American Horror Story: Hotel?

Lady Gaga just recently posted this video to her Twitter:

It created quite a buzz amongst the horror community. How will she do? Wait, when was the theme of season 5 released? Will Twisty be in it? (okay, that last one is just me dreaming...)

Gaga is supposed to star in the season, although I'm hoping they'll cut the musical numbers that they've been known to do throughout the seasons. With Gaga in the mix, I have a feeling they're going to force a million more musical numbers on us, but we'll see...

There have been numerous quotes released saying that season 5 is going to be a reinvention, of sorts. There were many mixed feelings about AHS: Freakshow based on the rushed story and gorgeous characters meeting a bitter end very abruptly. I welcome this change with open arms.

I hope they draw some inspiration from The Shining, because when we think of scary hotels, what else do us horror fans think of? I am hoping, though, that they bring a really original spin to the idea of haunted hotels, maybe bringing in some history of haunted hotels in the US. Haunted places are my favorite.

Bring on the weirdness. Is it October yet?!

Digging Up the Marrow: A Review!

Hello my ghoulies! I decided to take on a movie that's gathered a lot of attention over the last few weeks...as you can tell by the title, that film is Digging Up the Marrow.
It's almost like a found-footage-type film, but there's something so much more genuine about it that completely blows other found footage films away. The characters are more relatable and at no point do they ever come across as "clueless" or "ditzy" as they often do. They usually choose characters that are cliched, and in this one, each personality is so vastly different.
It showcases Adam Green (as himself in the film, AND as the director) meeting a seemingly delusional fan who brings him to what he believes is the hub where monsters live. He calls it "the Marrow". Honestly, it kind of reminded me of Nightbreed. And if you don't know Nightbreed, it's Clive Barker, it's awesome, and you should watch it.
Anyway! Green begins to think this fan is delusional until they catch something seriously strange on their camera.

Here's my review of the film:
I thought it was awesome. I was drawn in from the first few minutes, and having read a synopsis I was excited to see how they pulled it off. About halfway in I started thinking I was losing interest a little bit- things were starting to get a little repetitive, but it's like a roller coaster ride of emotions. You're angry, you're a little freaked out, you're annoyed because one character is upset with another and you just want it resolved, you're excited, and then you're pretty terrified again.
The movie is a quick hour and a half, and it somehow ties in all of the beautiful emotions involved with horror without missing a beat. It also showcases the gorgeous artwork of artist Alex Pardee, but in real-life monster form. (If you haven't seen Pardee's work, I highly suggest you do...there will be at least one piece that will make you say "wow", I promise) The monsters are awesome, and the story is pretty believable. By no means is it meant to be a "paranormal" horror film, they make that clear. They want to let you know these monsters are real.
If I had to give it a rating out of 10 (10 being the best), I'd give it an 8.5, reason being I wish I wasn't disinterested in the middle, but that's literally the only reason.

If you're looking for a well-made, current horror film that actually ties in a good storyline with the right amount of scare factor, this is your kind of film. I'm normally very picky and really thoroughly enjoyed this one.
Let me know what you think when you watch it, horror family!

Haunted Locations I Love: Sweet Hollow Road

Hey ghosts and ghouls! This post is something new that I'd like to try. If you follow me on Instagram, you know what I'm all about aside from horror...though I suppose it could still be horror related...but in my spare time (so when I'm not slinging soap 5 or 6 days a week, and I'm not posting on here), I'm a paranormal investigator! (and if you don't follow me on Instagram, you can find me here, if you want!)

I got started a few months ago- it started out as more of a joke than anything, which I've come to find is how most of the people in the paranormal community got started. "It was a dare" or "I thought it was funny" are the responses I've found most common, and mine is no exception. My other half and I were introduced to Ghost Adventures around Thanksgiving, we were intoxicated and laughing and joking around about how awful it was, and then I had a thought. "Hey, maybe this isn't so bad" crossed my mind. I kept it to myself. After all, I had watched Ghost Hunters years before on a DVD I had.

Flash forward to Christmastime 2015. We bought up all of the seasons of Ghost Adventures we could find on DVD. We watched it in hysterics, joking about Zak's attitude and Aaron's faces. And suddenly it dawned on me: I actually really, really loved it. I kind of hated myself for it, but I couldn't deny it.

Christmas rolled around, and I received a P-SB7 as a gift. For those of you that aren't into ghost hunting, it's a spirit box- it picks up spirit voices in between radio frequencies. It's not foolproof, I get radio voices all of the time, but you know something is a little off when you get the same voice over multiple frequencies. I consider this the time when something is trying to establish a connection.

This won't be a post about my personal experiences, because I know that there's a lot of skepticism about that, and I want to leave this as a spooky horror blog, not a place for fighting over the existence of an afterlife. If you'd like to know about my paranormal experiences, please leave me a comment! I'd be happy to contact you and tell you about them.

Anyway, on to the point of this post! Where I live, there are plenty of haunted locations. The Fire Island Lighthouse, Kings Park Psychiatric Center, even Pilgrim State Psych. I haven't been to all of the locations I'd like to go to, but a place near and dear to my heart is Sweet Hollow Road.

There are a few stories that go along with the haunted history of Sweet Hollow. It's been featured on tv shows and websites all over the place because of how "active" it is.
One story has to do with Mount Misery Road, a road running parallel to Sweet Hollow. A small asylum was built in the woods back where the road ends, and one of the patients, Mary, supposedly set it on fire, essentially killing almost everyone in the building. Rumor has it that you can still hear the screaming patients from the fire. Even creepier: apparently they rebuilt the asylum...and it burnt down a second time. Weird, huh?

But there is an overpass crossing Sweet Hollow Road, and that is where I've personally been. Driving down that road at all is enough to make you cringe. The road is winding, dark, and covered in trees on both sides. It creates such an enclosed, claustrophobic feeling. The story is that a handful of teens hung themselves off of the overpass, and if you flash your lights while driving underneath, they will appear.
There is also the story of a woman who was killed in a head-on collision above Sweet Hollow.  If you flash your lights, you can see a shadow sit up. Is it a trick of the eyes? Or does the woman see you and sit up?

There are even more, if you can believe it, one of which has to do with a police officer who only has the front of his head intact, and a "hell hound" that means imminent death if you see him with his glowing red eyes.

All I can say is the feeling of being there is so terrifying and unsettling.....I love it. I can tell you more stories of hauntings around me if you guys are into this post! Let me know!

Poltergeist Remake...I'm Grossly Excited

I remember watching the original Poltergeist at my 10th birthday party in my basement with all of my best friends. We were all so terrified that a tree was going to come crashing through the window to eat us that none of us went to sleep that night. I also still frequently find myself having weird, nightmarish fears of the guy in the bathroom ripping his face off...so this begs the question: how excited are you for the remake coming out this year?! I'm so excited that I need to go into the liiiight...hehe...heh...

Producer Sam Raimi is probably an awesome pick to be on-board for this film, that's one of the things I'm most excited about. Some of his notable credits are the Evil Dead "remake" from 2013 (which holds a special place in my heart, because it was one of the first times I was actually dragged to a horror film I thought I'd be too scared to see, and it was also one of my first dates with my now-boyfriend-of-two-years), The Grudge, and Drag Me to Hell. Um, yes. His horror expertise is a welcomed credit on the roster for me.

Then, there's the up-to-date visual effects. The original Poltergeist is terrifying in it's own way, mostly because of the concept. You have an angry bunch of spirits throwing things around your house and sucking your daughter into the television. Your son gets swallowed by a tree. You have a small woman with an awful voice running around your house talking to your daughter that you can't see. If you haven't seen the original Poltergeist, it's like having not seen the original Evil Dead. It's a classic, and while it's not necessarily the best visual effects in the world, it still freaks you the hell out. That's what I'm looking forward to with Poltergeist: the story will never, ever be dated. It can only go up from here.

The only concern I think I have is them messing with the story. There is something about Carolanne and her family that was so charming and lovable, that you root for them obsessively the whole time. I was thrown off when I watched the trailer and the oldest daughter is on Facebook when her phone goes down. Meh. I know it isn't the 80s, but can't we pretend that it is? Also, they don't have little Zelda Rubinstein running around the house with that tiny voice of hers yelling "go into the light", which is also slightly disappointing.

But all in all, I can't wait until this one comes out! I think 2015 is going to be a year where horror reinvents itself, creating a new outlook on the genre. Except for that awful Unfriended movie. We're just going to pretend that doesn't happen. Cool? Cool.

Love you, my little ghosts and ghouls.

What It Means to be a Horror Fan

This is a super sappy post, I'm just warning you guys. There are a lot of things that have occurred to me over the last few months especially, but since I've truly become a part of the horror community.

This whole community has become a lifestyle. The idea that these twisted, terrifying things that exist in the world really bring a group of people together is...well, disturbing, but also so sobering, because I always thought I was the only person in the world who had a crush on Edward Scissorhands at 5 years old, or I was the only one who was sneaking out of the house to watch The Exorcist because my mom wouldn't let me when I was 9.

I have been welcomed into this community with nothing but open arms from everyone. The people I have met have been some of the most interesting humans I've ever had the pleasure of coming in contact with, from all different backgrounds.

So what does it mean to be a horror fan?
You're sick and twisted, and it's awesome.
You enjoy blood, gore, and the occasional beheading.
You go about your life as a normal person (which most people are surprised by, we don't go home and turn into Jeffrey Dahmer), you have a life, you have friends.
You live on the adrenaline of being terrified.
You think that the term "creepy" is a positive.
You're probably one of the coolest people in the world.
You defy the norm.

There are so many more things I could add to this list. To be honest, I never believed that I would fit in anywhere as a kid. I was bullied for years about how I looked, how I dressed, and what I liked. I was told by what was probably hundreds of people that I would never be able to go anywhere with the way I lived my life.

And instead, I grew up trying to suppress my love for the weird. It wasn't until right before I turned 20 that I found my love again, and that rush of being terrified but being so intrigued and wanting to be there left me feeling almost lost. I told myself I couldn't hold the love back anymore, and so I let it flow.

Here I am about 2 years later with a horror collection that's slowly engulfing my entire bedroom, relationships with some of the most beautiful people in life and on Instagram, and I am so proud to call myself a horror fan.

I take a few hours out of my day every day to post here, post on Moviepilot, make sure I watch films that are classic, or getting reviews (good or bad) so that I can tell you guys how I feel about them, and I am eternally grateful that you all support me the way you do. I think about my horror family every single day and how they've embraced me as one of the fellow weirdos.

It's not a hobby, it's not something we do in our free time, it's a lifestyle. There's no other word for it. When you're truly a horror fan, it's your life. I'm willing to be weird forever, and I can't wait to love every second of it.

Sincerely, truly, deeply, from the bottom of my heart, I love you all.
Until next time, while I'm still trying to get that HorrorBlock video up. -sigh-

As Above So Below: Ugh.

I think the title says it all. This post is going to be more of a rant than a review. I can't believe how disappointed I was with this film- I was so excited to see it when it came out in 2014, but for some reason I never got around to it. Maybe it was the universe's way of saving me time.

I watched this one yesterday, which will be 3 days ago when you guys read this, and every time I think about it, I get more sad.  I ended up checking Instagram through most of the last half of the film because I was just so horrifically bored. 

Let's get one thing straight: the concept sounded awesome. A woman searching to fulfill her father's legacy by finding the Philosopher's Stone in the collapsing catacombs of Paris? Sounds pretty sweet. Especially when you find out it's "haunted". I mean, in theory, it's cool. Then you watch the actual film.

-pause- I should have listened to the 27% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Okay, so it grips you and doesn't let go from the first five minutes when you think the protagonist is going to die, but because she's the protagonist, you know that isn't going to happen. Is it thrilling? At some points, like maybe when the phone is ringing and you don't know why...or when the wall people are attacking, I guess.

But let's just talk about those rushed, awful deaths throughout the film. It's like they advertise that you hear these delicately crafted backstories throughout the movie, building up to the point where the characters finally face their fear and deal with what their demon is...but that never happens. Sorry, to those of you that enjoyed this one, you're crazy if you think that these backstories were well done. I never felt like I got to know any of the characters at all with the exception of the main woman, and I can't even remember her name.

Essentially, the only good part of the film was the first 30 minutes. I liked the initial establishment of the entity that was taunting the group, but from then on, I was so bored that I almost shut it off, but I paid $6 on demand to watch it so I figured I should watch it all the way through.

The end of the movie was what really did me in, because there wasn't one. Nothing is resolved, nothing is fixed, nothing is proven, and nothing is explained. You just watched this WHOLE MOVIE waiting to find out if their efforts are successful, and you have NO IDEA WHAT HAPPENS AFTER?!

You guys. I honestly don't understand how this ended up as awful as it did. It looked like it was done so well, and ultimately, I don't remember the last time I watched a movie this bad. I'm sorry if you liked this one, but I really don't have any good to say about this one.

Let me know what you thought, especially if you didn't like it so we can be on the same page!

I'm still working on that video of my HorrorBlock unboxing for you guys, it's been rough. Until next time, my creeps!

Horns (2013): A Review

Hey guys! I know I promised a HorrorBlock unboxing in my last post, and trust me, I tried. I recorded it at LEAST 8 times, and each time the computer froze (it even does it in the final cut I got, I couldn't do anything about it, and I'm still getting used to this whole video-making thing...I'm trying to do it all on my own!) so I kept the last cut, and if you're reading this, it means the video didn't process in time to post for you guys this Thursday. I'm going to keep working at it though, I promise!
I've tried to upload it so many times, and every time it just tells me an unexpected error occurred. -sigh- I pinky swear, that video will be up and running eventually. It's all filmed. I swear.

So, in the meantime, I saw an awesome film this week! See title.

I had heard a ton about this one just from seeing people post the picture above on Instagram. I didn't know it was on Netflix until a few days ago (I'm behind on the times, you all know this) but I had a few moments to myself so I sat down and watched this.

I have to say, I'm very impressed. First of all, visually, I thought the film was stunning. The scenery in the woods is beautiful, and it made me pine for a treehouse. Get it? Pine? Because they're in the woods?
...I digress.

Daniel Radcliffe's performance was outstanding. He's emotional, he's insane, he's so sane it hurts, and he's hilarious. Honestly, the whole film is a rollercoaster ride of emotions the entire time. I caught myself tearing up towards the end. What horror film makes you emotional? Unless it's disgust, of course, or your favorite hero dies.

Here's a brief summary without spoilers, so for those of you that haven't seen this one yet, you can keep reading:
Ig Perrish lives in a small town where he falls in love with his childhood sweetheart at church. Cut to the fact that the entire town is condemning him to hell, because Merrin (the love of his life) has been murdered, and everyone thinks he did it. He spends the next week or so attempting to prove his innocence, but not without growing a huge set of horns on his forehead.
It all makes sense when you watch the film, I promise.

Ig vows that the power of the horns will lead him to good, and ultimately to finding Merrin's killer, allowing her to finally rest in peace, with her tragic story being told.

Honestly, this super brief synopsis does the film no justice. There are so many more details that are important, but if you haven't had a chance to watch this film I really, truly encourage you to do so. It put things in perspective for me in my personal life, but not without entertaining me with some gore, violence, a handful of sex scenes, and a very angry Daniel Radcliffe looking like Satan.

I know, I know, I'm raving about this one. I don't do it often because I usually go into films very skeptical. This was no exception, but it completely turned me around. It was a beautiful film. I don't have enough good things to say.

Let me know if you guys end up watching, and tell me what you think! How did you like it?!
Until next time!

Empty Bodies: a Review of a New Novel!

Hey guys! I'm really excited about this post for so many reasons. One, you know how much I love books. Two, this is a review of a book by one of the authors in my "Favorite Horror Books" post!

I had the privilege of becoming friends with an author, the ineffable Zach Bohannon, when I won a giveaway on his mailing list because I wanted to check some of his work out. A few weeks later, I had read through his book of 4 short stories and loved them.

Cut to about a month ago. I was lucky enough to receive an email from him that he wanted me to be a beta reader for his newest novel, Empty Bodies. I had never been a beta reader before, but I was excited to be trusted with such an important job. Essentially, I was sent a copy of the book early to read and give notes on. But let me just tell you guys, I never expected it to end up like this.

I finished Empty Bodies in less than 48 hours. That's in the middle of a crazy work week. Like, I was at work on my lunch break with my phone in my hand reading the PDF file. Let me give you the synopsis:

If you like zombies, this is going to be a great novel for you. It's about a group of survivors in the middle of a post-apocalyptic world trying to survive with hoards of "Empties" running around craving flesh and blood. Yummy. All of their stories are told separately, but you slowly but surely find out that they're all connected...
But what really got me hooked on this story: the characters are so memorable. I frequently caught myself reading with my hand over my mouth because so many moments were surprising, and honestly, really grotesque. It's very detailed, and very gory. I crossed my fingers at multiple points because I was scared my favorite characters were going to die. Basically, this story ties you up from the first page and doesn't let you go until the last sentence. It's enthralling.

I was so honored to read this story, and now I highly encourage all of you to do the same. It's really cool knowing that you can support an indie writer, so if you want to grab yourself a copy of Empty Bodies, click here!
If you guys decide to read it, leave me a comment below and let me know what you thought!
Until next time, my ghoulies...I'll be doing an unboxing of my HorrorBlock!