Category: Horror

Stones: The Eternal Instrument

stones

Here we get book two of Billy Kraser’s “Earth’s Instruments” trilogy, the first being Sticks:A tool in Time . Once again, we get a brief but hilariously absurd look at stones, things we pretty much have been in contact with since we were born. There’s nothing informational here and you won’t learn any new facts but I found myself once again laughing that the book exists as the author intended. While the humor isn’t for everyone, some people will get a good laugh at a decent price and I do recommend checking it out on Amazon.

Also, I just want to take a second to put Billy’s Go Fund Me link below. Besides being a humor writer, Billy Kraser is also a friend and supporter of Saviorgaming and is raising money for his new project so some help would always be appreciated. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

https://www.gofundme.com/6oioxh4

 

The Thing

the thing

Awhile back in my list of 5 horror remakes I loved and during our Halloween special ( Our Favorites, Day 18, The Thing ) I briefly talked about this superior remake from horror master John Carpenter. Beside the cold and isolation and the basic premise, this movie stands completely on it’s own merit.

We begin with a stranger sight, a armed helicopter chasing down a husky through the Arctic tundra. Why would anyone go the trouble you wonder? The guys chased the dog to American outpost where there chopper exploded, leaving the dog with them. They decide to lock it in the kennel with the other dogs and they investigate the other outpost, led by pilot McCreedy. It becomes apparent they found something deadly; they had found a large craft buried under the ice and a lot of dead bodies. Back at there camp, the dog transforms into a horrible monstrosity. The alien is a microscopic organism that takes in the bodies and traits of whatever it comes into contact with, recalling its traits as a defense mechanism. Alone in the middle of frozen nowhere, tensions rise as everyone has to wonder not only can they kill the Thing but who is the Thing?

The Thing is a rare and perfect blend of body horror and suspense. The originality of the creature’s designs steal the show and are things I have rarely seen matched. Kurt Russel as always is awesome as McCreedy but the rest of the cast does a great job. The music is very fitting and well used. What is really cool is rewatching the movie for hidden details, trying to pinpoint  when people were taken by the Thing. Some may not like the unclear ending or that there isn’t a true sequel other than the PS2 game but I love it. In the end, it is one of the best remakes ever and must watch for horror fans. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Thing From Another World

thing 1950

There are rare times I approve of remakes; especially when it comes to ones that seem so close together. As a kid, I remember watching the classic black and white Thing with my parents and later, in high school I wrote a paper on how this movie related to the Cold War.

A reporter visits a isolated Air Force outpost in the far reaches of Alaska. A scientist comes to them requesting aid in investing a strange crash up north. The men go to investigate, finding some large and round buried beneath the ice. They uncover what appears to be a man with what appears to be a flying saucer. The take the frozen man back to the outpost, where it thaws and goes on a rampage, a monster from another world…

As far as old horror movies go, the classic Thing holds up decently well. There is some good atmosphere and music. James Arnes as the creature is pretty effective and he is pretty physically threatening as a big, lumbering creature. The characters are pretty standard for the times with a love story tacked on that doesn’t really add to anything. The movie is definitely a product of its time; there’s no blood, language, and the creature’s origin is really goofy when you find out it’s a “Space Vegetable”. In the end, it’s a decent old time horror movie that deserves a watch. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Addams Family trailer 2

I grew up loving the Addams Family like many others and it hurts a little that after 2 trailers this movie still isn’t clicking with me. While I think the cast is great, the fact the movie is animated kinda bugs me. While a lot of the jokes didn’t resonate with me, I think younger kids will like it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Little Monsters trailer 1

Just when I thought I’d seen every kind of Zombie story I could, we get this. Miss Caroline and her kindergarten class find some zombies during a field trip. I fully admit, this caught my eye over the trailer for Zombieland Double Tap . bHonestly this is a idea I’m surprised we really haven’t seen yet and I’m actually pretty excited for this movie. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Jojo Rabbit Trailer 1

Hey everyone, I’m back after a week of technical difficulties and I bring the most absurd trailer I found from my time away. Coming from the director of Thor: Ragnarok we get a bizarre WW2 movie about a boy and his pal Adolf…I can’t lie I laughed hysterically after watching the trailer just on the premise alone. That is truly a feat considering comedy trailers rarely hook me. It looks goofy but all in good fun. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Resident Evil: Extinction

re extinction

So in Resident Evil (movie 2002) the T Virus broke out; in Resident Evil: Apocalypse the T Virus escaped and infected Raccoon City, ending in the Umbrella Corporation nuking the city to stop the infection. And in Extinction the T Virus has gone world wide; the desert took over Vegas and survivors are few. Alice, her powers brought on by the T Virus, is moving through the desert trying to flee Umbrella. Olivera and LJ have joined a caravan of survivors led by Claire Redfield who are running out of supplies. Alice discovers a diary telling of a possible freedom and civilization where allegedly the virus hasn’t spread. Alice joins the caravan as they storm a a Umbrella outpost, where they failed to cure the zombie outbreak, instead only making them smarter. A desperate scientist has also discovered a new formula that has horrid results. Can the survivors make it out of a seemingly dead world?

As far out- there this series became, Extinction is a surprisingly decent sequel. It does have some good, creepy atmosphere and a decent score. The action series range from pretty cool to over the top, but the over the top stuff is more fits better. The story is surprisingly solid and there are some pretty fair performances in it. Giving Alice psychic powers was pretty stupid but it hurt a bit inside seeing a dude who’s a mix of Birkin and the classic Tyrant having psychic powers. The effects are serviceable but not great. As I said previously, if you watch it as a sci-fi movie, it isn’t bad but skip it if you are a purist fan of the series. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

My 5 Wives (2001)

My 5 Wives is a 2001 comedy starring the late and great Rodney Dangerfield. The plot of the story is simple, in Nevada, there is a community where polygamy is still allowed. This is having multiple wives. (Yes this is a real thing) A friend of his tells him about some and up for auction that would be great for a ski resort. Being the super-rich businessman that he is going through his third divorce he goes to check it out and drops a few bucks to buy it. It isn’t until after he learns he must join the church in order to buy the land. With this comes the three wives of the former owner.

So while his sex life gets kicked up to a level he has never before experienced he donates money to the community, starts making plans for the ski lodge and runs into trouble with the local bank manager that wanted the land for himself. This bank manager will stop at nothing to get him excommunicated so he can have the land for himself. Not long into the movie, Rodney will marry one of his wife’s sister and her friend after their husband dies. They need a place to stay and this is the only way to make it happen.

While all this sounds like the male fantasy, and at the start is portrayed as such we quickly see why there are drawbacks and the ladies quickly see there are other ways to live their lives. While a comedy and a decently funny one if you are a fan of Rodney Dangerfields unique style the movie does a decent job of telling an actual story and by the end of the movie the ladies come into their own fairly well. The movie wasn’t a huge hit with critics and truthfully I can see why. This is one of those like it or hate it movies, and I can’t imagine anyone loving it. I enjoyed it for what it was but I am a fan of Mr. Dangerfield. If you aren’t however you may be better of skipping this one. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Aliens: Dust to Dust

aliens dust

In Alien 3 we learned the Xenomorph can adapt based on it’s hosts traits, giving us a dog/ ox alien in 3; Dust to Dust gives gives us a surprising take on the Xenomorph’s ability to change from there hosts.

Maxon is a  twelve year old kid living with his mom on a Terra-forming colony. One night he has a terrible nightmare, and wakes up to a dead animal on the floor and his mother is alarmed. He dreamed it was wrapped around her face. His mother isn’t so worried about that because outside the colony is under attack from a massive infestation of aliens. Without guns, just the bare supplies they can grab, they flee for an struggling, nearly full escape shuttle and barely manage to leave the area. When things seem to be going alright, Max’s mother’s chest explodes with an alien. The chest-burster kills one of the passengers but they seemingly kill it by destroying the ship around it. Now trapped in the sands during a violent sandstorm trying to reach an outpost to escape while being haunted by a one armed alien obsessed with Max…

Dust to Dust is a good ole fashioned survival horror story. I like that Max, a kid is the main character which adds some vulnerability. There are plenty of aliens, including a brief encounter with a Queen at the end, but I like Max’s connection to the one armed alien. The art is really good but sometimes the abundance of darkness makes some of the action scenes hard to track. The story is one of the better I’ve read in Aliens comics with some decent characters. If you are a Alien or horror fan, this is a cool comic to pick up. May the gaming gods bring you glory.