Sunday, November 15, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
Gary A. Braunbeck
Not only is Gary A. Braunbeck a five time winner of the Bram Stoker Award but he is my new all time favorite author, surpassing Clive Barker. I just finished reading 'Far Dark Fields', one of his Cedar Hill Ohio novels accompanying such epic titles as 'Coffin County' and my favorite novel 'Mr.Hands'. 'Far Dark Fields' is a bout a high school English teacher who finds himself hallucinating and having weird dreams after a teenager goes on a shooting rampage. Why is he having these weird feelings? What connection does the shooting have to his past? Braunbeck reveals these secrets in a way only a master writer can do. He easily plays with peoples fears and reveals the deepest, darkest corners of human existence. Through his vivid imagery and stunning use of language, he creates his own unique world that draws you in and doesn't let go until every ounce of your sanity is drained. Gary A. Braunbeck has one of the most unique writing styles I have ever read. He goes to those places that while we are reading, we beg him not to go. I cannot stress enough how much every reader of this website needs to go out and pick up a copy of 'Mr.Hands' or any of Braunbeck's other astounding novels. i for one will not stop until I have read every one of his novels and short stories. Gary A. Braunbeck is truly the writer I wish i could be. 
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Alien Underwater?
Leviathan (1989)Directed By: George P. Cosmatos
Tagline: Welcome to your worst nightmare, welcome to Leviathan
Before last night, I had never seen nor heard of this movie. However, all the while watching it, I felt like I recognized it. It might have something to do with this movie being a COMPLETE rip off of the 'Alien' franchise. 'Leviathan' starts out like this: A group of underwater miners/scientists are out looking for certain rocks and gems and stuff when they come across a wrecked soviet ship. They discover a chest on the ship and bring it back to their underwater base. There be some old soviet pirate vodka in that there chest. One of the crew members steals the drink and chugs it down with his busty crewmate. Little do they know, the vodka is spiked with some sort of genetic altering drug that turns the crew members into man fish creatures. Oh and did i mention the mutation starts with an eel like creature bursting out of thei chests? Yea. I feel like I've seen that done before. Oh and the divers wear big mech like suits while underwater searching for rocks.....thats just two of the many rip offs one can take from this movie. Taken for what it is though, 'Leviathan' is a decent movie. It has some creepy atmospheres, a feeling of dread throughout, and some great monster and gore effects. Also there are some decent names in this film including Peter Weller(Robocop), Richard Crenna(First Blood), Daniel Stern(C.H.U.D., Home Alone), Ernie Hudson(Ghostbusters), and Hector Elizondo(The Fan). Overall, 'Leviathan' is just OK. Nothing groundbreaking or original to be found here. If your browsing through the channels and see this one on TV, give it a shot. 'Leviathan' gets a 5/10. 
Monday, November 9, 2009
Is It Real?
This picture was spotted over at Victor Crowley's Myspace page. It doesn't look like a lot of effort was put into it but if it's real, I will be sooooo excited. 'Hatchet' was one of my favorite films of 2006, so a sequel still being helmed by Adam Greene would be a welcome treat. Check out the teaser poster:
Mondays...
Ah here we are again, another monday. Don't worry kiddies, there's horror just around the corner. Here's tuesday's DVD new releases:
Summer's Moon (2009) - Eager to find her estranged father, Summer sets out on a cross-country journey but soon has a slight run-in with the law. Much to her amazement, a local handyman rescues her. It’s an unusual connection, but she is quickly charmed and accepts his invitation to spend the night. The following morning she is in for a rude awakening when he decides to change the rules of attraction by trapping her in his house. Taken prisoner in the demented stranger's basement, her dream has come to a bitter end and her real-life nightmare has only just begun.
Hurt (2008) - The Coltrane family's life has been devastated by an untimely death. Widowed Helen Coltrane, along with her teenage son and daughter, are given shelter by her reclusive and quirky gun-loving brother-in-law. As they grapple with the reality of their shattered, altered life and twist of fate, coincidence steps in with a seemingly lovely foster child who appears touting a story that Helen s husband had pledged to take her in. And as they do, a macabre story of deception unfolds...
The Echo (2008) - Bobby Walker is fresh out of prison and living in his dead mother's apartment as a condition of his parole. Plagued by eerie echoes of the dead trapped in the building, Bobby's terror mounts as he begins to suspect his neighbors had a sinister hand in his mother's death ... and could come for him next.
Pray for Hell (2007) - Seeking answers to questions that may not have answers, a rogue cop begins to unleash bloody vengeance for the vicious killing of his father and brother. As his humanity drowns in the blood of others, he may discover that the hunter of lost souls runs the risk of losing his own.
La Caluta (2008) - Maria has become a hired killer, her only mission is to eradicate the scum of society; therefore she doesn t take any job that implicates murdering innocent people. With the help of Norman Durango, an undercover agent, she is getting ready to turn the cards on her old enemies: La Culata
Intruder - When Andrew and his troubled girlfriend, Lila, travel to a peaceful country estate for a relaxing getaway, they unwittingly stumble into the clutches of a predatory killer who roams the dark woods near the house. On a stormy Halloween night, the couple and their friends fight for their lives as they try to elude the intruder, a bloodthirsty clown, whose vicious tricks push Lila to the brink of madness.
Zebraman (2004) - The year is 2010. Shinichi is a third-grade teacher who gets no respect from his family and little from his students. Back in 1978 he fell in love with a TV super hero named Zebraman that was cancelled shortly after airing. The show was set in 2010 so this year he sews himself a makeshift Zebraman costume and slinks around the city at night. His harmless escapism becomes reality when he runs into a half crab half man enemy of the same TV show and begins to realize the stories of Zebraman and his strange alien enemies were actually prophecies and that by making his Zebraman suit he elected himself to fulfill those prophecies. Now he must be the super -hero of his fantasies or let the Earth fall to cute little green aliens bent on conquering our green world.
Some ok sounding stuff this week. If you pick any up, feel free to write your own review in the comments section of this article. Enjoy!
Summer's Moon (2009) - Eager to find her estranged father, Summer sets out on a cross-country journey but soon has a slight run-in with the law. Much to her amazement, a local handyman rescues her. It’s an unusual connection, but she is quickly charmed and accepts his invitation to spend the night. The following morning she is in for a rude awakening when he decides to change the rules of attraction by trapping her in his house. Taken prisoner in the demented stranger's basement, her dream has come to a bitter end and her real-life nightmare has only just begun.
Hurt (2008) - The Coltrane family's life has been devastated by an untimely death. Widowed Helen Coltrane, along with her teenage son and daughter, are given shelter by her reclusive and quirky gun-loving brother-in-law. As they grapple with the reality of their shattered, altered life and twist of fate, coincidence steps in with a seemingly lovely foster child who appears touting a story that Helen s husband had pledged to take her in. And as they do, a macabre story of deception unfolds...
The Echo (2008) - Bobby Walker is fresh out of prison and living in his dead mother's apartment as a condition of his parole. Plagued by eerie echoes of the dead trapped in the building, Bobby's terror mounts as he begins to suspect his neighbors had a sinister hand in his mother's death ... and could come for him next.
Pray for Hell (2007) - Seeking answers to questions that may not have answers, a rogue cop begins to unleash bloody vengeance for the vicious killing of his father and brother. As his humanity drowns in the blood of others, he may discover that the hunter of lost souls runs the risk of losing his own.
La Caluta (2008) - Maria has become a hired killer, her only mission is to eradicate the scum of society; therefore she doesn t take any job that implicates murdering innocent people. With the help of Norman Durango, an undercover agent, she is getting ready to turn the cards on her old enemies: La Culata
Intruder - When Andrew and his troubled girlfriend, Lila, travel to a peaceful country estate for a relaxing getaway, they unwittingly stumble into the clutches of a predatory killer who roams the dark woods near the house. On a stormy Halloween night, the couple and their friends fight for their lives as they try to elude the intruder, a bloodthirsty clown, whose vicious tricks push Lila to the brink of madness.
Zebraman (2004) - The year is 2010. Shinichi is a third-grade teacher who gets no respect from his family and little from his students. Back in 1978 he fell in love with a TV super hero named Zebraman that was cancelled shortly after airing. The show was set in 2010 so this year he sews himself a makeshift Zebraman costume and slinks around the city at night. His harmless escapism becomes reality when he runs into a half crab half man enemy of the same TV show and begins to realize the stories of Zebraman and his strange alien enemies were actually prophecies and that by making his Zebraman suit he elected himself to fulfill those prophecies. Now he must be the super -hero of his fantasies or let the Earth fall to cute little green aliens bent on conquering our green world.
Some ok sounding stuff this week. If you pick any up, feel free to write your own review in the comments section of this article. Enjoy!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Hush Little Baby...
The Hills Run Red(2009)
Directed By: Dave Parker
Tagline: Tresspassers Will Be Slaughtered
Have you ever wanted to see a movie so bad that you would risk bodily harm and even death to yourself and those closest to you? Well the "hero" of 'The Hills Run Red' did. There is a slasher film from the '80's that was pulled from theaters for an unknown reason and this guy sets out to find out why. What was so awful about this film that it was yanked from theaters as soon as it was put in? Apparently CG blood was what the problem was. This film is loaded with it. I understand some tricky kills use CG blood but come on. There is a part in this film where a woman gets ripped in half. George Romero and Clive Barker(to name a couple) managed to rip someone apart without using CG and that was over 20 years ago! The use of CG gore effects in movies today really annoys me. It just shows laziness on the part of the filmmakers. Why would we want to risk doing another take when we can just CG in the good stuff? It doesn't look right and you can tell. 'Hatchet' didn't need computers for gore and that movie has some pretty nasty and creative kills in it. OK, enough ranting, back to the topic at hand. 'The Hills Run Red' is your typical slasher movie. Teens get lost. Teens show boobs. Teens get killed.The killer in this movie is phenomenal. Creepy mask? Check. Unstoppable Strength? Check. Sweet backstory? Check. Inbreeding? Check. Fans of the slasher genre will get a good kick out of this film with all of the poster art from other 1980's slashers thrown into the mix at random places in the movie. Overall, I had some fun with this film. The use of CG blood turned me off but other than that, a very solid movie. 'The Hills Run Red' gets a 6/10. 
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