Archive for the ‘Scary Stuff’ Category

Reviews: Sleepy Hollow Series Premiere & Under the Dome Season Finale

Posted: September 16, 2013 in Living and Life, Review, Scary Stuff
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Two reviews in one post. That’s a new one for me. But what do you expect from me? Two very interesting series having two significant events on the same night, one after the other? Of course I’m going to do a double review! So without further ado, let’s start the analysis and reviews:

Now that’s what I call graphics.

Sleepy Hollow
Based on the famous short story by Washington Irving, Sleepy Hollow is an updated version of the classic tale, where Ichabod Crane is a Revolutionary War hero instead of a teacher. Get this: he’s the one who beheaded the famous Headless Horseman. Now the Horseman’s back, and Ichabod’s returned from the grave to stop him…and whoever’s controlling him. With some Biblical themes mixed in, some good ol’ fashioned American legend and folklore, and some superb acting, I think this could be the start of a great series.

So far I have only two complaints: one is that Ichabod, played by actor Tom Milson, seems not as culture-shocked as you’d expect for an 18th century man finding himself in the year 2013…or as torn up over the death of his wife Katrina, who appears to him in a ghostly dream. Also, I have a feeling that the series’ producers are trying to create a mythology from the first episode. While I admire that, let’s hope they don’t shove it down our throats. Give us the mythology too quickly and viewers may be turned off from it.

Other than that, the show seems really great. The characters seem very real to me, and the chemistry between Ichabod and Sheriff Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) is already strong, like Mulder and Scully in some ways. Also the cast is very diverse, which both brings a little humor to the show (Ichabod is surprised that Abbie, who is a woman and African American, isn’t a slave and is instead a lieutenant, making everyone rolls their eyes or laugh with a knowing smile) and makes me think we’re actually making some progress in terms of race relations. Not much, but some. And the show is filmed in the actual town of Sleepy Hollow, New York. Yes, there’s an actual Sleepy Hollow. It changed its name from Tarrytown a few years back to honor the original Irving story, in which Sleepy Hollow is a part of the Tarrytown township or district or whatever. Who knew!

All in all, I’m giving Sleepy Hollow a 4.6 out of 5. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season, and seeing whether this show can keep up the momentum or…you know what, I’m not even going to finish that sentence lest I jinx it. Let’s hope for the best.

Purists hate this show, but most seem to love it.

Under the Dome
In so many ways this show, based on the uber-long novel by Stephen King, who executive produced the show, departs from the original story. And as we saw tonight, it can sometimes stay true to the original tale. In the meantime, we’ve seen an incredible season. I was skeptical when I saw the first episode this summer (see the review here), but the story got better and better with every episode, taking the story in new directions, developing very real characters, and throwing in as many mysteries as it could without overwhelming viewers.

In a way, it’s really amazing how the show weaves in so many ideas and subplots and characters in a coherent narrative. That’s something I’d like to be able to do someday, and do it with ease as well. In any case, I’m not surprised that Under the Dome will be returning next summer for a second season, especially based on that very strange cliff-hanger of a season finale. If you haven’t gotten into the show yet, I suggest you look it up. Dean Norris from Breaking Bad could easily win an Emmy for his work on the show as town councilman James “Big Jim” Rennie, especially now that Bad‘s over and done with (at least I think it is. The series ended, right?). And Dale “Barbie” Barbara, the show’s lead played by Mike Vogel, looks underdeveloped as a character at first glance, but you find this bad-ass charm, mystery, and kindness on the second. I think it’ll be interesting to see what they do with him in the second season.

For the season finale, I give UTD a well deserved 4.6 out of 5. And for the entire first season…I’m awarding it a 4.8 out of 5, for taking a complicated story and a not-so-good start and making it one of the TV events of the summer. Yeah, I said that. Weep, Miley Cyrus. Your little freak-out on MTV didn’t hit my radar.

Expect more TV show reviews as new and exciting series, like Dracula or Marvel: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. begin this fall, and a few movies such as Carrie and Catching Fire come out. Not to mention the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor, comes out this November. I cannot wait!

Well, that’s all for now. Hope to do my weekly exercises tomorrow. Good night everybody!

Weekly Exercises #4 (9/11/13)

Posted: September 11, 2013 in Scary Stuff, Weekly Exercises, Writing
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It’s time for my weekly exercises. These pieces of flash fiction are part chance to practice my craft, part oppurtunity to get reader feedback on what’s scary and what’s not, and part shameless marketing ploy to get people interested in my published work. Remember, these exercises depend on reader feedback, so please give me your thoughts, good or bad, on the piece below.

The sky turned black as midnight. Everyone stared towards the heavens and the inky blackness. A moment ago the sky had been bright and blue, the sun still high above at four in the afternoon. But then it had turned pitch-black, like looking into an inkpot. No moon, no stars. Not a single source of light burned in the sky, and not even street lamps sensitive to changes in light could dispel away the darkness.

Family huddled together in fear. Lovers held each other, comforting each other in order to forget their disorientation and confusion. People left their offices, homes, and stores just to stare at the impossibly-black sky. For maybe five minutes, nothing changed and nobody moved, just looking at the sky in terrified wonderment.

And then a giant, skeletal hand appeared from the inky blackness and reached down as if to grab them all and take them away. Maybe that was its purpose. And the people who saw the hand and the long arm attached to it screamed.

Weekly Exercise #3 (9/1/2013)

Posted: September 1, 2013 in Living and Life, Scary Stuff, Weekly Exercises, Writing
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Time for my weekly exercises again. These short little pieces of flash fiction are part practice of my craft, part chance to get some feedback on my work, and part shameless marketing ploy to get you to take an interest in my work. Remember, feedback is important, positive or negative, so whatever you think, please let me know if you like what you read.

Today’s exercise features a favorite of mine: the evil doll. Hope it chills you to the bone.

~~~

Danny had never been allowed in Grandmother’s room in his eight short years, but he supposed nobody would care since Grandmother was now dead. He walked around the room, staring at all the old photos and the ancient furniture. The room had a strange smell, the smell of forgotten things and things that had seen their day years ago. At the foot of Grandmother’s bed was a large wooden crate with big, metal clasps and a sign that said NEVER OPEN. Curious, Danny undid the clasps, opened up the crate, and looked inside.

Lying on the floor of the crate was a doll in a blue sailor’s dress. It was the same size as Danny, with long red hair and pale skin that looked so real Danny at first thought it was a real girl. He reached down to pick the doll up, but then it suddenly stood up on its own and threw its arms around Danny in a big bear hug. The doll whispered in his ear, “Play with me forever or I’ll kill you.”

Review: The Frozen Ground

Posted: August 29, 2013 in Review, Scary Stuff
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I first heard about this film from my boss at work. Her fiancé apparently was a cop in Alaska back in the eighties, and a certain case he’d worked was being made into a movie. It was the story of Robert Hanson, a serial killer who had taken several girls up to the woods in his plane and then killed them. The girls he took were prostitutes, whom he raped and murdered, and then took trophies from. He’s now serving 461 years plus life for his crimes.

Did I mention that the movie stars John Cusack as the killer, Vanessa Hudgens as the prostitute who escapes him and later identifies him, and Nicholas Cage as the cop who takes him down? If I haven’t, than I think I just did.

This movie is only available through select theaters and on-demand, but it could be good enough for a national release. Watching it, I find it hard to tell what’s Hollywood BS to spice up the story and what’s actually happened. It’s done so convincingly. You see actual emotions, characters who feel so real to the point that you forget you’re watching actors. Hudgens especially pulls off the role of a prostitute with a hard life very well. As she says at one point to Cage’s character, “I’ve had things happen to me…things no little girl should have happen to them.” For many girls on the street, that’s how they start out. Bad things happen to them, and it warps them, putting them into a role they don’t want but can’t shake. And the whole instinct of survival at any cost drives a lot of their actions, which is why Hudgens’ character does a lot of what she does, even if it defies logic sometimes.

At least, the logic of you or me.

The Frozen Ground also gains points for its dark and realistic portrayal of the police process back in the eighties. It’s a tough job, with sometimes very few leads and several roadblocks to getting justice. You can feel the frustration mounting as at certain points, these cops find themselves blocked in trying to take down Hansen. It’s like Law & Order, but only deeper and with even less Hollywood crap.

My few complaints is that many of the characters are undeveloped. We don’t really get a chance to understand Hansen or Cage’s character, and many of the other characters, especially characters on the force, don’t get their names used once in the movie (so I could not tell which character was my boss’s fiancé, sadly). It’s a cop drama, so not a lot of room to get into character development when a killer’s out on the loose, but still, could you spend a few hundred dollars filming some scenes that show us what motivates some of the other characters in this story? The only other characters whose heads I can get into is the pimp character played by 50 Cent, and that’s such a stereotype, it’s not even funny. Because hey, the black pimp has been used so much it’s a cliché.

Anyway, I was going to give The Frozen Ground a 4.3 out of 5, but Hudgens’ performance and the realism of the movie elevate it to a 4.8. If you get a chance, do go check out the movie. And stick around after the closing shots. You’ll see the captions “This film is dedicated to all the victims, known and unknown”, followed by photos of some of the known victims of Hansen.

And one more thing before I wrap this review up. The next time you see a girl on the streets turning tricks or you hear some pundit make some comment about prostitution on TV or the radio, remember that these girls aren’t doing what they’re doing, with little or no legal protection, health insurance, retirement plan, or guarantee of safety, just for the fun of it or the money. Many are forced into it for a variety of reasons. The least you can actually do is show these girls some compassion, and remember they are real women too.

Weekly Exercise #2 (8/27/2013)

Posted: August 27, 2013 in Scary Stuff, Weekly Exercises, Writing
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It’s time for my weekly exercise, partly to practice my craft, partly to see what works and what doesn’t, and partly as a shameless marketing ploy to get readers interested in my published or to-be published work. I rely on your feedback, so whatever you think, please let me know.

Also, this week’s exercise might be a little sexual, so if you’re under the age of 15 or have a really innocent outlook on life, I suggest you stop reading and instead go knit yourself a sweater or watch an episode of your favorite cartoons from when you’re a kid. If not, please read on.

He started and woke up as he felt a dainty, thin-fingered hand on his cock. He grinned, feeling his excitement from earlier coming back. He had thought that, being a church girl and the preacher’s daughter, she wouldn’t want anything to do with him after he had taken her special flower. Looks like all it took was a little wine and some sweet talk and he could make this girl crazy for him.

He turned over, ready for round two, but was surprised to see no one there. Then he heard a flush and saw her coming out of the bathroom wearing a pink robe. He stared at her, his eyes wide, before looking under the covers to see whose hand was still around his cock.

Weekly Exercise #1 (8/22/13)

Posted: August 22, 2013 in ideas, Living and Life, Scary Stuff, Weekly Exercises, Writing
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Spooooky!!!

Last night I had an idea during my evening meditation for something I could do to help improve my writing. I would’ve done it earlier in the day, but I’ve been busy since today was the second day of classes. But now I have some time since I finished my homework and I thought I’d share my idea and its fruits before I start cooking dinner.

My idea was to write a short little piece of writing–maybe 1-3 paragraphs–whose sole purpose was to tell a scary story in as few words as possible. Basically, it’s an exercise in scaring people in as few words as possible. BOO!

Why am I doing this? Several reasons: one is that if I can write these vignettes and see how people react, I can get a better grasp on how to polish up my craft in terms of writing and scaring. The second reason is that any one of these little vignettes could lead to a full-length story, should I find them helpful enough in the story writing, if I particularly enjoyed the story depicted within, and if reader response is positive enough. And finally, it’s also a marketing ploy. Yes, a shameful marketing ploy. I’m hoping that if people react positively to these exercises, I can get them interested in my longer works, like The Quiet Game or Reborn City (out November 1st).

I hope to get these out once a week, giving me time to come up with new ones and so that people don’t get sick of them. I also plan to list all the Weekly Exercises on its own separate page, with every exercise listed with the most recent first. I hope at least I’ll benefit from these exercises, and so will my readers in the long run.

So without further ado, here’s Weekly Exercise #1:

She was awoken by the baby screaming and immediately closed her eyes, hoping it would quiet on its own. When it didn’t, she threw the covers off and got her robe on. Was there a night that it would just leave her be? She’d never wanted this stupid thing that couldn’t take care of itself, and it was reminding her of that every night with its ceaseless screaming. Well no more. Either it shut up tonight or she would shut it up for it!

She reached the baby’s room, her fingers clenching and unclenching, ready to strangle it or snap its neck for some decent sleep. But then she saw the baby floating in the air, fast asleep. And then she realized that the screaming she’d heard wasn’t coming from the baby’s room anymore. It was coming from behind her.

The Quiet Game: Two Weeks Since Publication

Posted: July 31, 2013 in Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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tqg cover

It’s been officially two weeks since The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones became available on Amazon and Smashwords. In that amount of time, I’ve received a lot of encouragement and praise from friends and family. In fact, the number of copies sold has risen to nineteen paperbacks and eight e-books. I haven’t received any reviews yet, but I’m sure as more people read the book and get through it, they’ll write a review.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention it, but I’ve signed my first autographs! They belonged to my parents and my dentist, but I’ve signed some copies of the book. It was an exhilarating feeling, and it made me happy to leave personal messages to the people who bought my book. After all, even though they were family and friends, it’s still amazing that I’m published now, and I wanted to share the joy with the people who are helping to make this into a success, whatever that is in the difficult world of self-publishing.

If you haven’t checked out The Quiet Game yet, then you can read a description of it on the Short Story Collections page, complete with links where you can get a copy (should you so desire to buy one). I promise you, it’s a chill of a good time.

Review: The Conjuring

Posted: July 24, 2013 in Review, Scary Stuff
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You will be afraid.

When I went to see this movie, the woman behind the counter at the concession stand told me it was really good. When I came out of the theater, she was still there. She asked me what I thought. I replied by doing a comically frightened pose and saying, “EEEEK!”

The Conjuring is definitely a thrill-fest. It tells two stories at once: one is the Perron family, who have just moved into a house with a very hostile spirit living in it (some days you wish you could sue your realtor for that). The other story follows real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga in this adaptation, who are trying to continue ghost-hunting and solving the supernatural in New England while also acknowledging that their work is dangerous and could kill them (or their  marriage).

The movie’s director, James Wan, said he wanted to get away from Saw with this film, and I’d say he did a very good job. With just a minimum of blood, guts, and gore and more of an emphasis on the strange and the unknown and the just plain creepy, we are given a terror show of scariness, with plenty of jumps and freaky things that will have you hugging the arms of your seat. At one point I jumped back in my seat and said quite loudly “Oh my God!” That’s how good it is.

You also see a very accurate portrayal of how ghost-hunting is done, though usually an exorcism is not in the mix. And the build-up of suspense is done masterfully. Plus you’ll never want to play any sort of game related to Blind Man’s Bluff or Marco Polo or hide-n-seek after this film. And with some really awesome special effects, you’ll think to yourself, “This movie can’t get any better. It’s already scary good!”

For the whole movie, I give The Conjuring a 4.5 out of 5. Bring your friends, because you’ll need someone’s hand to hold by the end of the show.

Also, they say this movie is based on a true story, but I have a feeling they fudged some things in order to make the story fit a movie. Still pretty darn good.

The Quiet Game: My First Review

Posted: July 18, 2013 in Living and Life, Review, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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tqg-cover[1]

Between finishing the last post and getting out of the shower, I realized that there wasn’t enough time to watch a movie before bed (another time, perhaps). Which is why I decided to write this post, featuring my first review of The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones. (If you’re interested in reading but don’t have the link, click here). It comes from one of my beta readers, and it was posted on her Facebook status. And by the way, this happens to be my mother.

Yes, I know your family is supposed to love everything you write, even if you have your character choking a baby (please don’t ever write anything as sick as that). But my mom’s a little different. For starters, my mother was the one who got me into Anne Rice and Stephen King. Yes, she did. Originally a fan of the two authors, she’s the one who lent me Interview with the Vampire and told me to read Stephen King when I’d read several Anne Rice books. She’s also lent me other books and turned me onto other writers like Dean Koontz and Dan Brown. She also introduced me to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The X-Files, shows which had a profound influence on me and my writing.

So even though she’s family and even though my mother doesn’t get the same sort of thrills I do from horror movies (I feel delightfully terrified while she’s just terrified), she’s definitely helped in molding me into the writer I am. Which was why I was very delighted when I called her and she told me she was about one short story into the book. And later when I logged onto Facebook, I was greeted with my first review. What did Rabbi Wendy Warren Ungar have to say? Why this:

“Reading Rami’s new book of short stories that was just published, (shameless promotion here), and I’ve discovered that my son is yet another author I can’t read at night!”

If you haven’t noticed, the subtitle on this blog is “Scared yet? My job here is done.” Well folks, my job here is done. Because I’ve always dreamed of giving someone a fright with my writing, and hearing that my mother can’t read my work at night gives me a small sense of accomplishment. I like knowing that I can deliver the goods when I say my stories are scary, and I like knowing I’m getting the sort of reactions I’d hoped for.

So Mom, thanks for reviewing and shamelessly promoting and all that. It means a lot to me and I hope to make even better stories as time goes on.

I also hope to post more reviews for The Quiet Game as they come. I know some friends have said they’ll write a review when they’re done, so I’m sure those reviews will show up in the next couple of weeks. Until then I hope you enjoy reading The Quiet Game as much as I enjoyed writing it, putting it together, and sending it out to you.

Good night everybody!

I’ve Been Using Drones Recently

Posted: July 18, 2013 in Novel, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Yes, you read that title right. I’ve been using drones recently. I started using them sometime this past weekend, and I’ve been using them almost every night since. Mostly I fly them around certain sections of the state of Colorado, usually near Interstate 70. I’ve fired a few missile and several bullets. The drones were fun to pilot, but they had a bad habit of getting destroyed, and it’s not really my fault. Still, I might get blamed for it, so I won’t be piloting drones for a while.

This is actually the model of drone–or a variation of it–that I used.

Now you are probably wondering variations of “What the f**k is he talking about?” and “How the hell did he get his hands on drones?” Well the answer is simple: I wrote them into the second chapter of Video Rage as part of a fun little battle sequence. I thought it’d be interesting to use drones in this chapter, especially since drones are still relatively new to us now and many people, myself included, are at the very least a little wary of drones and their use by the military, if not downright scared of them. It ended up working out very well, because the drones showed how powerless my protagonists can be even with their powers, and how hard they have to work to stay alive.

Got you, didn’t I?

The drones also allowed me to do something I planned for this novel: cause friction. Something happens to one of the characters during the drone attack, and it causes some tension in the tight-knit group of people who star in this novel of mine. Later on there will be more tension between the Hydras, and we’ll see what happens when that tension hits a boiling point. Believe me, things will get ugly as a result.

I’ll be using drones again later in VR. The drones in Chapter 2 are very similar to drones used today by the US military, but in later chapters I plan on using new drones that the military probably hasn’t dreamt of yet (or if they have, my friend Matthew Williams will know of them). It’ll be interesting to see how the use of drones will work out, both for the story and for the characters.

At the very least, it’ll make for some interesting reading.

Now I’m going to take a break, shower, and then sit down for a movie. Tomorrow I’ll try to start the next chapter of Laura Horn. Things will heat up over in that storyline as well.

 

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