Adios my horror lovers!

As the end of my semester draws near so does my blog. This will be my last blog post for this semester and I hope you enjoyed reading all of my posts just as much as I enjoyed writing them. And remember, keep looking for Hollywoods greatest and latest hauntings in the horror blog community! There are plenty of horror film blogs to follow out there. You can even find some located on the left side of my blog:) Thanks for reading!

Texas Chainsaw 3-D (2013)

Texas Chainsaw 3-D is a new and upcoming 2013 American Slasher Film.Its directed by John Luessenhop. 

Its the 7th film in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Franchise and will be presented in 3-D! 

I'm not gonna lie i'm pretty stoked for this film and I can't wait to see what this film has in store for this legendary horror story. It picks up right were the last film left off in 1974. And I love that they can keep the terrors of Leatherface last from 1974 to now. The film will be released on January 4, 2013.

This is the first trailer for the newest addition to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. Are you excited for this film and what's your opinion thus far of the film or the franchise? I would love to hear some feedback.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre(1974) is one of the best known and most feared American slasher films. This film is about a group of 5 friends that get hunted down and terrorized as they fall victim to a family of grave robbing cannibals and a crazed man with a chainsaw. 

This film was intense and if you have a weak stomach this film is not for you. It was directed by Tobe Hooper and the film was said to be based on a true story, but the truth is that they just said that in order to market a wider audience and the story is an untrue one. The main antagonist Leatherface (our man with the chainsaw) was inspired by a real life murderer Ed Gein. That's still pretty creepy even with the films plot being fiction.

I thought that this film was awesome and they came out with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, All American Massacre, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and a re-make of this film in 2003. There is an actual The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. They sell comics and video game adaptions of the original film. This film till this day is making a lot of money. 

The Vampire Diaries (Season 3)

Finally!  I finished season 3 of The Vampire Diaries. I am absolutely in love with this series and it just keeps getting better and better. The second season ends with Stefan (Elena's boyfriend) surrendering himself to the original vampire Klaus in order to get his hybrid (vampire/werewolf) blood to save his brother Damon from a deadly werewolf bite. Season 3 begins with Elena's 18th birthday, so a few months have passed since Stefan and Klaus started on their journey to find werewolves to turn into hybrids. Damon and Elena's relationship grows as they try and track Stefan to try and bring him home. While Stefan is away he turns into "the ripper" because Klaus has him feed on human blood, thus bringing out the true predator in him. This season was full of great twists and intense horror scenes.

After watching this series from the beginning I can really appreciate the growth that the show and the cast has shown. I think that the show was cast very well and the characters evolved well throughout the seasons. I enjoyed how they tied more of the original family of vampires in this season. It really gave the show a deeper plot line as well as spicing up the interactions between characters. Even though Klaus is considered a bad vampire I just think he is a bad-ass vamp. He is what a true vampire consists of: feeding off human blood, using his powers of mind manipulation for self satisfaction and consuming power by taking others.

In this season we see Bonnie's powers increase tremendously and her relationship with Jeremy also grows. Ghosts will play a big part in this season, due to Jeremy coming back from the dead the ancient witches have consequences in store for him, like the ability to see and talk to dead people. This will cause huge problems as the gap between the living and the dead opens up. Also, my excitement almost cannot be contained when I see Damon and Elena's relationship strengthening as they grow closer as Stefan becomes darker this season.  I left some good plot twists out because I didn't want to spoil it. So make sure you take a peek! Its on Netflix:)

Review of Red State (2011)

This film was pretty intense and horrific, not what I expected when I decided to watch it on Netflix, but nonetheless scared the hell out of me. The film Red State was made in 2011 and directed by Kevin Smith. If you don't know who that is you might be reminded by the movie clerks, he also directed that film and started as "Silent Bob". I would have to say that Red State is one of Smiths better pieces of work.

The film starts out with three teenage boys who decide to pursue sex session with an older woman that they found a Craigslist ad. We all knew this was a bad idea from the start of the film... I mean haven't these kids heard of the Craigslist killer? Anyways, the teens go to the woman's house and it seems to the boys that everything is falling right into place, until the woman drugs the boys drinks.

When the boys wake up they try to come to terms with the fact that they have been kidnapped and are now being held hostage in a church called 5 points. There have been rumors circulating in the town that this Christian cult like church has been the prime suspects in the recent disappearance of a fellow teen boy in the community for being gay.

The rumors are true and the boys try to escape after seeing the death and torture of someone in the church, but the pastor will make damn sure that they do not escape their fate for their escapades on craigslist. The pastor is an extremist homophobic who will not rest to he believes justice to be served.

This film was intense and suspenseful from beginning to end. The horror scenes were pretty graphic and not for those with a weak stomach. I found that the ending provided a great twist and I recommends this film for all great horror film enthusiasts!

Poems of the Werewolf

I was taking a gander at a few other horror blogs in my community and I came across a post similar to one of my previous ones. I found the post at unspeakablehorror.com, the post touched on the transformation of the werewolf in cinema as well as transformations in general and I found it to be a really good read. I liked seeing the authors viewpoint on werewolf transformations as I was able to compare them to my own perspective on the evolution of werewolves in cinema.

The author of the post and I had similar perspectives on the transformation of the werewolf. We could both agree that over time digital effects have enhanced the transformation of the werewolf, yet at the same time the digital effects take away from the original prosthetic werewolf transformations. I too enjoy the original werewolf transformations, I would agree with the author of the post in saying its a lost art unfortunately. 

In the post the author mentions his favorite werewolf transformation films such as The American Werewolf in London and Michael Jackson's transformation in the extended music video Thriller. He didn't mention that both the film and the music video was produced by John Landis, renowned filmmaker. I personally also enjoy John Landis' work as well. 

My favorite part of the post I read was the short poem that the author created about the transformations, I thought it was funny and clever. Here it is! Called "Transformations"

at last disgusted by the latest digital transformation

the werewolf goes to film school

 

fantastic prosthetics

bubbling latex

dripping maws

 

he carefully maps out the cycles of the moon

 

at the local insane asylum

he finds a sympathetic janitor

who locks him into a padded cell on full moons

 

he interns in the craft of prosthetic latex molds and

pioneers a new quality of werewolf

to rival Rick Baker

 

of course he knows the truth about werewolf transformations

the prickly joy of sprouting hair  

the tickling whisker mask

the gigantic erection

the cathartic release of howling

 

he wants to show the true sign of the werewolf

with none of that old shame

displayed by those pathetic Lon Chaney Jr. performances

 

you know he's the only real werewolf working in werewolf pictures

and he’s proud

 

he wants everyone to know that it's different

than what the old movies said

The Vampire Diaries Season 2 Review

The Vampire Diaries (Season 2)

 

I'm obsessed with all things vampire and the second season of the T.V. horror/supernatural drama Vampire Diaries was just as awesome and if not better than the first season. The end of the second season left me jumping to see the third season. Season one set the background for the series and introduced most of the characters relationships. Season two was packed with more background on our vamps and werewolves, as well as a lot more scary suspenseful scenes.



In this season we get to really know the original Vampires. Introducing Elijah and Klaus as nothing but an enemy for the Salvatore brothers and Elena. One of the most shocking changes in the second season was, Caroline, one of Elena's best friends becoming a crazed vampire. Although she was a blood thirsty new born vampire, she did learn to control herself and take well to her new lifestyle. All the while Tyler Lockwood finally became a werewolf, thus letting Caroline and Tyler bond over their new uncontrollable life changes. This sparked the relationship that will last for the whole season. I love love love them together!

We see the love triangle between Elena, Stefan and Damon become more apparent as Damon professed his love for Elena. Talk about brotherly issues... I personally want Elena to be with Damon. Anyways, the sun and moon curse still haunt the well being of everyone in the town of Mystic Falls. And It all boiled down to Klaus as the main evil character throughout the season. He needed three victims to break the curse and become a hybrid Vamp-werewolf of these victims including Elena's aunt and guardian Jenna and Elena.

There is a season three to Vampire Diaries so we know that there's some kind of loop hole in the end of the season. I won't spoil it for you guys though. Like I said in my previous post about Vampire Diaries. Watch it! Its an awesome action packed horror/supernatural drama that's hard to stop watching. I even have my boyfriend hooked. 

No more Twinkies = the coming of the zombie apocalypse.

If you've seen Zombieland (2009)  or read my previous post on its review, you know that one of the main goals in the film is to find Twinkies for one of the main characters, Tallahassee. In the film, since the zombie Apocalypse, Twinkies have become a scarce commodity. You know what that means right? Our recent news of Hostess going out of business is foreshadowing for the coming of the zombie take down!!

I thought it would be a safe move to go ahead and list all of the rules that were talked about in the film for avoiding death by zombie or a zombie attack. 

1.Cardio - Keep Running, you will be chased alot.

2.The Double Tap- You always want to strike your zombie attacker at leasttwice to make sure they are down.

3.Beware of Bathrooms- Zombies will find you and will kill you while your doing your business.

4.Wear Seat Belts- make sure that its on if a zombie strikes you with another car.

5.No Attachments- Getting attached to things only makes it difficult when you will have to either abandon them or it for your own safety and or kill someone because they got bit.

6.The “Skillet”- always a good weapon for the face.

7.Travel Light- your on the run from getting your face mauled, stay light and agile.

8.Get a Kick Ass Partner- get a partner that will help you defend yourselves in a multiple zombie attack.

9.With your Bare Hands- always have a weapon redily avaiable, you dont want your hands on these nasty creatures.

10.Don’t Swing Low- you want to kill not injure, go for the brain.

11.Use Your Foot- Use your feet and legs to kick, jump and run. Awesome tools for survival. 

12.Bounty Paper Towels- great for the messes that zombies leave behind. They are nasty.

13.Shake it Off- Your going to see messed up things and have bad feelings.. shake it off.

14.Always carry a change of underwear- Always a good plan for obvious reasons.

15.Bowling Ball- perfect for setting up for the double tap by taking out multiple zombies at a 

time.

16.Opportunity Knocks- make sure you take advantage of all your opportunities.

17.Don’t be a hero (later crossed out to be a hero)- No need to show off. You are trying to save YOUR life, no one elses... This one changes later.

18.Limber Up- Pulled muscles while running will hinder your ability to live.

19.Break it Up- You may have alot of emotions, its okay to let them out by breaking things.

20.It’s a marathon, not a sprint, unless it’s a sprint, then sprint- some situations call for a sprint instead of a run. So sprint.

21.Avoid Strip Clubs- Zombie strippers are a NO GO.

22.When in doubt Know your way out- Always scope out your surroundings to have an 

escape route.

23.Zipplock- Mositure blockers, You will need them.

24.Use your thumbs- The will come in handy, we were given them for many reasons.

25.Shoot First- Dont ask questions, Zombie=shoot.

26.A little sun screen never hurt anybody- You don't want to deal with a zombie apocalypse as well as a sunburn.

27.Incoming!- Always stay alert. You never know who's lurking around the corner.

28.Double-Knot your Shoes- You will trip, fall and be mauled by a zombie if you break this rule.

29.The Buddy System- Two is always better than one.

30.Pack your stain stick- No one likes to be covered in stains..

31.Check the back seat- The back seat is an ultimate hiding spot and can be one for zombies as well.

32.Enjoy the little things- This world will suck if taken over by zombies... enjoy the little things if possible.

33.Swiss army Knife- Again, having multiple tools/weapons are a good idea!

Just a few tips to keep in mind.

A Review of Zombieland (2009)

This horror comedy was an awesome action packed film with lots of gruesome zombie killing scenes. The main protagonists name is Columbus, he is played by Jessie Eisnberg, is on a mission to get back to Columbus, Ohio to try and see his family again after the zombie outbreak. He survives in Zombieland by following a set of rules he created, and in doing so he meets the other leading characters. Tallahassee played by Woody Harrelson, Wichita played by Emma Stone and Little Rock played by Abigail Breslin. 

These four stuck together throughout the film, all with personal goals to achieve while surviving a world overrun by zombies. Tallahassee's goal throughout the whole film is to find Twinkies to help remind him of a better time in his childhood when the world was zombie-less  While the two girls, who are sisters, are trying to get to an amusement park that they heard was zombie free.

I enjoyed the dark humor that this film had to offer and I thought that it was very entertaining to watch a comedic twist on a such a horrific incident. I thought that the zombies were very well done in this film also. They were a great illustration of what a modern zombie would be like; rabid, scary, destructive, mutated, flesh eating walking diseases. 

Even throughout the intense zombie killings the director Ruben Fleischer found a way to include a building romantic relationship between Columbus and Wichita. I found it entertaining and funny how the film included the thoughts of the main protagonist, Columbus, out loud. It really added to the comedy aspect of this horror film. 

 


 Ultimately, I thought this horror film was a good one and I think if you haven't seen it then you most definitely should. You can even find it right on YouTube or Netflix :) 

Review of Prom Night (2008)

 Let me start out by giving you a little background on the film, the main protagonist Donna Keppel is attending her senior prom and its supposed to be one of the best nights of her life. She thinks she safe from the terrors of her past, yet tonight on her prom night is the night they come back to haunt her. One man who terrorized her in her past, who she thought had left her alone for good, is back. Now she must spend all of prom night trying to find a way to escape the cruel and ruthless violence and destruction that her obsessed killer has planned for her and all her friends.

Prom Night (2008) is a crappy remake of the original film Prom Night (1980) with actress Jamie Lee Curtis as the protagonist. I was extremely disappointed with the film created in 2008. The film was pretty much plot less and gives horror movies a bad name. From the beginning of the film we are told who the killer is and what he wants from Donna and the teens. There are a bunch of the expected killings in this movie where the main characters are lured into the darkness and then killed. This was upsetting, they could of had so much more substance present in the film to make this a great one, but in my opinion it was an epic flop for viewers and in the box office. 

This film had poor acting and a terrible script. The killer was only scary because he was labelled as "the killer". The film was repetitive to me and I found myself wanting to turn it off. I didn't see any awesome horror scenes that would even put this in the category of horror film, the most I saw was a puddle of blood on the floor. It had the typical "scary movie" strategy of having the character hide under the bed, hide in the closet, or "Oh my God, there's a man with a knife behind me in the mirror!"... I feel like I should just let all of you know that this was a waste of a Friday night for me. I didn't take much away from this film other than it was a film poorly constructed and that was overly advertised for something so crappy and disappointing. If anyone else saw it I would enjoy your feedback as well.

10 reasons that some scary movies can be okay for kids

After doing some browsing in my blogging community I came across this article about scary movies and why some scary films could be okay for kids to watch. This article was written by Albert Saliba and I found it on The Horror Movies Blog site. 

He starts out his article by talking about how when he was a child he watched The Time Machine on TV and he remembers being so scared that he had nightmares for months. Saliba then inquires, "...was I really scared for life? Not so much." He said he went back and watched The Time Machine again when he was an adult and he found it entertaining and fun to look at how different his perceptions were as a child as opposed to them now. I think that the majority of people in the same situation will look back and enjoy this comparison of perception also. I know I did when thinking of the first time I watched the film The Grudge. 

Many parents try to shield their children from scary films and I also agree with Saliba that they should monitor what their kids watch to an extent but there is no need to go overboard. Scary movies can be okay for kids to watch and here are some reasons why.

1. Handling fear –  Scary movies are a good way for kids to learn and understand how to handle fear. It may all seem real, but if you keep reiterating the fact that it is just a movie it will take some of that real fear a child has from the film away . a horror movie every now and then may help your child stand up to their fears and deal with them.
2.  Thrills –  Some kids enjoy being scared with thrills and spooky things. It could be fun for them to shriek, and it may be funny to see their siblings or friends hide their face. By the age of 8 to 10 kids may be searching for more thrill seeking/adventure type films to see.
3. Reality vs. make believe – Watching a scary film can help kids learn to separate and learn reality and make believe. Kids just need to step back and put it into perspective that what they just watched didnt really happen, but took place in a movie studio.
4. Learn to analyze – Once they can put it into a different point of view then kids can analyze the scary movie for themselves. They can wonder why one thing makes them scared while other things don’t frighten them as much.
5. Just for fun – Kids might want to watch  a scary movie every now and again to help change up their original movie viewing selection. What kid isn't going to want to watch a scary movie on Halloween?
6. Pushing boundaries – Children should be well rounded and can't be raised with one sided views. Sometimes pushing the boundaries isn't a bad thins and a child who has never seen a scary movie as a child wont know how to deal with it as an adult. 
7. Share a passion – Some people really do enjoy watching scary movie and it could be a good way for them to form a relationship with someone who also really enjoys watching scary films such as a parent, friend, or sibling. 
8. Part of growing up – Everyone needs to get scared every once in a while and its a part of growing up. Watching scary movies is a harmless way for a kid to get that experience.
9. Fitting in – Kids like to fit in with their friends, so when you don't let them watch a scary movie they could feel really left out. Especially when their friends are talking about a spooky film or episode and they can not relate.
10. Snuggle time – Parents can use this as an opportunity. An opportunity to get some extra snuggle time with their kids as they get older. Watching a scary movie together is a good way to bond with your child. 

Parents don't want to let their kids have nightmares or anything like that, so discretion is advised when necessary. But parents, you don't want to shelter your kids too much. Saliba says that children under the age of 7 have a hard time separating fiction from reality. This doesn't mean go let your kid watch a gory movie that will scare the crap out of them, but with a little background on the film parents can decide on films that have the appropriate amount of scariness in them. He says also that you should include a scary film with a happy ending or humor also. Nothing too frightening. Nonetheless an occasional thriller or scary film doesn't have to be a bad thing. 

Review of The House of The Devil 2009

I watched this film on Halloween night this year in hopes that it would be super scary, but unfortunately I found it to be a huge disappointment. The movie is set in the 1980's, it begins with college student Samantha Hughes taking a super strange babysitting job. She called the number on the flyer posted outside her dorm that said babysitter needed. Yet, when her friend Megan drives her all the way out to the boonies the man has no little children for her to watch, just his elderly mother that you don't even get to see till the end of the film.

Samantha decides to take the babysitting job even though the odd circumstances. Samantha then told Megan to come back at 12:30 pm but on the way back to her house from dropping off Samantha some crazy man off the side of the road just blows her head off... I didn't find this scary at just a little bizarre.

Its the night of a lunar eclipse and Samantha is in the creepy house just being super nosy. This is a time before cell phones and so she keeps trying to call Megan to see if she made it home ok, but she gets no answer. This starts to make her feel like something has gone terribly wrong. Samantha decides to order a pizza that was delivered by the man who shot her friend in the head. After she takes a bite and finds it disgusting she then starts finding even more bizarre things, such as a tub full of black hair.


This film was so unbelievably dragged out. There was no scary scenes until the last 20 to 30 minutes left in the movie. After Samantha passes out from being drugged from the pizza she awakes to being tied up in a circle marked with a star. She was brought to the house to be used in a satanic ritual. The "elderly mother" who she meets for the first time is working with the devil while she performs strange acts on Samantha, poring blood from her hand into her mouth with a cows head skeleton. Like I said this movie was just creepy and strange, not scary at all and definitely not one of my favorites.

After the ritual had been performed Samantha gets out of the house and uses the gun to shoot herself in the head because she felt like that was her only way out of the satanic ritual they had performed on her. At the end of the film it shows Samantha in a coma, but her and her baby are said to make a full recovery. So, now shes pregnant with Satan's baby. I really didnt see that one coming. My honest opinion though is that this film was terrible and creepy not a thriller/horror movie and its a waste of time

Scream (1996) a review by That Film Guy

After watching the original Scream (1996) film I was excited to hear what other people had to say about it. I thought that it was an awesome beginning to a super slasher series. This movie had me at the edge of my seat wondering and waiting to see who 'Ghost Face' was going to attack next. I found a review of Scream written by "That Film Guy" or better known as Thomas Patrick. He has his own website and reviews plenty of movies of all different genres, so I found his review credible. 

 Patrick starts out by stating that the horror genre over the years has changed in style drastically, but the film Scream has really captured what true horror is all about. The director of the film Wes Craven has already dug deep into horror and hes a director that really knows what hes talking about when it comes to horror films. The film Scream begins with the protagonist Sidney Prescott, it illustrates her trying to cope with the murder of her mother of one year prior when the film begins. Sidney is frightened when she learns that there is another killer loose in the town of Greensboro. One night when Sidney is waiting for her best friend Tatum to come over she receives a mysterious phone call from the killer named 'Ghost Face' and then she is attacked. Her boyfriend, Billy, is a suspect at this point and was arrested for questioning. While Billy is in jail, Sidney receives another call from the mysterious killer. The town sheriff, Dewey, the local news reporter Gale Weathers and a horror film expert randy try to use the clues from horror films to catch this sick attacker.

Patrick then goes on to share that the movie was originally called Scary Movie, but Scream suited the film better. At first when the film came out people weren't sure if they could think of this film as your typical horror movie. After seeing top actress Drew Barrymore was present in the film and murdered not too shortly after the movie began it was evident that no one was safe from this slasher, not even someone like Barrymore with high Hollywood stature. Patrick said this action was done on purpose by Wes Craven to get that first shock right out of the audience. 'That Film Guy' thinks that this film was excellently casted and it shows a lot for the cast members to show the kind of emotion that goes with this film. I couldn't agree more with him either, the cast members really did a good job of coming into their characters. He talks about how the sequels were also a good addition to the original film, but will never match up to it, as it cannot be duplicated. I think hes right and wrong. I think that the original is unique and it will never loose its luster, but like I said before I think that the original set up a good back drop for an awesome slasher series. Patrick ends by asking his viewers, "Do you like scary movies?". For me, that's a big HELL YES! but what about you guys? Is scary movies your thing?

My Apology to the Mad Scientists

Mad Scientists,

This is my sincere apology to all of the mad scientists of the world. I understand that people are quick to judge you for all the insane things that you do, but it all had to begin somewhere. You probably had a hard childhood, it probably wasn't easy growing up with pail skin and crazy hair.
The other children probably ridiculed you for that insane laugh of yours too. It just couldn't be easy growing up with no friends. No wonder they say you're mad all the time, I would be upset too! I don't blame Henry Frankenstein for creating an outrageous out of control monster. Henry just probably wanted some friends. If I had the scientific capabilities such as his you better believe that I would be conjuring up some insane monsters. They say that you mad scientists have strange obsessions, but I don't think they are strange.. I think that your brains just tend to think out of the box! Dr. Moreau isn't all that insane. He just thought it would be cool to make people out of animals. That's pretty neat if you ask me and in order to do that you gotta be some kind of super intelligent! I believe that you guys even try too discover things for the greater good of people despite their negative outlook. I mean Dr. Andre Delambre accidentally turned himself into half fly by trying to make a matter transportation device. I think being able to teleport would be awesome. So again.. I apologize for the crude views on you mad scientists and your work. Your just normal people with a twist, nothing wrong with that.

Sincerely, 

Meghan 

The Original Vampire DRACULA

FUN FACT: More films have been made featuring Dracula than almost any fictional character. Tarzan is about his only competition.(Landis,23)

Novelist Bram Stoker first introduced his novel Dracula in 1897 and it was a great success. The first film version of Bram Stoker's Dracula was introduced in 1922 in the German silent film called Nosferatu. This film also became a huge success, yet it was produced without the permission of Stoker and because Stoker had passed away by this point his wife took the issue to the courts. 

Stoker's novel was adapted into a play by Hamilton Deane in England and toured there for three years before it opened in London's West End. People came from all over to see this play and it eventually made it's way to Broadway. Although it became a huge success by the time it made it to Broadway in 1927 the play had been heavily revised by John L. Balderston. The lead was played by a Hungarian actor named Bela Lugosi.

Lugosi was asked to play in the lead in Universal's Hollywood adaptation of Dracula and was beyond thrilled. The film version was more so based on the play rather than Stoker's novel. Lugosi also played a Count Dracula look alike in the film Mark of The Vampire (1935). Unfortunately for Lugosi, his career never stepped out of the realm of Dracula and he was typecast as the vamp for the rest of his career. He toured the play after the film and performed over thousands of times. Hundreds of Dracula movies have been made since then, but most notable big budget films were Dracula by John Badham in 1979 and Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1992.

The legends of vampires have been reinvented in every vampire film. Just to name a few of John Landis' favorites, Near Dark (1987) produced Kathryn Bigelow, Interview with a Vampire (1994) produced by Neil Jordan, Let the Right one In (2008) produced by Tomas Alfedson, Innocent Blood (1992) produced by John Landis and Daybreakers (2009) produced by Michael and Peter Spierig. 

I haven't had the chance to read the original novel Dracula by Stoker, but I hear that it is just as scary as any Dracula film. The story is told through letters and diaries and is very detailed. John Landis' the author of Monsters in Movies: 100 years of cinematic nightmares suggest that if you every have the time to read it you should. Special thanks goes out to John Landis' for his great research on monsters in movies!

Evolution of Werewolves

The belief in shape shifting is a universal idea, the turning of man into an animal, it appears a numerous amount of times in art and literature and now in the cinema. In horror films the most popular is the werewolf and the ways that someone can become a werewolf remain pretty constant. This is being bit by a werewolf or having a curse thrust upon you where a man would shape shift at the mercy of a full moon. 

 Every single werewolf in a werewolf film undergoes a huge transformation process. In the movie "The Wolf Man"(1941) the protagonist Larry Talbot, played by Lon Chaney Jr., goes through a series of optical dissolves in order to achieve the desired affect of transforming into a wolf. Chaney had to sit very still while make up man Jack Pierce applied more and more hair and putty, little by little, to his face to show a gentle transformation into a werewolf. This process was very time consuming and tedious. 

John Landis produced "An American Werewolf in London"(1981) and envisioned the transformation process as very violent and painful. When his werewolf underwent transformation from man to wolf, Rick Baker the makeup artist, used an elaborate combination of makeup and what he called change-o-parts made of foam that he could actually change into on camera. Rick Baker won an academy award for his outstanding work.

Nowadays, we see the werewolves morph through computer images called CGI. They use this technique in the popular Twilight series, Underworld, and even in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when professor Lupin changes into a werewolf. Special thanks for this insight goes to John Landis and his book Monsters in the Movies: 100 years of Cinematic Nightmares.

Epic Black & White Horror Films

You can Google horror films and get a very large amount of websites that pop up. Some talking about the latest movies to hit the big screen and others reviewing horror movies, but I want to bring the horror flicks that started it all into the spotlight. These black and white horror films are some of the first movies to haunt us till this day. So, with that being said I think we should pay them some attention.

Dracula (1931)

Renfield travels to Transylvania to do a specific job for the Count that lives there. Yet, once he enters Dracula's home he gets put under a spell that only allows him to serve the Count. Dracula then goes to England where he tries to find a bride for himself, but not before he finds a few tasty women to feed off of in the mean time. Van Helsing will try to stop him, but will he make it in time?

Frankenstein (1931)

Dr. Henry Frankenstein has become utterly fascinated with the idea of what creates life. He set out to try and prove that he can create life all on his own. His assistant, Fritz, and himself went digging up dead bodies from grave sites in attempt to assemble the parts of a man. The will try to bring this man to life and once he achieves his goal he soon realizes that his creature is out of control and now must find a way to destroy him. 

Wolfman (1941)

Larry Talbott returned home after being gone for 18 years. There were stories circulating around town that werewolves were present in his hometown, he did believe it till Larry and two of his lady friends run into a wolf. Unfortunately, Larry's friend Jenny is taken by the wolf, but Gina and Larry survived. Larry soon realizes that he got bit by the wolf in the battle, although when he wakes up in the morning he finds the bite gone and the wolf. In place of the wolf is an old gypsy man. Larry goes to the police but soon comes to the conclusion that he might be a werewolf. The problem is that there are more dead bodies popping up to prove it.

Them (1954)

In the New Mexico desert people are turning up dead. Police and FBI start an investigation to try and figure out what the hell is going on. They are shocked when they find ginormous ants who are mutated from the first atomic bomb explosion 9 years ago. They destroyed the nest of the mutated ants, but not before the 2 flying queen ants escaped from the nest. Now the US Government has to find the creatures and destroy them before this new mutated breed of ants take over!

The Fly (1958)

Andre Delambre created a new invention, a teleportation device. He decides to change from inanimate matter to actual human matter and does this using himself. Yet, something goes terribly wrong and Andre ends up getting merged together with a fly that accidentally got into the chamber when he did. He will try everything in his power to try and change back, but if it doesn't work hes stuck with the characteristics of a fly forever 

The Flesh and The Fiends (1959)

In the year 1828, local surgeon and professor Dr. Knox relies on grave robbers to get him fresh bodies for his anatomy lectures. Irish immigrants, Burke and Hare, soon realize that there is an extreme amount of money to be earned for such a task, but once they run out of bodies they will do anything to get what they need. Even including murder.

Psycho (1960)

Marion Crane is a office worker in Phoenix and she is over the way that life has been treating her. She has a lover named Sam, who she cannot get married to because he has to give most of his money to his ex in alimony. One day Marion is trusted to deposit 40,000 dollars by her employer into the bank. She saw an opportunity to take the money and start a new life instead so she leaves town and goes towards Sam's California store. She was tired from the drive and caught in a storm when she decides to pull over and into "The Bates Motel". Once she checks in the motel owner makes sure she wont check out. 

Mr. Sardonicus (1961)

A man digs up his dead father to get a lottery ticket. While he was doing this he was scared into a skull like grin for many years. He forces his wife to have an arranged marriage in order to trick a previous lover and brilliant doctor to try and heal him. This is a crazy story with castles, torture and pure evil.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

John and Barbra are saying prayers for their father when all of a sudden they are attacked by "the living dead". John dies and Barb ends up in an abandoned house where she is joined by 6 other people. They work together to try and survive and defeat the zombies that surround the house. 

Vampire Diaries (Season 1) Review

The Vampire Diaries

-Season 1-

Vampires are my absolute favorite kind of supernatural monster, so when I stumbled across The Vampire Diaries on Netflix I had to watch it. I was instantly hooked after the first episode and found that the series plot line was so intising, especially with the many plot twists and the hanging suspense at the end of every episode. The CW series Vampire Diaries is an American supernatural-fantasy horror series that is based off the novels written by L.J. Smith. I haven't had a chance to read the books, but by the success of the televsion series, they have to be a good read. And I know what your thinking.. "Great another vampire series like Twilight..", but this series is not a lame over-sentimental show, instead it is an intense one focusing more on fierce vamps with a darker plot line. There is a love triangle between the main characters, but I found that it really gave the series more excitment than anything and I found it difficult to pick a side. Another reason I really enjoyed this series is because I found all of the characters to be very captivating. All their roles were crucial to the success of the series and they evolved quickly from the beginning of season one.

Meet the cast:

• Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce
• Plays a dual role of Katherine Pierce, a vampire who is in a love triangle with two human brothers (Sefan and Damon Salvator) during the American Civil War. Kathrines doppelganger is Elena, who is human, but also caught in the same love triangle with the same brothers but they are now vampires.

• Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvator
• Male protagonist of the series and also noted as the series 'hero'. He is a vampire, but refrains from human blood and drinks animal blood instead to try and keep his human side somewhat intact. Stefan is also Elena's boyfriend during this season.

• Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvator
• Damon also a vampire is the older brother of Stefan. He noted as an anti-hero in the series , he also falls for Elena also, but it is kept secret to avoid conflict.

• Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert
• Jeremy is Elena's brother who is emotionally crippled from the death of their parents. He is portrayed as a troubled teen who uses drugs to cope with their absence. He is in love with Viki Donovan, who also uses drugs, but she is dating Tyler Lockwood. This causes confict between the two boys.

• Sara Canning as Jenna Sommers
• The legal gaurdian and aunt of Elena and Jeremy Gilbert.

• Katerina Grahm as Bonnie Bennett
• Elena Gilbert's best friend and also a close friend of Caroline Forbes. She starts the series out being a normal high school teen, but then discovers she is a witch with supernatral powers that grow stronger as season one progresses.

• Candice Accola as Caroline Forbes
• Close friend of Elena and Bonnie. She is also the daughter of the Sheriff of Mystic Falls, where the story takes place. Caroline's character is shown as superfical and flat in the beginning of the show. As the show progresses she evolves into a more mature teen and plays in major parts of the series. She is involved with Damon Salvator in the begining of the series and then ends up dating Matt Donovan.

• Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan
• Matt Donovan, brother of Viki Donovan, is portayed as Elena's ex-boyfriend and first love, he is still in love with Elena, but is dating Caroline Forbes. He is also the quarterback of the Mystic Falls Highschool football team where he plays with his best friend, Tyler Lockwood

• Kayla Ewell as Vicki Donovan
• Matt Donovan's older sister who has a drug problem. She is usually being taken care of by her brother due to the fact that their mother left them. She dates Tyler Lockwood unexclusivly (not by choice) and because Tyler treats her wrongly she falls for Elena's brother, Jeremy, who is in love with her.

• Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood
• Tyler Lockwood is the son of the Mayor of Mystic Falls of whom he has a poor relationship with. He is illustrated as a concited and egotistic as well as bully in season one. He also rivals with Jeremy Gilbert due to their love triangle with Viki Donovan.

• Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman
• Is the Mystic Falls Highschool history teacher that comes to Mystic Falls in hopes of killing Damon Salvator because he believes that he killed his wife. He finds that Damon did not kill his wife but changed her into a vampire by her own choice. The two men become friends.