Dahlia DeWinters - Author

Quirky Heroines, Happy Endings

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Blogtoberfest – Crypt TV: The Look-See

Crypt TV : Look – See

Genre : Horror

Director, Writer, DP, Producer, Editor, VFX, SFX, Colorist, Composer, Wardrobe, Makeup: Landon Stahmer
PA: Gabe Hohreiter
Cast: Jenni: Belinda Gosbee – Daniel, Monster: Sean Brison

Rating – 10/10

Crypt TV’s THE LOOK-SEE is a  remarkable, well put together horror web-series on YouTube. The first season surpassed my expectations, as the series as a whole was downright amazing. The monster by itself was already terrifying, but the music, atmosphere, and acting just took it to a whole new level. Typically, online tv shows don’t fare too well, as they are usually sloppily thrown together, with little to no thought put into them. They are un-enjoyable to the point where you can’t even sit down and make fun of it, because of how horrible it is. That’s not the case with these short films.

 

To begin, the Look-See’s main objective is to force people to let go of the past. This monster targets unsuspecting victims, and uses the phrase “If you yourself cannot release, then it will come and take a piece”, meaning if they are not able to let go of a traumatic event, he will come and take of piece of them that is connected to that occurrence. It might sound a little bit confusing, but as the season goes on, you can tell why he takes the parts that he does. 

SPOILER AFTER VIDEO

 

SPOILER AHEAD :

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For example in the first episode of season one, a woman was not able to let go of her failing marriage, and didn’t get rid of her wedding ring in time. The Look-See monster confronted her, and took away her hand. Her hand was the thing that was holding her back from moving on and starting fresh, so he took a piece of her. The idea, alongside the circumstances and the monster is one of the most creative things I have seen in awhile.

I applaud Crypt TV for their ability to come up with such an amazing web-series, as every episode is so engaging and intriguing. I highly recommend this show, words cannot explain how much I enjoyed the first season, and how delighted I am that there will be a second!

Three Halloween Books for Scary Reading

Yes, we like the movies, but there’s nothing like a scary book to curl up with on a dark, blustery night.  When I lived alone, I used to scare myself to death with the sounds that I thought I heard when I was reading an especially scary book.  And the dog didn’t help when she jump up and ran out of the room for no apparent reason. (Sometimes I think dogs do that on purpose to  scare the mess out of us.  Then they go drink out of the toilet and laugh at us.)

Anyhoo, here’s my top five books to read around Halloween, or any time.  These are presented in no particular order.

Pet Sematary  – Stephen King:  I can’t tell you how much this book frightened me.  I discuss this in more detail over at my blog, if you care to take a look.  Suffice to say, while the movie is pretty scary, it could not come close to the frightening visions that I had conjured in my head when I’d read the book..

I Am Legend – Richard Matheson:  Forget Will Smith.  Forget the movies.  Read the story.  Get inside of the head of the last human on earth, who is plagued every night by some kind of creatures who bid him to “come out, come out…”  This novel inspired George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead.  Excellent reading.

Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury: Jim Nightshade and William Halloway encounter a carnival that is not exactly what it seems.  To me, some of the themes that run through this novel mirror Stephen King’s  Needful Things.  If you haven’t read either, read Something Wicked first.

The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson: I saw the movie, yes, it was scary.  However, as I wrote before, there’s nothing that can scare you worse than yourself.  Shirley Jackson taps right into that terror and carries you along with her.

Rosemary’s Baby – Ira Levin: First of all, stay away from the “sequel”, Son of Rosemary’s Baby.  That book made me so angry that I threw the hardcover across the room.  Literally.  (I am very glad that I hadn’t been reading it on an e-reader because the urge to throw it would have still been very strong.).  The original Rosemary’s Baby is another case of the ordinary turning so hideously extraordinary that you can’t believe it’s happening.  Certainly, it may be somewhat dated, but still, transport yourself back to the era before the Internet and immerse yourself in the horror.

I hope you enjoy these hand-picked scary selections of mine. Be sure to lock the doors and the windows and leave the bathroom light on.  You don’t want to fumble into someone in the middle of the night.

 

Pleasant dreams!