11.22.63 - who the hell shot JFK? And why does James Franco suck so much?

11/22/63 plays on the age old question of if you could go back in time and change one event, what would it be? Most common answers are usually "Kill Hitler" or "Kill Trump" or "save the dinosaurs". In 2011 Stephen King answered that question himself in a haunting and exciting novel. I remember getting it the day it came out and devouring it in about two days. I couldn't put it down. And then last February the 8 episode miniseries hit Hulu but I wasn't interested at all. I've always been a doubter in King adaptations - of course there's a few exceptions to the rule - but mostly I'm let down. I still watch them all but when they started making King novels into TV shows, I couldn't take it. Under the Dome? Are you joking?

But since King is having a beautiful and well deserved comeback this year, including the new TV series The Mist which hits our screens this month, I thought I'd give 11.22.63 a try.

While it wasn't perfect, I had a great time watching it and ended up in a puddle of tears by the end.

Starring James Franco in the lead of Jake Epping, a freshly divorced English teacher, he is shown by his friend Al (Chris Cooper), who owns the local diner, that the diner has a secret within it. In the back closet is a portal that takes you to 1960. Al has been going for years but is now dying of cancer and needs Jake to take over his quest - to stop John F. Kennedy from being assassinated. The only problem? We don't actually know who killed him. There's countless theories from Lee Harvey Oswald to the mafia to Russia to the CIA to all of them working together. So Jake has to go back in time, find out who killed JFK and stop him/her before it happens.

In the past Jake joins forces with Bill who is played by the enchanting George MacKay and the lovely and intelligent Sadie, played by Sarah Gadon.

What did I love?

The cast was absolutely amazing - except for James Franco. Sarah Gadon is stunningly beautiful and plays Sadie with the utmost respect that makes you fall in love with her immediately. MacKay as Bill (a character not in the book) is a great addition that fills in the gaps that the book would've left by being turned into a TV show. Lucy Fry plays Marina Oswald and is incredibly powerful in her performance. Daniel Webber as Lee Harvey Oswald is like a young Ralph Fiennes, pulling off Lee's strange speech patterns and odd behavior incredibly well. Leon Rippy as Harry completely stole my heart and broke it with his emotional performance.

And how can I forget T.R. Knight as Johnny Clayton?!? Psychotic done right. 

Yes, the cast is strong. The characters are stronger - there's so many great people in this story. And they way they weave together is incredibly well done.

I loved the scenery - it felt very 60's. The outfits were beautiful, the cars were awesome. And that soundtrack!!!!!!!!!!! Oh it was phenomenal. So many great music choices. And the opening score itself is so catchy. Reminds me very much of Catch me if you Can.

While a lot was changed from the book, the biggest I think being the addition of Bill and that in the book Jake ends up in 1958 not 1960, I was okay with the changes. They were smart changes that made it a mini-series that flowed and made sense. King has a lovely tendency of going on tangents and introducing a lot of background characters and creating very complex story lines. But this adaptation was handled well.

What didn't I love?

Honestly, the only thing I didn't love was James Franco. I've never been a big fan of his in the first place but I didn't want to judge his performance prematurely. But by the end of the first episode I was incredibly disappointed. And that continued on throughout the series. What makes it worse is him being surrounded by strong actors. He drowns in the dialogue and when it comes for an emotional scene it's dead. And I'm pretty sure those tears he had to cry all the time were CGI. It's such an absolute shame because there's so many phenomenal actors out there who could've done SO much better and in turn made this mini-series near perfect. He may look like a dapper 60's star when he's all dressed up, but then he opens his mouth and it all falls apart.

Overall?

I will absolutely watch this mini-series again. I feel really happy that it was done so well and does this massive King novel justice. I would also recommend it.

I also highly recommend picking up the book and reading it, don't be intimidated by it's size. This was an interesting departure for King with it being a historical fictional tale. But the horror is still there - when Jake comes back to 2011, the state he finds the world in is terrifying. 11/22/63 plays with the question of time travel and the butterfly effect and how even the smallest change can affect the entire world. It also speaks deeply to our darkest moments - those personal experiences we have that we lay awake thinking "what if that hadn't happened"..."what if had just...". I came out of the novel with a new found respect for my terrible experiences, knowing that I can't change what happened, and that perhaps that doesn't matter - they shape me.

“We never know which lives we influence, or when, or why. Not until the future eats the present, anyway. We know when it's too late.” 

Ugh...you guys...Stephen King is so great.

Also who the fuck shot JFK?! I feel like I've spent my whole life trying to figure that out. I would love to know how many hours in my lifetime I've spent researching that day. I can't even give you a "odds are" situation. I was sure it was the CIA for a few years until about three weeks ago when I listened to a three hour podcast that changed my mind AND NOW I DON'T KNOW!!!!!

8/10

Horror News - IT, Zodiac, and Scream

We've got a new IT trailer, Alien Covenant comes out next week, and a new Zodiac movie that has me so excited so let's delve right in to my horror movie news wrap-up aka these are completely hand picked to my tastes and I'm the worst.

First up we just got a new IT trailer dropped on us today and it's a goodie. I really have incredibly high hopes for this movie. I actually jumped in this trailer and then watched it three more times. In the trailer we get a better look at Pennywise, we get more time with the kids, a better view of the abandoned house, and we get a full scene of banter between Richie and Eddie. I can't believe how amazing this movie looks - my little king filled heart won't be able to handle it.

We also got The Dark Tower trailer dropped on us last week, but I don't want to talk about that as I seem to be the only one on the internet who hated that trailer...

Watch IT in theaters September 8th. I'll be there first showing on the Thursday screaming my goddamn head off. 

Anyway, watch the new trailer for IT here if you darrreeee....come on bucko, don't you want a balloon?

Next up...Alien Covenant hits theaters NEXT THURSDAY! I just bought my ticket for Friday at 7:45, because I'm an old lady and don't want to stay up late on Thursday night and get up early for work the next day.

I stopped watching the trailers after the second one because they were releasing too much, but I did watch the prequel trailer which was really cool. Check that one out and all the other million trailers they've released.

But this week they released the final posters and boy are they are creepy as hell. The posters for this movie have been fucking fantastic.

Check the three new ones out below and check in with me soon when I post my review:

Lights Out was one of my favorite films from last year and I've really come to love the director David Sandberg because he's such an incredibly open guy. He did a podcast with Shock Waves and was so honest and open about the whole process and his current process on Annabelle 2, which the trailer recently dropped for. While that trailer didn't blow my mind or anything, I am looking forward to it simply because of Sandberg. Sandberg spends a lot of time talking about his craft, his ideas and even spends time on social media reaching out to aspiring filmmakers sharing what he knows.

He just uploaded a video to his youtube that's a mini making-of documentary for Lights Out and it's absolutely fascinating. It goes through his process of setting up the scares and the many different ways he planned them. He even shows some of the storyboarding which is always cool to see.

It runs about 20 minutes and check it out below:



When MTV first announced ages ago that they were making a Scream TV show I was angered, disgusted and then ignored everything about it. Then last year I saw the first season was on Netflix and quietly and privately watched it. And to my suprise I fucking loved the show, it was actually really well done and super fun. I then couldn't wait for season two. But then that came out and I'd already forgotten about it. But a few months ago I finally sat down and watched season two and it was just as good! So now I have to consider myself a Scream TV show fan.

But season three couldn't happen, I thought. They've wrapped everything up and anything they do will be dumb. But then MTV was like...oh, Charlotte, when will you ever learn? And have released that season three will be a complete reset with brand new characters and story.

It also comes with a new showrunner, Brett Matthews and new group of executive producers including Queen Latifah. TVline released the casting breakdown and here's the very basic frame of characters we should look to expect:

Dion - football player with dark secrets
Liv - Dion's cheerleader girlfriend with good intentions and a big heart.
Kym - rebellious one
Beth - GOTH!!!!!!!!!!! YESSSSS!!!!!!! SO MUCH ANGST.
Jamal - Dion's step-brother hanging out with a rough crowd.

So new story, new location, new cast, new killer. Right now I am judgmental and hesitant but secretly SUPER excited.

This is the Zodiac speaking....

There's a new movie coming in June that has me SO FUCKING EXCITED!!!!!!!! Just listen to this premise:

A down-on-their-luck couple buy an old storage unit only to find the Zodiac killer's film reels inside. There's a $100K reward for any tips and the couple decide to take the law into their own hands and find the killer themselves.

The Zodiac killer is my favorite serial killer....so much so that I know how to write in the part of his code that was figured out, and at work the Zodiac killer is a valid member of our staff who signs everyone's birthday cards and steals people's stuff for ransom. Zodiac is one of my favorite films ever. So I'm really really REALLY stoked to see this movie. And the trailer has me believing this could be amazing. And even if it isn't, honestly, I'll still be there opening night.

It stars Shane West, Leslie Bibb and Matt Craven and is released June 9th. 

Check out the trailer below:


Alright I'll leave you to digest all that....

It's all getting so exciting this year for horror. I didn't even mention the confirmation of the Unbreakable sequel and all of Shamalamadingdong's tweets about it, all the new movies coming out, and all the new collectables. BUT...I don't have that much time on my hands...I need to go re-watch the IT trailer a few more times.

Stay spooky!

Birthday Horror Movie Marathon DAY TWO

Well after a disastrous day I was finally able to watch some horror movies - I only got through two before heading to bed. But no fear - today I have the whoooooleeee day to pick up where I left off.

So first up I watched:

V/H/S (2012)

"Joey, you're all gonna fucking die up here"

First of all - I was convinced I'd already seen this because I've seen the other two, but after the first tape finished I realized I'd never seen this before in my life.

Second of all - all the men in this movie are awful and I was happy to watch them all die painful deaths.

V/H/S came out in 2012 and kind of reinvigorated the anthology series trope. It was created by Brad Miska who runs bloodydisgusting and features five stories and a wrap around. The wrap around was directed by Adam Wingard (You're Next, The Guest) and follows an awful group of guys, one who has a hipster pedo-stache, who basically exploit women and sell the tapes for money. They also break into an abandoned house and smash up all the windows most likely because they're bored and idiots. But a mysterious someone offers them a lot of money to break into a house and steal a single VHS tape and so this perverted, pile of human garbage decide to take up the offer.

When they enter the house they find an old man, who they assume is dead, and a tone of videotapes. While the group splits up to see if there are any more tapes, one guy stays behind and starts to watch them. But don't worry - they all get what they deserve. The flaw with this wraparound though is that it is basically unwatchable. The "found footage" element is so choppy and confusing that I couldn't even make out what they were doing half the time, and the guys are SO awful that I almost couldn't get through it.

The first tape is titled Amateur Night and is directed by David Bruckner. And surprise, surprise it's a bunch of gross horny bros who have bought themselves glasses with a camera in them so they can film themselves having sex. I hate all of them so much. After picking two girls up from a bar, they get more than they bargained for when they come face to face with a Siren.

I didn't really like this one. Again, it's virtually unwatchable. The only part I liked was when the Siren shows her true self and destroys all of the men one by one in very violent ways. The special effects makeup on the Siren was really awesome. 5/10

The second tape is titled Second Honeymoon and is directed by the amazing Ti West (The Innkeepers, The Sacrament). It's a married couple on vacation and at first all seems well until one night at the hotel the boyfriend reveals himself to be an ultra douche and tries to film him and his wife having sex even though she says no about 1000 times. They're interrupted by a knock at the door and a strange girl asking for a ride in the morning. That night the girl breaks into the hotel room and films the couple sleeping and she films putting the husband's toothbrush into the toilet.

This one was super confusing in a fun way and the ultimate reveal actually had me cheering. I loved this one! 9/10

The third tape is titled Tuesday the 17th directed by Glenn McQuaid and is a typical trope of friends going up to the lake for a weekend away. And guess what? The two guys are total douchebags. What a fun theme we're experiencing here. The one girl who invited them all is a little off and keeps making strange comments. It's then revealed that the year before her and her friends had come up here to the lake and they'd all been murdered except for her.

This was one was okay? The "entity" is a cool effect but ultimately I have no idea what it is or what is going on. 7/10

The fourth tape is titled The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She was Younger and it was directed by our boyfriend from Second Honeymoon, Joe Swanberg. This one might have been my favorite I think. A couple are video chatting while the boyfriend is away at school, his girlfriend Emily is saying that her arm is sore and she thinks her apartment's haunted. She calls him one night to show him the ghostly happenings.

This one actually scared the crap out of me! The first reveal when the little kid ghost comes running into the bedroom and slams the door had me SHOOK. This was a super fun short that had me questioning the whole way through and it completely paid off. I'm still a little unsure of the ultimate premise...is it ghosts...is it aliens? But I'm going with aliens because I can. SUPER FUN! I want a whole movie done of this premise. 10/10



The final tape (which plays after pedo-stache is finally killed and I cheered really loudly) is called 10/31/98 and is directed by Radio Silence (Devil's Due, Southbound). This one was quite fun too. A group of guys (not douchebags for once) go out to a Halloween party but get the wrong house. They sneak inside and think it's a haunt because crazy things are happening like doors slamming and footsteps and hands coming out of the walls. They have a tone of fun with it until they reach the attic and begin to realize this isn't fake.

The effects were super fun in this one! Love some good poltergeist activity done right. 9/10

Overall V/H/S was not as good as the other ones. But maybe if I'd watched them in the right order, this one would've been my favorite. But I had some fun watching it - although there were so many "bros" that I was getting really annoyed. And I don't think I've seen so many boobs in one movie before. That's a lie. But it was a lot.

Then I took a break and made some cookies. And jumped back in by watching one of my favorites, Backcountry which you can see the original review for here.

Alright I'm onto day three!

Stay spooky!

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...

March Horror Block!

 March Horror Block Has Arrived!

What's inside? Let's unbox!

The Canal on DVD. I loved this movie so much so I'm pretty happy to have it on DVD. You can check out my review here

Penny Dreadful Ceramic Travel Mug! I actually hate travel mugs because I don't drink coffee and yet I seem to have like 8 of them floating around. But this one is really pretty so I have it on display at my office.

Ash vs. Evil Dead socks...these are actually really good, thick quality and super grooo000ooovvvyyy.

Vampirella Comic Book....kay, I fucking hate when comic books do this, they release issue #0 and it's like three pages of comics and then 10 pages of ads.

Leprechaun enamel pin. This is AWESOME and is already proudly displayed on my jacket.

Monster Totem Pole t-shirt.

Rue Morgue special edition - Shark Movie Mania. This is my jam ya'll...you know I love Sharks.

Another solid box from Horror Block. Not as great as last month's, but still some great stuff in here! If you want to subscribe go check out horror block and sign up. As always, I am not affiliated with the company, just a massive fan. Been subscribed for over two years and have never been completely let down by a box.

Year of the King baby! IT trailer and stills and poster, oh my!

Oh boy you guys....this Stephen King fan is a goddamn happy camper this week!

We got stills from IT, we got a teaser trailer for the trailer, we got a poster, and today we got THE TRAILER!!!!!!!!!!!!

And you know what...I'm fucking sold. This movie is going to be the best Stephen King adaptation that ever was and will cure all my ailments.

And now you're probably thinking....okay, chill the fuck out, how much cold medicine have you ingested today...and the answer is a lot BUT...read below and then fight me if you think differently:

First let's take a look at the stills:

We get our first good look at the Loser's Club - Stan, Richie, Mike, Bill, Bev, Ben and Eddie. And we get some more sneak peaks at IT's clown form - Pennywise.

I'm already in love with all those adorable kids...AND I HATE KIDS! But these I love. The Loser's Club will always be #1 in my heart.

Now let's take a look at the poster:

AMAZING. We see little Georgie standing in front of Pennywise with the iconic line, you'll float too. Cause we all float down here...

Then today the trailer dropped and all my dreams came true:


I mean goddamn.

We open up on Georgie and Bill making the sailboat and Georgie taking it outside to float in the flooded gutters. It already feels like I'm watching the novel come to life. We see Georgie's boat slide right into the gutter and into the waiting hands of Pennywise.

We see flashes of the film with the voice over talking about how Derry has a higher than average missing persons. Next is Ben in the library, seeing a strange red balloon float by...and we all know what happens next. Cut to the loser's club exploring the sewers and coming to the realization that they're all being tormented by the same creature who comes to them in different forms. Then comes an already iconic sequence in which the projector takes on a life of its' own and shows a photograph turning into Pennywise. Of course, this wasn't in the book, but is a play on the scene with Bill's photo album. We see various frightening scenes including what I can only hope to be the night club that burns down and was left out of the original movie but plays a HUGE, horrific part in the novel. We see the sink scene that traumatized an entire generation of us (I still can't look directly into a drain).

AND THEN...we end on a scene where Bill is taunted by the "ghost" of Georgie. And this fucking scene....THIS SCENE RIGHT HERE...is why I am positive this movie will be amazing. It gave me goosebumps and it captured exactly what IT is about.

YOU'LL FLOAT TOO!

So yeah, I'm amped. Watching this trailer made me feel like the pages of the book I love so incredibly much has come to life. And I cannot FREAKIN' wait to watch this opening night.

IT comes to theaters September 8th.

Oh, and if that wasn't enough King news for you?

King himself sneakily dropped the cover of his next book on twitter today:

Co-written with his son Owen, Sleeping Beauties will tell the story of what happens to the world if all the women fell asleep and became shrouded in a cocoon-like gauze. If the gauze is tampered with the women wake violent and feral. So the men of the world are abandoned and obviously the world falls apart. But one woman is immune. Set in a small town where the primary employer is a women's prison, Sleeping Beauties is going to be a must read come September.

I know I keep yelling about this but it is truly the year of Stephen King....and in fact you can check out my top ten favorite Stephen King villains over at Morbidly Beautiful and follow me all year while I continuously get so excited I lose my goddamn mind.

He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.

Stay Spooky, constant readers ;)