Saturday, October 17, 2015

Review - Seize The Night

*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.


I believe my first introduction of a vampire was in the 1985 made-for-TV movie, The Midnight Hour, when I was a four-years-old. Then of course I went a little crazy for Buffy the Vampire Slayer when I was a teenager. I even collected the Buffy novels that were published, which were written by a variety of authors, including Christopher Golden. Sadly, I no longer have a taste for reading vampire fiction; mostly thanks to the glitter-versions that appeared in the Twilight Saga, though I have read several of the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris over the last few years.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Book Blogger Hop: Halloween Editon: October 16th - 22nd

Book Blogger Hop

Welcome Ghouls and Goblins
to the
Book Blogger Hop: Halloween Edition!
  
If you want schedule next week's thrilling question, click here to find the next prompt fright-fest. 
To submit a question, fill out this form.

How to participate in this week's creepy meme:


1. Post on your blog answering this haunt:

 Your having a costume party with the theme "Book Characters." Who would you go as?

2. Enter the link to your terrifying tale in the haunting list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in a curse).

 

3. Visit other haunters in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new creeper.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.
 

Billy's Answer!


I would go as Bram Stoker's Dracula. 



Linky List:

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Which Is the Worse - Troll or Troll 2?


Yeah, I'm pretty sure that almost every horror fan has either heard or has seen what is considered one of the worst movies ever - the infamous Troll 2!

The original Troll film (1986) was a blend of fantasy and horror. It centered on a Troll terrorizing an apartment building in San Francisco. A teenager named Harry Potter, Jr. (Yep, that's right!) must team up with the witch that lives upstairs in order to save his younger sister as well as parents from the Troll's menace. The film didn't exactly make a dent at the box-office, mostly due to horrible reviews from critics. However, it found new life at the video stores throughout the 80s.

Troll 2 was released in the USA in 1990, but it's no way connected to the first film. Actually, it doesn’t even contain any trolls in it. The film was written and directed by Claudio Fragasso, but was credited as either Drake Floyd or Drago Floyd. It was filmed in Morgan and Porterville, Utah in the summer of 1989 with a cast of unknowns. Since the director couldn't speak fluent English, neither did the script which contained broken broken dialect. It's been told that the cast tried their best to change the script dialogue, so it would sound better, but they were only given the script scene-by-scene.

The movie centers on a the Michael Waits, his wife Diana and his children, Holly and Joshua, going on a home exchange vacation in the small town of  Nilbog (Goblin spelled backwards), where they are going to live in a farm for a month.

Now Joshua is a little weird as he can communicate with his deceased grandfather, who has warned him that there is danger in Nilbog and that he should do whatever it takes to get his family to leave as soon as possible; resulting in the boy pissing on the family's meal, which all the food is green and will turn whoever eats it into a pod.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

DVD Review - R.L. Stine's Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls



Goosebumps is getting the big screen treatment in this Friday's release of the family comedy-horror starring Jack Black, but some of you might not know about the recently released direct-to-DVD film called R.L. Stine's Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls. Unlike the other direct-to-DVD R.L. Stine releases, this one isn't based on any of his books, though it’s most likely loosely inspired by the Goosebumps Hall of Horrors series.

Written by Billy Brown & Dan Angel and directed by Peter DeLuise (21 Jump Street), the film centers on four high school friends - Kellen (played by Braeden Lemasters), Beth (played by Dove Cameron), Luke (played by Casey Dubois) and Nicole (played by Tiffany Espensen), whom all attend a Hall of Horrors that is traveling through their town.

Considering that Halloween is just around the corner, the group is excited about the Hall of Horrors and all of it's freaky attractions. There are zombies, monsters and ghouls running around the place, which all of them are wearing realistic looking masks. The Hall of Horrors is owned by a strange man in a top hat, Dr. Hysteria (played by Andrew Kavadas).

Kellen has had a crush on his friend Beth for years and just when he is about to tell her how he feels about her, a mysterious teenager named Hunter (played by Ryan McCarten) catches Beth's attention. He doesn't have much time to get over his heartache as the Gothic-dressing Lilith (played by Katherine McNamara) pops into his life.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Horror Movies Are Still Scary - A Review of It Follows!



Finding a good horror flick with actual scares is hard to find these days, especially with all the unneeded remakes as well as the unwatchable PG-13 found footage ones. In my opinion, the horror genre took a turn for the worse when Scream was released in the middle '90s; though there are a few exceptions, such as Rob Zombie's Halloween, The Conjuring, The Innkeepers, The House of the Devil and Trick'r Treat.

And then there is this year's It Follows, a low-budget independent horror film that frightened moviegoers earlier this year. Sure, it only made over $18 million, but it's budget was around $2 million.

Written & directed by David Robert Mitchell, the film stars Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Oliva Luccardi and Lili Sepe.

I occasionally search the internet about upcoming horror movies, so I was more than aware of all the buzz around It Follows way before it was released to theaters this past spring. I very seldom go to a  movie theater, so I patiently waited for it to arrive on DVD.

The film centers on a college student named Jay (played by Maika Monroe) going on a date from hell with her new boyfriend, Hugh (played by Jake Weary). He knocks her out with chloroform. Then she wakes up tied to a wheelchair in an abandoned building. This is when she learns that Hugh is passing a curse onto her, so for the time being he will be free of it.

Monday, October 12, 2015

Review - Goosebumps Most Wanted: Night of the Puppet People


Goosebumps Most Wanted: Night of the Puppet People
by R.L. Stine
Publisher: Scholastic
Pub. Date: September 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-0545627757
Pages: 153 pages

Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

I'm sure many people have fond memories of reading the Goosebumps the series throughout the 90s as well as the new generation of kids with the spinoffs Horrorland, Halls of Horrors and Most Wanted. I've been a fan since the first book, Welcome to Dead House, was released in 1992. It' sold over 350 million books worldwide in 32 languages and I'm sure with the feature film being released this Friday that it will become even more popular.

Over the last year or so, I've been reviewing the newest additions to the franchise, which I received my review copies directly from Scholastic. Unfortunately, I didn't receive a review copy of Goosebumps Most Wanted: Night of the Puppet People, but I wanted to feature a post about the title during the Halloween Madness event. Therefore, I ordered the book from Amazon and I received it on the release date.

This time around R.L. Stine adds a twisted spin on the world of puppetry. The story centers Ben and Jenny Renfro, sixth-grade twins whom have always feared puppets ever since they attended a puppet show in Kindergarten. With the Sixth-Grade Variety Show fast approaching, the twins want to come up with the perfect skit, so they can win the $500 prize and outshine Maria and Anna, two classmates that are going to make their own puppets and perform an act during the show.

Having no idea what to do, the twins turn to their pal Jonathan Sparrow (or otherwise known as Bird) to help them come up with the perfect skit. While searching Bird's attic for costumes to wear, they discover three old puppets on strings - a princess, a knight and a sultan. Though Ben is at first against it, Jenny convinces him that putting on a puppet show is the perfect way to win the variety show.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Review - The Lost Girl: A Fear Street Novel Review


I'm sure almost everyone had heard of the bestselling Goosebumps children book series by R.L. Stine, but the younger generation might not be aware of the author's scary series for teens - Fear Street!

The first Fear Street novel, The New Girl, was released in 1989.  It was one of the most popular book series in the 1990s and has sold over 80 million copies since 2003 (probably a lot more by now). After a nine-year hiatus, R.L. Stine published a brand new installment, Party Games, in 2014; followed by Don't Stay Up Late earlier this year. The third new novel was released a few weeks ago and is titled the The Lost Girl!

Just like all the other Fear Street books, this is set in the fictional town of Shadyside. The novel starts out with a prologue that is set in the 1950 and centers on a Beth Palmieri, a teenager that has witch-like powers that were passed down from her grandmother. After being attacked by a boy, Aaron, whom happens to be the nephew of a powerful man - Martin Dooley, her father is murdered. Beth is the only witness, but she mysteriously disappears.

Fast forward to the present day, where the main character, teenager Michael Frost, is introduced. He is your typical teenager that likes hanging out with his friends, Gabe and Diego. Plus, he also writes the Shadyside High blog along with his other friend Pepper, who has a small crush on him.

While doing some grocery shopping for his mother, Michael runs into a teenage girl who looked like she was trying to steal food. The next day at school he meets this strange girl again and she introduces herself as Lizzy Walker. He is instantly enchanted by her and invites her to go on snowmobile ride with his friends. That's when the unthinkable happens - they accidentally hit a man; though the body vanishes without a trace.