Something Wicked This Way Comes!

New Dark Fantasy Novel, 'The Dark Road': Reviews and a Giveaway!

2012-01-20T07:17:00.001-06:00

Hi everyone! My novel, 'The Dark Road' has finally been re-released! After some seriously extensive edits (many thanks to my editor, Shontrell!) and a new cover (thanks Rebecca!), the book is now available to buy from Amazon.

Here is the blurb...

What starts as an adventure for Sasha Mills turns into a terrifying fight for survival...

Emotionally blackmailed by the cold-footed fiancé she hasn’t seen in a year, Sasha abandons her life in London to track him in Siem Reap, Cambodia, where he’s teaching.

While in Bangkok, locals react strangely to her request to travel the following day, insisting it is a not a good day to travel despite numerous posters advertising buses running every day. Ignoring the warnings, Sasha assumes some kind of bank holiday and offers a large amount of money. She secures a seat on the solitary bus heading for Siem Reap.

Thrown together with a random group of international backpackers, including the handsome Josh, Sasha is no longer certain of what lies ahead as they cross the Cambodian border and the roads turn into dirt tracks.

Soon after, a storm like none she’s ever witnessed before descended upon them. When one of their group disappears off the side of the road, Sasha realizes she has more than just the warnings of land mines to worry about.

One by one, the travelers lose their minds as they are plunged into the terrifying secrets of the Dark Road.

The book has been getting some fantastic reviews so far (four five stars are already up on Amazon.com and one five start on Amazon.co.uk) and I hope they'll continue!

Here's what people have been saying about the book...

'A real page turner-I stayed up late to finish it. I dicovered Marissa Farrar's writting when read her Serenity series. I love those books and I love this one. If yo want to read a great thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, then this is the book for you.'

'It's unusual for me to be unable to put a book down, but I stayed up way too late to finish this one. The Dark Road by Marissa Farrar has a page-turning intensity reminiscent of classic Crichton. We follow Sasha, Josh, and a party of travelers in Thailand and Cambodia on a very ill-advised bus trip... This is an author I recently discovered via her short story, The Body Farm. I've read several more of her works since then. Her Serenity series is also compelling, and I recommend it. (First book is "Alone.") The Dark Road was a gut-clenching, nerve-jangling adventure!'

'If you are looking for for a book that has expertly written characters with dimension and a story line that keeps you on the edge of your seat, then this book is the one is for you. Marissa Farrar's "The Dark Road" is not only a story that keeps you guessing, but also adds that unexpected element of "what, WHAT'S NEXT??" "If you think you have if figured out, chances are you don't.'

To celebrate the release of the book, I'd like to give away three copies to three lucky winners! All you need to do is tell me; what is the scariest place you've ever visited or travelled to? Answering my question will buy you one entry, tweeting about the giveaway will by you another (make sure you copy me in @MarissaFarrar so I know about it) and liking my facebook page will buy you a third. Make sure you leave your email addy in your comment so I can contact you if you win.

The giveaway will be open all weekend and I'll announce the winners on Monday. Looking forward to reading your answers!

Marissa

Book Review - Crude Sunlight by Philip Tucker

2011-12-14T10:38:00.000-06:00

In my last review I mentioned reading some excellent indie novels. Having a kindle has opened up a whole new world of reading for me and, because of easy access and cheap prices, I've taken the risk to try different authors I probably wouldn't have considered before. For all those readers who are still shunning the eBook revolution, I urge you to get yourself an e-reader of some sort. You can still read paperbacks, but you'll also be able to read a whole heap of other books you can download instantly and cheaply (and in some instances, even free!).

Anyway, I digress (as I often do...). Back to the review!

Thomas Verkraft's younger brother, Henry, has gone missing. Thomas takes the opportunity to run away from his troubled marriage in New York to travel up to Buffalo to clear out Henry's apartment and see if he can learn anything about where Henry has gone. No one is particularly troubled by Henry's disappearance as he's an artistic type, and his family just think he's gone off travelling. However, when Thomas starts to sort out Henry's things, he discovers photographs and video footage of some creepy goings on in old abandoned buildings.

Thomas contacts Henry's ex-girlfriend, Julia, who at first is uncooperative but then breaks down and tells Thomas a bit about what has been happening. A group of the students have been breaking into abandoned buildings, but then one night they see something that changes them forever.

Determined to find out what has happened to Henry, and with the edgy but melancholy Julia by his side, Thomas heads back into the tunnels.

'Crude Sunlight' is exactly the sort of novel I love. It's subtle, but still manages to be full of creepiness. Ultimately 'Crude Sunlight' is a ghost story and the ghosts are written very well. There is no blood or gore, just a fantastic atmosphere that sends shivers down the spine.

The characters are all well-developed and totally believable. Each one has their flaws, yet I couldn't help but be behind them every step of the way. There is a thread of romance, which always endeers characters to me. Even though Thomas was married and Julia had been with Henry, I still soooo badly wanted them to get together!

My only complaint is that the author didn't take the characters back beneath ground for the final scene. I really think this would have ended the book perfectly. However, this is a small complaint in a book I otherwise loved.

The author mentions 'Silent Hill' in the product description, but I didn't realise this until I got to the end of the book. 'Silent Hill' is one of my favourite movies and he totally captured that same, industrial, high tension atmosphere.

If I can do half stars, I'd give this one a four and a half stars! It dropped half a star for the reason I mentioned and because the author does tend to write rather long sentences which I occasionally had to go back and re-read! (But as I mentioned, this is a really small negative!).

If you love scary ghost stories with believable, edgy characters, you'll love 'Crude Sunlight'!

'Crude Sunlight' is available to buy from Amazon $4.99!

Book Review - 'The Well' by Peter Labrow

2011-12-07T06:05:00.000-06:00

I've been reading some amazing novels by Indie authors lately. Since getting my kindle, it's opened up a whole world of great reading brought to us via self-pubbed or small press authors who's books otherwise would probably never have seen the light of day.

Peter Labrow's paranormal suspense novel is one of those books. I can't remember exactly where I first made contact with Peter Labrow -- I assume it was twitter or facebook -- but as soon as I read the blurb for his book, I knew I wanted to read it.

'The Well' centres around the main character, Becca Richards, and her boyfriend (and potential step-brother) falling to the bottom of an ancient well. Their parents are away for the weekend and no one is going to even know they're missing for at least a couple of days.

I can't really review this book without giving a slight spoiler, but it does happen near the start of the book, so I don't think I'm giving away too much. If you don't want to know, just go and buy the book now and find out for yourself. Otherwise, keep reading...

The step-brother is badly hurt in the fall and soon passes away, leaving Becca trapped at the bottom of the well with the decaying body of the boy she'd thought she'd come to love. On top of that, there is someone else down there. A ghostly woman who doesn't want Becca to leave.

There are a number of other side characters to the novel; the parents, still away, but increasingly worried when the can't get hold of the kids. There's a lesbian couple whose past is tied to the woman in the well, and their psychic daughter, Samantha. And, if that wasn't enough, the local paedophile also has his eye on Becca but, after her disappearance, turns his attention to Becca's best friend, Hannah.

Though there are a number of other characters, it's really the scenes of Becca trapped in the well and her efforts to both escape and survive that really had me gripped. Towards the end of the book, I literally was holding my breath with her. Though the other smaller plot lines pulled the book together at the end, I honestly would have been happy reading about Becca for the whole of the novel, though I guess this would have been a tough storyline for the author to stretch into a full length book!

The only characters I weren't keen on were the lesbian couple. I didn't fully believe in their motives and felt they were a little too easily accepted. What they'd decided to do was pretty horrific really, but it was almost decided without much of an argument.

However, this is a small point. Overall, I loved the book and I very much hope Peter Labrow is penning another. I'll be first in line for a copy! If you want a well-written, action packed, highly suspenseful paranormal novel, you can't go wrong with 'The Well.'

Five stars!!!

'The Well' can be bought from Amazon for only $2.99.

Review - Paranormal Activity 2

2011-11-04T18:02:00.000-05:00

I've been putting off watching this movie for one reason; it centres around a baby. When I watched the first P.A., I was heavily pregnant with my youngest daughter. In fact, the morning after watching the movie, I was taken into hospital and induced. Of course this has absolutely nothing to do with the movie (it wasn't that good!) but the two are inextricably linked in my mind.

So when I saw the trailer for P.A.2, I mentally groaned. I hate anything bad happening to kids or animals in movies, and this film had both. When I watch a good movie or read a good book, I can't help but put myself in the place of the protagonists and watching something bad happen to a baby in a cot, when I had a baby in a cot upstairs, was just too much.

However, now my baby is more of a toddler so I forced myself to sit down and watch it.

The film starts in much the same way P.A. does. It's very slow at the beginning with not much happening except a few hints about a ghost. The couple in this movie are linked to the first P.A. as the wife is the sister of the woman in P.A. I wasn't expecting the first couple to show up, but they did and that's when I realised P.A. 2 is essentially the prequel to P.A. The couple have a new baby and they also have an older daughter who is the result of the husband's first marriage, but the girl's mother died.

There are all the same things going on--lots of action with a video camera coupled with footage taken from security cameras. There are things moving, doors slamming shut, kitchen cupboards opening all at once. It's the typical haunted house. What the directors do well is the anticipation of horror. Even though not much happens for the first forty-five minutes, I couldn't help but lean forward, gripped in the moment, trying to see the small spooky thing that was happening in the scene. For the most part everything is subtle--maybe a little too subtle--spooky noises, banging, pans falling down, doors moving slightly. But as soon as things focused back around the baby, I was hiding behind my pillow.

Overall, the ending left me with too many questions. It seemed very abrupt with little build up to the actual events. Also, as this movie was supposed to be a prequel, there is no way the things that happened in this movie wouldn't have tied in more with the first. The characters in P.A. would have definitely been mentioning the things that had just happened to their family. So for me it was just an okay movie. I will be watching P.A.3 however. It's supposed to be a prequel to the prequel, so it will be interesting to see how the directors handle that!

~*~

Like things a bit on the spooky side? Why not try Marissa Farrar's short story collection, Where the Dead Live, only $0.99 from your favourite eBook store, including Amazon for your Kindle.

In Celebration of Halloween... Win a copy of Alone.

2011-10-27T05:30:00.000-05:00

Yep folks, this weekend Halloween celebration will be happening all over! I love this time of year cause I can indulge in my love of scary movies without feeling like a freak. I also love doing the whole 'pumpkin carving' and dress up thing with the kids. However, this is the one time of year I always wish I was in the States. America really knows how to celebrate Halloween, but in the UK we kind of have a toned down version.

On a personal level, I'm also celebrating the release of my second novel in my 'Serenity' series, 'Buried'. The book has been out for a week now and has been dipping in and out of the Amazon top 100 for Contemporary Fantasy. It's currently being offered at the 'friendship' price of $0.99 but this will only be priced at the amount for the next week, so if you want a copy, go grab it now from Amazon!

So to celebrate both of these events (Halloween and my book launch) I'd like to give away three copies of the first in the series 'Alone' to three readers. All you have to do is leave me a comment and tell me what you like to do on Halloween. Do you have a favourite movie to watch or go trick or treating with the kids? Just let me know! And please remember to leave you email addy or website link so I can contact you if you win!

Happy haunting everyone!

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

2011-09-18T20:31:00.002-05:00

If you like being scared, then go see this movie.

I never saw the 1973 original, but a quick look on youtube shows that there are some of the same scenes, just a different take on them in del Toro's version. Del Toro has a backstory to his creatures, as written in Blackwood's Guide to Dangerous Fairies. This book serves as a "prequel" of sorts to the movie, ending right at the scene where the movie begins. If you plan on seeing the movie, you may want to get the book first; I got the e-version but I've a strong suspicion that you should shell out the $$ for a hardcover/paperback copy, with beautiful (and creepy) illustrations to get the full effect.

Okay, so -- you know a horror movie is good when 3 things happen: (1) you jump in your seat; (2) you have to use the "finger filters" over your eyes to block some scenes, and (3) you hesitate before you turn out the lights and go to bed that night. All three of these happened when I saw Don't Be Afraid, so I highly recommend it.

The premise? Emerson Blackwood built a huge, beautiful mansion in Rhode Island, which is now being renovated by Guy Pierce and Katie Holmes, in the hopes of landing the cover on Architectural Digest and reviving Pierce's career. They are not man and wife, but boyfriend/girlfriend, and Pierce's daughter from a previous relationship is coming to stay with them for a while.

The girl, Sally, is disturbed and morose -- she feels her mother abandoned her, sending her all the way across the country to live with Dad and his younger girlfriend, Kim, to whom Sally takes an immediate dislike. Of course, as an unhappy child, Sally is easy prey to certain... inhabitants... of the house who have long remained dormant, but come alive when a secret room is discovered and a child's voice is heard.

The movie is good not just from a scary standpoint -- it's very well laid-out and well-directed so that the story flows with no unnecessary scenes, and the suspense is intense. The characters are not the typical cardboard cut-outs or stereotypes as in alot of horror movies; they have backgrounds, depth, and feelings that encompass fleshed-out people. I will say that Guy Pierce's character, though well-acted, is a bit annoying. Katie Holmes is very good as the girlfriend, and the child actor is superb in the role originated by Kim Darby (hmm, wonder if that's why the girlfriend's name is Kim in the movie?!). And you do need interesting characters in this movie, because it does take a standard plot -- disturbed child is haunted by what everyone else thinks is her imagination, and she spends the movie dodging the real monsters and trying to convince Dad and Kim to leave the house because....

The monsters -- let me just say that every time I hear "tooth fairy", I shudder. I'm not sure I'll be celebrating that tradition in my house when the time comes...

All in all -- buy the book, see the movie; they're spectacular!

Insidious - Movie Review

2011-08-29T17:21:00.003-05:00

The first thing I had to do before watching this film was look up the meaning of 'Insidious'. For anyone else who, like me, when asked for the definition said, 'something really bad', here it is...

1. Proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with harmful effects: "the insidious effects of stress".

2. Treacherous; crafty: "an insidious alliance"

The 'Paranormal Activity' writer had a part in writing the script and I could definitely see the resemblances. However, I think now it must be hard to come up with any truly original 'haunted house horror'. The way this film tackled the problem was by making the haunting not of the house, but the small boy who lived within its walls.

After moving to a new home, the family struggle to settled in. References are made to the mother wanting things to be 'different' implying that there were previous problems, though this was never really touched upon for the rest of the film. Shortly after moving in, the oldest son has an accident and doesn't wake up from a type of coma the doctors can't explain.

As soon as the boy is brought home (still in a coma) the mother starts to see terrifying things around the house, people running from one room to another, door slamming open, alarms going off (here I could really see P.A.). However, unlike most 'haunted house' horror movies, where I spend most of my time yelling at the screen, 'get out of the God-damned house then!', they actually do move.

However, the hauntings do not stop. The father's, mother arrives at the new house to help and introduces them to someone she feels might help, a woman called Elise. With Elise arrive two geeky guys who help her with

her work. They all quickly discover it is not the house that is haunted but their son.

I'd heard a lot of hype about 'Insidious' without really hearing any of the details. I realise now this is because if the whole 'meaning' of the movie is gone into too much, it kind of spoils the whole originality of the film. Saying this, the original parts are tenuous and there were parts that were simply unbelievable. However, overall I did enjoy the movie and liked the different take on the 'haunted house' theme. Some of the film is very surreal, which I enjoyed, and I definitely had the cushion in hand for parts of it.

I think anyone who tackles this storyline is going to struggle to find somewhere new to go with it. 'Insidious' did a good job of taking things to a new level, but it wasn't original enough to make me think 'wow'. Still, it was an enjoyable movie and had enough ;jump' moments to keep me satisfied.

Marissa Farrar's dark Vampire Romance novel, 'Alone', has been Relaunched!

2011-08-25T16:58:00.002-05:00

After months of hard work, my dark vampire romance novel has been relaunched! It's now available to buy for only $0.99 in order to introduce new readers to the series. The second in the series, 'Buried', is scheduled for an October 2011 release.

Alone is available to buy from Amazon by clicking right here!

In case you didn't know anything about the book, here is the blurb and a couple of editorial reviews!

Caught in a violent and abusive relationship, Serenity thinks there is no escape. Upon meeting a stranger, Sebastian, she is shown the possibility of a different future.

Only Sebastian has a secret; he is a vampire.

As Serenity’s life takes a terrifying turn, she finds herself drawn into a world she never knew existed; one of murder, love and immortality. She is forced to confront her own weaknesses to save her own life and that of the vampire she has come to love. But in the end all that matters is; can she find the strength to be 'Alone'?

Editorial Reviews:

"A romantic and emotional journey of an abused woman and her path towards healing - all within a vampire urban fantasy.With much angst within the pages one sees into the emotional travails; caring and empathizing with some characters while loathing others. Marissa Farrar does a fine job of showing the reader her character’s complexities in a easy and readable and page-turning manner.I give this romantic and redemptive vampire novel a 4 stars. It was grand!" ~ Layers of Thought.

"Alone has...a violence, brutality and evil more pernicious for being real..." ~Taliesin meets the Vampires.

"This feels like real life. No neat packages tied up with strings. Just the truth, as much as you can bear it." ~ Sweet Vernal Zephyr

Zombie Book Review -- 'Inside the Perimeter' by Alan Spencer

2011-07-23T08:32:00.001-05:00

Boyd Broman is an ex-cop who, after chasing an intruder down the street, accidentally kills him and lands himself in prison. That is until he is given a chance of getting his life back by going into a secure perimeter and apprehending a murderous cannibal, Hayden, who he helped to put away several years earlier.

But Boyd doesn’t realise his chances of escape are pretty thin. The perimeter he’s been put inside of is also filled with the walking dead, zombies who have been put together with different parts of different corpses.

His only possibility of escape is finding Hayden, but when there are a horde of blood thirst zombies on your back, finding an insane cannibal is never going to be easy!

First of all, I need to say that this book is not for the faint of heart. Not only are there pretty graphic descriptions of the zombies disembodying people everywhere, there are also some intense scenes in the book involving the carving, preparing and eating of human flesh. I have to admit, I did end up skim reading some of these parts, though the author did warn me it was pretty gruesome!

The main character, Boyd, is a likeable character—tough with a sensitive side. He has a family on the outside and is doing what he needs to in order to get back to them. He has moments of brawn, brains and sensitivity, a great combination for a hero and I was definitely behind him the whole way.

The cannibal, Hayden, is just plain nasty. He's actually eating the dead things (which had me near gagging point!) and he feels totally at home in his new surroundings. This guy has no redeeming qualities what-so-ever!

The book came together when Boyd meets Cindy, a young woman who has been put inside the perimeter after falling pregnant with (and then aborting) a high (married) government official’s baby. It seems the perimeter is somewhere the government puts people they want to forget about and in doing so also to keep the dead things supplied with fresh meat.

The story wouldn’t have worked without the relationship between Boyd and Cindy. Even though he is married, that little spark between them is like a light in the darkness and helps break up the constant action and bloodshed. I would have liked for the author to have maybe even made more of it, but perhaps that’s just the girly side of me coming out!

Alan Spencer does a good job on bringing a new twist to the world of zombies. The book is fast pace, violent and gory. If you don’t like your gore, then stay away, you won’t enjoy this one. But if you’re a fan of good old zombie books and movies and want something with a new twist, then you can’t go far wrong with 'Inside the Perimeter'.

Inside the Perimeter is available to buy right here!

Movie Review -- The Ward

2011-07-18T16:01:00.000-05:00

So last night, I was in the mood for a scaa-ry movie. I was going to rent Insidious, but -- I chickened out. Seriously, if the trailer makes you turn on all the lights, well, watching the whole movie isn't going to help be much better, is it?

So, I went with John Carpenter's The Ward instead. Mr. Carpenter has directed some awesome movies, including one of my favorites -- The Thing. As in, "Oh goody, The Thing is on!" Somehow I don't think you'll find many girls saying that on a Sunday afternoon flipping through the channels....

But I digress. John Carpenter. Halloween. The Fog. The Eyes of Laura Mars. Escape From New York.

Classics.

Of course, not everyone bats 1,000, and sometimes people lose their touch (especially when they've been making movies for decades). I had my reservations since I hadn't heard much about this movie, but I thought I'd give it a go because it had Carpenter's name behind it.

I was pleasantly surprised. Let me qualify and say that it's not the greatest -- certainly not Halloween or The Thing, but it did have some good scary moments, as well as a plot that kept you guessing. The ending, well -- it's something I've seen before, not often, but if you've seen it once, I think it loses it's novelty.

The setting is 1966, and we see a blonde-haired girl in a slipdress running through the woods. Next, she's got a hold of some matches somehow (slips don't have pockets) and is setting fire to a run-down cabin. Police come, girl gets hauled off, and we all know what happens to half-naked girls who set fire to cabins in 1966 -- they end up in mental institutions.

I'm not a fan of horror movies set in mental institutions -- it seems kind of cruel to scare people who are already prone to horrors, but this one worked, although I'm not going to tell you why as that would reveal the ending. Suffice it to say that the blonde arsonist, Kristen, is the new girl at a mental institution which includes Danielle Pannebaker (Sky High, Friday the 13th) and I always like watching her.

And someone is after the girls, a gruesome-looking ghost. But why?

It's an interesting little mystery, kind of Gothika meets Girl, Interrupted, though it's got some Carpenter-creepy moments in it (at least I thought so, but I scare easily, gang!). It's not perfect, and there are a few plot holes, but I was really surprised -- usually movies released with this little fanfare are BAD, and this one actually had a decent plot, twists and turns, surprises, and a different ending. All in all I would recommend it if you've got nothing to do and feel like clutching a pillow for an hour and a half!

Launch day of Digital Digest--and anyone have a Kindle???

2011-07-01T09:14:00.000-05:00

(Sorry for the repeat posts for those of your who also follow Marissa's authors blog)

Whoo-hoo! Today is the official launch day for the brand new Kindle blog and eBooks, Digital Digest!

What's Digital Digest? I hear you ask..

Well, in this era of technological reading, a group of us authors from all different genres decided to put together a blog which consists purely of fiction--that means short stories, monthly serials, flash fiction and reviews. We're having daily posts, which if you're a kindle user, you can subscribe to in order to have all this fiction sent directly to your Kindle every day.

At the moment, the subscription is $1.99 but you will get two weeks free, obligation free, to try it out. If everyone who reads this who has a kindle could subscribe to the two week free trial that would be amazing. It would really help to push us up the rankings and get us noticed, even if you decide not to carry on with your subscription.

So, daily doses of original fiction, from horror, to paranormal romance, to urban fantasy and more, from fifteen talented authors. What are you waiting for? And if you really can't wait, we've put all of our stories together in an eBook for you to read ahead of time which can be bought from Amazon!

I hope you'll all help to spread the word about our new venture and if anyone has any questions or queries, please ask!

Happy reading everyone!

The Changeling

2011-06-29T00:01:00.001-05:00

I just saw the most amazing little film. It was haunting and very frightening...but also 31 years old!

Let's back up a bit, shall we? I was born in 1969. That meant that I grew up with Friday the 13th, Poltergeist, The Thing, Alien and A Nightmare on Elm Street to name a few. I mostly leaned on the slasher pics. Why, I don't know. It was probably the whole taboo thing, you know? I shouldn't be watching this, so it's great!

In any event, what I really love are the haunted house sort of stories. A month or so ago I realized that there had been one that I had missed. It was called The Changeling, and I ran into a review of it on a fellow blogger's site. I was intrigued so much by it, that I felt that I had to get a copy of the dvd so I could find out what it was that I had missed.

Little did I know.

George C. Scott stars as John Russell, a renowned composer who loses his wife and daughter in a car accident, killed before his very eyes. He eventually moves across the country to Seattle, Washington, and begins to put back the pieces of his tattered life. Taking up residence in a large Victorian-era mansion, strange paranormal occurrences begin to occur. Eventually, he comes to realize that his home is being haunted by the ghost of a murdered child. He is awakened by loud and terrible noises, windows are shattered and doors are abruptly opened and closed. Rather than flee in a panic, Russell investigates the mystery behind what might have happened to the boy, and why, only to come face to face with a horrifying scandal that could bring down a wealthy United States Senator.

Although I cut my teeth (as it were) on the slasher pics from the late 70's and early 80's, I rarely get that close to slasher pics anymore. What I want now is the psychological thriller...or a great ghost story. And that is most definitely what this was.

The Changeling provided serious chills like no other film that I can recall. At one point, I remember grinning as a wave of them swept over me. Twice, I heard a noise behind me and glanced back, hoping against hope that it was my cat. Too often films ruin the experience by showing too much. This did not. It pulled you along with just the right amount of tension, threatening to frighten you at every turn. It really had a great balance of tension versus real “gotcha” moments.

What is usually fairly typical about haunted house stories is that they simply try and “get” the new occupant, either by scaring them away or by actually attempting to kill them. This one was the man and his ghost essentially working together to solve the crime and reach a peaceful resolution…for both of them.

Stacey Turner, a new buddy of mine, mentioned over on the Masters of Horror Facebook Group that films back then could not rely on Computer-Generated Imagery. "I've been watching a lot of older horror movies lately and really enjoying them. They didn't get to rely on the technology we have today so they had to have better plots, better acting and were more psychological horror." Stacey was exactly right. This masterful work did exactly that. From a glass that flies across the room, to Russell’s daughter’s bouncing ball, to the murdered boy’s wheel chair to the sounds heard on the audio taped seance; the whole thing just worked.

So many have told me that this film counts as one of their favorites. If it is one of your's, how so? Where did we agree? What did I fail to mention? I’d love to hear.

For those of you who have yet to see The Changeling, I hope you will rectify this error like I did.

The Devil is Alive and Well

2011-06-23T00:01:00.001-05:00

I have often remarked on either this blog or my own that I have very little opportunity each week to get any reading in. I really do like to read, so this fact really crawls under my skin. Lately, however, I have managed to set aside some time, and have had a great experience discovering some new and perhaps, undiscovered writers, much like myself. Last time I told you about the fantastic novel by Richard Jay Parker and this week I would like to tell you about Ania Ahlborn. Once you have read her novel Seed you will never be the same. Do you know why I write this?

It is because in her marvelous new novel Seed, the devil is alive and well.

Consider the following blurb:

Jack Winter has a secret…

He’s spent his entire life running from something no one can see.
After two decades, he’s sure he’s escaped the shadow that haunted his childhood. That is, until his youngest daughter, Charlie, begins to change.

After a sudden highway accident and a flash of soulless eyes, Jack has no choice but to watch his little girl drown in what he’s sure is a family curse.
Jack begins to realize that he never outran the darkness. It’s just been hiding, waiting for the perfect moment to make a reappearance…

But this time, it hasn’t come only for Jack. This time, it wants them all.

The blurb ends with a warning for Stephen King, Joe Hill and Jack Kilborn fans to prepare to meet the devil. And it isn’t wrong. In this novel, you'd better be prepared to meet the devil hanging out in a deserted convenience store in the middle of the night; stopping to offer you a lift on a dark and deserted highway; or catch a sudden movement in the darkened corner of your children's bedroom.

My friends, I like ghost stories, tales of demon possession and very dark whodunits as long as they do not simply take me back over the same hallowed ground that we have all read before. This new novel used elements that we have experienced before, but I am very happy to report that the author was not content to retread the same tired old ground.

There have been debates concerning how far is too far in the horror genre; I will not debate them with you here, nor will I provide you with any examples for fear of spoiling the plot (I've already written too much). However, I will tell you that there are a few moments in this novel where you may find yourself bothered. For myself, I was pleased with Ahlborn taking a few chances and pushing the envelope a bit. And in the case of the plot, what takes place was essential for the story, so I take no issue with it.

Highlights of this novel for me were the author’s use of description, her pacing of the plot and her characters. Young Charlie was very well drawn and will hold your attention. I also thought that things could have easily gone badly with the antagonist, but it didn’t. Ahlborn revealed Seed's darkness just perfectly. Another point that I would like to make are the moments of flashbacks. I have heard many readers take issue with these. However, in this wonderful author's hands, you may find yourself, as I did, feeling not that you were in the middle of a stoppage of plot, but just exactly where you need to be.

If you are looking for a dark road to travel upon which will eventually end up taking you to a wonderful destination, this is not your book. Sometimes the good guys do not win, and I appreciate that, too, from this author. Seed is dark, fresh, boundary-pushing and well-written. She wrote one-hell of a scare here, and I highly recommend it.

Stop Me

2011-06-14T00:01:00.001-05:00

If you like reading serial killer stories, one does not have to walk very far before tripping over one. I write vampires, so I know a little something about saturated markets. Whether you like vampires, werewolves or killers, I think we can all agree that we want a book that has something that we have never read before.

I have some news for you. Stop Me by Richard Jay Parker is just such a book.

Consider the following from the novel:

howdy doody,

on vacation

slim, attractive, dreadlocked babe with a fun sticky-out bellybutton, likes rabbit fur

forward this email to ten friends

each of those friends must forward it to ten friends

maybe one of those friends of friends of friends will be one of my friends

if this email ends up in my inbox within a week I won’t slit the bitch’s throat

can you afford not to send this on to ten friends?

Most of us receive a ton of spam e-mail on a daily basis. We are told that someone has seen our photo and wants to meet up or perhaps to simply entice us with photos of their own; we’ve won some lottery and need to contact someone in order to collect the winnings; etc., etc. There’s so much of it that we don’t really “see it” anymore. What would we do were we to receive a notice from the Vacation Killer?

At the beginning of Mr. Parker’s well-crafted and original page turner, many did nothing but ignore the e-mails. “...However, despite the rapid proliferation of the email…a package with a local postmark arrived at the Wyoming Police Department. It contained a bedraggled rabbit skin scarf. Wrapped in it was the boiled jawbone of Cody Solomon.”

Leo Sharpe was one of those to receive an e-mail from the Vacation Killer, but was also one to simply delete it. A month later his wife Laura disappeared in broad daylight from the restaurant where they were dining. Three days later Laura was the subject of a new Vacation Killer e-mail, but thankfully none of her remains ever turned up, fueling speculation from her husband that she was still alive.

Soon, on the Internet, Leo begins a relationship with a purported nutcase from New Orleans who claims to be the one responsible for her abduction. John Bookwalter claims to be responsible for the Vacation Killer murders, but is dismissed by the authorities as one who is simply after the celebrity of it all. However, as everyone else in his life begin to speak of Laura in the past-tense, Leo begins to cling to the one person who speaks of her as being still alive.

Leo begins an incredible journey that takes him from the UK to the Unites States, into a dark world of espionage, breaking and entering, deceit, murder and the threat of death as he enters the very den of a potential serial killer.

As I mentioned before, as someone who has read a great many fictional killers, this was something new. Using e-mail was genius, and something that probably should have been thought of before now. The idea really gets the plot moving in this really good book. I found that I had a hard time putting my Kindle down. It took five days to finish, but that was due to my lack of reading time. Were it not for the crazy schedule that I keep, I might have finished it in a couple of days. It’s that good.

While less offerings simply would have started with the great of e-mail and then simply plowed through a series of action, Parker takes his time and goes in some different directions. Just when I thought I knew where he was headed, he surprised me.

One of my favorite touches was the notion of Leo’s compulsion over everyday occurrences being barometers for his wife’s well-being which began eleven days after her disappearance. During the first draft of this review I started to describe them for you, but decided against it. They are that good and I don't not want to spoil anything.

Another thing I appreciated was the author’s voice. With some, I find myself tripping over their prose, but not this. I found reading this to be extremely comfortable; no word seemed forced. Some authors describe little, leaving me wanting more; while others spend too much time doing so, leaving me skipping huge sections in my search of action. Not here. Parker really seems to know how to spin a story. If subsequent offerings from this author are like this one, he promises to have a lengthy career ahead of him.

I bought the e-book version of Stop Me from Amazon.com. For further information one can reach the author at the following link: http://richardjayparker.com/ He can be found on many social network sites, but I really had to only tell you about one: his Twitter account. I had followed him awhile before catching on. That's right, you guessed it. @Bookwalter

True Blood, Season Four preview!

2011-06-07T06:55:00.000-05:00

So the new season of True Blood is on its way to HBO very soon, and they've released a six minute preview of the first show. You can see it below...

Now, I have to admit I'm not too keen on the whole fairy thing. I like True Blood to be about the vampires - the edgy and oh-so very sexy vampires. Admittedly, from watching the trailer, these fairies do look like nasty motherf****rs, but that's not really what we're watching the show for, is it?

When I read the books, I felt the same way. As soon as they started going on about werewolves (okay, I can handle the wolves) weretigers, and werepanthers, I just kind of lost interest. My disbelief could no longer be stemmed.

I hope they do bring Season Four back to the vampires (especially Eric!). I'm not sure when it's out in the UK, but I'll still be looking forward to it!

Movie Review - Heartless

2011-06-03T15:42:00.000-05:00

I'm always a fan of British movies. Being a Brit myself, I'm always going to support my own, but they seem to have a different feel to them than Hollywood films, a grittiness and an edge that you don't find in big budget productions.

Heartless is a British movie. Set in the poverty ridden high rises of East London, (a place I lived myself for several years) a young man and photographer, Jamie, lives with a large, heart-shaped birthmark on one side of his face. He's a troubled young man, traumatised by his disfigurement and by the loss of his much loved father.

Jamie discovers that the gangs rioting the local area are actually demons. But their leader offers him a choice; join them and help continue the chaos, and he will remove the birthmark and get to live the life he has always wanted. Accompanying Jamie on his journey is a young Indian girl, who helps him through his emotional struggles, but in doing so also enables him to commit crimes he never would have thought himself capable of.

Overall, I enjoyed Heartless. The movie had an edge to it, a rawness I found totally believable. The horror comes in a number of different forms: that of the very real horror of street gangs and violence, to a paranormal horror, to a psychological horror of someone having to live with a deformity.

Some parts were shocking; the idea of living in agony and torture for the rest of eternity should be shocking! There were also some great scenes. The one where he is basically burnt alive and wakes up as a crusted, even more deformed creature is fantastic.

The young Indian girl was always strange and I don't think the movie really benefited from her presence. She acts as his 'conscience' though she always tells him the bad things to do.

Surprisingly, I did like the ending. It had some nice sentiments and ideas, and even though I don't normally like endings of this kind (I won't say what for fear of spoiling it!) it was good to have a little release after all the misery and horror!

Heartless is dark and thought provoking. It's probably not the best horror movie I've ever seen, but it's certainly worth a watch!

Something Wicked 7/10.

Gareth Edwards', Monsters ~ Review

2011-05-02T06:31:00.001-05:00

As soon as I heard about the making of Monsters, it caught my attention. Described as a 'low budget science fiction romance', when the movie hit the big screen, it caused quite a stir.

Monsters is set six years after a NASA probe crashed over Central America, causing the quarantine of half of Mexico. The movie follows a journalist photographer as he helps a tourist (who also happens to be his bosses daughter) through the ''infected zhe infected zone” to the safety of the US border.

Despite being about aliens and danger, the movie is mostly character driven, with the relationship between the two main characters and their own personal growth, being the main focus. This changes the movie from being your usual 'people running, screaming' monster movie, to being far more intelligent.

I saw bits of Jurassic Park (the vehicles being tossed into trees), but I couldn't really see the comparison of District 9, which I've heard mentioned so many times in relation to Monsters. The only thing that is the same is that aliens have crash landed onto Earth, and frankly, there are tons of movies with that premise.

Considering the movie was made for $15,000, I thought it was great. The aliens looked a bit too much like giant octopus/squid, but it didn't detract from the movie too much. For me, the best thing about the movie was how it was made. Being a backpacker myself for many years, I loved the thought of a bunch of guys heading out with nothing more than a video camera and laptop to make a movie.

If you want a horror movie full of blood, gore, and jumpy moments, then this one isn't for you. If you want something with a bit more heart, then you'll enjoy Monsters.

In the end, the final point of the movie left me wondering; who were the monsters? The aliens or humanity?

Win a personalised signed copy of Peter Labrow's, The Well!

2011-04-22T14:29:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, this is just a quickie to let you know that you have a chance to win Peter Labrow's horror novel over at my blog, Ramblings of an Unkempt Mind.

So head on over and find out a bit more. All you need to do is leave him a comment!

Good luck!

Fright Night 2011

2011-04-12T08:00:00.002-05:00

So, I'm not going to go into too much detail as I know co-blogger Jevron McCrory is absolutely, positively against the Fright Night remake (I was too, but the latest images over at Shock 'Til You Drop have me very hopeful. Particularly this one has me wearing low-necked blouses, just in case a vampire looking like Colin Farrell moves next door to me ;-)

But I have to say, whoever came up with this poster -- God bless them, because it's a gem!!!

Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger.

2011-04-10T15:03:00.000-05:00

Some of you may already know Audrey Niffenegger, as she wrote the much loved The Time Traveller's Wife. Well, her follow up novel, Her Fearful Symmetry, is just as good.

I was dubious when I started this book. The start of it is slow, and to be honest, not much really happens. I even found myself wondering if I would even finish it! However, despite the slow start, I quickly got into the characters.

The book starts with forty-four year old, Elspeth Noblin, dying of leukemia, comforted only by her younger lover, Robert. In her will, she leaves her flat which overlooks Highgate Cemetary in London, to her twenty-year old American twin nieces. The nieces, Julia and Valentina, are the children of Elspeth's estranged twin sister Edie.

Julia and Valentina are strange and a little haunted. They are mirror twins, which means most of Valetina's organs are on the wrong side of her body, and, even though they are now adults, they still dress identically. When they hear news of their aunt's death and subsequently find out about inheriting the flat, they travel to London.

However, they are not alone in the flat. The ghost of Elspeth still resides there, and despite at first being little more than smoke, as time passes she grows stronger and eventually is able to communicate with the twins and with Robert.

Her Fearful Symmetry isn't just a ghost story. In fact, the ghostly part of it is really only a small part as Elspeth becomes so real it is almost as though she was still alive and merely fiddling in other people's lives., The most important part of this novel is simply the lives of the characters. They are just people, all with their own issues - Robert is quite a weak man and is still besotted by his dead love, Elspeth. Martin (who lives in the flat above the twin's) suffers from OCD, and, after his wife leaves him, completely falls apart. Then there are the twins. Both twins have aspects that make you both love and dislike them at the same time. Julia for her bossiness and control, but her undying devotion to her twin, and Valentina (also known as Mouse) for her weakness towards her sister, but her desperation to have a life of her own. Elspeth was the only character I really didn't like.

I found the changes in POV confusing at times, but once I got used to it, I didn't notice it so much. The start is hard and some of Niffenegger's prose is quite hard and lacks in any kind of poetry or atmosphere (especially considering the subject matter of the story) However, by the end of this book I was in love. It was one of those books I longed to carry on, quite happily following the characters round, just watching where their lives go. I loved Niffenegger's description of death at the end, and she used some wonderful imagery (which I won't describe for fear of spoiling it for you).

I'm so pleased I stuck with this one and if you can get through the first few chapters, you won't be disappointed. Don't expect for a huge amount to actually happen, but if you would like to be transported into the lives of some wonderful characters for a while, then you can't go far wrong.

A solid 4/5 stars!

The Fall by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

2011-03-23T04:37:00.000-05:00

A plague of vampires is sweeping over New City and only a small group of survivors can save the day. Eph Goodweather—head of the Centers for Disease Control's team—leads a band out to stop these bloodthirsty monsters. But it may be too late. Ignited by the Master's horrific plan, a war erupts between Old and New World vampires, each vying for control...

I want to start this review by saying that I love Guillermo del Toro. I'm a HUGE fan of his movies and in that respect, truly the man can do no wrong in my eyes. I also loved The Strain and couldn't wait to read The Fall.

Maybe it was partly my high expectations of this book that made it fall so flat. All the things I loved about The Strain were missing in The Fall. For me, the parts I enjoyed the most about The Strain were the descriptions of the people changing as the vampire 'worms' started to take over. In The Fall, the book takes off pretty much where The Strain finishes, so all of the characters who were ever going to become vampires have already changed. What is left is a small group of people out to save the world and I found it hard to relate to these characters.

I don't know why, but I found the relationship between Eph and Nora to be unbelievable. I also didn't really care about Abraham (the Jew who has the knowledge about the vampire strain) and so much of this novel was spent with him.

I struggled to believe how quickly things like power and other infrastructure ended, though other things like trains running, still worked. Here in the UK, we get so much as leaves on the track and our whole train service ends!

But my main complaint about the book was that it kept going back in time to show back story of Abraham's time in Auschwitz and his involvement with the vampires back then. It just kept interrupting the flow of the book and really did nothing to enhance it. It wasn't until the end of the book that the pace really got going.

Overall, I was disappointed and it took me a long time to finish. I probably only gave it the three stars because I still love Guillermo!

3 out of 5 stars!

Movie Review -- Little Red Riding Hood

2011-03-18T21:04:00.002-05:00

Hey there, Little Red Riding Hood,

You sure are lookin' good...

I was looking forward to this movie, though I had my doubts -- I heard it had gotten bad reviews, and that they tried to make it too Twilight-teen-romance-ish (ugh! Teen romance has no place in horror!).

But I actually liked it.

First off -- impressive cast: Amanda Seyfried is absolutely beautiful, and I thought she turned in a good performance. Virginia Madsen has long been one of my favorite actresses, ever since I saw her in Electric Dreams (yes, I took cello lessons after that movie!) -- she plays Red's mom. And check this out -- playing Red Riding Hood's dad is none other than -- Charlie Swan (Billy Burke)!! Way!! This is directed by Catherine Hardwicke, who directed the first Twilight movie, after all.

Lukas Haas (best known as the kid in Witness, though who can forget the classic Solar Babies?) plays the town priest, who has called upon one of the pre-eminent witch-hunters of the day, played by another one of my favorites -- Gary Oldman, to help deal with the town's peculiar problem...

For 20 years, the medieval, picturesque village of Daggerhorn has been plagued by werewolf attacks. Each month during the full moon, the town would leave out an animal sacrifice for the wolf, which was accepted, and no villagers would be killed. That is, not until one night...

When Valerie (Seyfried)'s sister is found dead. The parents are overwrought with grief, especially since it's supposed to be a happy time -- Valerie's engagement to the town rich boy, Henry, was just announced. So now Valerie has to deal with the death of her sister, and an arranged marriage which will prevent her from being with her true love, the woodcutter, Peter. (Yeah, Peter and the Wolf -- get it?).

Instead of waiting for Father Solomon (Oldman) to arrive, the villagers, enraged by little sister's death, take up their torches (literally, no, I'm not kidding here) and go hunt the werewolf. They think they kill it, but then Oldman arrives to tell them -- naw, that's just a regular wolf. The villagers are stubborn and insist on partying to commemorate the death of the wolf, in which there's plenty of celebration, lust (Valerie and Peter the woodcutter nearly get it on), mead (Valerie's dad passes out in the middle of the street, drunk), some strange dances, people dressed up as three little pigs (yeah, they threw all the wolf references in here!) and short-sleeve dresses despite the snow on the ground.

I know, I know, I'm kind of making fun, and some moments are laughable (Peter's hair resembles Edward Cullen's, the chickens that wander the quaint village streets, and the spikes on the trees -- huh?). But there is genuine suspense -- who on earth is the wolf? It's one of the villagers, but is it fiance Henry? The dark, brooding Peter? The town priest? Valerie even suspects her own grandmother, who does live on the edge of town and sports dreadlocks (the excellent Julie Christie).

What happens from the celebration is -- the werewolf crashes the party, despite a fierce battle lodged by Oldman (all in the name of God -- yeah, Oldman plays a bit of a zealot, which I found kinda cliche, but watchable because it is Gary Oldman).

Is the movie scary? No. Suspenseful -- yes. Stylish -- yes. Did I guess the wolf correctly -- yes I did, but then again, I've read tons of murder mysteries so I'm good at picking up the clues, though I wasn't really sure right up until the very end.

All in all, I'm going to see it again and I think I may have found my Halloween costume for this year... ;-)

Damned If You Don't!

2011-03-14T06:51:00.003-05:00

The horror anthology, Masters of Horror; Damned if you Don't, is on its way and I'm thrilled to have my short story, The Tortured Room, included.

So this week I'm going to be giving you all a preview of the book, with a couple of insights into the stories each day, in the hope you will all be salivating to get your hands on a copy when it is released in both ebook and paperback format very soon!

Enjoy!

The monstrously addictive power of crack cocaine lies in the intensity—and the brevity—of the high. Within a matter of moments, you’re back to normal again (or as close to ‘normal’ as anyone on crack ever gets) and ready for more. It’s also relatively cheap—per dose-- and doesn’t seem to eat your money as fast as it does, so one month you’re paying cash for it, the next month you’re selling your last remaining pair of shoes for it. One of my best friends, when he lived in Tampa, told me a story of how a thin, wasted man desperately asked him at a 7-11 to buy a bloodstained baby’s blanket for five dollars.

For better or for worse, crack seems to have fallen off the national radar or it’s been eclipsed by that other breakfast of champions, crystal meth. Or a prediction has come true…one authority on drugs called the crack epidemic, ‘A self-cleaning oven’, meaning: ‘In a few years there won’t be a crack epidemic, because everyone who keeps using crack will be dead.’

Or, as imagined by the amazing John Shirley, WORSE than dead…

AFTERTASTE

By John Shirley

8:45 P.M., Saturday Night, West Oakland, California

Dwayne was sick of hearing Uncle Garland talk. The old man would talk about Essy and he would talk about the dope and he would talk about grindin’, about everything but his own goddamn drinking. Sitting in that busted wheelchair at the kitchen table, talking and sipping that Early Times. Talking shit about his angel dreams, too. One more word about the dope. . .

But Dwayne tolerated more than just one more word, because he needed Uncle Garland. He needed a place to stay and some place to run to. So he just sat and listened while he waited for Essy to get up, waited for Essy to get them started again. Essy in the next room, had to crash for awhile, been two hours already. Fuck it. Dwayne could taste rock at the back of his tongue; smell it high in his nostrils. All in the imagination.

The TV was on, with the sound turned off. A rerun of a show with that guy used to be in Taxi. Tony something.

“You listening to me, Dwayne?” Uncle Garland demanded, scratching his bald pate with yellowed fingers. His rheumy eyes looking at Dwayne and not seeing him. Moving with less life than the TV screen. Blind. The old man was blind, but that was easy to forget, somehow.

“Can’t hardly not listen, you talking all the time,” Dwayne said.

“The dope killing this town, it be killing our people,” Garland was saying. “Killing the black man. I’m fixin’ to go the Next World, and I’m glad to be goin’, Praise Jesus, with the devil eating this world like a pie. . .” Didn’t pause to take a breath.

Uncle Garland’s place was an apartment in the Projects, in the shadow of the freeway that collapsed in the ‘89 earthquake. Used to be you heard the freeway booming and rushing all night. Now it was eerie quiet. Or quiet as it ever got in the Projects.

“Tell you some true now,” Uncle Garland said, using the expression that always prefaced a long, long lecture. “These are the end times, that the Lord’s truth. In my angel dreams, they come to me and tell me it’s so. And it’s on the news, about the dead people rising. It’s in the Bible, son, when the dead rise it’s a Sign that the Lord is coming for Judgment —”

~*~

Food, Glorious FOOD! How do we love thee? (Really, how can we NOT, since every little innocent Oreo cookie has 14 various ‘appetite inducers’.)

Let the legendary F. Paul Wilson’s “Topsy” count the ways…

Topsy

By F. Paul Wilson

I’m inna middle a chewin on dis giant lasagne noodle when Nurse Delores appears.

“Morning, Topsy!” she says as she marches inta da room in her white uniform.

Dey call me Topsy.

Don’t ax why dey call me dat. My name’s Bruno. But evybody here calls me Topsy.

“Oh, no!” she says. “You’ve been eating your sheets again!”

I look down an see she’s right. My sheets is all chewed up. I guess dat weren’t no giant lasagne noodle after all.

God I’m hungry.

“Ready for breakfast?” she says all bright an cheery.

Course I’m ready for breakfast—I’m dyin for breakfast—but I don’t say nuttin. Cause what dey call breakfast here ain’t. Ain’t lunch or dinner neither. Just liquid. Not even a shake. I amember when I useta eat diet shakes. Useta drink ten a dem fa breakfast. An anotha ten fa coffee break. Dey’re junk. I neva lost weight on dem. Not once.

But no shakes round here. Just dis clear glop. An here she comes wit a whole glass of it.

“Here, Topsy. Open your mouth and drink this,” she says, all Mary Sunshine poikiness.

If my hands wasn’t strapped to da side of da bed I’d grab her an make her drink it herself an see how much she likes dat shit.

She tilts da glass toward my lips but I turn away.

“Come on, Topsy,” she says. “I know you don’t like it, but it’s this or nothing.”

“No!”

“Come on, Topsy. Do it for Lenore. Don’t be mad at me. The protein hydrosylate isn’t my idea. It’s doctor’s orders. And it’s working. You’re down to twelve hundred and thirty pounds now.”

Still I don’t open.

“Come on, baby. It’s this or go hungry. Open up.”

Sometimes she calls me baby, but dat don’t make it taste better, believe me.

I open an pretend it’s a milk shake. A big double chocolate praline shake laced wit wet walnuts.

Don’t help. I gag an wanna barf it all ova da place but manage to choke it down. Gotta. It’s all I’ll get til lunch. An dat’ll only be a salad.

God I’m so hungry.

Dey don’t unnerstan aroun here. Don’t seemta realize dat I gotta eat. Dey say dey’re helpin me by stickin needles in my arms an feedin me teeny bits of veggies an barely a moutful of whole grain sumpin-or-otha an dis liquid protein shit, but dey ain’t helpin. Ain’t helpin me one bit.

Guy’s gotta eat.

Useta be so good when my brotha Sal an his wife Marie was takin care a me. I was happy den. Dat’s cause dey unnerstood. Dey knew I hadda eat. Boy could dey cook. No limit, man. Anyting I wanted, it was dere on da bed tray soon as I said.

Dey unnerstood me, know’m sayin?

Buried ~ Review

2011-02-27T10:53:00.000-06:00

I've wanted to see this movie ever since it first came out, so when my husband came home with it on DVD, I was thrilled! When I first heard of it, it threw me into a bit of a turmoil -- you see, the sequel to my novel, Alone, was at that time called Buried, and I saw there was this hit movie with the same title and I thought 'bugger'.

Anyway, I digress. The movie starts with Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) waking up in a coffin-like box. He knows he's buried somewhere beneath the desert because of the trickle of sand leaking in through the wooden slats. All he remembers is being attacked by insergents. He is a truck driver, a contractor working in Iraq. After freaking out for a minute or two (understandably) a cell phone rings somewhere in his coffin. On the other end are his captors, demanding that he gets them five million dollars before nine o'clock that evening.

What ensues is Paul's desperate struggle to get hold of the right people who can save him. He also tries to make contact with his family back home, wanting to speak to them for what might possibly be the last time.

The cell phone really is the key to this movie. Its the only way he can have any contact with the outside world and therefore build a storyline. Without it, the movie would simply be a man screaming in a box for ninety minutes. However, with the cell phone we learn a number of things about what has happened to him, and we learn about his family and relationships, essentially the type of person Paul is.

Some of it is shocking, particularly the way he is treated by the company that hired him. On the back of the cover of the DVD it says there are 'a couple of dark laughs' but really I saw nothing even remotely funny about this movie. It was scarily real, and a reminder that this sort of thing is actually happening to people over there every day.

If you suffer from extreme claustrophobia, fears of being buried alive, or happen to be visiting Iraq anytime soon, then this one probably isn't for you. However, if you're looking for a clever, topical, nail-biting thriller that leaves you thinking long after it's finishes, then you can't go far wrong.

Something Wicked 7.5/10

The Watcher (2000) - Movie Review

2011-02-23T13:24:00.003-06:00

Here's a review I wrote way back in 2003.

I still kind of stand by my review of this film, though I may have gushed a little too much. I'm a big Reeves, Spader and Tomei fan!

Now this is what we need more of; pretty boy actors renowned for nice guy roles taking a walk off the beaten commercial path to explore darker subject matter.

In Joe Charbanic's twisted little pressure cooker of a movie The Watcher, Keanu Reeves not only wandered into seriously more disturbing material, he took a tent with him, threw away the compass and camped comfortably in it, the results of which include a transformation that's as far away from Neo, his Matrix alter ego, as humanly possible. It's plausible that The Chosen One himself might have turned tail and fled if ever faced with Keanu's chillingly charismatic 'Watcher,' whether he knew Kung Fu or not.

Publicly violated and torn apart frame by bloody frame by the critics upon release, The Watcher, ironically enough, should be thankful that the reviews were so scathing. All this highly inaccurate reviewing does is further serve to lower your guard for what becomes a truly tense and highly strung game of cat and mouse.

Taking the classic story of nemesis and cop and training a television camera on it, Reeves portrays David Allen Griffin, a smartly dressed and suave individual with a penchant for strangling young single woman with piano wire. After feeling abandoned by the FBI agent Joel Campbell (played with praise-worthy restraint by the impeccable James Spader) who was assigned to his case and who Griffin has come to admire and depend upon to give his vocation validity, Griffin relocates to Chicago in order to pick up on their unique relationship afresh, news that awakens a buried dread within the regretful Campbell. It's only a matter of time before Griffin is, once again, rendering his piano unplayable, dragging Campbell once more into a nightmarish paranoid world where every second counts.

Charbanic's film presents the unfolding events from an original and distinctive perspective, one that lends itself admirably to the director's strengths. Namely, the media. With the superb inclusion of Griffin 'willing to try and make things work' between himself and Campbell by sending the agent photographs of the targeted victim and allowing the police twenty four hours to locate her, it serves as the perfect motive for the movie to truly tighten the tension screws which it succeeds in doing in excruciatingly spectacular fashion. The atmosphere weaves tighter and tighter like Griffin's piano wire as by each murder, we witness Campbell's deterioration as the horrifying realisation that he may not be capable of saving the victims becomes an increasingly real sensation, a matter touched upon in a beautifully downplayed sombre moment between Campbell and his counsellor, played with vulnerability by Oscar winner Marisa Tomei.

Add to this stew the wonderfully haunting score, the truly shocking yet undeniably sylish violence and decidedly unsettling cinematography and you begin to wonder why The Watcher was ever so persecuted in the first place.

Ignore the critics and don't go home alone. Take The Watcher with you.

Let Me In

2011-02-14T03:15:00.001-06:00

Hello, Something Wicked fans. James here. I know what you're thinking: Who?

I don't blame you if you were wondering that. It isn't often that I post here. You see, although I have one horror novel and another on the way, it isn't often that I actually get an opportunity to watch any. Yet, that's not exactly the entire story. Though I grew up with Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Poltergeist and The Fog, I really don't have the nerve to watch much of that anymore. I still read horror novels, but sitting down to a horror film is a bit like climbing into a roller coaster at my age of 41; I'm just not sure this old heart can take that anymore.

In the past decade or so, it seemed to me that horror films had moved into "torture porn". I don't mind sitting on the edge of my seat; in fact, I love it. What I am not interested in, however, is to be disgusted and shocked. Give me The Silence of the Lambs. With that in mind, I am pleased to tell you that I have just finished watching a film that I caught a glimpse of last year, but had never had the opportunity to view until today.

Let Me In is a film by Cloverfield director Matt Reeves. It is based on the 2008 critically acclaimed Swedish film Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in) and the novel of the same name by John Ajvide Lindqvist.

The film opens with a captured suspected killer being rushed to a Los Alamos, New Mexico hospital. His face and chest has been severely burned by acid. A police detective (Elias Koteas) attempts to get something out of him, but to no avail, and the suspect eventually throws himself out of the 10th floor window.

We then flashback two weeks where we find bullied 12 year old Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) attempt to live out a pathetic existence. It is then that a mysterious 12 year old (Chloë Moretz) and her dad (Richard Jenkins) move into the apartment next door. When they eventually meet, Abby informs Owen that they cannot be friends, but it is inevitable and they develop a sweet friendship that is bigger than the both of them, whether they like it or not. Her dad asks her at one point to discontinue seeing the boy, but it is far too late for that. Later, Abby informs Owen that "he isn't my dad".

The drama increases as a series of murders and attacks begin to occur with alarming frequency, Owen is pulled in different directions due to his parents' impending divorce, and as Owen must deal with the bullying at school. He tries to hide an attack that he had, but Abby guesses the truth. When she advises him to use force against his attackers, she offers to help. "But you're a girl," Owen answers. "I'm a lot stronger than you think I am," Abby replies. Eventually, due to a tactical error, Own discovers the truth.

Owen: "Are you a vampire?"
Abby: "I need blood...to live."
Owen: "How old are you? Really?"
Abby: Twelve. But I've been twelve for a very long time."

I could say more about the plot, but really do not want to give more than this away. Suffice it to say that the film is very, very good. If you love horror, you'll love this. The action is paced well and the story is imaginative. The score is sweet and light when all is well between Owen and Abby, and it is haunting and squirm-inducing when events turn dark. The direction is brilliant and the effects first-rate.

The reason why someone such as I love this film is due to the fact that is was masterfully done with an artful and loving touch. It reminds me of Luc Besson's film, Leon (The Professional). I don't usually care for that "type" of film, but found the production to be inspired. It transcended the genre. For me, some films are photographs that you file away in a book, while others are pieces of artwork that deserve to be hanging in the Louvre. Let Me In does just this for me. It is at times warm, romantic and gentle, and at other times truly horrifying. I'm not talking about shock here, although it does have that. I'm talking about defining moments of contradiction. Picture two pre-teens who truly love one another well before physical love comes in to change love's nature: both standing in a darkened hallway simply holding one another. Sweet, right? Now picture that same scene with the girl covered in blood and gore, and neither seem to notice.

Before I leave, I want to offer you this quote that I found from Uncle Stevie himself. I suppose that I could have simply let him tell you about this film; he's certainly a heck of a lot more qualified than I am. But what fun would that have been?

"Let Me In is a genre-busting triumph. Not just a horror film, but the best American horror film in the last 20 years." -Stephen King

Too much to watch!

2011-02-11T08:43:00.006-06:00

First of all, let me start my apologising to all our American readers. This post is going to include some current UK television and there is a good chance you won't have a clue what I'm on about!!!

As always, with the start of January also comes the start of all the good television programmes. By the time summer comes along, there will be absolutely NOTHING to watch (despite having hundreds of tv channels) so I am now madly setting the Sky Plus and series linking all the shows for all I am worth.

So, where do I start? A number of old shows are back up on our screen, including the new series of The Vampire Diaries, which I also call 'my dirty little secret'. I wait until my hubbie is safely up in bed before watching, as he ridicules the show. In his words, 'it's Hollyoaks with vampires'. Anyway, despite being far too old to be watching such things, I still love it! I'll happily drool over Stefan and Damon for a good hour, even if I do find Elena incredibly annoying.

Speaking of drooling, the other show back for another series here in the UK is True Blood. This season hasn't failed to live up to expectations, and the episode where the gorgeous Eric stood totally naked has also ended up recorded on my Sky box for lots of reruns!

Enough of my dribbling; there are plenty of other shows which have recently started and are showing some promise. Marchlands is now showing on ITV and, despite a bit of slow start, it is gaining momentum. It follows three different families living in the same haunted house and the effects the ghost has on their lives. If you like your classic ghost stories this one is for you.

Another show just started is Bedlam. I've still not managed to watch the first episode, but I'm looking forward to it. It's about a block of flats which has been built on top of an old mental institution and is haunted by its past inhabitants. Good huh?

So my weekend is going to be filled with lots of good television watching. What's everyone else up to this weekend?

Nightwatch (1997) - Movie Review

2011-02-07T16:35:00.005-06:00

Okay, my hands are up from the get go.

Maybe I'm biased about this film, but when I heard my two favourite actors, the always cooler-than-cool Ewan McGregor and the impossibly cute Patricia Arquette had starred in a film together, well I just had to see it, and boy am I glad I did.

Nightwatch tells a twisted, claustrophobic tale about a young and very wet-behind-the-ears night watchman Martin Bells (Ewan McGregor) taking over sentry duties at the local morgue where, as things first appear, his first enemy to confront and overcome is his overactive imagination. Stunning direction details this in one of the most tense and suspenseful sequences of sustained fear put to celluloid. Honestly, it’s that good. It perfectly mirrors both Martin's unease and the audience's; he knows he shouldn't be scared, everyone in the building is dead - and WE know we shouldn't be scared, it's a film - but somehow, for both parties, the fear at the time seems VERY real, and sets the tone beautifully. A poignant moment highlighted in sound that was emphasised earlier in dialogue by the former watchman that introduces Martin to security procedure 'Buy a radio, you'll be glad of it. Gonna be studying eh? Trust me, buy one!'

Soon enough, Nightwatch slams it's bloody cards on the table as all of a sudden, due to the very public news that a serial killer is most definitely on the loose with the morgue apparently the killer's latest favoured hang out (co-incidence that it's around the time of Martin's employment?) naked mutilated corpses are on full view, blood is lining the medically drab green corridors and...

...well they'll be NO spoilers in THIS review but needless to say, the film allows you no respite, not in the conventional sense that it hits you with a violent (though the violence when it does happen MAY be too much for some to stomach) dramatic sledgehammer every ten minutes, but that it's oppressive atmosphere, singlehandedly generated by performance and sound alone, are so strong that once it has you in it's slimy grasp, it's very hard to shake yourself of an overriding paranoia that resonates even after the credits roll - and quite simply, high praise indeed must be bestowed to both.

Ewan McGregor is predictably superb as our hero (though why some directors won't let him act in his natural tongue is beyond me. There are Scottish people in America you know), confused, out of his depth, terrified (Martin, not Ewan) and all of it comes across to the audience wonderfully. Instantly, we have a character we should empathise with. The perfect 'other-half' in a female form is the sublimely 'real’ Patrica Arquette (Katherine, Martin's understanding, un-obtrusive girlfriend) who has, in the same beat, innocence, fragility and strength all in her admirable arsenal, traits that simply shine, albeit a tad under-used, a common gripe of Nightwatch. I understand but also accept as the true strength and backbone of the film lies solely on Martin's wanderings in the dead hour morgue. Supporting roles go to Josh Brolin as the 'freaky-are-you-really-my-friend? James (who maybe went a little too over the top in a few scenes) and Nick Nolte proving, if he even had to, that he can command attention in a close up far superior to any other character actor of his generation.

The sound in Nightwatch, both musically and atmospherically, is perhaps in skill terms on par with David Cronenberg's Scanners (Remember having to turn the volume up on late night screenings to catch the dialogue, only to have to scramble for the remote when the visceral loud scenes erupted?!). It's a tried and tested technique Bornedal exploits that is unnervingly effective and is a masterclass for those looking to tread a path in movie sound editing.

But let's not forget that at it's heart, Nightwatch is a classic (albeit modernised) 'who-dun-it?' thriller and therefore one clear question remains. Is the reveal of the killer obvious or even worth the wait? Surprisingly (and I can't really sugar coat this), no. Not really. Not at all, but pleasantly, cleverly, this very 'flaw' leads succinctly to yet again one of the movie’s hidden strengths. By knowing who the killer is early on, it serves as a perfect strategic cat-and-mouse scenario, a kind of 'will he/she get away with it?' and 'how will they get out of this one?' If that sounded intriguing then trust me, the cinematic reality of it is really far more gripping, putting our hero into...

...ah, I won't give it away.

In closing, Nightwatch is not for everyone. It requires a fairly stern stomach and an even sterner moralistic base to truly appreciate it's value, but for those who do choose to accompany Martin on his nightly rounds, there are some seriously fun times to be had.

Keep guessing, keep shining a flashlight round those corners and keep thanking heaven (or should that be hell?) that someone out there is still attempting to make intelligent horror thrillers.

2011-02-07T12:47:00.000-06:00

So, since I saw The Rite last weekend, I thought I'd give this movie a go. I remember when it was released that it looked like it might be kinda good, but I wasn't sure.

Well, if you have an hour and a half to kill, you might consider renting this movie. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it does contain some jump-out-of-your-seat scary parts.

The premise -- this is filmed like The Blair Witch Project, in that it appears to be an actual documentary. A cameraman and sound person follow minister, Cotton Marcus, to the Sweetzer farm down in Louisiana where the Dad has written to Cotton, pleading the minister to help his daughter, Nell.

What's really interesting is that Cotton doesn't believe that demons really inhabit or possess humans. He's been performing exorcism for years, simply because he feels that they help the "possessed" -- after the exorcism, the possessed no longer have problems, thus, what Cotton does must be a good form of therapy. He has a bag of tricks that he brings to the Sweetzer farm, and it appears to be another routine exorcism. You feel a bit for the family, who pays good money to Cotton for what they think is a true service, when really, it's a very unusual form of psychotherapy.

BUT -- when Nell shows up at Cotton's hotel room on the night she was exorcised, well -- there's more to this case than meets the eye. We follow Cotton and the camera crew back and forth from the Sweetzer farm to hospital and former preacher's house, all the while Cotton insists that Nell needs a doctor, not an exorcist. Things get really scary for the camera crew when Nell draws pics of them, chopped to bits, and she's filmed killing a cat (sorry, spoiler there, but I wish someone had warned me -- poor cat!).

Just when things get good and a little scary and intense, the ending descends into a bit of WTF-ery. Nothing is tied up -- it's definitely a Blair Witch ending. But like I said, if you've got a bit of time to spare and you want to jump out of your seat a few times, you should give this flick a go. And then write me and tell me what you think of the ending!

Movie Review -- The Rite

2011-01-31T09:38:00.001-06:00

I posted this review over at Para Posse, but I'm cross-posting it here because I think many Wicked readers will enjoy it.

I'm starting off with a confession, right here, right now -- I've never actually seen the movie,The Exorcist, in its entirety.

Shocking, I know! I've seen most of it, and honestly, the reason why I've never sat down and watched the whole thing is simply that the parts I did see when I was 21-ish or so SCARED THE BEJEEZUS OUT OF ME!

I know I really need to gather my rosary and just rent it, because it really is a landmark film. Also, I'm originally from the Scranton area, where Jason Miller (Father Karras) spent much of his life. I even dated a guy whose aunt dated Miller (yeah, I know -- y'all are jealous!), and I lived in DC for a time and used to walk by the stairs on M street in the final scene in the movie all the time. Maybe one day I'll gather the gumption, but it hasn't happened yet!

Since The Exorcist, there have been imitators, such as The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Last Exorcism (which I still need to see), and even a prequel to The Exorcist. IMHO, nothing has quite measured up to The Exorcist. So I was very happy to see the premise -- Catholic Church and all -- brought back in The Rite.

The Rite is allegedly based upon the true-life experience of a journalist who followed Father Michael Kovak on an exorcism. Apparently, a few years back, the Catholic Church received an unprecedented number of reports concerning demon possessions, which led them to train priests specifically in the rites of exorcism.

The movie commences with Michael Kovak preparing a body in his father's funeral parlor -- he's not yet a priest, but following in the family business of being a mortician. We learn (at least, I did), in this opening scene some things I really didn't need to know about what morticians do to make loved ones look like they're asleep during a funeral (like sewing the mouth together after it's been stuffed with wool. Yeah.).

Anyway, Michael is unhappy, and in order to escape his depressing life and his father (played by Rutger Hauer -- big names in this movie, I'll say!), he's off to Seminary School. The one problem -- Michael's not a believer in God. So, just when he's about to take his final vows, and on the night in which he witnesses a horrible accident and administers last rites to the victim, he sends an email to his superior withdrawing himself from the priesthood.

Father Matthew (Toby Jones, who played Truman Capote recently) basically tells Michael, "No, I see you being a great priest, and what you really need is a test of faith. I'm sending you to Rome to study exorcism. If you still feel the same way when you get back, then we can talk."

High-ho, high-ho, it's off to Rome Michael goes, where he studies under Father Xavier (Ciaran Hinds. I told you there are big names here!). Father Xavier can tell that Michael questions his own faith, so he sends Michael to witness a real, live exorcism performed by Father Lucas Trevant (Anthony Hopkins, the biggest name).

Michael enters into the exorcism ritual a skeptic, and he leaves a skeptic, despite certain evidence that would have me clutching my rosary and declaring myself a true believer. Honestly, I found Michael's skepticism at this point to be a bit annoying, but, to his credit, something happens on the next exorcism that makes you wonder whether or not Father Lucas is really making this possession business up and performing "exorcisms" just to ease people's minds.

Up until now, we've got a pretty good, character-driven story. The possession of a pregnant girl is particularly interesting -- just the fact that she's pregnant while possessed is horrific. But of course, there's the skeptic question in the movie -- is she really possessed, or just suffering from mental trauma or illness. The movie doesn't shy away from presenting that many "possessed" people share the same characteristics of mentally ill. Michael Kovak also has his own "demons" -- memories of his mother dying when he was only a child. I think the movie does a good job presenting, from an artistic perspective, why there are doubts about demon possession in this day and age.

After a bit of time, and some scenes which I thought were a bit unnecessary -- a room full of frogs, a red-eyed mule in the snow, all surrounding the death of Michael's father, you begin to see that there is more going on than just medication can fix. And then, as the previews have shown, Father Lucas himself becomes possessed.

This is where the movie really picks up steam and we get all the good, old-fashioned, Exorcist-type horror. Up until now, there had been alot of exploration of Michael's character through flashbacks, and even some laughs -- Father Lucas, after the first exorcism, says to Michael, "What did you expect? Spinning heads and pea soup?" But with Hopkins possessed, that's when we get the good, scary voices, banging doors, bodies flung through the air, and upside-down crosses.

Will Michael find his faith in time to save the priest? Will reporter Angeline present a fair view of the exorcism rite? Or is everybody headed to Hell in a handbasket?!

I'm not telling, but suffice it to say that I thought The Rite to be a good movie. Is it on par withThe Exorcist? No. It's just not as scary. But it's better than what we've been seeing, I think, if you don't mind a few slow spots and delving into backstory to show the priest's struggle to believe.

And as an aside -- I've done alot of research into Judeo-Christian lore, including Fallen Angels, for my own novels. So if anyone in the Catholic Church is reading this and still needs exorcists -- and they're willing to let go those Catholic rules about women priests -- well, I'm just sayin' ;-)

A Gem For E-Readers -- Smashwords

2011-01-27T13:20:00.001-06:00

So, some of my friends have been asking me, "Nicole, when is your book coming out in paperback?" With the sales results of this last Christmas, I'm now going to turn the tables and ask them -- "So, when are you getting a Kindle?"

I'm not going to get into a debate over paper vs. e-readers -- both have pros and cons. But there's no doubt that many die-hard paper fans are moving to the dark side with e-readers -- and loving them. I myself don't have a specific e-reader, but I've read about a dozen books on my iPhone through iBooks and the Kindle App for iPhone. No, it's really not bad at all -- you can adjust the font and just keep flipping the screen. I personally love it, because I take my phone with me wherever I go, so that means I've always got a book with me ;-)

Smashwords is an online bookstore that sells books by independent authors and publishers (yay Indies!!). All of Vamplit's titles (and consequently, all of our novels -- mine, Jev's, Marissa's and James's) are on there. There are also many novels in foreign languages, which can be hard to find or expensive, but thanks to Smashwords -- reading something in French or Italian can only cost you $4.99.

I downloaded my first Smashword novel just last week. I was hesitant at first -- why? Because I wasn't sure of the formatting. I can honestly say now that I have no reservations any more about stuff like that -- I downloaded the .mobi version, which I opened in my Kindle app on my iPhone, and it looked great!! I've downloaded quite a number of Smashwords novels now, I'm happy to report, and they all look and read beautifully.

Just wanted to spread the word to all you with e-readers and smartphone apps out there -- head on over to Smashwords and support Indie authors and publisher today -- you won't regret it!

Friday the 13th (2009) ~ Review

2011-01-25T08:56:00.000-06:00

***spoiler alert!***

Before I start this review, I have a confession to make...I've never seen the original Friday the 13th!

Now I don't know if this works for or against watching the remake. I'm guessing that if I was a huge fan of the original, I probably would hate the remake (that's seems to normally be how these things work), but I have to say that not much would have changed my opinion about this movie.

So here's how it goes: The movie starts with a girl being chased through the woods by a lunatic woman, but for once the girl fights back and managed to cut off the head of the women. Up in the bushes, a young boy (Jason) is watching. Years later, a group of teenagers are camping out in the same area. They do the usual 'did you know a whole heap of teenagers were killed here years ago and a boy saw his mother's head get cut off' (or something along those lines). Of course they all laugh it off, and then basically pair off to have sex, while the one guy on his own goes off to look for marijuana plants he's been told are growing near-by. Jason is watching them, and obviously not keen on having more people move into his backyard, starts slaughtering them. Only one of the girls looks like his mother, and has already found his mothers locket, and though it looks as if he's going to kill her, we don't actually see it happen.

Now this whole scene happens pretty quickly, and I was surprised that it all ended, but then we forward on another couple of months to see yet another group of teenagers all heading up to one of the guy's parent's cabin. This group of teenagers runs into the brother of one of the girls who originally went missing (the brother is Sam in Supernatural). He is trying to find his sister, but the group just blow him off and head up to the cabin. Here another round of slaughtering takes places and basically continues until they find the sister, still alive in the cabin where Jason still lives.

So, what was the movie like? I'm not really a fan of teenage, slasher movies, so I don't think I was ever going to love this one, remake or not. It just feels as if everything follows the same old rules:

1.) NEVER have sex.
2.) NEVER drink
3.) NEVER take drugs. (I'm sure I've just plagiarised a Scream movie here...)

As long as you stay clean and sober, keep your clothes on, and be kind to the main protagonist, you're pretty much safe, and in Friday the 13th nothing really changes. I just find it all so obvious and finding inventive ways of dismembering teenagers simply doesn't do it for me! Where's the originality??? There were a couple of good scenes. One where Jason is in the basement below two of the teenagers and stabs a knife up through the floor, did admittedly have me on the edge of my seat.

To be honest, the best part of this movie was seeing Sam, from Supernatural. I love the brothers from the show and probably would have been better off just watching re-runs of that!

A dissapointing, Something Wicked 4/10

Hey -- Is That Sookie Stackhouse in Scream 4?!?!?

2011-01-23T09:56:00.002-06:00

When we did our movies that we were looking forward to in 2011, someone mentioned Scream 4. The original movie, Scream, remains one of my all-time favorite scare flicks -- confession here -- after I saw it in the theater, I had to sleep with the lights on! That initial scene with Drew Barrymore freaked me out!!!

I love the trilogy, and I'm excited that there will be a 4th installment. Of course, seeing all the young actresses in it makes me feel a bit old (I was once in the young, hip generation ;-), but Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette are all back, as well as some good new faces.

Check out the trailer!

Movie Review -- Devil (2010)

2011-01-17T07:00:00.000-06:00

I know I'm going to totally go out on a limb here and risk a bunch of tomatoes and lettuce being thrown at me when I say this: I like M. Night Shyamalan's movies. I even liked The Village and The Happening. ***arms up, ducks***

Whew, okay, that wasn't so bad *dusting off clothes*. So, when I had the chance to watch this little flick about a group of strangers stuck in an elevator, one of whom happens to be the Devil, I couldn't resist.

Now, this film was written and produced by M. Night, but it wasn't directed by him. It's part of a program he's doing where he's giving young directors their chance to put his scripts into action. And I have to say that John Eric Dowdle did a pretty good job.

The movie starts off with a suicide -- a man jumps through a top-floor window and plummets, only to have his body land atop a delivery truck. Because the truck was moved, it takes Detective Bowden a little time to connect the dead man with the building, in which five strangers have inexplicably become trapped in an elevator.

Being trapped in an elevator is bad enough, but the horror is upped even more by the fact that the lights will flash and go out; people get hurt, and soon, alot sooner than what would normally happen -- everyone is on each other's nerves, tensions are high, and panic ensues as people just want the building maintenance crew to get them the eff out of there!

Especially when the deaths occur. Yes -- the lights go out, and one by one, people start dying, until there are only two survivors left. Of course, as is typical with M. Night movies, there's a deeper meaning here, a mythology about the devil explained by one of the security guards who watches the surveillance cameras. We learn that each of the people in the elevator has secrets, shady pasts. The detective himself has his own sad history, for which he gains closure at the end.

I don't want to say too much more because that would spoil it, but suffice it to say that I thought this movie was very suspenseful, unpredictable, creepy and scary in all the right places. It's not very long, only 1 hour 20 minutes, so if you like M. Night movies, this is definitely worth a watch!

True Blood, Season Three!

2011-01-14T04:18:00.000-06:00

So I am as giddy as a school girl today cause here in the UK, Season Three of True Blood hits FX tonight! Hurrah!

I've feel as if I've been waiting ages to watch the new series and I can't wait to see what they got in store for us. I know you guys in the States have had it for a while (and have probably even finished it by now) but I've been trying to avoid hearing what happens this season.

I've read most of the Charlaine Harris books and I know which book I really hope Season Three follows, and that's Dead to the World. Boy, I loved that book. Anything with huge amounts of Eric in it sits well with me and that book was hot! To be honest, as long as the storyline has lots of Eric in it, I will be happy!

So how have you guys over the pond been enjoying it? I've heard from some people that its even better than Season Two.

Priest Trailer!!!

2011-01-12T07:26:00.003-06:00

I'd like to thank Everlost over at Vampire News for bringing this to my attention: the trailer for the movie, Priest, featuring Paul Bettany and Karl Urban (double yum there! ;-)

It's a bit more steampunk/Underworld-ish than I thought it would be, which I'm not sure is a good thing. But I'll still be going to see it, Bettany fan that I am!

Exciting Times!!!

2011-01-11T14:51:00.000-06:00

So, in addition to James's novel which is now out in paperback, Marissa and I are both published on Kindle!

Marissa has an anthology of short stories called Where the Dead Live, featuring three tales:

A woman finds her compulsion to cut takes her to a place more horrifying than she could ever imagine...

A young couple discover there is something strange living in their greenhouse... At the hands of a vampire, a stripper finds out there is more to life than death.... They can be downloaded for Kindle devices (including Kindle iPhone apps) right here for the low low price of $.99!

My own tale, Egypt, 1906, features the same brother-sister vampire protagonists as my novel, Release. Set at the turn of the last century, Mirrie and Cray are in for quite a surprise when they encounter something older than the pyramids... Check it out right here, for $.99.

30 Days of Night ~ Review

2011-01-05T08:46:00.000-06:00

As an Alaskan town prepares to say goodbye to the sun for thirty days, strange things start to happen around town. All of the town's cell phones are found, burnt out, and a team of huskies are killed.
The town's Sheriff, Eben Olsen (Josh Hartnett) investigates and, as the town is plunged into darkness, he finds that dead dogs are the least of his problems. The town is cut off from phone and Internet access, and then power, and people start showing up dead.
The town turns to chaos in a matter of hours, leaving only a small survivor group, led by Eben and his estranged wife, Stella (Melissa George) to try to save the one's left..

I loved the premise of the movie, and had a ‘I wish I’d thought of that’ moment when I realised what it was about. I almost wondered why it hadn’t been done before—of course vampires in a place where the sun doesn’t come up is a great idea!

These are scary vampires. They have their own language and are clearly intelligent. They are also set about to slaughter the whole town in a matter of days. I think it would have beenbetter for the upsurge of the vampires to have taken a little longer. It all seemed very sudden and I think playing it out over a longer period would have helped make right some of the other aspects of the movie that didn't seem plausible.
I would have liked to have seen a bit more about the other survival aspects going on. The thirty days seem to pass very quickly and despite having virtually no power, they don’t seem to have to worry about running water, food, or anything like that.

Also, I think a gang of vampires would probably be able to root out a group of humans, hiding out in a small town within a few days, a week at the most. The writer tried to get round this fact by claiming that the advantage that the humans had was that they knew the town. Josh Hartenett's character says 'why do we live out here? Because no one else can,' which made me laugh. I mean, why the heck would anyone want to live out there? Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!

But Josh Hartnett's character was quite easy to watch, and overall I did enjoy the movie. I'm not going to rave over it, but it's a solid enough vampire horror and worth a watch if there is nothing better on!

Inception (2010): Review by Marissa and Nicole!

2011-01-02T03:48:00.006-06:00

Over the holiday breaks, both Marissa and I got the chance to see Inception. I Facebooked that it was really very good, and Marissa responded that she was just writing a review for it, so we decided to do a joint review.

What's Inception about? Well, uhmmm -- that's a bit of a tough one!

Nicole--Basically, it takes place in our world, maybe a bit into the future, where technology exists to enter into people's dreams. Remember that movie, Dreamscape (yes, I love it -- 80's and Dennis Quaid!)? A bit like that, only with way better special effects, and a subplot involving Leonardo di Caprio that is really very moving and touching.

Marissa--Inception is the process of planting a thought in someone's head. The difficulty is that true inspiration is very hard to manipulate. Somehow, whoever has had the idea, must believe it to be their own...

Nicole--Okay, so, Leo stars as Cobb, a man who is an expert at entering people's dreams and manipulating them. He used to be a dream architect -- he would create the world in another's mind/dream, but he's lost that ability since the death of his wife, Mol (Marion Cotillard), for which he is blamed and consequently is living abroad as a fugitive.

Saito (Ken Watanabe) comes to Cobb with a proposition that Cobb can't refuse -- Saito can fix it so that Cobb can return to his children in the US, no questions asked, no arrests made, if Cobb can do the toughest job of all -- plant an idea so deep into someone's subconscious, that they won't suspect it's not their own idea.

Apparently, the heir to a large corporate conglomerate, Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy) must be his own man and break up his dad's empire, otherwise, really bad things will happen. But how to do this? Get into his subconscious and implant an idea -- an inception.

To do this, Cobb needs a team. There's his right-hand-man, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the forger, Eames (Thomas Hardy) who will pretend to be a close, trusted friend (Peter Browning played by Tom Berenger) in the dream, the chemist, Yusuf (Dileep Rao) in charge of putting everyone to sleep and keeping them there long enough to affect what needs to be done, and the architect, Ariadne (Ellen Page) who designs the world in Fischer's dream.

What follows is a visually stunning mind-bender with enough twists and tension to keep you watching, all 2.5 hours of it. The team must accomplish their task by doing a dream within a dream within a dream -- something that's never been done before. It's especially dangerous because Mol, although dead, haunts Cobb's psyche and there's always the threat that she'll sabotage the mission. Another threat -- Fischer has apparently trained his subconscious against dream invaders such as these, so the team gets attacked at each dream level.

Marissa--If they die in the dream, they live in real life, but if they are too deep (for example, in a dream within a dream) they may end up lost in the dream world, wandering around a type of purgatory, believing that their dream life is real. This can also happen if a person spends too long in a dream world they have built, particularly if they have used parts of their 'real world' in their dream. To try to combat this they each have to carry around a type of talisman, something only they will know the real weight and feel of. If the object behaves in the way they expect, then they know they are in the real world.

Time in a dream also behaves differently. In a dream time is longer than in real life, for example, an hour in real life (sleeping) can feel like eight hours during the dream itself. When they go into a dream within a dream, this become exponential, so that several layers down, what is actually only a few hours in the real world, can feel like years.

Nicole--I remember when my friend, Samantha, was in architecture school and she told me that she had to watch The Matrix in class -- again. I see why. This film explores the concept of building a world and the use of space, all in someone's mind.

The team approach reminded me a bit of the TV show, Leverage, and I have to say that everyone turns in fantastic performances, especially Tom Hardy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (so nice to see he made the jump from child actor to successful adult actor).

Marissa--I struggled with the first half hour of the movie. At first I just thought 'oh no, this is going to be a huge dissapointment', but as soon as Ariadne (Ellen Page) enters the movie, it all kind of comes together and really picks up pace. From that point on the visual effects are really quite stunning and I wish I had seen it in the cinema to get the full effect.

Nicole--The personal struggle that Cobb faces regarding the death of his wife and being away from his family is particularly emotional, which does very well in this movie which otherwise could have been completely taken-over by all the action.

All in all, it's Leverage meets The Fugitive meets Dreamscape meets The Matrix, and I have to say that it started off a bit fast and jumpy for my tastes, but then it settled down and got really, really good, such that I will highly recommend it.

Marissa--Inception had huge hype behind it and was worth every word. It also tipped for the Oscars and I'm sure it will walk away with several. Definitely one to watch.

ETA: Just found out that esteemed British actor, Pete Postlethwaite, who portrayed Cillian Murphy's father in the movie Inception (one of his last roles), has passed away of cancer. Mr. Postlethwaite had quite the illustrious career as you can see on IMDB. I first remember seeing him in Brassed Off -- he stole scenes from Ewan MacGregor (not easy to do, mind you!), and was most recently in the Clash of the Titans remake. RIP Mr. Postlethwaite.

Movies to watch out for in 2011...

2010-12-30T14:33:00.001-06:00

Here at Something Wicked we decided to get together and let you all know what movies we're looking forward to in 2011. So we've each picked a movie to watch out for...

Fright Night from Nicole Hadaway:

I cannot wait until October 2011, when Fright Night hits theaters!

Don't get me wrong; I'm not wishing this year away at all. Quite frankly, there are many times I wish the calendar had a 'pause' button, as time seems to move more quickly the older -- er better I get ;-)
But, if there's one movie I'm anxiously awaiting in 2011, it's the Fright Night remake. Why, you may ask? Because the original, out in 1985 when I was but 12 years old, set my imagination soaring with regards to the vampire genre. It's been in my mind ever since -- quite honestly, it's my all-time favorite vampire movie. Ever. Even surpassing The Lost Boys, and I saw that like, 5 times in the theater when it was out ;-)

I'll admit -- when I first heard they were re-making Fright Night, I was totally, completely, and utterly opposed to it. How could they take something so sacred?! Would they ruin it?! Look at what they did to The Day the Earth Stood Still or Halloween or Nightmare on Elm Street? Can't they pick some original material and make a new movie out of that (see any one of Vamplit Publishing's novels ;-)

However, the idea grew on me, especially when I heard the cast. Colin Farrell as Jerry Dandridge. David Tennant as the Peter Vincent character. Yum Yum! Anton Yelchin looks perfect for the part of Charlie, and I think that Toni Collette will really make Charlie's mom into something a bit more than just neurotic comic-relief. (Oh, and Toni Collette is my age. How did I go from being 12 to being the movie Mom?! Just sayin' about time....).

The only reservation I have is Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Evil Ed. I mean, Stephen Geoffreys MADE that role, and it was one of the best in the movie. I would have dated Evil, with his spikey hair and Members Only jacket. Not that I don't like Mintz-Plasse, don't get me wrong, but he's a bit too dorky. Geoffreys made dorky into something cool, and I'm not sure Mintz-Plasse can pull it off.

But I'm more than willing to give it a go, especially with Tennant all dressed up like a mind-freak magician Will this one surpass the original in my opinion, probably not -- it's hard to let go of something that's been in your fiber since you were 12 (and are now only slightly older than 21 ;-). But I am looking forward to Halloween this year, and not just for dressing up!

The Woman in Black, from Marissa Farrar:

I really struggled to decide on which movie to go for as my most anticipated for 2011. There are so many I may need to write a separate blog piece for them. I also hate to say that The Woman in Black is also a remake (please go back and re-read Nicole's rant) to prevent me repeating myself, but the 1989 movie wasn't a big hit. I went to see this play in London and it was by far one of the creepiest things I have ever seen, and the book is also up there in my top scary books. It is a classic ghost story, and, when done well, nothing beats it in my mind.

The story follows a young lawyer, Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe), who is ordered to travel to a remote village and sort out a recently deceased client’s papers. As he works alone in the client’s isolated house he begins to uncover tragic secrets. The then starts to see glimpses of a freaky woman dressed only in black. Kipps is forced to uncover the true identity of the Woman in Black on his own, leading to a desperate race against time when he discovers her true identity.

From the pictures so far, it looks like they've nailed the look of it. Daniel ‘Potter’ Radcliffe plays the lawyer, which I am not too sure about. I'm not a particular Harry potter fan and fear he may have been type-cast. If he does a good job in this, I'm sure I will change my opinion.

Filmed in the UK, with a release date of 28 October 2011, The Woman in Black is definitely one to look out for!

The Adjustment Bureau from James Garcia Jr:

In spring 2011, Matt Damon stars in a film about a man who glimpses his future, but realizes that he wants to choose a different path. Attempting to stop him is an entity which seeks to stop him at all cost. It also stars Emily Blunt and Terence Stamp. It is based on a Philip K. Dick story, the writer who inspired Blade Runner, Total Impact and Minority Report.

According to the official website, "(Damon's character) learns he is up against the agents of fate itself - the men of The Adjustment Bureau - who will do everything in their considerable power to prevent (Damon and Blunt) from being together. In the face of overwhelming odds, he must either let her go and accept a predetermined path...or risk everything to defy fate and be with her".

A view of the official trailer shows that this film has a bit if everything; romance, intrigue, drama and what I refer to as a "creep factor" that keeps the audience at the edge of their seats. And to think I would have gone just for Emily Blunt.

Black Swan from Jevron McCrory:

This movie technically is already out in the US (typical me, always breaking the rules) but as it's yet to grace British shores, I figured it could feature as my choice in this little round up.

I have to say, I wasn't altogether interested in the movie when I first heard about it. Ballet? No thanks. Darren Aronofsky? I've not been impressed with his work so far, despite the rave reviews. Vincent Cassel? His choice of roles is always controversial, and so on...

...but the achingly beautiful and wonderfully talented Natalie Portman in her first horror film? I'm not passing this up!

From what I've gathered, (I'm staying away from spoilers) Black Swan is the simple story of a ballet dancer whom, while trying to compete with a fellow performer, pushes herself deeper into a role that requires darkness beyond which she's ever experienced.

Over the course of the film, which will utilise fright fest imagery, nightmare visions, hallucinatory scenes and (apparently) some truly squeamish bloody moments, The Black Swan character of the title consumes the main character till reality takes a back seat and personality is brutally forsaken.

The trailer looks great, the reviews from the horror fan base have been surprisingly praising and, well, I love horror films. Come on, Natalie Portman in a horror film? It's about time if you ask me!

(Oh and apparently there's a lesbian love scene in there somewhere but I wouldn't know anything about that.....)

So there you have it guys--our ones to watch out for in 2011? Is anyone else out there really looking forward to a 2011 movie? Which one's should have made the top of our choices? Be sure to let us know!

The Moment You've All Been Waiting For...

2010-12-28T12:18:00.000-06:00

At least, we at Something Wicked have been waiting for it -- the release, in PAPERBACK, of James Garcia Jr.'s novel, Dance On Fire!!!!!!!

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can buy it right here!! It's 9.99 British Sterling Pounds plus 2 pounds shipping and handling -- please don't ask me to translate that into dollars, but it's really quite a good deal! So hop on over to Vamplit Publishing and purchase one today -- makes a great after-Christmas gift, New Year's gift, or just all 'round treat for anyone!!

Zombieland (2009): Review

2010-12-26T13:08:00.000-06:00

There is no denying that zombies are big business at the moment. I am going to go out on a limb and say that Zombies will be for 2011 what vampires were for 2009.
I love all things 'zombie'. There is something about the post-apocalyptic world, survival, and of course the horror, that just speaks to me. The only problem with zombie movies is that it is difficult to keep them fresh (the movies, not the zombies).

Zombieland is a 'good feel' zombie movie, if such a thing is possible. Starring Jessie Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, and with a really random guest spot by Bill Murray (playing himself).
Here's the 'blurb':
Zombies have taken over America and a shy and inexperienced college student in Texas has survived by following his 30 rules: such as "look in the back seat," "shoot twice," "avoid public restrooms." He decides to travel to Ohio to see if his parents are alive. He gets a ride with Woody Harrelson, the Twinkie-loving, zombie-hating Tallahassee. They head for Florida, and soon they confront a young woman whose sister has been bitten by a zombie and wants to be put out of her misery. The sisters are headed to an LA amusement park they've heard is zombie free, but they are not what they seem and soon the sisters become more trouble than the zombies.
Jessie Eisenberg has a tendency to play the same characters; it's almost as if he is simply transplanting himself into each different movie (geeky, yet kind of cool guy somehow gets the hot girl), but he's always enjoyable to watch and Zombieland is no different. It has a cool comedy slant--starting with the 'rules' he lives by, such as 'cardio', cause the zombies always get the fat ones first! But really it is Woody Harrelson's part that makes the movie. It's impossible not to buy into his character, as nutty as he is!

My only real complaint is that I did find it got a bit slow in parts. I would rather there had been more zombie action and less romance, but that is just my personal preference, and I'm sure a lot of people would find the romance element makes the movie.
If you liked Shaun of the Dead, and Severence, you'll love Zombieland.
Something Wicked 7.5/10

The House on Blackstone Moor

2010-12-22T02:00:00.002-06:00

"I stared at the closed door for a long time. I remember feeling so many emotions: sadness, upset, grief, fear but most of all dread.
"Yes dread and fear are different. Dread is beyond fear I think. Dread knows fear was correct in the first place. Dread just intends to sit and wait for the worst to happen, which will happen, because dread, if nothing else, is sure of itself.
"So what did I dread? The answer is a great many things, but mostly I dreaded the future."

I just bought and devoured an incredible novel by one of my newest friends across the blogosphere. It is entitled, "The House on Blackstone Moor", published by Vamplit Publishing, and it was written by the immensely talented Carole Gill.

I had been looking forward to this release just as soon as I had heard about it. Having read a short story or two of hers, I anticipated how dark it might be. Little did I know. In a day when vampires and other paranormal characters are seemingly coming out of the woodwork, mine being one of them, this epic work takes a bit of vampirism, demons, magic, action and romance, and takes them all into a dark place.

I will allow the official blurb from Vamplit to speak for itself:

They say my father was mad, so corrupted by evil and tainted by sin that he did what he did. I came home to find them all dead; their throats savagely cut. My sisters only five and eight were gone as well as my brother who was twelve. My mother too lay butchered in her marriage bed. The bed her children were born in.

I discovered him first, in the sitting room, floating on a sea of crimson, the bloody razor still clutched in his hand.

How pitiful I must have looked, bent down trying to wake him. Calling to him over and over: “Papa please, please wake up!”

He could not waken of course. No more was he to open his eyes, not in this world, had I not been struck mad I would have realized.

Yet madness is sometimes a mercy when shadows come to take the horror away. Please do not pull away in terror, please. I have much to confess. Just be patient, for I promise I will tell you everything. The only thing I ask in return is for you not to judge me until you hear my entire story…”

So begins a tale of vampirism, madness, obsession and devil worship as Rose Baines, only survivor of her family’s carnage, tells her story.

Fragile and badly damaged by the tragedy, she obtains a position as governess at a desolate house on the haunted moors where demons dwell.

The house and the moors have hideous secrets and yet there is love too; deep, abiding and eternal…but it comes with a price, the loss of her soul.

Earlier I used the word "epic" and this novel is nothing short. It may not have been as long as Stephen King's, "The Stand"; however, by the time the reader has gone from the abattoir that was the Baines home to the insane asylum to Blackstone Moor and beyond, they will feel that they have truly gone on a grand adventure. In order to accomplish this, perhaps the most important skill is pacing. One of the more impressive qualities of this work is exactly that. Gill takes us in many directions, providing many traumatic twists and terrible turns, but while she does this, we are neither bored nor rushed.

In poorer efforts, characters come and go simply to drive the plot or to be fed to the antagonist, but in this, they are tangible and vital, and when they are gone, not only do we miss them, but they remain with us as well. And none more so than Rose Baines and Louis Darton. When the tale has been told you will find that every one of them, even the minor ones, were fashioned so well that you will swear that you could picture every bit of them. They were that well-crafted.

If you like your novels dark, then you have most definitely come to the right place because you are about to witness hell on earth. From ancient sacrifices to present-day devil worship and blood and sex rituals, you will find yourself transported through every possible waking nightmare as Rose escapes one, only to find herself trapped in another. There were places even I wasn't prepared for, but I continued on, as you will as well. If you are troubled easily, then you had better prepare yourself.

Carole Gill and I and Marissa and Nicole are writers in the same Publishing House, yes. But she has really done something special here, and I'm not just saying that because I call her friend. Her Rose is a well-written character that you will find yourself rooting for as she is thrown into places found only between heaven and hell, and caught between the constant battle of good versus evil where the only losers tend to be the poor souls caught between.

"The House on Blackstone Moor" can be found on Smashwords.com.

Movie Review -- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 1

2010-12-18T08:00:00.000-06:00

Yes, we here at Something Wicked are actually reviewing a Harry Potter film. However, for those of you following the series, you know that it's come a long way from being a children's book/movie -- indeed, this last installment is very dark and deep, meant for a more mature audience than the original book in the series.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

I typically don't review films and give spoilers, but in this one, I just can't help myself. So if you've not read the book (or really any of them), then don't read this review (but bookmark this page and come back once you have read the books, okay? ;-)

The Harry Potter series is very interesting in this regard -- it grew and matured as its readers did, turning from something about a boy who finds out he's a wizard into an examination of how humans deal with death.

Because the Deathly Hallows is more than just the final Voldemort/Harry face-off; it's about losing loved ones, wanting them back, and wanting to escape one's own mortality, to become a master of death so that death cannot control you, but you control it.

We've lost people in other Potter novels, starting with Cedric Diggory in #4 (who was re-incarnated in a another series as a vampire ;-), Sirius Black in #5, and Dumbledore in #6, and in Book 7, we lose alot more. ALOT more. One of the deaths that affected me the most, and you can laugh at this, was the very first death in the book -- I actually had to close the book and collect myself when it happened.

Because I named one of my cats after Harry's owl, and when Hedwig died in the book, well -- you know how it is when pets die. The fact that my own Hedwig passed away this summer made watching the scene on screen doubly hard, but at least the filmmakers gave Hedwig a more heroic ending than in the novel.

Overall, it's a great film. Really. I gave up on watching the films after #3 when the movie failed to explain the significance Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs -- they showed Harry's patronus being a stag, but with out the explanation of who Prongs was, it had no meaning in the movie (and I LOVED that part in the book). Goblet of Fire was okay -- when I watched it, I told myself it wasn't going to be a faithful rendering of the novel, so that made it better. I actually skipped movies 5 and 6.

Seven, however, I think because they split it into two films, really hits the mark. There are some slow scenes, but to be honest, the book had slow scenes (when they were all camping in the tent -- it reminded me of Sam and Frodo's trek to Mordor in The Two Towers. Very.Long.). The movie does a good job speeding things up, and the action scenes are brilliant.

You can see that the actors have matured -- they're not just kids on the screen doing what they're told to do, but real actors conveying emotions of desperate situations. And I just love Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange.

It was also good to see the film because when I read the novel, I blew through it to get to the end to see what happened (oh don't look at me like that -- you did too! ;-). This time around, I got to see some important scenes fleshed out which helps me better understand how wand-ology works.

Overall, if you're a huge Potter novel fan but haven't always enjoyed the movie adaptations -- go see this one, you won't be disappointed!!

The Walking Dead—from the British perspective.

2010-12-15T11:16:00.001-06:00

The first thing I knew about The Walking Dead was the casting. I heard an interview on Radio One with Andrew Lincoln (whose real name is ‘Clutterbuck—who the hell could blame him for changing that!), who plays Rick. Many of us will know and love him from brilliant shows This Life and Teachers. He claimed he only got the part because when he went for the audition his baby was only a matter of a few weeks old and he hadn’t slept for forever! He said he must have looked like a survivor of a zombie apocalypse so they had to give him the part. With a young baby myself, I had to laugh!

Rick does a good job of playing an American—I never doubt his accent, and believe me, I’m listening for it! His wife annoyed me a bit, especially when she started having a go at Rick’s best friend, and the guy she is sleeping with, Shane. She’s like, ‘it’s okay that I start sleeping with you even though my husband has only been dead a matter of weeks’, but then when Rick comes back and she treats poor Shane like the enemy because Shane claimed Rick was dead when he tried to get him. Considering it wasn’t like she went to get Rick herself, and the world was over run by zombies, I don’t think she has a leg to stand on. No one forced her to start sleeping with her dead husband best friend after only a couple of weeks of him being dead! Talk about ungrateful!

Anyway, rant over…

Like Nicole, the one part I didn’t like was with the horse. Poor thing was quite happily eating grass in his field and got cagouled out with promises of meeting other horses, only to get eaten about ten minutes later! I also found the parts where they sat around talking to be a bit of a bore compared to the zombie parts, though they do help to build up the characters and their relationships.

But despite these small things, I’ve loved the series. I am a big zombie fan—28 Days Later is up there in my favourite horror movies. I also love anything ‘end of the world-y’ so this series just hit all my buttons. I thought the tension in the final episode was brilliant (despite the explosion being a little unrealistic!) and I can’t wait to see what happens to them all next.

And the best part is that there is going to be a second series! Hurrah! Let’s hope they can keep it fresh.

The Walking Dead -- Recap by Nicole

2010-12-13T08:41:00.000-06:00

So, last Sunday night was the season finale of The Walking Dead, the new series that debuted this fall on AMC (here in the States). We at Something Wicked had to wait a week to do our recap as our friends across the Pond had to wait until Friday to find out how the series wrapped up.

I have to say, it was pretty satisfying. I'm going to try to review this with as little spoilers as possible, but suffice it to say, that a few may leak out so beware.

I wasn't going to watch this series because I'm kind of zombie-d out. They don't really draw me like vampires or werewolves, and unless the movies look hysterically funny (Shawn of the Dead, Zombieland), I'm likely at this point to skip it because the zombie market seems to be saturated at the moment.

Oh, and another reason I wasn't going to watch the series -- in the previews, I saw Rick riding a horse into the city and just knew the horse was going to "get it". And I really can't stand to watch animals meet their demise at the mouths of zombies. Why is this? Because I've never met a horse who deserved such a scary end. I've met some people, however.... (oh come on, you have too! ;-)

Okay, so The Walking Dead basically involves the interactions between a group of survivors who have made it out of the city of Atlanta after the outbreak of some zombie virus. Another blogger pointed this out and it's kind of funny -- the show refers to zombies as "Walkers", not as "zombies". Why wouldn't they just call them zombies?

Anyway, it's very character-driven, with the protagonist Rick mainly likable (except when he made the decision to go back into the city to rescue Merle, Daryl's brother. And yes, I kept wishing Daryl's brother would end up as zombie fodder, but such was not the case). His wife is fairly likable, despite the fact that she succumbs to a temptation in light of all the stress, and his best friend is a good leader while Rick is thought to be dead.

I found the sisterly bonding between Andrea and Amy to be particularly touching -- that's really why you're watching zombie fare, to see how the characters will interact and develop in the wake of the zombie aftermath. The two sisters are about 10 years apart, and when they realize their father taught them different ways to fish, according to each sister's personality, well it's a very good scene. Along the way they become friends with a man, Dale, who's a bit of a cynic, but ends up becoming a type of father-figure to the girls.

I'm not going to re-cap the entire series -- too much went on -- but just to say that Rick was in a coma when the disease hit, was left in a hospital while his best friend (and fellow cop) took Rick's wife and son out of the city, meeting up with other survivors who set up a camp on the outskirts of town near a rock quarry with a lake.

I mainly liked the series because you just didn't know where it was going -- there were an assortment of characters, none of whom really fit any stereotype, so their actions were unpredictable. The series moved slowly at times, though this didn't detract in the least from the story -- in fact, it only added to the suspense, keeping you on the edge of your seat to see what would happen next, and it typically wasn't what you thought it would be.

In one scene, the camp is enjoying a very nice, happy dinner, with everyone laughing, and a sense of calm was over the camp. You thought that one thing was going to happen -- but it didn't -- something entirely different did, and wow!

Is The Walking Dead a perfect series? Probably not, but it had enough going so that I really didn't notice any glaring flaws and thoroughly enjoyed it -- something I didn't think I would. Highly recommended to those who like character-driven tales of survival. And people who like zombies ;-)

In the aftermath of a zombie invasion, you're really watching the human survivors deal with the situation an

Guest blogging about the horror genre...

2010-12-10T09:43:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone,
I'm guest blogging about my choice of genres over at Suzanne Johnson's blog, Preternatura, today.
http://suzanne-johnson.blogspot.com/2010/12/dark-genres-with-author-marissa-farrar.html
I really hopoe you'll stop by and say 'hi'. If you leave me a comment, you'll also be in with the chance of winning your choice of one of my novels!

Marissa.

Stay Tuned for The Walking Dead recap later this week!

2010-12-07T11:50:00.000-06:00

The Walking Dead finished up over here in the States, but as our across-the-pond friends have yet to see the finale, we're waiting until the weekend to do our analysis.

All I'll say is that it was an amazing ep, as usual, and satisfying in the end.

So, stay tuned to this page for our wrap-up, speculations, and general commentary.

Thanks guys -- have a great week!

Splice (2009) -- Review

2010-12-05T10:44:00.010-06:00

Two scientists, Clive Nicoli (Adrien Brody) and Elsa Kast (Sarah Polley), who are also lovers, are combining the genomes of different creatures, to produce whole new organisms. When they are told they must stop their ground-breaking experiments as they are not producing enough money the decide to experiment in secret, using the human genome. But the creature they make grows at a remarkable rate, and quickly the experiment gets out of control.

This movie was different to what I thought it would be, and that surprised me. I imagined it to be a typical 'creature feature' where the thing the scientists produced would be some kind of horrific, grotesque creature out to slaughter them all.

Instead, the creature, who they name Dren, is almost human. Though she starts off looking like a cross between a chicken and a naked-mole rat, she develops as a foetus would, only outside of the womb. She has an accelerated growth rate and quickly develops into an almost normal child, and then into adulthood.

The most interesting part of the movie was the relationship between Dren and the two scientists. They take on the role of the parents, and she the child, though obviously she is a totally different species. When she reaches adulthood she is actually quite beautiful, and then the troubles of jealousy between Dren and Elsa start.

I really liked how Dren was portrayed, so although I knew she was dangerous, I couldn't help feeling sorry for her. She isn't a monster, just a badly treated creature who has thoughts and feelings just like any of us. Of course, knowing the way the movie was going to go, her sweet nature doesn't last.

I enjoyed this movie and would recommend it. It's a good, solid cross over sci-fi/horror movie and it was done with more thought and care than I originally gave it credit for.

Something Wicked 7/10

THE LOST BOYS

2010-12-03T19:33:00.003-06:00

A Review of a Cult Classic

By Jevron McCrory

Released in the decade of the commercial vampire (the 1980's welcomed in a slew of vampire flicks), The Lost Boys went brashly head to head at the box office with the introspective soul searching Near Dark, and emerged from the oh-so-brief skirmish with hardly a scratch, victorious by a wide and bloody margin. Whereas opinions differ on which of the two is the superior vampire tale, The Lost Boys's style, elegance and wit has never been questioned (or even challenged) and, like Near Dark, it has transcended box office success to become an all time cult classic, and rightfully so.

Taking a love of the old school vampire films and infusing them with an energy and passion that is undeniably modern (at least for the time), The Lost Boys spins a tale about teenage leather wearing, motorcycle riding vampires that cruise the beaches and boardwalks of the quiet coastal Californian town Santa Carla (a fictional town Santa Cruz stood in for).

Drawn uncontrollably to the local siren Star (an illuminous Jami Gertz), new local Michael Emerson (Jason Patric) soon finds himself amongst the gang, at times sparring back and forth with the gang's charasmatic and self assured leader David (a brutal and blinding Kiefer Sutherland at his career defining best) and others, dangling from railway lines, racing through the surf at lethal speeds and drinking from strange ornamental bottles. Not long after, Michael begins to notice changes in himself, like his sudden irritation to sunlight, his ability to scold himself from freezing cold water (a scene from the first draft of the script, criminally omitted from the movie) and his new and frightening talent to defy the laws of gravity. While his younger brother Sam (Corey Haim) falls in with his own crowd, the monotone and serious (and all the more comical for it) Frog Brothers, (also involved with vampires from an entirely different standpoint), begins to sort the pieces of his own puzzle out, the two come together to fathom what indeed they are dealing with and whether the seemingly insurmountable odds can be overcome. Uniting against a common enemy, the brothers, Star and the Frogs, self confessed vampire killers, take on David and his gang with violent, surprisingly funny and at times, startling consequences.

One of the simplest and most accurate reasons for The Lost Boys's brilliance is the remarkable blend of film, music, horror, comedy and drama utilised by director Joel Schumacher. Cleverly enough, Schumacher realised that the key to the whole project was style and he drenches the film in it. From the 'distinctive' opening helicoptor crawl across the blue/black waters of the Californian ocean headed towards an inviting boardwalk, literally buzzing with 'life' to the silohettes of the bikes racing through fog shrouded forests, from the vibrancy and humour of the concert staged boardwalk to the disturbingly real and sickeningly violent infamous campfire scene (where the film really ups the ante), The Lost Boys is literally the most stylish and downright cool vampire flick in motion picture history.

The music, as much a character in the film as the mortal and immortal roles, compliments the on screen action with the accuracy of a narrator, editing the scenes together with a polish and finesse that is miserably lacking in Schumacher's later work. The violence, when it does happen, is shocking and sudden, clearly stating that though humour is near enough always present, these vampires will not be satisfied with just the jugular. This is murder at it's most nonchalant, an inevitable vocation for vampires approached with all the enthusiasm and gusto a teenager could muster and all the more disturbing for it. Performances are sterling from all involved, supporting the fantastic Sutherland with ease and the effects are handled with just the right amount of delicacy, never intruding or stifling the flow of the quick paced narrative.

The final result is a movie that could well be the best advertisement for vampirism the world has seen. Since viewing the film at the tender and highly influential age of twelve, I have since watched The Lost Boys more times than I have the courage to admit and it rightfully sits in my top five of the greatest movies ever made.

If you are a vampire fan, then you should be staked through the heart if you haven't already experienced The Lost Boys.

FreE-Book Friday on The Dandridge Estate!!

2010-12-03T08:25:00.000-06:00

Okay, first off, don't miss Marissa's post below on The Uninvited (2008). I'd not heard of this movie and it sounds like it's well worth the scare!

Just wanted to drop you guys a line and say that FreE-Book Friday is on over at The Dandridge Estate, and this week I'm giving away a free download of Grave Echoes by author Erin Cole. If you like supernatural mysteries, this book is for you!

The Uninvited (2008)--not the 1944 one, or the Korean Remake!

2010-12-02T02:26:00.005-06:00

Lee(Marguerite Moreau—Lestat’s girlfriend in Queen of the Damned) suffers from a rare disorder. She cannot look into wide spaces, but not only open fields etc, she cannot even stand to look at a room, instead has to face a wall at all times and uses her hair to stop her peripheral vision. In therapy she blames the start of her phobia from a point where she was looking into the bedroom window of her childhood friend, only to see a strange old woman leaning over his bed. When the old woman turned and smiled at her, all the breath fell out of her body , and so her phobia began.

Now, years later, she has overcome her phobia, and not only that, she has married one of her therapists. But they are living in what appears to be a haunted house, and when he husband leaves for the night, all of Lee’s terrors come flooding back.

I started watching this movie while I was alone in the house, and, under the pretense of having work to do, I switched it off so I could concentrate on some writing. In truth I simply did not want to watch the movie alone! Though it has a bit of a slow start, most of the movie is seriously scary. The relapse of Lee’s condition means she can’t look around her, and in short it is as though she is blind in a haunted house. She can’t see what’s coming, and as a viewer, neither could I. The resulting tension is extreme and I found myself jumping on numerous occasions.

On top of that there is a strange old woman (something I find so creepy, I have even written a novel about it) and a crying baby. With a teething baby upstairs, it is a sound that unnerves me at the best of times.

I was amazed to find out this movie was made in 2008. For me it had the look and special effects of a much older movie, one at least twenty-years old. I don't know if this was done deliberately for the effect, or if it was just a really low budget horror.

My only real complaint was the ending. Just as things started to get a little straight, the ending just didn’t explain things enough and I as left scratching my head and thinking ‘huh?’. Though most of the movie is a bit confusing, because it has the whole 'is this real or is it just in her head' thing going on, the ending just kind of ruins it by starting to explain things, but not really doing a proper job of it.

Never-the-less, this is a really good, scary movie and a lot better than most stuff out at the moment.
7/10.

Hello Wicked Readers!!!!!!!! Let's talk TV shows, Shall We?!

2010-11-30T10:36:00.000-06:00

Hey guys -- boy, am I glad Marissa didn't delete this blog either, because it's hard to talk about everything on my new Blog, The Dandridge Estate. By the way, I'm giving free E-copies of Marissa's new best-selling (Smashwords) novel, The Dark Road. Just look at the cover -- it's gorgeous, isn't it? So stop on by and leave a comment to win!

Okay, so, after what seemed like a hiatus from TV, and some (unfortunately) short-lived vampire TV shows (Blood Ties, Moonlight), horror is back on the air I have to say that I wished ABC's Happy Town had a longer run, though AMC and Showtime have made Sunday nights very, very fun with The Walking Dead and Dexter, respectively.

I know, zombies are near saturating the market, and some people complain that there's only so much you can do with them (I mean, they don't really have personalities or anything, not like tortured vampires, evil werewolves, conflicted demons -- ya know??). But the point of zombie books/movies/shows is really how the surviving human characters deal with the loss of loved ones and the fear and danger of zombie attacks and becoming infected themselves.

I'm going to save a full-on discussion of The Walking Dead for next week, when both Marissa and I can blog about our impressions when the series wraps up this Sunday (which reminds me -- I know 28 days later was set in England, but most zombie-pocalypses happen in the US. Reasons? Comments? Is it all the hot dogs and Jerry Springer we have over here?!?!?! ;-)

Now, on to Dexter. It's a show about a guy who's a serial killer, but with this twist -- his adopted dad (a cop) raised him to take his, er, tendencies.... on -- bad guys. Guys who escaped the law due to lack of evidence, loops in the system, or they just couldn't be caught. But Dexter gets them, and I love watching every minute of it.

Yeah, it's strange to root for a guy who enjoys killing people, but he only kills bad ones, so it's got to be okay, right? ;-) I mean, he got married last season, was a good husband, stepfather, and is a great dad to his baby son. And he kills people who mess with you -- what more could a woman ask for?

This season he's helping Lumen (the always-watchable Julia Styles) deal with a terrible even that happened to her -- she was kidnapped, held hostage, and repeatedly tortured and raped by a group of guys who had done this to 12 other women. Lumen was "lucky" in a sense that she escaped -- the other victims ended up dead and dumped in barrels.

So how is Dexter helping her? Sure, he's been a good listener, but even better -- he's a man of action. He and Lumen are tracking down the bad guys, one by one, and, well.... suffice it to say it doesn't end well for the guys. But they were cruel, torturing rapists, so that makes it all okay, right?! Of course it does ;-)

In addition to Julia Styles, this season also features special guests Johnny Lee Miller (Dracula 2000) as a motivational speaker who motivates people to do questionable things, and Peter Weller (RoboCop) as a private investigator. Dexter is hot on Miller's trail, but all the while Weller has been watching Dexter and is about to spill the beans on our favorite vigilante....

This show is just so edge-of-your-seat is amazing. The character development, the plots, the lines -- humor, horror, and justice all served up just right. Sunday is the finale for this series, and I'm hoping my main man makes it to kill again next season (but only the bad guys ;-)

...And we're back!

2010-11-30T05:15:00.003-06:00

Hi everyone!
Now I know I said I was going to delete this blog, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it, and boy, am I glad I didn't. This year has definitely been a year of changes and I want to thank you all so much for your patience while we generally got our selves sorted out.
Nicole is back on track and has missed blogging and all of you guys. She has a new personal blog set up at http://dandridgehouse.blogspot.com so make sure you stop by and say hi.
But the main thing is that we're back!
We're going to be blogging all our reviews of our favourite supernatural and scary movies, books, and television shows, and we hope you'll come along for the ride!

Changes are happening…

2010-10-20T08:51:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone.

Life moves on pretty quickly and, in the short space of time Something Wicked has been going, there have been big changes in the lives of everyone involved.

Because of this I am struggling to keep up with the four blogs I am now involved in, so I am thinking of merging the Something Wicked blog in with my own personal blog. I plan to keep the name (I have always had a soft spot for Something Wicked) and I will still be posting all of my horror/paranormal movie and book reviews.

I know many of you already follow both blogs, and I thank you so much for your continued support over the past few months. For those of you who don’t know about my own blog, but have enjoyed all of the reviews, then I really hope you will hop on over to what will be the new ‘Something Wicked’ blog at www.marissa-farrar.blogspot.com and become a follower there.

The reviews will keep coming, along with things that are happening in my own world as a writer (and believe me, things are happening!).

So I am going to have a go at merging the blogs. I am not the most technical of people, so please excuse any strange or random things that may happen while I am doing this.

I hope to see you all over the other side!

The Torment (2010) – Review.

2010-10-11T05:36:00.001-05:00

The story starts with a young couple, Alex and Kate, having a normal evening in at their flat. After a long explanation about the webcam, which Alex has set up in the house to record intruders, they fall asleep on the sofa together. Alex wakes up to find Kate sleep-talking, muttering, ‘don’t open it’. Cue the doorbell! Their close friend David turns up with the explanation that his girlfriend, Sarah, has been having an affair. Feeling sorry for him, they let David stay, but it quickly unfolds that the reason for David’s harrowing state is more than just upset that his girlfriend has left him. After Alex has gone to bed, David sees something out of the window – a weird zombie creature – and he then spends the rest of the night running around with a large bottle of salt in his hand, lining salt along the doorways.

The story quickly enfolds as Alex and Kate learn of their friends fears, and several nights of haunting ensues.

The Torment is a strange movie to watch, and ultimately one I couldn’t quite decide if I liked or not! At the time of watching it I found it to be slightly annoying and frustrating, yet when I woke up the next morning I still found myself thinking about it.

So what are the reasons for my mixed thoughts? Well, the movie starts with lots of promise. It is British (always good to support British films) and is another one of the ‘wobbly-docu-type’ filming style. There is a long talk up about the web-cam, and I had thought it was going to go down the same route as Paranormal Activity, but then it just seems to get forgotten about until close to the end, and even then it is very much played down. This is a shame, and they could have made so much more of it. Instead, the first half an hour of the movie is just plain weird. Much of it is David running around, acting strange (and Alex and Kate don’t even notice he is crashing about in the middle of the night) and it isn’t until he starts sleep walking that they realise something is wrong.

A lot of the movie is filmed in near-darkness, so it is hard to see what is actually happening, except for a lot of screaming and running around. Their hysteria is a little too infectious, and Kate allows herself to be barricaded into a room with a clearly unstable David, who is sporting a very large knife, despite her not actually having seen anything for herself. In fact, the whole way through the movie she doesn’t actually see anything, yet she does not do what any normal woman would do, which would be saying to her boyfriend, ‘uh-honey, I think your friend has some serious psychological issues,’ and kicking him the hell out of there. Instead she just kind of goes along with the madness.

There are also a lot of things that were hinted at and yet left untied. There is a whole plotline about a pregnant woman upstairs (and by the way, I really think pregnant women and babies should be left alone when it comes to horror) and that the house itself might be haunted, but then this again is just kind of forgotten about.

There are some good moments, when we are actually allowed to see the monsters, they are scary! But so much of it is in darkness, that it is really difficult to see what the hell is going on, except for them all screaming like girls because the lights have gone out!

So is David a lunatic, or are the monsters real? Well, it is that question that resides through out the film. But you never know, if you can manage to get through the first bit, you just may be surprised by the ending.

Could have been so much better, but still not a bad watch. Something Wicked, 6/10

The frightening part of my DVD shelf

2010-10-08T00:01:00.001-05:00

Forgive me, dear readers, for not having blogged here in a while. Although some of the blame may be attributed to time constraints, there is yet another issue which I have been unable to rectify. I haven’t seen anything horrific in a very long while.
Back when I was a teenager, I used to watch horror movies frequently, and many times alone, which was either the best or worst way to do that, depending upon one’s point of view. These days, I would still be the only one partaking of these dark waters since my children are a bit young yet and my wife wants no part of anything scary. Yet, that's not all that holds me back. Perhaps another reason is the fact that many horror films appear to be worth the time by their trailers, only to hear later that the ending was terrible, far-fetched, contrived, whatever. In any event, although I have been meaning to choose something, anything, to watch and then hopefully blog about, I have yet to do so.
Therefore, I am going to drag you down through my DVD archives and see what might lurk there and why…

John Carpenter’s Halloween: This is a classic. I confess that I have yet to see Mr. Zombie’s remake. Feel free to convince me to sit down for this. If anyone could do it justice, I suppose it would be him. Many may say that the original looks low budget – and it is, certainly – but it is memorable in spite of the little money that the filmmakers had at their disposal and how far they got that money to go. If for nothing else, the first scene is worth your time. I believe the whole thing was done with only one edit. From the point of view of the killer’s eyes, the camera stalks the house from the outside, eventually enters the house, locates a murder weapon, commits a horrific crime, and then rushes outside again where the young Michael Myers is caught and revealed. Donald Pleasence is terrific as Doctor Loomis and Jamie Lee Curtis was good, although after so many horror films, sometimes it seemed like she was the same character in everything.

John Carpenter’s The Fog: I really like this film, but understand it has to do with my growing up with it rather than it being great. I don’t know how well it has aged. I did see the remake, but found it forgettable. I really love the suspense in the original. Once again, the budget wasn’t very big, and they squeezed what they could out of it. The film is about a small town that is visited by an old curse. The founding fathers used treachery and deceit to lure a leper colony to their town in order to steal their money. On the one hundred year anniversary they come back for it. If you haven’t seen it, but are familiar with Carpenter, than you should already know what you’ll get. It might be a bit campy to some after all of these years, but it was one of my favorites back in the day.

John Carpenter’s The Thing: I realize that this is starting to become a Carpenter love-fest, but I assure you this will be the last one. At least in horror. Escape from New York and Big Trouble in Little China round out my Carpenter favorites. The Thing once again brings that Carpenter suspense and direction that I love. I wish he would have backed off on doing the music himself. That was a nice talent that he had, but sometimes his music detracts rather than adds. In Antarctica, a group of scientists stumble upon the remains of an alien craft. Unbeknownst to them, the alien has come back with them to camp, and begins taking them one by one in a most horrific way. In my opinion, the Carpenter magic would soon run out, but this film is still very good with a great cast; many of whom one might least expect.

The Exorcist: Need I say more? This is the one film that stays with me. It is so powerful after all of these years and isn’t for the faint of heart. Inspired by true events, the film takes us on an adventure as young Regan McNeil is possessed by a demon that refuses to give her up, eventually matching up with an old adversary from the church. The effects haven’t been dated, nor has the direction or the acting.

Demon-possessed Regan: "I'm not Regan."
Father Karras: “Well, then let's introduce ourselves. I’m Damien Karras.”
Regan: “And I’m the devil. Now kindly undue these straps!”
Karras: “If you’re the devil, why don’t you make the straps disappear?”
Regan: “That’s much too vulgar a display of power, Karras.”

Dragonfly: Some may wonder why I have included this film amongst so many genuine horror films, and the reason that I did was the “creepy” factor. I love the ending of this film, and attempted to show it to my wife, but she could not sit through it because it was so creepy and suspenseful. Kevin Costner’s doctor wife and unborn child were killed accidentally while she was doing relief work in a foreign country. He was dealing with it fine until a series of signs begin to eat away at him that his beloved wife might yet be alive. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. Perhaps you’re not a Costner fan; I say give it a chance.

The Omen: This is another one of those that has been remade that I have yet to see, but the original, I think, stands the test of time. With a great cast and the great Richard Donner behind the camera, this top-notch story about the devil’s offspring packs a mean punch. Other than the final scene when Gregory Peck has his chance to kill the boy, the scene that sticks in my head is when the boy’s nanny stands on a balcony with her head in a noose at his birthday party and announces, “Look at me, Damien! It’s all for you!” And then jumps off.

The Silence of the Lambs: I remember not knowing what this film was when my sister-in-law recommended that we all go to the movies and see it. She was stunned when it was over, but I was ecstatic. Great writing, based on the Thomas Harris novel; A-list cast and director; it was no wonder that it essentially swept the Academy Awards that year.

Psycho: I can see my kids squirming already at the mention of a film that is in black & white. If you haven’t seen this classic Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece, then something’s wrong. You must stop reading this and watch this film immediately. Everyone has undoubtedly seen the famous shower scene, but there are so many fantastic moments here to be savored: Norman Bates; the scene on the stairs with the detective; the tension as Vera Miles is hunting around the Bates home, searching for her sister while we expect Norman’s return at any moment; the discovery in the basement; and finally the interrogation room where we see Norman staring at the fly, but hear his mother’s voice as she swears that she would never hurt one.

Alien: This one was the trailblazer. Prior to this what we had were the flying saucer films of the fifties and sixties, with only a glimpse or tease of the alien creatures. In this one, we get to see the alien up close and personal. Featuring an all-star cast of stars or future stars, the great Ridley Scott directed this unforgettable masterpiece of space explorers that unexpectedly discover the alien life form and then bring it back with them.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula: I don’t know whether this is one of the great Dracula versions or not; however, watching The Apocalypse Now director try his hand at horror is a treat. The film is very stylish, has some truly wonderful moments and is loaded with a great cast, including, Cary Elwes, Keanu Reeves, Sir Anthony Hopkins and the great Gary Oldman who is brilliant in nearly everything he does. Says Dracula, “Do you think you can destroy me with your idols? I who served the cross, I who commanded armies, hundreds of years before you were born?”

And finally, the one of only two movies to set so much in motion, Bela Lugosi’s, Dracula. “Listen to them,” he says at the sound of the crying wolves. “Children of the night. What music they make!” It may not be the most frightening thing that we have seen, but it has style, is very dramatic and is beautiful to watch as Lugosi weaves his hypnotizing performance, his signature role.

So there it is. This collection of films comprises my library of horror DVD’s. There are a few films that are missing here, such as Poltergeist. I’ve been holding out hope that there will be a better version in the future; something with two discs and a whole bunch of extras, perhaps. I almost purchased the original Friday the 13th and Hellraiser recently. It is the Halloween season, so there’s still time. In any event, the next time you hear from me on these pages, hopefully I will have something new to review, whether film of novel. We’ll see. But as I say over on my blog…

We’ll talk soon,

-James

Movie Stuff…

2010-10-02T10:17:00.001-05:00

Paranormal Activity 2 is due for release at the end of the month. I have to admit, I did enjoy the first one, but as I actually gave birth the morning after watching it, I probably wasn’t in the best frame of mind to appreciate it. Saying that, it’s a good thing it was number one I was watching,as opposed to number two, as by the look of the trailer there is some spooky baby stuff going on.

What do you think? Does it look good, or is it going to be just more of the same?

Also, for those of you who don’t know that I am a huge fan of Guillermo del Toro’s work, I was very excited to find out that he is doing a twitter Q&A over at digital spy. It’s happening on Friday the 8th October and you just need to tweet over your questions for Guillermo to @dsatthemovies – and they’ll be posting all his answers under the hashtag #gdtdigitalspy.

If you want to know more just click here!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Case 39 – review: A modern day ‘Omen’.

2010-09-26T06:14:00.001-05:00

Emily Jenkins, played by Renee Zellweger, is a family services social worker. She thinks she has seen it all until she is assigned to the case of ten-year-old Lilith. The girl is terrified and her parents are beyond strange, the father refusing to speak to Emily directly. However, there is no proof that they are abusing Lily and Emily is told by her boss to let the case drop.

Refusing to do so, Emily finds Lily outside of school and gives the girl her home phone number, telling her to call should she ever feel scared. In the middle of the night Lily does call and Emily finds her life turned into a nightmare she could never have imagined.

Now for the review:

I do like Renee Zellweger as an actress (and I loved her in Nurse Betty, one of her earliest movies), but there are always little flashes of Bridget Jones breaking through, which I did find to be a bit off-putting while trying to watch a horror movie. However, she does give a good performance in Case 39 and I did like her character, despite always thinking about Bridget Jones!

The tension in this film is from the start and continues right through to the end. Though the build up is quite long, I did find that this only added to the overall tension and kept me guessing. Though the end result is fairly predictable, there was no point where I was bored or wanted to turn away. And there are some moments during the film where I was literally hiding behind my fingers – which I love! The little girl who plays Lily isn’t annoying, and switched between sweetness and light to just plain menacing very well. Often I find children in horror films to be one dimensional and fake, but this actress did a good job.

It’s not an original storyline and there were some clichés. However, there weren’t too many plot holes, and at no point did I think ‘huh’, which made a change. I liked that I actually knew what was going on and the producer didn’t go down the whole ‘is it real or is it just in her head’ route that seems to be so popular at the moment.

Overall, it was a good Saturday night horror film and I really enjoyed it. Case 39 is nothing new, but it does what it says on the tin!

Scary, if a little predictable – A Something Wicked – 7/10

Some Vampire News…

2010-09-24T05:14:00.001-05:00

If anyone out there has read Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s brilliant vampire novel, The Strain, you will be excited to know that the much anticipated sequel entitled The Fall, is now available to buy. I have a copy in my TBR list (only my mother is in line to read it first – grrrr) and it looks as good as the first.

Here’s the blurb:

Humans have been displaced at the top of the food chain, and now understand – to their outright horror – what it is to be not the consumer, but the consumed.

Ephraim Goodweather, director of the New York office of the Centers for Disease control, is one of the few humans who understands what is really happening. Vampires have arrived in New York City, and their condition is contagious. If they cannot be contained, the entire world is at risk of infection.

As Eph becomes consumed with the battle against the total corruption of humanity, his ex-wife, Kelly, now a vampire herself, is ever-more determined to claim their son, Zack.

As the Biblical origins of the Ancient ones are gradually revealed, Eph learns that there is a greater, more terrible plan in store for the human race – worse even than annihilation…

Sounds good, huh? And if you are a fan, and in the US, then Guillermo del Toro is currently touring to promote the novel. You can find details of the tour here!

A bit closer to home, I can now bring you a preview of the cover for the vampire anthology, Their Dark Masters. I think Mark (the editor) had really taken the ‘master vampire’ look to another level. He could have gone down the traditional route, but I think this picture really grabs the attention! What are your thoughts?

Hopefully, Their Dark Masters will be available either Christmas 2010, or early 2011. Lets hope for Christmas as it would make a great stocking filler for any vampire fans out there! I’ll be sure to keep you posted!

Win a free copy of Alone!

2010-09-23T17:45:00.001-05:00

Hi guys,

I’m giving away a free (or possibly multiple, depending on the number of entries) copy of my vampire romance novel, Alone, over at www.writeintheshadows.com today. All you have to do is stop by and leave me a comment on my post about writer’s block.

Hope to see you there!

Anyone out there seen ‘Antichrist’?

2010-09-16T16:34:00.001-05:00

It’s not very often I start watching a movie and have to turn it off. However, last night I started watching Antichrist and did just that.

The movie opened with some pretty graphic sex. I’m no prude, but if I had been watching the movie with anyone else it would have raised some eyebrows. The sex scenes were spliced with scenes of a small boy climbing out of a cot. You know something bad is going to happen to the boy, and the cinematography seems to be building towards the bad thing happening because the couple are too busy screwing each others brains out.

Here I turned over. Sitting, alone, with two small children (one of which was in a cot) upstairs, I just couldn’t bring myself to watch something horrible happening to the little boy. So I gave it five minutes and switched back again.

All that seemed to happen from that point on was the mother losing the plot and the husband acting as her shrink, trying to get her to accept her grief. He didn’t show any kind of grief himself, and she just kept gradually losing her mind (as any mother would after losing a child). There was lots more sex, and I got a bit sick of watching Willem Defoe’s arse bouncing up and down – however much I like him as an actor.

In the end I gave up and switched it off. It was just too depressing, too dark, too arty. It felt as though it was just trying to hard to be controversial.

So, my question is this: Did I do the right thing? Has anyone else seen the movie who can vouch for its amazing ending? I hate to give up on anything – even something as trivial as a film!

I would love to hear anyone’s feedback. Let me know if you’ve seen it and actually made it through to the end!

District 9 – review!

2010-09-11T08:58:00.001-05:00

Naturally I had heard about this movie, but I was completely unprepared for what it was actually about! I had expected yet another documentary-style movie (which it is), but it is also so much more.

The film opens with a series of interviews that introduce the story: twenty years earlier, an alien ship arrives above Johannesburg, South Africa. It hovers above the city for three months without any contact, but eventually humans go up and cut into the ship. They discover a large group of aliens who are malnourished and sick and they bring them down to a holding camp (district 9) which eventually turns into a slum. Difficult relationships emerge between the population of Johannesburg and the aliens (which are referred to as ‘prawns’ by the locals.) Eventually the government bring in a task force to relocate the aliens to a different location, away from the city.

The head of the task force is Wikus van der Merwe. He is a type of bumbling geek (imagine a character from The Office, and you won’t be far off). He also has no respect for the 'prawns’, or their welfare. His only redeeming quality is that he has somehow managed to marry the beautiful daughter of his boss (which is also the only reason he was given the job).

While issuing eviction notices he finds a silver canister which then sprays him in the face with a black fluid. Immediately something is not quite right, and what follows is the type of transformation that takes place in the movie, The Fly. Wikus quickly gets sick and not long after discovers he has grown an alien arm.

Suddenly Wikus is the man everyone else wants. Because of his transformation he can work the alien weaponry that previously could only be used by the aliens, due to their DNA. He finds refuge in the only place he can, the alien slum. Here he strikes up a relationship with an alien called Christopher Johnson, who also has a small son. Together they try to stop Wikus’s transformation and, in turn, find the fluid needed to get the aliens back home again.

I had expected this movie to be scary, but, even though it wasn’t (and wasn’t supposed to be), it was still a really good film. I started the movie really disliking Wikus, but by the end I was really rooting for both him and the aliens. The aliens at the start aren’t shown to be particularly intelligent or humanoid, but this is turned around by the introduction of Christopher and his son. The bad guys are the government agency, and they really are horrible – conducting experiments on the aliens and even prepared to cut Wikus open while he was still conscious!

At some point during the movie it stops being in a documentary style and is just normal ‘movie-style’, but I didn’t notice when this happened, so I guess it worked well enough! The start is a little slow, but it quickly sped up and then it is fast paced right through to the end. It was also a really original storyline, and, as I said, not what I had expected. I guess I had expected something more like Cloverfield, but it was completely different!

As with all Peter Jackson films, the effects were really good, and towards the end I could even see a bit of Avatar influence on the effects creeping in.

Overall, District 9 is a really good movie - even if it’s not scary! Something Wicked 8/10.

Short story accepted for new vampire anthology!

2010-09-08T02:10:00.001-05:00

Hurrah!

My short story, The Tunnel, has now officially been accepted for Mark Crittenden’s new vampire anthology, Their Dark Masters.

The anthology looks like it is going to be a good one – especially for any vampire fans out there. The basis for the anthology (as you can probably tell by the title) are stories based around the elder vampire, the maker and master pulling the strings. Each story will be leading towards the destruction of mankind, so don’t expect any nicey-nicey vegetarian vampires here. It is back to old school horror!

I believe submissions are still open, so if anyone out there has something they think may fit, you can find further submission details here! Mark is looking for ‘only your darkest and most horrific/haunting tale,’ so get writing!

Vampire Stories from Stephen King's Night Shift

2010-09-04T19:56:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone!!! As you all know, I'm taking an extended break from blogging while I sort a few things in my personal life. However, I wanted to take a break from my blogging break and come back to tell you about a few short stories I've read recently (nothing takes your mind off your own problems like reading about people dodging evil towns and vampires, right?! ;-).

Stephen King's Night Shift. First of all, I didn't realize he wrote the short story Kitty, a bit of which shows up in the relationship between my brother-sister protagonists, Cray and Miranda. In Kitty, the sister is hanging from a rickety ladder on the hayloft in a barn -- the rung she's holding onto is about to break, and when her brother tells her to "let go", she does, not even turning her head to see what's below her. She trusted him that much. I won't divulge the rest of the story, but I was touched early on by that brother-sister trust, and it's neat to remember that King did the story which influenced a small part of my own work.

Okay, now, the vampire stories. There are two of them in Night Shift: Jerusalem's Lot, and One For the Road. Both deal with the town featured in 'Salem's Lot, one predating (by about 100 years) the Ben Mears story, while the other takes place a year or two after.

Both are excellent examples of writing. King really has a way of getting into a character's voice, using older American English for Jerusalem's Lot, while taking things to a more modern, folksy level in Road. It's also interesting to note that both horror stories are written in the first person -- usually you see horror tales in the third, but I actually like first person -- I can connect with the narrator more, and in horror, well that's certainly a plus if you like to scare the bejeezus out of yourself!

A thing I noticed (and ended up doing a bit of research on) -- in Jerusalem's Lot, the mystery revolves around a Latin book with the word "Worm" in the title. That, as well as events in the book, reminded me of that 80's movie, Lair of the White Worm. I researched the movie, and you know what -- it's based upon a Bram Stoker story. Way! Looks like King was influenced by Stoker in more ways than just Dracula!!! Apparently Stoker got his idea for his own story from English folklore involving the Lambton Worm. The similarities are a bit striking, right down to the curse being inherited by family members.

If Jerusalem's Lot explains why the town in 'Salem's Lot is cursed (and why Barlow was attracted to it in the first place -- and remember that weird chapter where Straker makes the sacrifice of the first child? Yeah, this short story explains that a bit more) -- One For the Road is a nice epilogue to 'Salem's Lot, which doesn't really have a solid resolution at its ending. It's downright creepy. Of course, you, the reader, know what's going on, but the confrontations are done so well -- again, a testament to King's writing style -- the last line is definitely spine-tingling!! Awesome!!

So, if you've got some downtime and want to nestle down with a few good short, scary stories, I do recommend Jerusalem's Lot and One For the Road -- just read them early in the day so you won't be too scared at night!!

By all, and I hope to talk with you guys again soon!

Best ever ghost images caught on tape!

2010-08-30T18:04:00.001-05:00

Check out this link on MSN.

It has some seriously spooky images of real life filming of ghosts and the stories behind them. Seriously spooky stuff…

The Crazies (2010) review!

2010-08-27T06:50:00.001-05:00

As a toxin begins to turn the residents of Ogden Marsh, Iowa into violent psychopaths, sheriff David Dutton tries to make sense of the situation while his newly pregnant wife, Judy, and two other unaffected townspeople band together in a fight for survival.

There wasn’t anything terribly original about this movie – okay, I know it was a remake anyway, so maybe the original was original at the time, but I did just feel as though I had seen it all before.

The best part of the movie was where the army came in and started to separate people according to their body temperatures; a raised body temperature indicating the person was sick. Here the wife is taken, as she is pregnant and so has a slightly higher temperature. This part felt far more realistic to me and therefore more scary. The fear people felt at being separated from their children and partners immediately had me thinking about how I would feel if I were in their place – always a good sign to me that I am getting into the film!

Here the movie stepped up a notch. Some of the parts where Judy is strapped down in the hospital and there is a crazy guy running around impaling people with a pitchfork, literally had me hiding behind my fingers!

The movie was definitely improved by looking into the way the government handle the disaster and not just what happens to the people. In a way it was the government’s treatment of the people that was the crazy thing – not just that the infected went mad.

I thought it was a bit too lucky that the sheriff and his wife (a doctor) just happened to be among the very few people not infected. I don’t know if I missed something (maybe where their house was meant the water source reached them last – I don’t know), but it did seem like a bit of a lucky coincidence. There were also some parts, particularly towards the end, that were a little unbelievable. At one point the couple sit in the huge glass window of a diner, drinking coffee as though it were a regular Sunday morning. The lights are on and they are in full view of everyone, even though they know the army and the ‘crazies’ are out there – and they wonder why they get found? Duh?

However, overall the movie was fast-paced, violent, and, most importantly, scary! If you’re looking for a decent weekend movie to rent that will be a good watch, but you won’t need to expend too much brainpower over, then you could do a lot worse than The Crazies! A decent remake, for once.

Something Wicked 7/10.

Domination...one Pumpkin Seed at a time.

2010-08-23T22:00:00.001-05:00

Hello, I'm James Garcia Jr. If you do not know me yet, that is okay. You will. I am here to assist our friends Marissa and Nicole as they do their little part to orchestrate Vamplit Publishing's master plan of ruling the publishing world. It is early, but very soon words such as "Vamplit", "Bestseller" and "Empire" will be universally appearing in the same sentences...

[The sounds of crickets can be heard]

Okay, we're working on it, though!

(In a nearly inaudible whisper) Really, we are.

What do you say we start again? I'm James. As you get to know me, feel free to call me Jimmy. My novel, Dance on Fire, was published by Vamplit Publishing. It's the same house that brought you Alone and Release. Just like Marissa's and Nicole's e-books, my novel is about to become a paperback, too. We're all terribly excited about this, so you should be hearing more as the days begin to grow cooler and summer finds itself driven away for another year. Dance on Fire is a crossover Christian/Horror novel about vampires, but I didn't post today to discuss my novel. I posted to talk about the novel of yet another Vamplit Author, Timothy Hobbs.

In a day and age when many vampire novels are romanticized, comes a book that seems to want to strike a blow right into the very heart of the topic.

"...will no longer attempt to date these entries. There is no point. I am dying, of that I have no doubt. I feel I have no connection with the physical world and that I am floating. An animal's corpse lies in the middle of the room. It has a wretched marvelous stink. It is difficult to concentrate. My brain is on fire and all light is painful. My throat is aching and parched but the thought of water is dreadful. The sound of scraping feet resonates in the darkness. Groans of hunger are joined with my own. Vairaja appears through the blackness. His face is strained and pale. His touch icy. We kiss each other on the neck and taste the saltiness of our blood. I must drink for two. My belly swells.

"...I no longer see the day. Only shadows bring comfort. The dead walk around me, their howls of hunger are ghastly. My child's wails are silent in the womb."

Very often readers proclaim that they simply could not put a novel down. Well, I will tell you that I work 10.5 hours a day in my day-job, write for three blogs and finally a local on-line magazine; however, whenever all of those were done, and the family was happily doing their own things, I was back in that bedroom with the Kindle, wondering what in the world might happen next. If it weren't for the fact that I had deadlines to meet, I would have skipped a few of them in order to read this book. It's that good.

Part of the reason why I am so excited about this novel is due to the fact that just when I thought that I might have seen it all, came a tale from somewhere otherworldly. Told entirely through diary entries and over the course of centuries, we glimpse the people that were, and the changes that occurred when they became the creatures that they will forever be. Another thing that is refreshing about Mr. Hobb's effort is we get to see the lineage of multiple generations of these. Without revealing their names and thus spoiling the story, we get to see one of these vampires create a second, who much later creates one of his own, and so on.

These Vampires do not have meet/cutes, but bond only for security and feed to survive. The characters are as multi-dimensional as I have ever seen in print. The vampires are not simple monsters. They are beings that used to be people; people who used to believe certain things and rationalize and love, and we watch with horror as everything that they ever were, changes.

I must note that this novel is not for the faint of heart. It gave me cause to cringe more than once. I was almost in disbelief a time or two, contemplating what might happen, but not actually thinking that the author would go there. He went there. That's not to say that the novel is objectionable or graphic for the sake of attempting to be shocking. For me, personally, I liked the idea of this novel getting us back to the basics, and that is horror.

If you like a good horror novel that is intelligent and ground-breaking...I offer you The Pumpkin Seed.

And Someone New!

2010-08-22T14:13:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone! Nicole and I are thrilled to announce that James Garcia Jr has agreed to join the Something Wicked team! As author of the brilliant ‘Dance on Fire’, we are thrilled to have him on board. Because he is a fellow Vamplit author, we also feel that we are ‘keeping it in the family’, with him helping out with reviews while Nicole is away (and hoping he’ll hang around long after she comes back!).

While I am here, has anyone got any opinions about the new look of the blog? I liked it, but my husband simply said, ‘why have you got birds flying over it?’ (He is not a horror fan and the significance of birds went completely over his head!)

Any feedback would be much appreciated – good or bad!

Someone missing…?

2010-08-18T08:51:00.001-05:00

Hi all, Marissa here. I just wanted to give everyone an update about why the other half of the Something Wicked crew is missing.

Sadly Nicole has some personal stuff going on at the moment so she is taking a little time out from the blogging world. She is greatly missed, but will be back with a vengeance when she has everything sorted.

In the meantime I will still be posting all my supernatural movie and book reviews, and I am hoping that a couple of fledgling Vamplit authors will stop by to introduce themselves and guest post while Nicole is away.

I’m also hoping to share some news with you about the release of my new novel, The Dark Road, very soon!

The Lovely Bones (movie) review!

2010-08-12T06:26:00.001-05:00

It is always difficult to watch the movie of a book you have loved. Invariably they never meet up to the imaginary world you have created in your head while reading. The characters never look as you have imagined them, and then normally what happens is that some big-wig executive in Hollywood has decided to change the ending!

Susie Salmon, fourteen years-old, takes her usual shortcut home through a cornfield when she is trapped, raped, and murdered by her neighbour George Harvey. Harvey lives alone and builds doll houses. After Susie’s disappearance the police question him, but have no reason to take it further.

Susie’s family do not want to accept her death. Her father continues to search for her killer, her mother runs away, and her sister is left to deal with things. To help out her drinking, smoking, ‘tough-love’ Grandma, played by Susan Sarandon, moves in to help.

While all of this is happening Suzie is watching from a place between heaven and earth. It is a type of Dali landscape, both beautiful and strange, which morphs around her. She watched her family try to get on with their lives, but when Harvey starts to pay too much attention to her sister, she is able to affect things in the real world, trying to point her father in the right direction.

It was hard watching the part where Suzie is trapped in a underground bunker built beneath the cornfield and then murdered. I really wanted her to escape, but of course that would be impossible as it is the whole premise to the story!

Stanley Tucci, played George Harvey did some great acting. It must always be difficult for actors to play those kind of roles, but he really did it justice. And I loved the grandma, played by Susan Sarandon (exactly the type I grow up to be!)

I loved the novel of the same name, by Alice Seabold, so I was sceptical when my husband brought home the movie. However, I was pleasantly surprised. There were some parts in it where I thought, no stop doing that – namely the parts where Suzie was in the world in-between heaven and earth. Also, I didn’t really believe in Ray, the boyfriend Suzie had before she died. He was supposed to be English and his performance was stilted, and he had a really bad dress sense which was off putting! But generally it was an entertaining movie and certainly not as bad as I had thought it was going to be.

Something Wicked 6/10.

Flashback -- Dead of Winter

2010-08-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

So, Marissa's fond of teasing me that I need to update my viewing list with items that are dated like, past 2000 (what? They actually bothered to make movies after 1989?!). I'm working on it, but in the meantime, I had the pleasure of viewing one of my old favorites, Dead of Winter.

Seriously, I hadn't seen this movie in like, 20 years, and I'd just been thinking about it, so it was a treat when it was on a few weekends ago. AND Roddy McDowall is in it (Peter Vincent), and he does a stellar job being the creepy toadie.

The premise is this: Mary Steenburgen is an actress who is offered a part in a movie, because the lead actress has taken off due to a mental breakdown. Or so she's told. She needs to audition out at the director's house, conveniently located in the Middle of Nowhere, where you cannot run or scream for help.

And it's cold and snowy.

Whilst at this house, Katie (Steenburgen), starts noticing that the Director, Dr. Lewis (played by Jan Rubes), might not have been completely honest with her. Like how the actresses' mental breakdown really ended in a suicide, (Katie finds pictures of the corpse). Unfortunately, by this point, Katie is held as a prisoner in the house because she bears a remarkable resemblance to the dead actress, as well as her sister (Evelyn, also played by Steenburgen).

It appears as though Evelyn had her sister killed for some reason, and Dr. Lewis and his oh-so-lovable toadie, Mr. Murray (McDowall), want to play games with Evelyn and make her think Julie (dead actress sister) is still alive. Hence the need for Katie to film 'screen tests' which are actually then sent to Evelyn as 'proof' that Julie is still alive, and would she please send along some cash for their silence?

Unfortunately, Evelyn doesn't like to be toyed with, and Katie gets severe cabin-fever, especially after she wakes up one morning to find her hand bandaged. Way. There's even a mirror in Katie's room that's actually a doorway to a secret passage through the house (I just LOVE those!).

I won't spoil the plot any further -- see it for yourself! It's a very good flick that I think holds up today, with good old-fashioned suspense and acting to flesh out a decent, classic plot.

Something Wicked -- 4/5!

Gareth Edward’s Monster

2010-08-02T08:11:00.001-05:00

Ever since I saw this movie reviewed on Sky news this weekend, I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. I think it looks great, and the fact it was made on a fifteen thousand dollar budget amazes me. Basically Gareth Edwards just took off backpacking with his friends around South America, recorded scenes, and then each night downloaded the stuff to his computer and Voila! a movie was made. And apparently the computer he did the special effects on was bought from a shop (not specialist), but was more powerful than the one they used to make Jurassic Park!

Synopsis: Six years ago NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A probe was launched to collect samples, but crashed upon re-entry over Central America. Soon after, new life form began to appear and half of Mexico was quarantined as an INFECTED ZONE. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain "the creatures"...... A US journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist through the infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border.

It’s due to be released on the 12th November 2010 (UK). Visually it looks fantastic, and certainly not like it was made on a fifteen-thousand dollar budget. A lot of people are saying that it is just a Cloverfield rip-off, but I have a feeling it will be much better.

Here is the trailer:

These successful, low-budget movies mark an exciting time in film-making. Of course it does mean that every nerd out there will be picking up their video camera in the hope of creating a blockbuster. But on the other side of things it also means that film studio’s will take more chances with relatively unknown, and low budget, film-makers and writers.

Rather than throw millions at one big (hopeful) hit, they are spreading their bets on these low budget films and hoping one sticks.

I’m currently putting together the bare-bones of a screen-play which I have been playing with in my head for some time, so the idea of more studios taking chances sounds like a good idea to me!

In the meantime I will look forward to Monsters release!

Our novels in paperback!

2010-07-28T09:00:00.001-05:00

We are very excited to announce that Vamplit publishing is releasing our novels in paperback!

Nicole’s novel, Release, is to be available imminently, and Marissa’s novel, Alone, will be available in paperback format this Autumn!

All of Vamplit titles are now going to be published in eBook and paperback, so the most choice is available for readers. While some people swear by their eBooks readers, it is only natural for others to prefer to hold the actual book in their hands.

Also, as a writer, there is something more ‘real’ about seeing your work in print on paper. To actually have your novel sitting on your shelf, amongst all of the other authors you have collected over the years is a dream finally realised.

Watch this space for our release dates!

Crop Circles…beautiful mysteries or just plain vandalism?

2010-07-25T14:21:00.001-05:00

This weekend crop circle enthusiasts from all over the world have been heading to Somerset for the annual Glastonbury Symposium. It has now been running for twenty years, and the three-day conference features lectures investigating mysteries, including UFOs. The Symposium is also the longest-running annual gathering of crop circle experts.

The formation of crop circles have long been synonymous with that of aliens. Many believe they are they created by spaceship’s landing or even created as a tracking system for alien space-ships to land? Of course these strange creations have (sadly) now been explained away by hoaxer’s with wooden boards and wire, but it would be nice to think that there was still some romance and mystery in these beautiful shapes. Of course the farmers have a different point of view after whoever creates the circles does so by destroying their hard grown crops.

(Left) The site of the circle at White Sheet Hill is just a few miles from Warminster, which is the "UFO capital" of Britain. This stunning circular 300 foot design appeared in June 2010 and was believed to represent the passage of the moon and sun. It contained six key circles with a seventh in the centre, each surrounded by 24 smaller circles and 18 other circles providing an outer ring. It is supposed to be the most complex crop circle created this year.

(Right) One of the most intriguing crop circles ever seen in Britain appeared in a barley field in Oxfordshire, on 2nd June 2009. The 250m (600ft) design in the shape of a jellyfish, which turned up in a field near Ashbury, is believed to be the first of its kind in the world.

The owners of the land said whoever created the design caused about £600 of damage! Though the farmers admitted that they thought it was beautiful, they then went on to give information about the people they believed had created the circle.

(Below) This circle appeared in a field near Barbury Castle, an iron-age hill fort above Wroughton, Wilts, and has been described by astrophysicists as "mind-boggling". The formation, measuring 150ft in diameter, is apparently a coded image representing the first 10 digits, 3.141592654, of pi. Very strange.

The shapes are beautiful and have become as much a part of our mysterious countryside as Stonehenge. Yet I can’t help feeling sorry for the farmers who wake up to find hundred’s of pounds worth of crops destroyed.

A movie which depicts the use of crop circles is Signs (2002). Starring Mel Gibson and Joaquin Pheonix; written and directed by M. Night. Shyamalan. It follows a family who find crop circles in their corn and then try to survive when an alien invasion ensues. It’s a decent movie if this post has suddenly inspired you to watch something about crop circles!

Below is a clip of the alien sighting in the movie. It makes me jump every time!

True Blood; Season Two

2010-07-21T15:02:00.001-05:00

Finally I have finished watching season two of True Blood and I loved it just as much as the first one! I was so pleased it was good, cause there is nothing worse than loving one series of a show, only for the second one to be lacking something. This definitely not the case with True Blood.

I watched the DVD, so I pretty much watched all twelve episodes back to back. I think this is the best way of watching a decent series as you never miss one, or have to wait a whole week to find out what happens. It’s a bit like watching a really long movie. It has to be said that this is the one show where I never fast-forward through the opening credits – I love the Jace Everett song, Bad Things!

So season two has quite a few storylines running through it.

Sookie and Bill go to Dallas to find Eric’s maker, Godric. They take with them Jessica, the newly turned vampire, who is not only a vampire, but also a teenage girl. There is a really sweet storyline with her finding her first love, but also that she will forever be a virgin!

Jason Stackhouse, after his girlfriend dying, has turned to the Fellowship of the Sun church – an anti-vampire establishment who intend to use God to wage a war against the vampires.

But the main storyline is that of Maryann, a woman who has ‘be-friended’ Tara. She takes over Sookie’s house (while she is away in Dallas) and the town all go to her parties which turn into violent orgies. Maryann possesses most of the population of Bon Temps and they all have completely black ‘bug’ eyes. Maryann then uses them to catch Sam as she wants to sacrifice Sam so that her ‘god’ will come to her. All just another day in Bon Temps!

There is lots of sex – LOTS of sex – in this season, even more so than the first, so if you are easily offended you probably won’t enjoy the show too much. There is a good amount of humour in the show as well, mainly brought by Jason Stackhouse and Andy Belfleur. All of the characters are fun (with the exception of Bill!). Lafayette, the short-order cook and Tara’s cousin, is a brilliant character, and the queen of Louisiana vampire, who is introduced towards the end of the show, is very funny. I absolutely love any scenes with Eric in. He has the sexy, bad-vampire thing down perfectly and I have to consciously keep my mouth shut to stop from drooling all over the floor.

My only problem was that I kept comparing the storyline’s to the books, trying to recognise what happens, and piece all of the different books together, but it didn’t really affect how I felt about the season.

I’m not sure I can wait for season three, so if any of my lovely friends State-side would like to pick me up a copy and post it over…;-)

Something Wicked 9/10. A must see!

The Review You've All Been Waiting For: Eclipse (as seen by Nicole!)!!

2010-07-16T08:54:00.000-05:00

So last weekend I got to finally see Eclipse with my friend Julie -- who was lucky enough to snap this pic of Ashley Greene -- IN FREAKING PERSON!!!! Jules went on vacation to FL for 4th of July, and guess what -- Ms. Greene originally hails from the Sunshine State and was there to promote her movie! So Jules got a pic AND an autograph, and I got to watch the movie with Julie, so it's almost like I met Ashley Greene too, right??? ;-)

Okay, so Eclipse, the movie: Meh. Now look, I LOVED Twilight, the book, and the movie was awesome because it was a decent length, they did a great job of weaving the bad vamp plot in earlier with the storyline (in the book it shows up like 3/4 of the way through). Plus the best part about the movie -- all the screaming teenage girls in the audience! It reminded me of when I was in college and we used to watch all the cute guys walk into the cafeteria, the thrill we got, the stories we'd make about them, how we thought they were looking at us, the flirting.... ah, the good ole days of early dating and first love.

New Moon: couldn't really read past the part where, well, you know -- that big part that leaves Bella in a stupor for months on end. I went to the movie with my inner teenage girl channeled, and I enjoyed the flick. It was a bit long, but the parts with Jacob were done well, the other scenes weren't too gut-wrenching, and Taylor Lautner did a great job getting his upper body into shape for the role so it was worth it. ;-)

Okay, now, Eclipse. My friends told me that they loved the movie, it was the best one of the 3 -- but Eclipse was also their favorite book. For me, Eclipse was my least favorite novel in the Twilight saga. Why? Well, in the novel itself, there is talk of Wuthering Heights, and I never liked that book (sorry!!). I'm into character-driven novels, and the only character in Wuthering Heights I liked for a brief moment was Isabella when she left Heathcliff. Everyone else -- couldn't get into them.

Same thing with Eclipse (the novel). Edward was controlling (when a guy takes apart your car to prevent you from going somewhere because he can't "protect" you -- that's not love). Jacob is very truculent -- angry because he wants Bella, and wants to try to win her over, Bella is stuck in the middle and can't make up her mind, so she rebels this way and that, Rosalie tells us she only ever wanted a family and kids and she can't have that now she's a vampire, which is why she's jealous of Bella (which just shows every terrible female trait possible -- jealousy, cattiness, the idea that the ultimate goal for a woman is to be a wife and mother), and oh yeah --Victoria from the first novel is raising a vampire army to try to kill Bella.

Whew! As if bizzarre love triangles weren't enough, there are newly-formed, bloodthirsty fledgling vampires loose in Forks!! Run for your lives!!! Fortunately, the Wolf Pack (hey -- they've got a female leader, Leah -- wohoo for the girls!!!) forms a truce with the Cullens and they agree to band together to attempt to fight off the threat, and along the way there's some very uneasy scenes (for me!) where Jacob and Edward trade barbs over who is best for Bella (didn't like reading it in the book, didn't like seeing it in the movie).

Now, before this review just gets all negative, I will say that the fight scenes are REALLY GOOD, the soundtrack actually sounded good too, Bryce Dallas Howard was very good as Victoria (nice to see someone who can actually act in these movies!), and Ashley Greene was her usual stellar self as Alice, though she's not in this one that much.

What didn't I like about it? I don't know -- I think it's just me -- I loved the 'chase' scenes in Twilight, New Moon had a new relationship, but Eclipse -- the plot just didn't do it for me; watching Bella hang out with Jacob and he tries to kiss her, Edward being too controlling, oh, and he gives Bella an engagement ring, too, which she puts on but then wants to become a vampire (that whole "make me a vampire, Edward!" "No Bella! You're better off as a human!!" is getting tedious by now). Like I said, the plot in this movie just didn't do it for me.

Other than that -- the movie is very pretty, visually, and if you do like Wuthering Heights, star-crossed lovers, watching people in love do crazy things to win the affections of someone, then this movie is for you (if you're like me -- wait, rent it, and skip forward to the fight scenes!! ;-)

Something Wicked -- 3/5

Shutter Island (2010) - Review

2010-07-12T03:42:00.001-05:00

***Warning – this review contains spoilers***

I don’t normally like to put spoilers in my reviews, but I came to the decision that this movie would be all but impossible to review without giving away some of what happens. I have tried to keep them to a minimum, and won’t give away the complete ending. First of all, let me just say that Shutter Island was a completely different film to what I thought it was going to be, or even what I feel the trailer makes it out to be. I was expecting a more of a horror, but it is really a psychological thriller.

Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a US marshal. He has a dark past. He was an army officer who rescued Jews from concentration camps, and his wife died in a fire two years earlier. He is haunted by his past and the feeling that he should have saved more people. He has been called to Shutter Island, with his brand new partner, because a patient has escaped from a mental institute for the criminally insane which is on the island (think Alcatraz). When he gets there he is told that the patient escaped from a locked room, and that she made it past a room full of orderly’s without being seen. It is as though she simply vanished from the room. While searching the room Teddy finds a piece of paper where the missing patient has written that there are 67 prisoners in the institute, though according to the records there are only actually 66. We then find out that Teddy took the case to be on the island, because he believes the man who set the fire that killed his wife is patient 67.

Here things start to get a bit strange. Teddy is suffering from headaches and starts having terrible dreams and even hallucinations of his dead wife and a dead girl from the concentration camps. We are made to believe that the government are actually testing psychotropic drugs on the patients and lobotomising them. They intend for Teddy to become another patient and the government have invented the missing patient simply to get him onto the island.

The patient is then miraculously found, despite a terrible storm that is raging around the island.

The rest of the movie is basically about Teddy’s increasing paranoia, trying to find the man who killed his wife, and then trying to get off of the island.

I seem to be watching a lot of movies recently where you don’t know if the whole thing is simply in the head of the protagonist, or if it is actually happening. I can’t help feeling a little disappointed with this movie. While the acting was great and the look and feel of the movie was like a fifties gangster film (Martin Scorsese directs), I felt the twist had been done before and it simply wasn’t original. When it’s ‘all the the head of the main character’ I feel a bit cheated. In some ways it is no better than watching a movie only for them to wake up at the end and announce ‘'it was all just a bad dream’ . The ending was also pretty depressing, and while I wasn’t expecting a feel good film,it was about as miserable as it is possible to get.

Saying all of that, in essence it was an entertaining film. Leonardo DiCaprio is a fantastic actor and has long ago left behind his ‘pretty-boy’ days of Titanic. I think this was another situation of me expecting too much, and when you have been looking forward to something that could have been so much better, it’s always disappointing. If they had simply kept to the storyline of missing patients and drug testing, instead of trying to twist it all round, I think it would have made for a better movie.

Trying to be too clever, but still a watchable film. 6.5/10

Interview With Cat Winters (a.k.a Catherine Karp)!!

2010-07-08T07:59:00.000-05:00

Hey gang -- if you're a fan of the Suburban Vampire blog, you should stop by Write In the Shadows today, where I interview the mastermind behind Suburban Vampire -- Catherine Karp, a.k.a. Cat Winters, who is working on her debut YA novel, Blackbirds. Please stop by and check it out! http://writeintheshadows.com/2010/07/08/new-kid-on-the-block-introducing-cat-winters/

The Strain by Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan

2010-07-06T03:39:00.001-05:00

Hey Guys, hope you all had a fabulous holiday (though for us in the UK, life just carried on as normal!).

I’ve just realised that I had promised to post my review of The Strain here, but, due to a Swiss-cheese brain caused by lack of sleep, I totally forgot and posted it on my personal site. Sorry! If you’re still interested in having a look, go to Marissa Farrar's Blogspot and you can see what I thought…

Happy Fourth of July!!! Yay for American Independence!!!!

2010-07-03T00:00:00.007-05:00

Or not -- we here at Something Wicked pondered how to celebrate the Fourth of July -- a holiday for the American, Nicole, and for Brit Marissa it brings back memories of travelling as she spent the 4th July in Sacramento many years ago.

So here's what we're doing -- Nicole is listing the four things she misses/-is glad to be without with regards to the UK, while Marissa is listing the four things she loves, and loves to hate, about America.

Nicole:

Oh United Kingdom, how do I love thee, let me count the ways:

1) Tea -- coffee just doesn't do it for me, Tea is the ultimate beverage, hot or cold, Oolong or Earl Grey -- the colors, the smell, the flavors -- the British are really on to something there!

2) Shakespeare -- his plays are timeless, they apply today as much as they did way back when. And he wrote them in iambic pentameter -- good grief! I struggle with regular English!

3) Sexy British accents on men -- my girlfriends and I went on a girls' weekend to the beach last year and we changed the Tom Tom's voice to be a male British accent. Way!

4) Last, but certainly not least -- Dracula. Probably the best account of the modern-day vampire tale, and the reason why Marissa and I have entered the literary field.

And now, four reasons I'm glad that I don't live in the UK:

1) Spelling -- what's with all the extra 'u's in words? Favourite? Colour? And 's's instead of 'z's?? It's apologizzzzzze, gang. Oh, and it's z, just plain z - - not 'zed'!

2) The crime rate -- I mean, they certainly have enough detectives on the case, but who wants to live in those quaint English villages where the neighbors are always offing each other through poison and such? And sometimes even Scotland Yard is clueless and you've got to rely on elderly spinsters to solve the crimes!

3) Daleks -- thank goodness they only seem to land on the British Isles!

4) Rain -- although I can see that the Brits do make good use of all that water -- putting it into beer, which is the color of the sunshine, ... sort of!

Marissa. Okay, here goes.

Things I love about America:

1.) The food! Oh my God - you guys have some of the most amazing food. You can literally get whatever the hell you want and the portions are HUGE! Southern cooking is my favourite.

2.) The Southern accent on men (can you see a theme going here?). I think the guy from Lost is responsible for this little fetish, but then TrueBlood has just brought it all back again. I love accents - they make people sound so much more interesting than they actually are!

3.) Halloween! I love Halloween, but we Brits just don't know how to do it properly. The most we can manage is a couple of old pumpkins and then everyone pretends not to be in when you go trick or treating. America goes the whole hog and I love that!

4.) Obama. Whatever people think of his politics I think it says a huge amount about the leaps and bounds America has taken in their views to elect a black president.

Things I love to hate about America.

1.) American 'end-the-world movies'. Why-oh-why is it always only America who saves the world from destruction by impending alien attack/asteroid/global warming? The rest of us might get a very brief mention somewhere along the line, but then we just get forgotten about and America saves the day... cue, waving flags and the American anthem.

2.) Lollipop head girls with small dogs wearing clothes. I don't think I need to explain this one. The poor dogs must be thinking 'My cousin is a wolf - how the hell did I end up in a Gucci handbag with a bow on my head?'

3.) Very long scary roads through the desert. These empty roads are just destined to have psychopathic rednecks waiting to pick up unsuspecting travellers in camper vans for them to torture. My husband wants to do an American road trip one day, but this will be the one thing that will put me off (well, that and my over-active imagination).

4.) The spelling! Hey, Nicole - we invented the stuff. After all, it's called the English language! It's colour, not color, and it's only your accent that turns all the 's's into z's!

Happy 4th of July everybody!

Nicole's Top Ten Scariest Reads!

2010-06-29T09:08:00.000-05:00

Extra thanks to Marissa for starting us on this topic -- she posted her top ten horror novels last week, which got me thinking as to my own list. Now, I've spent the majority of my life reading murder mystery novels, so I can't really name 10 horror novels that would fill this list, but I've read quite a bunch of short stories that have gotten into me and my psyche so here goes!

10) and 9) The Figure In the Shadows and The Letter, the Witch and the Ring: Yes, these are YA novels (actually, they were YA back in the 1970's which means they're probably more for children these days!), but when I read them as a child -- the images of Lewis Barnavelt being followed mysteriously by some cloaked figure, as well as Rose Rita Pottinger driving a car to look in the rear-view mirror and see a pair of yellow glowing eyes -- SCARY!!!

8) Stephen King's It: I got to the part where the clown's hand came out of the photo album and had to stop reading.

7) Dorothy Sayers' Suspicion (short story): this is more of a tale of suspense, but the last line always gives me goosebumps!

6) The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs (short story): classic, just classic. The pacing and the suspense at the end is priceless.

5) The Fall of the House of Usher (short story): no listing would be complete without Poe, and while many tales of his may be creepier or scarier (Tell-Tale Heart, the Black Cat), I just love this one, maybe because I'm into brother-sister dynamics.

4) There's a short story out there that I read like 20 years ago, it was in an anthology, about a man who takes his daughter to a carnival and is watching her ride the ferris wheel, around and around, until -- her cart is empty!!! She's not there!!!! I cannot for the life of me remember what it's called, but it's NOT The Black Ferris by Bradbury.

3) More Spinned Against by John Wyndham (short story). Wyndham is certainly more well-known for his novels, The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as The Village of the Damned), but I love this tale. It's not particularly scary, but has a great, creepy twist at the end.

2) Lamb To the Slaughter by Roald Dahl (short story): more known for his children's stories, I just love this tale from beginning (it's set in the 1960's when pregnant women could drink alcohol) to the lovely ending. Not a scary one, but it's a tale of suspense and revenge. LOVE IT!!!

1) The Boarded Window by Ambrose Bierce (short story). Read it and tell me if you can walk into a dark room without turning on the lights afterwards!!