More Halloween!

It's been awhile.  I have to admit, I've totally gone off the rails with my challenge to myself.  I haven't been able to keep up with the level of horror movies I usually like to watch.  I blame lots of things, school is a favorite for me to blame.  I do have an update of some movies I've watched though, so here goes.

Dance of the Dead.  Now, I showed this movie (or tried to show it) to two friends.  Both of them were men.  There are zombies in this movie.  ZOMBIES!  But, neither man I showed this too seemed to enthused with it.  I guess the teenagers in the movie trumped the awesomeness of the zombies.  That was a little lesson for me to learn, because I *like* teenagers.  I think that makes me an oddity amongst the adult world.  I totally relate to one of the main female characters in this movie.  She's complete type A, control freak, and is pissed at those zombies for messing up her prom and her prom dress.

Because he hadn't seen it, I introduced my friend to Zombieland.  Yes, for a girl who is scared of zombies I watch a heck of a lot of zombie movies.  Zombieland is just awesome though and Tallahassee is my hero.  Nuff said.

I am pretty sure I watched Paranormal Activity.  But, I was not paying attention/not impressed/and super bored.

I also watched a couple of episodes of Tales from the Crypt.  I used to watch that show on occasion, the few times I actually had HBO, but didn't watch it faithfully.  I enjoyed the first episode called Only Skin Deep.  It was nice and freaky.  The second episode I watched (I think it was called Three's a Crowd) was just upsetting, not scary.

Not sure how much more watching I will do, because I am going to NEW YORK CITY! for Halloween!!!  I can't wait!  :)

White Zombie isn't just the name of an awesome band.

As the title suggests, White Zombie is not just the name of an awesome band, it is also the name of a super awesome black and white horror movie!  White Zombie was made in 1932 using a many left over sets from Frankenstein and Dracula.  It stars Bella Lugosi as 'Murder' Legendre, who is a Haitian voodoo master.  Legendre is contracted by a man (Charles Beaumont) to turn the woman he loves into a zombie so that he can steal her away from her husband-to-be (Neil).  Beaumont does not like his zombie-fied woman since she kind of lacks a soul now, and wants her to be turned back into the loving person she used to be. Legendre decides that Beaumont can basically go screw himself, and works on turning him into a zombie too.  All the while, Neil is working to save his bride from being a zombie.

Honestly, the movie could have had almost any plot.  I didn't care. Bella Lugosi is awesome with his super creepy eyes, and Madeline Parker (who plays the woman who is turned into the zombie) is beautiful.  Plus, the sets are great, and Parker is dressed in the super awesome early 30's fashion.  That, and the fun plot, made this a short and enjoyable movie.  I'd definitely recommend it to any fan of black and white horror movies.

This past weekend I also re-watched The Sixth Sense.  I had forgotten how nicely atmospheric that movie was.  And how much fun an M. Night Shyamalan was before he got to be so M. Night Shyamalanish.  The Sixth Sense is just a good movie.

I've also re-watched Dolls in this past week.  Dolls is a movie about some crazy toy makers who lure people into their house and turn them into dolls, trapping their souls in the tiny little bodies forever!  But, these serial killers have a soft spot for children and adults who still act like children.  So *SPOILER!* the nice young girl who survives the movie makes plans to come and visit the people who have imprisoned her father and step-mother's souls in the bodies of living dolls next summer.  You know, before the girl goes off to live a happy life with her mother not caring what the hell happened to her father who disappeared in the middle of the night.  Nicest. Serial. Killers.  Ever.  The girl likes these crazies so much she leaves her teddy bear with them.  Yeah.

This week I am going to make some time for Slumber Party Massacre, and who knows what else.  Maybe I should dig out my copy of The Fog for I love me some John Carpenter goodness.

Another 31 Days of Halloween Update

Time for an update on my progress with the 31 Days of Halloween!  Here are the new movies I've watched:  The House on Sorority Row and The Last House on the Left.  I've also re-watched Shawn of the Dead, and a lot more Supernatural.

I was not impressed with either Sorority Row, or The Last House on the Left.  The House on Sorority Row basically came across as a really, really, embarrassingly, bad rip off of Black Christmas.  I mean the remake of Black Christmas was not as bad of a remake of the movie Black Christmas as The House on Sorority Row.  I did recognize someone from the movie though, an actress I am very jealous of because she got to play the love interest of Scott Bakula's character in Necessary Roughness.  Once I realized this, I spent a good majority of the movie replaying Necessary Roughness in my head.  Sinbad included, I much prefer Necessary Roughness to The House on Sorority Row.

I choose to watch The Last House on the left for a few reasons.  1- it was on a list of 100 greatest horror movies that my friend had sent me, 2- it was on Netflix instant, and 3- it was unrated so I was sure it'd be awesome and horrible!  I mean I've heard that this is a terrifying movie.  And I'd agree.  It's very terrifying...if you are scared of 70's fashion and banjo music.  This was the most tame unrated movie I've ever seen, and the most docile "terrifying" movie I've ever encountered in my entire life.  It was so bad that afterwards, to work through my unstated blood lust, I watched clips from Audition and the Saw movies.  I sunk to the level of SAW 3 & 4!  It was a new low.

To make up for these terrible, horrible, very bad movies (not to steal your line there Judy Voirst!) I re-watched Shawn of the Dead, and remembered once again why it is so awesome.  Seriously, this is such a good movie that I am not even scared by the zombies.  This movie is so great that a guy who was chatting with me online got instantly blocked when he told me how much he hated this movie (well also he was trying to stalk me and find out where I lived, but a good portion of the blocking came from his dislike of Shawn of The Dead).

We'll see what Netflix instant has in store for me next.  Netflix instant, if you are listening!  PLEASE find a way to add Sleepaway Camp and The Slumber Part Massacre to instant!  I do not have the money to by the DVDs right now.

Dragonbreath Curse of the Were-Weiner by Ursula Vernon

This review is based on an Advanced Reader's Copy that I recieved from the publisher.

I've been aware of, but have never read any of the books in the Dragonbreath series. I got this advanced copy and couldn't wait to read it, the cover itself is adorable, and the story seemed like it would be fun. This book completely exceeded my expectations.

The writing was smart, the humor was great and quick, the main characters were adorable, and the art was just right. I continued to quote pieces of this book to the person who was in the room with me. I thin he actually got to the point where he really did not want to hear anymore about the were-weiner, or for little Danny Dragon. I'm not sure why he didn't want to hear it anymore, because seriously, this book is just that awesome, and the jokes never get old.

After finishing this volume I actually sought the first two out at Barnes and Noble. I've read about 80 pages of the first volume in the series and can't wait to finish it.

31 Days of Halloween update

So, last year I kept you all up to date much better than I have this year when it comes to my 31 Days of Halloween. Honestly, my only excuse is that this year I have somewhat of a social life, so I haven't had as much time to make note of the movies and shows I've been watching. To make up for that fact though, I am now writing a super awesome note of the horror movies and shows that I've watched this year so far.

I've been lazy in many ways including not posting notes. I've been using Supernatural to meet the requirements of my challenge to myself. This includes the first season of the show, and the new season. I have to say, that the first season (to me) is still the best. I love Cas and everything, he is the super awesome, but I miss the original premise of the show. That said, I do like this season. Dean is domestic and all, but I think (except for the whole angel aspect) that this season is a bit more pure to the show's roots. Plus, the end of the second episode, that was just awesome.

Onto new movies that I've watched this year. Just an FYI, this is my first year doing this challenge mostly alone, and honestly, I am a big ol chicken. So, I am not watching the uber scary, or the uber zombie, movies by myself. Also, so not going to be watching Quarantine, The Descent, or Human Centipede alone (the last one I wouldn't watch EVER), so the newer ones may come across as rather lame and/or tame. But, that's just how I roll, so deal with it! :P


New this year (so far) has been The Haunting of Molly Hartley, Terror Train, and MST3K: Zombie Nightmare.


The Haunting of Molly Hartley got turned off after half an hour. It was a boring ol snooze fest that looked like nothing more than a promo for 90210 on the CW. Seriously, had I had insomnia I would have used this movie to put me to sleep. I'd not suggest anyone else watch this movie.

MST3K: Zombie Nightmare, yeah, ok I said no zombie movies, but seriously this was an MST3K movie, so it really wasn't scary. Plus, this movie had Adam West in it. ADAM FREAKING WEST! How can you not watch a movie with Adam West? This movie is about some dude that gets killed by some pseudo high school kids, then gets resurrected by Voodoo Tina Turner ala Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. He starts getting revenge, and well, honestly there really is no point in explaining the plot because the whole reason to watch this movie is the MST3K commentary. But, again, this movie had a zombie in it, so it qualifies as a horror movie for me.

Terror Train is my third new movie. If you know much about me you know that I love John Carpenter. Now, this movie was not made by him, but it stars one of his favorite ingenues, Jamie Lee Curtis. I will say that basically the movie is Prom Night on a train, except with more trading of romantic partners. Also, the end is pretty awesome. This is one that I'd recommend, especially if you like that 80's cheesy horror movie. Also, added bonus because Ellis from Die Hard. He's as much a complete jackass in this movie as he is in Die Hard, so that's just awesome.


I've re-watched some favorites including Halloween, Sometimes They Come Back, and Black Christmas.


I'm always on the look out for suggestions, so feel free to comment and give me more movies to watch!

Grace by Elizabeth Scott

Grace was raised to be an Angel.  Not the kind of Angel that you and I know, but one that will bring honor to the People when she dies by suicide bomb.  But, just before she is to fulfil that destiny, Grace realizes that she wants to live.  She turns her back on the way of life in which she was raised, and ends up on a train bound for possible freedom.  Traveling with the mysterious Kerr, Grace must consider the life she was raised for, and what life, freedom, and faith really mean to her.

I love Elizabeth Scott's books, but I will admit I was a bit worried about reading this one.  It sounded like it would be very political, and I will say that my politics don't always resonate with the rest of the literary world.  That said, I think this book handled a very delicate subject amazingly well.  Grace and Kerr are both characters who are sympathetic even when they should not be.  They are survivors, who have survived on the death of others.  The subject matter is a political one, but is handled without politics in this novel.  Neither Grace nor Kerr are from any real countries that we know of today.  The struggles they face though are real, and relevant.

This novel will introduce teens to concepts they might not have thought of, and it does so in a straightforward way that will speak to teens, and keep their interest.  This book may be a bit different than Scott's normal work, but her writing style is still very present, and fans of her books (especially Living Dead Girl) should give this one a chance.

31 Days of Halloween

I am love Halloween!  I love it so much in fact that I watch a horror or Halloween movie, or horror/Halloween themed TV show every night during the month of October!  So, I am always looking for suggestions, although a lot of them this year are going to be seen through Netflix instant.  I some Netflix movies at home, I just keep forgetting to send them back and/or may have lost them..

I'm very excited about the upcoming month.  There's Halloween, a friend from out of town is going to visit and we are going to go on a wine tour, and I am going on a trip to NYC!