Must See Events for October

Greetings all and Happy October!

Over here in New Jersey, USA, it’s hurricane season, which means the winds are blowing and the skies are deliciously overcast. Rain falls, mist gathers and there’s fog in the mornings. A perfect start to October, wouldn’t you say?

So what are these must see events, you’re asking? With no further ado, let’s get the list going.

Black Speculative Fiction Month

Speculative fiction: (according to Wikipedia):
Speculative fiction is a broad category of narrative fiction that includes elements, settings and characters created out of imagination and speculation rather than based on reality and everyday life. It encompasses the genres of science fiction, fantasy, science fantasy, horror, alternative history, and magic realism.[1][2][3] It typically strays strongly from reality and so may feature fictional types of beings like mythical creatures and supernatural entities, technologies that do not exist in real life like time machines and interstellar spaceships, or magical or otherwise scientifically inexplicable elements. The term’s popularity is sometimes attributed to Robert Heinlein, who referenced it in 1947 in an editorial essay, although there are prior mentions of speculative fiction, or its variant “speculative literature”.

Easy enough, right? This is by no means a complete list, just something to get you started.

Good Reads LIst – Black Speculative Fiction

Speculative Fiction by Authors of Color

Black Women Horror Writers

Colors in Darkness Halloween Event

This is the second year of the mighty successful Halloween Party from last year.

You’ve got to attend. And why not? It’s going on the whole weekend. At least stop by to have a little fun.

Click the pic to be taken to the event.

Black Girl Magic Lit Mag’s ALL HORROR ISSUE will hit the virtual stands on October 15, 2016. Don’t miss getting your copy!

Charred Remains Horror Trivia 2016:

Char of Charred Remains Treat for Trivia Horror Game. Beginning end of September through October 31st. A test of player’s horror knowledge. High scores will win prizes. Game rules on www.charredremainsreviews.com

Six week event!

Click this link to be taken to the event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1145943362142469/

Blogtoberfest, my yearly fun of things scary, creepy and Halloweeny, is now located at darkindigohearts.com. Click the pic to be taken there!

Looks like this October will be a busy one!

Dahlia

Movie Review – Flashback – Stir of Echoes

Title: Stir of Echoes
Genre: Thriller/Supernatural Horror
Director: Davis Koepp
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0164181

Hey there lovelies!

I’m taking a little vacation for the month of the December, which means I’m cleaning house (literally and figuratively) and sussing out my goals for 2016. Which in turns means movies and music galore! It’s a relief sometimes to take a step away from the pen and paper….but that doesn’t stop the ideas from bubbling over.

Back to the movies. I took a little step back in time to screen Stir of Echoes. I remember watching this back in the day when it first came out on DVD. It’s based on a novel by Richard Matheson, who, as you must well know, wrote Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, I Am Legend and a few other horror/thriller stories. (I use the word “few” as being funny. Matheson was pretty prolific.)

I must say, for a film from the 90s, it holds up pretty well. I enjoyed Kevin Bacon’s younger incarnation – he’s got the loveliest clear blue eyes. I could have done without the “magical negro” trope and the only non-white people in the film were located in a crappy part of town, but other than that, the narrative surrounding Kevin Bacon’s hypnosis by his sister in law (played by a cool Ileana Douglas) and the resulting plot madness is pretty good.

I’ve read the original Matheson story, and because of the dated plot, the screenwriter took some liberty in changing the plot that I don’t really think affected the overall tension and theme.

Also, a slightly tattooed (on his back) Kevin Bacon, sweaty and shirtless. He’s kind of thin in this movie, but it’s still kinda hot in a trailer park kind of way.

Watch or not to watch?:

If you like supernatural thrillers and messages from the other side visited upon a common group of folks, I’d recommend this movie. Screen it for the story and remember it takes place in the 90s when cell phones were NOT commonplace. If you put yourself back in time and watch the movie for what it is, you’ll enjoy it. I know I did.

Grade: A minus

Blogtoberfest – Urban Legends to Keep You Up at Night – Part 1

We all know ’em, don’t we? The friend of a friend of my cousin who….they all start out that way and always end badly for that sort-of person we kinda know. They even made a movie (or three) about it, then there was that television series that acted them out (badly) for you.

Let’s talk about a few of these, shall we? And remember to leave the light on….

The Clown Statue Murderer: An Urban Legend

The story of the clown statue murderer is an urban legend. It is not a true story but can spark fear in anyone who reads it. It has been passed around as a chain letter online since 2004.

Here is the story:

“A girl in her teens is babysitting for a family in Newport Beach, Ca. The family is wealthy and has a very large house – you know the sort, with a ridiculous amount of rooms. Anyways, the parents are going out for a late dinner/movie. The father tells the babysitter that once the children are in bed she should go into this specific room (he doesn’t really want her wandering around the house) and watch TV there.

The parents take off and soon she gets the kids into bed and goes to the room to watch TV. She tries watching TV, but she is disturbed by a clown statue in the corner of the room. She tries to ignore it for as long as possible, but it starts freaking her out so much that she can’t handle it.

She resorts to calling the father and asks, “Hey, the kids are in bed, but is it okay if I switch rooms? This clown statue is really creeping me out.”

The father says seriously, “Get the kids, go next door and call 911.”

She asks, “What’s going on?”

He responds, “Just go next door and once you call the police, call me back.”

She gets the kids, goes next door, and calls the police. When the police are on the way, she calls the father back and asks, “So, really, what’s going on?”

He responds, “We don’t HAVE a clown statue.” He then further explains that the children have been complaining about a clown watching them as they sleep. He and his wife had just blown it off, assuming that they were having nightmares.

The police arrive and apprehend the “clown,” who turns out to be a midget. A midget clown! I guess he was some homeless person dressed as a clown, who somehow got into the house and had been living there for several weeks. He would come into the kids’ rooms at nights and watch them while they slept. As the house was so large, he was able to avoid detection, surviving off their food, etc. He had been in the TV room right before the babysitter right came in there. When she entered he didn’t have enough time to hide, so he just froze in place and pretended to be a statue.

Yeah. As I said earlier on a discussion group, between IT and John Wayne Gacy, I don’t have any time for clowns.

And another to make your hair stand on end. This is an oldie but a still a goodie:

The Killer in the Backseat….

One night a woman went out for drinks with her girlfriends. She left the bar fairly late at night, got in her car and onto the deserted highway. After a few minutes she noticed a lone pair of headlights in her rear-view mirror, approaching at a pace just slightly quicker than hers. As the car pulled up behind her she glanced and saw the turn signal on — the car was going to pass — when suddenly it swerved back behind her, pulled up dangerously close to her tailgate and the brights flashed.

Now she was getting nervous. The lights dimmed for a moment and then the brights came back on and the car behind her surged forward. The frightened woman struggled to keep her eyes on the road and fought the urge to look at the car behind her. Finally, her exit approached but the car continued to follow, flashing the brights periodically.

Through every stoplight and turn, it followed her until she pulled into her driveway. She figured her only hope was to make a mad dash into the house and call the police. As she flew from the car, so did the driver of the car behind her — and he screamed, “Lock the door and call the police! Call 911!”

When the police arrived the horrible truth was finally revealed to the woman. The man in the car had been trying to save her. As he pulled up behind her and his headlights illuminated her car, he saw the silhouette of a man with a butcher knife rising up from the back seat to stab her, so he flashed his brights and the figure crouched back down.

The moral of the story: Always check the back seat!

Yes, they’re (mostly) not true, but don’t they give you a shiver?

Pleasant Dreams!

Dahlia

Horror Movie Review: Unfriended

Title: Unfriended
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Drama
Director: Levan Gabriadze (as Leo Gabriadze)
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3713166/

Synopsis according to IMDB:
A group of online chat room friends find themselves haunted by a mysterious, supernatural force using the account of their dead friend.

I might be getting too old for this, I admit this up front. I did not enjoy this movie on any level. Though I thought the story and the premise was excellent, the thirty year olds playing high schoolers did nothing to elicit my sympathy. I couldn’t even enjoy it on the “so bad it’s good” level because there was little to no physical action. You couldn’t say “don’t go in there” or “stay out of the basement”. Nope. The entire movie took place on a laptop screen.

As I said, this was an interesting concept and on some level, it was well executed. Since I watched the movie on a laptop, it was easy watching and some intriguing things happened.

The actors themselves were annoying. The screaming, crying, cursing and yelling did nothing for the movie. I won’t spoil it here, but in the end the viewer is left unsatisfied.

I’d say see it once, just to experience it.

As always….YMMV.

Grade: D

Horror Movie Review: The Frozen

Hey all! I know I’ve been away for a bit. With three little ones, the end of school week can a be a bit of a blur. Between the graduations, the teacher’s gifts and the parties, it is a miracle I was able to take a breath. But I’m back with another review for you.

Though I titled this a horror, it could easily be classified as a thriller. It’s a little strange and confusing at times, but I enjoyed it…though I would not watch it again.

Title: The Frozen
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Andrew Hyatt
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2363439/

No, this is not the Disney movie that took the world by storm. Look, I’m a huge sucker for going into the woods and bad things happening movies. Here is the synopsis according to IMDB:

After a harrowing snowmobile accident, a young couple is stranded in the woods and must survive while waiting for help to arrive. Events take a turn for the worse after the disappearance of Emma’s boyfriend, leaving her on her own not only to battle the elements, but also to elude a mysterious hunter who is tracking her through the forest.

I’m a simple chick. I like movies that scare, surprise and make me think. I’m not that kind of gal who tries to second guess the movie or make predictions on where the movie is going to go. No. Nope, not me. I just sit back and enjoy the narrative as laid out by the director and actors.

It’s such a simple movie and the backdrop of the cold, unforgiving wilderness serves to put a telling chill into the setting. What would you do if you were in an accident and your companion goes off to get help, leaving you alone in a tent? Then, you start to hear things…..

There is a lot of good camera work and convincing acting by the lead actress. The atmosphere was tense, especially when the pursuing bad guy was introduced. And the pervasive snow in the movie made me feel cold!

I see most of the folks on IMDB gave it a 4 out of 10. I say give the movie a chance. Go into it with fresh eyes and no expectations/predictions of what will happen. I’m not trying to say it’s a masterpiece and it’s nothing new and different, but somehow this quiet little movie endeared itself to me.
Grade: B-