interesting.

Something else that I've noticed about all the movies so far in regards to the death scenes is that they are very minimal, save for one. All of the kills are generally bloodless and tame, very comedic usually. But then there's that one scene that just comes completely out of nowhere and is more graphic than all of the other deaths put together. In the first one, it was the leprechaun melting and getting blown up at the end; then in part 2, it was the leprechaun exploding at the end. Now though, the exciting thing doesn't happen to the leprechaun, but rather to poor Caroline Williams. She wishes to be young and sexy and beautiful again, which she does get to enjoy for a little while. But the leprechaun is mad that she doesn't have his coin, so he makes her lips, breasts, and butt get bigger and bigger until finally, she is the one that explodes and it is hilarious. Fazio's death comes close in the extreme department when he is sawed in half on stage at his own magic show, but really... nothing beats an explosion.

I know I say this all the time, but there's a bunch of other stuff that I could've mentioned about Leprechaun 3 - dude, Scott starts turning into a leprechaun! - but I can't have this go on forever. Everything about it is just so much fun, and the movie is so self-aware that I really couldn't help but love it. It is directed well, when the plot might have been a mess in less capable hands. I love Caroline Williams, I love Arthur and Tony, and I kind of really love this movie. It absolutely fits in with the series and it's a good time. Three cherries for this one!

Franchise Review: Leprechaun 2 (1994)

2015-10-14T11:07:00.000-05:00

Leprechaun 2 is the next in what I'm guessing will be a long line of weird movies in this franchise. But I think I knew that before I signed myself up to do this so I have no one to blame but myself. The movie is a bit erratic and again odd, but it's still kinda fun. However, it's also one of those movies where once is enough and you really don't need to see it again.

A thousand years ago, the nasty little leprechaun was thwarted out of getting his bride by his slave William O'Day. But the green guy put a curse on O'Day that in another thousand years he would wed someone in his bloodline. So now he's back in present day Los Angeles, seeking out young Bridget to take for his wife, and she and her boyfriend Cody - who stole one of the leprechaun's gold coins - must figure out a way to save both of themselves.

So this was definitely an interesting new place to take the Leprechaun story. I will say that it was a really good idea for the writer to give the leprechaun a different mission this time around rather than just getting his gold back, which we just saw in the first film. It's icky to think about, especially the mentions of the "wedding night" and making little leprechaun babies, but I guess everybody needs love. The setting in Los Angeles is cool, too, but they don't really take much advantage of it - definitely not in a Jason Takes Manhattan way, which might have actually been fun. Instead, we get random settings at a bar, a go-kart place, and the leprechaun's home inside a tree.

One thing that's cool to see when you're watching the movie now is all the different little cameos that pop up in the film. In one of the first scenes, Clint Howard and Kimmy Robertson (whose name I did not know until now, but whose face I've seen everywhere) play a couple of tourists; Tommy Cox of Bad Santa shows up at the bar; and perhaps most hilariously, Michael McDonald from MadTV as the guy in the espresso bar. Our main cast is a couple of unknowns who are mostly pretty good, but then again, this is Leprechaun 2 so don't look to be particularly wowed by any of the performances or anything. Shevonne Durkin is pretty cute at Bridget, and Charlie Heath as Cody is the perfect boyfriend who would do anything to save the sweet girl of his dreams. Warwick Davis returns and he's of course just as glorious as ever.

Cody's story is that he is in business with his alcoholic uncle Morty and the two of them run a sham tourist attraction called Darkside Tours. They travel to various death houses in LA, one of them being the remains of Harry Houdini's place, where the leprechaun has made his home inside the tree. Cody and Morty are therefore very good at conning and tricking people, just like the leprechaun is, so this makes for a good setup for some trickery that happens as the plot moves along. One of these tricks is getting the leprechaun drunk, because apparently they can't hold their liquor, so that's a funny and weird scene, especially with all the other little people at the bar celebrating St. Patty's Day cheering the leprechaun on, chanting "One of us, one of us!" Bit creepy. Other than that, most of the movie is just a long cat-and-mouse chase where the leprechaun shows up, the characters get away, they get to a new place, and the leprechaun shows up again. Once everybody else is dead, it's just Cody and Bridget in his treehouse where they run around for a while and keep getting lost. It's not terribly exciting.

Though there's nothing as awesome as the pogo stick death, Leprechaun 2 has its killing moments here and there that you won't find in many other horror films. After Morty gets him drunk at the bar, the leprechaun heads to a coffee shop to sober up, and McDonald is very rude and annoying so of course he has to die. He gets his hands impaled to the table and then dies by getting a blast of steam from the espresso machine in his face. Death by espresso machine! This is why I love horror movies. Other interesting moments are the guy who gets his finger ripped off so the leprechaun can take his gold ring ("Finger lickin' good!"); when Morty makes the fatal mistake of wishing that he had the leprechaun's gold and the pot grows inside his stomach; and the leprechaun's own death at the end when he is stabbed by wrought iron (the only thing that can hurt him) and then freaking explodes. Movies should always end with somebody exploding, I say. The guy who puts his face into the spinning blades of a lawnmower would have been cool too if they had shown any of it.

Leprechaun 2 is a movie that's fun for the moment, but it's not the best kind of sequel there is. There's nothing particular memorable about any part of it - the characters, the kills, the plot. It's not hard to see why Leprechaun 2 was the last movie of the series to be released theatrically (thanks, Wiki) but they obviously continued on with more films, so bring 'em on!

I'm in a Zine!

2015-10-11T10:29:00.000-05:00

A little while ago, I was contacted by this nice guy named Richard about contributing to his fanzine, The Fang of Joy (I'll need to ask him what that means sometime).

It's a zine all about Eurohorror and giallo films, and I was pretty much given carte blanche to write about whatever I wanted having to do with that topic. I'm definitely no expert (yet) when it comes to giallo, but there have been some specific movies that I've seen that stick out in my mind so I decided to focus on one of those. The topic of my article is Dario Argento's The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, which I would argue any day is his best film - or at least just my favorite.

And look at the contributor list for this issue of Fang of Joy!

Fellow blog buddies Alec Pridgen and James Gracey also have articles here, though I admit to not having read them yet. I'm sure they kick ass.

So anyway, if you want your own copy of this fanzine, follow the link on Richard's blog Cinema Somnambulist HERE! Only $8.75 an issue!

Franchise Review: Leprechaun (1993)

2015-10-07T09:05:00.003-05:00

It's franchise time again, fiends, and as previously mentioned, this time I'm delving into the wacky world of the Leprechaun series. It'll be full of bad puns, over-the-top silliness, and some famous actors and rappers. I bet you can't wait! Like Hellraiser, I know the first Leprechaun pretty well, but am iffy on my memory on some of the others, so this will again be like watching them all for the first time, but that's the fun of franchise reviews. Of course we're going to start at the beginning with the film that started it all, Leprechaun from 1993.

After a leprechaun comes after him for taking his gold, Dan O'Grady traps him in a crate in his basement, seemingly forever. But ten years later, JD and his daughter Tory move into his house and the creature is unleashed. Now Tory and locals Nathan, Alex, and Ozzie must find a way to stop the leprechaun before he kills them all for his gold.

Oh, Leprechaun. Leprechaun, Leprechaun, Leprechaun. Such an odd little duck in the horror world. The long and short of it is that I actually enjoy the first Leprechaun movie. It's quick and fun, it's punny and silly. There's nothing more to it than what they present to you on the screen, and you can just watch it and have a good time seeing Warwick Davis biting people and saying the most campy and ridiculous lines ever. Some of the plot points leave a little to be desired, as do some of those lines of dialogue, but this is about what you would expect to get if someone told you that you were going to watch a movie about a killer leprechaun.

First up in the talking points is of course Warwick Davis as the leprechaun, and there probably would be no movie, and no franchise, without him in the titular role. The heavy makeup effects on him and the fact that the director for some reason decided to show him in shadow for a good portion of the movie may have hindered that part of his performance, but the voice and other physical things he does more than make up for it. Davis makes the character funny and therefore pretty likable in that regard. Though he's never really scary at all because of this, you can still believe it and enjoy it when he starts killing people. It always seems obvious when an actor is having fun with a character, and that especially helps with a movie like this. One of my favorite moments in the movie is this great reaction shot that Davis gives when he looks at himself in a mirror.

Recently, it seems like Jennifer Aniston has accepted that she was really in this movie. I watched a few clips of interviews where people have brought it up and she laughs about it now, as she should. Aniston plays Tory, the vapid, useless Beverly Hills girl who resents having to come to this dirty house in the middle of nowhere and only decides to stay because the house painter guy, Nathan, is a babe. She also rocks the LA Gear sneakers like nobody's business. Nathan's younger brother Alex is best friends with man-child Ozzie... and I don't really know how I feel about that character. The actor is good, but it almost feels a little wrong, doesn't it? Still, Ozzie fills the requisite role of the character that nobody believes through most of the movie - though he and the editing do nothing to sell the fact that a person could "accidentally" swallow an entire gold coin.

The kills are pretty basic, but there are definitely some interesting things to note here. The leprechaun doesn't have a weapon of any kind in the movie, and there are only a few on-screen kills, the first of which is when he pushes an old woman down the stairs. Meh. Mostly, the leprechaun is just a dirty fighter, and he scratches and bites people a lot. He also plucks out eyeballs and somehow kills O'Grady in the rest home. Now that I think about it, they really should have had a scene of O'Grady and the leprechaun facing each other again, instead of just showing his dying scene. The scene of the leprechaun chasing the cop through the woods is bit long and weird, and he doesn't even kill him right away so that's boring. Of course, the holy of holy deaths in Leprechaun is my favorite memory of watching the film as a younger me - the POGO STICK DEATH. If there is anything to look forward to in this movie, it is the leprechaun killing the owner of the collectibles shop by bouncing up and down on his chest on a freaking pogo stick. The movie gets serious awesome points just for that. Other quick things to mention: there are some great effects at the end when the leprechaun melts after eating a four-leaf clover (with Alex saying "Fuck you, lucky charms" to enhance the moment) and then gets blown up in the well, AND there's a Nightmare on Elm Street rip-off effects shot when the leprechaun's little hand comes out of the telephone.

Leprechaun is a quirky, campy movie that doesn't need to try to be more than it is. Watch it to enjoy the bad puns and the bad 90s fashions, and to see funny little shots of Davis as the leprechaun on a tricycle, a pogo stick, roller skates, a wheelchair, a skateboard, a toy car, and a soapbox derby car. Seriously, the little guy knows how to get around. The movie is pure comedy and ridiculousness, and I don't think I would have it any other way. I am terrified of the prospect of the "in tha hood" movies, but I will still get through it for you guys.

However, it may take me longer than I thought it would to get through the Leprechaun movies, because though I own the first three movies on a DVD set, I had all the others saved up in my Netflix queue, and just as I going to start the franchise - they all went off Netflix Instant. Grrrr.

Movie Review: Creepy Crawlers (2000)

2015-09-30T16:42:00.001-05:00

What a seriously surprisingly fun movie! I picked up Creepy Crawlers (aka They Nest), a TV movie from 2000, at my convention over two years ago because it was cheap and looked cool. But t's just been sitting on my shelf ever since then. I finally decided to pop it in tonight, and wish I had done so much sooner! I didn't know anything about the movie before, so I was, again, surprised to see in the opening credits that the movie was directed by Ellory Elkayem, whom you should all know and love from Eight Legged Freaks.

After having some problems at work because of his alcoholism caused by a divorce, Dr. Ben Cahill takes a forced vacation at his second home on a small island in Maine. He's not welcomed by some of the locals, especially when a few of them wind up mysteriously dead. It turns out that a massive hoard of rare cockroaches have taken over the island, made all the more deadly by the way they nest inside their hosts.

Creepy Crawlers is most definitely Elkayem's warm-up or practice film to do before Eight Legged Freaks was released two years later. The quirky, fun-spirited tone of Eight Legged Freaks is completely present in Creepy Crawlers, and it is heightened mostly by the acting and music. The situation still feels real and dangerous, and there are some really great gross-out and hilariously shocking moments here. The story moves fast, although it does go a little too fast at the end, when the climax comes too quickly and is not quite as satisfying as it should have been.

Thomas Calabro (of Melrose Place fame) as Cahill is more goofy than sincere in his role, but it works perfectly in the movie, especially when he's up against the resident, "all-outsiders-suck," islanders. Instead of acting all somber and depressed like you'd think a divorcee would, Cahill is actually refreshingly okay with his situation and just seems to be trying to make the best of it. He's quite charming and likable, as is Nell, the requisite unencumbered hot island girl with whom Cahill could have a chance. They don't push the issue too hard, though, which I really liked.

As a sidestory to the cockroach problem, there is also something going on with one particular man on the island, Jack Wald, who is angry with Cahill for buying his family home that was taken by the bank. He in turn has some friends that are behind him, and cause some extra shenanigans with Cahill, the sheriff, and Nell when they obviously have more pressing matters at hand. Instead of feeling out-of-place, though, this actually does add some extra conflict to the plot which otherwise might have been too easy to get out of - just get off the island.

The effects are pretty great! Like I said before, there are some good gross-out moments, like the cockroaches in the chicken, when Cahill gets a roach on his fork while having dinner with Nell. Of course there are some computer-animated roaches in there, but it's to be expected and it looks fine, especially when they have to have a whole hoard of them in the barn sequence or when they are crawling all over people. Possibly the most surprising moment comes when the roaches attack Sheriff Hobbs, in a pure "The fuck?!" scene. The effects of the roaches as they burrow inside people are okay, but I would have really like to see a scene where they full-on burst out of the host, like we assume we do based on all the dead animals bodies lying around, but maybe that would have been too much for TV. Also, look forward to a great cockroach vs. hamster chase sequence.

Creepy Crawlers (I think the official title is actually They Nest but Creepy Crawlers is the DVD I got) is a wonderful little animals run amok movie with a great personality. The climax has a great setup, but it needed just a bit more tension to make it really explosive and satisfying. Otherwise, really fun movie! I loved it!

Movie Review: Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006)

2015-09-24T18:35:00.001-05:00

How can things go so wrong? I actually had some pretty high hopes for Night of the Living Dead 3D - the original is of course a seminal and wonderful film, and the remake from 1990 is equally great. So I picked up NOTLD3D at my last convention for a pretty cheap price (which I am now very grateful for) thinking that it couldn't be all that bad. I mean, it has Sid Haig in it, right? Welp, while Sid rocks the house like he always does, he's pretty much the only good thing about the movie.

NOTLD3D tells the classic story from the original film, and it has elements of both a reimagining and a meta-type horror film. Barb and her brother Johnny arrive at the Shady Rest Cemetery to attend their aunt's funeral, but are instead attacked by the living dead. Johnny escapes, and Barb is saved by a man named Ben, who takes her to the nearby house of some friends. The group holes up for night as they fight off the group of flesh-eating zombies.

I'm not the biggest fan of 3D in the first place. Sure, it's cool to look at for a while, but the novelty usually wears off pretty quickly once my eyes start to hurt and I can't see things as well. But, the DVD came with the glasses and I figured that if this was how the movie was supposed to be seen, then that's how I should see it. There are a couple of cool shots here and there that tripped me out, but for the most part, the 3D is unnecessary, like it always seems to be for me. I just can't get into it. I've tried and it hasn't worked. So there's that, unfortunately.

When talking about the story, again I have to ask - how could they have gotten things so wrong? The story is a simple one that has worked two times before and really doesn't need all that much tweaking. And for the most part, at least in the beginning, they don't really make any drastic changes for this version. Those come later when the explanation for the dead returning to life is completely different, and completely doesn't make any sense. Still, I really liked the not-subtle-at-all homages to the first film, which begin right off the bat when the original is playing on a television and the title credit turns into the title credit for this movie. If you're expecting to hear Johnny's famous line, it comes in the form of a text. Later on, when Barb gets to the farmhouse and starts talking about the dead coming back to life, she walks in on the family actually watching Night of the Living Dead on television. Of course, there's no acknowledgement about the fact that the characters have the same names as the people in the movie or that they are in the exact same situation, but I really didn't expect that anyway.

What I did expect, though, was at least some decent acting. Everyone in this movie just seems so uninterested and bored in what they are doing. While hearing a bunch of people shrieking and cursing during stressful scenes is admittedly not a lot of fun either, I see now that it is equally bad to have people acting way too calmly. How many times do these stoners just languish around while there is something serious going on? Or have perfectly normal and calm conversations at a time when nobody, least of all the audience, gives a fuck? When Karen goes missing, her father is barely able to puke out enough emotion for us to believe it. One of the greatest characters in horror ever, Ben, has been replaced by a motorcycle-riding loser who isn't nearly as authoritative or brave as Duane Jones or Tony Todd made him. On the flip side, Barb is more of a heroine, but not by much, and there is nothing interesting or endearing about her character. I really couldn't believe how wooden and boring everyone was, and their poor acting completely ruined any scene that had any potential to be exciting or scary.

Sid Haig is the biggest selling point of the movie, and while I enjoyed him like always, he's not a good enough reason to put yourself through this movie. He's the crazy mortician who has a problem with burning up dead bodies in his daddy's crematorium, so he's just been storing them for the past two years. Somehow, that translates into said bodies reanimating themselves. Don't ask me how. The makeup effects are okay, but I really hated the cartoony or comic booky look of the zombies. Tovar's father was the worst, all green and way too fleshy. There are not nearly enough good zombie kills, and I was severely disappointed in the gore factor for this movie. Maybe the best and stupidest part is when Barb lights Tovar's father on fire. Just because fire is cool.

With only ten minutes or so left to go on this movie, my scratched DVD started skipping around a bit so I didn't get to see all of the climax, but I got most of it. It wasn't any better than the rest of the movie. It's almost unwatchable and more than forgettable, not nearly on par with the original or the remake.

Which Franchise Is Next?

2015-09-22T18:04:00.000-05:00

I think that doing all these franchise reviews is becoming my "thing." It has been fun, painful, and at times really, really weird, but still cool to be discovering all these movies that I might not have bothered with before. Search around this blog and you'll see what it was like to watch all the Howling movies, how terrible Wishmaster got with each new entry, how unassumingly awesome Puppet Master could be, and, most recently, how some of the Hellraiser sequels really aren't all that bad. Except Revelations.

There are many more franchises to tackle in the future. So what will my next one be? Here's a hint...

Coming soon!

Movie Review: 100 Bloody Acres (2012)

2015-09-19T08:57:00.000-05:00

You'd think I would have learned by now not to completely underestimate some of these random movies that I find through Netflix. They go in the queue, and they sit there for months before I give them a chance because I've never heard anything about them. Then I finally watch them, and sometimes they are totally amazing! Case in point is this Australian horror comedy, 100 Bloody Acres, which was written and directed by Colin and Cameron Cairnes.

Reg and Lindsay are the Morgan Brothers, who run a small organic fertilizer business in South Australia. They've found out that using humans in their fertilizer makes for a better quality product, which means bad news for the three stranded motorists that Reg happens upon while trying to make a delivery to their most important customer.

It seems like you can usually tell in the first 10 or 15 minutes of a movie like this, and 100 Bloody Acres has a great hook right in the first scene. Reg pulls over when he sees a crashed van by the side of the road and - because the audience already knows what he is up to from the description of the film - decides to throw the dead driver into the back of his box truck. A great hook moment in this scene is when Reg gives up on trying to drag the body all the way to his truck and instead hops in and backs it up closer to the body. It's something small, but it let me know that this was going to be a very smart comedy, and the kind that I particularly enjoy watching.

These first few scenes also set up a great dynamic between our three travelers who are on their way to a music festival - Sophie, Wes, and James. Sophie and Wes are first seen making out while James is off trying to fix the car, but when they're all together again, it's clear that Sophie and James are the real couple and Wes is the man on the side. James is also secretly planning on proposing to Sophie. This little love triangle is not necessarily that important to the plot, but later on it does provide us with some of those great this-is-not-the-time-to-be-talking-about-this moments between the characters.

All three of these guys are very likable, despite the minor flaws in their morals. James is the sweet, puppy-dog boyfriend, who is countered by the arguably hotter and cooler Wes. Wes seems like he's supposed to be the cocky asshole but he is in fact incredibly likable just because of how funny he is, especially when on acid. Sophie is a great female character that I always like to see because she is not the traditionally super-sexy or hot horror girl. Again, despite the fact that she is cheating on her sweet boyfriend, she has a great personality, and seems genuinely nice when making conversation with Reg in the truck. She also handles herself well as the movie gets even more crazy, while the boys make silly - and funny - little mistakes.

Reg is both like the hero and the villain, and the one that audiences will probably end up loving the most. He's a cute small town farm boy with a heart of gold, looking for acceptance from his domineering older brother with anger issues. The brother dynamic is also interesting to watch and it kind of makes me curious to learn more, seeing as how the film was written and directed by a pair of brothers. Reg is brilliantly played by Damon Harriman. His acting and the writing make you accept both sides of the character - where he is definitely complicit in the crimes with Lindsay (yet you still love him while he's doing it), but you really see the moral journey that he takes. Angus Sampson as Lindsay, who genre fans will recognize as Tucker from the Insidious films, is the perfect kind of quiet-crazy because you really have no idea what he is going to do in any situation.

And really, the whole movie is like that. There are a lot of things that happen in the plot that are just completely out of nowhere and unexpected, and while some of these elements drag the story down a little bit, it's still a joy to watch and be surprised and entertained at every turn. There's a whole thing with the brothers' Auntie Nance that I can't get into because you just have to see it for yourself, plus a weird little bit of side action when Lindsay is chasing a hopped-up-on-acid Wes through a small, closed-down roadside attraction. Right after this, there's a scene that didn't really need to be included but is still great to watch because it involves a small appearance by John Jarratt.

If it's buckets of blood that you want, then 100 Bloody Acres has that as well. I mean, you'd be disappointed if it didn't, based on the title, right? Not every frame is drenched in blood, but there are plenty of individual gags that are just the right amount of graphic and awesome, while providing situational comedy at the same time. There are great moments that include a huge barrel of blood and gore, and of course the grinding machine that the brothers use to make their blood and bone fertilizer.

100 Bloody Acres is definitely my kind of film. It perfectly brings together the kind of smart, subtle humor that I find the most appealing, with the kind of crazy bloody gags that appease the true gorehound in me. There is a Tucker and Dale vs. Evil element to the Morgan brothers' relationship and to the story overall, so if you dug that movie, you'll probably dig 100 Bloody Acres as well. Don't let this little gem of a film pass you by!

Franchise Review: Hellraiser [IX]: Revelations (2011)

2015-09-13T16:40:00.000-05:00

Hey, I did it! I made it through the Hellraiser franchise, and for the most part, it was pretty awesome. There were definitely some surprises along the way in this journey and I found some cool movies. This final installment, Hellraiser: Revelations, was most certainly NOT one of them. Damn, what a sad and sucky way to end the series. Except for the remake, which is probably coming.

Steven and Nico are two douchebag teenagers who run away from their perfect white picket fence lives to go be assholes in Tijuana. Their families don't know what happened to them until Steven shows up again one night at his parents' house while Nico's parents are visiting. Some dumb stuff happens and the new Pinhead sucks. That's all the description you need.

I know I said I was going to try to be a lot more positive about things from now on... but Hellraiser: Revelations is making that so hard. Actually, I can give the film a little bit of props for one thing. Some elements of the plot do resemble that of the first film - Nico is sought after by the Cenobites, he comes back by way of blood, there's some murders, and there's some skin-stealing. The movie is intercut between scenes of what happened to the boys in the Mexico and the present day situation with the parents and Steven's sister, so it does make for a nice revelation at the end. However, everything else about the presentation of this movie is pretty abysmal.

The script is just not good. I was getting annoyed just in the first couple of minutes when the boys - filming their little endeavor to Mexico with a camcorder like all douchebags seem to do - mention bow-legged hookers and knob-gobbling in their conversation. Great. The inaction by the parents, four adults who are just completely powerless without a phone or a car, also becomes a problem later on. There's the weird sexual tension that the sister Emma brings (especially a VERY awkward kissing scene), there's the guy who stands there like a moron while his friend is being attacked, there's the same guy who survives way too long after being shot in the gut, there's the way that the only thing the women know how to do is scream... Gah, this poor movie doesn't have a chance in hell of anybody taking it seriously or liking it.

The thing that I was the most worried about before starting Revelations was the fact that Doug Bradley chose not come back, and from the pictures I saw, the new Pinhead just looked wrong. Really, that was the least of mine and this movie's problems, but it still didn't help things in the least. The new Pinhead, played by Stephan Smith Collins, really threw me off simply because of his look. He has a way different face and body shape than Bradley, making him look more like a linebacker or something. He does do a good job at matching his voice and cadence of speech, I'll give the actor that. But the lines he is given to perform often sound so completely overdone and pretentious that he becomes, again, annoying rather than menacing.

Hellraiser: Revelations is a blessedly short hour and ten minutes long. They pack a lot of shit into that tiny runtime, but that's all it ever ends up being. With such a quick script and turnaround time for the movie being released, they obviously didn't put the effort in that this series deserved. Shame.

See you later, Hellraiser! Time to tackle another franchise!

Book Review: "Darkness Rising" by Brian Moreland

2015-09-08T18:01:00.000-05:00

To any horror fan out there who says that there are no more original stories to be told: I know of a couple horror authors that will make you eat those words and choke on them. One of them is the incredibly original and unique Brian Moreland. I've now had the pleasure of reading several works by this great author and he is truly one of the best kept secrets in the horror world because of the amazingly original stories he comes up with and the unexpected surprises that appear in each one.

His latest novella is "Darkness Rising," and it was released by Samhain Publishing on September 1st (you can get the Kindle e-book version HERE). It is the story of Marty Weaver, a tortured and troubled soul who found a way to deal with his abusive and tragic past through the power of poetry, and through the friendship he develops with a girl that he falls in love with, Jennifer. But when Marty is visiting the lake that has great significance in his life, he runs afoul of three killers whose actions set in motion a series of events that bring back the horrible events from his childhood and set Marty on a path of revenge.

What I've said before and will now say again about Brian Moreland is that he has an incredible talent for creating some of the most imaginative and inventive stories I've ever read. All of his books and short stories start off in a similar fashion as other horror tales, but by the end, he has taken the idea to a whole other level that you didn't think was possible. With Darkness Rising, he takes the complex concepts of ghosts, trapped souls, and Purgatory and puts it into a context that is very meaningful for the characters he has created. Without giving too much of the story away, Marty is brought back to life through the power of his words and the energy he has given to an entity or demon in the lake. This force latches onto that deep, dark area in Marty's mind that is filled with rage, and it causes him to do terrible things. But the side of Marty that is still healing is there as well, and there is a wonderful power struggle that goes on over the course of the story where he feels justified in his revenge on some people, but still has moral quandaries over it.

The relationship between Marty and Jennifer is one that is believable and based on a nice understanding and truth between the two of them. They don't spend a whole lot of time together in the story, and most of their relationship is viewed by the reader through Marty's eyes. We still get it, but it would have been more meaningful to have a more poignant scene between these two characters to make it really hit home. Some other characters in Moreland's story are the trio of masked killers - Tara, Zane, and Seth - who you are first led to believe are just sadistic psychos who like killing, but later learn that they are involved in something much more sick and twisted. Interestingly enough, the leader of them is the girl, Tara, and I loved this shift in the typical gender roles you see in horror. Girls have sick minds, too, that's for sure. The sideplot involving these three characters is no doubt disturbing and messed up, but it was interesting too, and I liked that they were given more a little bit more characterization beyond just being psychopaths. It definitely doesn't make you like them any more, because you definitely shouldn't, but it was a great touch to add to the story.

Another thing Moreland is very good at is keeping horror fans like me happy with the inventive sequences of gore and violence that he comes up with. If you don't think you can cringe and be just as affected by stuff you read in books as much as what you see in movies, give Darkness Rising a read. There is some great stuff involving razor blades that really got to me, as well as a horrific and descriptive scene where a character is dragged to his death behind a car that makes your stomach turn just to picture it. There is far more blood and gore packed into this story than I can talk about here, so I'll just have to leave you to experience it on your own.

Darkness Rising is another wonderful output from the very talented Brian Moreland. He continues to come up with stories with amazing fantastical elements that still have meaning and truth for the characters experiencing them. He is one of the most unique voices in the genre today and you should all get your hands on a copy of one of his books today!

Check out Brian Moreland at Samhain Publishing here, and check out some of my other reviews of this author's awesome work right here on this blog.

Franchise Review: Hellraiser [VIII]: Hellworld (2005)

2015-09-05T15:46:00.001-05:00

It's been a very sad week over here at The Girl Who Loves Horror, and in the horror community in general. As you all know, we suffered the loss of one of horror's truly great directors, Wes Craven. He was always my favorite and I am incredibly sad that we won't get to see anymore work that he might have created. I have been honoring him this week in my own way, and still continue to do so, but for now, let's get back to the Hellraiser franchise with this eighth installment, Hellraiser: Hellworld.

In this film, Hellworld is a computer game about the Hellraiser world that a group of friends are addicted to playing. One of them got too deep into the game and committed suicide, for which the rest of them blame themselves. Two years later, they gather again to attend a Hellworld party at a remote mansion with other gamers. The party is put on by the Host, and as the friends explore what the house has to offer, it becomes apparent that Hellraiser might not just be a game after all.

You know, I actually had a partial, fairly positive review for this movie written out before I finished watching it. I had some thoughts that I didn't want to forget so I would pause it and jot some things down, kind of enjoying what the movie was doing and the approach it was taking. Then I got to the reveal at the end and that all went out the window. Once again, we have a Hellraiser movie that wasn't originally written to be a Hellraiser movie and was just adapted into the world, and not very well. The other times I felt that approach worked and they made for some good sequels, but here, I am not digging it.

So the plot goes meta here, where in the world of the movie, the Hellraiser films themselves don't actually exist but the legend or myth of Lemarchand and his box do. BUT THE MOVIE IS NOT REALLY ABOUT HELLRAISER. Or Pinhead, or anything really relating to the franchise at all. Spoiler pretty much right off the bat: the whole thing was a set-up by the dead friend Adam's father to get revenge on the other kids for losing his son. This is a huge disappointment because, like I said, I was actually accepting the whole self-aware aspect that Hellworld had going for it. At this point in the franchise's history, the audience knows what's going on, so here they give that knowledge to the characters and allow them to play around in the world, winking at the audience and saying, "Hey, we're doing something a little different here." But that difference ends up being kind of an insult to the franchise, taking advantage of its fantastical nature to give credence to this dumb story of an angry father and his use of some hallucinatory drug to mess with these kids. And really, that kind of makes me angry and makes me feel very, very cheated.

There were a few things that seemed very out of place and which should have tipped me off to the fact that we were being played with here. As one character, Chelsea, actually points out, nobody opened the box. There wasn't even a box at all (until the stupid ending), so how could all these hellish dream sequences be taking place? Another clue: the first murder isn't even committed by Pinhead or the other Cenobites, but by the Host, Lance Henriksen as Adam's father. The next death does actually involve Pinhead, but it's done by him actually taking a medical blade and decapitating a guy. Pinhead has most assuredly killed a bunch of people by now, but he's never actually physically done it himself, so this definitely made me question the movie a bit more. The filmmakers do plenty of things to trick you into thinking that this is still a Hellraiser movie because of all the odd events that happen and the lack of explanation for them. Something just always feels wrong, though.

You hope that this is just because they have some grand reveal in mind for the end, and while they do, it's not at all what you expect or want it to be. I'm just not buying it, and I don't think many other people did, either. Hellworld is sort of fun to begin with - even though it feels like the rock 'n' roll, music video-like installment in the franchise - and I have to say that the deaths were nice and well executed, although not as elaborate as what we have come to love from Hellraiser. But the ending really makes the whole thing fall apart and lose my respect. Watch it for Lance Henriksen being Lance Henriksen. Because you sure as hell won't get what you want in terms of Doug Bradley or Pinhead. Thumbs down, Hellworld, sorry.

Actually, you should also watch it to see a chick roundhouse kick Lance Henriksen in the face. I don't know where the fuck that came from, but it was hilarious.

Wes Craven 1939 - 2015

2015-08-31T16:45:00.000-05:00

The loss of the great Wes Craven has been a terrible blow to the horror community. I know there are dozens of posts like this out there right now, and I know that we have lost so many great people recently, but this has truly saddened me and hurt my heart. Last night I was actually in a really good mood, watching a funny DVD, and enjoying the last few hours of my weekend. Then I absently checked my Facebook feed and was hit with the awful news. I thought it wasn't real at first, but it was: an icon was gone, and the life and career of my favorite horror director was no more.

It was a shock to say the least, because Wes Craven has always been an important part of my horror life. I came to horror a bit later in life than other fans - though I had always watched them as a child - and Scream was an important part of that. Then I saw more of Wes's films and realized just how much I loved not only the things this man has created but the man himself. I didn't talk about him enough when he was around, and I won't make that mistake now.

Wes was a kind, soft-spoken soul with a wonderful sense of humor and an aura of sweetness that you couldn't help but be attracted to. It was hard for me to equate the gentle man I saw behind the scenes with the dark things that came out of his mind on film. But at the same time, that's what I always loved about him. He wasn't afraid to bring real horror to film, and be gritty and raw about it. He also wasn't afraid to have fun with the genre and with himself, and he constantly did new and different things. Even then, you could tell when you were watching a Wes Craven film, as he had a distinct style and voice that I always enjoyed. He was beyond smart, analytical and creative, and his films were about so much more than what was on the surface.

Perhaps it seems weird to people outside the community that we are so affected by this, crying over somebody that we never met. As soon as I got home today, I put on my favorite Wes film, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, and as soon as Wes himself showed up on screen, the tears started coming. Reading all the messages that people have left on various platforms proves just how much he touched the lives of fans with his work and what an influence he has had on so many people around the world. We all experienced his career separately, but at the same time together, having the same feelings and gaining the same reverence each time we enjoyed another one of his films.

Thank you, Wes, for being the man that you were, and for bringing all those amazing characters, stories, and worlds to life. We will never forget you and we will never let your legacy die.

Thanks for the nightmares.

Read My Interview with Adam Green!

2015-08-20T18:28:00.000-05:00

TOTALLY forgot to share this on here even though it's been up for almost a week now, but hey, that's me.

Anyway, last Wednesday I had the honor and the pleasure of interviewing director Adam Green for the other website I write for, Wicked Horror. If you read my Looking to a More Positive Future post from a little while ago, you'll understand how fucking amazing this was for me. It is so unbelievably crazy and surreal to be that much of a fan of somebody (not only for their work but also for who they are as a person) one day, and then the next thing you know, you're talking to that person on the phone. Crazy awesome.

The interview was about a new online original series that Adam's production company, ArieScope Pictures, has on their website called Horrified!. It's a really cool short format thing where he gets a bunch of people from the entertainment industry on camera, telling their most embarrassing or horrifying stories from their real lives. We did the interview by phone, and talked for about an hour and a half. Sadly, I had to cut a lot of it out to keep it relevant to Horrified!, and to the upcoming season 3 of Holliston which we also talked about, but it turned out to be a great interview. I love stuff like Horrified! and the style of it, so it was really cool to hear more about it. I didn't completely geek out at Adam like I could have, but I did get the chance to thank him for being an inspiration to me and that meant the world.

I also mentioned in that other post I did about how inspirational Adam and Joe Lynch's Movie Crypt podcast has been to me. So then to make my life even more awesome, on the next episode of the podcast, Adam actually mentioned our interview and said something really cool about me and said my name. I kind of rule, you guys.

If you feel so inclined, head on over to Wicked Horror HERE to read my interview!!! And watched Horrified! every Friday until Christmas HERE.

Franchise Review: Hellraiser [VII]: Deader (2005)

2015-08-12T17:06:00.000-05:00

This was the one random Hellraiser sequel that I remembered watching not too long ago because I was curious about Kari Wuhrer in it. I also remember actually enjoying the entry quite a lot, even watching it out of context with the rest of the films in the series. This has been both a good and a bad thing about Hellraiser, because many of the entries can stand on their own as pretty good horror films, but at the same time, there is not a lot of connective tissue between them all.

Deader is the story of immersive investigative journalist Amy Klein, who travels to Romania after her paper receives a disturbing videotape in the mail. She starts to look into the Deaders, a strange group of people lead by a man named Winter who has found a way to bring people back from the dead. In turn, this has earned him the ire of Pinhead and the Cenobites for entering into their realm, and Amy is caught in the middle as the one person with the power to stop both of them.

A great thing about the Hellraiser sequels so far is that they have not dropped down in quality. Here we are with entry number seven, and the film is stylistically and visually very well put together. With really only one hiccup involving CGI bugs, the effects work are spot on and fit in with what we have come to love from Hellraiser. The grittiness of the setting in Romania, and the decrepit buildings, dark dungeons, and oddly converted subway cars is also reminiscent of previous films, as is the dark tone of the film. Hellraiser has not yet entered the campy, meta territory and I think that really works best with the stories that have so far been told in each entry.

Amy Klein seems like a bit of a loner with a dark past who uses the shocking stories she works on to maybe punish herself, or see how deep she is really willing to take herself. Is she suicidal, in a way? Perhaps at the beginning, but I think she gets a nice character arc throughout the course of Deader. She's a sympathetic, likable character - a real tough girl with a relatable vulnerability. Black and white flashback scenes hint at her childhood abuse that still haunts her, and the symbolism of the knife in the chest (although I'm not for sure that she actually stabbed her father when she was a child - was that real or her redemption at the end?) is worked in nicely with the story.

Surprisingly, I once again didn't mind all that much that Pinhead and the other Cenobites are not featured characters. Pinhead and the whole Hellraiser world is a metaphor for the hell and suffering that humans are either put through or put themselves through. When Pinhead kills all the Deaders at the end of the film, he's basically scoffing at their stupidity, saying, "Oh, you thought this world was hell? Let me show you what you think you're after, and you'll see that you had it much better off before." It has become more about what Pinhead represents rather than Pinhead himself, and that's great. The fact that Doug Bradley came back each time, except for part nine, to play Pinhead keeps the character's mystique and power alive - when he shows up, you can still feel the fear he brings, even if it is only for a few key scenes.

The blood and gore is pretty minimal, but again, not a problem. When Amy is becoming a Deader, she has this huge knife wound in her chest, which is introduced in a great scene with Wuhrer in the bathroom discovering it. After that, she has to walk around Romania with a gaping and bleeding wound that she keeps trying to hide, which thankfully does not come off as comical when it really could have. Winter gets a nice death at the end much like Frank in the first film when he is skewered by a dozen hooks and then ripped apart, and the other Deaders get a hook and chain that plows through all of their bodies at the same time.

I honestly can't find too much that I really don't like about Deader. The story works, the acting is good, and aside from a couple of scene transitions that don't make sense but you just have to chalk them up to being in the freaky dream/reality world of Hellraiser, it's a nice entry. It works as a stand-alone and it works in the franchise, or at least what the franchise has become with Inferno and Hellseeker. I like it.