Drag me back from hell aka hey guys I'm back?

 Okay...so here's what happened...

Horror movies have been a massive part of my life since I was very young. They keep my anxiety at bay, they inspire me to be creative, they relax me, and I very much enjoy them. Last year started out great - lots of good stuff. Got a promotion at work which set me on path to start the career I've been wanting for years. I started making more money and was able to pull myself out of debt and take care of myself, my dogs, and Mitch.

But I also started writing more, writing about horror movies, horror news etc. You guys remember. It was all done on this blog. I was asked to write for two different horror movie sites which was an absolute dream come true for me. I was given screeners to watch and review. It was fucking incredible. Over the past almost 6 years of writing this blog, people always asked me why I kept writing it and reviewing and celebrating horror, what was the end goal? I always joked it was to get free horror movies. And that started happening.

October hit - I had surgery on my face, had some pretty horrific dental surgery, and work was getting insane. I released my new site out into the world after working on it for months. And I jumped into my 31 days of horror. Somewhere near the middle of October I broke. Mentally and physically. My illness got out of control, I was sick every day. Work was so incredibly busy and stressful and then I would come home and try to write 5 different articles, watch 3 horror movies, and scroll through the hundreds of new horror articles that had come out. I had multiple deadlines to reach and I needed to keep up - I HAD to keep up. Because this was what I'd always wanted. This was it. I was living my dream.

But in reality my dream was ultimately a second job that I didn't get paid for. And as my health deteriorated and I became more and more miserable, I had to take a step back.

I stopped everything. No more horror movies, no more reviews, no more articles, no more screeners. My website sat dying on the internet. And I felt like a complete failure when people asked me about what was going on. Because for months I had been that girl that could have it all and successfully pull it off. I don't fail a lot - and I don't mean that it in a cocky way - I mean that in an anxiety ridden way where I refuse to let myself fail. But I had failed.

Granted, my regular day job was going better than ever and I was doing better than I ever thought I would. But there was this bitter, dead part of me that resented my day job because it had taken away my horror movies. It was like I had a resentful sibling inside of me who was jealous that the other sibling got all the attention. And I had to think - what am I really going to do forever? I have to have income, money is a big drive for me professionally. While I do consider myself a creative person, I'm not the kind of person that can chase my creative dreams and get all "live your dreams and money will come second". 

Nah, I want money now. I want to live a good comfy life and retire without panic. Writing horror movie reviews will not get me that.

October was also the time that Hollywood exploded with sexual abuse. I watched as people I looked up to in the industry came out and told their own devastating stories of abuse and misogyny. It was too much. I had to take a step back. Why was I hoping to rise up in an industry like that? I felt the hate all the time for simply being a woman with an opinion in the horror world. And I wanted to do that full time?!

SO....why all of this now? Because I felt the need to explain why I disappeared out of the horror community seemingly over night. And the answer is because life is fucking tough. And it's tough dealing with an illness you don't fully understand and it's tough dealing with anxiety and it's tough dealing with giving up something you love, to ultimately feel better.

But after almost 5 months I have started to dip my toe back into the horror waters because honestly I fucking miss horror movies. And really it's not horror movies that broke me, it's everything around them. It's the need to be relevant, and for people to look at you like you know what's going on, that you're in the loop. To get likes and hits on social media, to have your reader count go up every week, to have people you respect in the community reach out and congratulate you on a well written review. BUT THAT STUFF DOESN'T MATTER!

Horror movies matter - because horror movies have always been there for me through thick and thin. Horror movies have broken my heart, made me laugh, made me cry, made me so scared I had to sleep with the lights on, made me almost throw up, made me scream, yell, call my best friend to yell at her to WATCH THIS RIGHT NOW HOLY FUCKKKK.

I watched Scream 2 and something just woke up in me - it was like coming home again. I was like...oh yeah...this is what it feels like to lose myself for an hour and a half and not stress about anything and just have a great fucking time. And I don't have to take notes and analyze it because it's Scream 2 and I've seen this movie 1000 times. And no one cares that I'm watching it except me.

So, I'm here to say I'm back. And it's not for you. It's for me. I won't be watching the latest horror movies and following the news so I can keep everyone updated and be "in the know". I'm going to fall back in love with horror movies again. And you can come along with me, or I can go it alone. But going forward this is my love letter to horror movies.

Just one woman, with a lot of mental problems and some serious food issues, and a lot of health problems, being myself, watching horror movies, and having a great fucking time.

Welcome back to horror bound...where I fucking love horror movies. 

Gerald's Game and a Goodbye from me

GERALD'S GAME 2017

 
"If there's a monster under your bed it won't bother you if you're asleep," Gerald whispers to Jessie, and in that moment Gerald's Game is summed up in one beautiful sentence.

First of all, Gerald's Game is one of my favorite Stephen King novels. I read it far too young at a tender age of 12 where I learned far too much about the scary world of adults. But it has always stuck with me. I learned a lot from Gerald's Game that didn't scar me, life lessons that I subconsciously carried with me as I grew up. I re-read the story when I was 18 and it was like a light bulb went off in my head. Gerald's Game had taught me to fight so incredibly hard despite the odds. And in the tumultuous year where my Dad had left my family and my Mom had mentally checked out and I had to drop out of college....I never once stopped fighting. Because when I was 12 I read a book where a woman was in a lose/lose situation and against all terrifying odds, she fought and battled her inner demons and came out triumphant. And that woman never left me.

That might sound dramatic, but there's a reason I'm such a huge Stephen King fan, because I'm not exaggerating when I say his books have changed my life.

Tonight I watched the new adaptation, Gerald's Game, directed and written by Mike Flanagan and Jeff Howard. And I am happy to say that this film exceeded my expectations and kept what was the most important about this story and brought it to the screen.

Jessie and Gerald are a married couple who are slowly falling apart, they decide to escape up to their cabin for the weekend and play a sexy game where Jessie is handcuffed to the bed. But when things get quickly out of hand, and Gerald has a massive heart attack, dropping dead on the floor, Jessie finds herself in an impossible situation she must escape from. Or else she'll die, whether it be from dehydration, her organs shutting down, or that wild, starving dog that's sniffing around.

Ultimately this story is about survival, but it also speaks to the lengths we go to keep our darkest secrets buried. Jessie experienced something when she was younger that she has never told anyone, and without realizing it, it controls every decision she makes in her adult life. It isn't until she's locked in this situation that she's finally forced to deal with her trauma. It's an important lesson that we all learn in life, that holding secrets will slowly destroy us from the inside out. This film is incredible at how it handles the dark story line. It touches just hard enough that you completely understand what's going on, but not enough that it discredits the careful line its walking.

The story is also one about the fear that you never truly know the ones you love the most. You can be married to someone for ten years and one day they'll say something or do something and you suddenly realize you don't know that person at all. That maybe they were also keeping a deep dark secret they didn't want you to know.

Stephen King always understands the darkness that lies within every person. And Flanagan has brought that to life in this amazing adaptation.

I'm going to get into a little bit of spoilers here so skip ahead if you need to:

First of all, I'm so thankful that Flanagan kept the Dolores Claiborne reference in this film. It's so important to the story and it's a nice little nod for hardcore King fans. There was also a fun little Cujo reference which I appreciated.

Secondly, I want to talk about the horror element of it - there's some real creepy scenes in this movie that keeps the tension high and keeps the story going. Raymond Andrew Joubert, played by Carel Struycken, is incredibly creepy and his first scene caught me totally off guard. I also loved the final court scene with him. Obviously, I also need to touch on the wrist cutting scene. Reading it in the book had me squeamish but seeing it come to life...wow. I was completely unprepared. It was one of those moments where I realized I was yelling out loud and clutching my face, and actually had no idea how long I'd been yelling for (once again, I'm so sorry to my neighbors). I had been pondering how they would pull that off and they WENT THERE. The camera did not pan away once. It was horrific and so well done. An absolutely amazing scene!

Thirdly, I want to talk about the acting performances. Carla Gugino plays our lead Jessie with perfection. From the losing of her mind to the multiple personalities showing through to the final scene, this was an award winning performance. She was so believable, and raw, and emotional, and tough. Bruce Greenwood plays Gerald and it's another great performance. The scenes where Gerald is taunting Jessie, just hanging over her in bed whispering anxieties into her ear were so realistic and such a great portrayal of how having chronic anxiety really feels. Such great casting.

End of spoilers...

Flanagan is proving to me that he can't make a bad movie. This man is a powerhouse who, in my opinion, has already cemented himself as a master of horror. Gerald's Game is just another notch on the belt of a near perfect career and I honestly can't contain my excitement for whatever he has coming next.

Overall, Gerald's Game is a stunning, almost perfect adaptation of an author who many people have struggled for years to adapt. I will aggressively recommend it to everyone I know.

Solid 10/10

 Now, I have some sad news. This will be my last review on this blog....

BECAUSE I'VE BOUGHT A DOMAIN NAME FOR HORROR BOUND AND AM MOVING TO A REAL WEBSITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've wanted to create my own horror site for awhile now but wanted to do it the right way. In April I bought the domain name for my birthday and I've spent the last few months creating the site. It will officially go live this Sunday on October 1st for the 31 day horror movie challenge.

It's time for Horror Bound to go big and not be just a little blog anymore. I've spent almost 6 years writing on this blog so I will be sad to not come here anymore and yell at everyone about how great horror movies are. I will keep this archived though for those of you who want to read old reviews, and mostly for my own nostalgia.

Going forward, you will need to visit horrorbound.net for all your horror bound needs. A MASSIVE thank you to those of you who have visited this blog over the years. It's been so much fun to watch my stats grow and have you reach out on twitter about my reviews. It's helped me blossom into a real writer and move into writing for other great websites like morbidlybeautiful.com and addictedtohorrormovies.com and now my own website! I hope you follow me over there.

As always, follow me on twitter, follow me on instagram, and on Sunday, October 1st, check out the new and improved and OFFICIAL Horror Bound.

Stay spooky forever,

Oakley Court - a hidden horror Mecca

Oakley Court....a beautiful and tranquil hotel with eclectic architecture, never-ending lawns, a tasty restaurant and footpaths that lead you alongside the River Thames. When standing on the lawn gazing up at the hotel you get the sense that you've stepped into a place from another era. But despite the gargoyles that leer down at you from every surface, and the one tiny hallway scattered with horror movie posters, you'd have no idea that this is ground zero for some of the best horror movies of all time.

This year I visited Oakley Court and stayed the night to experience the incredible hotel for itself and wallow in its' incredible history.

Built in 1859 for Sir Richard Hall-Say in the style of a French Chateau to comfort his homesick young French wife, it had many owners until 1919 when Ernest Olivier bought it. He was a Turkish consul and used the Court as a place to impress and entertain foreign diplomats. During World War 2 it was rumored that Charles de Gaulle had an office there and there's a room there now that is named in his honor. But it wasn't until post World War 2 that Oakley Court became a horror Mecca when Olivier decided to rent the building out as a filming location.

In 1949 Hammer/Exclusive Films started using the building and for twelve months the Court was used to make 5 films. Over the next few decades Oakley Court became the go-to location for British productions to use as an exterior for haunted houses and castles. You can find the Court in films like The Brides of Dracula (1960), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), and Vampyres (1974). 

But in 1965 when Olivier passed away the house was divided up and used as shelter for young, local families in need. They could rent rooms and cottages and it stayed that way through the 70's. But because of this it allowed productions to film inside the now dilapidated Court. And so next up were Girly (1970), The Night Digger (1971), and The Man From Nowhere (1975).

There's also a rumor that in the late 60's, shortly after Olivier's death, there were satanic cults that would use the grounds for their Sabbaths. There's an old crumbled structure near the riverfront that was rumored to be the site. The local historian, Jake Roche, believes witches used to meet on the grounds.

Of course, what is an old, spooky Court without its' ghost stories? There are many stories of ghostly presences and events that have filled Oakley Court including in 1972 when a woman claimed her two children drowned after seeing white-hooded figures roaming the grounds late at night. Even just reading the modern day reviews of the hotel you'll find a couple of ghostly experiences thrown in among glowing reviews of the restaurant. Unfortunately, I didn't experience anything myself, but it was absolutely very spooky walking through the hotel's many twisted staircases and long hallways by myself.

In the 1970's as residents began to leave, the building was purchased by the Muggleston family to convert it into a resort. They restored Oakley Court to its former glory spending $5 million to do so. They also included additional wings to accommodate more guests.

Now Oakley Court sits as a proud, well reviewed hotel, but keeps its' horror history pretty quiet. Every year they host the Time Warp Picnic where fans of Rocky Horror gather to watch the Transylvanian flag raise from the tower and then watch a screening of the film together in costume. But let's just call ourselves lucky that Oakley Court is still standing and being carefully and lovingly restored, and a tiny but important piece of horror history is kept in tact.

My stay there was wonderful, and as you can see littered throughout this article are photos I took during my stay. The room was great, the food was great, and I loved just wandering around the grounds and discovering so many different buildings and strange artwork like an entire suit of armor placed in a corner for seemingly no reason. Or an entire room of giant mirrors. Or a neon light sign that reads "The Butler Did It'.

It's a odd place.

But I love it, and I highly recommend that if ever given the chance, you go stay there too, or at least explore it!

Birthday Horror Movie Marathon DAY ONE

 
WHAT A FUCKING DISASTER TODAY WAS!!!!!!!! No power, cleaning dog piss off of my bed sheets in the dark in the bath tub, and starving.

But first....let's get to the good stuff:

Yesterday was my 28th birthday! My friends went above and beyond and spoiled me with many amazing gifts....including this:

When you gotta work in the morning but murder in the afternoon

And then threw me a surprise party:

 

Talentcorpse made an appearance

My birthday party outfit

Then I came home and baked myself a birthday cake:

I am the real cake boss

Oh, and because you guys know the only thing I love as much as horror movies is Star Wars, the beautiful Rupy made me my own snap chat filter:

Then Mitch and I went for a yummy fish and chip dinner before coming home and starting the horror movie marathon. Unfortunately we could only get through two last night because I am an old lady now and I can't stay up later than 10pm.

And since Mitch was watching with me I catered the first two movies so as not to freak him out. First up we watched Ghostwatch which Shudder recently got. I watched Ghostwatch for the first time a few years ago on youtube and it was really bad quality but Shudder got their hands on a beautiful copy and it was amazing to watch it properly for the first time.

GHOSTWATCH

 

What's Ghostwatch? Well, it's basically the predecessor to The Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity. It was a made-for-tv film that was broadcast on Halloween night in England in 1992 on the BBC. But it was never aired again. Stephen Volk created this beast and duped the Halloween viewing audience into thinking the events unfolding were really happening. It takes on the appearance of a broadcast where a news reporter is sent into a supposedly haunted house in an attempt to find out what's really going on. It jumps back and forth from the reporter in the house with the family, to the reporter and news crew outside the house, to the news reporter and doctor inside of the studio. There's fake calls coming into the studio and fake scientific footage shown and things get really fucking crazy.

The in-studio news personality was the famous Michael Parkinson and the reporter who enters the haunted house was Sarah Greene. Enough people in England believed what they were seeing was real and when they found out they'd been duped, thousands of complaints were filed with the BBC and Ghostwatch was left to die on a basement shelf.

Ghostwatch is a lot of fun to watch. It plays a lot like most mockumentary type horror films nowadays where nothing much of anything happens for the first hour and then shit hits the fan for the last half hour. Watching a proper version of it on a proper TV this time I noticed a lot of things I had missed that made it even more fun. Mitch and I had a lot of fun trying to spot the ghostly figure every time it pops up. And the poltergeist activity is incredibly well done. It really is hilarious to watch now and then see so many tropes that are used endlessly nowadays in found footage horror films.



Obviously the underlining story of Ghostwatch takes heavy influence of the Enfield Haunting (you can read all about that haunting on one of my previous posts if you click here) with the two young girls being the focus of a poltergeist. There's some photos shown as evidence that are very similar to the original photos from that case. But in Ghostwatch the story is never clearly defined except for this ghostly figure called "pipes". There are various origin stories shared and even one that perhaps the ground itself is to blame from prehistoric time. But ultimately it's up to you as the viewer to choose your ending. 

Fantastic performances by everyone involved and a really fun film to watch alone, or with some friends. And if you haven't signed up for Shudder yet, you're an idiot and I hope you get your life together.

Solid 10/10

Me and Mitch really want to find a replica of that hilarious framed ghost photo above the fireplace to put above our TV. If anyone knows where we can find one....comment below or tweet me.

Now the second movie I showed Mitch was What we do in the Shadows because it's become one of my favorite films ever. Aside from everything that is brilliant about this film, what I want to mention is that it never loses its funny. I've seen this movie at least 20 times since it came out. I have it on my itunes and I watch it a lot when I'm falling asleep. But yet even after all that, watching it last night with Mitch I was still laughing out loud. Written and directed by Jermaine Clement and Taika Waititi it is a mockumentary following the lives of four vampires living in New Zealand.

It may be one of the funniest films I've ever seen. I'm constantly quoting it and explaining it doesn't do it justice. Seeing the vampires watch a sunset for the first time on youtube, or listening to a group of werewolves remind each other we're werewolves, not swear-wolves cannot be given enough explanation. I already reviewed this movie when I watched it the first time, and you can read that here but I implore you to watch this movie.

It's also a great introduction to horror because while it is hilarious, there are a few "jump scare" moments and quite a lot of gore.

Anyway, here's today's update....

I woke up, watched the new episode of Rupaul's Drag Race, went to Safeway for food and was planning my movie list for the day only to arrive home to the power being out. So that squashed my marathon plans. Instead I finished my re-read of IT and made some headway on my annual re-read of the Harry Potter series. And while doing that, Obie decided to piss all over my blankets and carpet for some annoying reason and so I found myself squatting over the bathtub with a candle trying to scrub piss out of my blanket with cold water because the hot water wasn't working.

BUT

The power is back, I can finally make some hot food, and I will use the evening to get back to my marathon. Hopefully nothing happens tomorrow so I can actually wake up and do a proper all day marathon. GYPSY CURSE STRIKES AGAIN! Serving Thinner realness.

Lastly,
I would like to thank all my amazing friends and boyfriend (who bought me a robotic BB-8 that rolls around our house scaring the dogs and being adorable) for making this years' birthday the BEST ONE YET. You are all wonderful people who I would be absolutely lost without.

Now leave me to do my dark bidding on the internet.

And don't forget to follow me on twitter where I'll be live-tweeting the evening.

Stay spooky!

Upcoming Birthday Horror Movie Marathon ~~

 
Guys, it's my birthday this month!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm turning 28 and in honor I'm throwing myself a party. Because literally no one ever has thrown me a birthday party before so I need to take it into my own hands.

And by party....I mean watching horror movies by myself for two days straight.

I'll start on Friday afternoon, the 21st of April, my actual birthday. I'll make a blanket nest on my living room floor and eat my birthday cake. Which I'm making myself and will probably turn out awful since it has to be gluten free and I can't cook. BUT it's the thought that counts....for myself...

Then Saturday I'll wake up early, walk the dogs, and then...sit back into the blanket nest, eat more cake and watch horror movies all day.

Then Sunday....you guessed it...more horror movies. But this time I'll be venturing out of the house to go watch the new found footage alien film; Phoenix Forgotten. Then I'll come right back and get to it.

So anyway....what would be fun is to watch 28 horror movies that weekend in honor of myself because I'm egotistical like that but that is basically impossible. I'm honestly just going to go through my DVD collection and watch all the ones I haven't watched yet, good or bad, then go onto Shudder.

If you want to follow along with me during my birthday marathon and keep me company, I'll be live tweeting and snapchatting the whole damn weekend:

Click here for twitter

Snapchat username is:

And I'll do a few blog posts tracking everything with mini reviews!

And that's that! Come keep me company for my birthday, cause lord knows no one else in my life wants to watch horror movies for two days straight!

Stay spooky!

Ps; I was going to come up with a super snazzy name for this event but it got too depressing spending so much time thinking about a name for a solo birthday event so I went with just stating the obvious...

Chucky, Rings, and my lump

Well hey there! I sort of bailed on everything but let me explain - instead of New Years Scream, Mitch's flight got screwed up. He flew all the way to Vancouver only to have the plane fly all the way back to Edmonton and then BACK TO VANCOUVER AGAIN. All because we had a little snow fall. Our city doesn't handle winter well. We're actually in a salt crisis right now and all the sidewalks are icy as fuck. I digress, I went and surprised Mitch at the airport with beer but because of all the delays and what not we didn't get home until 11. So we played two games of crib and then went to sleep.

THEN I went back to work and had an appointment with a doctor to take a look at a lump that's growing out of the side of my face. I'm convinced it's the twin I absorbed in utero coming back for revenge. But the doctor does not agree and I will be getting it surgically removed from my face on the 19th. (I'm still convinced they'll find teeth and hair inside of it)

SO clearly I've been distracted with my body continuously falling apart BUT I have some time now as I'm at the brewery while Mitch does a Saturday brew, so let's talk about some of the horror news that's come out:

RINGS

We've got a final trailer, we've got a new poster, and we are creeping ever closer to the premier of Rings.

How great is that poster? LOVE IT.



And there's the trailer. I have to say I'm more on-board after seeing this trailer. I can tell I'm going to enjoy it but I can also tell the CG is going to annoy me. There's a lot in that little trailer.  BUT I'm still here for it and you can watch it in theaters February 3rd.

Mitch will not be watching this with me as his school took him to see The Ring in the theater when he was young and it traumatized him. Which, by the way, what kind of school takes young children to go see The Ring????? And why didn't I go there? Also it's ironic as he's dating me and I am basically Samara's body double. But okay.

Speaking of Samara, coming to Shudder on January 26th is the face off we've all been waiting for.....

SADAKO VS KAYAKO

Coming exclusively to Shudder (go subscribe to them if you're not already. $4.99 a month for basically a netflix of curated horror...it's amazing.) They did a quick review of this film on Shockwaves the other day and it sounds like it will be a tone of fun. The Grudge vs. The Ring...I mean....come on...
And remember how great the marketing campaign was? The instagram family photos? The baseball game? So great.

You can watch the trailer over at Vulture

CULT OF CHUCKY

My boy is back.

We've heard the rumors, we've seen the photo, and now we know it to be completely true. Chucky 7 is happening and Don Mancini is about to start filming in Manitoba. Oh, and best news, it will arrive in time for Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!! Filming begins on January 9th and Alex Vincent will be playing grown up Andy again, and Nica will be back played by Brad Dourif's daughter Fiona. AND...AND...Tiffany is back. JENNIFER TILLY IS BACK. And not just a cameo, seems like she's playing a pretty major role in the plot.



Universal released the announcement video and it's pretty great.

I'm already planning some sort of Chucky themed month long party for October.

Continuing on the Chucky route....Bloody Disgusting just brought attention to a great video that's popped up on youtube. It's a VHS Screener from 1989 when Child's Play was headed to VHS. See, back in the day studios would send VHS Screeners to video shops to convince them to buy their VHS and sell it in their store. But Child's Play went above and beyond and made a great video where Chucky himself brags about how much money the movie made, takes shots at Freddy and Jason, and reads all the great reviews it got back in the day. There's some footage from the movie and some behind the scenes footage and a song.....there's a song...and it's about Chucky...and I can't believe I'm just hearing it now. My life is changed.

Watch below


Alright, that's it for me today. I've got an idea for an upcoming challenge but I'm still working on it.....i'll be right back....

Stay Spooky!

Day 31 - Halloween - Horror Movie Challenge

HALLOWEEN (2007)

Inside every one us, there exists a dark side. Most people rise above it, but some are consumed by it. Until there is nothing left, but pure evil. 

It's Halloween in Haddonfield and young Michael is living inside an abusive home and being picked on at school. But today he's had enough. After murdering one of his bullies in the woods he goes home to trick or treat. Unfortunately his sister Judith isn't interested in taking him, his mom Deb is at work at the strip club and Deb's boyfriend is drunk and in a wheelchair. Michael heads out by himself but it isn't the same. When he gets home, Ronnie, Deb's boyfriend taunts Michael until he kills him by taping him up and slitting his throat. Next up is Judith's boyfriend, and then Judith, who he stabs 17 times.

Deb arrives home to find her son sitting outside covered in blood and holding his baby sister in his arms, who he didn't harm.

Michael is of course found guilty but placed into Smith's Grove Sanitarium under the care of Dr. Samuel Loomis. Michael doesn't remember anything from Halloween night and works with Dr. Loomis, but soon slips into his own mind. His Mom visits him every week but as Michael gets worse and worse and stops speaking and becomes obsessed with making and wearing masks, his Mom and Dr. Loomis are giving up. Then one day Michael kills a nurse violently and Deb can't take it anymore, she goes home and commits suicide, leaving her youngest daughter behind.

Over the next 15 years Michael lives in the Sanitarium making masks quietly. Loomis attempts multiple times over the years to reach him but it never works. Then one day Michael snaps after being tormented by a guard and his drunk cousin and kills them. He's able to escape and heads home, which is now an abandoned house that local residents are scared of.

His baby sister who was left orphaned has been taken in by the Strodes who live down the street and renamed Laurie. She's got a good life now but little does she know that her murderous brother has returned home and is watching her.

Alright...what did I love about this movie?

• Daeg Faerch puts on a powerhouse of a performance as young Michael Myers and Tyler Mane makes Michael even more terrifying as an adult, if that's even possible. At 6'9" he's a horrific slowly walking force.
• Amazing soundtrack, but that's usually to be expected from Rob Zombie.
• Sheri Moon Zombie can honestly do no wrong in my eyes and she's best in these strong but beaten down women type roles.
• The backstory on Michael is a refreshing touch on the series, seeing what made him into the psycho he is, and seeing how his Mother was left to deal with the aftermath of it all.
• Malcolm McDowell is so fucking great as Loomis.

What didn't I love?

• Waaaay too long. Slasher flicks have no business being over 2 hours.

Overall?

Firstly, ya'll know I'm a big Rob Zombie fan so I'm not here for your hate. Secondly, every year I always end the horror movie challenge with Halloween so this year I thought I'd shake it up with the remake.

I love the remake. I think Zombie did a great job putting his touch on it, like I mentioned above I love the backstory, the depth of Michael Myers. I get why it can be scarier to have no idea why he snapped at 10 years old and stalk Laurie for 100 movies. BUT I do love that we also have this option to watch to learn more about why he did what he did. We get to learn about the mask - why it's so important to Michael and why he hides behind it, such a devastating concept. And our hearts break watching Deb's horrific life and devastating ending.

Is this a Rob Zombie film? Yes. You can feel it in every conversation, every scene, every actor choice etc. But is it a good Rob Zombie film? Yes! It's a slasher flick with 17 violent kills and lots of spooky moments, but it's also a think piece with the prequel part of the film.

I adore this remake and believe it can sit side by side with the original series. Is it better than the original? Of course not! But there's room for both.

9/10

I've got two days left of my vacation and then I'm headed home! Highlight of this week so far? Getting to fly to the waterfall used in Jurassic Park in a helicopter! It's on protected land and can only be reached by helicopter and you have to wear protective booties on your shoes to protect the environment. It's absolutely beautiful and was honestly the coolest thing that's ever happened to me.

And here's a pic! Don't judge me for my fanny pack and safety vest wrapped around my waist:

Day 27 - Jaws The Revenge - October Horror Movie Challenge

JAWS THE REVENGE (1987)

When there is no factor motivating an event, no case of cause creating effect, what triggered the action: fate or circumstance? What you are about to see concerns such an event. Maybe you can determine whether we are dealing here, with circumstances, or fate.

SURPRISE...we're back at Amity. Brody has died of a heart attack leaving his wife Ellen and his two sons Sean and Mike behind. Mike is married with a young daughter and Sean is engaged. Sean is following in his Dad's footsteps and is a police deputy but one night when he's clearing a log from a buoy a great white shark attacks and kills him.

Ellen has a complete breakdown, and rightfully so, believing that this shark intentionally targeted Sean because clearly this family has killed more sharks than any other family on this planet. After the funeral, Mike takes Ellen back to the Bahamas with his family. Which doesn't really make much sense as Ellen is now convinced they're being stalked by a shark. BUT OKAY. Maybe try something inland next time?

At the island Ellen falls in love with a dashing, carefree airplane pilot while Mike gets back to work as a marine biologist. But as life begins to settle Mike encounters the same shark that attacked and killed Sean.

How is this possible? And is this shark really out to get the whole Brody family? And is Ellen mentally connected to the shark? WHAT AM I EVEN WATCHING...

Alright...what did I love about this movie?

• Michael Caine playing Hoagie?! WTF?! What a happy surprise. He honestly made this movie for me.
• Lorraine Gary is back as Ellen Brody and absolutely nuts but kicking ass!
• The flashbacks were sweet and emotional.

What didn't I love?

• Wtf was going on with that psychic connection? And are you telling me this shark swam all the way from Amity to the Bahamas to kill the Brody family? Who the fuck is this shark?
• There was not enough shark attacks in this movie. So much dialogue, so much character development, KILL SOMEONE ALREADY.
• This movie basically pretends Jaws 3D never happened. Which is fair.

Overall?

Basically this movie is usually what happens when you're four films deep into a franchise. You try and flip the story on its head and the creature becomes more and more powerful. We see it with Freddy, we see it with Michael Myers, after a certain amount of movies they basically become god like. This is what happens here. You're given a shark that is apparently so powerful it's become sort of psychic and all being.

The story was fun at first but then got boring and then got fun and then the shark exploded.

Weirdly enough...out of all the Jaws sequels I think Jaws 3-D was my favorite? Then Jaws 2 and then this one.

5/10

Tomorrow I fly to Kauai and try to become a shark whisperer! And today was my Halloween extravaganzaaaaaaa. I will keep blogging for the rest of this challenge. I'll just be doing it from another country.

Here's some photos from today:

My coworkers' husband made me my own banner because I am the Halloween QUEEN.

At one point I removed my Negan costume, put on a cape, then wore a spider like a backpack and then stole a skull staff....why? because I'm the Queen of Halloween...

Also our office neighbors pranked us after we pranked them but they did it better. This is one part of it and I love him. We are putting him at my desk while I'm gone. Won't be much difference. I LOVE YOU TALENTCORPSE!!!!!!!!

Stay Spooky!

American Mary and my rampage

 
So I'm going to get real here for a minute....being a girl in horror sucks. It's tough. At times it feels disgusting and you feel like you need to take a shower. For a genre that prides itself on its strong female leads and final girls, the audience sure can be hypocritical.

On some of the community forums I participate in (I won't be naming any names) once you're "outed" as a female fan, your views and opinions instantly become null. And that's part of the reason this blog came into play because it was a safe space where I could talk about the movies I love without being judged for something as minor as my gender. I've watched hundreds of horror movies, my opinion matters, oh yeah, and also I'm a girl. So...?

As you know if you follow this blog, I'm a big support of the Soska twins - two female horror directors who are carving their way through the industry. They are two of my personal heroes for many reasons, one of them being they don't shy away from speaking out about the sexism they've experienced while trying to get their films made or noticed. They're two tough bitches because unfortunately they have to be to survive. I am not. I shy away from conflict and it makes me feel sick in my tummy.

But the other day I was scrolling through one of my usual forum haunts and found a post about the Soska twins show Hellavator and I jumped into the comments to talk frantically about how great it is and awesome they are. But instead I was affronted with horrible sexist comments about them.

Things like "they only got their movies made because they're hot and probably slept with someone" or "their movies are too girly for me" or "i don't like their movies, but I'd sleep with them."

I was horrified. You don't see those kind of comments on posts about Jason Blum, or Eli Roth, or Rob Zombie. No...it's people discussing their films and not bringing their looks into it. But all of a sudden looks are important because why? Because the Soska twins, two talented horror directors, happen to be girls. And of course, when I finally put my foot down and commented on the sexism happening I got called "adorable" by some condescending asshole. 

Why? Why is this still allowed? Why does the fact that the Soska twins have a vagina mean their movies can't be good, or that they didn't work their asses off to get their movies made, it must ONLY mean they slept their way to the top.

It's disgusting. And I'm sure most of the horror audience doesn't feel this sexist type of way, maybe the bad ones are just more vocal. But every time I feel like I've got a footing in this community, I'm knocked back down by these "vocal" audience members.

Which brings me to the movie I watched last night, and one I have watched many times, but actually never really talked about on this blog:

AMERICAN MARY (2012)

Don't you ever devalue what you do, Mary. You make sure they deserve it, and don't waste a minute of your time thinking about them when you're done. 

American Mary was released in 2012 and is a Canadian horror film written and directed by Jen and Sylvia Soska. It stars the ever talented Katharine Isabelle as our lead character Mary, Antonio Cupo and the Vancouver local gem Tristan Risk.

It tells the story of Mary, a struggling medical student, who is an incredibly talented surgeon but is struggling to pay the bills and make her way through the rest of medical school. Her teacher Dr. Grant pushes her incredibly hard and is a total dirt bag. Mary applies for work at a strip club to make her way through the rest of school but during her pervy interview, the club owner offers her 5 grand instead of a job to sew up a man he knows who has been tortured. She takes it on a whim and saves the mans life, takes the money and runs, thinking it was the last of it.

But a few days later Beatress (Risk) approaches her from the strip club and offers her 10 grand to perform a controversial surgery on her friend Ruby who strives to be a real doll. Mary reluctantly accepts and finds herself doing a surgery in the back of a vet clinic. Once it's over with she is ready to focus back on her studies with her new money and graduate. But when Dr Grant invites her to a party filled with distinguished surgeons and doctors, she is drugged by him and raped while he films the whole ordeal. When she returns home the next morning she quits medical school and pays the strip club owner, Billy, to kidnap Dr. Grant. Mary then creates her own business performing controversial underground surgeries for the body modification community while torturing Dr. Grant and practicing body modification on him.

This movie is brilliant. For SO many reasons. The acting is phenomenal by Katherine Isabelle and Tristan Risk, Katherine going so far as to attend medical school to research the role. All the visual effects are practical, Tristan's makeup took 2 hours a day to apply. But most importantly, the movie was written while the twins were trying to sell their first movie, Dead Hooker in a Trunk, after being faced by horrible film industry experiences like meeting sexist, sleazy people. This movie is made out of real emotion.

It also continues to be prevalent in our society. American Mary underneath it all shows how horrible it can be to be a woman in the working world. It shows what it's like for anyone to strive for greatness only to be knocked back because of your gender. To be taken advantage of by those in power, to feel like you have no control over your life. And most importantly how it feels to not feel connected to anyone because your trust has been destroyed.

It's a beautiful, gory film and I love it with all my heart. Mary is a character I can get behind and root for, even when she's getting out of control. And I love the Soska twins for sticking with their dream and pushing through all the murk to get to it, all with a wicked smile on their faces.

So yeah, sorry to get so down on you all but American Mary always brings that out in me.

Go out and be nice to people okay?

Stay Spooky!