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Fi's Five Favorite Horror Movies That Deserve More Respect #1: Saw (Entire Series)

10/29/2013

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(Click the links to read Horror Movies That Deserve More Respect #2, #3, #4, and #5)

Okay, it’s more than one movie, and the installments are of varying quality, but overall the Saw series gets nowhere near the respect it deserves. I’ve already written about why the end of Saw II is one of my favorite underrated twists, and now it’s about time I stood up for this Halloween-shaping horror epic as a whole.

First, a word on “torture porn,” the common, derogatory term for the subgenre of horror Saw popularized, the one it suffers the Prometheus Syndrome backlash for.

It’s hard to dispute its technical accuracy. Saw just isn’t quite Saw without its signature trap sequences of graphic, creative mutilation. Those are the parts that define the series and what people come to see.

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As usual, I’ll go light on these.
But the term is also loaded, accusatory, and inaccurate in spirit. It not-so-subtly implies perversion and assumes an unhealthy, even dangerous sort of enjoyment which, while it no doubt exists in a certain rare and scary type of viewer, is far from the intent. Let’s not forget, the common thread of the horror genre is supposed to be horror.

Okay, yes, sometimes there’s a cartoonish element of “look at our amazing trauma makeup!” or “bet you’ve never seen someone die like this!” And that is a part of Saw, but it’s also nothing new.

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Pictured: Not torture porn?
So what does make Saw revolutionary? What makes Jigsaw different from Freddy and Jason? Well, Jigsaw victims do tend to die more slowly, it’s true, and due to the game format of his kills (he is a killer, no matter how clean he likes his hands), most of them will mutilate themselves and/or each other trying to escape. Some will even succeed. Jigsaw games pose the question, “What would you be willing to do?”

It’s that unsettling question, combined with the long, detailed, visceral scenes characters spend demonstrating their differing answers, that makes Saw so differently powerful and horrifying. And what’s the point of innovation in horror if not to ask unsettling questions and probe deep, dark, frightening parts of the mind?

Sometimes this can be done most effectively by showing less, sometimes by showing more. Saw openly goes with the more approach and succeeds spectacularly.

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Okay, last one.
This alone would be enough to make Saw a groundbreaking classic, but there’s more to it than that. On top of being superb visceral horror, the Saw series is also one whole, cohesive, seven-part epic story that I’d go so far as to compare with Lost. Both have some extraneous, incompletely thought-out plot developments that don’t entirely make sense (Jack’s tattoos, Nikki and Paolo, large parts of Saw IV and Jill’s personality transplant in VII), but both are complex character dramas with some mind-blowing twist and wrinkles.

****First movie spoiler alert****

Unlike so many horror franchises that only keep a concept and maybe a villain signature and plug in an entirely new disposable cast for every entry, Saw is about the original Jigsaw, John Kramer, a terminal cancer patient with a deeply flawed, hypocritical, yet often understandable vendetta against people who waste life, and about the people who fight and follow him.

It’s about his falling out with his wife, his confused feelings about the struggling patients at her methadone clinic, his cat and mouse game with the cops, and the relationships between him and the other members of the slowly growing Jigsaw cult, mostly surviving victims who embrace and sometimes reinterpret his perspective.

****End spoilers****

Saw demands a strong stomach, no question, but if you’ve got one, and if you’ve ever been intrigued by a blurb that included a phrase like “these twisted souls and the secrets that bind them together,” check out the original Saw theatrical trailer and think about giving the series a chance.

Agree? Disagree? Comments are always welcome! Or keep up with my fictional musings by joining me on Facebook, on Twitter, or by signing up for email updates in the panel on the right!
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Movie Review: Carrie (2013)

10/26/2013

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Movie Review:

Carrie (2013)

A

The Basics:

Like most of my movie reviews, this one is mainly intended for people who’ve read the book, or, in this case, at least seen the 1976 Sissy Spacek movie. If you haven’t, Carrie, the lonely, awkward, sixteen-year-old daughter of a psychotic zealot, is slowly discovering that she has powerful telekinetic abilities. When her hopes for a little normal high school happiness are raised and then dashed, bloody tragedy ensues.

The Downside:

Mainly the same things that were strange about the book and the original movie, only less so. Particularly the way the villains swing between painfully realistic high school bullies and cartoonish psychopaths. This interpretation keeps the realism where it can, and where it can’t, it embraces the holy shit factor more openly that the others. As far as specific drawbacks of this interpretation go, there’s a requisite shock opening, because this is a horror movie in 2013. It’s not terrible, but it feels obligatory and unnecessary. Carrie’s thought process during her rampage also feels a little more muddled than in the book or the ’70s movie, because obviously we’re not inside her head as in the book, and the new movie’s budget and advanced effects allow the rampage to be considerably more drawn out than the ’70s one, making less of it feel purely impulsive.

The Upside:

Prepare for blasphemy. I love the book and the ’70s movie, but this is my favorite Carrie. Part of that is no doubt because it’s set closer to my generation, making it more painfully, personally relatable for me. The addition of smartphones and social media to the bullying tactics takes it to a scary real place for this twenty-four-year-old viewer. That won’t necessarily make it objectively better in the eyes of history, but for now, I think it’s a good thing. Carrie is such a classic, relatable story, new generations deserve to own their own version of it. There’s also the fact that, as great as Sissy Spacek was, Chloe Grace Moretz is among my favorite actresses of all time, and she is absolutely ideal for this part, not least because she’s actually the right age for it. Yes, she’s too pretty. It’s a movie. We all know to expect that. But she can be every bit as awkward, frightening, and heartbreakingly pitiable as Carrie needs to be.

In spite of the way the lengthened rampage scene takes away some of the shocked, impulsive simplicity of Carrie’s reaction, it allows the destruction of the town to be as huge as it’s supposed to be and for the most part works. This movie isn’t as traditionally scary as the ’70s one, but it’s a lot sadder, focusing more on the tragedy of Carrie’s story that makes it as special as it is.

(I’ve written before about why it’s one of my favorite tragedies)

Most importantly of all, in this version’s favor, it delves the deepest of all of them into Carrie and her mother’s twisted relationship, the madness and abuse combined with the love and dependence between them. It starts with them and ends with them. They are the heart.

Check out the theatrical trailer below, and give this amazing remake a chance.

Agree? Disagree? Comments are always welcome! Or keep up with my fictional musings by joining me on Facebook, on Twitter, or by signing up for email updates in the panel on the right!
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Fi's Five Favorite Horror Movies That Deserve More Respect #2: The Thing (2011)

10/22/2013

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(Click the links to read Horror Movies that Deserve More Respect #5, #4, #3, and #1)

That’s right, The Thing (2011) is those most hated of things, a remake and a prequel, rolled into one, and I’m saying it deserves respect.
Under the proper circumstances, I believe in both remakes and prequels. I’m for new generations getting to reimagine classic stories, just as I’m fascinated by the evolution of comic book characters over the decades, or by seeing what a particular theater troupe will do with the same old Shakespearean script.
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Or even what newer writers do with it.
(Note: I haven’t yet seen the latest Carrie remake and therefore have no opinion yet. You’ll know when I do.)

As for prequels, why should knowing the end of a story render it pointless to tell? Invoking the bard once again, no one watching Romeo and Juliet has ever expected them to live happily ever after. No, not even if they were watching it on opening night in the Globe Theatre. It says right there in the prologue that they won’t, but four hundred years later, we keep watching anyway, because the feeling of an inevitability finally coming together can be just as satisfying as a surprise.

And in the case of The Thing, there’s plenty of room and justification for a prequel. It’s clear from the opening of the original that we’re coming in at the end of a previous group’s own horror movie.

Okay, now that we all know my heathen beliefs about storytelling, this entry demands one more pretty major confession.

…*Shuffling feet, shifting eyes*...

I don’t actually like the original 1982 John Carpenter’s The Thing.

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I’m sorry. Please don’t hurt me.
I know, it’s a shocker, especially if you know how much my husband loves it and how deeply it’s influenced our work on The Prospero Chronicles.

I do love the idea of the movie and its monster, but no matter how many times I watch it or how good, alert, and open-minded a mood I’m in, I don’t like the movie itself.

Why? Because as hard as I try, I don’t feel anything for any of these interchangeably loud, angry characters.

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That’s not an irredeemable sin for a horror movie. I’ve enjoyed many a splatterfest without remembering any of its characters’ names, but The Thing is supposed to be more than that. This monster with the ability to imitate people is supposed to create a drama about trust issues and paranoia, and when I can’t once raise the enthusiasm to think, “Oh, I do hope it’s not that guy!” the concept feels tragically wasted to me.

In many ways, The Thing premake is what I always wanted the original Thing to be. It’s got a full array of characters to love, hate, trust, distrust, and feel sorry for, including two whole non-computerized women, one of whom is Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

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She can’t save every movie, but she helps.
I feel for the premake’s research team. I care who’s been taken by the Thing, enough to watch tensely for its next opportunity to replace a new victim. I feel the conflict and guilt of their equivalent of a blood test scene.
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Poor guy.
Please, don’t for a moment think that I like the premake for sticking it to the original or some such petty reason. Quite the opposite. Even though I don’t like the original, I live with someone who does, and even if I didn’t, I understand what it is to be a fan of something. The reverence the premake has for its source material is one of the main things I respect about it on pure principle.

It’s clear a lot of study of the original went into the making of it, from the layout of the facility to all the mysterious remains it sets up to be found (with a few of the trickier details fudged). This movie was supposed to be by Thing geeks for Thing geeks, and for that it’s received no appreciation to speak of.

The Thing premake does have its problems, no question. I could do without the tacked-on, almost happy ending, and even though I’m not as particular about my visual effects as most horror geeks, I do wish I could have seen the puppet work that was done before studio interference mandated CGI.

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...No.
But overall, this is a good movie, both as part of an existing universe and in its own right, fighting against blanket stigmas, and it deserves a fairer chance. If I've got you the least bit curious, check out the theatrical trailer below.
Agree? Disagree? Comments are always welcome! Or keep up with my fictional musings by joining me on Facebook, on Twitter, or by signing up for email updates in the panel on the right!
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Fi's Five Favorite Classic Halloween Reads

10/19/2013

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Just twelve more reading days until Halloween! What will you spend them on?

I’m a year round reader of horror of many kinds, as I’m sure you can tell, so to make my October reading special, I’ve made a tradition of fitting in at least one golden oldie of horror literature each year. I’m on my fifth year now and running low on the obvious choices, so I’ve been asking around for recommendations. If you’ve got one, leave me a comment! The more the merrier. I’m always planning for next year!

If, on the other hand, you’re just starting to brush up on your Halloween classics, you’ve come to the right place for that too.

Be warned, Dracula has a hell of a beginning, which makes it all the more disappointing when it falls apart with a lot of pages left, right around the time Van Helsing shows up, kicks Mina out of the action for being a woman, and proceeds to pilot the plot around in creeping circles as self-insert characters tend to do.

Considering Call of Cthulhu? It may look short, but it doesn’t feel that way when you realize that only the briefest glimpse of Lovecraft’s iconic monsters is allowed to interrupt this story about a group of dignified English gentlemen asking each other, “So, there is something weird going on, right?” in various dignified, English, gentlemanly ways.

Here are my top five personal recommendations for the best classic Halloween reads:
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5: The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde

It’s a little more rambling than most of my recommendations, but this is Oscar Wilde rambling, which is hardly the same thing. It’s also got a deeply unlikeable protagonist and not much in the way of beacons of human decency along the way, but if you’re up for a well-written, horrifying trip through utter spiritual destruction, you could do a lot worse.

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4: The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James

A lonely governess tries to keep her charges safe in a haunted mansion. Or is it only her mind that’s haunted? If that’s your kind of book, this is the must-read standard, with enough subtle satire of the whole Victorian governess subgenre to amuse between scares.

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3: The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

My classic Halloween read for this year. It’s more recent than the others, published in 1959, but its reverence for its Victorian influences is clear. It’s a subtle, almost bloodless slow burn, but it’s a short one with gorgeous prose, and it’s perfect if you like a good Shining-style descent into madness in a creepy set. I know I do.

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2: Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

I’ve written before about why Frankenstein has one of my favorite hero/villain dichotomies of all time. That dynamic has a lot to do with how great the book is overall. It creates a powerful building inevitability of doom. It’s also the boldest, most grisly story on this list, especially for its time, with the highest body count. It’s okay. You’re allowed to care about that. I won’t tell anybody.

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1: The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe

This is my one mandatory every year Halloween read and my favorite poem of all time, in eerie, perfectly constructed trochaic octameter. You can do this one in just a little more time than it took you to read this blog entry. If you’ve got more time but not enough for the novels listed, it’s hard to go wrong with his short stories. Admittedly, I haven’t read them all, or read them as recently as I’d like, but I personally recommend The Cask of Amontillado and Ligeia.

Sweet dreams, everybody!


Agree? Disagree? Comments are always welcome! Or keep up with my fictional musings by joining me on Facebook, on Twitter, or by signing up for email updates in the panel on the right!

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Fi's Five Favorite Horror Movies That Deserve More Respect #3: Hostel

10/14/2013

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(Click the links to read Horror Movies that Deserve More Respect #5, #4, #2, and #1)

Yes, Hostel. I’m going there. Really.

No, this selection was in no way influenced by my high-pitched-squeal-inducing fangirl crush on Eli Roth.

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Although he’ll do nicely to fill in the minimalist smattering of pictures this entry demands.
There’s no way a list of horror movies that deserve more respect not include Hostel. I can’t think of a single horror movie with a harsher stigma attached to it, or one with a more distorted public image.

I get where the hate and disdain come from. I do. At least among people who haven’t actually seen the movie, the category almost all of its detractors fall into. I was one of them once.

As a fifteen-year-old fantasy geek girl, not yet a horror initiate, the theatrical trailer campaign for Hostel disturbed me deeply. You can see why here:

What kind of person could watch such a movie? What kind of person would pay to watch it? What kind of person would take part in making it in the first place? What kind of sick, sadistic world was I living in?

If you’re completely unfamiliar with Hostel, here’s how it actually goes:

College guys backpacking in Europe decide to go off the beaten path and come across a suspiciously comfortable and attractive-woman-filled hostel, which turns out to be auctioning off its tourists to be tortured and killed by the highest bidder among its elite international clientele.

On paper, it sounds like a sleazy, exploitative concept, and the ad campaign seemingly did everything possible to encourage that impression.
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Part of why I have few tasteful pictures to include.
As I’ve often mentioned before, when I met my husband, he eased me slowly and carefully into sharing his love of horror, but even after a couple years of learning the genre from him, long enough for me to call myself a horror geek, the fear of Hostel remained. In my mind, it was something mysteriously different and darker than the machete murders and zombie feeding frenzies I had grown accustomed to, something beyond.

Eventually, and with great trepidation, I ended up bartering watching Hostel with my husband in exchange for his company at a quilting convention.

The result? Well, Hostel certainly is one of the most intense horror movies I’ve seen, but as you can tell by its presence on this list, not in the way I was expecting or fearing, not in a way I can do anything but respect.

The execution of the concept is artful and sophisticated. As Eli Roth movies do, Hostel starts out as if it’s supposed to be a different kind of movie entirely. It takes its time, gets to know its characters, makes you feel that they belong in a college comedy where everyone pairs up and lives happily ever after, not something like this.

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This guy was not born to be hedge clipper fodder.
In other words, this is a story, not a simple splatterfest. That’s not to say it’s timid when it comes to the unpleasant bits. It presents exactly what’s necessary to get the horror of the point across, but it doesn’t dwell as if these are the only moments the movie is about.

Easily as scary as any of the torture scenes are the ones where the tourists who are still out of the loop are looking for their missing friends or, failing that, a way home. The non-English dialogue isn’t subtitled, and there’s the vague feeling of being talked about and laughed at without confirmation.

More even than bodily fears, Hostel taps into fears of being lost, out of your depth, and cut off from the familiar and trustworthy. It creates a complex, heavy sort of horror, which is far from fun but even farther from cheap.

This is not a movie experience to be entered into lightly, but if you’re feeling strong and looking for substance, consider giving the movie a chance.

Agree? Disagree? Comments are always welcome! Or keep up with my fictional musings by joining me on Facebook, on Twitter, or by signing up for email updates in the panel on the right!
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Celebrating The Walking Dead Season Premier -- With Chocolate!

10/13/2013

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What day is today? That's right, tonight is the season premier of The Walking Dead!

Matt and I will be observing the occasion with chocolate lava cake served in these lovely skull cupcake molds, a dish Matt has christened a Rotten Headshot.

For the life of me, I can't find where Matt got these molds for me, but I can share the recipe I'll be using for the cake (adapted from one in the Ghirardelli Chocolate Cookbook)!

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate
6 tablespoons egg white (or 1 egg and 1 yolk)
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 tablespoon flour
Whipped cream and cherries to garnish

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Grease your 2 skull ramekins (level of imagination necessary to make them skulls will vary).

Melt butter and chocolate in the microwave in a glass or ceramic bowl, heating in short intervals and stirring frequently.

Gently whisk in the sugar, egg, vanilla, and flour. Spoon into ramekins.

Bake for 9-10 minutes, until edges are set but center is still soft.

Decorate with whipped cream and plenty of cherry head wounds.

Happy headshots to all!


What are you doing to celebrate The Walking Dead's return? Comments are always welcome! Or keep up with my geeky musings by joining me on Facebook, on Twitter, or by signing up for email updates in the panel on the right!
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New Release Spotlight: Calastan, by Cheryllynn Dyess

10/12/2013

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Hey, everyone. I know it's still October, and here on Confessions of the One and Only F.J.R. Titchenell (That I Know of), I'll be returning you to your regularly scheduled spooking programming forthwith! But first, a blog tour stop for a little good old-fashioned girl power fantasy, Calastan, by Cheryllynn Dyess, which is available now!
Order your copy here!
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About Calastan

Follow Jein Kyominias, a girl who does not entertain the established roles other females of the upper class take in her land. Her rearing in a matriarchal society has certain paths laid out. She has chosen to be an elite hunter instead of a mere matron. She is unique in her fondness for activities that are specifically bequeathed for men. She decides she will be different---strong and different that is.

Find out more at jeinsjourney.wix.com/cdyess.
Or order your copy here!
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About Cheryllynn Dyess

Cheryllynn’s vivid imagination comes through in all she does in life. Her writing started in junior high and although she never truly shared her work until recently she kept them hidden away in an old tattered orange folder. Original works she wrote from 1984 still holding ink on the pages may one day be shared, but for now she shares her newer creations. Science Fiction and Fantasy are her favorite genres with mystery and thrillers in close running.

Born in Northwest Florida and raised in Southeast Georgia she gained a love for nature and the outdoors. Currently living in Central Texas with two of her four children, she has begun a new chapter in life that has opened her heart and soul to many great adventures. Her dreams are to one day return to her native homes and settle in for life with her kids and all her family and to continue writing.

You can find her on her blog, on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads, or email her here.
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Fi's Five Favorite Horror Movies That Deserve More Respect #4: Scream 4

10/8/2013

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(Click the links to read Horror Movies that Deserve More Respect #5, #3, #2, and #1)

The Scream series is another one that’s suffered from Prometheus Syndrome (my term for taking the blame for inferior imitators), in this case for popularizing meta-horror. I’ve written before about how much I love Scream both as a masterpiece of metafiction and a groundbreaker for the genre, and for the most part, it does receive its due acknowledgement.

The sequels, on the other hand, get no more respect than any nameless imitator. I’ll freely admit that I have no love for part two and haven’t even bothered to give part three a try, but the trailers for part four drew me in when it was released in theaters.
Lucky thing, because it’s not only an excellent follow-up to the original Scream but one of my favorite horror movies in its own right.

Here’s how it goes:

Sidney returns to her hometown as part of the tour for her autobiography about surviving and healing from the ordeal of the first movie. A new killer (or more, this is Scream after all) takes up the Ghostface mantle and terrorizes the high school once more, including Sidney’s now teenaged cousin and her friends.

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This picture is timeless, scary, AND spoiler-free. Enjoy.
As well as the residual resentment for Scream’s genre-changing impact, Scream 4 has lots of general, undiscriminating sequel hate to contend with. Admittedly, there are many terrible, lazy, cash-in sequels to good movies out there. There are also many excellent movies that happen to be sequels, and I would argue that Scream in particular is a concept that demands the occasional addendum.
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This addendum does not include the line, “What were you doing with a cellular telephone?”
Scream is a commentary on its genre, and that genre changes over time, partly because of Scream, making new commentary necessary. This time, in the characters’ efforts to predict a killer horror geek’s movements, they get to acknowledge and analyze how the rules, as made infamous by the original Scream, have changed and become far more fluid.

It’s a celebration of artistic evolution, and the inclusion of so many of the surviving characters from the original gives the series the feel of one mind-blowingly huge, fifteen year study.

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“Your ingénue days… they’re over.” – Actual line, in spite of how amazing Neve Campbell still looks.
Metafiction aside, the regular whodunit slasher fear and paranoia is played just as straight and effectively as in the first movie, and the killer (or killers, no spoilers here) is/are just as creepily sick yet comprehensible, the twist complete with smart social (as well as artistic) commentary for a new generation, taking on the culture of accomplishment-free fame-for-fame’s-sake.

Agree? Disagree? Comments are always welcome! Or keep up with my fictional musings by joining me on Facebook, on Twitter, or by signing up for email updates in the panel on the right!

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Event Review: Delusion: Masque of Mortality

10/6/2013

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Event Review:

The Haunted Play presents Delusion: Masque of Mortality

A+


Hauntedplay.com

The Basics:

Guests are incorporated as characters in a horror play and guided through a creepy old building (this year an abandoned church), observing and participating in scenes to progress the plot. This year, a cult of psychics posing as plague doctors are spreading death and making all who oppose them disappear. Guests must help the few resistors remaining in the refuge that is the church find and reconstruct a cipher that will reveal the doctors’ secrets.

The Downside:

This year’s location, while creepy, enormous, and in most ways perfect, apparently poses some legal and practical issues. Opening weekend of the event was cancelled due to permit issues; it opened this weekend under the compromise of eliminating the bar. Coffee and other hot drinks are still sold. The stunts were also cut back from last year, the wire work less frequent and more obvious, presumably due to the limitations of the architecture. And the people who will insist on attending and laughing at everything can be a mood killer, but that’s no fault of the production.

The Upside:

Everything else. Delusion remains the very best Halloween event I have ever been to, arguably even better than last year. The actors, makeup, and set design are incredible. The play is longer and much more intensively interactive than before, maximizing what makes this event so special. Unlike its dull, unpolished, ever-multiplying imitators, Delusion keeps the action moving without a moment’s lull.

Matt and I attended with our friends, Ashley and Patrick, and by being brave and sticking to the front of the group, as we’ve learned to do from last year, we got a very full experience between us. Boldness is essential for getting the most out of Delusion (though many of the actors did their best to involve some people in the back too), and I implore you to start practicing by setting reviews aside this instant to buy your tickets while there are still some left, but if you require more convincing, read on to share some of the benefit of our experience.

Out of respect for the experience, I’ll try to stick to hinting at just a few highlights. Ashley and I were dragged away from the group for interrogation and got to do the sick prisoner routine to help a main character escape. The four of us ended up hiding under a bed with a psychotic little girl searching for us, and Matt and Ashley got to sneak into the morgue on a gurney pretending to be corpses. We got dressed up as plague doctors, and Matt had to negotiate for the release of another woman taken from the group (who was in a guillotine at the time). One room we were led into very effectively seemed to extend forever in darkness, and much like last year, the pure scale of the final monster made me scream out loud.

Cliché a compliment as it may sound, if you’re looking to invest in a single perfect Halloween thrill for the season, make it this one.

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Book Review: Beatrysel

10/5/2013

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Book Review:

Beatrysel

By Johnny Worthen

Omnium Gatherum, 2013

A+

Click here to order your copy.
Or here to read Johnny Worthen's guest post, The Amorphous Ooze of Fear.
The Basics:

Dr. Julian Cormac has just been released into outpatient care after a supposed psychotic episode during the pursuit of his second doctoral thesis project. The project? To create and summon a new demon, adapting methods from ancient grimoires, a demon made of love. He’s doing his best to put his mind and his life back together with the help of his ragtag coven and his recently divorced, equally shattered sister, Molly. This would be difficult enough if it weren’t for the fact that the demon, Beatrysel, is still killing, under instructions he’s not entirely sure aren’t his own.


The Downside:

There are a few brief lulls in which characters rehash old information perhaps one time too many.


The Upside:

Beatrysel is one hell of a trip, and I’m so happy to get to share this review while there’s still time to pick it up for October reading! Julian is as magnetic on the page as his magick makes him in his own universe. His struggle with the stigma of madness and his dangerous addiction to Beatrysel, set parallel to Molly’s rocky grieving process, perfectly capture the sensations of both psychological damage and healing.

The story’s magick is portrayed with knowledgeable reverence that real world practitioners of all paths will appreciate, without sacrificing general accessibility, and all the many lurking evils in the story, from the sickeningly lifelike callousness of Julian’s reprehensible family psychiatrist to the primal yet otherworldly power of Beatrysel, are penetratingly, unrelentingly chilling.

The atmosphere and the characters cling to me as I write this more than a week after finishing. I’d go so far as to call it a leave-the-lights-on read.

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