The Damned (2014) Review

Every week, I try to browse Netflix and see if I stumble upon any films that seem interesting. I love when I find a film with pretty okay reviews that I've never heard of before, and that's how I found The Damned.

When a man and his fiancee travel to Bogota, Colombia to find his rebellious daughter and get caught in a flash flood. With no car, the family treks to an old hotel that holds a disturbing secret about the owner and the basement.

The problem that I had with this film is that it was incredibly predictable. As soon as the family discovered what was going on, it was all downhill from there.
What I did enjoy, though (as most of you probably don't know) is that the film is half in Spanish and half in English. I majored in Spanish when I was in college, and I'm pretty proficient in speaking the language, so although there were subtitles, it added to the experience of the film. They make a language barrier a big part of the film to keep you on your toes, because the protagonist has no idea what the locals are trying to tell him.
Although, at the end, suddenly someone who only spoke Spanish in the beginning was fluent in English which threw me off a bit.

I really enjoy paranormal horror films, so this one was decently okay for me. While, like I said before, it was predictable, I did enjoy the storyline behind the possession (although it wasn't explained well) and I mostly enjoyed the acting. The father in the film is pretty cool, to be honest.
All in all, the film was pretty middle of the road for me. I would suggest you watch it once just to see what you think, however I'd never watch it a second time.

If you've seen The Damned, let me know what you thought! I'd love to hear other opinions about it!

We Are Still Here: Review

I recently watched the 2015 film We Are Still Here as per the recommendation of a handful of super excited people. I'd been hearing good things all week, so I told myself, "hey, I'll save this one for a rainy day and it'll be awesome!"

Cut to about two days later...there was a beautiful thunderstorm here in New York and I was so excited to snuggle up burrito-style and turn this flick on.
With the thunder and lightning in the background, I flipped this one on and got myself ready to be terrified.
The story is about a small town that a middle-aged couple moves to after the tragic death of their son. When things start to get a little weird in the house, the couple realizes that there may be someone their besides their beloved Bobby...so they call upon their "psychic" friend to check the house out with her boyfriend.

Things start to go downhill early on, giving you little bits of suspense here and there right off the bat. I feel like things are very stop-and-go; a lot of the suspense and jump scares happen very abruptly and they're kind of expected.
I have to say, the story itself is good. It's a pretty typical house-haunting-type film, but the story of the house and the history is fun.
The characters are really well-written, however the casting left a lot to be desired. I found the acting really cheesy to the point where I was having a hard time getting into the story.
The entities floating around the house getting crabby and nasty were pretty terrifying. I won't get too far into where they come from or what their deal is because it's very well-explained in the film, but what you should know is that two of them are kids, which is one of the things that freaks me out the most. Ick.

Overall, I liked the film. Maybe not enough to watch it again, but I do recommend it as a film that you check out at least once so you can join in on the conversation about it!
I give it a 6/10, a little better than halfway there but the acting really ruined it for me. The entities and the deaths are what got the rating up there for me...if you guys enjoy gore like I do, this one has PLENTY. I promise, it doesn't start off too gory, but once you get a little ways in...BAM. Body parts flying everywhere. Thumbs up on that for me.

Happy haunting, my spookies...let me know what you think of We Are Still Here!
Taylor Terrible <3

Contest Was a Bust

Well, we're nowhere closer to having anyone win that contest, guys. I didn't get any comments on that post, which was kind of discouraging. Womp womp. I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles, or however the saying goes, right?

I'll be looking for new films and books and such to review for next week. This week's just feeling kind of blah. Trying to get some new inspiration, but with a new job and such it's been hard to fit in watching movies, so if you want, leave me some recommendations on what to watch/read/do.

I'm thinking I'm going to cruise Netflix as usual and find one with an awful rating and check it out.
Until next week, guys.

Surprise! A Giveaway!

Hi ghoulies!
This post is going to be fun...as of June 7th the Terrible Toy Chest has 842 views (and I am so thankful for each and every one of them!). So as a thank you, I'm going to be holding a giveaway when my blog hits 1,000 reads.
Do you think we can do that within the next week?! I hope so!!
Here's how it'll work: to enter, leave a comment on this post- your email included (you'll have from June 9th until June 16th, when I make another post). You'll be automatically entered, and I'll announce the winner on the 16th as long as we hit 1,000 views!
I'll also email you just in case you don't read the post on the 16th...but hey, you'll get a cool shoutout.
You'll be getting a handmade Freddy Kreuger soap from Bastian's Boutique on Etsy (orange creamsicle scented, mmm) and a horror book from my collection with a personalized note inside :)

So what do you say, my ghosts?! Are you up for the challenge? I am!
Get to commenting, get to sharing, and get to winning!

And again, all of you, thank you so much for supporting my crazy horror obsession. You've validated that I've found my niche in the world, and being in love with ghosts and gore isn't as weird as I always thought it was. I love each and every one of you very, very much.

See you on the 16th!!
Taylor Terrible <3

Sweet Treats: A Review

Last time I reviewed a novel by author Jeremy Megargee it was Dirt Lullabies, featuring creepy floor-demon M. I got lucky enough to receive a copy of Sweet Treats, his newest novel, featuring a new demon for me to want to hang out with.

I'm always excited to get new reading material; I consider myself a bookworm where I can sink my teeth into just about anything and everything. When you send me a novel about a demon possessing a child in order to take down a psycho killer? Count me in.

I've always been fascinated with the idea of demonic possession, so when I ripped into this book (as I always do with Jeremy's novels), I was really excited to see it come up! Basically, the premise of the story is that Jack, a twelve-year-old boy is kidnapped and tortured by a nasty man named Edgar. Left for dead, Jack is thrown into a sewer and encounters an unexpected light at the end of the tunnel in demon-friend Verminort. From there, some really awful things ensue, like Edgar holding his sister captive in his house upstairs, and downstairs he keeps a room full of preserved "treats"...-shudder-

I'll leave you with that little synopsis because I do highly suggest giving this novel a read. I've never come across anything like this story before. The characters, as usual, are really fun to read. Jeremy knows how to appeal to readers with his characters in a way that most writers don't- he makes them your friend. You aren't reading about someone you've never heard of and you have to learn about; somehow from the first time they speak, their first action, you know them. Jack is a kid, which makes the story sadder than intended, I'm sure...at least to me, Verminort is a chatty demon with daddy issues, and Edgar is the most repulsive, bumbling human being I think I've ever heard of. This was all within 101 pages that I developed these intense feelings for these characters.

Also, for those of you that read Dirt Lullabies, there may or may not be mention of one of my favorite characters here in Sweet Treats!

So as always, I leave you with this: Jeremy Megargee is one of the most talented authors that I've had the pleasure of reading. He and Zach Bohannon are both forces to be reckoned with in the horror genre among the likes of Stephen King and RL Stine; they have the ability to go to a very, very dark place, and they drag you right there with them...and they never cease to impress me.

One of the most important things we can do as a community of horror lovers here on the internet is support each other, and as always, it was a pleasure having the opportunity to support and incredible indie horror writer.
Purchase a copy of Sweet Treats on Amazon and support indie horror!

Until we meet again, spooks <3
Taylor Terrible