A while back I wrote a post reviewing Zach Bohannon's first book in the Empty Bodies series. Well today, friends, I have the pleasure of letting you know that he's released the second book: Adaptation!
Not only is Zach an incredible friend, he's an awesome storyteller and writer. I've had so much fun getting to know him and his writing, and I've also had the privilege of seeing these stories develop.
It picks up where Empty Bodies left off, the survivors trying to, well, survive as the Empties are taking over.
I don't want to give too much away for those of you that haven't read either book in the series, but what I can tell you is that if you're looking for a novel that's creepy, realistic, fun and gory, you've met your match. Empty Bodies: Adaptation got me to the point of cringing (quite a few times, I have a serious fear of being bitten by a "zombie" or in this case: "Empty")
The characters are so lovable...even the ones that you love to hate. David, in particular, is a character that I was scared to be connected to emotionally. He's so messed up in the head with a rage that drives him to kill, but when his story is explained...it's sad. I felt myself liking him, and then I caught myself and decided I had to hate him again. I'm still indifferent.
Something different that occurs in this novel as opposed to the first Empty Bodies novel is there's an exponential amount of character growth. The first novel, I feel, established the story, let you in on a few back-stories and introduced characters. Adaptation, however, makes you feel so close to these characters that it's like you went to high school with them. They're memorable; you feel for them and with them throughout the entire novel.
The Empties are scarier, they're smarter (in a way), and they're out for blood. This time, the characters not only have to deal with the Empties, but they also have to deal with each other.
As far as my real review of the novel goes: I blew through it in 5 hours with a few minutes of breaks in between. I sat down and hardly got up. It's enthralling, and it's really, really addicting.
It's on sale today on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Empty-Bodies-Adaptation-Zach-Bohannon-ebook/dp/B00VDIFSSW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1432001835&sr=8-2&keywords=empty+bodies
I suggest you pick it up if you're looking for a novel that's going to keep you on the edge of your seat no matter how long it takes for you to read it (but I'll warn you, it probably won't take long because you'll be flipping pages like a fiend).
Until next time, spooks! Let me know if you read Adaptation, and tell me what you think! Also leave a review on the Amazon page, it helps support indie horror :)
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Red Lights (2012) Review
Guys. Honestly, I had no idea this movie existed, but I am so glad I stumbled across it on Netflix. I was just looking for a good horror movie to watch and I checked out the ratings on this one, and I saw it had a pretty fabulous cast, and I said to myself "hey, why the heck not".
Now, I don't consider this film a horror film. It's not scary and it doesn't have jump scares, but it is a thriller.
Red Lights tells the story of Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) and her assistant (Cillian Murphy) trying to disprove psychic phenomena. Until now, they were doing really well, exposing fraud and letting the world know that psychics aren't real, until Simon Silver (Robert De Niro) comes back from his retirement as one of the world's best physics...mysteriously after his biggest critic dies of a heart attack.
First of all, the cast is incredible. I can never complain about Sigourney Weaver, I kind of have a huge girl crush on her, and then there's the ineffable Robert De Niro, and the insanely talented Cillian Murphy.
This movie totally changed the way I saw him...he's a really, really talented actor with beautifully chiseled cheekbones and a ridiculous jawline. Look out world, this guy's fabulous. He was by far my favorite part of the film.
As far as the story goes, I'm not the kind of person that can sit through a movie without wanting to get up at least once to grab a snack, get some water, or I just generally get bored and need a break...but this one kept me enthralled from beginning to end. Robert De Niro is the best love-to-hate semi-antagonist ever, Sigourney Weaver plays an awesomely frustrated doctor, and Cillian Murphy is the most loveable angsty assistant.
Personally, as someone who wants to be skeptical about psychics (I had an experience about 3 or 4 years ago with a medium that made me doubt my skepticism), this movie was cool to watch. It made me wonder if people really take it all that seriously where they devote their lives to trying to disprove the existence of any type of paranormal anything.
As a paranormal investigator, I like to believe that there's something after death. This film made me question it, then believe in it, then question it all over again. My mind was running laps the whole time, and I have to say, I was really, really impressed overall.
While, like I said, it isn't a horror film, I still suggest it for people that are into the idea of the paranormal, psychic abilities, or just people that enjoy a good movie (which I hope is all of you).
Let me know if you've seen it, I would love to hear other opinions!
Until next time, my spooks. <3
Taylor Terrible
Now, I don't consider this film a horror film. It's not scary and it doesn't have jump scares, but it is a thriller.
Red Lights tells the story of Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) and her assistant (Cillian Murphy) trying to disprove psychic phenomena. Until now, they were doing really well, exposing fraud and letting the world know that psychics aren't real, until Simon Silver (Robert De Niro) comes back from his retirement as one of the world's best physics...mysteriously after his biggest critic dies of a heart attack.
First of all, the cast is incredible. I can never complain about Sigourney Weaver, I kind of have a huge girl crush on her, and then there's the ineffable Robert De Niro, and the insanely talented Cillian Murphy.
This movie totally changed the way I saw him...he's a really, really talented actor with beautifully chiseled cheekbones and a ridiculous jawline. Look out world, this guy's fabulous. He was by far my favorite part of the film.
As far as the story goes, I'm not the kind of person that can sit through a movie without wanting to get up at least once to grab a snack, get some water, or I just generally get bored and need a break...but this one kept me enthralled from beginning to end. Robert De Niro is the best love-to-hate semi-antagonist ever, Sigourney Weaver plays an awesomely frustrated doctor, and Cillian Murphy is the most loveable angsty assistant.
Personally, as someone who wants to be skeptical about psychics (I had an experience about 3 or 4 years ago with a medium that made me doubt my skepticism), this movie was cool to watch. It made me wonder if people really take it all that seriously where they devote their lives to trying to disprove the existence of any type of paranormal anything.
As a paranormal investigator, I like to believe that there's something after death. This film made me question it, then believe in it, then question it all over again. My mind was running laps the whole time, and I have to say, I was really, really impressed overall.
While, like I said, it isn't a horror film, I still suggest it for people that are into the idea of the paranormal, psychic abilities, or just people that enjoy a good movie (which I hope is all of you).
Let me know if you've seen it, I would love to hear other opinions!
Until next time, my spooks. <3
Taylor Terrible
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
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?!
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?!
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
The Bay (2012) Review
So I know I said I wasn't going to do so many reviews, but this film ruined my life (in a good way because it was terrifying) so I wanted you all to know about it.
There are plenty of things in the world that are absolutely horrifying. You know, like spiders, clowns, blood, feet…to each their own! Now, here’s the point of the former sentence: not everyone is scared of these things.
There are plenty of things in the world that are absolutely horrifying. You know, like spiders, clowns, blood, feet…to each their own! Now, here’s the point of the former sentence: not everyone is scared of these things.
Something that everyone SHOULD be afraid of? Your local government poisoning your water with chicken poop, then you drink it and turn into a boil-covered, creepy mess of blood and guts falling out of you because a parasite invaded your body and ate your organs from the inside out.
If you’re not scared of that, I’m pretty sure you’re a liar. Or, I’m going to have to hang out with you. You’re going to help me survive the zombie apocalypse.
But The Bay (2012) tells the story of a small town in Maryland where a parasitic outbreak compromises the water, and the health of everyone in town.
It’s a found-footage film, which is normally not the type of film I enjoy. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this in past posts, because I have a problem believing that it’s “found-footage” because I know I’m watching a film. I don’t know, maybe that’s just a weird issue that only I have- I just feel like I know deep down that it’s fake and I’m never able to get into it.
But halfway through this film, I had my boyfriend nudging me to make sure that I was okay because he could tell that my anxiety level was through the roof.
If you all want to know my biggest fear, here it is: contagious diseases that have no cure. Anything that could contribute to zombies walking the earth, like an illness that would make you want to eat someone’s flesh. Don’t talk to me about it. It makes me so nervous.
I think it’s pretty reasonable, considering it could happen.
As the film develops, you begin to follow three different (yet equally important) people. (There are more than these three stories, however these were the three that caught my interest the most). One is an inexperienced news reporter who has decided to document the July 4th festivities of Chesapeake Bay, another is a teenage girl who is trying to FaceTime with her friend to explain to her that something is going horribly wrong in her hometown. And last but not least is the doctor who is dealing with the patients that are arriving (waves at a time) into his emergency room.
These poor people become the only people left around when the parasite begins eating away at everyone in the town. They watch people they know get torn apart from the inside out, kill themselves to escape their inevitable fate…honestly the film is horrific. I had a really, really hard time watching it; my stomach was in knots (both because of the tension and because of the gross gory scenes that were just all-around disgusting) and I decided I never want to drink unfiltered water again.
While I’m sure that I’ll get over my fear of tap water, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get over my fear of crazy parasites running rampant around my town, considering I think it’s something that’s plausible…maybe it’s totally irrational.
Back me up here, guys.
I don’t know if I’d ever rewatch this film just because I didn’t like the shakiness of the found-footage aspect of the film, but other than that, this one is probably one of the creepiest horror films I’ve seen in a while.
My advice to all of you if you feel like you haven’t seen a good scary movie in a while: watch this one, or find a film that targets exactly what you’re afraid of. It’ll work (almost) ever time.
Until next time, my creepy crawlers!
Taylor Terrible
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Traveling This Week
Hi all! If you haven't noticed, I think I'm going to be switching to posting on just Tuesdays. I write for my blog (this one here :D), another blog (Nightmarish Conjurings ) and I also write for moviepilot.com
I post reviews every other week on Nightmarish Conjurings, and often, I am sent to see pre-screenings of films or being asked to write specific posts on Moviepilot. In the midst of all of that, I feel like my posts on Terrible Toychest have been lacking; they aren't the quality I want them to be. I want to do more than just reviews, so this is where you all come in!
I would love to hear feedback from all of you...tell me what you want to see! Leave me a comment, or you can shoot me an email at taykrauss@gmail.com. I'll be checking it to see what you guys leave me!
As for this week, I'll be away in Atlantic City on vacation when this post goes up. I'm going away with a few horror fans like myself, so I'll be trying to put some fun stuff together for you guys!
Can't wait to talk to you all,
Taylor Terrible <3 <3
I post reviews every other week on Nightmarish Conjurings, and often, I am sent to see pre-screenings of films or being asked to write specific posts on Moviepilot. In the midst of all of that, I feel like my posts on Terrible Toychest have been lacking; they aren't the quality I want them to be. I want to do more than just reviews, so this is where you all come in!
I would love to hear feedback from all of you...tell me what you want to see! Leave me a comment, or you can shoot me an email at taykrauss@gmail.com. I'll be checking it to see what you guys leave me!
As for this week, I'll be away in Atlantic City on vacation when this post goes up. I'm going away with a few horror fans like myself, so I'll be trying to put some fun stuff together for you guys!
Can't wait to talk to you all,
Taylor Terrible <3 <3
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Unfriended Review
In honor of Unfriended coming out this weekend (one of the most talked about horror films in a LONG time), I was sent to go see it a little early! I got to see it a week ago today, so I wanted to give you guys a quick (very vague) review of the film. I don't want to give anything away other than my personal opinion, because this is a film that I truly believe all kinds of horror fans will appreciate. It has a message that I feel most films have been lacking.
If you haven't heard of Unfriended, here's a trailer (and let me just tell you, it does the film NO JUSTICE. DO NOT JUDGE THE FILM BY THE TRAILER.):
If you haven't heard of Unfriended, here's a trailer (and let me just tell you, it does the film NO JUSTICE. DO NOT JUDGE THE FILM BY THE TRAILER.):
I know how it sounds, guys. It sounds like you’re going to be watching someone’s Skype conversation for 2 hours. Well, you do. But in the midst of that, so much goes on that is really never touched upon in the trailers. (To be honest, the trailer makes the film look awful). But the film has heart, and a message that’s worth watching for anyone and everyone who has ever made fun of someone: the truth will always come back to hurt you.
I really don’t want to give too much away, because I know how skeptical people are about this film, and I believe everyone should really see it for themselves. What I can tell you, is that I’m the kind of horror fan that normally can’t stand the films that come out now because they use jump scares over true horror. Sure, Unfriended has plenty of jump scares. They’re something I don’t do well with, and I jump every time, and it’s really embarrassing…I guess that’s the point, huh? But over that, the film has something I didn’t expect: a decent amount of humor. The film doesn’t hesitate to make fun of itself, and it makes it so much more enjoyable to watch knowing that it wasn’t taken too seriously. Most of the theater was giggling while watching Blaire type over text or Facebook… something I will give away, is you will definitely be saying “girl, you need lessons in how to send a Facebook message.” It’s awful to watch her try to compose one, and it makes it hilarious.
Is this film gory? Not really. Is it violent? Absolutely. Do things happen that you probably wouldn’t expect from a film about Skype and Facebook? Oh, yes. There are deaths you probably wouldn’t expect from this kind of film, one of which had me almost cover my eyes, and I don’t really get disturbed by much. But the deaths are very real; things you probably haven’t seen before. I would compare them to Final Destination: they’re real in the sense that the deaths come from real things. It’s hard to explain, but in the same way someone could die in a tanning bed, someone can die straightening their hair…I’ll leave it there so I don’t give too much away.
I really implore you guys to go into this film with an open mind. I also implore you to not read any reviews (besides mine of course...) because I feel like a lot of people won't appreciate the message this film has to offer.
I would LOVE to hear all of your opinions of the film. Shoot me a comment and I'll be super excited to hear from you!
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Sorry I Disappeared
Hi, lovely ghoulies.
I'm so, so terribly sorry for my lack of posts over the last few days. I had a death in the family and needed some time away.
I will be back to posting as normal! I would love to hear from all of you, so tell me what you'd like to see. Any films you'd like me to review? Have a video you need me to check out that's terrifying and terrific? Let me know!
Thanks for understanding, guys. <3 <3
I'm so, so terribly sorry for my lack of posts over the last few days. I had a death in the family and needed some time away.
I will be back to posting as normal! I would love to hear from all of you, so tell me what you'd like to see. Any films you'd like me to review? Have a video you need me to check out that's terrifying and terrific? Let me know!
Thanks for understanding, guys. <3 <3
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