Lost Girl Episode 301
“Caged Fae”
Written By: Emily Andras
Directed By: Paolo Barzman
Original Airdate: 14 January 2013

In This Episode...

Bo is on a crime spree: robbing banks, beating up thugs, sexually assaulting club doormen. Dyson arrests her - quite publicly - in Trick’s bar. Bo is sent to Hecuba prison, a light fae detention center run by Amazons. This is, of course, all part of an undercover mission to uncover evidence of corruption at the prison. Lauren is Bo’s person on the inside. She coats herself in some sort of skunk serum to disguise her humanity and gives Bo a small stone, once a part of Stonehenge, which will negate the power-nullifying geography the prison is built on. When one of the guards starts picking on Bo’s sweet cellmate Sylvie (in for stealing bread to feed her hungry family) Bo fights back and uses her power to nullify the guard. This gets her in a lot of trouble and the Ilsa-esque warden blatantly gropes Bo until she finds the stone. The guards beat her and leave her to heal the human way.

Kenzi poses as Bo’s white trash girlfriend so she can visit her. Kenzi kisses Bo passionately, which causes her to be ejected - no touching in the visit room. However, it is enough time for Kenzi to pass Bo something tiny in their kiss. The warden has a girl hard-on for Bo, and makes her clean her office lobby on all fours. When left alone, Bo retrieves the gift from Kenzi - a contact lens that obviously has the warden’s retina pattern on it. She uses it to get past the retinal scanner and enter the warden’s office. Inside, she finds another retinal scanner, which opens a secret door. In addition to some storage shelves, there is another door, this one labeled “solitary confinement.” Bo enters, goes down the stairs, and discovers Sylvie in a makeshift apartment. Sylvie was supposed to have been released yesterday, but here she is - and she is very pregnant. She has no recollection of getting pregnant but knows the warden will take her baby. Bo tries to get her out of there, but her water breaks, so she takes Sylvie to the infirmary where Lauren delivers the baby. But the warden shows up and takes the baby to be sold into adoption. She also promises that Bo will be her next breeding prisoner. Bo steals a kiss, and the warden thinks it is because Bo is trying to use her powers. She still doesn’t have the power to suck the juice out of the warden, but she can tell one thing: the warden is a man, which is strictly forbidden in the female-centric Amazonian culture. The guards descend on the warden, as do the prisoners, once Bo releases them.

Also: Bo and Lauren are officially dating. Hale is the interim Ash.

Dig It or Bury It?

So tonight’s episode was a remake of Ilsa, She-Wolf of the S.S. Seriously, this was like every cheesy women-in-prison movie the 1970s and 1980s could pump out. All the inmates wear sexy, bright-red jumpsuits and stiletto heels. The warden wears... wait for it... black latex dominatrix wear, including a corset, thigh-high boots, and carries a riding crop. And because of that cheese factor... it was awesome. Lost Girl doesn’t take itself seriously; I no longer take it seriously; and that equals a surprisingly fun hour of television.

Fae Tales

First, the Amazons. Most people know that these are the feminazis of the mythological world. In Lost Girl, they are firmly anti-male. They will only speak to men once every five years, when they set out to breed. Nine months later, they celebrate the births of their daughters - boys are abandoned in the woods.

Also this week, we are introduced to the Lidderks, trickster fae who can impregnate a woman without her knowing, and her fetus only takes a few days to reach maturity. The warden is a Lidderk, and has been impregnating his/her inmates.

Spritely Humor

Kenzi is worried about Bo: “My best friend is tits-deep in enemy territory.” She wants Hale to pull her out. “Amazons won’t obey me,” Hale tells her.  “Because of your stupid penis?”

Prophecies?

It looks like Bo’s naughty streak wasn’t just an act. She is going off the rails this season.

BBC America’s Ripper Street is well-trod territory. Set in Whitechapel in 1889 during Jack the Ripper’s bloody spree, the story centers on the notorious H Division, which is charged with keeping order in the East London streets. Each episode involves a stand -alone murder and it is up to the police to figure out if the bloodletting is Jack’s handiwork.

Ripper Street stars Matthew Macfadyen (MI-5, Pride and Prejudice), Jerome Flynn (Game of Thrones), Adam Rothenberg (Alcatraz), Myanna Buring (The Twilight Saga, White Heat) and David Dawson (Luther, Secret Diary of a Call Girl).

Fans of “grittier” Jack the Ripper stories, like From Hell, may be interested to know Ripper appears to be a bit bloodier than your average period piece and it’s drawn complaints from UK viewers due to its gore-filled depictions of sex and murder. Watch the first three minutes of the first episode, I Need Light.  Ripper Street premiers BBC America on January 19, 2013 at 9/8c.
 

via BBC America

Have you "Dared To Share Your Scare" yet by posting your video reaction to the new Red-Band 'Evil Dead' trailer? Well, we here at FEARnet wanted to get in on the fun! So meet the lovely Karla. She's from our finance department here at FEARnet and while the majority of the staff here are 'Evil Dead' fanatics, Karla is a self-declared "Twi-mom" and had yet to see the new trailer, or anything from any of the Evil Dead movies for that matter. So, get ready to see her first reaction to 'Evil Dead' embedded below for your viewing pleasure! This is a sponsored endorsement for Evil Dead, which hits theaters April 12th! Make sure to "Dare To Share Your Scare" on the official movie site for 'Evil Dead' and get more updates via the official 'Evil Dead' Facebook page.

Lucky McKee’s film May is a wonderful story of a lovely young girl, with a bit of a doll fetish, who just can't seem to connect with other people in normal ways.  Her only true friend is a doll named Suzie made by her mother.

As if May wasn’t already destined to be messed up growing up with a mom who is a doll maker, her mother was kind enough to share some advice that her daughter took a little too much to heart, “If you can’t find a friend, make one!” You can imagine what happens. Part-Frankenstein and part-Carrie, May is endearingly psychotic and heart-wrenchingly lonely as she goes in search of the perfect best friend.

Film:May

Director: Lucky McKee

Year: 2002

Lies They Tell: May blames a lot of her problems on her doll Suzie, but it’s not Suzie’s fault. After all, she’s just a doll sitting all alone in a glass case. Watching, listening, judging, staring, criticizing … Let’s face it, Suzie is a total jerk and she totally deserved what she got at the school for the blind, when those kids smashed her up and left the school a bloody mess.

Devilish Dolly Moment: In the end, Suzie may have been destroyed, but her influence lives on. Heeding her mother's words, May dons a roughly -sewn-together dress, which looks a lot like one of Suzie’s, and goes in search of the perfect parts to make another best friend.

Pale Preachers begins with a note from some guys named Finch, Floyd, and Fishboy Lennie, written to their cousin Mal. The note informs Mal that their Grandma Callie is dead, Mal’s sister Lulabelle is the new "witchy woman" of Moon County, and that Mal's help is needed ASAP, so he's to meet them at “that crummy strip joint up the road.”

The four men are not really cousins, and soon enough it's told that Mal and Lulabelle are not really brother and sister. (Good thing, too, as they eventually became lovers.) Also, Fishboy Lennie doesn't have lips, but he does have needle-sharp teeth and flippers, and he's a good cook. He also spends much of his time being carried around in a duffel bag by one of his "cousins."

Mal is being brought home to the swamps of Moon County because Grandma Callie raised him up in the same "witchy ways" that Lulabelle was brought up in - difference is, as soon as Mal got old enough, he ditched all that in an effort to live a life guided by his decisions rather than someone else's. Still, he's got the gift, and right now Moon County needs all the help it can get. The dead are rising - out of the muck, out of shallow graves and sinkholes and deep green waters - and they are wreaking havoc.

Hell yes, this is a Tom Piccirilli book.

Piccirilli, who in 2012 released one of his best books to date (The Last Kind Words) before entering into a no-holds-barred streetfight with brain cancer (which he, thankfully, appears to be winning handily), has one of the most unique voices in genre fiction today, and it's great to see him return to his horror roots after concentrating on crime fiction for the last few years. It's clear he enjoyed the homecoming as well; Pale Preachers is well-stocked with his trademark brand of dark humor, quirky characters, shocking violence and some of the best dialogue this side of a Quentin Tarantino film.

As is usually the case with Piccirilli's work, he may be looking at a familiar trope like zombies, but he’s determined to twist said trope into some fresh, unfamiliar shapes. Here, he cherry-picks the tried-and-true zombie concepts to whip up a new breed of undead. These zombies are a little faster and a little smarter than what you might expect, and they might be here because somebody thought that magic and science would make good bedfellows. They might also be the kind of vessel that certain malevolent forces would snatch up to use for their own purposes, but I’m going to step aside and let Piccirilli fill you in on all of that.

Pale Preachers is one of those books that you gobble down in one breathless session, amazed at the amount of story that’s packed into its compact page count, thoroughly satisfied with the tale that’s been told yet mad that there’s not a hundred more pages just like it. It’s another triumph for the “Print Is Dead” line of zombie books from Creeping Hemlock Press, and another terrific notch in Tom Piccirilli’s belt.

Order Pale Preachers by Tom Piccirilli.

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.

After many, ahem twenty-two, years I’ve started watching the Twin Peaks series again, and as anyone who is a fan knows, it completely holds up. I find I am in the midst of a renewed obsession, having purchased Twin Peaks tee from Threadless to wear on Twin Peaks night and a stuffed log pillow to squeeze during the scary parts.  These tarot cards by British artist Claire Laffer are going to make a nice addition to my growing collection.

Laffer’s original prints are based on the Major Arcana cards from the Rider Waite tarot deck and each card is hand stamped with vintage postcard design and signed, titled, and numbered. Each card also comes with a decorated envelope. I’ve included two of my favorites below, but the set features all of the major characters.

$3.12 each on Etsy.com
 

It may not seem like it, but 2012 was actually a pretty good year for horror films. (Check this piece I did for Twitch.) It just wasn't a very good year for Hollywood horror flicks. If you chose to focus on imports and indies, however, there was no shortage of quality scary flicks worth watching. But like all the best nerds, horror nerds want to know what's coming up NEXT! So I ran through the calendar and put together a horror cinema preview for 2013. I've actually seen a few of these (thank you, film festivals) and will include a link to my review when they come up.

JANUARY

Texas Chainsaw 3D (Lionsgate) -- Billed as a direct sequel to the original film, which means it wants us to ignore some pretty crappy sequels, this 3D experiment offers the lovely Alexandra Daddario as Leatherface's latest quarry. Expect lots of gore and buzzing saws RIGHT UP IN YO GRILL. (FEARnet's Texas Chainsaw 3D Review)

Crawlspace (IFC) -- A military platoon storms a secret science facility -- and that's never a good idea. (FEARnet's Crawlspace Review)

A Haunted House (Open Road) -- Is it too late for a feature-length slapstick parody of Paranormal Activity (Part 1)?!? I think it probably is. Marlon Wayans says hell no.

Storage 24 (Magnolia) -- A monster is loose in a... storage rental facility.

Mama (Universal) -- The trailer looks pretty conventional, but anything with Guillermo del Toro's name on it earns a benefit of the doubt in my book. It's about a couple who must look over their mysterious nieces after they've been missing for five long years.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (Paramount) -- If you've been to the movies in the past five months, you've seen this trailer. It looks broad, silly, and sort of amusing. Will it be kinda fun like Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter or will it be insufferably obnoxious like Van Helsing? (I'll let you know.)

Smiley (AMC) -- Urban legends, a smiley-faced slasher, and an appreciable body count. Sounds half watchable to me.

John Dies at the End (Magnolia) -- The almost indescribable cult novel by David Wong becomes a movie directed by the man who gave us Phantasm, The Beastmaster, and Bubba Ho-tep. Expect a mind-bomb of some sort.

FEBRUARY

The Haunting in Connecticut 2: The Ghosts of Georgia (Lionsgate) -- OK, so it's a weird title. Doesn't mean there might not be some legitimate chills in another tale of creepy occult possession.

Warm Bodies (Summit) -- What looks like it could be a zombie version of Twilight (shudder) could actually be a very cool film. Or perhaps I'm just a big fan of director John Levine (All the Boys Love Mandy Lane). A strong cast, which include Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, and John Malkovich, certainly doesn't hurt.

Dark Skies (Dimension) -- The trailer starts out like a pretty standard haunted house idea... but it's not ghosts! It's something space-related! As a big fan of films that try to combine horror and science-fiction, I'm slightly intrigued.

The Factory (WB) -- John Cusack and Dallas Roberts chase a serial killer. Could be more of a police thriller than a horror flick but I just liked the cast.

Croczilla (IPA) -- A Chinese import that used to be called "Million Dollar Crocodile." Check out the DVD cover for additional chuckles.

Lake Placid: The Final Chapter (SyFy) -- Sounds like a promise. This is the fourth chapter, for those keeping score.

Spiders (Millennium) -- It's actually called Spiders 3D and it's from the director of The Gate. Yes, that The Gate. Sign me up.

MARCH

The Last Exorcism Part II (CBS) -- New directors, new writers, but the poor central gal (Ashley Bell) is still the same, and she's not nearly done exorcising yet.

The ABCs of Death (Magnet) -- 26 shorts from 26 genre directors in one outrageous gross package. Sound like fun?


Stoker (Fox Searchlight) -- Nope, not a biopic about Dracula author Bram Stoker. This one's a psychological thriller about a dead dad and a creepy uncle. Damn good cast, too.

Phantom (RCR) -- Ed Harris as an emotionally crippled Russian sub captain who plans to nuke... someone? Sign me up. Also "on board" (ha!) are David Duchovny, William Fichtner, Jason Beghe, and Lance Henriksen. Like that doesn't sound fun.

The Call (Sony) -- Halle Berry stars as an emergency operator who must confront... Anyway, Brad Anderson directed it. Yeah. Session 9 / The Mechanic Brad Anderson. Now I demand to see it.

APRIL

Jurassic Park 3-D (Universal) -- One of the most entertaining adventure flicks of the past several decades definitely does have some horror DNA in its make-up. Don't you dare try and tell me it doesn't.

Evil Dead (Sony) -- It's not always a guarantee of quality when the original producer returns for the remake, but in the case of Evil Dead, well, let's just say that Sam Raimi and his team have earned a benefit of the doubt from yours truly. The most recent trailer indicates that this will be a gut-punch avalanche of graphic, visceral horror -- and that sure sounds like a good time to me.

Scary Movie 5 (Dimension) -- Another spoof in which horror scenes from two years ago are re-enacted by people acting like drunks at an insurance office party. But hey, it might be funny. The director and the writers have certainly proven their spoof skills elsewhere.

The Purge (Universal) -- A home invasion thriller with a futuristic twist: the U.S. government allows all illegal activity for a 12-hour period. Dark. It doesn't hurt that the heroes are played by Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey.

The Lords of Salem (Anchor Bay) -- While I do not like any of Rob Zombie's previous films, hope always springs anew when another flick pops up. This one's a tale about ancient witches who visit harm upon modern folks. Sounds compelling enough.

Black Rock (LD) -- Three ladies withstand some horrific violence on an isolated island, and then have to decide between escape and revenge.

JUNE

Monsters University (Disney) -- Fine, so it's not exactly horror but it's ABOUT monsters! And "scaring" is a key plot point. Meh, I'm including it anyway. I love the first Monsters Inc. so much.

World War Z (Paramount) -- One of the best zombie "novels" ever written has (slowly) become one of the most troubled film productions in three decades. Pages have been written on the deviation from the source material, the super-spiraling budget, and endless production problems -- but none of that really matters if the movie is any good. Right?

JULY

Pacific Rim (WB) -- Giant robots vs. giant monsters. Directed by Guillermo del Toro. Enough said. I'd pay $50 to see this movie tonight.

The Conjuring (WB) -- Haunted farm flick from the director of Saw, Dead Silence, and Insidious. That's good enough for me. (Bonus: Vera Farmiga)

R.I.P.D. (Universal) -- Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Bacon, and Jeff Bridges in an action/horror/comedy mash-up based on a very well-regarded comic book. I see nothing wrong with that.

AUGUST

You're Next (Lionsgate) -- A family reunites... for mayhem! (FEARnet's You're Next Review)

Insidious Chapter 2 (Sony) -- Wan, Whannell, and the whole cast are back for another trip to... you know where.

SEPTEMBER

I, Frankenstein (Lionsgate) -- Too early to tell, but it sounds a bit like Underworld only with Frankenstein's Monster instead of a stunning brunette in a leather jumpsuit.

The Tomb -- Sounds like a horror flick! It's not. It's a prison escape action flick starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. You know you'll see it.

OCTOBER

Paranoia (Relativity) -- Sounds more like an "evil boss" thriller than a horror movie but Harrison Ford is in it so I threw it in.

Haunt (Fox) -- Two teenagers explore a haunted house. I think.

Carrie (Sony) -- It was only a matter of time before we got another version of Stephen King's novel and/or Brian de Palma's adaptation, and it looks like they hired some solid filmmakers for the job. Unfortunately it's rarely a good thing when a film gets an 8-month delay. As this one recently did.

Paranormal Activity 5 (Paramount) -- All we know for sure is that it will something paranormal and some activity. Also video cameras.

The Seventh Son (WB) -- Actually a family-style adventure film, but it seems to have "evil spirits" in it, so that might qualify it.

Specific Date TBA

Aftershock -- Terrible things happen to people after a horrific earthquake. (FEARnet's Aftershock Review)

American Mary -- An aspiring surgeon sees her career take a turn for the... morbid. (FEARnet's American Mary Review)

Antiviral -- A disturbing piece of speculation fiction about the future of celebrity, obsession, and designer diseases. (FEARnet's Anitiviral Review)

Cockneys vs. Zombies -- More comedy than horror, but it's funny so who cares? (FEARnet Cockneys vs. Zombies Review)

Come Out and Play -- Remake of the cult kinda-classic "Who Can Kill a Child?" (FEARnet's Come Out and Play Review)

Errors of the Human Body -- Would make for an interesting double feature with Antiviral. (FEARnet's Errors of the Human Body Review)

Grabbers -- Irish folks discover that only alcohol can stop some invading monsters. (FEARnet's Grabbers Review)

The Host 2 -- The giant Korean monster is back! Soon, we hope.

Maniac -- Remake of the infamous 1980 William Lusting grindhouser. (FEARnet's Maniac Review)

Remnants -- Not all apocalypses involve zombies. (FEARnet's Remnants Review)

Resolution -- A sly and cerebral little horror deconstruction. (FEARnet's Resolution Review)

S-V/H/S -- Yep, they made another V/H/S while nobody was looking!

Sawney: Flesh of Man -- Enjoyably splattery '80s-esque slasher thriller earns points for "urban legend" accuracy. (FEARnet's Sawney: Flesh of Man Review)

The Seasoning House -- A bleak and unforgiving house indeed. (FEARnet's The Seasoning House Review)

Toad Road -- Vague, dry, and sorta frustrating. I still liked it. (FEARnet's Toad Road Review)

Tower Block -- A mad sniper does his thing. More suspense than horror but it works. (FEARnet's Tower Block Review)

In closing, let us all remember that in the horror genre, some of the very best films come out of the indie/foreign/festival circuit, so please do not consider what you've just read a "complete" list. Hit us up at @FEARnet / @scottEweinberg if we left out some 2013 titles you're looking forward to.

Face Off Episode 401
“Make It Reign”
Original Airdate: 15 January 2013

In This Episode...

A new year, a new group of artists. The game started aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, where the group was assigned a spotlight challenge: pick a crown from a selection before them, then create a queen based on it. Michael Westmore judged this competition (he also joins the season as a mentor.) Anthony won for a blue cat-like queen that Michael found to be camera ready. Anthony gained immunity for the episode.

For the foundation challenge, the contestants are randomly paired up and are tasked to create a goblin king. Each must be themed around a different geological feature. Actor John Rhys-Davies was the guest judge.

The Creations

Alam and Chris’s theme was the forest. They created a tree man with a lot of details.

Katie and House created an arctic king. There was nothing nothing about it that stood out, either good or bad.

Michael and Troy made a volcano king. The volcanic “crown” looked more like a red and black dunce cap (Ve described it as a clown hat.) John thought it looked like two guys divided the work and brought together the individual pieces at the end, with hardly a word of discussion. Neville felt that every decision they made was wrong.

Jenna and Eric F. made a desert king with a very scary, desiccated face sculpt. Glenn felt they demonstrated exceptional teamwork; Ve loved the attention to detail and how all the little details were tied together with gold.

Alex and Wayne created a swamp king with an alligator theme. Unfortunately, it didn’t really bear any resemblance to an alligator. The sculpt wasn’t bad, but the paint job was atrocious. There is good reason for that: Alex and Wayne only allowed 40 minutes for paint, a fact that offends all the judges. Glenn also found that their team had the most inequitable division of labor.

Anthony and Meagan created a mountain king. Neville thought they did an “exceptional” job sculpting a natural formation. Glenn was very impressed with the paint job.

Eric Z. and Autumn had a jungle theme, and made their king a tiki king. Ve liked that the wood grain was incorporated into the musculature; Neville liked that they turned tree knots into the ears. There were lots of little, well thought-out details.

The Verdict?

Anthony and Meagan were named the top team, with Anthony chosen as winner. Troy was sent home for a very disappointing face sculpt.

Dig It or Bury It?

The talent gets greater every season, and this group is no exception. I liked the regal theme, the geographic twist, and for the most part, the creations. Tonight’s episode was 90 minutes; luckily the extended time was just for tonight. There is absolutely no need for this show to be 90 minutes.

Prophecies?

Next week the contestants must make a superhero worthy of DC Comics.

This Friday, Fringe comes to an end after five gloriously weird seasons. I am dying for the conclusion, but anxious at the idea of it being over. We've got a few clips for you as you count down the hours to the finale. First is a really emotional and well-done trailer for the final episode. Next are two very different clips: one is the Fringe team frantically trying to figure out where Michael is; the other is Michael being interrogated by Windmark - to no avail.

The two-hour series finale of Fringe airs January 18th at 8pm on Fox.

People, when Satan has great plans for you, you can’t run from him.  This new trailer for The Last Exorcism Part II proves that.

Check out the clip where we see Nell Sweetzer haunted by an unknown entity and subjected to a multi-faith exorcism. The trailer has a classic hysterical female quality to it. All the men in Nell's life want to help her, but all of all them also want to do her harm, and she doesn't know who to trust.

See the poster, first trailer and read the synopsis below:

Continuing where the first film left off, Nell Sweetzer (Ashley Bell) is found terrified and alone in rural Louisiana. Back in the relative safety of New Orleans, Nell realizes that she can't remember entire portions of the previous months only that she is the last surviving member of her family. Just as Nell begins the difficult process of starting a new life, the evil force that once possessed her is back with other, unimaginably horrific plans that mean her last exorcism was just the beginning.
 

It’s tough to believe SXSW is almost upon us, but the festival starts March 8 and the line-up is looking good.  The event has a history of premiering some great titles and this year is no different.

Fede Alvarez’s much-anticipated remake of Evil Dead will have its world premiere at the festival. Opening night features the Incredible Burt Wonderstone, starring Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi as Vegas magicians. Buscemi’s blond wig alone is reason enough to see this movie. Another highlight is the panel, Bates Motel: Story to Screen with Carlton Cuse, which will feature a first look at the pilot for Bates Motel.

Still waiting on the Midnighters line-up to see what else is in store genre-wise.

See the full list of events below and check the website for more info.

The 2013 SXSW Film Festival will feature:

Downloaded (World Premiere)
Director: Alex Winter
Downloaded is a documentary that explores the rise and fall of Napster and the birth of the digital revolution. It's about the teens that helped start this revolution, and the artists and industries who continue to be impacted by it.

Drinking Buddies (World Premiere)
Director/Screenwriter: Joe Swanberg
Weekend trips, office parties, late night conversations, drinking on the job, marriage pressure, biological clocks, holding eye contact a second too long… you know what makes the line between "friends" and "more than friends" really blurry?  Beer.
Cast: Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Ron Livingston

Everyone's Going to Die (World Premiere)
Director/Screenwriter: Jones
A modern British story about coming home, getting by and the redemptive power of feeling you're not alone. A story where porn hotlines rub shoulders with sexy beavers on rollerskates; where the past is laid to rest, two lives are changed and nobody, finally, is going to die.
Cast: Nora Tschirner, Rob Knighton, Kellie Shirley, Madeline Duggan (United Kingdom)

Evil Dead (World Premiere)
Director: Fede Alvarez, Screenwriter: Fede Alvarez & Rodo Sayagues
Five friends, holed up in a remote cabin, discover a Book of the Dead that unwittingly summons up dormant demons, which possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left to fight for survival.
Cast: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmore

Good Ol' Freda (World Premiere)
Director: Ryan White
Good Ol’ Freda tells the story of Freda Kelly, a shy Liverpudlian teenager asked to work for a young local band hoping to make it big: The Beatles. Their loyal secretary from beginning to end, Freda tells her tales for the first time in 50 years.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (World Premiere)
Director: Don Scardino, Story by Chad Kultgen & Tyler Mitchell and Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley. Screenplay by Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley
As superstar Vegas magicians and former best friends Burt and Anton grow to secretly loathe each other, their long-time act implodes, allowing an ambitious rival street performer the big break he’s been waiting for.  Cast: Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde, with Alan Arkin, James Gandolfini and Jim Carrey

Spring Breakers (U.S. Premiere)
Director/Screenwriter: Harmony Korine
Four college girls who land in jail after robbing a restaurant in order to fund their spring break vacation find themselves bailed out by a drug and arms dealer who wants them to do some dirty work. Cast: James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine

In addition to nine full days of film screenings, SXSW Film will ultimately feature over 150 informative and entertaining featured Conversations, panels, workshops and mentor sessions. Major additions to the 2013 Conference include:

•    A Conversation with Matthew McConaughey - An in-depth discussion with the incredibly fascinating actor, whose career continues to evolve in exciting and unexpected ways, including his bold choices with recent projects like Magic Mike, Killer Joe, Bernie and Mud.

•    Humanizing Heroes: Storytelling Beyond Sports - The leading authorities behind some of today's most notable sports films, Connor Schell (ESPN Films), Ken Rodgers (NFL Films) and Ross Greenburg (Ross Greenburg Productions), discuss the evolution of storytelling in sports filmmaking, its influence on pop culture and its continued resonance across all cultures and backgrounds.

•    Bates Motel: Story to Screen with Carlton Cuse – In a Special Event combining the SXSW Film Festival and Conference in one, attendees will get an exclusive first look at the pilot of Bates Motel, the thrilling new series from A&E. Following the screening, Executive Producer Carlton Cuse (Lost) will sit down with A&E Marketing EVP Guy Slattery for an inside look and Q&A on the process for bringing this contemporary prequel to life.

•    Jeffrey Tambor’s Acting Workshop - Jeffrey Tambor continues the tradition of his much loved acting and life workshop by returning to SXSW Film 2013. Part one-man show, part seminar, part question and answer and endlessly entertaining, Jeffrey’s hilarious and empowering presentation inspires the viewer to discover the artist within.

Hollywood darling Emma Stone may be the first to check into Guillermo del Toro’s haunted house picture, Crimson Peak.  Report has it that Stone is in negotiations to star in the ghostly tale penned by Del Toro and co-writer Lucinda Coxon.

Emma Stone is no stranger to genre films, having starred and really made a name for herself in Ruben Fleischer’s Zombieland.

In more del Toro-related news,Mama opens this weekend and the score by composer Fernando Velazquez, will be available for digital download. Velazquez has scored a number of genre films including The Impossible, Devil, and The Orphanage.

You can listen to a track here. Play it as background music and it makes any activity that much spookier. The entire score is available digitally via iTunes or Amazon.

via Variety and THR

Michael Bailey is the author of the collection Scales and Petals, and he is the editor of a new anthology titled Chiral Mad.Chiral gathers together some of the finest names in horror, as well as some newer writers, and has been well-received. For FEARnet, Michael explains the concept behind Chiral Mad and his love for psychological horror.

You have a new anthology out, Chiral Mad. What's the theme and what does the title mean?
Chiral Mad is an anthology of psychological horror. The theme can be derived from the title. Chirality is a word used to describe an object incapable of superimposing onto its mirror image. In fiction, this can flower many original concepts, which was the intention. What is chiral? Think hands and put them together. Hands look similar, one able to press against the other symmetrically, but they have idiosyncrasies setting them apart: length, scars, fingerprints, any number of things. Reflections are another example. A mirror image may seem identical, but one’s left is the other’s right in the refection. The word mad also has numerous interpretations, whether it’s derangement, insanity, dementia, rage, or all sorts of irrationalities. Put the two words together, chiral and mad, and there’s an entire literary world to explore.

Which authors are featured?
Brilliant writers fill this anthology. I have personally met 16 of the 28 contributors of Chiral Mad and can attest to this. These are extraordinary individuals. The anthology features an introduction by legend Thomas F. Monteleone and includes horror greats like Jack Ketchum, Gary A. Braunbeck, Gene O’Neill, Jeff Strand, Gord Rollo and Gary McMahon, as well as names you will eventually recognize, such as Erik T. Johnson, John Palisano, P. Gardner Goldsmith, Christian A. Larsen, Jon Michael Kelley and many more. In fact, you need to know the rest of their names: Ian Shoebridge, Andrew Hook, Monica J. O’Rourke, Amanda Ottino, Chris Hertz, David Hearn, Barry Jay Kaplan, Eric J. Guignard, Julie Stipes, Patrick O’Neill, A.A. Garrison, Aaron J. French, Meghan Arcuri, Patrick Lacey, R.B. Payne and Pat R. Steiner. That should cover it. Seek out their work.

How has the anthology been received so far?
Everyone wants to get their hands on Chiral Mad. All proceeds from the anthology go to Down syndrome charities, every cent, so the attention is a blessing. While people are appreciating the cause, most also seem to think it’s a damn fine book. The anthology has received nothing but praise from reviewers at Kirkus, Hellnotes, Horror World, Rue Morgue, and the San Francisco Book Review, with more reviews on the way. The book was an Honorable Mention at the Halloween Book Festival, an Award-finalist for USA Book News' USA Best Book Awards (both in Fiction: Anthologies and Cover Design), Winner at the London Book Festival (compilations / anthologies), and is currently nominated for Anthology of the Year by This is Horror. Word of mouth is strong for this one. Most importantly, the book is raising a lot of money and awareness for Down syndrome.

How did this all come together?
Chiral Mad is a follow-up to Pellucid Lunacy, the first charity anthology by Written Backwards. With Chiral Mad, I handled things a bit differently with submissions, seeking out the 20 whose work appeared in the first book, as well as 20 well-respected horror authors. I provided information about the cause, the theme, and then magic happened. Nearly everyone invited to write for the anthology responded. After securing a dozen stories and a decent maybe pile, I opened submissions to the public and received about 200. A teaser book trailer and clever viral marketing garnered over 200 more. I had a lot of material to work with, enough to warrant expanding the anthology from 20 stories to 28. I had some big names in horror fiction knocking at my submissions door. Those who submitted to Chiral Mad are already wanting to contribute to a follow-up anthology.

Your work deals a lot with the "dark side" of the mind. Can you elaborate a bit on that?
The world is unfortunately littered with dangerous people, which is why I primarily write and publish psychological horror. Mainstream horror monster tropes (zombies, vampires, werewolves, haunted houses, etc.) are fun, but they are not as frightening as the real monsters hiding in plain sight. I always use the analogy of a little girl holding a knife (could be your daughter or some random girl), and a boogeyman, and which would scare you most if visiting your bedside in the middle of the night. The answer is the little girl, of course, because she can be real. The horror is hidden in her mind. Human emotion and psychological imbalance, and nastier things responsible for forming the "dark side" of one’s mind, shape the ugliest of monsters living amongst us.

Of all your works, which do you think would best translate to screen?
Honestly, none of them, which is probably a horrible thing to mention to FEARnet. My novels are nonlinear with multiple characters and viewpoints smashed together like puzzle pieces to compose rather complex narratives of psychological horror. This style would be difficult to adapt to screen, unless handled by Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia), or the Wachowskis (Cloud Atlas), or even Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation). My work in progress, a short novel called Psychotropic Dragon, would translate better to screen, or perhaps some of my short fiction. Who knows? Maybe someone out there is willing to adapt my work.

What others works do you currently have out?
The backlist includes the novels Palindrome Hannah and Phoenix Rose, a short story and poetry collection, Scales and Petals, and my first edited charity anthology, Pellucid Lunacy. These four books have resulted in two International Book Awards, two USA Book News Best Books Awards, the Kirkus Star (awarded to books of remarkable merit), and an Independent Publisher Book Awards coin ticker to slap on the covers of my first novel. All four titles are currently available in trade paperback and Kindle format. Two of my favorite short stories, Bootstrap / The Binds of Lasolastica (inspired by Mary Shelley and Michael Crichton) and the multilingual Primal Tongue (inspired by and featuring some Ray Bradbury), are featured in the Zippered Flesh anthologies by Smart Rhino Publications.

What else are you working on?
Psychotropic Dragon is first on my list to complete. I have battled this novel for four years (fourteen if you consider conception), so it’s time to get this book in print. Rights will revert back to me for the short fiction and poetry published over the last few years, so a second collection, Inkblots and Blood Spots, is currently in the works. I will also edit a third charity anthology later this year, but will most likely hold off on writing short fiction for a while to focus on the bigger projects.

Anything else you want to add?
I have fortunately had the opportunity to work with many horror writers over the years, and have hung out with most on a more personal level at conferences and whatnot. We are all a bit crazy in the head because we are creators delving in the dark, but we are a close bunch and appreciate one another. Horror gets a bad rap outside of the horror world. Whether it’s Stephen King, Jack Ketchum or Jill Newcomer, horror writers are good people. We may have dark minds, but we have warm hearts, and it shows when we join forces to create something beautiful for a good cause, such as Chiral Mad.

Dumplings. Who doesn’t like them? Steamed or friend, they’re delicious and delicate dough filled with scrumptious delights. Unless, they are made by Aunt Mei. Her dumplings are a bit more diabolical in nature, and her secret ingredients are killer.

Fruit Chan’s film about dumplings whose filling contains the secret to eternal youth was adapted from a short. It’s horror exploits a number of cultural taboos and explores obsession with youth, failing marriage, explicit and implicit racism, and abortion.

Movie:Dumplings (Gaau ji)

Year: 2004

Deadly Recipe: How to put this delicately … ok, there’s no way. The dumplings are filled with aborted fetuses.  Apparently, they work wonders on the skin and the libido. Now you know.

Chef: Aunt Mei. Keeper of the dumplings, Aunt Mei is very open about her “secret” filling, which keeps her looking half her age. Like any auntie, she wants to take care of the people who enter her kitchen and her sweetness and openness are in stark contrast to the horrors she’s cooking.

Culinary Kill: Well, there are only a few ways to get the filling and they are pretty horrific.  On top of that, these dumplings cause a crazed sexual impulse in the people who eat them.

Leftovers: Probably one of the grossest things in this movie, and there are a few, is the sound of the dumplings being eaten. Fruit Chan exploits the viewers knowledge of what’s in the filling with a munching and slurping sound that triggers a gag reflex.
 

Lloyd Kaufman, the founder of Troma Entertainment (who brought us such cinematic delicacies as Tromeo and Juliet, Toxic Avenger, and Class of Nuke 'Em High) will take part in one of Reddit's famous AMA sessions. Normally that AMA stands for "Ask Me Anything," by Kaufman doesn't hang like that. He says, "Axe Me Anything!"

The AMA will also aim to promote his upcoming documentary, Occupy Cannes, in which Kaufman and the Troma team attempt to premiere a truly independent film at the increasingly non-independent film fest.

The AMA will take place at 1pm ET on January 17th at Reddit.com

This Friday marks the final episode of Fox’s Fringe with a two-hour “event.” I love Fringe, and while I love that they are getting the proper send-off, I am devastated to see it go.

Looking back, Fringe is one of those shows that is difficult to pull out a handful of “must see” episodes. If you are a fan, you have seen them. If you haven’t been watching the show, there is no “catching up” - you’ve got to watch it from the beginning. The show started out as a mix of monster-of-the-week procedural, but when J.H. Wyman and Jeff Pinker took over the reigns in season two, they brought in a dense and complex mythology that made the fans obsess happily, but made it difficult to tune in casually.

My hope with this list is to set up the important moments in the life of Fringe; the wackiest, the most interesting, and hopefully the stuff that will cause non-viewers to seek it out on DVD. It is in no way exhaustive; just a selection of some of the episodes that stand out most to me.

The Fringe series finale airs as a two-hour special on January 18th at 8pm on Fox.

Episode 120 - “There’s More Than One of Everything”

The season one finale was a mind blower, as it was the first to take us into the alternate universe, which became an integral part of the mythology of Fringe.

Episode 216 - “Peter”

The first episode to really employ time travel, this one took us back to the 1980s, when Walter was a mad scientist instead of just being mad. It is here that we learn the truth about Peter’s death and Walter’s obsession with bringing him back - even if it meant kidnapping him from a parallel universe. In addition to the important plot points, setting the episode in the 1980s afforded the chance to use many fun retro references, including an 8-bit credit sequence.

Episode 218 - “White Tulip”

The first “mythalone” episode - a phrase coined by showrunner Joel Wyman to describe an episode that both new viewers and hardcore fans could enjoy - is often considered the finest, most poignant single episode in all of Fringe’s 100 episodes. The story involves another mad scientist (played by guest star Peter Weller) who himself is working on time travel. It leads to a sincere “heart-to-heart” among the two scientists, with themes of redemption and forgiveness. The white tulip is a symbol of forgiveness and something that is a recurring thread throughout the series (most recently turning up in episode 518.)

Episode 220 - “Brown Betty”

In the last few years, everyone has done musical episodes - to varying effectiveness. But Fringe may be the first genre series to do a musical episode since Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s 2001 episode, “Once More With Feeling.” And they did it well. Essentially a standalone episode, Walter smokes an extra-special batch of marijuana he grew called Brown Betty - and is then asked to babysit Olivia’s niece, Ella. He spins for her a noir tale, casting Olivia as the lead detective in Ella’s mother’s murder.

It is interesting to note that this episode was actually the 19th of the season, but the 20th to air (due to a season one holdover.) As you will see below, beginning with “Brown Betty,” the producers used the 19th episode of each season as a “play” episode.

Episode 309 - “Marionette”

When the episode first aired, I had this to say: “Hands down, my favorite episode of Fringe ever.  It had everything: Passion! Betrayal! Zombies! Urban legends come to life!” And it was certainly one of the more gruesome episodes. A depressed 17-year-old ballerina kills herself and her mother donates her organs. A man in her therapy group, desperate to give her one more chance, has been stealing the organs in hopes of bringing the ballerina back to life. Add onto this the Fringe science of keeping people alive without, say, a heart, and the fact that he hands the dancer’s corpse like a gruesome marionette, and this episode has pretty much everything you could ever want.

Episode 319 - “Lysergic Acid Diethylamide”

William Bell’s consciousness has taken up residency within Olivia, and time to separate them is running out. Walter being, well, Walter, he feels the best was to separate them is to go into her mind - and that will require Walter-sized doses of LSD. Peter trips for the first time; Broyles trips on accident, and the bulk of the episode is animated. It’s pure wackiness as only Fringe can do.

Episode 419 - “Letters of Transit”

This episode took place in the year 2036 and was clearly a setup for a fifth season, despite the fact that, at the time that this episode was shot, most critics and analysts didn’t think Fringe would make it to a fifth season. Olivia wasn’t in this episode, and Peter doesn’t show up until the end. Instead we follow a young, blonde Fringe agent named Etta - who is clearly Olivia and Peter’s daughter, even though that reveal doesn’t come until the last scene - and the beginning of the Observers invasion. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of this episode, but it was truly important to the run of the series. Plus, after being frozen in amber for 20 years, Walter comes out with even more holes in his Swiss cheese brain, which makes him even more childlike and ridiculous.

Episode 509 - “Black Blotter”

Since Fringe wouldn’t have an episode 19 in its final season, they put a fair amount of playful weirdness into episode nine - but not the whole episode. On this leg of their scavenger hunt, Peter, Olivia, and Walter come across a young boy who had been hidden away decades ago by Walter and Donald. The boy, Michael, has not aged; in fact, he is an Observer child, the only one they’ve ever seen. Michael’s caregivers do not believe that they are the ones they have been waiting for, and ask for the password, which only Walter has. He can’t remember, but “luckily’ he dropped acid before heading out, and retrieves the password from his cracked brain via a Monty Python animation.

Supernatural Episode 810
“Torn and Frayed”
Written By: Jenny Klein
Directed By: Robert Singer
Original Airdate: 16 January 2013

In This Episode...

Sam is still in Texas. Dean shows up at his motel room with apologies that Sam doesn’t want to hear. He is less mad about the Benny thing, and more mad that Dean used his feelings for Amelia against him. So Dean leaves and things are strained. Later that night, another knock at the door surprises Sam. But this isn’t Dean - it is Amelia. She needed to be sure it was really him she saw at the bar - and peeking in her window. They end up in bed together, and Amelia admits that, while Don loves her and is good to her, she cannot stop thinking about Sam. They decide to take some time, to really think about what they want, and if they are in, they will meet back at the motel in two days.

Castiel is hovering over Dean, scaring the crap out of him when he wakes from a nap in the cabin. Cas is there to find Samandrial (aka Alfie, the hot dog angel. I’m going to call him Alfie because it is easier to spell) unknowingly at Naomi’s directive. He has turned his angel radio back on, and hears Alfie’s screams as Crowley’s men are torturing him. An angel’s scream tends to cause a ripple of weird. Somehow, a man being blasted by an exploding, burning bush signaled demon activity, and the pair head to Nebraska. After visits to nine abandoned factories, they finally find one that is guarded by demons disguised as bums. Cas wants to get Sam, but Dean has a “better” idea. They find Kevin sealed up in an ancient docked cargo boat , working diligently to decode the demon tablet - and not having a good time of it. Dean wants Kevin to build some more demon TNT, but the supplies are hard to come by. Cas volunteers to go retrieve the supplies, but instead he returns with Sam - who clearly doesn’t want to be there, but his sense of duty overrules.

Meanwhile, at the factory, Viggo has been torturing Alfie. Alfie manages to push the ice pick out of his brain, which had been blocking his angel radio. When Viggo discovers this, he comes up with a contraption that allows him to screw bolts into various places on Alfie’s head, ensuring that the angel radio is totally decommissioned. As he screws it in, Alfie starts to chant. Viggo calls in a translator, and Crowley shows up (I guess no matter how evil you are, there are some tasks you just can’t delegate.) He starts twisting screws and discovers Viggo has essentially tapped into Alfie’s operating system. So he starts rooting around to see what else he can find. The only thing he translates aloud is that there is an angel tablet in addition to the demon tablet.

Sam, Dean, and Castiel head to the factory. The boys will go in and paint over four sigils that had been painted on the walls in order to block and weaken angels. They do so, killing a few demons as they go. The last sigil has been painted over, and Cas zaps in. Unfortunately he is still weak, so the boys have to break down the door to get to Alfie. Cas is of no help anyway, because Alfie’s screams are unlocking buried memories within Castiel, and he is a quivering mess huddled in a corner. He seems to be flashing back in terror at Naomi installing something in his eye. While the Winchesters fight random demons (Crowley is long gone by now), Castiel gets Alfie outside. Viggo offers his services to Dean, telling him that he knows things that they will need. Dean kills him anyway.

Outside, Castiel is with Alfie, and cuts between him there, with Alfie telling Cas that “they are controlling us” and Cas being spoken to / yelled at by Naomi, who urges Castiel to kill Alfie. He does, and is shaken by what he has done. Naomi tries to explain that Alfie was a traitor; that Crowley got too much info out of him; and tell the Winchesters that he was compromised and Castiel had to kill him in self defense. He tells them, with an oddly flat expression, then blinks away.

Dean is prepared to let Sam go back to Texas to live a happy, peaceful life with Amelia, but Sam decides he needs to stay with Dean. Maybe he was worried that if he went back, Amelia wouldn’t be there. Joke’s on him - Amelia came back to the hotel, and was devastated to find Dean not there. Similarly, Dean called Benny and “broke up” with him. It seems pretty clear that Benny is going to return to killing in the next few episodes.

Dig It or Bury It?

Meh. It was fairly engaging while it was on, but forgettable once it was over. The story didn’t feel well formed; it was like there were all these little loose ends that needed to be knit together before the story could really continue.

Prophecies?

LARPing. Renaissance faire. Felicia Day. Best episode of the season? Probably.

American Horror Story: Asylum Episode 212
“Continuum”
Written By: Ryan Murphy
Directed By: Craig Zisk
Original Airdate: 16 January 2013

In This Episode...

It is the end of 1967. Kit, Alma, and Grace are living a happy polygamist lifestyle with their two kids, Thomas (from Grace) and Julia (from Alma). Alma is worried about Grace. She is obsessing over the aliens, drawing them constantly, and expecting their return for the kids. Grace, meanwhile, is worried because Alma wants to forget about their abduction, but she is fearful and wants to stay shuttered in the house. Grace wants to embrace the aliens as the future, and has had enough time being shuttered inside. This leads to a fight between the women. Alma slaps Grace but is immediately apologetic; Grace storms off. Later that night, Kit wakes and finds Grace in the living room, drawing. He sits with her for a moment - then suddenly an axe lands in her back. Alma is attacking her. Kit separates the women. Grace is dead, and Alma is curled up in the fetal position, crying because she said that Grace was luring the aliens back.

1968 begins, and Jude is still in Briarcliff, but she seems to be doing well. Pepper is now her best friend and she rules the roost - in a much kinder way than she used to. The monsignor has been appointed cardinal of New York and comes to say goodbye to her. The church has donated Briarcliff to the state, who will use it for overflow from correction facilities. He promises to get her out before that happens. Well, he doesn’t, and pretty soon criminals and the criminally insane are all milling about in one disgusting stew. If you thought Briarcliff was bad before, the new management makes it look like it had been a luxury spa. Jude recognizes one of the new inmates: the Angel of Death. While she still has the old fashioned black hair, she is without wings, just a regular inmate who is in for murdering the elderly to collect their social security. She is used to being the queen bee, so she extends a very kind offer to Jude: we can rule together, or I will crush you. Jude thinks she is here to kill her and wants nothing to do with her. Unfortunately, they are roommates now. One night, Jude dreams that the Angel of Death was trying to give her the kiss-off. She fights back violently, and guards come in, pulling the women apart. It is not the Angel of Death who is there; it is some other random convict. Jude is brought to see the new warden, Miranda Crump, in a straightjacket. Crump is stern but fair. She is worried about Jude, having started fights with five roommates in two months. She doesn’t want to send Jude back to solitary. Jude asks if the monsignor has left word. Crump is confused, but finally realizes that Jude herself has lost track of time. Monsignor Howard left over two and a half years ago.

It is 1969, and Lana is doing a book reading and signing for “Maniac: One Woman’s Tale of Survival.” The audience is 100% women; many obviously idolize her. But Lana has changed a few details of the book to make it more sellable and tries to bury the guilt of doing so. She changed Wendy from her lover to her platonic roommate, and she wrote that Thredson brought “a new toy” for them to play with (another woman, whose death he would blame on her.) The signing begins, and a surprise visitor attends: Kit. They go for coffee, and she apologizes half-heartedly for not remaining in touch. He wants to know why she hasn’t done what she promised: shut down Briarcliff. Clearly Lana has been too busy enjoying the spotlight to remember “the little people.” She had heard about Alma and Grace, but was surprised to find Alma had been committed to Briarcliff when the state took it over. Kit continues his side of the story for her: how the asylum was so overcrowded you could scarcely walk through the halls and there was not enough staff to keep control. One patient pulled out his catheter and shook pee all over the common room; another couple was rutting like animals in the corner. Kit visited Alma regularly, and though she wanted to see the children, she didn’t want them to be exposed to that place. But then Alma died. No explanation; the nurse said her heart just gave out one day. Lana is sorry to hear that, but it doesn’t change her feelings about Briarcliff. Kit almost has her when he tells her that Jude is still stuck in there. Lana doesn’t believe him, swearing she saw Jude’s death certificate. Kit, however, saw Jude. Briarcliff renamed her Betty Drake so she could remain hidden there. By the time Kit saw her, she was far, far gone, speaking jibberish about how The Flying Nun was based off her life, but she didn’t need a hat to fly. She did not recognize Kit. Lana feels bad, but the moment is fleeting. She coldly tells him that Jude made her bed there, and leaves to finish her book signing.

Dig It or Bury It?

I love that the story doesn’t just end with Briarcliff. It continues on, to show how the fucked up shit at Briarcliff went on to fuck up more lives on the outside. It makes for a fuller, more complete story; something that lends itself to this new idea that each season of AHS is a self-contained mini-series.

I can’t help but wonder if Johnny has it wrong, that he is not Bloody Face’s son, but Kit’s son. The assumption has always been that he Bloody Face’s son - even by Johnny himself - so wouldn’t it be a big “ha-ha” to the audience if he was Kit’s kid?

Bloody Face

In the final moments of the episode, we check in with Johnny Bloody Face. He visits a used bookstore that is going out of business because he found out that they had a signed copy of Lana Winters’s book and he desperately wants to buy it. The clerk refuses, saying it is not for sale. The book belonged to her mother, who credits it for giving her the strength to leave her abusive husband. Johnny just wants to see the signature, and he marvels at it. She still refuses to sell, so he makes him an offer she can’t refuse: the baby that Lana had by rape did not die at birth, because he was that child. He wanted to take the book and show it to her when he finally meets his mother, shoving in her face the lies she wrote about him, and then shooting her in the face. The clerk turns the book over.

Patient History

Lana is sticking with the whole true crime genre, and her next book will be on Lee Emerson. After his escape from Briarcliff, he went on to kill seven nuns. She wants to call the book “Lee Emerson and the Seven Nuns.” Sick.

Prophecies?

Next week is the season finale, so I guess then we will get confirmation of whose kid Johnny really is.

Frankenstein’s Army has been on the march for so long you would think it was invading Russia. But no, it the Netherlands Frankenstein has his sights set on, specifically Rotterdam International Film Festival where it will make its world premiere.

A interesting concept. The army of pieced together super-soldiers combines an industrial-age aesthetic with nods to modern horror. See the Machete Zombot in the corpse cooler below, more stills here, and read the synopsis:

FRANKENSTEIN'S ARMY takes place toward the end of World War II, as Russian soldiers push into eastern Germany and stumble across a secret Nazi lab, one that has unearthed and begun experimenting with the journal of one Dr. Viktor Frankenstein. The scientists have used the legendary Frankenstein's work to assemble an army of super-soldiers stitched together from the body parts of their fallen comrades - a desperate Hitler's last ghastly ploy to escape defeat.



The feature is a co-production of MPI/Dark Sky Films, Los Angeles-based XYZ Films, and Pellicola of Amsterdam. It stars Karel Roden (Hellboy), Alexander Mercury (The Golden Compass), Joshua Sasse (The Big I Am), Luke Newberry (The Heart of Me), Andrei Zayats (X-Men: First Class), Mark Stevenson (The Last Horror Movie), Hon Ping Tang (The Fifth Element), Cristina Catalina (Eastern Promises), Robert Gwylim (Escape from Sobibor), and Jan De Lukovicz.