My Favorite Horror Films

Well, this is going to be a fun post! I really have 3 films that have changed my view on horror forever. These films have shaped my love for the genre, and have taught me that loving horror isn't weird, because other people love them too! Instead of only giving you guys 3 films that I love, I'm going to do a list of my top 5, accompanied by mini-stories about why I love them so much.
Let's start with number 5...

5) The Exorcist

If this film didn't scare you at least a little when you first saw it, please reconsider your life choices. It's one of the scariest films of all time for a reason. Yes, I understand that the effects are slightly outdated. But is it still terrifying? Absolutely.
I got into this one because when I was in 5th grade we had library time, and I found a book that was literally just called Horror Movies. I checked it out of the school library and brought it home with me to read. I flipped through it, coming across classics like Dracula and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, then I flipped the page and found a picture of Regan's face. It was just her face, completely transformed. It was terrifying and disturbing, but I couldn't look away. So I begged and begged my mom to let me watch it and she told me no, because I was "too young". Thank you, mom, for not exposing me to this horror when I was so little. I watched it at my friend's house at a slumber party, and I didn't sleep that night. Come to think of it, I thought my sleeping bag was vibrating. I also thought the devil was going to possess me and I was going to curse at my parents and get in trouble. This one's always had a special place in my heart.

4) Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge

Don't get me wrong, I am completely aware that this entire series is so, so cheesy. However, there is something about those creepy puppets that I found so enticing. I would have put the original on the list, but I truly enjoyed the story of Toulon's Revenge much more than all the others. It's the only one that I found completely cohesive and understandable. Also, I didn't get bored halfway through like I did with the others.
How did I get into this one, you ask? Well, it started when I was about 7 or 8 years old. I had rented one of my weekly movies from Blockbuster, and there was a coming attraction for toys from the Puppet Master films. (You bet your ass I have all of them now) I wanted little Blade SO badly. I thought he was the sweetest little thing in the whole world. The movie was old, so the odds of finding the toys was slim to none, but my dad (who passed away when I was 16) saw how in love with Blade I was, and drove me to the closest collectibles store to see if maybe, just maybe, they had him. They didn't, but they did have Leech Woman! She wasn't my favorite, but out of sheer appreciation, I accepted the gift from my dad, and I had little Leech Woman for about 5 years before she went missing. I'm sure my mom threw her out because she thought she was creepy. Fast forward a few years, my other half and I watched through the entire series, and I loved this one. It reminded me of my childhood, and it made me realize I have a seriously weird love for creepy-looking dolls. We've collected the whole set of the action figures, and I even met Charles Band (the creator) and he signed my Blade for me!

That's me and Charles Band. My other half is on the right, but I feel like he wouldn't appreciate me throwing him on my blog. Also, this was before I had my nose fixed, so pardon the inaccuracy. This was about 2 years ago. :)

3) Trick 'r Treat

This film is just plain fun. I can't say enough good things about this one. This is the film I recommend to everyone that isn't sure what kind of horror they like. The only thing I dislike is really the werewolf story, and even that one is good. Sam is the cutest, and the story is wonderful. It's essentially "believe in Halloween or, you know, this adorable little pumpkinhead in a onesie is gonna come kill you."
I only saw this one recently, but I catch myself saying "wrong way" like the kid on the bus all of the time when I drive in the wrong direction. I always check my candy. I also don't take home strangers, but I've never done that anyway. And since I've seen it, I've probably watched it about 10 times. It's so well-done, and so classic.

2) IT

This is another cheesy one, but it's so classic. First of all, what's better than Tim Curry as a crazy clown killer who ISN'T actually a clown?! Second, nothing is more terrifying than the idea of something playing on exactly what you're afraid of to break you down?
I've always had a love for killer clowns. I don't know what it is, something about the fact that they're supposed to be so friendly and sweet, but it turns out they're actually awful and evil and maniacal and they'll eat your soul.
(But Pennywise's eyebrows are on point, see photo above.)
But I love Pennywise's voice, his mannerisms, his dry humor laced with evil threats, just everything about him. I find myself rooting for him to catch them more than the kids (and adults) getting away. While this one is brutally long, it's the perfect amount of frightening, entertaining, and funny to keep you fixed on the screen for the full 3 hours. Yes, 3 hours. It's worth it, I promise.
"You want a balloon, Georgie?"

1) This is it. My holy grail. The film that made its way on to my body permanently. I have a decal of this guy on my car. I have a life-sized bust of him in my room.
You guessed it.......

My man Pinhead in Hellraiser! I've tried to think long and hard about why I adore this one so much. Could it be because it's gory? Probably. Could it be because there's a group of badasses walking around looking like a death metal band? Also probably. But most likely: I feel like I can relate to so many of the characters from this one. Mostly the cenobites. Crazy, right?
There's something about their show-no-mercy attitude that reminds me of myself. I'm the type of person that won't take anyone's BS. These guys don't either. I also think that there's really something so appealing in having a horror villain you can plead to and have them sort of listen. I don't really think Jason or Michael really feel bad when they're bludgeoning you to death. Pinhead at least gives you the time of day to say your peace, looks like he's contemplating letting you go, then says "hey, you know what? Not good enough for me. Let's chain you up and rip your face off."
It also helps that the costumes and makeup are incredible. I wish I was talented enough to put all that on someone.
But I love the story of this one so much that it's become the staple of my room. I have an entire shelf dedicated to my love for this one. I've also met all 4 cenobites, and they're all sweet as hell...no pun intended. I actually shared coffee with Butterball (Simon Bamford) and got his view on what it was like being a cenobite, he told me he hated it because he and Chatterer (Nicholas Vince) had no eye or ear holes, so most takes while filming were them walking into each other or the walls.
Here, have a picture of me with them.

Simon Bamford (Butterball) on the far left, Barbie Wilde (Female) middle left, Doug Bradley (Pinhead) middle right, and Nicholas Vince (Chatterer) far right. Far, far right is my other half. He couldn't escape this one. :)

I would love to know all of your favorite films, my horror lovers! Please let me know in the comments what your favorites are!

My Prized Horror Possessions

For those of you that follow me on Instagram, you've seen what I call my "horror shelf", which started out like this:

On the Hellraiser side, I had a few Hellraiser comic books, and a puzzle box, a picture of Elliot Spencer (Pinhead before he's Pinhead) and what looks like a bookmark with a film cell from the film, which I had received as a gift.
On the "everything else" side, I had plushie Blade, 12" scale Blade, a Blade bobblehead signed by Charles Band from when I met him at ComicCon, a DVD of Puppet Master 1-9, and a few miscellaneous figures from the movie. It looks like I had Blade, Jester, Leech Woman, and Mephisto.
That was the beginning of the end...the horror shelf now looks like this:

I would say the collection has gotten completely out-of-hand. I'm going to have to break up my full collection over the span of a few posts, but that'll come later. For now, I'll just let you in on a few of my favorites.

First of all, let's just talk about that Pinhead bust on the far left. He's one-of-a-few, made from a mold of Doug Bradley's head. For those of you who don't know Doug Bradley, he's the guy that plays Pinhead, but he's also a total sweetheart. Yes, I've met him. I'll explain that in a later post as well...I've met all 4 Cenobites, and even shared coffee with one of them!
Anyway, my Pinhead bust: he's hand-painted, hand-constructed. He was a birthday gift. I don't know where he came from, I don't know how much he costed. All I know is I have someone amazing in my life who found him for me.

Next, we have my Cenobite lair box-set...that's that big box that you can see to the left of my puzzle box, and it looks a little like this now:

Yes, it is signed by all 4 of them. My next plan is to track down Mr. Clive Barker himself and have him sign this bad boy. It's my pride and joy, and I love it so, so, SO much. This one came from a comic book shop not too far from me.
My puzzle box under that glass dome is also signed by all 4 of them, plus Ashley Lawrence, who plays Kirsty Cotton. What can I say...it was an awesome weekend.

Next on the list: my collection of horror plushies! I've had Blade since ComicCon of 2013, his tag is signed by the creator of Puppet Master, Mr. Charles Band.
But then...I have these babies:

I call them the Three Amigos, but they're also my three favorite villains (although for those of you that watch Freakshow, you know the deal with Twisty). Far left: Pinhead (duh), middle is Twisty the Clown from American Horror Story: Freakshow (see previous post about how much I love creepy clowns) and far right: Pennywise the Clown from Stephen King's IT. Because you all know how much I love IT. No, they don't all float.
...No, I don't want a balloon.
Now, these little loves- I can tell you where they came from! I encourage all of you to go check out the AMAZING Etsy shop Moodyvoodies. They are so sweet and incredible and helpful, and they made all 3 of these for me! They're handmade, and you get to be involved in the process of being made. I got to pick who was sitting and who was standing, and I got little updates like "hey, Taylor, do you like him like this? Or should I change -insert revision here-?" I love working with them. My entire paycheck goes into buying more of these. Hi, my name is Taylor, and I am a MoodyVoodies addict.

Like I said, I will absolutely show all of you the entire collection of babies I have up there. Yes, I call them "the babies", and it really freaks people out.
But for now, this is your little glimpse into the explosion that is my horror collection. These are the ones that are most special to me (but don't tell the others I said that, because I have to sleep in the same room as them, and I don't want anyone getting angry or jealous). I have everything from action figures to lunchboxes to Christmas ornaments, so it's going to span a week, probably.
Leave a comment and let me know if you'd like to see that as the topic of next week's posts, or if you want me to do some more reviews and/or chats before getting into that!

Next up: a talk about my current guilty pleasure...Ghost Adventures.