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Dahlia DeWinters - Author

Quirky Heroines, Happy Endings

Blogtoberfest 2019 – We’re Back!

Welcome to BlogtoberFest 2019!

Even though I consider myself mainly a romance writer, there’s nothing like being scared every once in a while. I’ve done Blogtoberfest for quite a few years now, and I look forward to it every season.

For those unfamiliar with the tradition, BlogtoberFest is my way of celebrating the Halloween season with all things scary, creepy, and that go bump in the night.  Everybody loves a good scare, right? Well, hold on for the ride because you’re going to exactly what you clicked here for.

Stay tuned for a month of horror movies, scary stories, urban legends and folklore.  You’ll get horror movie reviews, music recommendations as well as recipes, makeup ideas and decor ideas. Oh yes, I try to cover it all.  If one post doesn’t do it for you, stay tuned because I’m sure there will be a post that you’ll like. I promise!

So grab yourself a Bloody Mary or a Vampire Cocktail and settle in for the ride.  If there’s something you want to see, don’t be afraid to leave a comment or send me a message.

Enjoy!

Dahlia


Filed Under: Blogtoberfest, Uncategorized Tagged: halloween, horror, horror film, horror movies, jackolantern, Scary books for Halloween, top scary movies

Horror Movie Review: Sinister

Title:  Sinister

Date: 2012

Starring:  Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Fred Thompson

Director: Scott Derrickson

Sinister is a supernatural horror film in which a crime writer, Ellison Oswald (Ethan Hawke), moves his family to a new house in order to work on a new book.  (What a great name, by the way, right?) His last real hit was ten years ago and since then, his books haven’t done well. This is his last ditch effort to make money on a family’s murder and disappearance of the daughter.  However, he does not tell his family that they’ve moved into the house where the actual murders took place. And when he finds a box of film reels and projected in the attic, he begins watching them, unwittingly giving strength to a supernatural force than intends on possessing his family.

Sinister is not a movie we haven’t seen before, but the execution and the cinematography is top notch.  Ethan Hawke hits perfect notes as the jaded writer, desperate at writing another book which will be as successful as his last one.  In his words, he doesn’t want to become a “textbook writer” even though that will pay the bills. He’s an artist, after all, right?

When he and his family first move into the neighborhood, they are greeted by the superb character actor Fred Thompson, who expresses a near disdain for Ethan Hawke coming in and disrupting the neighborhood with his presence.  He’s professional about it, but his deputy, a young fresh faced dude, is pretty star struck, much to the disgust of Mr. Thompson.

Nevertheless, Ellison persists, even after his son starts to have night terrors and he begins to see visions of children floating around.  I must say, those scenes are some of the best jump scares I’ve seen in a while. They’re not cheap, either and they are scarily effective. Even upon a second viewing, I still cringe a little when I know they’re coming.

Purchase a DVD of Sinister here:

The entire movie had a deliciously creepy vibe and the excellent cinematography keeps you intrigued.  At times it was little dark, making it difficult to see exactly what was going on, but I soon realized that was the director’s trick to make you peer more closely at the screen so he could REALLY grab your attention.

There are snuff movies within the movies that are truly disturbing, especially when you learn the truth behind them.  These film were shot on 8mm film to lend them more “realism”, and let me tell you, it worked, as did the rest of the visual effects of the film.

The always good Vincent D’Ononfrio makes a cameo as a professor who’s there to fill in the gaps when Ellison needs some explanation of what is going on in his house.  James Ransone plays the young deputy that is Ellison’s connection at the police department. He’s so very happy to be assisting the famous writer with his research work.  I thought the dude was kind of bland, but given that he goes on to star in the sequel to Sinister (which I did not see), I guess someone liked him.

I’ve seen this movie more than a few a times, and I have to be honest, it creeps me out every time.  The performances, the staging, the overall crawling dread that follows you from the first frame….I have to recommend this movie.  True horror fans won’t be disappointed and if you really get into it, it may give you nightmares for sure.

4 stars out of 5:  Highly recommended


Filed Under: Blogging, Horror Movie Reviews, Movies--Books--Music--Television Tagged: female geek bloggers, horror, horror movie reviews, horror movies, scary movie reviews

Blogtoberfest – Vampire’s Kiss Cocktail

For our third day of #blogtoberfest (click to check out the other posts, both new and old) let’s take a look at our adult beverages. Today’s recipe is for a cocktail, lovingly named Vampire’s Kiss.  Quick to mix up, nice to look at, and tasty to boot!

All you need are:

  • 2 ounces raspberry vodka
  • 2 ounces  black raspberry liqueur
  • 3 ounces  cranberry juice 
  • chilled glassAdd all ingredients to shaker with ice, shake it up, and serve!Enjoy!

recipe courtesy of https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/vampires-kiss-347701

 


Filed Under: Blogtoberfest, Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged: autumn alcoholic drinks, blogtoberfest, cocktail, drink, halloween, halloween party, horror, macabre, recipes, scary, vampire

Horror Movie Review – The Vault

Title:   The Vault

Summary:
Two estranged sisters are forced to rob a bank in order to save their brother. But this is no ordinary bank. (from imdb.com)

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Opinion

To say this was a pleasant surprise is an understatement. I didn’t expect much. I didn’t realize James Franco was in it until halfway through. This means that I kept looking at this guy and thinking that I know him from some movie. Like I said, it was only mid-movie that I said to myself “That’s James Franco! What’s he doing in this movie.”

My silly epiphany aside, The Vault was an interesting movie. It started out as one thing, then after a cliche line, it turned into something else, which I was completely fine with. I won’t go any further with the plot. Suffice it to say, the movie held my attention all the way through. I wasn’t tempted to look away, except for the bloody parts, and the acting was quite good for the genre.

While there is nothing new under the sun for me, having seen a huge amount of movies, I always relax and let the movie entertain me. Unless the movie is completely terrible, I try to let it roll out like the writers meant it to be. By doing this, I tend to enjoy a lot more movies.
Yes. The setup of The Vault has been done many times before. However, the actors were good, the special effects very effective and the back story scary and convincing.

Rating – B

Want more Horror Movie Reviews?  Click HERE.


Filed Under: Horror Movie Reviews, Movies--Books--Music--Television Tagged: black geek girls, black girl nerds, blerd, dahlia dewinters, horror, horror movie review, horror movies, movie monday, movie review, movies that scare

Horror Movie Review: Paranormal Activity

Title:  Paranormal Activity (2007)

Genre:  Horror, Drama, Not so bad after all

Summary: After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence. (from IMDB)

Yes.  The film is over ten years old, but I wanted to include some of the horror movies that made a splash in more recent times. Also, I rather liked Paranormal Activity. It’s a charming little film that doles out the scares just enough to keep the you interested.  There are two main characters, Katie and Micah, a couple who have a cute little home except for the issue of what may or may not be an issue with haunting.

The film is shot in POV style, which is a fancy way of saying one of the characters has a camera and makes it their business to film any and everything thing.  In this case, it goes with the plot, since Katie and Micah want to see what’s happening while they’re asleep.

 

I won’t give away the movie on the off chance that you haven’t seen it by now, but suffice it to say I did enjoy this movie, although I feel the characters made some questionable choices.  I also felt that Micah was kind of a jerk at some points, as he deliberately went against Katie’s wishes in a few instances. And I think that in doing that, he was the cause of the final events.  

But if he followed all the rules, there wouldn’t be a movie, now would there?

I’d also like to note that I’ve seen both endings, and personally, I can see the value in both. I can also see why they did the modified ending, to open up that sequel door!

I recommend Paranormal Activity, if you haven’t seen it already.  It’s worth it to see what all the fuss was about.

 

Grade:  B


Filed Under: Blogtoberfest, Horror Movie Reviews Tagged: horror, horror movie reviews, horror movies, movie reviews

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