FEARnet Movie Review: 'Blue Ruin'

September 23, 2013, 5:00 pm

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Blue Ruin is a "revenge thriller," which is a term that usually brings to mind one sort of movie... and it's often a pretty simplistic one. A person (usually a man) is wronged in some horribly tragic and violent fashion and then goes out to wreak all sorts of vengeance while the audience cheers along like Pavlov's dogs knew how to drool in front of food. I'm not making any personal judgments here; bloodlust, revenge, and a capacity for horrific violence are part of the human condition, so there's certainly nothing wrong with a simplistic story about a victim who eventually lashes back against his or her oppressors.

It's just a whole lot better when a group of filmmakers use the term "revenge thriller" as a vague idea, and then cook up a powerful and compelling movie that's actually "about" the nature of revenge. Getting an audience outraged is easy; placating them with lots of cathartic violence is even easier. But putting together something like Blue Ruin takes a lot of serious care, craftsmanship, and restraint. That last adjective is the most intriguing one, because while Blue Ruin takes a decidedly more cerebral and methodical approach to an oft-told tale, it also does it in a way that heightens suspense and hits you hard with -- restraint.

Blue Ruin opens with a homeless man who is living out of his car. We can tell from the outset that he's a sad and fractured man, but not a feral or maniacal one. Dwight (Macon Blair) seems lost, lonely, and almost tangibly heartbroken about something. We learn through some early and very clever exposition that Dwight's parents had been murdered several years earlier, but when he learns of their killer's parole from prison, our long-suffering anti-hero kicks into action: he's going to kill the repulsive Carl Cleland, because he deserves to be killed.

To say much more would rob the film of its simple and logical -- yet still entirely fascinating -- plot threads, but it's safe to say that Dwight manages to earn some hard-fought revenge, and that's when things go from bad to worse. And boy do things get really ugly for Dwight before Blue Ruin breezes through its dark story and closes with some smart, simple, and worthwhile points. Revenge often breeds more revenge; the only end to a cycle of violence is when there's only one person left alive; and once you've become a killer, nothing you do can ever change the fact that you're a killer.

This is a startlingly accomplished indie thriller from a writer/director who is only on his second feature. Jeremy Saulnier once directed the cheap, scrappy, amusing 2007 indie called Murder Party, and while that one stands up as goofy horror fun, Blue Ruin is an overwhelming improvement in every department of filmmaking you can think of. Macon Blair's lead performance is nothing short of stunning, truth be told, and it's a credit to the actor's skill that he gives the audience so much emotion with only a bare minimum of dialogue. (Mr. Saulnier's screenplay is nothing if not efficient.) The score is ominous, the cinematography is unflinchingly powerful, the editing style provides a simple story with a forward momentum that could teach the Hollywood boys a couple of things about keeping an audience captivated, and the supporting cast is simply great. (Devin Ratray, as Dwight's old and estranged school buddy, is an oasis of wit and warmth in an otherwise cold and frequently upsetting film.)

If you're looking for some simple "revenge thriller" payoffs, Blue Ruin has more than a handful of those to share -- but it also has a lot of insightful things to say about justice, vengeance, morality, responsibility, and loyalty. This is a quiet, confident, and surprisingly excellent little thriller, and it cements my theory that Jeremy Saulnier is now a filmmaking force to be reckoned with. If his sophomore effort is this strong, his third feature will really blow some doors down.

READ FEARnet's PARTNER REVIEWS OF BLUE RUIN

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TV Recap: 'Dexter' Episode 812 - 'Remember the Monsters?'

September 24, 2013, 9:30 am

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Dexter Episode 812
“Remember the Monsters?”
Written By: Scott Buck and Manny Coto
Directed By: Steve Shill
Original Airdate: 22 September 2013

In This Episode...

Okay folks, this is it. The last episode. Ready?

Dexter and Harrison are rushing to meet Hannah at the airport - but she is not there. She saw Elway and is hiding out in the bathroom. Dexter reports seeing a suspicious package left by Elway. He is taken into custody and the whole terminal is evacuated. On the way to the car, Batista calls and tells Dexter about Deb being shot, so Dexter sends Hannah to the hotel and asks her to figure out a different way out of Miami.

On the way into the hospital, Quinn was by Deb's side the whole time. She seems dangerously close to trying to confess to Laguerta's murder again, but instead insists simply that she is getting what she deserves. I don't think Quinn has ever been as sweet as he was in this scene. When Deb comes out of surgery, Dexter is waiting for her. The doctor is confident that Deb will make a full recovery - the bullet bounced around but didn't hit anything important. The siblings enjoy a heartfelt scene together, and Deb begs Dexter to leave, start his new life. He does leave, but can't start that new life just yet. Elway followed Dexter to the hospital and blames Dexter for Clayton's death. Dex throws him against the wall, but doesn't take it any further - Harrison is clutching his hand.

Back with Hannah at the hotel, it is decided that the safest way out of town is to take an evacuation bus to Jacksonville then fly out from there. Dexter is afraid to leave his sister in Miami with Saxon now on the loose, so he sends Hannah and Harrison ahead while he "looks after" Deb. On the bus, Hannah is telling Harrison about what Argentina will be like. As he falls asleep, a hand grabs Hannah. Elway has found her, and is sitting across the aisle. He is calling the shots, and promises that they will go quietly to Daytona, get off the bus, and he will turn her into the local U.S. Marshal’s office. Harrison will go to child protective services, and Elway will collect his sizable reward. Hannah reaches for her thermos for some tea. She offers some to Elway, who laughs at her. But she’s not stupid, either, and uses the tea distraction to stab him with one of Dexter’s tranquilizer syringes. Hannah and Harrison calmly get off the bus and continue on their journey.

Saxon is still roaming the city. He steals a car and goes to an animal hospital, where he makes a vet tech sew up his wound. He then makes the tech drive him to the hospital after seeing a news report about Debra Morgan, shot in the line of duty. The tech agrees, but is scared and promises he won't tell anyone if he lets him go. Saxon lets the kid go alright - right into the hospital ER, spitting blood. Saxon cut off his tongue. Dexter, having just arrived, recognizes this as a distraction technique. He knows Saxon is there and grabs a fork as a crude weapon.

The two killers find each other in an empty hallway, outside Deb's room. They face off, but before anything can happen, Batista shows up, gun at the ready. Saxon is arrested without incident. Dexter goes to check on Deb - and discovers she is not there. He finds Quinn, who informs him that Deb had to be moved to ICU. Apparently she had a blood clot that caused a massive stroke. Machines are now breathing for Deb, and it would take more than a miracle for her to regain consciousness. Dexter could just let the state kill Saxon, but he wouldn’t be Dexter if he didn’t have a hunger for revenge.

Under the guise of conducting a gun shot residue test, Dexter goes to see Saxon in the holding cells. He lays out assorted forensics tools on the table, and promises that he is there to kill Saxon with a ballpoint pen. Saxon grabs the pen and stabs Dexter in the arm; he retaliates by pulling out the pen and stabbing Saxon in the jugular. As he bleeds out, Dexter presses the panic button and takes on a frightened-for-his-life look. Batista and Quinn take a look at the security video, and while they see that Dexter is unusually calm and clear-headed when he kills Saxon, they buy it as self defense. Case closed.

But there is one more kill Dexter needs to make before he can leave town: Debra. He changes into his kill suit and slips into the hospital, virtually unnoticed as the staff evacuates ahead of the hurricane. As her big brother, he has to protect her, and that means not leaving her in a vegetative state. He unplugs all the machines and holds her once last time. Dexter whispers “I love you” to Deb as she flatlines. These are perhaps the first tears we have ever seen Dexter shed. He then rolls her out of the hospital, wraps her in a sheet, and lays her gently in his boat. He drives them out a good way from shore and calls Hannah. She and Harrison are about to board the plane, and she can’t help but be optimistic. She passes the phone to Harrison, and Dexter tells him that he loves him, and to "remember that everyday until you see me again." So clearly, Dexter is not coming back. He throws the phone overboard and returns his attention to Deb. He is wracked with pain and guilt and grief as he drops Deb into the ocean and watches her sink peacefully.

Here is where it all goes horribly, horribly wrong.

Dexter is overwhelmed with his guilt that he brought this upon Deb. “I destroy everyone I love,” he says in voice over. “I can’t let that happen to Hannah and Harrison. I have to protect them. From me.” And with that, he drives his boat into the storm.

The storm has dissipated and the coast guard finds the wreckage of the Slice of Life. There is no sign of survivors. Batista gets the call. Two Morgans dead in as many days. Hannah and Harrison have made it safely to Argentina and are enjoying lunch at a sunny cafe when Hannah finds a a news story on the Miami Herald’s website: Dexter Morgan is dead. She fights back the tears and takes Harrison for ice cream. I think it is more for her than for Harrison.

But we are not done yet. We go to a remote logging camp in Oregon. A stoic, bearded man is working the camp. Yes, this is Dexter. He goes into the tiny cabin he now calls home and looks into the camera. He is angry and miserable.

Now it is over. Worst. Ending. Ever.

Dig It or Bury It?

I didn’t like it. And not because it is the last one, yadda yadda yadda. It is because I don’t believe that it is true to Dexter’s character. The stuff with Deb was elegant and poignant. For him to kill her, a true mercy killing, was perfect. It was perhaps Dexter’s one truly selfless act, and it was beautiful the way he took her to sea. That was his favorite place, and that is where he felt at home. For Dexter to send Deb off that way, there could be no greater compliment. My husband disagrees, and thinks that it was a sign of disrespect to just dump her into the water. I contend that it would have been disrespectful had Dexter chopped his sister into pieces and disposed of her in garbage bags. Dexter did what he did out of pure love for his sister.

But for Dexter to fake his own death, thinking that that was his only way to “save” Hannah and Harrison, that was just amateur hour. That was a truly selfish act. Dexter is miserable. Hannah lost the love of her life. And Harrison is an orphan, just like his daddy. Born into blood and left an orphan. The whole point of the three of them moving to a distant foreign country was to start over. Saxon is dead and the U.S. Marshal Service doesn’t have any jurisdiction in South America. Extradition seems extremely unlikely, and Dexter didn’t want to kill anymore, so they could just lead normal, ordinary lives. It just seemed... hopeless and empty. I certainly wasn’t looking for or expecting a happy ending, but this was just bleak. It was out of character. The more I think about that ending, the more disappointed I am.

This was not the Dexter I watched for the last eight years.

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FEARnet Movie Review: 'Almost Human'

September 24, 2013, 10:00 am

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The scrappy, super-violent, and consistently amusing new sci-fi horror film called Almost Famous is certainly a short, sharp shock of indie-style scares and splatter, but here's what impresses me the most about the flick: it virtually reeks of love for the finest in 1980s horror cinema, yet it was written and directed by a 25-year-old guy! That's not fair! Homages to movies like Xtro (1983) should only be made by people who were actually alive in the 1980s! Who does this Joe Begos think he is?

Well, having seen the man's adorably earnest and wonderfully icky Almost Human, I think that writer/director Joe Begos is the type of guy who may have missed the 1980s, but sure did his due diligence where low-budget science fiction horror is concerned. I like to believe that if I become a filmmaker my first flick would look a lot like Almost Human: very short, dryly funny, frequently gross, occasionally scary, and practically bursting with love for other movies.

Sort of a mash-up of Fire in the Sky (1993), the aforementioned Xtro, and a particularly brutal slasher film, Almost Human tells the story of a young man who is kidnapped by aliens for two years and then returns to Earth as, well, as almost human. Poor Mark (Josh Ethier) used to be a sweet guy, but since spending a lot of time "elsewhere," he's become sort of a humanoid alien receptacle who causes all sorts of bloody mayhem from the moment he's found naked in the forest.

Meanwhile, Mark's old friends Seth (Graham Skipper) and Jen (Vanessa Leigh) are slowly piecing together the clues of his reappearance, but their investigations are interrupted by frequent murders, numerous attempts on their life, and eventually a trip into Alien Mark's cellar - and there's some pretty nasty stuff down there. It's all very familiar, but in the case of Almost Human, it's (almost) all very amusing as well. Mr. Begos and his friends have done something more impressive than a satire or a basic homage; they've actually distilled their love for sci-fi-horror insanity into a movie that feels a lot like other flicks -- but also earns a few originality points of its own.

The score and the gore, for example, are important components that really shine in Almost Human. The three leads are plainly inexperienced but also pretty solid young actors. (Some of the supporting cast? Not so much. But most of those people die so quickly that it doesn't really matter.) And if Almost Human struggles with one or two slow spots in the early going, Begos and Co. more than make up for it with a third act that's little more than scrapes, escapes, chases, and all sorts of slimy carnage.

In other words, Almost Human suffers from a few of the "first-timer" problems, but the important stuff (a cool story, a consistent tone, some interesting characters, and a lot of blood-drenched madness) is what matters, and this is a low-budget indie genre film that delivers in those departments. Best of all, the movie feels like a "throwback" that's not a rip-off, and a mild satire that clearly loves the stuff it's poking fun at.

In case the earlier Xtro reference didn't clue you in, I am a longtime junkie for any film that can be described as "sci-fi-horror," and I don't care if it's about hungry aliens out in space or one amazingly murderous alien here on Earth -- and I say Almost Human is what happens when young geeks become good filmmakers. If the very brief and admirably simple Almost Human exists as little more than a "calling card" for Joe Begos and his horror-loving team, then I say it's a successful one indeed, and we should expect to hear more from these guys soon.

READ FEARnet's PARTNER REVIEWS OF ALMOST HUMAN

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Bugs from Outer Space Found in Earth's Atmosphere

September 24, 2013, 11:00 am

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In the aftermath of last month's Perseid meteor shower, a group of British scientists made a shocking discovery that sounds like the prologue to an alien invasion scenario.

When the team recovered a research balloon they had sent into the Earth's lower stratosphere (about 17 miles up), they were shocked to find these microscopic “biological entities” clinging to its surface.

According to an article in Sky News, the team's leader, Professor Milton Wainwright, says it's unlikely that the tiny creatures could have been carried up to that height by air currents.

"We can only conclude that the biological entities originated from space,” he said.

Many more tests must take place in order to rule out possible earthbound origins for the creatures, and the team will conduct another balloon test during a meteor shower next month.

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Five Recent Horror Movies You Might Have Missed (But Should See)

September 24, 2013, 12:00 pm

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I hear a lot of casual horror fans talking about the lack of quality horror films in recent years... and to some extent they have a point. Studio-funded horror films seem to be less prevalent than they were three decades ago, and many mass-marketed horror films are lighter on gore, nudity, and the like than the features of yesteryear (with the obvious exception of the Evil Dead reboot). But there are still plenty of quality horror films being made – it’s just incumbent upon horror fans to look a little harder. There are a plethora of well-made horror pictures being released every year; they just aren’t all getting the mainstream attention that they deserve.

In an attempt to remedy that, and shine the spotlight on some outstanding films that haven’t received a great deal of publicity, we are showcasing five titles from the past five years that may have passed you by, but are most certainly worth your time... even die-hard horror fans may find a title or two here they have yet to check out.

The Revenant (2009)

Kerry Prior’s The Revenant tells the tale of a soldier, Bart (David Anders), who comes back from war to find that he is no longer alive…but he’s not quite dead, either. Not quite sure how to sort things out, Bart turns to his best friend Joey (Chris Wylde), and the pair surmises that Bart is a "revenant" and must take in human blood to survive. Rather than looking in the typical places, the two scour the slums of Los Angeles and pick off criminals as sustenance for Bart.

The relationship between the two leads here is very authentic, and director Kerry Prior has proclaimed in multiple interviews that it was completely organic. It seems that Wylde and Anders hit it off immediately, and that translated to a completely believable onscreen chemistry. Prior also ignored a lot of pre-established rules regarding the undead, and used basic logic to pen his script rather than just going with the norm; the result is a really enjoyable film.

The Pact (2012)

Sisters Annie (Caity Lotz) and Nicole (Agnes Bruckner) reunite after the loss of their mother, but the pair soon discover that their mother seems to be trying to communicate with them from beyond the grave.

This film legitimately scared me. There aren’t a lot of big-budget effects or fancy set pieces, and there is very little onscreen violence, but the film is chock full of atmosphere and there’s a clever twist that wasn’t all that predictable. Nicholas McCarthy directed and adapted the script from his short film of the same name. The only real weak point is a couple of performances which are a bit too over-the-top, but not so egregiously that you can’t still thoroughly enjoy the film. A sequel is currently in development from Dallas Richard Hallam and Patrick Horvath, the duo that brought you the bizarre 2012 slow-burn horror film Entrance. It will be interesting to see where they take this story next.

The Aggression Scale (2012)

When mafia boss Bellavance (Ray Wise) discovers that half a million dollars of his fortune has been embezzled, he sends a group of his goons the main suspects. Bellavance gives his men strict instructions to recover his assets by any means necessary – and to prove a point. However, he wasn’t counting on Owen (Ryan Hartwig), the not-so-typical troubled teenage son of one of the suspected embezzlers. Owen gives Bellavance’s men a major run for their money by way of a Home Alone-style series of traps and pitfalls that lead us to believe Owen is a young sociopath in training.

The Aggression Scale is directed by one of my absolute favorite up-and-coming directors, Steven C. Miller (Under the Bed), and relative newcomer Ben Powell (Satanic) penned the script. Ryan Hartwig (The Thompsons) is brilliant at conveying a complex array of emotions without saying a single word through the entire film. As always, Wise (Twin Peaks) is fun to watch. The Aggression Scale has plenty of violence to offer, but it’s interspersed with humor, so the film never gets too heavy or loses its primarily lighthearted nature.

Dance of the Dead (2008)

This Ghost House Underground offering chronicles the exploits of a group of high school misfits that don’t have dates to the prom, but end up defending their classmates from the zombies that are invading it.

Dance of the Dead could have been quite successful with a nationwide release – especially given the recent all-out obsession with zombie cinema and television. Jared Kusnitz (Otis) is perfectly cast as the likable slacker turned hero, and the script by Joe Ballarini (Father vs. Son) is filled with plenty of one-liners and enough witty dialogue to set the film apart from the deluge of zom-coms to hit the market in the wake of 2004’s Shaun of the Dead. Gregg Bishop proves himself a more than competent director with Dance of the Dead– which is only his second feature. The effects are surprisingly well done for a low-budget film, and there are plenty of instances of absolutely over-the-top violence.

Excision (2012)

Pauline (AnnaLynne McCord) is a plain and awkward teen who has her sights set on becoming a doctor. She spends many of her waking hours fantasizing about brutal, bloody and quite graphic surgeries with overt sexual overtones. She also dreams of helping her younger sister Grace (Ariel Winter) overcome the damaging effects of her cystic fibrosis, and feels helpless given the lack of treatment options.

McCord turns in the performance of her career in this ultra-violent film; she is cast completely against type, and she thrives. Traci Lords is also exceptional as Pauline’s mother. The film is brilliantly written and directed by Richard Bates Jr. (his feature film debut), who adapted the script from his 2008 short of the same name, and his script is rich with absolutely filthy, yet often hilarious dialogue.

Have any of your favorite films of the past five years flown under the radar? Let us know in the comments below!

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This Hercules Grub is a Huge, Squirming Monstrosity

September 24, 2013, 1:00 pm

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Remember the horrifying dream sequence from David Cronenberg's The Fly, where Geena Davis gives birth to a squirming, slimy, ten-pound larva? Well, brace yourself, because a creature almost exactly like it actually exists.

Native mostly to Central and South America, the Hercules beetle (species: Dynastes hercules) is king of the rhinoceros beetle family, and one of the world's largest insects. It also looks a lot like the giant space-bugs in Starship Troopers, and no doubt inspired the design of some of the creatures in that film.

Its babies are just as large, with some specimens reaching nearly five inches. But instead of looking alien and exotic, they just look... well, disgusting. Sure, most of us have gone through an awkward phase growing up, but... damn.

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Return of the Horror Beers: Fall Kickoff Edition!

September 24, 2013, 2:00 pm

≫ Next: Dangerous Games: 'Letters From Whitechapel' Game Review

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Around the beginning of Summer, we introduced you to a series of frosty faux labels for horror-themed beers, courtesy of a the Facebook community Shit Movie Fest and renowned artist Frank Browning (who has also wowed us with horror ice cream novelties for Freddy in Space and retro-style horror NES game artwork for Dr. Terror's Blog of Horrors).

Summer may be over as far as the calendar is concerned, but there's never a bad time for a refreshing brewski – especially with all the pumpkin varieties hitting the shelves this Fall – and the gallery has been updated with some new mockup beverages for your enjoyment.

Among this new shipment is a Dexter-themed “Bloody Orange” hefeweizen, to commemorate the series' conclusion, and they're already looking ahead to the Holiday season with a lager commemorating the slasher classic Black Christmas. Damn, I wish these were the real deal...

Check out the full gallery at Shit Movie Fest!

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Dangerous Games: 'Letters From Whitechapel' Game Review

September 24, 2013, 3:00 pm

≫ Next: Spoiler Alert! 2 New Clips From 'Curse Of Chucky'

≪ Previous: Return of the Horror Beers: Fall Kickoff Edition!

The chair creaks as you settle onto it. The candlelight flickers. All around you the ravenous faces of your so-called friends twist in delight as you slowly open the box laid out on the table. Welcome to Dangerous Games! Each week, we'll feature a horror/thriller/monster tabletop game you should be playing. Don't be scared… roll the dice… what's the worst that could happen?

Letters From Whitechapel

The year is 1888. Mist clings to the cobblestone streets as the lamp lads make their rounds lighting lanterns. The drunk, the bawdy, the dirty, the smelly... and those who would do evil lurk the causeways and alleys of the Whitechapel district of London. In the middle of the night a woman screams - and Jack the Ripper has killed again!

In Letters from Whitechapel, two to six players take on the roles of Jack the Ripper and constables trying to find him. Playing with a fully detailed map of the Whitechapel district from that era one player navigates the maps as Jack the Ripper while the other players try to figure out where he's headed. It's a tense whodunnit where the forces of good race against the clock to stop the killings! Whose side are you on?

Game Mechanics

The game plays very much like a mix of Clue, Battleship, and Risk. The player controlling Jack moves his character without moving a character pawn. He or she has a sheet where they detail which steps they took in the city. The map is laid out with 199 circles linked together by dotted lines. Each circle is numbered, and Jack moves through streets and alleys from adjacent number to adjacent number. If Jack takes five victims before the constables can find him, he wins.

The players controlling the constables must investigate those circles and create a trail of clues determining where Jack's been and where he's headed. With the use of bingo-chip like tokens, they mark the circles and keep track of his path. If the constables can track Jack before he kills five times (equalling four game turns), the constables win!

Replay Value

Because this game is structured like a mystery, it changes every time. I could see it becoming repetitive if a playgroup had a set player who always played as Jack - the other players would learn his style. But if you and your group keep switching up who plays which roles, there will be plenty of twists and surprises.

Overall Impressions

I played and reviewed another Jack the Ripper deduction game here a few months back called Mr. Jack (check out that review here), which was strictly a two-player game. That game feels so completely different from this one, even though the subject matter and basic game mechanics are the same. Mr. Jack was about moving pieces, using abilities, and generally trying to corner a killer. This game is all about strategy and there are large points in time where both sides of the field will feel completely lost, only to stumble on an easy way out of trouble (if you're playing Jack), or a juicy new clue that gets them back on track (if you're playing the constables). If you like the themes and general setting of Whitechapel during the Jack killings, you'll flip out for this game. We've spent plenty of time tracking killers in games, but this one feels the most like real detective work.

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Spoiler Alert! 2 New Clips From 'Curse Of Chucky'

September 24, 2013, 3:30 pm

≫ Next: Scream Factory Reveals 'Night of the Comet' DVD/Blu-ray Details

≪ Previous: Dangerous Games: 'Letters From Whitechapel' Game Review

For me personally, I don't like watching too many clips before checking out a movie, especially one that I really want to see like 'Curse Of Chucky,' but I'll be damned, even the thumbnails for these videos give away what I consider to be two major spoilers that I'd heard rumblings about! That said, if you want to know, hit play below. If not? Turn back now! There's still time! 'Curse Of Chucky' hits Blu-Ray and DVD on October 8th both on its own and also as part of a complete boxed set with all the films. You can also watch 3 more clips from our previous news piece. Are you excited for the long awaited return of Chucky?

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Scream Factory Reveals 'Night of the Comet' DVD/Blu-ray Details

September 24, 2013, 4:00 pm

≫ Next: Book Review: 'Running Home' by Julie Hutchings

≪ Previous: Spoiler Alert! 2 New Clips From 'Curse Of Chucky'

Another '80s cult classic is getting the Special Edition treatment from the fine folks at Scream Factory: the crazed apocalyptic horror/sci-fi comedy Night of the Comet makes its Blu-ray debut this Fall in a combo pack loaded with special features, and we've got the full breakdown below.

Packaged with newly-commissioned '80s-style artwork (which is also available as a 18”x24” poster to early-birds who preorder the combo pack through Scream Factory's website) as well as the original theatrical key art, both discs are presented in anamorphic widescreen (Blu-ray in 1080p HD), with new Dolby Digital 5.1 audio mixes. There's also a bonanza of bonus features:

Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Thom Eberhardt
Audio Commentary with Stars Kelli Maroney and Catherine Mary Stewart
Audio Commentary with Production Designer John Muto
Valley Girls at the End of the World– Interviews with Stars Kelli Maroney and Catherine Mary Stewart
The Last Man on Earth?– Interview with Actor Robert Beltran
Curse of the Comet– Interview with Special Make-Up Effects Creator David B. Miller
Still Galleries (Behind the Scenes and Official Stills)
Theatrical Trailer

Night of the Comet is slated for release on November 19th, but you can preorder it now at the Scream Factory store.

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Book Review: 'Running Home' by Julie Hutchings

September 24, 2013, 5:00 pm

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Full disclosure, right off the bat: I am so not the target audience for this book.

I like a lot of grit in my stories. Anything that’s too smooth, too polished – whether it’s the subject matter or the prose itself – tends to shut me down. I don’t want to read something that feels like it was written– I want to read something that feels like it was survived.

I’m not big on vampires, I don’t read romance novels, and when I worked at a bookstore I leafed through a few pages of the then-all-the-rage series Twilight and quickly gathered that it was not for me.

Julie Hutchings' Running Home is a polished piece of prose, a re-imagining of the vampire mythos with a heaping helping of romance thrown in. In other words, it’s everything I do not look for in a book. Kudos, then, to author Julie Hutchings, who was able to make me put aside my prejudices and finish a book I normally never would have picked up.

If that sounds like I’m damning the book with faint praise, that’s not my intent. For the right reader, Running Home is going to be a very good experience. It’s well-written, has interesting characters and an intriguing premise. Hutchings has a lot of new ideas about vampires, and it’s always refreshing to see someone take an old genre staple and push it in new directions. Her vampires need blood, yes, but there’s more at work than simple hunger; fate is the main theme running through the book, and it has as much to do with the victims as the vampires themselves.

Hutchings reveals her vampire rules slowly and deliberately, and I’m not going to steal her thunder here. What I can say is that you have a man, Nicholas, and a woman, Eliza, and it’s clear from the start that their futures are irrevocably entangled. What’s not immediately clear is the type of relationship they’re heading for: is it vampire and victim? Eternal lovers? Mortal enemies? Hutchings takes great delight in keeping readers guessing.

As I said from the top, this type of book is not normally in my wheelhouse, but the choices I perceive to be flaws may be welcome by other readers. I’m sure others will be fine with the overall slick, glossy feel to the book – it’s just a little too clean and tame for my taste. I’m sure there are readers who will enjoy the romantic overtones, and the seemingly endless references to Nicholas’s eyes (which are described at various points as being like caramel and/or mocha) and his scent (vanilla, cinnamon, and caramel again). These are mostly matters of taste and not technical issues (although maybe a couple of references to the mocha and caramel eyes could have been edited out), and as such won’t get a lot of criticism from me.

One thing I will be a bit critical of, however, is the pace of the book. There are big reveals, events and consequences discussed in this book, and discussed often. This is a book of many conversations, often held in the cozy confines of Nicholas’ cabin, which is bathed in warm light from within and dusted with gently falling snow outside. It’s a cozy book that keeps hinting at horror, but never quite gets there. The big events the book leads up to are all crammed into the final couple of chapters, giving that portion of the book a rushed feel. If Hutchings can work on her pace a bit, space out those dramatic moments and maybe ease off the cozy just a tiny bit, the result will be tighter stories in the future.

So, to recap: this is not my thing, but for younger readers looking for an entry into horror, or readers caught in that inexplicable Twilight spell, Running Home might be the perfect book. Hutchings is a solid writer with a bright future, an author with real raw talent, and I look forward to watching that talent take shape in the years to come.

Blu Gilliand is a freelance writer of fiction and nonfiction. He covers horror fiction at his blog, October Country, and contributes interviews to the Horror World website. Follow him on Twitter at @BluGilliand.

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Shocktoberfest Scream Park Launches Nude Haunted House

September 25, 2013, 9:00 am

≫ Next: Book Review: 'Doctor Sleep' By Stephen King

≪ Previous: Book Review: 'Running Home' by Julie Hutchings

As much love as I have for haunted attractions, I must admit that it’s getting harder and harder to justify dropping 20 bucks to walk through a dark building and have costumed actors jump out at me. It’s something I will likely never grow completely out of, but at the same time I must admit to being a little bored of the haunted house formula, now that I’ve walked through so many of them. If you’ve experienced one you’ve kind of experienced them all, is I suppose what I’m getting at.

The people who run these haunted attractions – the smart ones at least – realize this, and have been doing everything they can to spice up their own haunts, adding unique bells and whistles that provide a little bit of a different experience than the norm. It’s quickly becoming a trend for haunts to separate visitors from their friends and make them walk through the attractions all by themselves, and I’ve also seen a few that are advertised as being so frightening that you’re given a special word you can blurt out during the walk-through, if it’s getting too scary for you. There are even a couple of them that allow the actors to physically make contact with you, thus ratcheting up the fear element and really pulling you out of your comfort zone.

No matter what the gimmick is that’s being employed, that’s precisely what these things are; gimmicks. Much like 3D movies, the idea is to pull potential visitors in by offering up something unique and special, which they simply won’t be able to let the Halloween season slip by without experiencing. And when it comes to gimmicks, nobody is doing it more differently this year than Pennsylvania’s Shocktoberfest.

Located in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, Shocktoberfest is a haunted scream park that has been running for 22 years now, and has scooped up all sorts of awards – including being deemed the #1 Must-See Haunted Attraction of 2009, in Haunted Attraction Magazine. Rather than just being one haunted attraction, Shocktoberfest is a park full of them, three individual attractions plus two very special new additions for the impending 2013 season. And one of those new additions is taking something away from you; not your friends, but your clothes!

Dubbed the ‘Naked and Scared Challenge,’ the idea of this most unique of haunted experiences is to take you as far out of your comfort zone as possible – by making you walk through the attraction completely nude. At the end of the night, when all those boring clothed customers have gone through the steampunk-themed haunted house ‘The Unknown,’ you can pay $20 to strip naked in a holding area and then enter the pitch black building without even the comfort of your own clothing. “Shocktoberfest has created this experience so their customers can explore a new level of fear,” they say.

If being buck naked is a little too hardcore for you, you can take the park up on their ‘prude’ option, which gives you the same experience, only you’re allowed to keep your underwear on. Though at that point, you might as well just go for it and walk through as God made you!

All who are taking part in the Naked and Scared Challenge must be 18 years of age or older, and will be required to sign a waiver before entering. Shocktoberfest’s website promises that nobody who is clothed will be able to see you nude, and they also mention that no sexual misconduct will be tolerated. Can’t help but wonder what they’re asking you to agree to on that waiver though…

You can purchase tickets for the various different attractions at the scream park over on the Shocktoberfest website. Since limited tickets are available for the Naked and Scared Challenge, they encourage you to order them in advance. The park will be open from September 27^th through November 3^rd, and the challenge itself takes place every night except Sunday.

If you make it out for this, be sure to comment below and let us know how it went. Just keep the pictures to yourself, will ya?

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Book Review: 'Doctor Sleep' By Stephen King

September 25, 2013, 10:00 am

≫ Next: Game Review: ‘The Bureau: XCOM Declassified’

≪ Previous: Shocktoberfest Scream Park Launches Nude Haunted House

Thirty-six years is a long time to go missing. It’s a long time to let ghosts accumulate, real and imagined. And it’s a long time to follow up on one of the most well-known and well-regarded novels – horror or otherwise – of the twentieth century.

It would be nearly impossible to consider a novel like Doctor Sleep without considering The Shining, both the book and the baggage that comes with the book. King’s 1977 novel has become a cultural touchstone, a sort of shorthand for the ultimate in horror lit. When sitcoms want to tell easy jokes about scary books, The Shining is what they reference. There’s also the not-inconsiderable behemoth of Stanley Kubrick’s unfaithful adaptation, a movie many people consider the best horror movie of all time (to King’s consternation, according to the afterword). Whether it’s fair or not, Doctor Sleep has a lot of history to contend with, and it’s a hell of a job for a piece of writing that just wants to be its own novel.

Smartly, King addresses the history by plugging the gaps. We catch up with Danny Torrance (as well as his mom, Wendy, and his surrogate father, Dick Hallorann) not thirty-six years later, but a year or so after the events of The Shining. These sequences are immediately effective: Danny is still being haunted, quite literally, by the ghosts of the Overlook. The amplification of his power – the shining – has kept them around long after the Overlook itself has died. Fortunately, Hallorann’s lessons aren’t finished, and he shares some tricks with Danny about how to lock away his ghosts, so they can’t hurt him anymore.

When we next see Danny, he has hit rock bottom. He’s become a drinker and an addict, and is now in a situation in which his inaction puts a child in mortal danger. These ghosts are metaphorical, but no less damaging to Danny. While it’s harsh to see Danny Torrance – who referred to alcohol as The Bad Stuff in The Shining – brought so low, but nothing about his tumble into this harsh life rings false. The fact that Danny has been allowed to play this out in real time gives substance to this history, lending verisimilitude to this unhealthy life lived badly. (One wonders, however, how impactful this history will seem to new readers coming to The Shining and Doctor Sleep fresh; will the weight of those years feel as real and heavy as in a book like It?)

We catch up with Danny, now Dan, in the present, when he’s an Alcoholics Anonymous devotee, getting dry and staying that way. He’s also still using the shining (a refreshing development after Black House, King and Peter Straub’s sequel to The Talisman, in which Jack Sawyer has purposefully forgotten the magic of his childhood), as part of his job as a hospice worker helping the dying cross over gently into whatever worlds lie beyond this one. In this, he is known as Doctor Sleep – a moniker that echoes his childhood nickname; all things come around.

Danny isn’t the only focus of Doctor Sleep. Early on, we make the acquaintance of a young girl named Abra Stone, whose own shining powers dwarf Danny’s. The sequences involving Abra’s early development bring to mind King’s early novels about special people discovering their powers – chiefly Carrie, The Dead Zone, and Firestarter, not to mention The Shining itself – and the sense of wonder that comes with these manifestations. There’s a scene in which young Abra makes all the spoons in her family kitchen hang in the air, almost unaware of what she’s doing; it’s one of the book’s best scenes, underscoring Abra’s immense power in a mild, almost gentle way.

We also make the acquaintance of the True Knot, a roving band of nearly immortal creatures who look like people but are really a type of vampire – instead of blood, they leech psychic ability for sustenance. They call it steam, and for them, the steam is richer and more potent if the person they take it from is in cataclysmic pain. Their leader, Rose the Hat, is one of King’s formidable villains; during one particularly gruesome sequence, we witness her and the rest of the True torturing a young boy for his steam. King doesn’t pull punches here, and the effect feels more Ketchum than King: the torture is slow and cruel, and even when they promise death, they don’t deliver. While King has never shied away from brutality, this scene coming early in what is essentially a gentle book hammers home the stakes: the True Knot are a force to be reckoned with, and have to be stopped.

Soon enough, Abra Stone and Rose the Hat are made aware of one another, and from there, Doctor Sleep’s momentum never really slows. This may not be to the book’s benefit. King takes a long time to establish Dan Torrance as an adult we can believe in, and Abra as a new character we grow to like… and, importantly, feels whole, a real person in a real world rather than a hijacker in Dan’s story. This is crucial character development, and the time we take to get to know Abra and her family, and to get reacquainted with Dan and his friends, is welcome and absorbing. Unfortunately, this deep character work and early leisurely pace (and the fact that, at its core, Doctor Sleep is a quiet book about kind people trying to do the right things) make the last third of the novel feels rushed. More, even though the showdown between those with the shining and the remaining members of the True Knot is meant to feel epic, it falls a little short. Part of the issue is that Abra Stone is simply too powerful for any adversary – even the near-immortal ones here, each with their own smidgen of the shining – to feel like a real threat. But the real concern is deeper: this is a character-driven work, and the showdowns and epic battles sometimes feel like distractions that get in the way of these characters living and growing.

Theme is vital. The triad motifs of addiction, abuse, and recovery are built into the infrastructure of nearly every page. Dan’s inaction as an addict that may or may not have contributed to the death of a child neatly parallels the True Knot’s torture and murder of children in order to collect the steam they’ve become dependent on. Early in the book, we get a long look at a character named Snakebite Andi, whose father’s abuse translates to her becoming one of the True’s child-murderers; later, Dan lays out his alcoholic family history and draws a straight line from his grandfather’s brutal temper to his father’s bouts of violence to his, Danny’s, self-loathing and desperation to hide from the life he’s made. Here we come to what may be one of the book’s most controversial aspects: there’s a startling revelation at the center of Dan’s family history that seems to retroactively contradict events of The Shining, and it’s sure to raise eyebrows of disbelief. Much of the power of Doctor Sleep, however, comes from the weight of its convictions; this surprise revelation seems to challenge readers to be convinced than to reject out of hand.

The revelation ties directly into one of King’s favorite concepts: the cyclical nature of people’s lives, and the way facing old horrors anew can strengthen a person. King has explored this concept notably in It, Gerald’s Game,Bag of Bones, The Dark Tower series, and Dreamcatcher, and he tackles it here to convincing effect. In a climactic scene, Dan Torrance finds himself literally returning to the site of the Overlook Hotel, and forcing himself to face the ghosts he’s kept locked away for decades. One of the book’s more powerful messages is that the worst horrors of your past – the ones you’ve suffered and the ones you’ve committed – don’t define the person you are now, and that facing them can set you free.

When Stephen King first invented Danny Torrance, he was an addict himself. Now, with more clarity, he’s able to reflect on the ways addiction destroys – not only from without but from within. King has been fascinated by the idea of personal salvage in his more recent novels, Duma Key, 11/22/63, and Joyland among them. But Doctor Sleep, for its imperfections, is King’s major statement of recovery and closure, of lives touched by tragedy and terror… and made the better for it, after a while.

- - -

Kevin Quigley is an author whose website, CharnelHouseSK.com, is one of the leading online sources for Stephen King news, reviews, and information. He has written several books on Stephen King for Cemetery Dance Publications, including Chart of Darkness, Blood In Your Ears, and Stephen King Limited, and co-wrote the recently released Stephen King Illustrated Movie Trivia Book. His first novel, I’m On Fire, is forthcoming. Find his books at cemeterydance.com

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Game Review: ‘The Bureau: XCOM Declassified’

September 25, 2013, 11:00 am

≫ Next: Peruvian 'Bat-Toad' Improvises His Own Halloween Vampire Costume

≪ Previous: Book Review: 'Doctor Sleep' By Stephen King

A few years back we were presented with a trailer for the simply titled XCOM, a retro reboot of the strategy classic developed by 2K Marin (Bioshock 2) that transplanted the sectoid-smashing to the Cold War era, complete with snappy fedoras and oddly abstract extraterrestrials. It was a very chilling take on the franchise that polarized fans, with many decrying the game’s FPS perspective. The XCOM: Enemy Unknown happened, which pretty much put XCOM right back where it started (in the best way possible) as a tense turn-based strategy game that was universally lauded. Thus, 2K Marin’s XCOM went through a few nips and tucks and finally came out as The Bureau: XCOM Declassified.

Set more firmly in the universe (re)established by XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the game details humanity’s first encounter with the Outsiders and the birth of the XCOM organization. Originally envisioned as a way to repel invading Soviets (I guess the Wolverines weren’t part of the original plan), XCOM finds itself being quickly repurposed in the face of a full-fledged alien invasion. Players are cast as Agent William Carter, a sadly bland agent whose closetful of skeletons remains largely closed throughout the game as he leads the initial spearhead for XCOM. This is presented as a competent third-person shooter with enough of the XCOM gameplay elements (strategic planning, permadeath of agents) to keep it feeling like a proper entry in the series. The story is decently meaty, with interrogative interludes helping flesh out smaller characters and deliver mini-missions to expand upon the game’s lore, and there are plenty of references and nods to link this prequel to its more strategic forebear.

The main focus of the gameplay is a tactical third-person shooter, which tries (and mostly succeeds) to bring the more cerebral aspects of the franchise to a more action-based title. Most missions have Carter joined by two other agents who, mercifully, do a fairly solid job of seeking cover and providing solid support against the Outsiders on their own. Carter can also issue commands to his squadmates in pseudo-real time, with the onscreen action slowing to a snail’s pace as you issue commands for your fellow agents to flank your foes, heal, or fire off a deadly critical shot. Just like Enemy Unknown, these agents level up during missions and can be permanently killed, making them a valuable resource to be protected. Having a particularly beefed-up squadmate fall in battle is just as tragic and frustrating as ever, which makes keeping your eyes on them during battle a critical skill, which can be rather daunting in particularly heated firefights.

The move to the 1960’s also gives the game a deliciously unique flavor. The parallels between the Red Scare and alien invasion are clearly drawn, and the mid-century technology with a splash of retro-futurism is a very fresh setting for games. The game never falls on the tropes of atom-age sci-fi (there’s nary a warbling Theremin in earshot) but instead further cements the technological inferiority of humanity to the extraterrestrials. The infected humans, with inky discharges dribbling from their eyes, are an eerie homage to The X-Files’ black oil, and the image of small American towns being reduced to rubble is oddly uncomfortable.

Ultimately, The Bureau is an oddly satisfying experiment. It manages to merge together the strategic flavor of XCOM with more action-based gameplay in a surprisingly competent fashion with minimal concessions given to either element. The slightly dated graphics do a commendable job at rendering the retro world, and the sound design is absolutely fantastic. It may not be the earth-shattering revelation that XCOM: Enemy Unknown was, but it’s certainly an exciting tremor.

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Peruvian 'Bat-Toad' Improvises His Own Halloween Vampire Costume

September 25, 2013, 12:00 pm

≫ Next: Lots of 'American Horror Story: Coven' Promos - Now With Actual Show Footage!

≪ Previous: Game Review: ‘The Bureau: XCOM Declassified’

A ranger in Peru's Cerros de Amotape National Park discovered that humans aren't the only ones with Halloween spirit, when they discovered this large cane toad sporting what seem to be vampire wings. Phil Torres, a naturalist for Peru Nature Rainforest Expeditions, shared the ranger's photo, which depicts the hungry hopper swallowing a low-flying bat – or at least trying to, as you can see.

“Out of nowhere the bat just flew directly into the mouth of the toad, which almost seemed to be sitting with its mouth wide open,” Torres told the Huffington Post in an article yesterday. Luckily for the bat (but not so much for the toad), the potential meal ended up escaping.

Torres said bats often get devoured by a wide assortment of ravenous creatures – which we've recounted a few times before, including bat-snaring spiders and giant centipedes which literally hang from cave ceilings and pluck them out of the air. (Poor guys just can't seem to catch a break lately.) Torres also cited unusual cases of birds and frogs gobbling up the winged mammals. “These types of unexpected species interactions probably occur much more often than we think,” he added, “it's just that we're not always lucky enough to have a camera alongside to capture the moment.”

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Lots of 'American Horror Story: Coven' Promos - Now With Actual Show Footage!

September 25, 2013, 12:30 pm

≫ Next: Next Batch of Film Titles Announced for Screamfest 2013!

≪ Previous: Peruvian 'Bat-Toad' Improvises His Own Halloween Vampire Costume

So I leave for a week to go to Fantastic Fest, and I come back to find an embarrassment of riches when it comes to American Horror Story: Coven promos. There are motion posters, 15 second abstract promos, extended-length promos, and even a narrative promo which shows us scenes from the actual show.

So sit back, try to relax, and enjoy a whole bunch of witchy weirdness.

Initiation (Extended)

Slither

American Horror Story: Coven premieres October 9th on FX.

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Next Batch of Film Titles Announced for Screamfest 2013!

September 25, 2013, 2:00 pm

≫ Next: Ten More Terrifying Films Inspired by Actual Events

≪ Previous: Lots of 'American Horror Story: Coven' Promos - Now With Actual Show Footage!

Screamfest, one of the world's most celebrated horror film festivals, is preparing for its 2013 run, October 8th through October 17th at the Laemmle NoHo 7 Theater in North Hollywood, CA. They've just expanded their roster with many new titles – including more US and world premieres – and there's some very highly-anticipated entries among them. The list, which is being updated at their official site, now includes the following:

Chimeres (Switzerland, dir. Olivier Beguin – US Premiere)

While taking a holiday in Romania with his girlfriend Livia, Alexandre is hit by a car. He is hospitalized and has to undergo a blood transfusion. On his return he seems to suffer from a strange disease.

The Dead 2: India (UK, dirs. The Ford Brothers – US Premiere)

The eagerly anticipated follow-up to the the African-set The Dead, this sequel moves us to the hustle and bustle of India as the outbreak of the walking dead take hold. An American engineer teams up with a surviving orphan street kid to trek 300 miles across stunning but deadly rural Indian landscapes to the now infested slums of Mumbai to try and save his pregnant girlfriend. The first ever international zombie movie shot in Incredible India, The Dead 2 puts the Ford Brothers' unique vision on a far bigger canvas, with breathtaking scope, thrilling action and emotional resonance.

Delivery (US, dir. Brian Netto)

In this unnerving chiller, Kyle and Rachel Massy are a young couple who have agreed to document their first pregnancy for a reality show. During the production, a series of unexplained phenomena start plaguing the couple, eventually derailing the production of the show. Rachel, growing increasingly paranoid, starts to believe that there might be something seriously wrong with their unborn bundle of joy.

The Demon’s Rook (US, dir. James Sizemore – Los Angeles Premiere)

A young boy named Roscoe is taken to a world where demons dwell. Raised into manhood by an elder demon, he is taught to master the dark arts. During his training, he accidentally unleashes an ancient race of evil demons. They discover our world and release a nightmarish foray of monsters upon it. Paying homage to its colorful roots and packed full of practical effects, The Demon's Rook is sure to please.

Frost (Iceland, dir. Reynir Lyngdal – US Premiere)

From the team of Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre, this film follows a young couple – physiologist Agla and filmmaker Gunnar – who wake up at a glacier drilling camp only to find the camp mysteriously abandoned and their co-workers gone. When searching for the lost team they realize they’re up against an unknown deadly force.

The Gauntlet (US, dir. Matt Eskandari – US Premiere)

In a sunken castle underneath the earth, five strangers wake. They have no food. No memory. No water. No way out. They don't know it yet, but in Hell only their sins can save them. They must organize and band together for the sinister adventure that awaits.

Goldberg & Eisenberg (Israel, dir. Oren Carmi – Los Angeles Premiere)

Goldberg is a mediocre computer programmer. Eisenberg is an emotionally disturbed thug. Unfortunately the two cross paths. Goldberg & Eisenberg is the first Israeli urban psychological thriller, and the first dark genre film ever to be approved for production by the Israel film fund. Inspired by Coen bros, Polanski, Park Chan-Wuk. Currently in preliminary talks to be remade as a mini series for a major American cable channel.

Para Elisa (Spain, dir. Juanra Fernandez – US Premiere)

A student enters a terrifying world of obsession and misery when she answers a job advertisement requesting a nanny. Held prisoner in a house full of antique toys, she must overcome her deranged captors or become a living doll.

Savaged (Canada, dir. Michael S. Ojeda – World Premiere)

While traveling across country, Zoe, a lovely deaf mute woman, stumbles on a horrific crime – a gang of rednecks slaughtering two Native American boys. Zoe’s brave attempt to save one of the boys seals her fate. She is captured, raped and left for dead. When an Indian shaman finds her clinging to life in a shallow grave he attempts to save her – but something goes horribly wrong. The spirit of an ancient Apache warrior takes host of Zoe’s dead body. So now she walks amongst the living, hell-bent on getting revenge. One by one she slaughters the men who brutalized her, while the clock ticks away on her quickly decomposing body.

The Seasoning House (UK, dir. Paul Hyett – Los Angeles Premiere)

In a house where young girls are prostituted to the military, Angel (Rosie Day), an orphaned deaf mute, is enslaved to care for them. She moves between the walls and crawlspaces, planning her escape... and planning her ingenious and brutal revenge.

Viscera (US, dir. Pete DiFolco & Craig DiFolco – World Premiere)

In the aftermath of a flesh-eating plague that has wiped out most of humanity, a surviving man and woman face unimaginable horrors when he suddenly becomes infected. Confined to the basement of an abandoned farmhouse, she tends to him as his body rapidly deteriorates over the next four days. But they soon find themselves up against more than just the disease. A crazed infected woman begins to stalk the farmhouse... a suspicious stranger arrives promising the key to survival... and the only possible cure is an injected drug that slowly drives you insane.

For the most current and complete list, as well as ticket information and more, visit Screamfest LA's official site or contact info@screamfestla.com.

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Ten More Terrifying Films Inspired by Actual Events

September 25, 2013, 3:00 pm

≫ Next: FEARnet Movie Review: 'The Sacrament'

≪ Previous: Next Batch of Film Titles Announced for Screamfest 2013!

When a horror film sports the tagline "Based on" or "Inspired by actual events," the terror quotient almost always goes up, and the films often do big box office numbers. A great recent example of this phenomenon is The Conjuring, which cleaned up during its theatrical run this Summer. The idea that the film we are about to watch is rooted in some level of truth makes the film experience more intense; even if the plot is 99% fiction, the experience is still enriched by the knowledge that there is even a shred of truth to what you are about to witness. Back in March, we ran a piece showcasing ten terrifying movies based on actual events, and due to positive reader response, we're now proud to bring you ten more horror films that take a cue from reality.

A Haunting in Connecticut

This 2009 film is inspired by the experience of the Snedeker family, who moved to Connecticut to be closer to the hospital where their cancer-stricken son was receiving treatment. As it turns out, the home they moved into was once used as a combined funeral parlor and residence. According to a documentary about the events, a young boy with cancer did live in the basement of the home – where the mortuary was once located – and had several alleged supernatural encounters. The film takes some creative liberties, but much of the story is rooted in accounts given by the family that lived there. There have been attempts to discredit the story based on the cancer treatments the son was receiving, which experts alleged were causing him to hallucinate... but the family maintains that the home was actually haunted.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

This is an example of a film very loosely inspired by actual events: writer/director Wes Craven read a news article about an Asian man who was terrified to go to sleep; when the subject of the article finally did, and subsequently wound up dead, it was discovered that he had been keeping a coffee pot in his closet and employing other tactics to stay awake at all costs. That idea inspired Craven to write a film about teenagers who were afraid to go to sleep because of a killer stalking them in their dreams. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Town that Dreaded Sundown

Charles Griffith's gritty crime thriller is somewhat of an early slasher prototype: it employs many of the tropes that have become common in the modern-day slasher film, and may even be the inspiration for the "bag-head Jason" costime in Friday the 13th Part 2. The film is loosely based on the Texarkana murders of 1946, and the culprit was unofficially referred to as "The Phantom Killer." He was never caught, which makes the true story behind the film that much more ominous. The Town that Dreaded Sundown takes creative license in several instances, but it is more true to the source material than many of the other films on our list.

The Stepfather

There are plenty of embellishments made in the original 1987 Stepfather, but the actual story behind it is plenty terrifying on its own. The real-life killer that Jerry Blake (Terry O'Quinn) is based on, a man named John List, murdered his three children, his wife, and his mother in 1971. Like in the film, List carefully plotted his crime so that it would go undetected for a long period of time, allowing him to stage his escape. Also similar to the film, List went on to remarry and avoided detection for close to 20 years. He was eventually captured and arrested in 1989, and died in prison in 2008 while serving five consecutive life sentences.

The Exorcist

The true story behind one of the highest-grossing and most well-received horror films of all time is greatly altered in both the novelization and the film. William Peter Blatty's novel was quite loosely inspired by the alleged possession and exorcism of Roland Doe (a pseudonym), which occurred in the 1940s. Unlike many alleged cases of demonic possession, the Catholic Church actually recognized the young boy’s experience as authentic. The alleged events leading up to and during Roland’s possession and subsequent exorcism ranged from strange noises to levitating furniture, and physical injury to those conducting one of the exorcisms. The true story has a happy ending: after all was said and done, Doe went on to lead a normal life, free of further supernatural torment.

The People Under the Stairs

This is the second Wes Craven film on our list, and it's another instance of a film very loosely inspired by real life goings-on. Craven got the basic concept for the film from a news story regarding a family that kept their children locked inside their house for years on end, and while that also occurs in The People Under the Stairs, that's where the similarities stop. The entire plot of the film, with the young protagonist named "Fool" helping to burglarize the house, is a product of Craven’s imagination. As an interesting side note, Everett McGill and Wendy Robie, who play the "parents" in the film, also played Ed and Nadine on David Lynch's cult TV series Twin Peaks.

Primeval

I was actually a little bit surprised to learn that this film was based on real-life events: it seems it's inspired by the story of "Gustave," a man-eating alligator in Burundi that reportedly weighed in at over 2,000 pounds. There are unconfirmed reports that "Gus" killed upwards of 300 people. The film’s plot is primarily fabricated, but the monster is actually very real. Gus even starred in a documentary called Capturing the Killer Croc, which raised a great deal of public awareness around the incidents.

The Serpent and the Rainbow

This is the third and final Wes Craven film to appear on our list. Like the two previous entries, The Serpent and the Rainbow is very loosely inspired by actual events, but nonetheless rooted in a certain degree of fact. The film is loosely based on the book by Wade Davis, chronicling the events of his visit to Haiti to research the existence of voodoo, zombies and a paralytic drug that when mixed with other components can reportedly induce a zombie-like state. Obviously Davis’s book was much more benign than the feature film adaptation, but the core of the story has some basis in reality.

The Silent House

The 2010 Spanish-language film La Casa Muda was remade for US audiences in 2012. The plot of both films, which involves a house that harbors a mysterious (and possibly supernatural) secret, is allegedly based on an incident that transpired in Uruguay in the 1940s. The interesting thing about that is how there seems to be no way to substantiate the claims, so it’s possible that the incident was fabricated to build interest in the film, or perhaps there legitimately is no record of it... but that seems terribly unlikely.

Jaws

Based on the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916 (which inspired the source novel by Peter Benchley), Steven Spielberg's 1975 classic gives the events a contemporary setting, and also takes countless other creative liberties. The real-life attacks resulted in four human casualties and one serious injury, but the actual species of shark responsible is still not known with any degree of certainty (though the varieties of shark most commonly implicated are the great white and the bull shark). Just prior to those 1916 attacks, the Jersey shore had been experiencing an inordinate amount of tourist traffic due to an extreme heat wave and a polio outbreak that visitors to the area were attempting to avoid.

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FEARnet Movie Review: 'The Sacrament'

September 25, 2013, 4:00 pm

≫ Next: TV Recap: 'Sleepy Hollow' Episode 102 - 'Blood Moon'

≪ Previous: Ten More Terrifying Films Inspired by Actual Events

The Sacrament You think you know what to expect from Ti West by now. Like many horror movie nutcases, you saw The Innkeepers and/or House of the Devil, and maybe you went back and dug up The Roost and Trigger Man. Hell, you could have even given Cabin Fever 2 a fair shot. (Big mistake.) But if you think you know all of Ti West's tricks, well, prepare to be pleasantly surprised -- because the man's latest indie chiller may just be his darkest, deepest, and freakiest feature so far. It's called The Sacrament, it's one of those new-fangled "found footage" presentations, and it's another shining example of how you can cook up a truly haunting piece of horror with only a handful of cameras, a few good actors, a realistically creepy premise, and some subtle but obvious craftsmanship behind the camera.

Like most of Mr. West's films, The Sacrament demands a little patience from its viewer -- but those who are willing to play along with the filmmaker's style will often be treated to some very satisfying pay-offs. This time around the "slow burn" set-up involves a trio of investigative journalists who are flown to an undisclosed location to help "rescue" a young woman from a mysterious commune. But after Sam (AJ Bowen), Jake (Joe Swanberg), and Patrick (Kentucker Audley) butt heads with gun-toting security guards and then discover that Caroline (Amy Seimetz) doesn't seem to need rescuing, they go about documenting the weird but peaceful Eden Parish commune for their Vice blog.

Things go from tense to calm to legitimately messed up once the communal patriarch known simply as "The Father" agrees to an interview with Sam. Let's just close the plot synopsis right there, reiterate that this is indeed a slow-paced (but not boring) piece of scary storytelling, and perhaps offer the opinion that this is Ti West's darkest, smartest, and most gut-punch memorable film to date. What's often referred to as a "slow burn" could be better described as "waiting for the other shoe to drop," and that's doubly accurate in the case of The Sacrament.

We all know that something terrible is going to happen; we just don't know when, how, or why. As in his last two films, West seems to know precisely what the audience is expecting, and he takes great delight in subverting their wishes and making them wait -- and then wait a little more -- for all hell to break loose. What some may see as "slow and uneventful storytelling" I see as "subtle and masterfully sustained suspense." Not all horror films have to be paced like action movies, so it's nice to note that at least one of genre's more prolific young directors bucks the formulaic trends and makes films for people who aren't in a huge hurry to get to the payoffs.

In addition to fine work from indie stalwarts Bowen, Swanberg, and Seimetz, The Sacrament features a malevolently memorable performance from Gene Jones as "Father." The flick also features a deeply effective musical score from Tyler Bates, some very clever editing for a "faux documentary" film, and some rather novel techniques for "first person" cinematography.

Best of all, The Sacrament offers a believable reason as to why these guys would keep shooting footage once things get dangerously out of control. If you can't give the viewer a good reason as to why the cameras are still rolling once all the found footage freakiness kicks in, your movie probably isn't all that interesting. The Sacrament is not only interesting, but often fascinating, challenging, and (before all is said and done) more than a little disturbing.

Like I said earlier: if you sit down prepared to be a little bit patient (it's not even a very long movie!) there's a good chance you'll appreciate the mystery, the suspense, the shocks, and the payoffs that The Sacrament has to offer. With all due respect to The Innkeepers and House of the Devil -- two very good thrillers -- The Sacrament may be Ti West's angriest, cleverest, and most accomplished feature yet.

READ FEARnet's PARTNER REVIEWS OF THE SACRAMENT

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TV Recap: 'Sleepy Hollow' Episode 102 - 'Blood Moon'

September 25, 2013, 5:00 pm

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Sleepy Hollow Episode 102
“Blood Moon”
Written By: Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman
Directed By: Ken Olin
Original Airdate: 23 September 2013

In This Episode...

Ichabod is visited by Katrina in a dream. She warns him that the first dark spirit will rise with the blood moon. She is “one of us” (a reference to her being a witch that is lost on Ichabod until halfway through the episode) and must be stopped before the blood moon sets.

Andy Dunn is woken from his neck-snapping “nap” in the morgue. His neck dangles behind him at a cartoony angle. The demon sets his head upright on his shoulders (but with some seriously stretched-out skin) and gives him instructions in his demon tongue. Andy pulls an amulet from his throat. “Release who?” he asks. Andy heads to some kind of small metal pedestal outside the church (I think) and places the amulet. It explodes and from the flames is born a charcoal woman with lava seething beneath her “skin.” “The ashes of the pious will ordain your resurrection. Take their flesh and you will reclaim yours,” Andy informs her. This is Cerilda of Abbadon, and we will learn more about her in a little bit. Andy must first lead her to her victims and begins with a man named Jeremy Firth. Andy pulls him over and once he states his full name, Cerilda appears and lights the whole car on fire. Next Andy visits a young boy named Kyle Hemmington. When Kyle gives his first name, Andy is sated and leaves. Cerilda will return that night.

Ichabod and Abbie go to explore Sheriff Corbin’s files, only to discover his office has been cleared out. Everything was moved to the archives, but Abbie doesn’t have access. Ichabod leads her to the basement, takes a pickaxe to the wall, and shows her a secret tunnel that should lead to the annex, and a whole bunch of other places in town. He explains that it was built during the Revolutionary War so that they could move about unnoticed by the Redcoats. An off-shoot of the tunnel contains the bones of witches, who were deemed unworthy of a traditional burial. Arriving in the archives, Ichabod and Abbie find Corbin’s files and start poring over them. Ichabod discovers that the “dark spirit” Katrina referred to was Cerilda of Abbadon. During the war, there had been rumors of the British forming an alliance with a dark coven. A benevolent coven was brought in and used white magic to weaken Cerilda, allowing her capture. As she burned at the stake, she made a statement that she will live again, when “your flesh is my flesh.” The magistrate who oversaw Cerilda’s burning was named Robert Daniel Firth, and he had a son and a daughter. Jeremy Firth and Kyle Hemmington are his direct descendants. Cerilda needs the ashes of these descendants by the end of the blood moon (tonight) so she can return from the dead.

Ichabod and Abbie first head to the Hemmington house. Cerilda has already been there, stalking Kyle, the last heir. They arrive to find him scared but alive. His mother explains that Kyle was adopted - her deceased husband was the last blood heir. He had been cremated (of course) and luckily for Cerilda, his ashes were stored on the bookcase. All that Cerilda is missing is her own remains, so Ichabod and Abbie head back to the tunnels. Andy and Cerilda are already there, Andy digging out her bag of bones and griping about it the whole time. Abbie gives Ichabod a gun and they split up. Ichabod comes upon Cerilda as she is finishing her ritual and becomes whole. He tries to shoot her, but she catches the bullet in her hand and turns it to dust. “Katrina’s fate is sealed, trapped between worlds,” Cerilda says menacingly. Ichabod, now reunited with Abbie, runs and lures Cerilda into another narrow tunnel. He throws his flaming torch, which catches on some old gunpowder leftover from the war, and causes a huge explosion. Cerilda is, I assume, destroyed. Or at least for tonight she is.

Abbie is still haunted by Corbin’s passing, so it is no surprise that she sees his ghost in his office. “Don’t be afraid of number 49. That’s where you’ll find you are not alone.” Forty-nine, as it turns out, is Abbie’s sister, Jenny’s room number at the asylum. She is there for treatment of a “delusional disorder,” and spends her days working out and not taking her medication.

Dig It or Bury It?

We got a ton of info in the pilot, so I feel like this episode was really scaled back. It just wasn’t very interesting. Cerilda came out of nowhere and was gone just as suddenly - very anticlimactic. I’m also not a fan of Abbie being visited by ghosts, but one thing at a time. The show is still finding its footing, so I will be patient.

Douchey Time Traveller Thing to Say

Ichabod discovers he loves donut holes, but is shocked to discover an entire bag cost $4.50. He was then flabbergasted to see the “levy on baked goods” near ten percent.

When Abbie gives Ichabod a gun, she starts to tell him how to use it, and he becomes insulted, having used guns before. Of course, after he shoots Cerilda, he drops the gun. When Abbie asks about it, he believes that the gun was empty because he shot it once. He is shocked to learn that guns can now fire more than once.

And finally, in his motel room, dozens of Post-It notes are taped up all over the room to help him with modern-day conveniences. For example, a note tells him which handles are hot and cold water; and what button to push for coffee. Interestingly, another note tells him how to turn on the TV, but it doesn’t actually explain to him what a TV is.

Prophecies?

It seems like the show is inching towards Grimm-land, by doing their own take on classic myths and stories. Next week, the sandman comes to visit.

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