Category: Horror

Our Favorites Day 4: Freddy’s Dead

Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) Day 4 of out favorite movies is actually one me and @torstenvblog greatly disagree on. See i have fond memories of this horror/comedy and greatly enjoy this movie. I understand why so many people don’t, but this was the first movie I saw that showed that a movie could be both horror and comedy successfully. Tho I am greatly disappointed Tom Arnold and Rosanne didn’t get murdered.

The movie itself also had everything I like. Gross deaths? Yup, gotta love the nail on the chalkboard scene. Comedy? Yea I laughed at “The map says we’re fucked” after the kept driving in circles.  The movie’s title was a pretty big lie tho. The final nightmare? Come on there were movies after. Regardless this movie made my half of the list, tho @torstenvblog did mock me a bit as always. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

For those that love the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, here is a collection of the original movies on Amazon. Nightmare on Elm Street Collection

Our favorites, Day 3:Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th is day 3 of our favorite movies and this one is actually for a very similar reason to the last two days. It is simply a classic with good memories attached to it. Tho I do enjoy that one of the most famous killers in horror movies isn’t in the first movie from his iconic series. And please, don’t give me that ” well they talk about him” or ” they show him as a kid” because you all know what I mean.

The movie itself is not graphically amazing, the script isn’t. There actually isn’t much of a reason for this movie to be what it is. Seriously go back and watch this legendary beast from 1980. Hell just go look at metacritic. The movie gets trashed. A lot. But this cult classic holds special place in horror fans hearts and spawned movies and games. Speaking of games, Friday The 13th: The Game review is free on PSN in October. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Hills Have Eyes(06)

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The original The Hills Have Eyes fascinated my dad Duke so he was pretty pumped when the remake was announced. I’m happy to say without Batman Begins and the Hills remake, I don’t think I’d still be trying to write my damn book and that’s honestly one of the best things I can possibly say for it.

During the mid 40’s to the early 60’s the US government tested atomic bombs in the remote parts of the desert. They thought the land was barren but it wasn’t. Families bred, mutated and deformed living in the many caves and ruins of test houses of the desert surviving off of blood and flesh. The Carter family drove through the desert, lost on there way to California much like the original but what we would get is a much more atmospheric, emotional, and brutal tale of revenge…

Already from the beginning of the film with a gruesome set of opening kills and opening credits consisting of old test footage, bits of the deformities we’re about to see, and a great 50’s country song to put it in perspective we know it’s going to be a different beast than the first. The narrative feels much more complete for starters; we spend more time with the Carter family so when they start dying and violated, you really do feel for them. The movie has a great sense of isolation but also feels claustrophobic in all the right spots- in the vastness of the desert you never are really alone. The mutants are a huge improvement over the classic cannibals in that by the time you get a feel for there world, I got a extra layer of pathos to them. The effects on them were great and pretty damn realistic. The does damn good at being a bloody, intense horror movie but’s also a dark badass western. The fights during the second half are some of my favorites, harrowing but never feel like they jump the shark. The music is creepy but also epic, a good fit. The last seconds are sequel bait but also work as a good oh shit ending too. In the end, I loved this movie and I definitely recommend it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Our Favorites, Day 2. The Exorcist.

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The Exorcist (movie) Here was are for day 2. This movie is a classic and has had a million and one stories around its filming. But only one holds a special memory for me. Years ago when I was a kid I wanted to watch this when it was on television  and my mom said no. My brother and I being not so good at the listening watched it anyway. By this time we had seen a ton of horror movies. See my mom as a little kid had been scared by this movie. Years later watching it wasn’t scared, changed her mind and told us to watch it. I remember because when we yelled “too late” she was a bit pissed at us.

Well for about 5 minutes. See the movie is a classic, and when it was made was terrifying for a lot of people. Now, despite being allegedly based off a true story we have seen far scarier movies. This one however, is still great. Just don’t eat pea soup while you watch. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Are They Really Horror Movies?

There are certain movies that always sort of get called horror movies, but aren’t really horror movies but people discuss them as if they were or weren’t horror movies. For example Alien. There really isn’t much to call this a horror movie. It takes place in space, involves a literal alien species that takes over a space ship. This is all typical and known sci-fi territory in every sense of the genre. Many times however it gets tossed into the horror section. Here for example Nerdist list as a space horror movie. I have had this argument with @torstenvblog for years actually. But realistically aside from “it scared some people” I have never gotten a real answer on how its a horror movie.

Another one I have heard, and made a list of 70 best horror movies is Jaws (1975) A thriller about a man-eating shark somehow quite often gets tossed into the horror movie category because simply, it scared people. What we really need is some sort of check list to decide this on. Is something being scary simply what decides it? Because plenty of horror movies didn’t scare me so are they no longer horror movies? Clearly being scary isn’t enough imply on the grounds of that being subjective. I also am not sure that simply having a monster won’t do it. Godzilla is a monster and nobody would call those monster movies.

Realistically I think we need to have a few things in place, for example there needs to be some sort of otherworldly or super force in play. Think werewolf or vampire or maybe Freddie/Jason sort of deal. A natural entity such as a shark or Alien alone doesn’t seem to be enough.

On the other side of things, a movie should also be making the attempt to be scary on some level, obvious exceptions are when something is trying to be funny or is clearly setting up something for later. Nobody expects horror movies to be scary constantly. Jaws was a suspenseful movie and had some jump scares, but the movie was never really designed to truly make you scared the same way most horror movies are.

Now I am not pretending to be an expect or to by any means simply dismiss new variations of the horror genre. In fact I love them, but this idea that anything that is scary equals horror movie makes very little sense to me. It is like saying anything that has a funny moment is a comedy which is something nobody ever says.

Anyway, I truly think it is time we recognize that movies like Jaws and Alien are great and classic movies, they simply are not horror movies. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Our Favorites Day 1, Nightmare On Elm Street.

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Nightmare on Elm Street Anyone that has followed the blog long-term knows how much I love the nightmare on else street Movies. This one is on the list because honestly not only did it start the whole thing, it is also one of my first horror movies. I don’t even remember who I saw it with. I just remember that first time seeing Fred Kruger and those claws, and the things he did in people’s dreams. Now I can’t recall if I was scared or not, but considering I laughed when Bambi’s mom got shot I doubt I was, but this movie sent me on a life long love of the genre. It isn’t the best horror movie, and it isn’t even the best movie you will see on the list this month, but it is quite possibly the reason this list even exist. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Chanel Zero Season 4 trailer

First I have to say I’m big fan of Creepypastas and I’ve heard really good things about the Chanel Zero series to date. I’m glad that there is a show that’s putting these creative ideas to use. This season, The Dream Door, looks intriguing and actually pretty creepy. If I found it streaming, I’d be glad to check it out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Hills Have Eyes

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Last House on the Left was legendary horror director Wes Craven’s first big film and the impact it had was huge, pushing boundaries and kicking ass. His second major feature to follow would only solidify his status as a renegade of horror.

The Hills Have Eyes, like Last House, is simple but full of layers. The Carter family is on vacation, driving through the desert after receiving the deed to a silver mine as a anniversary gift ( I know, WTF but let’s go with it.) They come by a grizzly old guy who runs a rundown gas station who gives them a short cut, a short cut that leads to disaster as they break down in the middle of the desert with there RV, miles from anywhere. The oldest men set out for help, leaving 2  women, 2 teenagers, and 2 dogs behind. They aren’t alone however. The hills are inhabited by a group of incestuous cannibals that are watching the Carters and when night falls, they strike on family. The father is burned alive, the mother and oldest daughter are killed and a baby stolen leaving the daughter’s husband alone with the teens and 1 dog left. the husband rushes into the desert to face the cannibals and get his daughter back while the kids are left to fend for themselves. Can they survive?

I have a massive amount for this movie and the influence it had and the boundaries it pushed but I cannot lie, it didn’t age great. Back then, Hills struggled not to have an X rating; in 2018 it could pass for  PG-13  I’d d wager if reevaluated. There is almost no bad language, not much blood and no real nudity. I have a glaring issue with the narrative itself. I feel the beginning and end are too abrupt, especially the ending; I feel there should be more to the beginning to either give the characters more time to develop or develop the situation and the end feels like a car crash, you just slam into it. The cannibals mostly feel like the family from Texas Chainsaw Massacre only with a more deformed, Mad Max twist. Michael Berryman, the iconic face of the film, is great and is a genuinely eerie presence on screen. It’s filmed alright and the score is there but nothing memorable. In the end, by today’s standards the original Hills Have Eyes is an ok horror movie that had some groundbreaking ideas for it’s time but has softened with time but worth a watch. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Supernatural Season 12

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Supernatural season 12. What the hell are you doing to me guys? This season focuses around the guys trying to stop the birth of Lucifer’s son and dealing with the British chapter of The Men of Letters. See at first aside from a minor incident of torture they are quite helpful, until they go back to not being helpful.

This season is pretty great, except for the ending. Don’t get me wrong the end of season 12 is great, but be prepared to be pretty damn upset. I won’t spoil it for you but the series in a way is going to go through a pretty massive shake up.

Aside from that we once again get a pretty definitive ending to one arc that will bring us firmly into the next story in season 13. Tho this time we had a pretty major story that brought us into another pretty major story. My only real complain is if you remember waaaaay back into the apocalypse seasons where Lucifer was this big dangerous evil being, they seem less worried about him now. Not that he isn’t still powerful and invincible, but the rush before of stopping him seems to be gone. In fact the entire act of figuring out a plan and stopping him is largely just the last episode or 2 of the season. After 12 seasons I am still enjoying the show, and I don’t see season 13 changing that. But there are some things you have to look past. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.