Tuesday, November 27, 2012

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

Sunday, November 18, 2012

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 :) 

Sunday, November 4, 2012

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