Archive for the ‘Scary Stuff’ Category

Review: Cinderella (2006 film)

Posted: May 19, 2015 in Review, Scary Stuff
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A while back I said I was going to try and catch some more Korean horror films after seeing one that wasn’t too bad. Well, I just saw another one. And it sucked. So I’m sharing my thoughts on it here, partly because I feel like I should tell people in case they want to see it, and partly because I need to exorcise my thoughts on it or they’ll stew in my head for a while (never a good thing).

Cinderella is only very tenuously connected to the story we all grew up with. This movie follows Hyeon-su, a very pretty teenager who lives with her talented plastic surgeon mother Yoonhee. After one of her friends suffers a gruesome death after getting plastic surgery from Yoonhee, Hyeon-su starts to wonder about things her mother has kept from her. As more of her friends are attacked after getting surgery and as Hyeon-su’s mother starts to lose her mind, Hyeon-su must find the answers, all while being stalked by a blue-eyed ghost with a preoccupation for pretty faces.

While I give that the premise is good and the story told in the movie is very interesting as well, I have a lot of problems with Cinderella. I found myself having a lot of trouble understanding what was going on, the filmmakers didn’t do a very good job of emphasizing the supernatural elements so that you knew they were supernatural, and they didn’t do a good job explaining the mother’s dark secret very well either, making it so that the final twist loses its punch (if you actually find yourself not having to look up the Wikipedia article so you can have the final twist explained to you). Not only that, but the flashbacks are often forced on us so rapidly we have trouble figuring out whether we’re in the past or the present. Add in only a few real scares and that just shows how bad this movie is.

For what it’s worth though, the scares, when they do happen, are spectacular and frightening. And they do chronicle Yoonhee’s deterioration into madness quite well. And like I said, the premise is good, and the story they were telling would’ve been more impactful if they’d done a better job making the movie.

All in all, I’m giving Cinderella a 2.4 out of 5. Not great, but it was a good attempt, and if it had been done right, Cinderella might’ve been a great horror movie with an underlying theme of how some people, especially some South Koreans, are obsessed with beauty and achieving it through plastic surgery. I’d suggest a North American remake, but I have a feeling that that would just be another House at the End of the Street: great potential but poor execution.

My next review will probably be the Poltergeist remake coming out later this week. I’m a fan of the original and I’d like to see what they change in this adaptation (besides the little girl being a brunette and the medium being a forty-something Brit) and how scary it is. Judging by the previews, it should be plenty scary.

Streghe: Finished

Posted: May 6, 2015 in ideas, Novelette, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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Another late night of writing, and it’s paid off. I’ve just finished my latest first draft of a story, and this one’s a whopper. Tonight we’ve got Streghe (which, by the way, is also the Italian word for witch) and is based on one of the witch mythologies we learned about in History of Witchcraft (that class is already coming in handy). Ever since I heard about the mythology, I’ve been fascinated by it, and I knew I had to incorporate it into a story. So as soon as I could, which meant right after Rose‘s second draft was done with, I started working on it.

I did a few things differently with this story. For one, I wrote an outline of events for it, even though it’s only a short story. I’m trying to see if writing outlines for shorter works makes a difference in how I write them. And it does, because even though I went back several times to change the direction of this story, I felt I had a better idea of where it was going and I wasn’t too worried about word counts this time around.

Still, that nonchalance kind of led to this story getting a bit long. In fact, it’s no longer a short story, it’s a novelette! Over ten-thousand words total. I’m not sure if I want to try and shorten it in the second draft or see about expanding it. There were definitely elements in the first draft I didn’t get to include, so I’d like to see about getting those in during the second draft. It really depends on what ideas percolate in my head between the first and second draft.

Well, it’s a good first draft, I think. And once I’ve had some time, I’ll make a (probably) better second draft. In the meantime, if I have time tomorrow I’ll start a new story that’ll most likely also be novelette length (yeah, I never stop writing) and then I’ll get back to editing Video Rage, and see if I have some ideas on how to rewrite and improve Laura Horn.

Until next time, my Followers of Fear. Things are just going so well for me lately. I could just dance. In fact, I think I might (and I’ll terrify everyone who sees it, which is not a problem for me).

Snake: Review #6

Posted: May 6, 2015 in Living and Life, Novel, Review, Scary Stuff, Writing
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snake

How far would you go for love and revenge?

Well, I’ve been having a pretty good day today. Been having a pretty good week actually. Lots of wonderful things have been happening to me. I’d love to list them all for you guys, but that would be a pretty long list. And since I’m graduating, you can probably guess what some of those good things are. So I’ll just stick to the latest one. As you can see from the title of this post, Snake has a new review. This one comes from ENJ, who is a friend of mine and has read a lot of my work. Her five-star review, titled Must Read (wow, even the title’s a compliment), had this to say:

This book is another awesome creation by Rami. This book is scary and brings the reader to the depths of how evil the human character can be and how anyone can be driven to commit acts of torture. The author does a wonderful job of developing the plot and characters and there are certainly twists and turns. I highly recommend reading this book if you love a good frightening thrill.

Thanks ENJ. I’m glad you found it so frightening. And guess what? This review matches what others have been saying about Snake:

I really enjoyed this book. When I selected “dark” for the mood, it was almost a toss up with suspenseful. You knew early on who the mafia killer was, but the question of how he was going to find his girlfriend and rescue her was suspenseful. I ended up choosing “dark” because of the level of violence our main character used in getting to the girlfriend. But he was a complex character. Even though he definitely had the dark side to him, there was a surprisingly good side to him, too. You don’t really see this until later on in the book. So early on, you might think this is an unredeemable character. But one of the most intriguing characters are those who aren’t what they initially seem, and for this reason, I enjoyed this character. The pacing was just right. It wasn’t rushed, and in no way did I ever feel it dragged, which is awesome for a book that was over 500 pages in paperback.

This book is violent, and it contains sexual situations. Some of it can be cringeworthy. So I wouldn’t suggest this for young readers. I’d recommend this only to adults. If it was a movie, it would be a strong R. There’s also swearing. These things don’t bother me as a reader, but I know it bothers some, which is why I mention it. But if you don’t mind these elements, I think you will enjoy this book. It’s a great thriller.

Ruth Ann Nordin, author of Ruined by the Earl

Well, I took yet another vacation where I made my family “just wait until I finish this chapter.” This page-turning read was another great effort by Rami. He is not afraid to take risks in plot twists and turns, character development and he takes the reader on quite the journey in this book. So looking forward to his next creation!

Michele Kurland

Rami Ungar makes a promise to (the reader) in all his writings: he WILL scare you, and if he does “his job is done.” Snake will scare you. I am a huge Stephen King fan, so this should give you some idea of my tolerance level for gore, death and mayhem – I was scared. Rami takes you into places you would never have believed possible, and manages to pull his hero (and eventually his heroine) out of them against all odds. If you like to be scared. If you LOVE to be scared. You should read this book.

Angela Misri, author of Thrice Burned

If you would be interested in reading Snake and meeting the man who would do anything, even become a monster, in order to save the woman he loves, then you can check it out in print paperback and e-book from Amazon and Smashwords. You can also check out my other books, Reborn City and The Quiet Game, on these sites.

And if you do decide to read these works, please let me know what you think, whether it be in a comment or in a review. Good or bad, I love feedback, and I always love hearing what my readers think.

Well, that’s all for now. I’ve got some writing to do, so I’m going to get it done. Have a good one, my Followers of Fear. I know I’m having one!

My Actual Feelings About Dolls

Posted: April 28, 2015 in Living and Life, Reflections, Scary Stuff, Writing
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A while back, I wrote a post about how I was kind of scared of dolls, especially older dolls. Well, it’s been nearly three years since that post, and I’m not sure if that applies so much anymore. I mean yeah, I had a nightmare when I was a kid about a doll that was popular among girls at the time chasing me (great thing about having younger sisters, you know what’s popular among their age group when you spend time with them). And the Goosebumps books about the dummy freaked me out at the time. And anyone who saw the movie Annabelle probably had a healthy fear of human-shaped toys for girls for the next few days (I have a friend who’s been afraid ever since, much to my delight worry).

But am I afraid of dolls in general? Particularly the old ones, dummies, and bisque or porcelain dolls? If I was, I’m not so much anymore. It’d be fairer to say that I find myself fascinated with dolls. They show up in stories I write (good or evil, living or otherwise), they’re in the anime I’m watching these days, and as strange as this sounds, I’m thinking of buying one or two because of their association to said anime (though considering my job and financial status, I’ll probably hold off).

I think the fascination I have derives from where the fear comes from in others. Fear of dolls and other human-like objects, or automatonophobia, has several theorized causes. One of them says that when humans recognize other humans, we expect certain behaviors from them. When something looks human but doesn’t conform to those expected behaviors, we feel fear or repulsion. There’s also the idea that being exposed to negative ideas or portrayals of human-like objects (Chucky from Child’s Play or the Autons from Doctor Who), especially at a young age, can cause bad feelings towards them. And of course, the idea where something looks human but isn’t can scare people badly.

I think for me, instead of revulsion or fear, all those reasons cause me to want to know more. Especially about ones reputedly haunted (I found this article about the market for haunted dolls not too long ago, and I kind of wanted to get in on it, though I’m a little wary about having anything with haunted associations in my house). There’s something about something so small, and so seemingly human but not, and possibly containing some secret soul or knowledge that we can’t truly comprehend, that’s powerful. That’s pretty amazing to me. That’s freaking terrifying! And you know me and terrifying! We’re bosom buddies.

So don’t be surprised if I have a few stories come out that involve dolls of all sorts, that come alive or become the focus for a character’s psychosis. And maybe someday I might actually buy a doll or two, ones that have personal connotations to me or may even have a haunted reputation. You never know.

Anyone else feel that some of these dolls are watching you from the photo?

Anyone else think these things might be watching you from the photo?

What are your thoughts on dolls? Like or dislike? Why or why not?

Let me know, I love to hear your thoughts.

 

Oh, and on an unrelated note, yesterday I had my last class as an undergraduate student. And today I turned in my final essay, for both class and, unless I have to write essays for one of my finals, for my undergraduate career. Two finals next week, and then I’m done. Twelve days to graduation. The road is shortening. Hopefully there will be a job too afterwards. Wish me luck, my Followers of Fear!

Review: Unfriended

Posted: April 18, 2015 in Review, Scary Stuff
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Let me preface this review by pointing out that I usually enjoy the movies that Jason Blum and his company Blumhouse Productions put out. Sinister, Insidious and Insidious 2, The Conjuring and Annabelle. Those are freaky movies. Which is why I’m saddened to say that this latest venture does not live up to expectations. In fact, Unfriended is more a time waster than a terror coaster.

Unfriended follows Blaire Lily, played by Shelley Hennig of Teen Wolf fame and somehow playing a much blander character than the one she played in Ouija. And for most of that film she’s dead (see my review of that one here)! Anyway, the film is told by watching Blaire’s laptop’s desktop and the multitude of programs she’s got going at once. All of her friends and her boyfriend log in for a Skype call and are joined by a mysterious, faceless person who seems to be stalking them. The person claims to be Laura Barns, a friend of theirs who committed suicide a year previously after an embarrassing video of her was uploaded onto the Internet. Whoever it is, they threaten anyone who signs off, uploads embarrassing information about each person, and then kills them. As the number of friends wind down, we get closer to the heart of the mystery: who filmed and uploaded the video that started it all.

I kind of knew before I even saw the movie that it would be difficult to make an impressive film told entirely from a Mac desktop. If they’d kept the tension and terror going through the whole film, then it might not be a problem. However, there are several minutes where nothing happens, where Blaire is chatting on Facebook or through IMs or looking things up or where Laura is typing to the living. During those parts, the tension doesn’t just mellow out, it disappears. Even during a sequence where Laura is forcing her friends to admit they’ve said or done horrific things, it’s not scary. Tragic or sad, but not scary.

Even sadder is that I don’t get to know these characters enough to build any sympathy for these characters. They’re all pretty much stereotypes or archetypes and not much beyond that. Blaire’s the supposedly sweet and innocent virgin, a horror staple, her boyfriend’s the sweet, lovesick puppy teenager from next door. The others are a bitchy drama queen, an overly-entitled rich kid, a geeky hacker, and a blonde (yeah, she’s just a blonde. Nothing beyond that. As a blonde, I’m kind of insulted). Beyond all that, there’s not a thing to say about these people.

And Laura Barns? Don’t know what to make of her. Some say she was just a sweet girl with some family troubles that are briefly hinted at, others see her as an awful bitch. All we see is the villain manipulating them and their computers. I’d have loved to see a flashback of this girl, rather than just some videos and recollections.

That said, Unfriended does have its points. The film looks like it has been filmed in one continuous shot and any cuts in film (of which I’m sure there are) are so hard to catch it looks seamless. The characters do show how unstable teen relationships can be, how you can be a friend and still call someone a bitch at the same time. And there’s that underlying theme of bullying and cyberbullying throughout. They do that well.

Still, I wouldn’t waste money on Unfriended if I were you. Wait until it’s on DVD. It’s an interesting concept, not something previously done in film, but it might have been better told as a short story than as a movie. I’m giving it a 2.6 out of 5. I’m sad that they’re already considering a sequel to this movie, or maybe even a line of sequels. God, I hope they don’t waste the money making more of these! That cash could go to so many better things.

Well, that’s all for now. I’m–wait. What’s this chat box? I–Oh damn. Ghost on my computer. Gotta go, my Followers of Fear. I think I need an exorcist.

Rose: The Thesis Discussion

Posted: April 16, 2015 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Reflections, Scary Stuff, Writing
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So today was the day. The day I’ve kind of been working towards since Fall Semester started back in August. My thesis discussion, where I would discuss with my advisor and one or two other people about the finished product of the novel I’ve been working on.

Well, finished product is a bit of a misnomer. But you get the idea.

Early this morning I met in my advisor Manny’s office for the big meeting. My second reader for the discussion was Maura, a teacher I’ve taken classes with, whose company I enjoy, and who is a huge sci-fi enthusiast (can you see why I asked her to join us?). For about an hour and a half we sat and discussed Rose, how I got the idea for it (actually in one of Maura’s classes), how it grew in my head and became the novel I wanted to write for my thesis, and how all that went (you know the process of that from my many posts on the subject). We also discussed changes I could make for the third draft (which I will do, in time) and what they liked and disliked about the story.

I won’t do a transcript of the entire hour and a half, but I will go over the salient points. As you probably already know, Rose is about a young woman brought back from the dead by a man claiming to be her boyfriend and begins to turn into a plant-like creature (when Manny told the subject of my thesis to some of his writing friends, they were rather impressed by the originality of the idea). It’s about forty-nine thousand words as of the second draft, and still needs some work.

Maura and Manny definitely enjoyed the symbolism and thematic elements of the story, as well as how Rose’s character developed over the course of the story. However, there were some things that could be changed. The first third of the book or so could stand to have quite a few things changed around, including the portrayal of Rose’s amnesia and how she first interacts with the antagonist, the man who brought her back. They also thought that how certain revelations of both characters could be spaced out a bit more evenly and maybe change how the antagonist’s dad is characterized or used. There were some other elements that they touched upon, but I can’t mention them here because they would reveal too much. In any case, they’ve got my brain churning in all the best ways and when they’ve emailed me their notes I’ll take down some notes of my own and put the story away for the third draft.

In between this draft and the next though, I plan to finish a couple of short stories and then dive right back into editing Video Rage, the sequel to Reborn City. Yes, I know I’m overdo for that one and it might take a little while longer to get it ready, but I promise you, I’ll get it done as fast as I can. And after that…well, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll work on the third draft of Rose. Maybe I’ll have enough material to do that rewrite of Laura Horn I’ve been meaning to work on. Or I’ll work on some short stories and maybe an entirely new project. Anything’s possible.

You know, it’s been quite the crazy journey for this story. It’s gone through so many changes, more than most of the stories I’ve had the pleasure of writing. And it’s journey is not over yet. No, it’s just at rest, waiting for the next transformation, the next polish. And what a polish it will be when it happens. I think that when the third draft is done, even if it’s not the final draft, Rose will definitely be much closer to publication than it is now.

In the meantime, I’ve got a paper to research and a few other things to do, so I’m going to get on that. You have a great rest of your day, my Followers of Fear. I know I will.

Why I’m Excited for the Five Nights at Freddy’s Movie

Posted: April 11, 2015 in Living and Life, Scary Stuff
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Learned some very interesting news this week. Has anyone hear heard of Five Night’s at Freddy’s? If you haven’t, allow me the pleasure to fill you in on it. Five Nights at Freddy’s (hereafter referred to FNaF) is an indie survival horror game. It’s rather interesting, and not just because it’s from the indie scene. You play a security guard at Freddy FazBear’s Pizza (think Chuck E. Cheese with creepy animatronics) who works the night shift. It’s actually a pretty nasty job: the animatronic creatures in the pizza parlor come alive at night and wander around. Your job is to not just watch the parlor, but to survive the creatures, which will try to find you and kill you by stuffing you into an animatronic suit, which still has the parts inside (bloody!). You survive five progressively more difficult nights, you win the game (and get some bonus nights). You get caught by the creatures…

And did I mention that you play the entire game from inside the security office, where the most you can do is turn on some lights in the hallways, close some doors, and watch security feeds through an iPad? All while trying to keep your battery life up before you lose power and die? Yeah, that’s how you play the game. It sounds easy, but it’s actually pretty difficult. Believe me, I’ve played. You try to keep focused on the doors, but then you get jumpy and look through the iPad. And the more power you use, the less you’re able to turn on lights or open and close doors. And then…they get you.

It’s a nerve-wracking game, and it’s not surprising to see that it’s grown popular enough to generate two sequels, where they’ve furthered the back story of the game and why these murderous robots attack security guards. And now Warner Bros. is in the process of adapting it into a movie. This could be good, because while movies based on video games usually suck, indie games are usually riskier, more artsy, and heavy on story account. So the movie that results from this game could be able to balance slasher and suspense horror with storytelling and character development. Maybe reinvigorate the slasher movie genre a little.

You have to admit, that’s kind of creepy.

 

Or it could suck balls, we’ll regret going to see it, the studios will be even more wary about trying even semi-original projects, and we’ll reach our movie-sequel saturation point much, much quicker than we’d hope. That’s always a possibility. Seth Grahame-Smith, one of the producers on the film, said he wants “to make an insane, terrifying and weirdly adorable movie”. If they get to weirdly adorable, we the audience may have problems.

Well, I’ll stay hopeful until I see evidence otherwise. I like to think that this movie adaptation has the makings of being something good. The plot will probably involve a security guard hired to watch a Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Parlor. While being more mobile than in the game, the guard will deal with murderous animatronics, a limited amount of power (how they explain that one will be interesting) and the unraveling mystery of the source of this evil (in the games, the animatronics are possessed by the ghosts of children who were murdered by a guy in a Freddy Fazbear suit who stuffed their bodies into suits. I wonder if they’ll keep that backstory). There’s plenty of ways to make that suspenseful and creepy, I bet.

Like I said, we’ll see. I dream of writing it personally and making sure it’s good, but I don’t see that happening at this point, so I’ll hope and go see it when it hits theaters, possibly within the next five years. In the meantime, I think there are evil animatronic monsters in my apartment, so I have to destroy them. If I don’t reply to your comments within five nights, you know what’s happened.

Are you excited for the FNaF movie? Do you think it’ll be good? Why or why not?

Do you think games can be made into good movies? And what’s needed in order to do so?

Making Something Old Scary Again and Something New Scary For The First Time

Posted: April 5, 2015 in ideas, Living and Life, Novel, Reflections, Scary Stuff, Writing
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People from outside the horror genre think it’s pretty easy to scare people. Just add a monster/ghost/serial killer, people running in terror, and a creepy forest that is called “creepy” by the author, and it’s terrifying.

Bullshit. It’s actually really tough to make things scary. It takes more than a bunch of scary words, a dark forest, and a monster to make something scary. I should know, every time I get on the laptop to write I’m struggling to set atmosphere and arrange words and try to make something old new and terrifying again.

That last bit is one of the toughest things to do. Horror is a genre that’s full of cliches, and we enthusiasts and creators are both proud of it and trying to subvert or get around them while writing. Part of that is trying to make an old monster–a ghost, a serial killer, an evil house, etc.–seem different, seem new, seem like it hasn’t been done before. Remember my review of It Follows? That movie had taken an old concept in horror (sex equals death) and had found a brilliant way to reinvent it. To some degree, all authors of horror are trying to create that, a story that takes an old concept or monster and make it scary in a brand new way.

Sounds easy, right? Wrong. You have to look at all these other works dealing with the concept and wonder to yourself, what can I do that hasn’t been done? And sometimes the idea you’re running with has been done hundreds of times over already. Vampires, werewolves, zombies, witches, aliens, serial killers, ghosts, etc. They’ve all been done and you’re trying to find some new angle, something that hasn’t been tried or done before with them. It’s made even more difficult when you consider that there are probably piles and piles and piles of other novels that you haven’t read and they might have done the same things you’re considering doing. With all that, looking for something old to make new and scary again is quite the challenge.

It’s even more difficult to make entirely new things scary. Every writer wants to do a Cell or a Night of the Living Dead or a Paranormal Activity, to make something scary for the first time. It’s even better than taking something old and making it scary again, because you’re making a mark, you’re doing something that all those afterwards will have to measure themselves by. It’s just about any novelist’s dream, but in genres like horror where you see a lot of the same stuff over and over again (and a lot of it is trash), it’s only a few degrees away from striving for the Holy Grail.

Yesterday I had an idea for a novel involving a small town in Texas and a secret surrounding flooded rivers. As far as I’m aware, the particular angle I’d be going with this novel has not been done before. I’d like to think it’ll make for some interesting fiction, make some people wish they could do something similar. Honestly, I don’t know. But I’m excited that I have something like Night of the Living Dead or Cell or Paranormal Activity, something that hasn’t been done before and others might have to measure up to someday. That’s how big a deal it is to me and to other authors in my position. And when I finally begin to write this story, I’ll do it so that not only will I strive not to disappoint my readers, but I won’t disappoint myself.

How do we come up with these ideas? There’s no set way. We just read a lot, write a lo. We go to the films and watch the TV shows, we look at what’s been done, what hasn’t and what could be done. Is it easy? Not in the least. This is a genre where the road is well worn most of the time, where many have trod before. We’re looking for new ways to trod and for a path hidden behind foliage that we can cut a path through with our pens like machetes. And we don’t stop looking, no matter what. That’s just how we are as writers of all things dark and creepy.

Ultimately, we are not doing what we do because it’s easy to do. We’re doing it because we love it and because we love it we want to make it good. To do that we have to try to make our stories fresh, new, unpredictable, something we haven’t seen done before. It’s a difficult job, but if we do it right, then we’re doing something right as horror writers.

Do you have tips for making something old seem new and scary again?

What’s something you’ve seen not done before? What stuck you about it that made it seem original?

Rose: Second Draft Finished!!

Posted: March 31, 2015 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Well ladies and gentlemen, it’s official. I stayed up too late working on it, and then I finished and did a word count, which took up more time, then I sent an email, and then I did a dance routine to one of my favorite songs to celebrate. Yeah, I’ve eaten up a lot of time to celebrate. And I think I miscounted on that word count.

But yes, the second draft of Rose is finished, thank God. I knew I’d get it done by late March, but I didn’t think I’d be so down-to-the-wire with it. And these last couple of days, I got through chapters like…what’s an original metaphor? Fellow Star Wars fans go through the movies on May 4th? That’ll work.

Anyway, if you don’t know much about Rose, it’s a novel I wrote as my senior thesis. I didn’t need to do a senior thesis, but I felt like doing it. And let me tell you, it’s been a challenge. I had to rewrite the plot at one point, and at times with school and work it was difficult getting through it all. But I managed to do it somehow, and I got through the second draft. Now all that’s left is the thesis discussion with my advisor Manny and one of my teachers who has agreed to read it (I have a feeling she’s going to be pretty terrified over the next week or so). The novel centers around a woman named Rose, who is brought back from the dead through very powerful magic by a man who claims to be her lover but isn’t all that he says he is. And that’s just the start of her problems!

Trust me, it’s as creepy as it sounds.

Anyway, here’s the page count and word count for the second draft. In terms of pages (as always, 8.5″ x 11″, double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman) is 164 pages, about ten shorter than the first draft. In terms of word count (which I’ve recounted), it’s novella-length at about fifty-thousand words, or a thousand words shorter than the first draft. And still much shorter than the shortest Harry Potter novel, so pretty manageable.

Tomorrow, I’ll send a full manuscript to my teachers so they can prep for the discussion. I meet with my advisor on Thursday, so hopefully he’ll give me some tips for the third draft (though it feels like I’ve gotten a third draft thanks to all the help I’ve gotten with this story). After that, nothing to do until I take the next step, whether that be another draft or if I decide to go straight to publication.

In the meantime, I think I’ll take a short break, work on a few blog posts I’ve been meaning to do, read some books, and write a short story bfore I get back to what I was doing before the school year started. That’s right, I’ll get back to work on Video Rage. Rejoice, fans of the Hydras, because I’ll be back on it faster than Speedy Gonzalez.

In the meantime though, it’s late and I’m tied. You all have a good night, my Followers of Fear (or a good day, if you’re reading this over your morning coffee). I know I am.

Review: It Follows

Posted: March 29, 2015 in Review, Scary Stuff
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Here’s an impression of some of my reactions while watching this film:

“Aah!”
and “Yikes!”
and let’s not forget “Oh my f***ing God!”

Yeah, it was a really good movie. It’s like watching the movie version of a Stephen King novel without actually having anything to do with Stephen King. Inspired by childhood nightmares of writer and director David Robert Mitchell, It Follows…well, follows Jay, a young woman who has recently been seeing a handsome young man named Hugh. One night they have sex in Hugh’s car, which leads to all sorts of trouble. Apparently Hugh’s passed on a curse, making Jay the target of a creature that can only be seen by those affected by the curse and follows them at a walking pace with the intent of killing them, and then going after whoever was the previous bearer of the curse. The only way to pass the curse on is to have sex with someone else.

The “sex equals death” trope has been part of horror since perhaps before Dracula or Frankenstein, but it’s so rare to see a well-worn theme reinvented like this, making the film a very strange metaphor for STDs and the overwhelming power they have on our lives. There’s also the fear of intimacy, alongside a fear of strangers and what they can do to us. That last theme is exploited pretty well in this movie, where every unknown character or extra could be It. Heck, at one point I was wondering if It was a squirrel, and I was afraid!

But that’s not all that makes this film awesome. For instance, the writing is phenomenal, starting slow but mysterious and quickly getting exciting. There’s barely any gore, and the jump-scares, rather than relieving tension, enhances the tense atmosphere that just builds throughout the film. The few moments of humor in this film seem to fit right in, giving us a short break from the constant suspense that characterizes It Follows throughout. And the way it ends is terrifyingly awesome, the perfect satisfactory ending (who knew I’d get that sort of ending just hours after my last post?). And the monster, so undefined and strange, is guaranteed to cause you terror, even at its strangest (and arguably slightly goofy) moments.

Not to mention the acting from the small cast, who are extremely talented! Special mention goes to Maika Monroe, the gorgeous actress playing Jay, shows wonderful breadth and ability despite still being very early in her acting career. I think I fell in love with her a little while watching her performance, it was that good. Also worth mentioning is Keir Gillchrist as Paul, a young man who obviously is crazy for Jay, and his earnest manner is so wonderful that you really want to support him no matter what happens. I definitely empathized with him, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who will.

I can say more about this film–it is phenomenal–but I don’t want to give away any more. Instead, I really encourage horror fans to go see this movie if you can. It’s creepy, it’s fresh, and you’ll have second thoughts about one-night stands forevermore. Just a wonderful example in the continuing trend of great horror films from the indie scene and made on smaller budgets that scare us more than any bigger-budget franchise film.

I’m giving It Follows a 4.5 out of 5. This film is a new gem in the horror genre, so much that I tried to get the poster from the box office after the movie (unfortunately they don’t give those away anymore, darn it). I’m almost kind of hoping for a sequel. God knows the film leaves open the possibility for one, and I wouldn’t mind having some questions answered and seeing Jay and her friends grow in the face of this threat. On the other hand, why risk the possibility of ruining a great story by making a sequel that might fail to live up to the original? It’s quite the dilemma.

Well, that’s all for now. I’m going to bed. Maybe I’ll have a nightmare that’ll lead to an awesome story of my own. One can only hope, right?

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