Dexter: Season Seven

Spoilers ahead.


While I enjoyed this season, it was more crime drama and much less serial killing. factors adding into this the love themed under current, the mafia involvement and the non gruesome manner Dexters Intrest co shared the Billing with Laguerda as the big bad. The only real horror element was the bull masked Labyrinth killer.

Despite this season being one of the least horrific seasons of Dexter having more in common with season two or five than the darker Trinity or Doomsday killers, it has packed some of the more emotional punches of the shows tenure. I was particularly struck by the conversation in the gay bar about love vs reason was extremely powerful stuff and it looks like love is theme of this season. Also the complexities of Dexter's relationship with Deb have really gone above and beyond on the writing this year. Last season I was able to say American Horror Story was the best show on t.v , so I'm not sure with the influx of horror on tv if the writers knew they were going to be able to match horror shows Creep factor so stepped up their game in character development Becuase at the end of the day death in horror movies can seem like clay pigeons in a shooting gallery if there is no investment in the character. I think Deb killing Laguerda had more impact than if Dexter had dome it because she had become too annoying for her death to have as much of an impact if he had.While the show has proven no one has to die its not like the have Joss Whedon on board , they have set the bar high when they killed Dexters wife.

Now approaching season eight, perhaps Deb's involvement is the biggest leap over the proverbial shark. I can appreciate the low note the season ended on not as much of a cliff hanger but still many loose ends which need tying, such as the escapee girlfriend who leaves a plant at the door, will this squash Angel's retirement plans? Quinn and Angel's sister could be a thing and draw battle lines should it turn Deb and Dexter against the world, moving Angel into a place Laguerda use to occupy. There is no way for this to be brushed under the carpet with no loose ends to tie, we can see how those things came back to haunt them from season six.

It's rumored eight is going to be the final season and even as much as I love the show it would be better for it to bow out gracefully. The writers have said point blank there is no way they are going to let dexter just ride off into the sunset, so getting killed or caught are the only two options , I think they see. The fact that this season Dexter has become so sloppy and makes so many mistakes is a sign of the acceleration , breaking from his code and losing control. Particularly how insistent he was with Deb that he has everything under control is really the only scene where Dexter appears to be you typical Hollywood crazy. I could see them letting him unravel like American Pyscho type thing. It would be nice if they consulted Jeff Lindsay about how to end it, while I know he is trying to distance the books from the show, it's his character so I feel he should have some input as to how it should go down.

Like Norman Bates before him, Dexter is an easy protagonist because he is so relatable, the fact he kills bad guys and is an antihero played into the shows favor so I will be curious if they think they can turn it around now he is not just killing bad guys anymore, his escapee girl friend on the run will still serve as a bad , so will they need another big bad? Or will the bad guy be Dexter? Or Will it be Angel vs Dexter, which I would feel would be a mismatch as he wasn't a very competent deceive perhaps if he teamed up with Quinn Becuase the story arc of Quinn being suspicious of Dexter faded pretty fast , it would make sense they bring in the FBI again to investigate Laguerda's death.

Speaking of Norman Bates, the Bates Motel show looks like its going to be another Cw teen drama, the Dawson's Creek murders. But with Dexter coming off the table I think there will be an influx of shows wanting to take its place. The Following looks to be the most promising, the serial killer in seems to twirl the old mustache too heavily when he talks but maybe it was just the clip, and the Edgar Allen Poe motiff wouldn't make it for the long haul. After this Season's Bloody Face , I don't see American Horror Story revisiting serial Killers. This leaves the little discussed Hannibal which if done right I think could be the winner to take the vacant throne.

Excision

While until the last few minutes of the movie you would be hard pressed to call this horror, this movie does cut away into these really pretty fantasy sequences where the misanthropic teenage girl fantasizes about surgical blood shed of an erotic nature. In some ways this is a coming of age film as it explore a female perspective on the horrors of losing your virginity. the actual act takes on a very calculated and cold execution which is the one moment where the fact this was written by a male screen writer is apparent, unless the goal was to show her as a sociopath.

Mccord's character is no Dexter Morgan when it comes to being a sociopath , as she has the range of your typical teenage angsty stuff just amped up by way of say ....Ghost world with a side of Daria. I also feel a little Heathers vibe at times from this movie, but with the surreal gore interludes. If you are a total gore ghoul who masturbates to a Serbian film , then these sequences aren't going to do much for the desensitized, if you like pretty lesbian hinted corpse crawling then grab the lube.

The violence in this film is hinted at rather than graphically depicted, she only really has three episodes of it and one of them is a locker beatdown at school. Her disdain for the world around her could have been further fleshed out as her overbearing mother , cuckhold father and sleazy therapist/priest, don't seem to warrant a psychotic twist, though at that age you do tend to overact to everything, hell half my Facebook friend who are supposedly adults overreact to every thing but the almost Carrie nature of it is what leaves the film feeling like so many other movies I have mentioned.

John waters , Traci Lords and Marlee Matlin , who is not hotter than the puffy gave lords, all fill out a cast with a few other surprises for genre fans. I can see this developing a cult following though the direct to video nature of its release might hamper this, I'm not sure why it didn't receive distribution as the out put from art house theater has been boring.

It was going to be hard for this one to live up to the trailer and still be straddling the dark comedy fence. The horror movie John Waters would make if he was going to make one? Some of the awkwardly paced dialogue makes you wonder if they were going for the David Lynch thing. The monologues to god were the only parts which gave away the face budget went for their effort to pay for the shining stars of cult b lists. I was entertaining despite the films flaws in production and dialogue even though this was not a horror movie I have no qualms about recommending to people who might
Ike this sort of thing , even though I'm still trying ToddiGirl out what this sorts off thing was.

666 Park Avenue

Well it's safe to say American Horror Story still doesn't have any competition when it comes to horror on t.v.  Supernatural and even some episodes of Buffy are bothe scarier  than the pilot for 666 Park Avenue.  I was surprised how suspension of disbelief was thrown out the window in an almost Stuart Gordon manner, where we have from beyond portals opening and sucking people away. There are secret occult orders and Faustian pacts being made, a ghost and Pyschic  so far and I wouldn't be surprised if the exhibitionist neighbor who likes taking off her clothes in the window turned to be a succubus

I think the show might be more effective if it played it the subject matter straight and less like the old Friday the thirteenth show and more like rosmary's baby. Some money was sunk into this though the effects aren't what I would expect from abc. The building has the potential to be the  overlook hotel of network tv, but the show is going to need to take a darker tone and take its self seriously if you are going to imitate  another show pick up on the parts that worked like how the stakes seemed higher when you were made to believe this was real. Sure American Horror had ghosts coming out of the wood work and more people were dead than alive by the final episode but it never hocus pouched us, I think if some sort of Majick or nefarious figure were brought into the show it would have been handled Ina matter that didn't wink so heavily at the camera.


Another problem and it could be the writing is the casts chemistry was off in a few keyholes mainly the Maine husband and wife duo, which seems to be a crucial element. I think if they killed off the writers wife in the seconds episode it would raise the stakes a little and show you no one is safe.If you are like me and watching stuff like Grimm or Lost girl then the show won't be asking too much from you in the suspension of disbelief dept., I am going to give it a shot as we are going to be waiting awhile for the Munsters and I need something to make me forget I'm waiting around for season two of American horror story.

Dexter - New Season Premiere

There's no way to talk about what's going on in the first episode of Dexter's seventh season, so it goes without saying that spoilers are a head. First off I think the best element of how this season has started its  focal point is on Dexter and the side stories are not so prominent. Sure there is a lot of investigation and  contemplation on Deb's part and once a stray slide is found other suspicion is cast.

I see the fact a kill followed Dexter's big slip up so closely this is the beginning of his spiral out of control, the fact he now feels the compulsion to gain control and sees his dark secret as the solution when his back  is against the wall doesn't bode well for him , he seems to be making more mistakes every season.  This season looks to be going in a very strong direction , the mafia angle worked in as well as two other serial killers raise the stakes . I have read next seaso. Is the last for him, and found myself throughout this episode hoping before the end of this season he will kill Deb. it really seems like the only way out for him.

The Miami metro support staff is still strong and wht makes the writing of shows like Californication and Mad Men so strong is present here in the way they ties thing s back to season one and season two. The childhood flash backs will hopefully not be overdone with the new dexter and deb dynamic . It also looks like the goat of his dad is going to be returning to give council again. Another element I think where a little goes a long way here.

The end where Dexter comes home to find everything dug up and his confession to Deb , keeps the tension established at the end of last season, so is that going to be the beat? I think this could go either way a big tense ending with Deb asking th wrong questions should only be allowed to go so far if Dexter already had his big escape bag prepped.  The new girl from the previews looks like its a Lyla angle but the want her to look like his dead ex. So they are on a balancing act of taking the nigs that make this show work and try not to replicate them as carbon copies. While I have a level of skepticism considering this is the seventh season so sharks could be jumping every where if they hadn't already last season and thus far the Jimmy Smits season is the only me I'm not huge fan of .

With shows like Bates Motel and Hannibal waiting in the wings the serial killer protagonist is a band wagon the networks are about to jump on so dexter has t stay a few steps ahead of the game, I think the depth given this character is what makes it work better than Norman Bates of Hannibal Lechter as both of thos shave more glaring crazy qualities and don't blend in as well as Dex.  If you have dropped off from Dexter along the way skip the third season and catch up as I think this season is stepping it up.

Possession

I don't see a lot of movies in the theater these dys it feels like a lot of effort which leads to disappointment. Haunting and demon possession movie are come of my favorites,thankfully aside from movies like the Rite there has been some innovative thinking in movies like the devil inside, the last exorcism, and the exorcism of Emily rose, so when tweaks to the theme are taken the easier softer way it diminishes the return.

The possession is well made, there are some well framed shots but the sum of its part renders it less scary than the majority of supernatural episodes.the feel of the movie comes across like a show on the cw , the fact that the girls in this are preteen keeps it from going cw all the way.

The dentist losing his teeth is random and makes no sense as to why a demon would be able to do that and the moths are this what the flies were to the amityville horror only difference being they aren't scary.

Jeffery Dean Morgan was believable enough in his role but the script for his tortured father role didn't give him much to work with and most of the movies problems do fall on the writing.

Setting was a major weakness of this movie, the house they moved into was too new suburban and setting is essential in creating the ambiance needed in horror, I have seen plenty of movies where the setting alone was creepy enough to create unease.
The neighborhood of the Hasidic Jews was the creepiest element, and Jewish mysticism is so obscure in American Jews I found that whole angle to be more suspension of disbelief that other elements, tough the X-ray demon was pretty unrealistic as well, the whole demon mythos they employed felt forced and clinical.

This movie is recommended if there is nothing else you haven't seen on fear.netand are an exorcism fanatic like me and the power of Christ compels you to see every movie of this ilk that comes out, funny enough I tend to skip the straight to video releases of this kind as a slew of paranormal activity wanna bes came out as of late.

Dragon con ...the horror

The largest fan run genre convention is starting to give horror more of its due, the dark fantasy panel is now the horror and dark fantasy panel and sparkling vampires are the bane of all in attendance of that track. The first panel I went to on this was "vampires the good the bad the undead" it focused on vampires in lit...and some film of course came up, I attended this one primarily due to Laurell K Hamilton , but Author Jeanne Stein who writes the Anna strong series and James r tuck who writes the deacon chalk occult bounty hunter series was on the panel as well. Laurell did break the news her next Anita Blake book would be entitled affliction. She also said she was not giving Anita any more powers but focusing on reining in the ones she has. She Sid the same is for Anita's lovers that she was not getting new ones and would never have sex with the police she works with.

Next up was the true blood panel, the actors Sam Tramell, Carrie Preston, Nelsan Ellis, and Joe Manganiello were on this panel, they mainly took fan questions, most notably was Ellis who wore sun glasses and was visibly high as is words took their time forming and he laughed at the drop of a hat. Preston was the most entertaining and joe the most self absorbed. Nothing ground breaking was revealed here aside from in the first season they were more active in suggestions to Alan ball, most of which were ignored and they now resolve them selves to the fact Alan knew best.

We hit up Dr. Horribles sing along blog, the rocky horror of dr horrible, which I followed up with a panel on the metaphysics of Lovecraft where you can imagine no new ground was broken, also a state of the goth scene which will be covered in my Abysmal Hymns blog, though I will talk about the fet life panel and bdsm panels as I tend to lump that in here , given my penchant for torture porn and the innately sexual element to good horror.

For those of you who are unaware of what fet life it's it's a face book for the link community , for those in the lifestyle I'm Wilcifer on there feel free to say hello, so this panel was about the etiquette of social media for a site with an inclination towards the creepy and creepy in the I'm leering at you I. My rain Coatfro th back of the porn shop an not how we use it in the horror world. This panel stated the obvious to people with little social skills to apply to social media.

Once interesting observation about the cross section of this so called geek crowd, came from my own performance with the burlesque show where we preformed a Frankenstein themed piece where a female doctor brings to life a monster who develops a different relationship with his creator, tearing her clothes off and pseudo rape ensues though she is killed before this is consumated , the crowd reaction was mixed leaning towards the shocked and uncomfortable, granted for the Halloween show or a horror con this would go over much differently, but the crowd was mixed heavy on women who surprised their rape fantasies of want to see pretty burlesque the guys at burlesque show tend to be more passive and overly catering to the point of being subservient towards women they fetishize by putting on a pedestal, so violence towards them when they lack the testosterone to have a rape play fantasy did not play into the acts favor, though I had several men come up to me saying they enjoyed it after and women who thought it was beautiful, but I would lean the overall geek vibe to be vanilla.

The Saturday I hit up panels regarding the weaponry of lord of the rings, steam punk music, and Hammer horror, which mainly focused on the box set of reissues an talked about the retur of the brand with movies like Let Me in and the Lady in Black, they focused more on the later period than the classic monster movies, though Lee and Cushing were of course, mentioned.

Sunday ... The spike and Drusilla panel was one of the more entertaining, thanks to James Marsters, Juliet Landau wore sunglasses the whole time and might have been stoned, when a fan asked them to go into theere character for thirty seconds they granted the wish complete with Landau doing the wavering head motions . It was clear the characters from the Buffyverse will now only have life in the comic book which both are having some creative interaction in the writing process.

Monday ...American Horror Story fan track...speculations regarding season two More than being overly reflective on last season which I contribute to the fact that the storyline nd characters are not carrying over into this season, while the majority where informed of this there were still some who though the house was going to stay the same or it would be another ghost story , however a lot of people had seen the little preview snippets on line and where aware it was a crazy nun meets possession type story this go around.

V/H/S

the Signal director David Bruckner's new film V/H/S is a found footage anthology. Each story has a sperate writer and director Ti West of House of the Devil fame being one. With so many cooks in the kitchen the results very.

the background story is about hipster internet criminals paid to retrieve a video tape from a dead man's house.

In the first piece a vampire story whose title Amateur night I found on the movie's Wiki. The vampire comes as no surprise when the character is introduced. I do like the fact it's a feral monster vampire, no sparkle to it and the effects regarding it's super human abilities are handled well, similar to Let the Right one in, but able to fly.

The second piece title Second Honeymoon is filmed with higher resolution but a lot of build up for not much pay off. it falls into the horror mishap of not caring if the characters die because they annoy you, it works in Friday the 13th style slashers but these are mainly character driven so not so much.

The third vignette called Tuesday the 17th, is a typical going to a cabin in the woods, though nothing so clever as Joss Whedon, instead we get amateur gore the knife coming out of the eye scene is bad 80's and might work in a "Dear god no" type setting here , it looks like this is a YouTube video.

Fourth The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger shot shot like a cam chat. Its along the line of a paranormal activity style haunting, though with viasable ghosts.it 's one of the more effective pieces on here though i have a thing for a good ghost story, the twist t the end of this one , has a nice pair of tits courtesy of Liz Harvey, so it works for me as the ever classic marriage of boobs and horror can't go wrong. Another thing to be said for this movie is aside from this short they keep with my survival rule

the ongoing story escalates and it is what it is , as a rule all off these movies every one is don't go in the basement horror dumb.

The final short is very "Last Exorcism" meet typical haunt, the arms coming out of the wall are a little over done and some of the poltergeist like effects are hokey, but it has some effect tense scares and I liked the ending. The tuesday the 17th short is the only one I didn't like at all, all the rest had there moments some the vampire, and the final two I really liked SO this is recommended if you are not burned out on the found footage thing , which i think this demonstrated still has some life in it yet.

the Tall-man

The Tall Man flies a false flag of sorts to market it's self as a horror movie.More often than not finds it's self walking the line closer to thriller.I almost didn't covr it for this reason, but figured I might as well to clear the air that this isn't a horror movie, though dark enough in some sense for me to go ahead and finish reviewing it.

To it's credit a scene that would be the big finisher for most movies happen at the thirty minute mark I ask what are they going to do for the next hour and a half is a good sign plot wise.Sure they screaming your child who was abducted's name while you follow a trail into the woods, is stupid victim thinking.

Then the movie fakes making you think it's a bad town conspiracy, so you re-adjust your expectations and say o.k here's what we are going with. This creates tension not scares and gets as close to Jessica Biel getting naked as we come to in this one when she changes out of her dirty/bloodied clothes.

Then the chase scene where we think we see one of the bad guys revealed and Biel is captured in a run down building which is shot in sufficient creepy effect. Here is where the tone shifts and the director remains hazy in how they wanted to communicate this. For a minute you think wait is this person just crazy is this for real and that tone continues.

Once the big twist occurs it does flip the movie up side down but once the supposed bad guy is revealed and not really reviled it slows down into what could be any crime/mystery/thriller as when Jessica Biel's character under goes this change the essence for her character changes tonally in way that just doesn't make sense.

The narrative shift at the end of the movie is a similar misstep, while it works with "the Lovely Bones" a movie this shares a few commonalities with , it's not really effective here.

The reason I kept watching this movie after a point was is the Tall Character ever going to reappear of be further explored. When one character says she wants to meet him, this is not fleshed out until later on and turns out to be a disappointment. I thought going into this a movie based on the Slender-man urban legend would be cool and creepy, while this is referenced early on in a bait and switch manner if you want anything paranormal this is not the movie for you . there is not a single supernatural element in this and as the movie unwinds it makes me wonder why the stuff with the dog truck guy even happened even though it was the best part of the film.

In interviews for "Total Recall" I wondered why she didn't say anything to promote this film and now that I made it all the way through I think I understand, not sure if this is getting a theatrical release and if it does it will be short lived so don't bother wasting your 11 dollars, it will be on USA one rainy weekend soon enough.

Rec 3 Genesis

The third of the Spanish Rec franchise which the American film Quarantine came from, though I don't normally like modern remakes or any for that matter it's one of the better Americanized films.The found footage motif is not the films primary focus, but it maintains the smarts of the other movies. Once the chaos starts it switches into a more cinematic mode.

Here a zombie outbreak takes place at a wedding reception held at an isolated resort like estate. The guests all fall prey to ... well we all know what happens in zombie movies, but this film take its chances with some of the conventions and upholds one of my golden horror rule. They don't pull punches a bunch of kids get eaten while trapped on a bus, though the scene is not very graphic, the thought that yes they went there worked for me.

The gore is in some ways plentiful, the imaginative amputation which takes place post zombie bit to stop and infection is a oh shit moment. This isn't trying to be Dead Alive but it takes it's self less seriously than the 28 movies. The main terror here is the survivors allowing sentiment and emotion to get the better of themselves and compromise their survival instinct. The Newly weds romantic inclinations brings them trouble more often than not, and goes to show all you bitches waxing romantic on your relationship status one moment then posting about a zombie Holocaust the next are all going to die should one ever occur outside of the whole salt smokers.

I had been looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint. The religious theme established in the 2 movie continues here. Plenty of smart camera work and the blood is bright and pretty. Sometimes the zombies are faster than others and their make up looks good but isn't over the top as they are pretty fresh and blood vomiting so consistent with the other movies, though if you haven't seen the other films while they are recommended just on the basis of being good movie, this movie can be seen as a stand alone.

A horror movie with the message true love doesn't last forever because once you are dead you just want to eat them, is very up lifting though there are times in the movie where the main girl you just want to slap and tell her to get it together , though she makes up for it by taing a chainsaw to the train of her wedding dress. Highly reccomended

the Rites of Spring

Director Padraig Reynolds first full length film Rites of Spring for the most part works well with it's meager budget thanks to camera work head and shoulders above what normally gets pumped out in the low-budget straight to video fare. Reynolds would have found it beneficial to turn the screenplay over to some one better skilled to handle it as the dialogue is hard on the ears. Budding scream queen Anessa Ramsey from the Signal and Yellow Brick road has one of the better performances here though it seems the director just let her default to ad lib standard victim dialogue and her character shows strength not really believable for a 5'1" 90 lb woman to posses.

Supporting actors preform in varied shades of bad, the gangster of sorts sub plots could have lent it's self to more opportunity for torture... or actually any I mean if you are trying to humiliate a guy and you have his wife tied up next to him. The monster motives were little iffy...ok a lot. So we have a red neck out in the middle of no where, who must be a pagan of some flavor holding a poor man's wicker man like ceremony to appease gods or what not, and if you know me you know i pay extra attention to the occult details when they pop up in horror, the mythos here was bland and unexplained which made every thing else that followed less believable.

The monster, while i am glad to see an ancient something that is not your run of the mill monster, was a slasher who carried a farming implement and had less of a personality than the thing from Jeepers Creepers which is what this movie most closely resembled to me. Some of the standard conventions were broken as the wander off and get picked off one by one stereo type wasn't prominent. The gore could have been laid on thicker. I mean if you are making a horror movie in this day and age , you gotta know the bar has been raised when you have shows like True Blood on tv.

This elevated it self on a production scale to be a greater quality than some of the hideously low budget efforts I come across online, so it's watchable and not bottom of the barrel though , Anessa aside the acting is on the weak side and the writing lacks any attention to detail. if you like low budget horror and are one of those people who has a hard time finding anything new, then it was more watchable than Midnight son, but not very compelling and never scary. The boobs quota low though there is one scene where a girl gets her clothes cut off as she hangs in a barn with a goat mask on that i thought was the films best moment. Otherwise I would say the movie was a let down.

50 Shades of Grey : 120 Days in Boredom & A Look at BDSM in Horror

50 shades of Grey despite is humble beginnings as Twilight fan-fiction might be on the far outskirts of what I would cover here, but BDSM has thematic relevance in horror, I find the Hammer Horror Spanish Inquisition themed movies to be more my flavor of BDSM, than the Sweet Valley High version of it in the current New York Times bestseller. From Twilight I would think a girl would graduate in Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake series, we have angst ridden paranormal romance with a bite and some do though they tend to be girls more entrenched in geek subculture, who also grew up with Buffy.

Vampires are depicted as the forbidden fruit in paranormal romance, a sub genre which sprung from vampire themed romance, even pre- Twilight, the ground where the Sookie Stackhouses sprung from. Beauty and the beast is a common concept in Horror ...King Kong, Hunchback of Notre dame and Creature of the Black Lagoon all have this element to varying degrees. Sexuality has been demonized since man needed religions to provide security, so fiction has had its monsters to embody them. Over the years the aesthetic of the beast has been more keenly preened. The monster now sparkle and the vampires appear more like bodice ripping hunks, something Bela Lugosi was not.

The Male lead in 50 Shades, shares most of Edward Cullen's qualities, an enigmatic past and while seductive is the forbidden fruit as a Millionaire who is only willing to have contractually bound BDSM relationships rather than the fairy tale romance the female lead wants. I'm not sure how this is a conflict as his ideas seem like a good plan to me and like Bella, this Anna girl is a drama queen who gets scared away by a big climatic spanking she asked for so Anne Rice your Sleeping Beauty books have nothing to fear, nor does any of the Post-Obsidian Butterfly Anita book. In fact the sex is pretty vanilla the same thing it just moves from a bed to bathroom and other domestic locales. Anna could be paranormal a fey or succubus because she has the power to make a guy cum the first time she ever attempts a blow job, so I guess more is revealed in the later two books which I have no intent in reading.

I prefer my torture porn.It's more honest. The control is the factor where this fanged chick lit is more the fantasy of being controlled. It all comes from the very pulpy source called the damsel in distress. This goes back to ancient mythology where Perseus saves the princes who is chained to a rock to be sacrificed to the Kraken , you know it got horribly re-made a couple years ago. In the Middle ages after St George and the Dragon, we got Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty and Snow white, Disney made these iconic to little girls everywhere. Then 1001 Abrabian Nights featured many of these damsel in distress themes, which Ray Harryhausen would give these proper treatment well before he got around to the Kraken.

It wasn't until Marquis Desade's 1791 story Justine, that the repressed sexual element of this was explored and if any of you ladies out in the inner webs found yourselves fapping to 50 Shades then you need to look into Desade's work to get a better point of reference after all sadism is named after him and it's safe to say the author of the chick lit you think is so kinky isn't going to face the last 13 years of their lives in prison for writing it.

Then the slew of silent films featuring in the "Perils of Pauline" mustache twirling villains tying the helpless female to railroad tracks, leading to King Kong and Nosferatu. King Kong made the woman tied up in a loin cloth whisked away by the ape popular and theme of pulp for years, though this to some extent was racially based metaphor for black men and white women, it still played on a fear and spear chucking natives more often than not sacrificed a blonde woman to the beast.

Nosferatu is as ugly as a vampire could get yet there was more sexuality in his feeding than all the Twilight books combined. This served as a metaphor for venereal diseases running rampant during this time period and no surprise the resurgence of the sexy vampires in Anne Rice's homo-erotic tomes became popular at the height of a.i.d.s awareness.

From here as sexuality became more explored in western culture, these iconic themes remained in horror and sci-fi to the masturbatory glee of erections everywhere. Universal monsters marched back to their castles and swamps with buxom beauties draped over their arms in mass.

Then Psycho came out and every thing changed, women were naked in showers and getting slice and diced everywhere. It was a very Freudian study in mother issues being displaced onto victims and one of the best movies ever made. Marion Crane wants to break away from being an office drone and runaway with her lover, tries to steal money and is punished by taking a shower in the Bates motel. It was 1960 so slut shaming was at it's peak.

Putting an end to the summer of free love the more debasing element of rape came from the grind house films of the late 60's and early 70's in some way as a call and response to the booming feminist movement. Interestingly to feminist who get up in arms about this sort of thing some of the hottest movies of this time period like Ilsa She-Wolf of the S.S and any of the women in prison films feature more Woman on Woman debasement, granted geared towards a male audience. As a student of this sub-genre I own a file of the 120 greatest grind house rape scenes which i pause and rewind to get a better comprehension of the art form. My studies show most of these films are about the forced stripping of the victim as the primary mode of debasement. By the late 70's the slasher genre took this and ran with it in a way still emulated by those movies today. From there we have the Devil's Rejects.

Rumor has it Damsel in Distress has become a popular sub-genre of fetish related porn known as did, of course my exploration into this would be for research purposes only as I am an avid church burner...I mean church goer.

So what are the chances any of the Twilighters or Grey Shadeys willing come over to the dark side and start watching Visitor q or a Serbian film styled sadism, well that is largely in the hands of film makers, if things like the straw dogs re-make, where the rape is apologetically filmed like a sex scene from 500 days of Summer rather than a 120 days in Sodom, then it looks grim, but the closet sadists in Hollywood need to unite and take over, reclaim their balls and say we are making this for our inner 15 year old, then things might be looking but I think foreign film is more likely to make this happen i'M looking at you Korea...come on Norway put the trolls away I know you got this in you lets see some Nazi themed slashers I know you have been repressing as you try to put all out that behind you. Submissives have the victim power on their side and it will always be catered to as it requires only estrogen to fuel it, yes male subs you are emasculated, but not to worry there's still another Twilight movie on the way.

Despite the popularity of the Rubber-man in American Horror story , where rape was the key plot point and side from Nurse 3-d, there's not a lot of horror coming out at all Zombie wouldn't surprise me if he included some naked bound chicks getting sacrificed in Lords of Salem. So let the gimps go hungry and and here's hoping for some real sadism in print or film. I won't start plugging my book "Obsidian Rex" xoming out this fall yet, but there could be ugly vampires into bdsm in it just saying.

True Blood Season 5

In juggling shows the excitement leading into the kick off of True Blood season Five was not as feverish as previous season. While the show has succeeded in bringing blood-splatter to small screen ans some suspenseful moments , like the Harris books it rides the line of dark fantasy rather than horror, but these days we take what we can get.

Spoilers Ahead...



This season picks up where it left off even recapping slightly as to the logistics of the killings that ended last season. Pam is really being stepped in her dialogue and will be a show favorite by the middle of the season if she isn't already. Lafayette goes from a break down to having an attitude all in the span of taking a bath. Sookie is well.. the least developed in the this episode and the tone of the show seems the sub plots take more precedence over her , namely her brother Jason as his interactions with the turn preacher now scorned gay lover of sorts as well as Jessica's fleeting affections. So there soap opera element is dialed up in this regard.

Bill and Eric seem like they are going to be juggling the big bads and leaving Bon Temps to deal with Vampire Tara, which like the Vampire Diaries both shows seem to be falling into the trap of turning every one into something , which makes being a monster less unique, granted Vampire Diaries is jumping the shark with it where Ball is still holding the back woods charm and knows the human element is the shows bread and butter ...up to a point.

If you are expecting Russell or any of the big bads to come busting into this season guns blazing don't hold your breath as the tone is basically being set here.

Sam and the were-wolf thing is so far re-moved from the book I could careless and while I like his character makes it more appropriate to go grab a diet coke and check my email , much like some of Tara's subplots in earlier seasons.

Jessica doesn't have any competition as to being the hottest character on the show by far, Bill doesn't seem to be aging a gracefully as a vampire should, Eric is too thin and appears to have lost substantial muscle tone, and Sookie has become increasingly bland as the series continues. Even Ball himself has stated the aging actors as a reason for the show to wrap by next season. Right when it seems the writing finally got where it needs to be . My hopes for the season aside from Jessica getting naked is some of the threads from the books are realized like Lafayette getting killed,the witch room mate and aren't we supposed to have the were- tiger by now? Not to mention Bubba.

Prometheus

Prometheus is the pre-quel of sorts to the "Alien" movie, though a little connect the dots is needed and we are looking at the "Space-jockey". The familiar tone of the whole things aren't going as we planned in space is also similar to the Alien franchise. There is the almost human android, but over all it feels more Isaac Asimov and the first hour and`5 minutes is hard sci-fi. The horror elements creep in with a pitter patter and the movie never goes for the throat like "Alien", which creeped you out before any chest bursting. It's o.k that in space no one can hear you scream, because the screams are minimal. The tension and sense of claustrophobic danger from the first films isn't present, even when people go wandering off it caves. The almost Tangerine Dream like soundtrack doesn't help with it's blips and groans to build tension.

Fassbender despite his nefarious programming is the most likable character.I like his study of movie to learn to be a human, sure "Short Circuit" did it as well but unlike Five he does not want to be alive. However some of the characters ambiguity leaves you to expect things to no be as they seem.
I can where the appeal of seeing it it 3-d on the big screen would have its appeal is the first twenty minutes or during the observatory simulator.But the actions scenes are so quick I don't think the manner in which they are presented benefits from 3-d. There are even some cgi elements that make me suspect it would even cheapen it. So do you go to see movies for the spectacle of it ? Are you easily lured by bright shining things that go boom? If so then I'm surprised you are reading if not more surprised you are still reading this blog. But similar to Inception , I going to to question the cinema savvy of any one who says this is the most amazing movie ever or anything paralleling that moronic view point. This is not to imply the film is not well crafted , it is and the acting accomplished what it seeks to do, you find yourself disliking Charlize Theron as intended.

There are some well did I how did he just figure that out holes, but they are more or less forgiven, though one of the more glaring reveals at the end may or may not irk you depending on the size of the magnifying glass you are holding the movie up to. This is going to be one of the main hurdles the movie has , it living up to the first to films. The expectations leave it in a place to do damned if they do damned it they don't, distancing it's self from the other films is not the movies strong points, yet in comparison to the other films it drags depending on what you want it to be. A good question to ask yourself before throwing down the 12 bucks is "did i Like 2001 Space Odyssey?" Because it closer in pacing that those films,The closest to horror isn't when the creature appear, their first appearance remind me of the trash compactor monster from Star wars, but when Noomi Rappace's character induces surgery on her self in a device that is heavily foreshadowed.

While my hopes were perhaps a little elevated, I wanted more from the films front end, though the agnostic questions the premise asks were enjoyed , in the same way I see the His Dark Materials series as the agnostic answer to the Chronicles of Narnia. Lets face it a lot of quality sci-fi that's not a big dumb Will Smith vehicle targeted for a simpleton audiences shoveling the pop corn away are few and far between so we should be thankful for what we get here. So it's a mixed bag, I feel it's success is in asking the more philosophical questions for most great sci-fi asks these...Ender's Game, Stranger in a Strangeland, Neuromancer. But I wanted a horror movie.

Either torture porn has jaded me or this just doesn't seem as repulsing as "From Beyond" when it comes to the creepy crawling, though I love Stuart Gordon and would like to see what he could be if given this kind of budget...can we say "At the Mountains of Maddness"?...Ridley Scott knew what to do with the budget and after the trailer for Agento's Dracula 3-d , this will be the only "Horror" movie (and I use the term loosely) worth seeing. The craftsmanship is the only quality that keeps the first half from being a bogged down bore. The bottom line is it's excellent work that could have used the same balance of horror the first film benefited from to be the classic it wants to be.

The Pact

So after a Sun Dance appearance the Pact went to straight to video on demand, which is a shame because this movie has potential if a studio marketed it properly, and changed the name. As I never saw any indication of a pact being made . The Killer in the Walls while more fitting would not put butts in seats either. While on a sparse budget writer/director Nicholas McCarthy made the most with what he was working with using lighting and the tension of silence to create scares. The story has a familiar Lovely Bones them of I'm haunting you til you find my killer/body/bury me peacefully theme. The little blood is negligible.This one clocks in at only two scenes of bloody violence. As far as boobs go normally not into blonds Caity Lotz runs around well in a confused break down wearing her under pants and has a tied up over head shot of her as a damsel in distress. I can't seem to place her 3 episode role in Mad-men, but remember her from the Mtv mockumentary style horror reality show about vampire killing cops . Haley Hudson does a good job of playing a spooky meth'ed out psychic. The concerned buddy cop role, is left cut in card board, but that is one of the movie's few flaws. This movie is smartly made the typical soundtrack builds precluding the boo! moments are non existent and even with some of the Paranormal Activity moments stays pretty realistic, unexplained disappearances not included. So fans of the haunting sub-genre of horror will find this worth there while, even though a serial killer plays a plot point role, true crime gore-hounds need not apply. Sure without Sam and Dean's zaniness at times it might feel like a across between Momento and Supernatural. Sure we get the twists coming from a mile away and the plot shift occurs earlier than you would expect, but was handled well and takes the tension up a notch. The film has enough creep and supernatural to be horror, though leans in the direction of thriller.Not unlike metal fans who expect double bass and growls in order to be metal, this movie plays it with restraint so rigid genre fans might not classify this as horror. The happily ever after ending in my book doesn't help it's case as a horror movie.But I was on the edge of the bed with the no don't go in basements for a few seconds here and there, though I'm a sucker for a haunting.

Chernobyl Diaries

This makes up for Dark Shadows, and I'm always a fan of movie monsters that aren't Zombies, in aside from World War Z, I think I'm done with zombie movies though I'll give rec 3 a shot. The deceptive trailers made this appear to be a found footage movie and it's not. Though it does have kind of raw cinematography to it that bring to mind 28 days later, Cloverfeild or Monsters. The premise is a little more Hostel at the beginning, the escapades of tourists in Russia. I assumed it to be a little more Silent Hill and though in tone that element is present in some ways it has more grit and not based in supernatural. Sure some mutant on tourist rape would have been a wonderful addition, what it doesn't show you is whats scary, the director plays his cards very close to his chest While the characters fall into the don't go into the basement victim cliches, the claustrophobic tension is maintained, not unlike the Descent. The scares are smart and effect minimal. The acting is convincing enough, even though only Devin Kelley's character comes across as likable, however, Olivia's Dudley's cleavage could have used higher billing and more of a starring role, here's where the mutant rape could have been put to good use. The gore is minimal, and the deaths happen off screen. The creatures for the most part are kept in the shadows and this plays to a effect than if they had shown up looking like the Toxic Avenger. The movie's atmosphere and the feeling of the characters peril is the movie's selling point. The only flaws really lie in how annoying some opf the characters becoming when they are coming unhinged, but perhaps his was what the director was trying to illicit. Considering the competition as far as horror goes this film is with out peer in the current market...unless you count Cabin in the woods, which almost seems like a different genre in comparison. So if you are a fan of horror who has been starving by the current drought of movies, then don't miss this ...as how sure can we be Prometheus is going to be horror and not sci-fi? Does Abraham Lincoln Vampire hunter even count ? All these questions and if the Apparition is going to be worth a damn will all be answered by the summers end.

Tim Burton's Dark Shadows

Well, this movie is getting reviewed on the basis of the iconic show it was based on. Ed Wood was not a horror movie and I suppose Sleepy Hollow is the closest Burton has come to making one. Depp whose work with Burton is now becoming formulaic, was in one of my top 50 horror movies the 9th gate. While this movie was mildly entertaining and not as bad as the trailers suggested it would be, it followed the mold already cast by the two on Charlie and Chocolate Factory, in fact Depp's Sweeny Todd was made of more horrific stuff than Barnabas Collins. Sure the movie did not use the same visual flare as a typical Burton movie. The melodrama of the television show was touched upon but by and large it was Depp who was shouldered with this task. The man out of time gag ran thin and the only laughs were in one scene..where Depp's Collins makes his first appearance interacting with the family at the table. Granted I'm not a fan of comedy and the genre as a whole is lost on me, but I do know it is supposed to illicit laughs. The attempts at this were so vague they could have been done away to better effect, and like the show which played it straight to get unintentional laughs more effectively than the ones this film was going for. The hue of the blood was enjoyable as well the scene showing Depp as he stalked the lava lamp. The cast got the job done but felt very color by numbers with little invested in their characters. eEva Green looked good on screen and either her psuh up bra worked wonders or is more stacked than I thought as he clevage was her primary prop. Helen Bonham Carter, had her moments as well, though lost it midway through, the remainder of the ensemble was largely card board cut outs. The movie threw in the kitchen sink by the end of the film,not unlike some of Burton's more recent work where the endings have seemed rushed.Much like a band who keeps re-writing the same song, Burton's inspiration in making this homage seems as muddy as his vision. While aside from the rushed ending and often mixed tone of the movie it is otherwise enjoyable and managed to suceed on some level. The most notable being escaping from the dismal failure the trailer predicted, at the same time I am glad I did not throw down the 11.00 to see it in theaters.

Cabin in the Woods

Joss Whedon's horror film...and that word is used loosely as the balance of horror and comedy blend not unlike a Buffy episode. In fact it feels like Season 4 of Buffy compressed into a movie. I kept waiting for Reily to make an appearance. Several familiar faces to the Whedonverse do, most fittingly a couple from DollHouse, which this movies bears the conspiracy tinged influence of. Obviously as a confirmed Whedonite, I can't do much more than praise this film. It could have used a few more scares, but you know zombies just don't scare me, even bear trap wielding ones. Whedon can take the cliche and give it his own spin and he does so here masterfully. Like Buffy it takes liberal jabs at conventional horror, though not as heavy handed as scream there are several homages , the most blatant being to Sam Rami .

The underlying message of the movie seem to be very pro-stoner, smoke weed to you can see through the web they are weaving. While I no longer partake of the wacky tobacky, Whedon obviously does which explains certain slants of his humor. The movie adheres to my golden rule of horror, which I uttered on this blog before so at the risk of spoilers dare not repeat it. One thing I am most proud of is how Whedon digs into the monster manual and deviates from the zombie / were-wolf/ vampire love triangle, and brings things like a mer-man and unicorn into the fray.I'm always saying there are so many other species of monsters that need screen time and Whedon gives a wink to many of these.

This is going to be the movie to beat this year, funny enough because it has sat on the shelf until Whedon became attached to the Avengers. It's encouraging because in show biz the more money you are making the studio the more free-reign you have. Whedon is establishing himself as the creative genius he is , and after seeing this movie you will agree he should be given the keys to the kingdom.

The Woman in Black

Daniel Radcliffe, uses this horror vehicle to shake off the Hogwarts blues. The movie stays in a similar tone to Hammer's other haunted fare. While I preferred Wakewood to this film, Hammer is redeeming themselves for doing the re-make of "Let the right one in" and it makes me curious enough to want to check out " the Resident" which appears more thriller than horror. Radcliffe plays a much older role than Potter and is rather blank in an almost Keanu Reeves manner. The setting is the star of the film and lends the most ominous element to the proceedings. The creepiness is where the movie excels, having a command of the acting isn't this directors strong suit, but an eye for scenes. The ghosts are almost Grudge -like in nature and their are the creepy kids fading in and out. The pacing slows in the last fifteen minutes but the end adhere's to my golden rule of horror, so that was pleasing. Younger fans of modern horror, more than likely won't get the film's homage to Hammer classics, having grown up with a more in your face cgi'ed style. The gore is non-existent and I'm assuming this film was rated pg, so it appeals to a very specific horror demographic. While it didn't scare me I enjoyed the atmosphere and so far this year you have to take what you can get when it comes to horror.

Days of the Dead 2012

This was the Con's atlanta debut, so it was small. The hotel was nice , but location made me feel like it took as long to drive down there as it did so browse every room. The word today is next year's is being moved to the Marriott down town, which is encouraging as the trek discouraged me from attending all three days. The high light for me was meeting Laurence R. Harvey of Human Centipede 2 fame, who was very sweet and humble man, as well as Ogre from Skinny Puppy/Repo! a genetic opera, who stopped to talk to my daughter about her Cthulhu doll and the finer points of picking your nose as a baby.
Interesting to see the pseudo celebrity status some of local cos-players have taken on. Chambers of Horror and Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse were represented but there was a noted lack of presence in terms of the other Georgia haunts. I think the healthy Haunt community keeps the Horror scene in Atlanta as vital as it is today, while guys like Shane Morton and Luke Godfrey, keep the horror arteries unclogged and flowing with monthly/quarterly events its also something more hands to need to come to the table to keep the horror scenes growth.
I think a hug opportunity was lost to not have fan tracks/ panels , as they dark fantasy panel has proven at dragon-con, it is a huge element to the sub-culture and other mediums like comics,books and even video games keeps the larger horror pulse throbbing. I think aside from vampires and zombies, occult studies, bdsm lifestyle and even forensics / true crime would have been welcomes additions.
For me mission was accomplished in supporting the horror community and getting to see friends, I looke forward to the growth in this cons future

The Innkeepers

Ti West's newest film the InnKeepers, had high expectations after i loved the creepy factor of his previous effort " house of the devil" . I was not prepared for the stylistic shift , but can appreciate a film maker who wants to have a boarder range and not just be a one trick pony. At times i think The Innkeepers , is no more horror than say Shaun of the dead, but it's not a comedy either , falling into more of a Napoleon Dynamite slacker ethos , sure there is a haunted hotel , there is a serial Killer in last year's day dream nation but that didn't make that film horror either , not that it tried to be.
The characters are real , fleshed out and well acted , so that keeps the movie moving a few scenes tease you as you can see something happening from a mile away . I liked this movie in the same way i liked Ghost World or high fidelity, so despite the spooky poster art i wouldn't classify this as a horror movie per se , dark comedic drama ? Sure he pulls out a scare of sorts i suppose at the end but where house of the devil worked is that the tension was kept taunt through out the whole movie, here it feels more like yeah , here's this boo.
Here the haunted house didn't really carry the sense of menace, it needs to loom as the monster or be convincing , 1408 in it's first hour before it turned into a scary Jumanji didn't give you the imposing structure like Amityville, or the isolation factor like the shining , even movies like paranormal activity and poltergeist which occur in the burbs created enough myth to keep you on edge , after all isn't that the purpose of a ghost story. Normally i am the most scared by a good haunting , even a haunting in Connecticut, here the atmosphere of menace , just wasn't there perhaps purposefully so to add to the slacker realism.
Hope Ti goes back to horror on his next , films , if you want to watch something with a slight spook to it perhaps with a friend who isn't into horror , this would work, it's well acted and made , and not a bad movie , perhaps mis marketed

The Devil Inside

I have heard a barrage of bad reviews despite the box office this one opened, and there are a few factors here which could explain what you are going to read , number one i have a soft spot for anything involving demonic possession and number two, the found footage trend doesn't irk me.
The front end of the movie is a mock documentary,i think it captures the feel of that very feel, interspersed with new footage. Set in the always creepy Vatican city the film works well uncluttered by a lot of special effects , i like the fact the possessed aren't cgi'ed or slathered in make up ,though the whole contortion bone cracking thing can officially be over be labelled over done if it is used in another movie ,In hindsight the character development is a little on the thin side but the flow of the film brushes it under the carpet. I couldn't tell if i just know my horror movies or if the foreshadowing was a little heavy handed, as i saw most of the second half o of the movie coming , that that it took away from my enjoyment, in fact i was glad they went where i hoped it would go , the scene with the priest and the baby is one of the best moments on film i have seen since human centipede two.
I am not complaining but the influx of found possession films makes me wonder are these being made by the studios for economic reasons or is this a reflection of societies fears concerning the collapse of the western religious institution . More than likely as with most answers it falls some where in the middle , the role of the priest shows them as more flawed and how can they not for there has hardly been a month in the past decade where the church was not dealing with a sex scandal of some sort, in the Exorcist the priest came across a a demon slaying van helsing and here the weakness is much more in the fore front, similar to that of the rite , though this movie stands head and shoulders over the Rite and hangs shoulder to shoulder with the last exorcism.
Sure is not going to be for those who want the floor splitting about and demons akin to a heavy metal album cover running amok, if you liked any of the past few years crop of exorcism movies then i would be surprised if you were disappointed with this one , which i am sure will prove to be superior to any para normal activity sequels to come.