Saturday, November 30, 2013

335 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare o' the Day!

Web-Series



Here's a fun YouTube Channel with hours of spooky, paranormal-themed goings on: The Haunting of Sunshine Girl Network!

The Haunting of Sunshine Girl Network follows "Sunshine," an un-named High School Girl from the Pacific Northwest, who lives in a haunted house and records herself having paranormal experiences and scary adventures.  The YouTube page features several, mutli-episode story-arcs.

The Haunting of Sunshine Girl Network was created in 2010 by Nick Hagen and Mercedes Rose and stars Paige McKenzie as Sunshine.  Mercedes Rose also plays Sunshine's Mom.  

The content generated by this small crew is compellingly watchable in the tiny, 1 to 2 minute short episode web-series format.  It's easy to lose half an hour watching 20 episodes back to back, primarily because Paige McKenzie is so authentic and endearing as lonely-teen Sunshine.    

Check out the creepy fun and debate with your friends if what you're seeing is real or staged at The Haunting of Sunshine Girl Network on YouTube!

Click the link to be taken to the first web series playlist: Season 1: The Original Haunting 

Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and…

Happy Halloween!!  

Friday, November 29, 2013

336 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare o' the Day!

Friday Night Thriller Theater

Every Friday, I'll be recommending a scary movie that's available to stream from NetFlix! 



Citadel

This week, I watched Citadel, a 2012 title from Irish filmmaker Ciaran Foy.

Citadel stars Welsh actor Aneurin Barnard as Tommy, a young father who has become almost paralyzed with agoraphobia since witnessing a gang of children brutally attack his pregnant wife in their dilapidated old apartment building. Tommy's child, Elsa, survived the attack, but his wife was left on a respirator.  Now, broken and terrified, Tommy must somehow raise his daughter, alone.  A daunting task, made further complicated by a foul-mouthed priest, played by Scottish actor James Cosmo, who tries to convince Tommy that the children who attacked his wife aren't quite human... and are now coming after Elsa.  

Citadel is a smart horror film, and I'm always a sucker for smart. Ciaran Foy served as both writer and director on the project. He shared that one of the influences for Citadel was his own experience with agoraphobia after an unprovoked attack in a car park left him housebound for four months when he was 18 years old.

Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by panic attacks which are induced by the inability to escape situations that involve wide open, or crowded, spaces. 

Citadel does an excellent job in first explaining what's happening with agoraphobia in psychological terms. Then, it really twists the knife and makes you feel it. This helps the audience connect with and feel empathy for Tommy, who appears wholly unable to escape his terror.

Another tactic Foy uses to connect us with Tommy and make us feel his fear is by using a dull-grey and drab-white color palette in the film.  It makes the cold and desolate urban landscape Citadel is set in not only oppressive, but also heightens the sense of loneliness and isolation that Tommy must feel.

The only warmth and beauty in the film, and subsequently in Tommy's life, come in the form of Citadel's principle female characters: Tommy's wife Joanne (Amy Shiels), infant daughter Elsa, and sympathetic nurse, Marie (Wunmi Mosaku). Their importance is so heightened in Citadel that when they are placed in jeopardy, the audience also shares Tommy's sense of desperation and panic.

Foy injects a bit of myth into Citadel, as well.  Since Theseus fought the Minotaur in its Labyrinth, heroes have had to face and overcome their fears by confronting monsters in their lair.  So must Tommy in Citadel. His survival, and that of his daughter, depend upon it.

You'll be rooting for him.


Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and...

Happy Halloween!!

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Black Friday Wish List!!

Nothing is more frightening than Black Friday!!

What better way to celebrate than to create a Wish List of spooky potential gifts?

Nintendo 2DS - $99 at Target on Black Friday


Nintendo may not be a name that strikes fear in your heart, but in order to play the 2 horror-themed games below, you'll need one of these. The 2DS doesn't have 3D, but only James Cameron uses 3D, anyway. Other than that, the 2DS is only $129, and it's just $99 at Target on Black Friday!! 

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon - $31 at Amazon



I had Luigi's Mansion for the Gamecube... as an adult! How great will it be to play Mario's cowardly, yet somehow brave, little brother as a Ghostbuster on the go?

Resident Evil: Revelations - $26 at Amazon



What would Black Friday be without zombies? Don't you feel like a Zombie standing there in line at Walmart at 3 in the morning after cooking all day on Thanksgiving, just to pick up those Door Busters?  "Dooooorrrr Bussssttterrrsss."

Guillermo Del Toro Cabinet of Curiosities:  My Notebooks, Collections, and Other Obsessions
by Guillermo Del Toro - $36 at Amazon




How awesome is Guillermo Del Toro?  Have you seen The Devil's Backbone, Hellboy, and Pan's Labryinth? That's how awesome he is! His Cabinet of Curiosities is my kind of creepy cool!

The Exorcist: 40th Anniversary Blu-Ray - $35 at Amazon



The ultimate edition of the scariest movie of all time!

Halloween: 35th Anniversary Edition Blu-Ray - $33 at Amazon



Apparently not the ultimate edition of Halloween, but my DVD has a scratch on it, so, bring it on!

Infect Tedz - Hatchet




They're not available yet, but I so want this guy! Check out and like Infect Tedz on Facebook www.facebook.com/infecttedz, and make sure to follow them on Twitter: @InfectTedz!

Kindle Fire HDX (7" 16 GB Wi-Fi) - $229 at Amazon



How else am I going to read Neil Gaiman's entire run on Sandman... again?

ComiXology e-Gift Card - Available at www.comixology.com/egift-cards!



How else am I going to buy Neil Gaiman's entire run on Sandman?

HP Chromebook 11 - $279 at Best Buy


My MacBook is getting a bit long in the tooth.  This looks like a lean, mean, Halloween bloggin' machine!

Xbox One - $499 at Best Buy



Ok, the Xbox One got a lot of hate leading up to its launch.  But, dude, seriously, who doesn't want to Skype-Trash Talk with friends, while you're following your Fantasy Football Team, while you're mowing down Zombies in Dead Rising 3 all at the same time and on the same screen? I say, "Xbox ON!"

Dead Rising 3 - $59 at Best Buy



See above.

Tesla Motors Model S - P 85+ Signature Red - $119,470 from Tesla Motors



The price might be a bit scary... actually, downright terrifying!  But sometimes, change is scary. The Model S is the future.  I want mine now.

Do you guys have some ideas for spooky gifts I should add to my wish list?  Feel free to add stuff in the comments section below!! I especially need ideas for horror/Halloween collectibles, as I'm not that well-versed in the world of horror collectibles!

337 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare o' the Day!

Fake Movie Trailer



Eli Roth's Thanksgiving

Eli Roth's Thanksgiving appeared as a hilarious fake movie trailer in Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's 2007 double feature, Grindhouse.  Word on the internet is that Roth still plans to make Thanksgiving into a 90 minute, holiday-themed, straight-up, honest to goodness slasher movie!

Word of warning:  Eli Roth's Thanksgiving trailer should be considered red band, is not safe for work, and only appropriate to be viewed by adults. 

Eli Roth's Thanksgiving

Running Time:  2 min: 20 sec

Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and…

Happy Halloween!!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

338 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare o' the Day!

Video Game


Dying Light

Here's gameplay footage from Dying Light, a survival horror title featuring parkour-style running, coming for current and next-gen systems in 2014.

The infected are so much more fun when you can free-run away from them!

Dying Light is being made by Techland, the Polish developer responsible for Dead Island.  Warner Brothers Games will handle publishing duties.

Dying Light - 12 Minute Gameplay Walkthrough

Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and…

Happy Halloween!!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

339 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare o' the Day!

Short Story


"A Message From Your Personal Demons"

By MrGarm

Narrated by Jeff Clement

Here's a spooky short, short story written by Reddit poster, MrGarm, and narrated by Jeff Clement.

"A Message From Your Personal Demons" struck a chord with me and got me thinking in an unenlightened manner...  What if our emotional states really are determined by supernatural forces?

Click the title to read "A Message From Your Personal Demons," and check out more scary stories, and even a few haikus, from MrGarm at http://www.reddit.com/user/MrGarm/submitted/.

More of Jeff Clement's spooky narration can be found at his YouTube Page Aural Stimulation, or on Chilling Tales for Dark Nights!


Running time:  4 min: 49 sec

Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and…

Happy Halloween!!

Monday, November 25, 2013

340 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare o' the Day!

Short Film

Cargo

This zombie short might make you cry...  Sometimes it's good to feel another emotion besides fear!

Cargo was directed by Ben Howling & Yolanda Ramke and produced by Ben Howling, Yolanda Ramke, Marcus Newman, and Daniel Foeldes.  It was an official selection at the 2013 Tropfest Film Festival in Australia.  

Check out more great short films at the Tropfest YouTube Page!

Cargo

Running Time:  7 min: 04 sec

Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and…

Happy Halloween!!

Sunday, November 24, 2013

341 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare o' the Day!

Short Story

"The Spire in the Woods"


"The Spire in the Woods" by TheBoyInTheClock

There were already 192,622 subscribers to the sub-Reddit forum NoSleep when I logged on Thursday night.  I had heard that it was an excellent place to read a scary story, and apparently, I was already late for the party.  For my first read, I chose the winner of the October 2013 Short Story Contest, a long work of fiction called "The Spire in the Woods."

"The Spire in the Woods" is almost a novella.  It took me three and a half hours, but I read it in one, white-knuckled sitting.  It was moving and powerful and scary as Hell. I say this with complete honesty and without hyperbole, "The Spire in the Woods" is easily one of the best works of horror fiction I have read in the last 10 years.

And I read a lot.

I immediately emailed the author, telling him this, and asked if it would be ok to post a link to his story on That Halloween Blog.  He got back to me and said that it would.

All I know about him is his first name and that he calls himself TheBoyInTheClock.  All you need to know is that he’s the real deal.  If I was smarter, I’d have asked for an interview. Maybe that will come in time. Right now, you have the very great privilege to be able to read a stunningly scary work by an exciting new voice in horror fiction before it appears in the pages of a book.

For free.

"The Spire in the Woods" is equal parts ghost story, supernatural mystery, and coming-of-age journey.

It features one of my favorite genre tropes: the protagonist who is almost manically compelled to solve a mystery, even though doing so might get him killed. In this case, the protagonist is a likable teenage everyman who struggles with feelings of infatuation and love for a pretty classmate. She has a mystery that may be related to a scary old ghost story, "The Widower's Clock." 

Will solving it endear him to her?

As a coming of age story, "The Spire in the Woods" is shockingly relevant and filled with an ever escalating constellation of issues faced by today's teenager, from the mundane (first love, fitting in, rejection, and broken hearts) to the severe (bullying, surviving loss and mental illness) to the tragic (traumatic violence, rape, and teen suicide).

"The Spire in the Woods" also tackles some heavy duty themes for a work of genre fiction: fear as means of social control, the failure of religion, the loss of faith, the destructive force of guilt, and the damning effects of generational misogyny. 

Structurally, TheBoyInTheClock is an expert craftsman.  His set-ups and subtle use of foreshadowing make the story's pay-offs so brutally unexpected that they seem pre-ordained.  "The Spire in the Woods" also contains all the little details that serve to enrich a story and endow it with a sense of time and place, like how many gallons of water the Quabbin Reservoir holds, or the reason ice frozen on a lake makes a “cuh, cuh, cuh” sound.

Most importantly, TheBoyInTheClock's insights into human nature and the sweet pain and unfairness of life are so spot-on, nuanced, and perfectly communicated that at times I thought I was reading a story about myself.

As my buddy Ting would say, "TheBoyInTheClock KNOWS."

In our communication, TheBoyInTheClock said that he has plans to publish "The Spire in the Woods" on Amazon.  When he does, I'll be posting about it again, because he deserves to be paid for his work.  

Until that time comes, do yourself a favor, click the link below, and take a journey to...


Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and...

Happy Halloween!!

Saturday, November 23, 2013

342 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare 'o the day!

Haunted Vacations



The scare-minded folks at Booking.com, have created a page especially devoted to haunted hotels!  You can book a stay in one of several haunted locations, including the Stanley Hotel in Colorado, Stephen King's inspiration for The Shining.  You might want to avoid staying in Room 217, though.  Or… perhaps you'd want to request to stay in that one, in particular.  It's said to be haunted by a former guest who was killed tragically in a gas explosion.

Seriously, who wouldn't want to take a haunted vacation?

http://booking.com/haunted/

Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and…

Happy Halloween!!


Friday, November 22, 2013

343 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare o' the day!

Friday Night Thriller Theater

Every Friday, I'll be recommending a scary movie that's available to stream from NetFlix!



Tonight, it's VHS 2!

VHS 2 continues the found-footage throwback madness started with 2012's VHS but is superior to its predecessor in almost every way:  intelligence, scares, carnage, gore, overall filmmaking skill, humor, and head shots... Seriously, there's more head shots in this movie than a Call of Duty Death Match.  

The one thing it doesn't surpass from the first film is, curiously, boobs.  Only one pair show up in VHS 2But they're a nice pair and... unexpected.

As with its predecessor, VHS 2 is a collection of four found-footage horror vignettes captured on stacks of glorious old video cassette tapes.  The vignettes run the horror gamut from haunting, to zombie outbreak, to pagan death cult, to alien abduction. In the wrap-around story, the VHS tapes appear to be the key for two amoral private investigators to determine the whereabouts of a missing college kid.

Unfortunately for the private eyes, when the tapes are watched in proper sequence, bad things tend to happen to the viewer.

VHS 2 was made by a collection of young, up-and-coming auteurs along with the pioneers of the found footage genre. "Tape 49" was directed by VHS alum Simon Barrett, the screenwriter for the 2013 horror film, You're Next"Phase I Clinical Trials" was directed by Adam Wingard, also an alumnus of the first VHS film and director of You're Next.  The creators of The Blair Witch ProjectGreg Hale & Eduardo Sanchez, directed "A Ride in the Park."  Gareth Evans, director of The Raid: Redemption, and Timo Tjahjanto director of Macabre, helmed "Safe Haven."  And finally, Hobo with a Shotgun director, Jason Eisener, shot "Slumber Party Alien Abduction."

The prevailing attitude in the horror community seems to be that the found footage genre has overstayed it's welcome.  I agree that it's a bit played out, but I'm always happy to watch quality work for a fun scare. VHS 2 fits that bill.

Stream it tonight on Netflix!

VHS 2 Trailer




Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and…

Happy Halloween!!  

Thursday, November 21, 2013

344 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare o' the Day!

Paranormal Encounters?




Ouija Board

Uploaded by YouTube poster, OuijaWarning, the link to the short, scary video below displays a group of friends playing with a Ouija Board.  The friends encounter a spirit who calls itself ZOZO.


Terror ensues.


Ouija Board - ZOZO Encounter (Running Time:  2 min: 23 sec)



OuijaWarning instructs viewers of this video to never play with a Ouija Board. The possibility of encountering the demonic entity ZOZO, or any other number of vile and cantankerous spirits could be the result.

For years, I've totally agreed with that line of thinking.

What did Harvey Keitel say in Mean Streets?  "Ya don't fuck around with the infinite."


What's so hard to understand about that?

But then I read this great article from smithsonianmag.com called:  "The Strange and Mysterious History of the Ouija Board".  (I highly recommend it!)

Ouija Boards really do have a mysterious origin, and the horror lover in me was piqued by the idea that the creators of the board determined its name by asking what it would like to be called.

The board responded, "Ouija."

The psychologist in me was also piqued, as one of the board's creators was apparently infatuated with a woman named Ouida at the time and had a picture of her in a locket he was carrying during the naming session.

So, is the Ouija Board a portal to Hell, a fun family board game, or could it be something much more?

Dr. Ronald Rensink of the Visual Cognition Lab at the University of British Columbia thinks so. Rensink, his colleague Dr. Helene Gaucho, and their assistants (Dakota Carter and Docky Duncan) are conducting research using Ouija boards to unlock the mysteries of the unconscious mind.

Specifically, they have learned that humans only have conscious access to part of their total intelligence.  Ouija Boards can allow users to access knowledge that they aren't even aware they know!

Check out the work of the Visual Cognition Lab at UBC at the Inner Intelligence Project or by clicking the link for the video below.

Using Ouija to explore the Unconscious (Running Time: 7 min: 30 sec)


  
Doctors Rensink and Gaucho are attempting to crowd fund the next phase of their research at Microryza - Using Ouijas to Explore the Unconscious: You Know More Than You Think. Unfortunately, I just found out about this and the crowd funding campaign ends soon.  

There's still time to help them out, though...  If the Ouija tells you to!

But what about ZOZO?

I have some thoughts about that for another time, but until then, Paranormal Investigator Darren Evans has devoted an entire blog to The ZOZO Ouija Phenomena.

Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and…

Happy Halloween!!

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

345 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare o' the Day!

Video Game



Dead Rising 3 Cinematic Trailer

The next generation of video games is upon us, and horror-themed titles look to be well represented on both pieces of next-gen hardware!!

The PS4 launched last Friday in the US and the Xbox One will release this Friday, November 22nd.

But, only the Xbox One features Capcom's Dead Rising 3 as a launch title!!

Check out the Dead Rising 3 Cinematic Trailer!!

Running Time:  4 min: 03 sec

Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and…

Happy Halloween!!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

346 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare o' the Day!

Short Story

"Other People"

by Neil Gaiman.  

Neil Gaiman reads "Other People," a short story from his collection, Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders.

"Other People"

Running Time:  8 min: 19 sec

Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and…

Happy Halloween!!

Monday, November 18, 2013

347 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare 'o the day!

Short Film

Best New Horror

"Best New Horror" is a seriously scary short story from Joe Hill's Collection, 20th Century Ghosts. Below, you'll find a scene adapted from the story by film students in the Intermediate Directing Course at Point Park University. The scene stars Kevin Lukacs and Nick Vavro and was directed by Zack Hoey. Michael Barger shot and edited the scene, and Jamie Fergus served as script supervisor and location scout.

After a long search, horror anthology Editor Eddie Carroll has finally tracked down Peter Kilrue, the elusive author of a disturbing short story called "Buttonboy."  Carroll has plans to publish the story, but he may come to regret driving all the way out to Kilrue's secluded home by himself...


Running Time:   3 min:  22 Sec

Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and…

Happy Halloween!!

Sunday, November 17, 2013

348 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare 'o the day!

Short Story




"The Outsider" by H.P. Lovecraft

Read by Nick Gisburne

Lovecraft's stories always make me think that he must have been incredibly lonely.  Hopefully you're listening to this spooky tale with someone special on a creepy Autumn Sunday afternoon!

Please visit Nick Gisburne's YouTube Page for more original works and classic poetry and prose. Nick's got a pretty great voice, no?

"The Outsider" by H.P. Lovecraft

Running time:  16 min: 29 sec

Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and…

Happy Halloween!!

Saturday, November 16, 2013

349 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare o' the day!

Horror Photography


Last Stand by Joshua Hoffine

Joshua Hoffine is "The Horror Photographer."

Based in Kansas City, Hoffine captures horror stories in one frame.  You can check out his work at www.joshuahoffine.com and even buy prints from his site for $25 apiece!

Hoffine just wrapped up a Kickstarter Campaign to raise funds to complete his first short film project, Black Lullaby. I can't wait to see it!

Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and…

Happy Halloween!!

Friday, November 15, 2013

350 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare o' the Day!

Friday Night Thriller Theater

Every Friday Night I'll be recommending a scary movie that can be streamed from Netflix!



The thing about recommending movies instead of reviewing them is that you sometimes end up watching good movies that you still might not want to recommend. That happened to me this week with Franck Khalfoun's 2012 remake, Maniac.

Maniac stars Elijah Wood as Frank, a mannequin repairing serial killer, with heavy-duty Oedipal issues, who decompensates rapidly after making the acquaintance of pretty photographer, Anna. Frank's all too human desire for a relationship with Anna, who is played by stunning French actress Nora Arnezeder, dooms them both. That I knew this and continued to watch Maniac to its hideously violent and gruesome conclusion is a testament to the power of the film.

Yet, I cannot recommend this movie.

Maniac was produced and co-written by Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur and is based on William Lustig's original 1980 slasher film of the same name.  Aja's gory influence is obvious from the start.  Maniac is shot from serial killer Frank's first person perspective and is unflinchingly violent on a personal level. It is brutal, misogynistic, and horrific.  

Maybe too horrific.

That horror is supposed to horrify is understood.  That horror is often violent, misogynistic, bloody, and mean-spirited goes without saying.  But, Maniac would seem to cross a line.  It is an excellent film.  It is also porn for serial killers.  The kind of movie that would have fueled Ted Bundy's disturbed fantasies in the 70's.  The kind of movie that fuels the disturbed fantasies of a new generation of sadistic serial predators today.

I believe that we have a responsibility for the energy we send out into the world.  I just question whether Maniac is the kind of energy that should be sent.

And I think Elijah Wood probably agrees, at least on a subconscious level.  Although he has become a major and welcomed player in the world of horror cinema, both as producer and star, Wood admitted on Conan O'Brien that he fears the possibility of home invasion and often envisions the way such a scenario would play out before he falls asleep at night.

Click here to see Bill Burr giving Elijah Wood advice on how to protect himself in the event of such an occurrence.

Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and…

Happy Halloween!!  

Thursday, November 14, 2013

351 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare o' the day!

Best of Scare Tactics

Here's another one of my all-time favorite scares, Satan's Baby!

Look for new episodes of Scare Tactics on YouTubeSyfy, or at scaretactics.tv

Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and…

Happy Halloween!!

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

352 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare 'o the day!

Video Game


Shinji Mikami, the creator of Resident Evil, is returning to his survival horror roots with his next game, The Evil Within.

In the gruesome gameplay clip below, you'll see blood, gore, a Chainsaw wielding madman, Saw-like traps, Zombies, a nod to The Shining, a creature straight out of J-Horror, and the aftermath of the apocalypse!  

It's a scary vid.  I jumped...  Twice!

Produced by Mikami's studio, Tango Gameworks, and published by BethesdaThe Evil Within looks like it could be a horror lover's dream... or worst nightmare!!

The game will be available for current and next-gen systems in 2014!!


Running Time:  11 min:  57 sec

Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy!!

and…

Happy Halloween!!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

353 Days 'til Halloween...

Scare o' the Day!

Short Story




"Check"  by Kelsey Donald

"Check" is creepy, very short, and well worth a listen.  It was initially posted to the Subreddit forum "Short Scary Stories" by Kelsey Donald and has been produced for audio by Chilling Tales for Dark Nights.  "Check" is expertly narrated by Jeff Clement.



I highly recommend checking out the Chilling Tales for Dark Nights website, as well as their excellent YouTube Page, for more high quality scary stories and audio recordings!!  They also have a Podcast on iTunes

You should drop by Jeff Clement's YouTube page, AuralStimulation, to hear more of his spooky narration, too!!

"Check"

By Kelsey Donald

Running Time:  2 min: 23 sec

Mua-ha-haaaaa!!

Enjoy

and...

Happy Halloween!!