The New Pennywise is Only 21?!

There is speculation floating around the internet that Will Poulter of "We're the Millers" is in negotiations to play Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the remake of Stephen King's "It" and I'm freaking out.
I don't know if I'm freaking out in a good way or a bad way, but I'm freaking out.
As most of you know (or at least I think most of you know), my top 3 horror films of all time are Hellraiser, It, and Trick 'r Treat (in that order). It's a big deal for Hollywood to be remaking one of the classics, especially for me, because I think I saw It for the first time when I was about 9 and fell in love with killer clowns after that...
But what concerns me is the fact that Tim Curry will not be playing Pennywise. He made Pennywise one of the most iconic horror villains of all time; something nightmares were made of. Clowns became something other than a fun circus attraction- they became something to be feared. I feel that Curry is irreplaceable, and I by no means think that they're trying to replace him, but I think it will be hard to be on-par with his performance.

The plan is for the film to be broken up into two feature-length films, I assume to accommodate the child side of the book, and the adult side. For those of you that have not read the books but have seen the film, the film is awesome, but doesn't do the book the justice it deserves. There is so much more character development that needs to be seen that isn't acknowledged in the original film, and I think it was to fit time constraints because if they had followed the book, the film would have probably been about 6 hours.
SO! They will be splitting it into the two 2-hour films. Or so I assume. I'm also assuming that if the plan is to stay true to the books, that the films will be much more graphic this time around.

What do you guys think about the casting decision?!

American Horror Story: Freakshow

Man, there are so many things I can say about this season of American Horror Story. Let me start by saying this: Murder House is absolutely still my favorite season. But where does Freakshow fall? Let's have a chat about this.

There were a few reasons that this season of AHS was awesome.

Reason 1: The characters.

This guy. Twisty the Clown. He had the ability to terrify people, then make them cry with intense amounts of sympathy in the matter of one episode. His back-story was amazing. His mannerisms were totally awesome. His reasoning behind what he did, fabulous.

I loved him so much that I actually decided to dress up as him for Halloween.

I had way too much fun with this.

Dandy Mott; have you ever met someone so horrifyingly perfect on the outside, but disgustingly twisted on the inside? If you have, I applaud you for surviving, and I also want to give you a hug while you weep into my shoulder. What a messed up person. Watching his character develop and become more and more maniacal and awful was probably the most entertaining part of the show. 

Many of the other characters, ie. Elsa Mars, Jimmy Darling, and Desiree Dupree were definitely note-worthy. The performances of their respective actors were incredible. Elsa was developed beautifully. Strongman (Dell Toledo) was one of my favorite characters, and so fun to watch. He was a mess. It was great.

But there were plenty of things in the show that needed improvement.

Reason 2: The circus concept.

It sounded like it was going to be such an incredible idea. I mean, after a haunted house, an asylum, and a bunch of witches, what's the next scariest thing you can think of? (Take Coven out of there because it definitely was not scary by any means) I think of clowns and a circus. Now, I'm not afraid of clowns. Pennywise is my man. Art the Clown is a big favorite. Twisty made the list of my top 3 favorite clowns of all time (hell, I even had a doll, Christmas ornament and figure made of him to put in my collection) but the way this was done was pretty cool.

Based loosely on the 1932 film Freaks, you saw Pinheads, two-headed twins, "Lobster Boy", and more. The correlation was great. The original film is classic, so if you have never seen it, I suggest that you do. The full thing is on Youtube. It's pretty creepy.

But there were a few things that ruined it for me:

The season dragged. I only really enjoyed 4 or 5 episodes, most of which involved Twisty. For those of you that watched this season, you know why I say it like that. If you're planning on watching Freakshow, either stop reading, or expect subtle spoilers. I'll try to be good. I truly believe that the downfall of the season were those awful musical numbers. Jessica Lange is incredible, by all means, I bow down to her, but I think that the awkward songs (that were strangely out of the time period) threw off entire episodes. They were just...bleh.

What really ruined it for me was the season finale. While most of the season was just mediocre, saved only by really screwed up characters, the finale was so half-assed. I'm sorry, I don't know how else to say it. It seems like the writers didn't know how to wrap it up, so they just killed everyone, and left the rest to what we all already knew would happen.

Murder House left me guessing the whole time.

I haven't seen Asylum so I can't judge it, but I hear it's pretty great.

Coven didn't really fit into the series so much, but it was entertaining and the characters were wonderful.

This one...honestly? Honestly.

I don't mean to be totally down on it, but I don't really have much good to say. I mean, they put NPH in and got rid of him without wrapping up his character. All the other ones got an awful sendoff. 

I feel like this post isn't even completely cohesive. I'm just so disappointed that it's all of my thoughts smooshed into a post. 

Let me know what you thought about this, guys. I'm so sad, I expected it to be awesome because it started off strong, but I learned about 3 episodes in that I was going to be disappointed. -sigh-

...I still love Twisty though.

My Top 4 Horror Books

Books have held a very special place in my heart since I was super, super young. They were always my outlet when I was having a rough day, or when I used to get in trouble and my parents took my television remote away so I couldn't watch anymore...they thought I didn't like reading so it was always awesome getting some peace and quiet where I could just go through my book collection.
My horror obsession started with a Goosebumps book that I read when I was in kindergarten.

It was this one, you guys! I'm so excited! I couldn't remember the name of it, and it's all coming back to me now! It had all of the alternate endings, so that's why it was called one of the Give Yourself Goosebumps books. Ah, my childhood.

Anyway, as I grew up, my taste in horror changed, and Goosebumps wasn't so scary anymore. I needed something to give me my fix of terror, but I desperately needed it in book form. There's just something about turning pages that's so satisfying.

I went through tons of books, none of which every stuck out to me. It took me a long time to really discover what I loved where horror was concerned, and I found some wonderful books in that time. 

Here are the favorites I found:

4) The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

Not necessarily a book, it's actually a short story, but it's wonderful and so classic. This one gave me such anxiety as a kid when I read it. I used to carry around what looked like a textbook with Poe's complete works in it, and this one was the one that I read over and over, followed by the Cask of Amontillado.

A synopsis:

The narrator of the story commits a murder, and essentially has to convince himself he isn't going completely insane as he hears what he believes to be his victim's heart still beating under the floorboards. (He hacks up the body, for those of you that like gore.) 

I was always terrified of the fact that I truly believed that maybe the body was alive under the floorboards, and always somehow found myself hoping that the narrator wouldn't ruin it for himself. If you haven't read this one, I highly suggest it, along with all of Poe's work. He's classic.

3) The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

I only read this one recently, but it shot up my list to my top 4. I couldn't put this one down, I finished it in 48 hours and I was at work when I read it. I got really lucky, actually, because I went to a comic book store close to me that had a bargain bin full of old, used books. I got this one for $2, it's beat up and falling apart, and that makes me love it even more.
This one was one of my favorite films before it was one of my favorite books, as you guys know. I talk about it all the time. But there's something so terrifying about reading it because you picture it in your own way, and I like to create the scariest scenarios possible. I won't even give a synopsis, because I hope most of you have seen the film (or at least know of it). But I highly recommend reading the book. It's amazing. Good job, WPB.

2) The Dead Zone by Stephen King

This is another one I got from that bin at the comic book store! $3! What a steal! I had no idea what the deal was with this book, I saw Stephen King on the cover, and I knew I loved his work (no one is going to be surprised when they see my number 1) so I went for it, and as it turns out, I absolutely loved it.
There's a film adaptation with Christopher Walken in it, I still haven't seen that one though.
A synopsis:
Johnny Smith is injured in a car accident and wakes up from a coma 5 years later with the ability to see things in other people's lives by touching them, like their family history, and future things they're wondering about.
This thriller is incredibly entertaining; I wasn't sure how I was going to like it until I got a chapter in and really got addicted to the story. There was something about Johnny Smith's character and the turmoil he goes through that is so captivating, plus there's a second story that is going on during all of that that's even more disturbing and strange.
Basically, what I have to say about this story, is it's gripping to the point where it's near impossible to put the book down until you know exactly what happens at the end...I should reread this one.

1) No one is going to be surprised...it's Stephen King's IT. Duh.

Alright, I'll be honest. When I read this one the first time, I totally hated it. I was about 200 pages in and I completely stopped and told myself I'd never pick it up again. I remember where I was at that exact moment. I was waiting for my sister to have her hair cut, and I shut my Kindle off and stared into space, shook my head, and said "nope".
But, something that summer told me to try it again. I was working, but not enough. I had a decent amount of time on my hands. So why wouldn't I try reading something so classic?

And so it began. I sat, I sighed, and I powered my Kindle on. I clicked the title. I sighed again. I read two sentences. Then I sighed again. There was a lot of huffing and puffing in the beginning...but I've come to learn that sometimes, Stephen King likes to start things off slow. That explained so much! And so I dove in headfirst.
About a week later, I was finished, and I was obsessed. In love. Infatuated. Pennywise was always a favorite of mine but that secured him (or her, for those of you that know the real deal that they never explain in the film...you have to read it if you're a fan of the movie. It'll change everything.) as my number two favorite villain.
I feel like this one doesn't require a synopsis because the story is so well-known, but what I DO have to tell you, is if you've seen the film and you've enjoyed it, read the book. If you saw the film and hate it, read the book. If you saw the film and you're indifferent, read the book. The film is long, but it leaves out incredible and insanely important details that change everything. Read it. Seriously. Then report back and let me know how much you love it.

I'm thinking next on the list are some works by Clive Barker. You guys know me and my Hellraiser...Hellbound Heart is probably next.

I also just recently finished some works by my good friend Zach Bohannon called Dark Reveries. It was a collection of 4 short stories were completely wonderful. I won it in a giveaway, and it turns out I loved it so much that I emailed him in a panic about needing more of his work. Check him out, he's awesome.

I'm always very open to book suggestions, let me know in the comments if there are any I've been missing and/or overlooking all this time!
Thanks for reading, my ghouls, see you next time!