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Movie Review - SHUTTLE

It's different. It's creepy. And it could happen.

And probably is.

That's what's so compelling about this movie. Two girls come back from a trip overseas. Their plane lands in the middle of the night, and to make things worse, they have a choice whether to take a cab home, or a shuttle.

Wrong choice.

The gore is not tremendous, but it is horrific. The circumstances are believable, and the deaths will affect you in ways you don't expect them to. At no time do you root for the bad guy, but near the end you understand what he's doing.

Not a spoiler, but the very last ten-second scene does give you the only morsel of hope in the whole movie.

My verdict?

Update! OFFSPRING Heads for the Big Screen!

According to FearNet.com, Jack Ketcham's OFFSPRING is heading for the big screen! As I mentioned back on April 20th, Ketcham's OFF SEASON has not been optioned to be made into a movie. OFF SEASON is the first book, with OFFSPRING being the sequel. According to news reports, the movie rights for the first book were taken off the table by Ketcham himself, but he allowed OFFSPRING to remain up for grabs.

Re: the book - At the end of OFF SEASON, the reader discovers that a few members of the cannibalistic family survived and limped off to whereabouts unknown. OFFSPRING takes place a few years later, with those survivors now ready to go out and take up where Mom and Dad left off. Again, the descriptions of terror and bloodshed are gut-wrenching.

I'll post more news as I find it.

For All The News Worth Bleeding Over, And Then Some...

If you've never been introduced to FANGORIA magazine, please let me do the honors. I've been reading them ever since issue #1. Prior to that, I was an avid reader of its sister magazine, STARLOG, since it dealt with the sci-fi genre. (Sadly, it was recently announced that STARLOG is discontinuing publication.) The good news, though, is that FANGORIA is alive and well. And thriving!

For ALL the news regarding the horror genre - movies, books, video games, whatever! - get your hands on it. Better yet, get a subscription!

Book Review - OFF SEASON by Jack Ketcham

If you aren't aware of the works of Jack Ketcham, better late than never!
Ketcham deals with pure horror. No punches pulled, no quarter given.
Of course, in the past, editors have used a heavy ax to cut away whole chunks of his books prior to publication. Thank goodness they no longer do, but I must warn you - have a strong stomach or restitution, because otherwise you won't make it through his books.

Ketcham loves to tweak us psychologically. He takes descriptive passages and drills their visuals into our brains like a surgeon performing a lobotomy. Unfortunately this one book hasn't made it yet to the big/little/DVD screen. Yet.

Off Season is loosely based on the true story of the incestuous backwoods family who would off any traveller or salesman unlucky enough to make his way to their front door. After the law discovered the gruesome remains of the half-eaten victims, most of the family members were captured or killed, but not all of them. The remaining family made their way to caves located along the rocky coastline. From there they would hunt out tourists and the wayward backpacker the same way we shop for groceries. This book tells of what happened to one group of people who've built a vacation cabin near the coast, and are discovered by our lively, sick family of cannibals.

Want to read something that will stick with you for years to come? Come discover the writings of Jack Ketcham. (When you do, try to find the unexpurgated versions.)

My verdict for Off Season:

Movie Review - FROM WITHIN

From Within is one of the 8 FILMS TO DIE FOR/AFTER DARK HORRORFEST III. As a fan of the After Dark Series, I chose this movie to begin my viewing of the entire collection.

To be brutally honest, this beginning did not impress.

The story deals with a town that does not like families who practice a different religion other than straight Christianity. One such family was "ousted" by the town, and the mother was killed. The two surviving boys returned to town after many years, and the youngest son promptly commits suicide... or so it's thought.


It takes a home grown girl and the surviving older son to realize that a demon (?), spirit (?), or unholy creature (?) from Mom's religion has been let loose, and before too long, the town is "infected" with a Suicide Plague.

I have to admit, the acting was good. The effects were terrific. And the overall tone of the movie was very well sustained. Gore was minimal. Unfortunately, I had to resist the urge to fast forward the thing just to get to the few-and-far-apart scares that really weren't that scary.

You have to give kudos to the film for making the After Dark cut. But when the best part of the movie is the ending and the neat little unexpected scenes that run during the end credits, it's sad.

My verdict?

Movie Review - LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

(Previously published on my Linda Mooney blog 03/17/09)

I've been reading in my favorite horror magazines about this movie. About how it takes the usual vampire tale into a whole new realm. Well, to be honest, I'm very leery about being told how "unique" and "different" something is, because about half the time I disagree. Lemme tell you - this movie takes vampires into a whole new realm!

Based on the book by John Ajvide Lindqvist (and screenwritten by the author), LTROI takes place in Sweden. The DVD released in the U.S. is dubbed, although the deleted scenes are in Swedish with English subtitles.

The story is a basic, sweet little love story with a horrific twist. Twelve year old Oskar meets twelve-ish year old Eli when she and her "poppa" move into the apartment next door. The attraction is instantaneous, but Oskar is hesitant in only a boy-with-a-crush can be. He has every right to be, especially after he discovers that Eli is a vampire, cursed to be forever locked in a preadolescent body. In addition, Oskar is the target of a group of boys who take special delight in tormenting and bullying him. Oskar bears their brutality as best he can, until Eli takes notice and tries to convince him to fight back.

The movie sets a very pervasive tone with the harshness of the winter weather. Seeing Oskar bundled up, nose running from the intense cold, and seeing Eli sitting in her sleeveless shirt and barefoot on top of a mountain of snow, makes their differences all the more striking.

Of the whole movie, two scenes stand out in my mind (no spoilers here) - when Eli tells Oskar she has to be invited into his house (since, according to legend, vampires cannot cross thresholds of homes inhabited by the living unless asked), and the final scene between the bullies and Oskar at the swimming pool. What happens in those two instances will forever remain with me.

My Verdict:

TV Review - Paranormal State (A&E)

Paranormal State is A&E's answer to the SciFi Channel's Ghost Hunters. But that's where all similarities end.

The blurb on their website states:
PARANORMAL STATE is a half-hour series chronicling the extraordinary life of Ryan Buell and other members of the Penn State University Club The Paranormal Research Society (PRS) as they seek to find the truth behind terrifying real life mysteries, hauntings and ghosts.

As the blurb says, the people doing the research are young adults, most of them university students. And they don't investigate as much to "debunk" a sighting, but rather to prove a haunting.

Like GH, they try to capture manifestations on camera. They use similar equipment, and often call in "specialists" like psychics to help them. But I've also noticed a slant geared toward exorcism and demonic possession, not to mention the occult. Plus they sometimes hold seances.

Is it good? In my opinion, it has its moments, and it has its dull stretches, too.

You can access their website here.

Movie Review - DONKEY PUNCH

The title refers to a sexual act. And this movie does not shy away from depicting this act, which is the pivotal point in this very well done film.

Three British young ladies on holiday in Spain take up with three like young men for a spree. The men explain that they’re crewing a luxury yacht in port, and would the young ladies like to see it? Afraid their partying will be reported to the officials (due to loud music and copious drugs), they take the yacht out to sea, and this sets up the isolation factor so crucial to horror stories.

If there is anything "wrong" with this film is that the English accents sometime become difficult to understand, hence some rewinding to catch what they're saying. But I think the fact that these people are non-Americans, and not portraying Americans, is a big plus.

In addition, according to the "making of" feature on the DVD, not only did the actors do all their own stunts, but there were few prosthetics and CGI effects used in the filming - refreshing!

The fear and tension in this film is palpable. I kept rewinding to also catch a lot of the subtle stuff I missed the first time around, and I kept marveling at how well-paced and well-acted this independent movie is. All the actors are fresh faces, which makes their terror all the more believable.

My verdict?

Welcome!

WELCOME!

I love horror! I read it, I watch it, and I write it. And I love to talk about it. Trouble is, I couldn't in all honestly start including reviews for books or movies I've seen over on my romance blog. So I created this one.

If you're an afficionado of the horror genre, I bid you a warm, wet welcome, and hope you'll come by often to see what I have to offer.