horror news and fan expo vancouver

Upcoming things I am thrilled about:

The Woods Movie

A documentary on the making of The Blair Witch Project. The festival trailer is out for this exciting documentary that will reveal footage from the hundreds of hours of footage that was taken during the filming, and compacted into an interesting and tell all documentary. The movie that changed the genre of horror and broke the box office is still such a big secret. Not much is really known about the making of and the actors themselves mostly vanished. And now we get to see all the behind the scenes goodies that we love.

Watch the trailer here

There's also a rumour floating around out there, reported by Bloody Disgusting, that there's a new Blair Witch movie being discussed behind closed doors. Could be a reboot? Could be a remake? Either way it's the stupidest thing I've ever heard and you bet your ass I'm gonna watch it just like Book of Shadows (*muffled groaning*).

The Gift

This movie has got me excited. I love a good creepy, high production thriller/horror and this one looks like a winner. A young married couple encounter an old friend who soon becomes a part of their lives even though they don't want him to. And when the husband remembers what really happened in the past with him and this creep, things get cray. The trailer is really good, and I'm really judgmental of trailers, but this one passed. And we got a bunch of new posters that look creepy as hell.

Watch the trailer here

Starring Jason Bateman, Joel Edgerton and Rebecca Hall opening in theaters July 31st. 

Sinister 2

 FINALLY THINGS ARE COMING OUT!! Jesus, I was getting so mad. This movie is due out in August and yet we had nothing until last week when everything just spilled out of the woodwork. We got some promo photos, we got a teaster trailer, and now we finally have the first full length trailer. Although, tbh, I'm not loving it? But I'll still watch. It's just something about the trailer seems off and I have a gut feeling this will completely fall apart which will be devastating. Maybe it's because Sinister didn't really need a sequel? And the way it all ties up to the first movie doesn't make any sense?
Regardless, I'm excited to finally get some news about the sequel - bad or good.

“In the aftermath of the shocking events in Sinister, a protective mother and her 9-year-old twin sons find themselves in a rural house marked for death as the evil spirit of Buhguul continues to spread with frightening intensity.”

Watch the trailer here

Afterlife with Archie

This comic book series is amazing!! And this is old news, but I finally got around to reading it. I'm about half way through. The art is to die for, the story is spot on, and watching the characters of my childhood die and turn into zombies is so weirdly satisfying. You can buy the entire volume at your local comic book store or online at comixology. It's written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and the art is by Francesco Francavilla. It was inspired by a zombie-themed variant cover which Francavilla did himself. One of the best parts is at the end of each issue they put in an old school horror comic that's almost as fun to read as the original story itself.

Leatherface

Let's talk about this prequel! I was over the moon when they announced it awhile ago and the more news that comes out, the more excited I'm getting. I love the idea of this!

Here is the rumored plot according to bloody disgusting:

The film centers around a violent teen who one day will become Leatherface. He escapes from a mental hospital with three other inmates, kidnaps a young nurse and takes her on a road trip from hell. Along the way, they are pursued by an equally deranged lawman out for revenge.

We've got some cast news and lots and lots of rumors. But this project has a lot weighing on it and I hope the team is ready for the judgment coming their way. 

31

A new Rob Zombie film! I'm a huge Rob Zombie fan and was devastated awhile ago when he said he was going to stop doing horror. But JK YA'LL, he's back. And this movie looks like it'll be gorier than all the others combined. It was kickstarted and completely fan funded which i'm all about. The art that he shared to show how he envisioned it all going down has become some of my favorite art. It was seriously amazing.
They've just finished filming and we've been given a slew of news including casting and a few photos.
Cast wise we've got: Jeff Daniel Phillips, Malcolm McDowell, Judy Geeson, David Ury to name a few and of course Sheri Moon Zombie.

“31 follows five carnival workers who are kidnapped the night before Halloween and held hostage in a large secret compound known as Murder World.
Once there, they have 12 hours to survive a terrifying game called 31 in which ‘The Heads’- murderous maniacs dressed as clowns – are released to hunt them down and kill them.” - bloody digusting

Follow all the news over at Rob's site Rob Zombie Official

Kill-Crazy Nymphos Attack!

Daniel Way has teamed up with my main girls, the Soska twins to kick start this amazing comic book series. It was originally supposed to be a film but I think it's a great move to create a comic book instead. It's the story of a disgusting pervert who creates a drug that makes women have an uncontrollable lust for sex but ultimately turns against him when they also have an uncontrollable lust...for killing.
I funded this project and have been getting constant updates about this series and I suggest ya'll do the same because this is going to be phenomenal. They've already surpassed their goal but are still accepting money to make this as amazing as they can. Everything the Soska twins touch turns to bloody and demented gold.

Check out the project here

FAN EXPO!
Fan Expo was last weekend and it was a total blast! The only dissapointment was that Rue Morgue wasn't there this year and neither was the Festival of Fear so the lack of horror was depressing. I rocked my Jason Vorhees jersey on Saturday and all together I'd say there was maaaaybe 7 people cosplaying as horror icons? Hopefully next year they bring back the horror element, but I'm also considering attending the horror convention in Calgary next summer so maybe I'll get my fix that way.
One guy was cosplaying as Jason Vorhees and I got so freakin excited I ran up and embraced him:
(warning....you're about to see my face :O)

So mad props to that guy!!!!!!!!! He also had Michael and Freddy with him too but Jason's my bae.

Leanna Vamp was also there who is an amazingly beautiful cosplayer, model, and youtube personality (see Star Wars Girls). She works with horror block and is a big promoter of all things horror. She was absolutely wonderful and kind and made my day.

Right now me and Mitch are house sitting for my co worker and taking care of two dogs, plus our little guy, and two cats. It's a mad house over here but it's entertaining.

Horror Documentaries and Buttholes (full disclosure; there are no buttholes in this post)

For the horror fan, simply watching horror movies is never enough, you always need more more more. So when I'm in a horror movie lull or can't make up my mind - I like to pull up a chair and watch how my favorites were made, or watch the history of this amazing genre. Here's a few classics that I watch frequently:
(and "His name was Jason" isn't on here because... I HAVEN'T WATCH IT YET OMG I KNOWWWW - i'm terrible, but I found a copy on youtube soooo....[you can actually find all these docs on youtube])

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Silence of the Lambs - the inside story

I think this was made for the E! network before it played nothing but reality shows, i'm not sure, but it has that feel to it. But regardless it's a well made interesting look into the movie that almost didn't get made but ended up winning the top 5 Oscars of that year. The doc explains how Gene Hackman originally bought the rights but backed out, and how Anthony Hopkin's was convinced his role in Hollywood was over until this ground breaking role came along.

It's quite an intimate look at the goings on with the studio at the time and what seems to be everyone having zero faith this movie would ever be made.

Well, Clarice - have the lambs stopped screaming?

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Never Sleep Again: the elm street legacy

If you're a Freddy fan - you've already seen this a few times. A great, in depth look at the franchise itself, the creators, director, actors/actresses, and everything in between. It has some great behind the scene footage and photos.
And this guy is FOUR HOURS LONG and hosted by our main queen Nancy (Heather Langenkamp). I mean, horror documentaries always deliver, and this is almost too much, you're basically like WE'RE NOT WORTHY.
It starts with the original film and finishes with my all time fav Freddy vs. Jason, covering each film with enough time and respect.

When I was alive, I might have been a little naughty, but after they killed me, I became something much, much worse. The stuff nightmares are made of.

Scream Still Screaming: the ultimate scary movie retrospective

I'm a massive massive MASSIVE fan of the Scream series and this doc really does it justice. It talks about the history of the script, how it was originally called Scary Movie, and how it became a trilogy (obviously made before the fourth was released). It also touches on the backlash that came with it because of the teen violence and how Wes Craven realllly didn't want to do it.
I mean, this whole movie was doomed from the get go, especially being released during the Christmas season, but it kicked ass and continues to. YES, EVEN SCREAM 4 YOU JERKS.
Everyone is in this film from Neve Campbell to Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy and Parker Posey etc.
And try and get to the end without turning on Scream.
 
Now Sid, don't you blame the movies. Movies don't create psychos. Movies make psychos more creative!

A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss (three part series)

This is a documentary on horror movies in general, starting from the very first and ending with Halloween. It was a three part series made for the BBC by writer and actor Mark Gatiss (from Sherlock and an avid horror fan himself) where he takes a personal exploration through the history of horror movies. Each episode is an hour long. Episode one "Frankenstein Goes to Hollywood", Episode two "Home Counties Horror" and ending with Episode three "The American Scream".
This is a really wonderful doc to watch if you're a huge horror fan, and Mark does justice to the horror genre by treating it respectfully and fairly. I remember the first time watching this one I ended up with a two page list of movies I NEEDED to watch or re-watch. 
Mark also sits down with some of horror's legends and shares old footage that I'd never seen before.

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The American Nightmare 

This is a hella dark documentary that pairs horror movies with the horror going on in the world. It includes some of the biggest names in horror like Romero, Cronenberg, Carpenter, Hooper, Craven etc and they share the very honest inspirations that came for their films. While showing some of the more gruesome scenes from the movies, they cut it with gruesome scenes from every day life, specifically the Vietnam war which inspired many directors and the civil rights movement. It's definitely not for the faint of heart, and is quite graphic, but I'm not sure why I'm even telling you that considering you wouldn't be reading this blog or seeking out this doc unless you had that sick mind all of us horror fans cherish.
This one is honestly just fascinating to watch for someone who wasn't born when all of this happened, and it gives me a chance to start to understand the true darkness of these films.

the exorcist that haunted a maze.....idk...titles are the worst

Allergy season has arrived. I had three months of glorious snot free fun but it's all over and the hell begins. Which means spring is here - rain and sun alternatively every 5 minutes for an entire month, and all the pollen you could dream of. And that means I stay indoors, more than usual, and read a lot of books while ignoring the sun streaming through the window, and watch horror movies. So this post is brought to you by pollen - an introverts great excuse to not "hang out" for 9 months. 

What I've been reading lately:

aka I'm on a good book roll and I'm gonna brag about it

The Exorcist

First of all...wtf is on the cover? This is the exact cover I have and every time I put the book down I would just stare uselessly at the cover going WHAT IS IT?! WHY IS THIS THE PHOTO THEY CHOSE?
Second of all....I've owned this book for six years and am livid with myself for not reading it six years ago.
I'm not going to explain the plot to you because you must've been living under a rock not to have heard about it. Young girl gets possessed - says some crazy shit - girl gets an exorcism - people die - everything's fine.
As phenomenal as the movie is, the book is even better. Especially the scenes where the adults view Regan, it's honestly horrifying and disgusting and captures the imagination in the worst ways. You become attached to the priests a lot more in the book, and the background characters are far more developed and lovable. I highly recommend reading unless you are currently possessed in which case maybe you shouldn't because you might get ideas.

Also on goodreads if you go to the page for this book, someone asked the question "is it scary, i'm going to read it to my 5 year old?" and I'm not entirely convinced that I didn't write it from the future.

The Maze Runner - series

A young adult series! So original!
But seriously, every fucking YA book I pick up and read seems to magically have 6 or 7 other books that follow it. Why can't ya'll just write one nowadays? Do young adults need 1000 book long series to fully understand what's happening?
BUT the Maze Runner and it's companions were actually super fun and one of the rare times I even bothered with an entire series (except a song of ice and fire - love you boo). They're also super quick reads because they are incredibly suspenseful and I may have stubbed my toes multiple times while reading and walking.
It's a post apocalyptic world...stay with me...where a disease released by the CDC has wiped out most of humanity....stay with me....and to find the cure they locked up a bunch of kids in a giant maze and made them try to survive....see? it was worth staying with me.
The maze is only in the first book but the kids continue on through trials and distrust and death and although I never fully understood the scientists logic, I bought it.
It's also a movie now! Which I watched half of before wandering off somewhere else. I'm determined to re-watch though.
Warning....there are only two female characters. Which kinda super sucks.

I Am Haunted

Ya'll know I love me some Ghost Adventures. It's probably one of my favorite TV shows and I believe every single second of it and I even watch all the spinoffs like Aftershocks and that one where other groups investigated while Zak looked gorgeous and paced back and forth judging them.
This is Zak's second jump into writing and I devoured his first book in about two days. The first one is more about how Ghost Adventures started, the science behind the paranormal, and some really interesting theories on residual spirits.
This one is more about the effects of ghost investigating, some personal tidbits about life after the success of the show, and lots of juicy details about Zak's purchase of, and future documentary about, the demon house.
This book is basically only for people who give a shit about Ghost Adventures. The first one is way better to recommend to up and coming paranormal enthusiasts, but this is just straight up beautiful self indulgent Zak-ness. 

I am currently devouring The Silence of the Lambs. I started it yesterday morning and have barely been able to put it down since.

GO READ BOOKS YA FILTHY ANIMALS

stuff to buy and stuff and thangs

I have spent many hours dancing through the pages of Etsy, dreaming of all the things I would love to purchase. Then I wake up the next morning and close my shopping cart and it all becomes a distant memory.
BUT recently I made my first ever purchase off of Etsy for my cosplay for Fan Expo in three weeks and I was thrilled with how easy it all was. And it opened the flood gates.

Our house is a treasure trove of horror items from a Chucky doll, to multiple stuffed birds, to horror movie posters, a bottle of vampire blood etc etc but when it comes to flaunting my love of horror on my own body, I only have 1000+ t-shirts (exaggeration) to wear with pride. This is where Etsy comes into play. The shops and their creators have a endless supply of hair bows and necklaces and bags to show how much you really love horror.

Here are my favs:

First up:
These little displays that have little trinkets inside by etsy owner youmadewhat. They have a tone of them on there from zombies to vampires to obscure old horror movies and each little display is completely unique. I am OBSESSED with these and the toughest decision will simply be choosing just one. And honestly, they're pretty fairly priced for what you're getting.
Check 'em out here

IN LOVE with these bottle cap necklaces featuring all our favorite old school movie monsters. You can get all 7 for under $10. And there's 7! So you could wear a different one every day of the week...or all at once..WHO CARES..it's your choice. I will be purchasing these ASAP.
Check 'em out here

*insert clever Poe pun*
A one of a kind Poe necklace to hang around your neck from a crazy seller who has a lot of text on her or his page that I definitely did not read. The man himself, who is fudging nuts and whose writing terrified generations. Who better to have close to your tell-tale heart?! HA! I did it!
Check it out here

I've been a fan of this girls' shop for a few years, but have never bit the bullet and bought anything. Mostly because there's SO much to choose from. Most of her store is these amazing little pouches covered with amazing vintage horror photos like Vampira, Godzilla, Rocky Horror etc. She even does a JAWS one. I'm straight up obsessed.
Check her out here

And last but not least:

Show your love for your favorite horror guys by wearing them in your hair :D
I want all of these and I will probably never wear these because I don't think I could pull off bows? But I want them ANYWAYYYY. And they're super affordable at just over $10 and are completely custom made. So maybe you'd rather have Pinhead or Rick Grimes? This could be done.
Check 'em out here

Happy daylight savings day or whatever nerds! I've been sick for four days and feel like hot garbage but the sun is shining and the Monster is pouring and things could be worse. Have a great Sunday!

Oscar watch better late than never part 2

HorrorBound continues to watch Oscar films!!

American Sniper

Oh boy, this was boring. Maybe it's because I watched Fury last night and that kind of just blew American Sniper out of the water? Maybe it's because it's soooo AMERICUH! that my eyes crusted over?

People really aggressively hate this movie on the internet. I went looking for a graphic and was smacked in the face by very angry and offended people. And honestly, this is one of those situations I just ignore because it seems very exhausting and we all know war is bad, and not everyone is a terrorist, etc etc obvious shit that people should know, but don't.

It was just the same old shit. The only parts I enjoyed was when Chris was back in America dealing with the traumatic effects of war. But that was barely touched on.
In fact the only time I felt any emotion was during the end credits when I was so relieved it was over. Just kidding. It was the footage from Chris's funeral. Very weepy. Because no matter what you say about Chris Kyle, or this movie, at the end of the day, a life was taken when it shouldn't have been and that's incredibly sad.

Let's just say, the best part of this movie was the fake baby, and that's saying a lot.

Whiplash

Beauty film. Stunning.
A story about a young drummer thirsting to be the next Charlie Parker, and one crazy motherfucker who's going to help him, even if he kills him in the process.
This movie is a rollercoaster of emotions and blood and drive and passion that hasn't been seen for awhile. Ten minutes into the film I could already tell why Simmons won his Oscar for his role as Fletcher.
I don't even know where to put this film, genre wise, it's like some weirdo thriller. All I can think is...Black Swan for drummers?

The ending is just such a significant but subtle twist and the relationship between Simmons and Teller was so phenomenal.

Like...all I can do with this movie is just talk about it in critic quotations:

"stunning"
"magnificent"
"a thrill ride"
etc etc

I will forever aggressively recommend this film.

Up next:
Birdman
Selma
Boyhood

Watching Oscar movies after the Oscars because why not?

HorrorBound watches Oscar movies!

The Oscars were on Sunday and although this year I only saw a few of the movies, mostly by accident, watching the Oscars made me want to watch them all.
So far I had only watched The Grand Budapest Hotel and Into the Woods. (and obviously Winter Soldier, Guardians etc...I'm really just referring to the big movies with the big nominations).
Into the Woods was wonderful and magical and funny and sweet and heart breaking and for about 100 years I will have the prologue song stuck in my head (into the woods without delay but careful not to lose the way, into the woods who knows what may be lurking on the journey?).
The Grand Budapest Hotel was same shit different creek. Sorry Wes, I loved you when I was in art school and wore headbands ironically, but no more. All his movies start to bleed into one. (But I still love the classics).

And that's basically it.

Now it's time to embark on my Oscar journey.

LET'S TALK ABOUT IT

Gone Girl

Last summer I read this book. Everyone kept recommending it, I saw it everywhere I looked. People would go on and on about the huge twist. I was hella ready.
I plowed through it in about four days and have never been so disappointed in a book. The "huge twist", I figured out almost immediately, called Oprah and said wtf, is there something else? orrrr? Apparently there was another shocking twist at the end. Which I reached, dragging myself the entire way, and low and behold....the mind blowing ending twist was just as awful as the first. Sorry Gillian Flynn or whatever your name is, I do not love your writing style.
When I finished the book I came out of my office, so angered by the waste of my time, that I just threw it on the floor and said, someone please take this away from me.

But the movie.....oh boy, that movie though.
The very strange and rare time when the movie is far better than the book because for some reason the director has a better idea of what the author was trying to say, than the author themselves.

I loved this fucking movie. Ooooo the casting was so good. I already want to watch it again. And that sex/murder scene.....flawless.
Gone Girl is hard to talk about because the spoilers are immense. And usually I'm pretty nonchalant about spoilers, but I'll be careful for now since it's pretty new.

Just....I loved it. Go watch it. Don't read it. (and this is the ONLY time you will hear me recommending not to read a book)

And look at this flawless Queen:

Next up was:

Foxcatcher

This film was nominated for quite a few Oscars but didn't really pull through winning wise. I've had it on my watchlist for over a year and I'm happy to finally have had the time to see it. Such a tragic and strange tale of bizarre relationships and loss and family. If you weren't interested in this story previously, I could see it being quite boring? It's very long, very slow, very quiet. But it's really gritty and has the sort of character development you can sink your teeth into. The scenery is nightmarish and dreamy at the same time. And although, if you know the story, you're fully aware of the ending, it still comes as such a shock.
A well done performance by all involved and the physical transformations from all three main actors; Mark Ruffalo, Steve Carell, and Channing Tatum were phenomenal.
This is what a film is, as cheesy as that sounds. The type of film that makes you want to analyze every moment.
And now I've fallen down a rabbit hole of Foxcatcher and the Du Pont family, send help.

Up next?
American Sniper
Whiplash
Birdman





From Dusk Till Dawn

From Dusk 'Till Dawn

Movie vs. TV

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Movie:

1996 horror/comedy about vampires in Mexico and two outlaws who encounter them. Starring a very young George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino, an even younger Juliette Lewis, Salma Hayek and Harvey Keitel. It's a star studded cast, all very young, and enough gore and comedy to make it an instant cult classic. Written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Robert Rodriquez it should be a match made in heaven.

So why I didn't love it?

The first half of the movie is great - long dialogue scenes so rich you can taste it, morbidly funny moments, subtle gore, and a great story line. But then our two outlaws and their kidnapped family of ex God lovers reach Mexico and enter the famous Titty Twister bar and I lost interest real quick. The vampire lore confuses me, maybe they're zombie vampires? How come some of the people who get bit turn within 5 minutes and others take longer? Why did Quentin's character (arguably the most interesting) die so quick?
The second half of the film just lost me. I had too many questions.
The ending I enjoyed though, leaving it open for our imaginations to run amok as to what the bar really is and why these vampires even exist in the first place.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate this film, and I'm not saying it wasn't good. I just think it was one of those cult classics that don't really work unless you watch it while the cult is forming. It's been too long, and I came in completely uneducated on the film, and didn't fall in love.

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TV:

Premiered last year on Netflix as an original series executively produced and directed by Robert Rodriquez with ten episodes.
It's the same story as the film only with more detail and back story and a whole new cast. It gives us viewers a chance to delve deep and really sink our teeth into the mythos of these vampires and figure out what's really wrong with the brothers. So obviously I'm a happy camper and much prefer the show, since it answers all my questions.
Zane Holtz plays Tarantino's character; Richie (and he's from Vancouver woo!). He does an amazing job co-leading this show considering he's never really been a lead before. Alongside him is D.J. Cotrona playing George Clooney's character; Seth. 

Full disclosure; I haven't finished the season yet so I may hate it by the end. But so far so good. It's also been renewed for a second season which I have no understanding as to how they will continue this on, but we'll see.

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