Sinister 2 Review

Hello, ghosts and ghouls! See?! I told you I'd be posting my Sinister 2 review! There's a method to my madness.

I was very generously sent to see the film on Monday, and today is the day of the release, so I went about 4 days early. I was sent to a teeny tiny theater in the middle of Manhattan, where I sat amongst some really cool people in horror, one of which was a writer for Fangoria. If you're reading this, I didn't catch your name, but hello!

Now let me tell you a little about Sinister 2; it's very different from the first one. If you enjoyed the first one, and you would like me to be honest with you, the sequel is fun but you shouldn't go in with incredibly high expectations.

Bughuul is scary, as always. He's easily one of my favorite horror villains...we're talking like top 3. They show him a ton in this one (a little too much for my taste) and it ends up making him look a little bit silly, but the scares are very much welcomed amongst what's going on with the rest of the storyline.

Deputy So and So is back and he's blander than the last film...it kind of just feels like his heart isn't in it. Then we have the rest of the film from the perspective of the most annoying group of children to ever grace the big screen. Their dialogue and acting is mediocre which makes the film feel of the same caliber, because they literally never go away. They're everywhere. Constantly.

That brings me to my favorite part: the deaths in the film. They're great. If you loved the Super 8, gruesome films from the first movie, you're in luck because these do not skimp on the gross-out factor. They involve some of my biggest fears this time, too...alligators, and dentists. NOPE. They also include that great, horrifying music that almost forced me to turn off the first film.

I honestly wish there were more that I could say about the film. I have really mixed feelings because Sinister is a film that I consider a big part of what shapes me as a horror fan- it made me realize what truly makes me feel scared and uneasy. I expected this film to do the same and while I still absolutely adore Bughuul more than anything, this one felt like a cop-out. My feeling about why this film was made was: "well, the first one did well, so let's capitalize on it". Listen, guys, I'm all about you making money on your movie! Just...how come it wasn't up to the standards of the first?

I'm going to give this film a 4.5/10 because it could have been worse, but could have been better.
 I desperately wish that they would have left the perspective the same, and I understand why that didn't happen...but it really ruined it for me.

Let me know what you guys think when you go to see the film! I actually went to see it for a second time last night...don't laugh at me! Little Bughuul came with me and he loved it...understandably so.

Until next time, stay spooky <3

A Post is Coming

Hello, my spooks. I know, I missed a post on Tuesday, but with good reason! I'll be releasing a post tomorrow instead. I was lucky enough to be sent to screen Sinister 2  early, but I wasn't allowed to post about it until yesterday.
There is already a post up on my Moviepilot about it (they sent me to go see it so I wanted to make sure they got a post ASAP) but it's not a complete review of the film.
My review will be released tomorrow! I'll update you on my Facebook page as to when it goes live. If you don't follow my Facebook page already but you're a reader, I would LOVE to be able to interact with all of you so head on over to https://www.facebook.com/TerribleToyChest and say hello!
I'll see you all tomorrow for my Sinister 2 review!

I Went to Haunt Faire!

Over the past few weeks, things have been super busy. Between working one job full-time and working another casually, sometimes it's hard for me to sit back and really appreciate a day. I've been thinking a lot about how I haven't really had much time to myself...so I said "hey, I'm going to treat myself to one day of awesome spooky weirdness".
I ended up at Haunt Faire here in New York where I live. It's not often that a horror convention comes anywhere near here; typically things take place in NYC or New Jersey. I don't know why, it's just where the horror scene settled, I guess.
I hadn't done much research on Haunt Faire prior to buying tickets because I had a family party later in the day and didn't think I'd have time to go...but then I found out Nick King was going. If you don't know Nick King, you will know him as Bughuul from Sinister, and the sequel (which comes out August 21st and I'm counting the hours).

I saw Sinister a few months ago at a friend's house, and it was one of the few horror films where I had to close my eyes and check behind me to be sure that there were no crazy demon children. I was really, truly horrified at the death scenes, and I loved every second of it. Minus when I got home and was walking around the house in the dark. So naturally, when I found out the actor behind one of the most horrifying characters to ever grace the screen in a horror film was going to be at this convention, I said "you know what? Screw it. I'm buying tickets, and I'm going."

Cut to that Sunday (I work Saturdays, but took Sunday off). I loaded baby Bughuul that I got from MoodyVoodies into the car, and I was off (and incredibly determined to get him signed. Here's a picture of all of the Voodie babies:

I walked around for a bit inside and checked out who was around at the tables before heading over to meet Nick King. I realized right away that this was less of a horror convention and more of a job fair of sorts for people that wanted to work in haunted houses around the tri-state area. There were very few vendors, but there were plenty of fun haunts!
The vendors that were there had a lot of fun hand-painted dolls, magnets, makeup, etc. I somehow ended up with a huge painting of Bughuul, but I have no regrets about it...

The painting in back is the one I got at Haunt Faire, though I don't have the artist's name. I don't think it's even signed, to be honest. The mask on the left is part of my cosplay/Halloween costume in progress from JD Morgan Studios, and there's baby Bughuul on the right (after signing!).

When I tell you guys I think I was there for an hour total, I spent 30 of those minutes with Nick King talking about his upcoming projects and other conventions he'd be at, I spent 10 talking to Philip Friedman who is the Bride in Black from Insidious, and the other 20 minutes were spent wandering around looking at vendors.
All in all, it was a cute convention. What I'm really looking forward to (as always) is Bizarre AC in October. It's a few days before my birthday this year, so I'm going to be spending that weekend scared, dressed up, and probably drunk/hungover. If any of you will be joining me at Bizarre AC, let me know in a comment! I'd love to hang out!

I'll sign off with a photo of me hanging out with Nick King after he signed my little Bughuul:

He isn't nearly as scary in person! :)

Until next time, stay spooky!
Taylor Terrible

Sinister Review

Hello again, my creepies!

So in the midst of all of life's craziness, I was called to a friend's house to hang out and watch a movie. You'll have to read the review what I thought of said movie, which was Sinister (2012).

Here I was, sitting on the mattress-made-couch in my friend's living room. We sat around eating dumplings and hot-and-sour soup and joking about our high school experiences from the past, when my friend perked up and said "hey, I have Sinister on Bluray and I haven't cracked it open yet, anyone want to watch?"
There was an excited "YES!" from everyone in the room, aside from myself, who sat indifferent. I'd heard of Sinister, don't get me wrong. I knew that it existed. I just hadn't gotten around to watching it and I had NO idea what it was about.

And so we watched.

The opening scene- a family being hung from a tree. Alright, disturbing. But way to try to reel me in with some cheap thrills, Sinister.

One hour in. I was begging them to turn it off. Was I bored? No. Was I unhappy with the storyline? No.
I was so terrified of the death scenes that I had my hands over my eyes to distract myself from the horror that was happening. There's just something about watching a family get drowned to death in their own pool while strapped to their lounge chairs (and watching their feet twitch as they try to escape) that made me lose it. Maybe it was the music.

It freaks me out every single time. It's horrible. I've always known music has a huge impact on how a film flows, but I never thought that it would disturb me this much. (This was when I started saying "Okay, do you guys want to do something else now?")

But alas, I made it to the end of the film. My body felt like an overcooked noodle. Mentally, I was shot. Every sound around me made me jump out of my skin. It made me despise children.
So it did its job.

For those of you that have never seen Sinister, I rate it as one of the top 5 scariest horror films I've ever watched. The story is realistic, brutal, and it makes you hope that you don't have any kids living in your house.
Mr. Boogie, or Buhguul, isn't nearly as involved as I wish he was, though the sequel looks like it's going to involve him much more (and it comes out in August, you guys! Yay!) but he's still scary. I like that he's not the center of attention- the weird looking antagonist doesn't steal the show, but what Ellison (the main protagonist) is going through takes the main stage, and everything going on around him is like a well-orchestrated horror choreography of terrifying, gory, horribleness.

If I was going to rate this film out of 10, I give it a 9.5. I wanted to be scared by a horror movie, and it totally delivered. I am SO HAPPY I finally got around to watching this film. So many thumbs up.

Until next time, spooks,
Taylor Terrible