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ESP and Other Phenomena- An Overview

Kelly Preneta — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:00:53 +0000

“Extra Sensory Perception”, or more commonly referred to as ESP is a phenomena that has been studied, criticized and outright ostracized for decades. You may ask yourself “so what?” Well, this is a horror website so we might as well get some of our basic paranormal facts straight. So lets start with a bit of history, shall we? J.B. Rhine (Joseph Banks Rhine) was a botanist who developed an interest in the paranormal and eventually started the parapsychology department at Duke University. Along with breaking ground on the Blue Devils campus he also helped in founding the Journal of Parapsychology, Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man, and the Para psychological Association. Although much due credit is given to Rhine for his work, Frederic Myers is the one who actually coined the term Extra Sensory Perception.

J.B. Rhine and his wife Louise were the ones who founded the Zener Cards. You know, those cards with the weird shapes. Each card as a different shape; a star, a square, circle, cross, 3 squiggly lines, each full deck had 25 cards and only the five designated symbols. In a telepathy experiment, the “sender” looks at a series of cards while the “receiver” guesses the symbols. To try to observe clairvoyance, the pack of cards is hidden from everyone while the receiver guesses. To try to observe precognition, the order of the cards is determined after the guesses are made.

To better understand what Rhine was trying to accomplish we need to better understand his subjects. What’s the difference between one Extra Sensory “gift” to another, and are these things really gifts. On Christmas morning my ideal present does not include hearing 10,000 voices talking to me at all hours of the day/night (if you celebrate Hanukkah or Kwanza make you’re your own scenario). However, there are many religions who embrace ESP as part of their beliefs. New Age Groups, Voodoo, Spiritualism, they not only practice mediumship or necromancy, they have developed ways to make themselves more susceptible to it. Practice makes perfect.

So what exactly is ESP and what exactly does it involve? Extra Sensory Perception does not generalize a group. There are people who have something that cannot be explained by scientific explanation so therefore we classify them has having Extra Sensory Perception. Now what Extra Sensory Perception they have is not the same has the person before them. Just because someone is said to have ESP does not mean they have the ability to do everything. For example, Patient A can only see the dead while Patient B can only hear the dead. Patient C can move the table across the room without laying a finger on it. So on and so forth. Pretty much every aspect of ESP has its own individual term and definition.

A clairvoyant is defined as one who sees clearly. The term is of French origin. Clair meaning clear and Voyant meaning vision. They have the ability of knowing information that is hidden from them. The information is contemporary, which is important in defining them. They are not predicting the future, they are more or less telling you about the “now”. They see it in their mind. If you reference back to the Zener cards the clairvoyance test was designed for the card to remain hidden from everyone until a guess was made. They gain information from an external source. They communicate beyond normal sight and sound. Clairvoyants do not necessarily look to speak to the dead unlike Mediums who channel spirits. Mediumship is what is practiced in certain religions. Mediums use seances and other practices in hopes of contacting specific spirits and communicating between the dead and the living. Along with clairvoyants there are also clairaudiences who hear someone without a body. Clairaudience’s hear in the way clairvoyants see.

There are 2 different types of mediums. There are mental mediums and physical mediums. Mental mediums are tuned into the spirit world. They listen to spirits, sense them, and see symbols. Physical mediums produce a materialization of spirits. In their presence objects tend to move, paranormal transference or appearance of an object, which is also referred to as an apport, trances. They achieve this by ectoplasm. Crazy Shit!

Aside from contacting the dead and foreseeing the future we have Telepathy, transferring mind to mind. The Ganzfeld Experiment has recorded the strongest evidence supporting telepathy. In this experiment the receiver is placed in a room and put into a state of sensory deprivation for an allotted amount of time. Nothing torturous, just relaxed. During this time the sender randomly chooses targets and tries to telepathically send the receiver the information. The sender speaks out loud and is recorded for experimental purposes. They are of course in separate rooms, buildings, towns, whatever. They are separated! They say twins share strange telepathic abilities. They just have a connection.

Then we have psychokinesis or better known as telekinesis; movement. This is the rarest of the senses. Probably because it’s the hardest to fake during testing.

This sense, unlike the other, doesn’t involve talking, or listening but control. Controlling an object, controlling a mind, controlling a body. Did you see the movie “Seconds Apart?” Jonah and Seth shared both telekinetic and telepathic powers.

So, there we have it, a brief description of the people who are chosen to have a gift or a curse, depending on how you want to look at it. The people who encourage the dead to come to them, but what about the rest of us? Are we just as accessible to the paranormal world as those just mentioned? Apparently we are. Apparitional Experiences is an apparent perception of either a living being or an inanimate object without there being any material stimulus for the perception to occur. So LSD is out for this to be legitimate. Also the person is awake and dreams are excluded. Now, even though the apparitions include living beings, ghost are included in this scenario. It is believed some element of the deceased has survived after death. A soul? Regardless, next time you’re standing at your kitchen counter saying “I just saw my keys here.” Did you really? Or what about precognition-future sight. Prime example “Final Destination”. There are various reports of people having precognition without any previous paranormal experiences and of course there are those who claim to have precognition regularly. To be clear, there is a difference between precognition and premonition. As we already stated, precognition is future sight while premonition is perceived as a feeling. It’s in your gut. That just knowing something bad is going to happen.

With all of the contact that is being made with the dead, solicited or not, we would be foolish to think we are not opening doorways. If we do so we need to be prepared for what can come through. So what exactly could we be dealing with? The first and foremost obvious answer is a ghost. TThey were once a living being and some element of them has survived after death as occurred. Poltergeist, as leading has it’s the movie title is, isn’t an entity, it’s more of an event or a description of a haunting. The definition of poltergeist is “events which consist of the manifestation of an imperceptible entity”. These are mainly believed to be linked to malicious ghost(s) and are closely associated with elements such as fire, air, water, earth. Lastly there are Demons. Demons are supernatural beings from various religions, occultisms, folklore etc..that are malevolent in nature and were never alive. The thing I personally most associate demons with is Exorcisms, driving out a demon or entity which is believed to have possessed a person or place. This ritual is ancient and can range in its elaborateness by religion or severity.

The one thing about this article that can not be debated is the fact that Exorcisms do exist. It’s been documented. Although they may not be as eventful as depicted on the big screen, people have died during them. Such is the case of Anneliese Michel whose story inspired “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”,“Requiem”, and “Anneliese Michel: The Exorcist Tapes”. Anneliese was believe to be possessed by at least 6 demons who in turn refused to allow her to eat. She died weighing a whopping 68 lbs. “Exorcism of Anneliese Michels” is a subtitled Polish documentary about her exorcism and contains the original audio tapes from it. It’s also reported that Mother Teresa even underwent an exorcism towards the end of her life ordered by the Archbishop of Calcutta stating “Although fine during the day she was extremely agitated in her sleep. It is reported after the exorcism the agitation stopped. So, I guess the question for debate is even though we know exorcism exists, does possession?

So what was the point of all this rambling? I have personally never seen a ghost, underwent an exorcism, or foresaw the future. I do, however, believe these things do exist. I am Roman Catholic so I believe in fallen angels. Although I feel most are extremely overrated, I believe certain people can contact the dead and foresee the future. I think there are too many mysteries in the world to be explained by science and this is the only thing that makes sense. So now let’s hear your story….

COMMENTS WELCOME:

“House of the Dead”- Netflix Review

Rev. Tommy B — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:00:38 +0000

Director: Uwe Bell
Date: October 2003

In the early 90′s, movie adaptations of video game storylines began to hit the market. They were all pretty much crap until the new millennia. We started seeing the sexy Laura Croft, the limits of computer generated imaging (CGI) being pushed with Final Fantasy, and the start of a rash of horror based video game movies with Resident Evil. This is a double edged sword, because as much as I enjoy playing horror games and would love to see them done on the big screen, most of the times they’ll take an awesome twisting story line and really butcher the hell out of it. Or you take a title and just re-write the entire idea into a campy horror show full of throw backs to the 80′s and attempts at showing what you can do with technology.

House of the Dead (the movie) tells the story of a group of rich kids heading to a rave on the island of the dead. They barter a ride on a gun runner’s boat disguised as a fishing vessel. Once they get to the island, the rave seems to be over, so they do what anyone would do if the party of the century is over two days early, but all the beer and gear is still there- they party. This is when they realize they are not alone. This island of the dead is full of zombies. Luckily the gun runner decided to stash the goods here. Now they’re armed, loaded and ready for action.

This movie doesn’t try to put on airs. It has special effects that are decent, and a cast of characters to make you chuckle and cringe. This is your generic zombie flick with tons of blood, a creepy setting, and some gratuitous boob shots. Funny thing is, the video game story line sounded way cooler. You’re some special agent going to investigate a mansion where mad scientists experiments have gone awry. It was just odd to me that the only similarity between the game and the movie are the name and the hoards of zombies.

The annoying things were more to do with how they tried to incorporate special movie tricks. Every few scenes they toss in something new then beat it to death. For instance, a guy is running through the woods from the undead and the chest camera is used a few times. Then during a large battle between the living and the dead they throw in the Matrix zoom around the actor in slow motion. Some of this looks neat but it’s the same shot over and over just with a different actor. Then to top it all off, there are random shots from the video game throughout the film. It’s just a bit distracting and pointless since it has nothing to do with the movie.

In the end you learn that love can happen even in a dingy house with zombies banging on every possible entrance. If you meet an Asian girl named liberty in an American flag jumper, stick with her cause she kicks butt. Lastly, be careful when on a boat near an island named “Island of the Dead” because zombies can swim.

2 blood drops

Belgian Lord Murdered in Castle

Audrey Quaranta — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:00:23 +0000

It sounds like a fictional tale, a murder mystery primed for the best-seller list.

Real life, however, is often far stranger than fiction, a notion proven yet again by the mystery unfolding in Belgium.

On January 31, 2012, lord Stijn Saelens, 34, vanished from Wingene Castle. All that remained were a used cartridge and trail of blood going all the way from the house to the driveway.

His body was found buried in the woods Friday, February 17.

One day prior, police had arrested Saelens’ father-in-law and brother-in-law, and a friend of theirs, Pierre Serry. This led the media to believe the police were given specific directions to the body’s location from their suspects, despite a lawyer for the father-in-law claiming he has a “perfect alibi.”

It is theorized that the in-laws were outraged by Saelens’ plan to move his family to Australia and start an organic farm. One crime reporter claims police suspect the killing was done by a contracted assassin.

Another less-devloped idea involves Chechan criminals working in Belgium, and still another believes the two storylines are connected. Three Chechans were also arrested on February 16, and despite rumors that plans of the castle were found in their vehicle, they were released for lack of proof.

Saelens’s wife, Elysabeth Gyselbrecht, told investigators her husband asked to be alone on the day of his disappearance, so she left the home. She allegedly claims to have confronted Serry the day after the disappearance, and he told her he had nothing to do with it.

In the understatement of the year, newspaper La Capitale said, “Despite the discovery of the body, the story seems far from being explained.”

It seems that Belgium has a true mystery on its hands, one the most creative author could not have dreamt up.

“My Name is Bruce”- Netflix Review

Jason Frymoyer — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:00:03 +0000

Director: Bruce Campbell
Date: September, 2007

Hail to the king baby. Or at least politely wave if you’re a fan of Bruce Campbell- he of steel chin, chainsaw slashing, boom stick wielding, sugar-receiving Evil Dead fame.

Campbell produces, directs, and stars in “My Name is Bruce”- a cheeky, cheesy, spoof in which the beloved B-movie actor goes toe to toe with a resurrected Chinese demon. The film embraces what it is, simply stupid, yet if you’re a Campbell fan, a fun little waste of time.

Jeff (Taylor Sharpe) is a Goth-encrusted outcast in the small town of Goldlick who is obsessed with his favorite B-list thespian. Unfortunately Jeff has never gotten the chance to make love the Bruce Campbell way, and an intended petting session in a graveyard unleashes the wraith of Guan Di- the violent, angry-eyed patron saint of bean curd. (Yes, bean curd).

Meanwhile in the uber back-lots of Hollywood, Bruce Campbell is in the midst of filming his next hellishly awful sequel. Poor Bruce is a burned out cur, racked with a mountain of alimony payments, a loathsome agent (Ted Raimi in one of three roles), a rusted trailer he calls home, and a drinking problem that he shares with his dog.

So when Jeff comes knocking on the door, poor Bruce is plucked from his Z-list (yes, he demotes himself to a lower acting status) lifestyle and planted in between Guan Di and the dwindling population of Goldlick. At first Bruce assumes that this is all an elaborate birthday gift from his agent but when he realizes just how serious his situation is, he trades in a boom stick for a good pair of running shoes.

But this is Bruce Campbell we’re talking about here, the very same guy that single-handedly saved the world from the wraith of the Deadites. Naturally he does his “I’ve got to be a hero” shtick and goes toe to toe with Guan Di, who oddly enough has a “There’s Something About Mary-esc” folk band singing about him throughout the movie.

The movie itself is a little too farfetched at times, but considering Campbell’s film repertoire this should come as no surprise. It’s a film that knows what it is and doesn’t try to be something else. It is a campy, nonsensical, albeit funny in an absurd way, B-movie.

While I did not think this was Campbell’s best venture (I though “Bubba Ho-Tep” was much better), “My Name is Bruce” is filled with many memorable moments for all of his fans. Ted Raimi knocks it out of the park with his three roles in the film. The aforementioned agent is his first. His second part is town Chinaman Wing, who I believe is the funniest character of the movie, and adds a very nice counter to Campbell’s “hero” character. And his final role of the film is the simplest of them all, a sign painter, again supplying the laughs as he constantly has to repaint the town’s population number.

The bulk of the violence comes from decapitation which comes across more laughable than scary, most of the acting is sub-par, and the plot is as ridiculous as it gets. Anyone that has no idea who Bruce Campbell is or is not a fan of his work should just pass on this one. On the other hand though, any of the beloved Campbell’s fans will surely find My Name is Bruce, simply put, groovy.

2 blood drops

Man Blames Murder on Demonic Possession

Audrey Quaranta — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:00:26 +0000

Curtis Stanton must have misunderstood the phrase demon on the dance floor.

On September 13, 2008, the now 42 year-old Memphis man paid a visit to girlfriend Regina Tidwell, 34, at a dance club. As Stanton explained in a statement to the jury on Wednesday, February 15, Tidwell was not interested in dancing with him.

“That’s when I first started hearing voices in my head, telling me to kill her. I guess it just stuck with me,” he said.

Instead of telling those voices to hush, he found a steak knife, concealed it in his pants, and followed Tidwell home. Sometime after 1 a.m., he confronted the victim outside of her apartment, dragged her behind the building, and stabbed her to death.

“I asked her to talk to me and she said she had to go use the restroom,” he explained. ”Then the demon took possession. So I grabbed her with both hands and drug her around behind the apartment. She was asking me why was I doing this and that’s when I just threw her on the ground and straddled her and started stabbing her. I think I stabbed her in the throat first…I stabbed her in the face, chest and stomach.”

After disposing of the murder weapon and Tidwell’s belongings, he called her teenage sons and asked if their mother had made it home. Later that day, he turned himself in to the police.

Tidwell’s family does not buy Stanton’s story, yet her sister, Ava Smith says, “I feel sorry for him. I really do…I just feel like he took on an action that causes both families to be in a situation.”

Psychologist Dr. Joseph Angelillo, testified on behalf of the defense that Stanton has anxiety issues, delusions, and a low IQ. He could tell right from wrong, but was not capable of premeditating such a grisly act.

The trial went to jury Thursday, February 16.

“UnbliNded”- The Trailer

Jeremiah Cress — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:00:19 +0000

“UnbliNded” is a manga inspired, feature length, psychological thriller. Enter Jin (demure, innocent & blind) and Dee, who isn’t a bad girl, just a good girl that does bad things.

Two dark forces, one of the earth and the other summoned from the realm of the dead, possess an 18 year old American gamer chick, Dee. Neglected by a self-absorbed mother, Dee lives alone, left to fend for herself. Then her “loser” mother saddles Dee with the onerous responsibility of caring for Jin Sun Woo Kim, a blind Korean cellist. Dee tries to enforce cruel and unfair rules, but her efforts are met with an unexpected response.

The Moxie Brothers knew that filmmaking was in their future, growing up in the studio as their father, Jaime Mendoza Nava, worked on many indie films with several indie filmmakers in the 60′s, 70′s and 80′s. With the advances in technology now in their favor, the Moxie Brothers are making movies of their own.

The trailer starts off by raising the question “If you’re all alone and have complete power over another, would you be good or bad?” This sets the tone for a very dark and thrilling preview, showing the seemingly powerless and powerful clashing together in a dangerous entanglement.

“UnbliNded” shows a release date of 2012 and you can follow all the news by following them on Twitter @unblindedmovie

Click below to view the trailer, and check out some photos of the cast of “UnbiNded.”

“The Graves”- Netflix Review

Rev. Tommy B — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:00:48 +0000

Director: Brian Pulido
Date: January 2009

Who hasn’t thought of being wild and crazy just before a big change? Especially if that big change is having your best friend move out of state after accepting a dream job. This is what happens with the Graves sisters just before the older sister moves from Arizona to New York.

These two girls decide to buy comics, pierce their belly buttons, and check out a punk band, then road trip all while documenting the experience on a camcorder. Sounds like a great time, right? Well, while traveling along the dusty roads they hit Screamers, a diner where a waitress…

Holy crap! Is that the guy from “Candyman”? It is and he’s playing a reverend. How cool is that?

So, they hit this diner where a waitress tells them about a really haunted mine down the road they should check out. Does this sound like every horror movie where folks get sent to their doom? It should, because it is.

The girls finally get to Skull City Mine and realize this is like a murderous Disneyland including a theme song playing over and over. This is definitely where the fun starts.

This one has the feel of a Robert Rodreguez film mixed with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre done by college students. The sounds and shot consistency is that of a film major’s project. There’s no real flow as the movie jumps between the shaky hand held camcorder, shots of the sisters, and shots of victims of people running from unseen things. Hokey one-liners riddle this film that has two hot chicks but no gratuitous T&A shots. I also enjoy seeing the monsters and you never really see the demon.

There are a few things that were decent besides Candyman being awesome. The singer from “Lamb of God” makes a cameo sporting the insane Iggy Pop looking townsfolk who calls attention to some obvious issues. Plus the dilapidated town they run through and run to looks pretty convincing. This is definitely one for the teen Halloween party but not much else.

Like all other horror films before this one there are quite a few lessons to learn. If there is a murderous blacksmith chasing you and you come across a grief stricken blond, don’t try to bring her with you. She’ll go all crazy and draw attention to you. Guys named Cookie have the nose of a bloodhound and should not be trusted. Telling a crazed lunatic carrying a sickle and wearing a pig nose to stay away from you is quite fruitless. Last but not least, always grab a bigger stick.

2 blood drops

Death and the Titanic

Edward B. Abbott — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:00:50 +0000

April 15, 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. It’s a tragic story that has been retold countless times. A well-know tale about the largest passenger steam ship of its time and its many famous and wealthy passengers. One of the most often repeated details of the tragedy is how it inspired changes in maritime laws because the ship didn’t have enough lifeboats for all of its passengers. It’s also common knowledge that the voyage ended in disaster when the Titanic stuck an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic, killing an estimated 1,500 people.

But one grim detail that is often overlooked in the recounting of the Titanic story is the fate of all those who never made it into a lifeboat. We know that they died. But how? And what happened to their bodies? Of the 1,496 who are known to have died, only about 330 bodies were pulled out of the water by ships sent to recover them in the days following the sinking. What happened to the other 1,166 bodies? And what horrors did they experience?

One reason why the specifics of these deaths are not often told is because there is no way of knowing for sure how each victim of the sinking died. But given the known circumstances, Luke Owens, a Titanic Research writer for encyclopedia-titanica.org, has compiled list detailing the most likely causes of their deaths and an explanation for what happened to their bodies.

Owens lists the possible causes of death for the known victims as drowning, hypothermia, natural causes, injury, crushing, compression, suicide, or gunshot.

As the Titanic sank, many passengers either jumped or fell into the water, and others found themselves plunged into the ocean as the Titanic foundered. Though no autopsies were performed on any of the 330 bodies pulled out of the water, it’s believed that the some of them could have died as a result of injuries sustained from falling off the ship, but the majority of them probably died from hypothermia.

The United States Search and Rescue Task Force (USSRTF) describes what happens when a body is suddenly plunged into cold water:

“The first hazards to contend with are panic and shock. The initial shock can place severe strain on the body, producing instant cardiac arrest. Survivors of cold water accidents have reported the breath driven from them on first impact with the water. Should your face be in the water during that first involuntary gasp for breath, it may well be water rather than air. Immersion in cold water can quickly numb the extremities to the point of uselessness. Cold hands cannot fasten the straps of a lifejacket, grasp a thrown rescue line, or hold onto an over-turned boat. Within minutes, severe pain clouds rational thought. And, finally, hypothermia sets in, and without rescue and proper first aid treatment, unconsciousness and death.”

According to the USSRTF, unconsciousness can set in when the body temperature lowers to approximately 86, and death at approximately 79 degrees. The water temperature at the location of the Titanic’s sinking was said to be only 28 degrees Fahrenheit. At under 32 degrees, the USSRTF estimates that humans could only survive for 15-45 minutes. It was over an hour before any of the Titanic’s lifeboats returned to look for survivors, leaving no chance for anyone in the water to survive.

As horrifying as their experience must have been, in some ways, it was preferable to how some of the other passengers may have died. With only 330 bodies being pulled from the water, that leaves over 1,100 bodies unaccounted for. How did they most likely die and what happened to their bodies?

Without a doubt, many victims died as a result of drowning and their bodies went down with the ship. An unknown number of the third class passengers not only never made it into life boats, but they also never made it to the upper decks while the ship was sinking. Those that died likely drowned as their decks began to flood with water, or when the ship split in half. Those that were in the bow likely all drowned since the bow filled completely with water as it sank. Those that managed to survive in air pockets throughout the ship’s stern either drowned or were likely killed when the stern began imploding from compression, or after it violently smashed to the sea floor.

Of their deaths, Owens says, “In many ways, these people had the most horrific deaths. Some of them never received any explanation as to what was going on; they probably died wondering what all the fuss was about. Others knew, but thought they would be rescued by people in the higher classes.”

Another highly probable cause of death was injury. Because some of the bodies retrieved from the water by the recovery ships had been too badly damaged to preserve through embalming and consequently had to be buried at sea, its very likely that some passengers died as a result of catastrophic injuries.

“As the ship’s tilt became more increased,” writes Owen, “more people would have fallen, either against other people and/or parts of the ship, or into the water. The further the fall, the greater the injury. As the stern of the ship became closer to perpendicular, the likelihood increased of muscle strength failing and victims falling from up to 200 feet into the water. At this type of height, bones would break like matchsticks when hitting the surface of the ocean.”

Some of the missing bodies are also believed to have been pushed under water when the Titanic’s funnel collapsed or when the stern rose out of the water, broke away from the bow, and then crashed back down, killing anyone underneath and pushing their bodies deeper into the water.

According to Owens, “This would have … forced water into any open body cavities, as well as possibly tearing away life belts or forcing water into the cork of the life belts. Whatever the reason, most of those thrust under water by the falling funnels and stern were unable to return to the surface. Fortunately for them, most of them were already dead by this time.”

Some passengers also wound up in the water without life jackets. After they died of injury or hypothermia, their bodies would have begun to slowly sink. By the time recovery ships came to look for them, they may not have been visible from the surface. And their slow decent combined with underwater currents would have made it likely that they were nowhere near the site of the sinking when their bodies finally reached the ocean floor.

“The ship took less than half an hour to settle to the ocean floor,” writes Owen. “The bodies that sank would have taken weeks. During this time, the bodies would have been dispersed over a wide area of the Atlantic.”

Reports of suicides aboard the Titanic are only rumors and, to date, none has ever been confirmed. However, it is known that gunshots were fired and many survivors claimed that people were shot, but an exact number is unknown.

209 of the 330 recovered bodies were taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where 59 were shipped out by train to their families and 150 were buried in three different cemeteries in Nova Scotia. The remaining recovered bodies were buried at sea.

Although there are some species of cold water sharks that are native to the region, such as the Greenland Shark, there is no evidence to suggest that any of the victims had been attacked or eaten by sharks. Although, the recovery ships made the decision to bury some of the recovered bodied at sea because they had been so severely disfigured by birds or sea life that identification was impossible. It also likely that some of the bodies that sank to the ocean floor were consumed by various forms of marine wildlife. Those that weren’t would have decomposed completely over time.

Several events are planned this year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking, including a 3D re-release of the 1997 film and a memorial cruise that will follow the same route as the Titanic, with a stop along the way at the site of the sinking for a memorial service for the victims, and another stop at Halifax, Nova Scotia, where passengers can visit the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, where 121 victims of the disaster are buried.

Antichrist Among Us? Texas Woman Believes So and Tries To Kill Him

Jen McEntire — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:00:59 +0000

Someone cue the creepy organ music and boys choir in D minor, because it looks as if the antichrist has joined us at last. Or so thought Texas woman Beth Ann Straley, 46, accused of breaking into a neighbor’s home set on killing their 5-year-old son whom she claimed to be none other than the Antichrist himself. According to the arrest warrant affidavit, she entered the house on January 27th wielding a .38-caliber semi automatic pistol with the intent of committing capital murder.

After charging in, Straley was greeted instead by the family’s 37-year-old babysitter. Straley then demanded to see the parent’s of the supposed hell spawn but they weren’t home of course and after refusing to disclose the whereabouts of the boy’s parents, the apparently street tough sitter easily disarmed Straley who then ran to a nearby neighbor’s house. Upon arrival she admitted to those inside about her need to kill the 5-year-old and his parents whom she was close friends with. As it turns out, the house belonged to a former Lakeway police chief which must have made it easier to contain the situation.

It has not been disclosed yet as to why Beth Ann thought the boy to be the son of Satan, though she has since had a psychological evaluation. And stranger yet is the fact that neighbors describe her as being a “nice lady who often cared for children in their home.” Neighbors in the gated community were stunned to hear of her actions and said that she was involved in neighborhood activities. “If she would have come to the door, we would have opened it and let her in and it wouldn’t have been a big deal because she’s kind of spearheaded some of our alert systems for the neighborhood,” says Keri Mueller.

Straley was not arrested but charged with burglary and the warrant sets her bail at 500,000. Details on this case are pending as I’m sure a curious public awaits results of her mental evaluation. In the mean time, we must wait and see…

“Dead Snow”- Netflix Review

Jess Barrett — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:00:44 +0000

Director: Tommy Wirkola
Date: June 2009
Language: Norwegian

Thank you, Norway for bringing a new zombie movie into the world that doesn’t get dramatic about the quest for man’s survival. Don’t get me wrong, when executed properly the struggle can be the second most interesting part (first being the zombies, of course).

The story begins with five med students on their way to a secluded cabin on a mountain for a vacation. The sixth member and connection to the cabin is meeting them but is cross-country skiing her way there. After the laborious trek up the mountain, the gang settles in to their accommodations the way any college students would; cold beer, good music and friendly banter. As darkness falls on the quiet snow covered cabin, a strange older man knocks at their door demanding coffee and informing the group of the mountain’s history. It would seem that the region had been under the control of evil Nazi soldiers for three years during World War II. In the end, the villagers revolted and chased the surviving soldiers into the mountains where it was assumed they froze to death. The stranger takes his leave but now with these wild stories in their heads, the group begins to worry that their sixth member has not yet arrived. Her boyfriend leaves on snowmobile in search of her the following morning while the remaining four stay behind and…well drink more. Unfortunately, the cabin does not have a bathroom, it has an outhouse and all that beer means going outside to pee. Fresh meat, anyone?

So I’ve talked about zombies, and I’ve talked about Nazis…has anyone put it together yet? Yes! Nazi-Zombies! Although there is only a quick reference to “cursed” Nazi soldiers buried in the mountains, writer/director Tommy Wirkola takes massive liberties with this little snippet. He also maintains that they are “Nazis first, then zombies”. In an effort not to give anything especially tasty away, I’ll leave the responsibility of finding out what happens to these people in your hands. Think about it: college students, secluded mountain cabin and Nazi zombies. What have you got to lose? Absolutely nothing, that’s what.

I will say two things though: (1) don’t be discouraged during the first few zombie scenes that are particularly dark (literally), you will have plenty of gore to feast on soon enough. (2) This is a very unique terrain for humans vs. zombies so consider the opportunities available and feel comforted that you will not be disappointed. Not to mention a decent amount of comedy that only adds a bonus level to all the fun. Get over the subtitles and just watch it.

5 blood drops.

“Dracula 2000″- Netflix Review

Jason Frymoyer — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:00:12 +0000

Director: Patrick Lussier
Release Date: December 22, 2000

Wes Craven has contributed timeless, spine-tingling movies to the horror genre that have withstood the test of time. Dracula is the perhaps one of the most iconic villains in horror movie history, so naturally the combination of The Master of Suspense and ultimate creature of the night would be a brilliant homage to Bram Stoker and would become the next opus to Craven’s legacy, right? Guess again.

After a temporary prologue in the late 19th century, the movie gets right down to business in contemporary London, introducing Abraham- err… Matthew Van Helsing (Christopher Plummer) as a wealthy antiquities dealer whose grandfather was allegedly the basis for the vampire hunter in Bram Stoker’s tale.

Even as he denies his heritage it’s clear that he is obviously said vampire hunter, more than 100 years old but looking like he’d just turned 70. The secret of his vitality is a sporadic injection of blood from the legendary (in his words “indestructible”) Count Dracula, who remains undisturbed in his vacuum sealed coffin which is hidden in the depths of Van Helsing’s seemingly impregnable vault.

Unfortunately, the vault’s security measures proves no match against a group of tech savvy thieves, led by American criminal Marcus (Omar Epps) and Van Helsing’s traitorous secretary Solina (Jennifer Esposito).

What’s even more unfortunate is that the thieves open up the coffin while fleeing to the Cayman Islands. As the smoke clears, Dracula (Gerard Butler) rises from his slumber and proceeds to feed his insatiable bloodlust and somehow manages to re-route the aircraft into the swamps of New Orleans.

From there Dracula dabbles in the Mardi Gras festivities, converts local television reporter Valerie Sharp (Jeri Ryan) to a loyal blood-sucker, and searches for his unlikely soul mate. That soul mate happens to be Mary (Justine Waddell), Van Helsing’s long-estranged daughter who has been suffering from nightmares about that guy from 300 with vampire teeth coming after her. This connection is obviously the result from her tainted bloodline, thanks dad!

Speaking of the doting father, he is racing against time to reach New Orleans with trusty business associate Simon Shepard (Jonny Lee Miller) in tow, explaining the finer points of vampire slaying while they travel.

Around the time that Simon begins to fire silver stakes into vampirized bad guys, and as they disintegrate into the air, so does any semblance of continuity or plot. The convoluted mess carries forward, along the way Mary’s friend Lucy (Colleen Fitzpatrick a.k.a. former pop-singer Vitamin C) joins the dark side, and Nathan Fillion of Slither and Firefly fame makes a cameo. That’s truly about the long and short of it so far as the story goes.

To its credit the film does provide a couple of intriguing aspects to the Dracula mythos, delving into the story of the vampire’s aversion to crosses, holy water, and all things silver. Sadly, the new aspects are not enough to save the movie.

Christopher Plummer was by far the best acting aspect of the movie, bringing class but botching the Middle European accent frequently. Jeri Ryan and Nathan Fillion were grossly misused and Gerard Butler’s Dracula looked less like the Prince of Darkness and more like a peevish Abercrombie and Fitch model. It was clear that director Patrick Lussier was way in over his head on this one, as production value slowly took a nose-dive as the film progressed.

With Wes Craven tagged as executive producer you would expect some semblance of a horror movie but the movie lacked scares and violence that many would come to expect. What could have been a very original re-imagining of a legendary tale turned out to be a lackluster effort that you are better off passing over.

With sincerest regards to Wes Craven, this movie, in one word: sucked.

1 1/2 Blood drops.

“Session 9″- Netflix Review

Rev. Tommy B — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:00:49 +0000

Directed By: Brad Anderson
Released: August 2001

Some films are creepy just based on the story, the setting, and the ingenious way the director pulls it all together. Session 9 was a sleeper hit back in 2001. This film didn’t make much money in the box office but is definitely a must see gem for horror and suspense lovers.

The basic plot is this: A clean up crew is called in to remove asbestos and other nasty materials from an old insane asylum. A few days into the job they start getting murdered one by one. This sounds like your typical monster movie, and at times you question if it is just that.

You have your typical cast of characters: the dumb nephew of Hazmat Eliminations owner, the gigolo who stole the girlfriend of one of the other guys on the crew who is just an angry man, the smart guy who happens to know the whole history of the facility they are working in, and the calm and collected company owner who seems to be loosing it as his company may have to fold up shop. The best part is, you believe each of these guys is the person they are portraying. You could honestly believe this is a documentary if it didn’t look so beautiful.

Outside of the great acting is the scenery. The film is shot at the Danvers Mental Hospital and very little is added to up the creepy factor of this place. They used a lot of what was there to add effect and made it feel dirty, decrepit, and old. This really ups the intense factor. You believe these people are in a decrepit old insane asylum because they really are.

To round it all out is the audio of the film. Very simple music and a lot of random voices including some tapes the smart guy finds in the basement. These old reel-to-reels, 9 sessions in all, depict a patient with multiple personalities describing the events leading up to a murder through the alters she uses to hide behind. The audio of these tapes is used as the background music at times when it should be. Everything seems normal but there is a dark underlying thing just waiting to reach out and grab your leg. The girl conversing with the doctor seems to raise the hair on the back of your neck.

The story does drop hints as to what is going on but they seem to be subtle enough that they don’t distract you. Also, they use darkness the right way, not just as a cover up for bad makeup or cheap effects. Funny that this movie shows you how scary a chair in a hallway outside a room can be. I didn’t like the way it made me feel.

This film did teach me some very valuable life lessons: always have an exit plan, be wary of the calm people, and stay away from Simon. You will watch this one and in the end wonder how the hell did this happen and how could someone take it this far? Then you remember it’s not a true story.

4 Blood Drops

“The Crazies”- Netflix Review

Jason Frymoyer — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:00:37 +0000

Director: Breck Eisner
Date: February 26, 2010

Ogden Marsh, population 1,260, is just the kind of place you’d expect in the heartland of rural America. Corn threshers gliding through sun-drenched fields, fresh cut grass filling the local baseball diamond with its intoxicating scent, deranged shotgun-wielding psychopaths ready to maim anyone that so much as blinks.

The latter presents the issue that sheriff David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant) and his trusty deputy Russell (Joe Anderson) must thwart in order to prevent the peaceful and serene town from turning into a hellish abyss. As David and Russell enjoy the opening day of baseball season in town, a gun-toting resident gone bonkers struts onto the field with shotgun in hand, forcing David to put one between his eyes. When the toxicology report comes up 0.0 however, the two perplexed lawmen are left to ponder the mystery surrounding the deceased.

One incinerated family and local resident “playing statue” later, David and Russell deduce that something is seriously amiss in their quiet town. As the mystery unfolds the mayhem begins. The military swarms the town like locusts, tearing families apart, families like David and his doctor wife Judy (Radha Mitchell). Before you know it, the military is overrun and the remaining populous, or what’s left of them, are left to fend for themselves.

Trudging through the wasteland that two days prior was a peaceful farming community, David ventures forth to reunite with Judy. Judy and her office assistant Becca (Danielle Panabaker) are subjected to a hellish scenario of their own, leading to one of the most terrifying moments of the movie. It becomes a race against time and no one is safe, not in a town filled with shoot first military types and ravenous zombie-like townsfolk running amok.

Perhaps I am a tad biased due to the fact of this being a George A. Romero remake, but The Crazies was a respectable thrill ride that had me hooked from beginning to end. Swapping Romero’s political allegories for raw and nerve-racking human interest was a perfect catharsis for “Sahara” director Breck Eisner. Substituting political undertones for a character-driven story resulted in a much more effective and enjoyable film.

While the pandemonium unfolds, the movie blends together the sheer terror of the situation as well as the human interest aspect seamlessly. Many times I found myself being sympathetic to the plight that develops for David and Judy, willing them to get past that final hurdle and find their way through the madness. The only downfall is at times the plot becomes very predictable, playing off George Romero’s style instead of re-inventing the story. I will give credit where it is due; Eisner definitely delivered the goods with his venture into “Romero territory”. Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell have great chemistry as the beleaguered protagonists, and Joe Anderson steals the show as he slowly transcends the fine line between sanity and delirium.

As the deranged schizophrenic Norman Bates once said, “We all go a little mad sometimes”. In the case of The Crazies, the wonderfully empathetic casting and realistic graphic effects create an ominous white-knuckle thrill ride that you’d be crazy not to enjoy.

3.5 Blood drops

Sisters Sexually Assault Man and Force Him to Drink Their Urine

Jen McEntire — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:00:25 +0000

Somerset, Wisconsin is the setting of a night of bondage and torture that took place last October. Two sisters who sexually assaulted a man in their home have been taken into custody by authorities after he reported the incident. Valerie Bartkey, 24 and Amanda Johnson, 17, are the two allegedly responsible for the vile acts that happened that night.

According to the 18-year-old victim, he appeared at the sister’s residence in Somerset and was punched and kicked by the girls upon his arrival, and what probably began as a night of fun appears to have developed into a scene from a horror movie.

After the young man was beaten, he was presented with a beverage which he was told was lemonade, but after taking a sip he came to discover it was the urine of one or both of his attackers. At this point he was forced by the sisters to undress and was demanded to have intercourse with them. He refused which fueled the fire of their anger causing them to bring the night to an even nastier level.

Fear and uncertainty must have shown on the victim’s face as one of the sisters came forward with a pair of pliers. She squeezed his penis with them and began twisting, most likely sending the man screaming in pain. He later told authorities that it was the most painful thing he had ever experienced. Still locked in the grip of the hardware, the other of the pair started to threaten him with a belt. The feeling of sheer helplessness that the man must have felt while being literally held in bondage by the pair of” twisted sisters” probably caused psychological damage lasting much longer than the pain felt during that fateful night.

The question posed by most would be why two young and seemingly harmless girls could succumb to such atrocious behavior. The dark side of human nature can so easily take over, bringing forth a monster in the heat of having power over another. A motive was never explained by authorities about the incident.

Another disturbing layer is added to the story as it was stated by the man that Bartkey’s 4-year-old daughter was in the next room crying. Later in the month, Johnson allegedly called the victim threatening him by saying she would tell the police he was smoking marijuana if he went to them. It was confirmed by the man that it was actually the demented duo that were partaking that night.

Both of the women have been charged with second degree felony assault by force and battery. They are now in jail facing a maximum penalty of 25 years for their vicious crimes.

“The Ward”- Netflix Review

Jess Barrett — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 13:00:16 +0000

Directed by: John Carpenter
Date: July 2010

She made us slobber and cringe as “Zombieland”’s 406. She kept us in stitches as Angie in “Pineapple Express”. Now, she’ll make you scratch your head and wonder just what is going on.

Amber Heard leads in The Ward as the vastly confused and supernaturally tormented Kristen, a patient in a seemingly sinister psych ward. Kristen has no memory as to why she has been institutionalized though she is plagued by vivid recurring nightmares. Her four fellow residents are of little to no help in explaining anything so she is left to learn for herself, and in doing so begins to notice an odd pattern of missing patients. Eventually the girls open up about Emily, someone who used to be a patient of the ward. The others felt she was out of control and did what they had to do to protect themselves, but what exactly? Is Emily the ghost that has been haunting Kristen? Is she responsible for the strange disappearances?

John Carpenter never fails to deliver a delicious thriller mixed with some sort of otherworldly phenomenon and The Ward is no exception. The suspense is killer (I jumped, twice!) and the unraveling mystery is timed wonderfully. It seems like these days directors think a good movie can’t happen in less than two hours and thirty minutes. Not so. Sometimes a good 90 minutes is all you need. We find an excellent example of that here, and even with time for a decent twist at the end. Nothing uncharted or possibly unpredictable, but the storyline does a fine job of misdirection. Although, I’m sure it’s one of those movies that may be interesting the second time around, in order to watch it from a different perspective but it will undoubtedly lose it’s re-watch value after that.

If it hasn’t been clear so far, I’m giving this flick a very high rating. It’s definitely worth watching for those thriller/horror fans out there. The story gives your mind something to chew on the majority of the time while there is also some eye candy on screen. Between gruesome ghosts popping up during shower time and an angry torture scene, you will be glued. Not to mention that this seems to be a psych ward for the unnaturally cute, so there’s that when nothing crazy (ahem) is happening. Watch it for the ghosts, or the girls; either way you’ll be in for a treat.

5 blood drops

Man Arrested for Killing, Eating Cat. Was Found Wearing Body Parts As Jewelry.

Jen McEntire — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:36:47 +0000

image property of homelyvillain@deviantart.com

A 24-year-old man from Phoenix, Arizona named Russell Hofstad was caught by authorities last month for skinning a cat and wearing its body parts as jewelry. Having been recently released from jail for charges unknown, Russell found himself homeless and apparently pretty hungry. He found an empty warehouse used for raves and as a venue for local bands, and having nowhere else to go, made himself comfortable. Court records obtained by the New Times indicated that police were called after hearing that a man broke into the building and, thinking it to be a burglar, police arrived on scene and found Russell still inside.

Apparently he had been there for a while, long enough to have done some property damage. Authorities found messages written on the walls, broken fire alarm panels, and deployed fire extinguishers. What police didn’t expect to find was a dead cat that had been skinned next to a steaming pile of guts in the middle of the warehouse. The organs of the cat were stored in an ice cooler, and a screwdriver and clippers were found nearby. They found Russell, who appeared to be intoxicated, with paint on his face. He was wearing a cat tail on a rope with what looked like its liver dangling across his chest.

When confronted with his actions he told police that he was hungry and had not eaten for days. So I guess feline was on the menu because who would think to look in a dumpster for food, right? Most of the time you can go to the back of a Mickey D’s, dig around the trash, and find perfectly edible food that’s been thrown out. It’s sad that upon his release no one thought to send him to the nearest shelter or state funded mental health care center. It seemed that there might have been something a little unbalanced about this man who claimed to just want a bite to eat.

One of the cat’s legs was missing, and that was presumably the part that was consumed. Hofstad said he used a stick to bash the animal’s head in. After the assumed shrieks stopped, as it seems that a mere stick would take a few blows to do the job, he pulled out a butcher knife that he found along the wayside. He then preceded to skin the cat and gut it in a Texas Chainsaw Massacre fashion by the sounds of it. How Russell actually cooked the leg, or if he just ate it bloody raw, remains a mystery. He also told police that he planned to taxidermy the cat as in some sort of tribute to the animal. The bones he wanted to keep for party decorations. What else?

The cops suspected Hofstad to be under the influence of something as his eyes were bloody red and he was rambling incoherently. Whether or not he was on any drugs has yet to be found out at this time. He was arrested and booked back into jail in Maricopa County for burglary, criminal damage to property, and of course, animal cruelty.

“I Saw The Devil”- Netflix Review

Skot Six — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:00:17 +0000

Director: Jee-woon Kim
Date: August 2010
Language: Korean

Two minutes. You have to love a movie that has its first brutal killing two minutes into the movie. The opening credits were still rolling and the blood already made rivers in the snow!

This is no spoiler, after all this is a revenge movie. Someone has to die before someone else can take revenge.

Beautiful Asian women and breathtaking cinematography jump out at you like a “crouching tiger” and from the very first shot of the South Korean countryside you know you are going to be in for a good two hours and twenty two minutes. The well written sound track takes you in and wraps you like a warm blanket as the plot begins to unfold.

Dae-hoon (Byung-hun Lee) is a highly trained secret agent, and after his fiancée is murdered in the opening credits by a well-known serial killer, and the police have no hard evidence to bring anyone in, he goes on a bloody quest to find his fiancées killer.

If ever there was a reason to go on a revenge rampage that would be it, and rampage he does. Being a secret agent comes in very handy for the hunt he embarks on, gadgets and intelligence making his mission a lot easier than it would be without, I assume. Not that I have ever been on a revenge rampage.

Amazing panoramic camera shots of the city skyline give a breath taking view of an area that I had no idea was so beautiful, which is a really great contrast to all the amazing amounts of violence that fills the screen between.

And violence there is a plenty! These people in this movie really know how to hurt one another. More than once I found myself saying “OH!” out loud to my television and holding a body part in proxy of the pain I was seeing on screen.

Amazing special effects fill this movie, as the blood spray covered my screen again and again, as surprise attacks came constantly from the increasingly violent cast. Everything was so well acted that you begin to really feel like you are in the room with these crazy bastards. I swear I could smell the blood.

This movie is not for the squeamish or the easily disturbed. Although the death toll is not as high as some other movies in the genre, it has plenty of the red stuff. But this movie is more about pain and violence than killing, so it is filled with disturbing shots of abject punishment.

The serial killer Kyung-chul (Min-sik Choi), is so expertly acted he will send a shiver up your spine on more than one occasion, and the hero really surprised me as the real story began to unfold and the blinders come off to the true nature of revenge.

(Insert appropriate quote from Yoda about the path to the dark side here)

This is not a feel good movie and won’t leave you with warm squishy feeling, unless that warm squishy feeling is the blood between your toes. And if you are looking for blood this has got it. If you are prepared for the heart-ache and pain this movie is going to dish out, you will enjoy this monster eat monster movie.

I enjoyed this film’s gore and violence and would recommended it…but remember, revenge is never pretty.

4 Blood Drops

Yet Another Science Marvel to Wipe Out the World

Rev. Tommy B — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:00:08 +0000

A scenario we’ve all been in: It’s winter and you start feeling weird and sneezy. Next comes the aches and pains and you want nothing more then to lie on the couch and watch crappy TV. You guessed it; you’ve got the flu. There’s nothing more annoying and debilitating as getting the new strain of this virus as it rips through the masses.

Now imagine the new strain isn’t the H1N1 that everyone is getting shots for or suffering through. It’s actually a mutated version of the H5N1 Avian flu that is sweeping through the human race, wiping out those that can’t combat the virus. There is no cure or prevention because no one has seen it. Sound like Captain Trips from “The Stand”? You know, the virus that wipes almost everyone out. Is this something you should be worried about? Yes.

H5N1 flu is a stronger and more lethal version of the common flu. The strain we know and love is only transferred through bodily fluids and feces. Funny thing is two separate laboratories have mutated strands in ferrets that are transferable through breathing the same air. Both labs have papers submitted and ready for peer review of their studies.

The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) has stepped in and suggested the findings not be published, as it could be too great a risk. The thought process they have is that a bio-terrorist organization could get their hands on the studies, follow the process, and mutate the virus on their own. This would place a weapon in their hands that the rest of the world isn’t ready for- a virus with no vaccine, and a disease with no cure.

There are proponents saying that the only way to get a cure is to share the information. Have the labs supporting the research and requesting the info go through a screening process. But who’s to say they won’t leak the info? I am all for labs testing theories and proving processes but when it comes to something this deadly, I get a little leery. Let’s just take a step back and figure out what the threats and benefits are.

For more info, search H5N1 at www.nature.com. I know I’ll be following this one closely.

“Trick ‘r Treat”- Netflix Review

Jason Frymoyer — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:00:56 +0000

Director: Michael Dougherty

Release Date: October 6, 2009

Ah Halloween, the one night of the year where everyone can shed their skin in exchange for ghoulish garb and let go of reality. Kids shuffle in droves from door to door collecting copious amounts of candy while the adults dress in the scariest, sexiest costumes they can and fuel up on horrific concoctions resulting in a nightmarish hangover. It’s like Christmas for horror aficionados.

However it’s not all fun and games, lest you forget the rules and traditions of All Hallows Eve. And thus we have the premise for “Trick ‘r Treat,” follow the rules or suffer the consequences. The story itself is broken down into a four-part anthology, with each character adding substance to the conjoined plot. Each segment is infused with a twist as wicked as its wit.

The tales of terror involve a high school principal (Dylan Baker) who moonlights as a holiday-themed serial killer; a cruel and nasty practical joke played on an idiot savant (Samm Todd) who has an affinity for pumpkin carving; a virginal Red Riding Hood (Anna Paquin) who has nothing whatsoever to fear from the big bad wolf; and a cranky recluse (Brian Cox) who’s night takes a hellish turn when he refuses to dish out treats. The one constant in all four tales is Sam (Quinn Lord) who, for all intents and purposes, is the spirit of Halloween. Scouring the town, Sam ensures that the rules and traditions of the holiday are strictly enforced by any means necessary.

Brian Cox gets most of the screen time and uses it to his advantage as the eccentric and increasingly frantic character Kreeg. His interaction with the malevolent Sam trigger one of the best moments of the movie, his reaction to watching Sam’s dismembered hand crawling across the floor delivers the biggest laugh out loud moment.

Dylan Baker is deliciously evil as Principal Wilkins. His Poindexter-ish demeanor is counterbalanced by his penchant for bloodlust as he embarks on a macabre misadventure in honoring the traditions of the holiday the only way he knows how: going on a murderous rampage.

Anna Paquin delivers the sex appeal as Laurie. Her and her girlfriends are gallivanting around town in search of suitors for a party they’re attending. The group ends up fractured and Laurie is left by her lonesome until she runs afoul of a toothsome and fanged creeper that wants more from her than just a date. Without giving any more away, the ending to this section of the story has the craziest twist of them all.

Newcomer Samm Todd was another scene stealer for me as Rhonda, but for totally different reasons. Rhonda’s story revolves around her and her classmates paying respects to the victims of the “Halloween School Bus Massacre”. Todd’s innocence made her instantly likeable for me, when rotten things happen to her you find yourself rooting for her to seize the moment, which ultimately she does in her own way. Memo to anyone who pranks the “slow” girl that knows more about Halloween than you: just don’t do it.

Director Michael Dougherty’s homage to “Tales from the Crypt” and “Creepshow” is not only scary and affective, it’s fun. From start to finish I found myself laughing out loud as well as showering my television with a bevy of “ooh’s” and “ah’s” at the sight of people getting hacked to pieces. It had the tone and feel of a horror movie but it had a quirkiness that mirrored its predecessors.

With a running time of 82 minutes, a myriad of twists and turns, a creepy little sack-headed guy running around, and projectile vomit; Trick ‘r Treat is sure to deliver just that for its loyal horror fans, tricks and treats aplenty.

4 Blood drops

Man Commits Murder Over Barroom Beverage

Audrey Quaranta — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:00:56 +0000

Drinking beer from a wine glass led to murder on the night of February 4.

27 year-old Daniel J. Olaska was sitting in a bar in Naperville, Ill. unconventionally enjoying his brew, when college student Willie Hayes poked fun at him for his choice of glass. In retaliation, Olaska mocked Hayes, a muscular football player, for wearing a tight shirt.

The trading of insults quickly escalated. When Hayes’ friend, 24 year-old elementary school teacher Shaun R. Wild, attempted to diffuse the situation, Olaska pulled a 5-inch serrated blade from his waistband and attacked the two men, cutting Wild’s arm and penetrating Hayes’ chest. Olaska then attempted to leave the bar. Wild pursued Olaska and unfortunately, he caught him.

Olaska then stabbed Wild to death.

Hayes and a bouncer at the bar are being treated for serious-to-critical injuries.

The oddly-provoked violence seems to have come out of virtually nowhere.

“There’s no indications at all this was self-defense,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said of the stabbing. “It’s utterly senseless. There’s no explanation.”

Olaska’s attorney notes that his client, who works in aviation, has no criminal history. “I don’t think this guy’s ever had a parking ticket,” he said.

“He has no history of violence or temper flare ups,” stated a friend of Olaska, who asked to not be named.

Wild’s senseless death has affected much of the community, including family, friends, and students and teachers at his place of employment.

Gary Ireland, assistant dean of students and football chaplain at Wild’s college, described Wild as “everyone’s big brother.”

”He takes care of everyone else. I think that’s the role he was fulfilling yesterday when he stepped in,” he said.

Olaska gave a full confession and is being held by Naperville police. The case is under investigation.

“The Dark Half”- Netflix Review

Jess Barrett — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:00:03 +0000

Director: George A. Romero
Date: April 1993

In this movie adaptation of the Stephen King novel, we meet author Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton) who writes under the pseudonym George Stark. But George doesn’t seem to be just a name. Thad’s concerned wife, Liz (Amy Madigan) begs him to give up the persona for the sake of his own safety as well as that of his children but he is reluctant at best. Thad maintains that George is a part of who he is and he is never out of control.

Hold up for a sec. Although this is the main plot of the movie, some very juicy information is left out. When we first meet Thad, he is a young boy with an undiagnosed affliction that causes fainting, hearing birds and being swarmed by sparrows, apparently. After he is admitted to the hospital, the doctors take a peek at his brain in an attempt to solve this problem. Much to their surprise, a tumor in Thad’s brain is looking back at them. Literally. A parasitic twin had been growing in his brain. One nurse loses it and flees from the room in terror. Unfortunately for her, she is met with the scene of thousands of sparrows flying around the hospital, smashing against the windows. The doctors fully remove the tumor and Thad remains unaware of the birds. Life returns to normal…for a while.

So within the first ten minutes, we see an eyeball blinking in a kid’s brain…awesome. We’re on a good track. Unfortunately for Thad, it’s not so good. After finally admitting to the public that George Stark is not real, all the people close to him begin to die. It’s a regular blood bath. Pretty quickly, the police are involved and we meet Sheriff Alan Pangborn (The Walking Dead’s Merle!) who is relentlessly on the case.

Unfortunately this is where the story loses me, which is upsetting because I really want to love this movie unconditionally. It’s got just about everything: decent cast, excellent cinematography and a killer motif. Sadly, there is a plot hole conjoined twins could cartwheel through. Or maybe not so much a hole but a stretch for a connection that it fails to reach. Other than the oddly confusing ending I loved this movie and plan to read the book one day which I have heard it is good as well. Maybe something will be illuminated that the movie left out. Anyway, I still recommend The Dark Half. Take a shot; give your brain something to play with.

4 blood drops

Banned Horror Films- Protection or Censorship?

Kelly Preneta — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:00:58 +0000

What do you love about horror films? The blood? The gore? The Special Effects? Being able to laugh off that you were so scared you almost pissed yourself? We enjoy all of it. Sometimes what we watch makes for insomnia filled nights and not wanting to eat the next morning. ”A Serbian film”, in its own unique way, provides everything we look for in a good horror flick. It makes your stomach turn, it floats around in your thoughts after the final credits have rolled, it gives you the nightmares we ask of every good flick. So why is the world so upset? Why do certain countries and governments feel the need to ban then re-release it after 49 cuts resulting 4 minutes and 11 seconds of removed footage? Which by the way, is the most ever.

Call me crazy but I think what we love most about the horror genre is that is not real. The odds of a sociopathic surgeon pulling a Dr Heiter and sewing 3 people mouth-to-anus is highly unlikely. So what does society have to fear? Could it be the fact that some of the topics we see in a Serbian Film, unfortunately, happen every day, every hour, every minute?

When we watch the news or read the paper and see some of the true terrors the world has to offer: the rape, the murder, the pedophiles, we find nothing appealing about it. (And on a side note, if you do please check yourself into the nearest mental facility, you sick assholes! Thanks). Now, please don’t misconstrue what I just said. Knowing that a movie is based on actual facts always raises their scare rating a little, but we don’t sit in the theater and say “Yessss, I’m so happy Jeffrey Dahmer actually killed and ate all those people,” then high-five the person two rows down from us. There is a difference between our theatrical sense and our sense as a human being. So is it possible for the two to become intertwined? If we watch violence and gore can it really imbed itself inside our souls and make us want to follow its example?

Some people say YES! There are many organizations who do everything in their power to ban and withhold the release of films because they stand by their word that they promote violence. If we promote violence, we encourage violence, so on and so forth. Throughout cinema history there have also been copycat killings. “Natural Born Killers” and “A Clockwork Orange” most notably have the biggest following of copycat killers. People have admittedly watched these movies, committed a crime, and later stated “I want to be like Mickey and Mallory Knox.” But what about the other 30 million viewers? You know the majority who later that night went home tucked their children into bed, kissed them goodnight, and went to work the next morning without a homicidal thought in mind? Killer instincts would already have to be starting to blossom, right? All they need to start that fire is a spark, right Bruce Springsteen? A spark that could come from anyone, anything, anywhere, anytime. So why ban films?

The first ever banned was actually in New Jersey. 1894. “Dorlita in the Passion Dance” was banned for its use in Peepshows. Luckily for Americans we have never fully jumped onto the banning bandwagon. There is no federal agency restricting or permitting the showing of motion pictures. Each individual city and/or state has a right to ban the distribution of films, but not our country as a whole, God Bless America. Throughout the world, however, films are banned in countries for all kinds of reasons; religion, gore, graphic content, sexual content, sympathy towards groups. Yes, that last part is accurate. Indonesia has a ban on “Schindler’s List” under the terms of being sympathetic to the Jewish cause. Iran and Malaysia have bans on, well, pretty much everything mostly on the grounds of being contrary to religious beliefs and morals.

If you were to search a list of banned films you would find one commonality amongst them all, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. For whatever reason, it’s there. Many, many countries have banned this movie whether it was the content, the gore, the cannibalism. Some have released the movie after years, some have released it with cuts, some still have yet to release it. But, from 1974 until present day it has become more widely accepted. More than that it’s a f*ckin’ classic. We love this movie. We love it so much it has sequels. It’s been re-made. We are anxiously waiting for it to be released in 3D for Christ sakes. So if we have fallen so head over heels, why such a big deal in the first place? It’s the same song and dance with other “video nasty” movies as well. “The Last House on the Left”, “The Hills Have Eyes”, “Halloween”, “I Spit on Your Grave”, “Friday the 13th”,” The Evil Dead”. The list goes on and on. There is a big controversy over the release, we then fall in love, wait for it to have offspring, and after a couple years try and remake the film into something more modern.

So what’s the point? Someone is always going to be offended and disgusted. And someone is always going to try to push the envelope as did Tom Six with “The Human Centipede 2”. His sole purpose was to make the most outrageous, deplorable film he could fathom. I’m willing to make the argument as to whether he accomplished that, but we could debate that later. (I really liked the poster though.) So which is it? Do films have any bearing on a person’s actions? Do we inherit these immense feelings of violence from a gene pool or environment, or do we need to ban films to save the world?

“Days of Darkness” -Netflix Review

Skot Six — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:00:58 +0000

Director: Jake Kennedy
Date: September 2007

So this movie grabbed my attention with a cool poster, a great name, an interesting plot idea, and a Netflix category of “Horror Movies, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, B-Horror Movies, Zombie Movies, Sci-Fi Horror Movies” (That’s a mouthful of genre!)

A comet crashes into the Earth and most of the planet turns into Zombies. These are the slow, shambling mass of flesh eating cannibals (a-la “Night of the living Dead”). A rag tag, dare I say it “motley crew” of survivors in the mountains collects together at an old army base. How convenient, but then again isn’t there always a crew of survivors in a zombie movie?

The substandard acting jumps out immediately, as well as the very obviously laid out “good guy/bad guy” roles in the survivor camp. There are some old standards like the crazy preacher (the preacher looks like Johnny Rotten from the Sex Pistols to me) and the tough army chick, as well as the asshole tough guy. That is a whole lot of cliché’s in a row, but nothing I haven’t over looked before in a movie. The porn star is new, however. You don’t see those in your everyday zombie flick. She’s fun.

About half way through, the movie the Sci-Fi elements start to come into play, which is what made me interested in this movie in the first place. So now the plot has me hanging on when the bad acting, bad special effects and even worse cinematography make me want to let go. They do take the movie somewhere no zombie film has gone before, which is a good thing. It even made me squirm a little and that is saying something!

Bad special effects are forgivable. After all, low-budget films have entertained horror fans for decades. They even used the old “stuff-we-can’t-do-with-our-budget-let’s-just-describe-it-off-camera,” and “let’s-use-a-lot-of-strobe-lights-to-cover-how bad-our-effect-looks” tricks, which you gotta love.

Bad acting is unforgivable, in my opinion. While the story takes some interesting twists and unexpected developments for a zombie movie, the dialogue is poor which causes the plot to become mired in the bad verbiage.

So in short: cool story idea, very interesting plot development, bad acting, and terrible effects. Not something you want to make plans for, but if you are bored, you have nothing else to watch and you would like to see the interesting plot that the writer/director came up with, it is watchable.
But don’t get your hopes up too high.

2 ½ blood drops

“Tales From The Crypt: Ritual” -Netflix Review

Jason Frymoyer — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:00:24 +0000

Director: Avi Nesher
Date: May 2006

When it first appeared in my Netflix horror section, I admit to being caught up in nostalgia. A new Tales from the Crypt movie had finally surfaced at long last. I was exhilarated by the thought of hearing John Kassir’s quirky one-liners and “killer” observational humor as the enigmatic Crypt Keeper. For so long I have been a fan of the franchise that I could not wait to sink my teeth into this movie.

My exuberance quickly turned to irritation within the first twenty minutes. Sure, the movie began setting up the genesis for the story that was to come. But there was one major issue that stuck out almost instantly, there was no John Kassir, there was no Crypt Keeper. With that, the remaining eighty-six minutes became ultimately one of the worst movie experiences I’ve ever encountered.

“Ritual” begins with Jennifer “Nobody puts baby in a corner” Grey as Dr. Alice Dodgson, an open-minded oncologist whose experiments with an unapproved drug has cost her patient their life. Her license to practice medicine is immediately revoked almost as quickly as she is summoned to Jamaica to care for the brother of wealthy land-owner Paul Claybourne (Craig Sheffer). What makes the prognosis difficult to determine is the fact that Paul’s brother Wesley Claybourne (Daniel Lapaine) believes himself to be or turning into a zombie.

Dr. Dodgson sets out to prove that science and medicine can trump all the voodoo-hoodo that seems to be rearing its ugly head in Wesley’s direction. Assisting her in her attempts is the beautiful and voluptuous Caro (Kristen Wilson), a sculptress that adds nothing more than intrigue and nudity to the overall story.

Also delegated to the confines of the Jamaican jungles is none other than the brilliantly twisted Tim Curry in one of the most ho-hum roles I’ve ever seen him in. Curry plays root-juice sipping, ganja smoking veterinarian Matthew Hope, a character who ultimately contributes nothing to the story except feel good reprieves from the jumbled mess that is considered plot. It was a travesty to see Curry pushed by the wayside, because if it wasn’t for him this movie really would have nothing of substance.

Overall the camera work was the only offering that is indicative of the Tales from the Crypt moniker. The lush landscapes, brooding environment, and creepy vibe give this movie a shot in the arm. The story itself, based loosely off of RKO Pictures “I walked with a Zombie”, was in shambles from scene one. While Jenifer Grey and Kristen Wilson add a nice blend of sex appeal you really have a hard time becoming engaged in their characters. The only redeeming factor I found happened within the opening minutes of the movie as a doctor, under a voodoo spell, melts down into a pile of goo. The effects were top notch here but with the rest of the movie all the make-up effects were pedestrian at best.

A convoluted story, a grossly under-utilized Tim Curry, Jennifer Grey in a voodoo trance of ridiculous proportions and no Crypt Keeper absolutely killed the potential of this movie. Before you decide to watch, I urge you to look away, for you may find yourself in a voodoo trance that will cost an hour and forty-five minutes of your life which you will most assuredly want back.

1/2 Blood drop

Turn Into A Vampire Without Getting Bitten

Edward B. Abbott — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:52:15 +0000

It used to be that vampire fans could only emulate their favorite horror movie blood suckers by dressing black leather catsuits, buying cheesy plastic fangs at the nearest dollar store, and sporting goth hair styles that make them look like they got attacked by Edward Scissorhands at the beauty salon.

But now, with vampire mania spawning a coven of hit movies and TV shows, die-hard fans no longer have to hang out in dark alleys waiting to get bitten by someone to get an authentic vampire look. Manufacturers are eager to capitalize on the newfound vampire popularity by providing die-hard fans with a whole new level of options for turning themselves into a vampire … without the painful blood letting.

Several contact lens providers are now carrying creepy, multi-colored lenses, designed specifically to match the eerie eyes of the vampires in films such as “Underworld”, “Interview with a Vampire”, and the “Twilight series”.

Most of the lenses are available in the traditional contact lense size, which covers just the iris. But larger sclera lenses, which cover the entire eye, are also available for a more dramatic effect.

According to VisionDirect.com, one online supplier of the FDA-approved, vampire-themed contact lenses, “These lenses are ideal for theatrical production, movie production, parties, Halloween, or just to make an impact.”

Prices range from $30 to $130. A prescription from an eye doctor is required for ordering, since the lenses are custom made to match the needs of the prescription.

One of the most crucial elements required for turning into a vampire is having a decent set of fangs. For the ultimate in realism, several dentists nationwide now offer vampire fang veneers. For about $200, anyone can have their canines molded into pointy vampire teeth, suitable for chowing down on the nearest jugular. Fortunately, these veneers are not permanent. So, if the newly fanged “vampire” realizes the veneers have exposed her to ostracism and a bevy of de-frendings on Facebook, the fangs can be removed by a dentist and she can go back to her normal “human” smile.

Scarecrow, Inc. provides a less drastic and much cheaper solution with their completely removable and retractable fangs. These fangs were designed to appear and disappear, just like the vampire fangs in movies. When a lever on the fang device is moved up or down by the wearer’s tongue, the fangs appear to slide in and out of the gums, creating the illusion of an authentic vampire transformation. Prices range from $13 to $22.

For those who aren’t content with just having the eyes and teeth of a vampire, Harcos Laboratories has made it possible for them to have the diet of a vampire as well, without risking exposure to harmful blood born pathogens. Their Blood Energy Potion is a 100% drinkable, synthetic blood that comes in a resealable transfusion bag-style pouch and boasts a fruit punch flavor.

According to the Harco Laboratories website, “not only does Blood Energy Potion have a similar nutritional makeup to real blood, but it has the same color, look, and consistency… and packs 4 hours of energy along with iron and electrolytes.” The product contains no real blood and is only 25 calories per serving… which should make it easier for wanna-be vampires to make sure they stay trim enough to fit into their black leather catsuits, while horrifying their friends by slupring down a goblet full of fake blood.

Blood Energy Potion sells for about $16 for a 4-pack of 3.4 oz. pouches.

“The Horde” -Netflix Review

Skot Six — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:00:24 +0000

Directors: Yannick Dahan and Benjamin Rocher
Date: November 2009
Language: French

(This film is available on Netflix Watch now with English sub-titles. This is the BEST way to watch a foreign film. You should never watch them dubbed. Any true lover of the art of film will tell you this.)

Our story opens where a lot of zombie movies start, in a graveyard. But this is not what you think; there is no 2-4-5 Trioxin-laced rain coming down from the heavens. There are no secret government experiments gone horribly wrong, and there are no crazed monkeys. This is just a funeral. A funeral for a fallen policeman, a brother in blood and in uniform. He was taken out in the line of duty by some “dirt bag drug dealers”. No spoiler here, but you quickly find out that the cops are out not going to wait for the courts and they are out for revenge. They plan on having a little “street justice” against these drug dealers, and with a quick promise to who must be the matriarch of the family to bring everyone home alive, our heroes are off to even the score. There’s a promise no one can ever be certain to keep.

Sounds more like a Quentin Tarantino, drug-filled shootout than a zombie film you say? Ahh, therein lies the beauty of this French twister! As if the name and the poster of the movie were not “dead” giveaways as to this films true nature.

The action is nonstop, both from the zombie side and the side of the living, and will keep you on the edge of your seat. This is one of the first zombie movies I’ve seen where so many zombie just get the shit kicked out of them. These are not your “Night of the Living Dead” slow-moving corpses, either. These are “28 Days Later” runners! They are tough, fast and aggressive. But these cops and drug dealers are bad asses too, so zombies beware! Plus these guys have lots of cocaine to kill the pain. Keep your eye on the white guy with the pony tail, he is a blast all the way through to the end.

Sometimes it gets a little confusing when five French guys are screaming and you are trying to keep the subtitles in order, but this movie is worth a few moments of inter-language confusion. After all, you still get the point no matter who says what.

By halfway through the movie you care as much for the drug dealers as you do the cops, everything was so expertly acted. And the film was cut and shot so well it keeps you jumping even when the undead aren’t running or screaming at the camera with blood dripping from their mouths.

As the movie draws to a close the undead and our heroes get into a bloody confrontation as good as any I’ve seen in any American zombie movie, including the famous “Dead Alive” lawn mower scene.
But even in the final moments of this French twister, there is an unexpected ending that will leave you surprised.

This movie has superb acting and excellent special effects, and how it starts out to be a cops and robbers film that grows into a zombie-fest is a really unique and well thought out concept. It also has an ending that will leave your jaw on the floor.

This goes down as one of my new favorite zombie movies of all time.

5 blood drops.

Auction of the Dead

Jen McEntire — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:46:21 +0000

If there’s anything Storage Wars has proven to us (the A&E series about hunters of storage locker auctions) it’s that you really never know what may be waiting inside for you to uncover. This was certainly the case when Clearwater U-Storage manager Kevin McKeon, found a coffin inside of a 10×10 storage unit that was about to go to auction on account of having no payments since Dec. of last year. Inside was confirmed by authorities to be the body of Ann Bunch, whose corpse was lain peacefully amongst the family’s possessions since 1995! Yes, 17 years that granny has been waiting for her eternal resting place, which I’m sure did not include being wedged between an old couch and a box of collectable baseball cards.

When a family member called and told McKeon not to go enter the unit because of the body inside, he remained skeptical and put off checking it until a week later. The granddaughter, Rebecca Ann Francer, had called saying, “My mother told me on her death bed that Grandma is in the storage unit, you can’t sell our stuff.” But the reality of the situation soon took hold as he discovered a blue casket that must have been laden with over a decade of dusty cobwebs. A tremble surely rose up inside of Kevin as he witnessed what he thought could not be real. His skepticism probably turned to horror at the sight of the casket and whatever smirk was on his face before entering the storage unit surely vanished. Upon the return of his senses, he placed a call to the Clearwater Police Department with fingers that could’ve been shaking from the anxiety of seeing that the woman’s story was indeed true .

The owners of the unit, who are now deceased themselves, first rented it out in 1985. Ten years later the daughter of Ann, Bobbie Barnett Hancock, loads the body of her newly dead mother into the locker. When an emergency team arrived to access the situation, they opened the coffin to uncover a well preserved corpse with only the decomposition of the years that had transpired. The smell of death that must have wafted through the poorly ventilated space after almost two decades of hot Florida sun, with no air conditioning, would have most men reeling. Just another instance of the dark side of living in the “Sunshine State.”

Possible financial struggles at the time kept the family from buying a plot leaving them with little choice but to keep grandma safely stored away until a later date. Well that date didn’t come until the big reveal last Thursday, when the disbelieving McKeon learned that to not trust can sometimes send us unprepared into certain truths. This situation has one wondering what thousands of hidden mysteries are just waiting to be found in the dark recesses of forgotten places; what peculiarities are wanting their story to be told. How many bodies could be put away unknowingly, possibly through malicious intent? It’s enough to give crime thriller novelists material to write for decades to come, and real life investigators enough work to last through the recession.

Ann’s body has since been relocated to A Tribute Life funeral home in Largo, a tribute well deserved after almost two decades of doing solitary in a dark heated box. The granddaughter whose family secrets have leapt out in a most surprising an unfortunate way, can now officially grieve a grandmother whose skeleton is now out of the closet. Charges have not been filed against the surviving family members at this time as authorities continue to dig deeper into the investigation.

“Devil” -Netflix Review

Rev. Tommy B — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:30:03 +0000

Directed by: John Erick Dowdle
Screenplay: Brian Nelson
Story: M. Night Shyamalan
Release Date: September 2010

First off, forgive me for not going into too many details of this film. The basic gist without giving too much away is that a suicide brings detectives to a building where five people with tainted pasts are stuck in an elevator, and it turns out one of them is the devil in disguise. That’s pretty much all there is to it. 80 minutes to unravel the mystery of who done it and who is not who they seem.

Shyamalan is a name that has become synonymous world wide in the suspense thriller realm. With films like “The Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable“, he has kept moviegoers on their toes and questioning every turn the film makes since 1999. Here in lies the issue, all you do is look out for plot twists. It makes you miss the real story of it all. I hate that I do it but I do, and we should all just recognize that now. I was looking for all the subtle twists, the hints, the things I didn‘t want to miss. I knew they were coming and I blame M. Night for this. His past films, although great works of suspense, now force us to use this blueprint with every new title of his we view. Now that that’s off my chest we can move on.

Devil was a cool idea of M. Night’s that Brian Nelson wrote into a screenplay. If you are a curious little bugger like I am, you notice right at the beginning of Devil the words “Night Chronicles 1” pop up. raising the question “What the heck is that?” I, of course, googled it. Apparently it’s a production group designed to make supernatural thrillers and “Devil” is the first. They are slatted to start shooting a second title this year.

The movie opens with some familiar scenes of the Philadelphia landscape, except it is all shot upside down. This bothered me at first, but it does have a side meaning that is later revealed. We move to a deep conversation on two things that should never be mixed together, alcoholism and religion. The dialog should be serious yet seems to come off a little hokey. That is a major issue I noticed through most of this film. The depth of what they were trying to say just came off odd, misplaced, and quite cheesy. I get what they were trying to do, but I just wasn’t buying it.

The music starts in right away in an attempt to be suspenseful for no real reason at all. In fact, this lasts through the beginning and kind of ruins the feel for me. It doesn’t build on dramatic sequences or feeling of dread at all. The music doesn’t get all that great until the classic elevator music kicks in. That ends up pissing off the characters in the film and they are able to get it shut off before it grates on the nerves of the movie watcher.

The movie had me laugh out loud many times. I’m not sure if that was the intent but the hit-you-over-the-head foreshadowing set me off. From numbers (elevator 6, building 333, the car stops on 23…) to leading you on with who the devil is, then killing that character off, to the security guard who just happens to be super religious and happens to know what is going on and how it will pan out. Don’t get me wrong, it was a neat idea and a fun movie to watch but I’m not sure they meant it to come off the way it did.

The movie did do a few things really well. The claustrophobia was felt through tight shots in the elevator. The way you begin to dislike the sinners one by one as their background stories unfold and their true character traits are revealed. How the audience goes back and forth as to whom the devil is disguised as due to twists in the plot. Also, the movie moved at a great pace. By the time it was getting old, it was done.

All in all I did learn a few life lessons: Ignore the religious that think they can change things ‘cause if the devil wants you he’s going to stab you in the neck. Take the stairs: It’s better for your health and there are fewer demons. And lastly, don’t trust old people. This one keeps popping up in horror movies. Maybe Children of the Corn had it right.

3 blood drops

“Black Death” -Netflix Review

Jess Barrett — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:00:41 +0000

Directed by: Christopher Smith
Date: February 4th 2011 (Video On Demand)

After reading the mini synopsis provided by Netflix, I thought I would be in for a treat. I love period movies and I also love virus/outbreak movies. This was two in one and even involved some necromancy, so how could I lose? Well, I did. One hundred and two minutes down the pooper, never to be seen again.

The movie takes place in England during the first outbreak of the Bubonic Plague and centers around a young, troubled monk named Osmund (Eddie Redmayne). Shortly after we are introduced to Osmund, we meet Ulrich (Sean Bean), who arrives in search of a small village that has not yet been touched by the plague. Also, there are rumors of a witch who resides there and has the power to raise the dead. Osmund is not only capable of navigating Ulrich and his crew, but also has ulterior motives. Once the party of truth-seekers finds the town, they are surprised that the town does not seem to be afflicted by the plague. The witch, although warm and sweet, does in fact have the ability to raise the dead…and she uses it.

Now, before I divulge any more of the plot I’ll tell you right now: that’s about the extent of this movie’s “horror”. I’ll also tell you something that I learned after watching this movie: Netflix synopsis suck. The story is more about the internal conflict of Osmund over what he believes, what he sees, and what he feels. There’s little too little gore, and for being a movie about the bubonic plague there is not much interaction with anyone who is infected. However, Christopher Smith is no stranger to the genre, having directed movies such as Creep, Severance and Triangle. Even in this dull as dishwater tale, Smith managed to make me squirm. An example, and probably the only decent “horror” scene in the movie, is when Ulrich is drawn and quartered. Honestly, it’s a bit disappointing that there wasn’t more blood and torture. It seems like a completely missed opportunity.

So, if I were to rate this on a horror scale it would get a week-old dried up drop of blood. If you’re looking for entrails and oozing pustules, you will not find much of that in Black Death. However, it’s really not a terrible movie. I mean, I watched the whole thing without pulling out something to fiddle with out of boredom, so that’s saying something. For sheer entertainment I will grant another drop to this film because it had its moments.

Two drops of blood.

Strange Noises Heard Around the World

Jen McEntire — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:00:46 +0000

Click the image above to start the video.

A mysterious sound has been reported in various places worldwide which has been described as a rumble or hum. The noise seems to come not from Earth or sky, but from everywhere, and as of yet the origins remain unknown. First heard around theworld between July and August of 2011, a new string of this bizarre phenomena is rising once again. On January 9th in places throughout Costa Rica these strange sounds were reported by numerous individuals, once again raising questions as to its origins. Here is video footageof the sound uploaded on Youtube.

After being reported in the Costa Rica Online Newspaper, many people in the area were baffled and eager to find an answer. Seismologist Ronny Quintero says the event should be recorded at the exact time and location of the anomalies to determine with certainty that there was no earthquake. However, the Costa Rica Volcanologist and Seismologist Organization(OSVICORI) said that there were no recordings of Earth movements at the time of the noises. And why was the same sound heard through the world around the same time?

Here’s another video uploaded on January 11th in Budapest, Hungary. Click the photo for the clip.

Very creepy and slightly unnerving. This next one comes from the Czech Republic a day later. Again, click the image to access the video.

The first series of the “Hum” started last year with an article from the Telegraph, dated June of2011. It tells of a small English town in the countryside of County Durham when the residents of Woodland heard what sounded to be the rumbling of a car engine. The villagers would hear it every night from midnight to about 4am starting about two months prior.Marilyn Gretch, 57, a retired store detective said “In certain areas of the house you can hear it more loudly. It’s definitely from the outside, it’s in the air very faint.” The Telegraph sent a team of investigators to seek answers. Here is the video footage:

Here’s one on September 2011 from Montreal:

So what is the connection between these? Could it be that the 2012 Mayan prophecies are coming true and this is just the beginning of something far more severe? Is it, as the religious community thinks, the first sign of the end times as heralded by the sounding of angels trumpets from the heavens? Or perhaps, like many seem to be saying, underground drilling going on to make room for the elite and others in the know, which will be safe houses for the natural disasters of the coming Apocalypse. Tidal waves, asteroids, solar radiation. Aliens? Whatever the case may be, something strange and possibly historic is happening. 2012 should be an interesting year for sure!