There have been special instances that happen to people to make them rise to fame and one of these happens to be podcasting. Something about having your voice heard over the internet can make even the most somber person think they have become someone other than they really are. With fans coming out of the wood work, people that do this have to transform into the person that the fans love listening to, but sometimes that is not the person that they really are. Hey, I have been on a podcast, but I do not pretend to be who I am not…not yet at least, I think I am enjoyable the way that I am and I hope other people agree as well.

Wallace Bryton is at the top of his game, performing podcasts with his friend Teddy Craft for the Not-See Party web site. The two have found the perfect chemistry and know what the people want to hear and bring it to the masses. Being able to say what they want at all times and show what they want on the site is also a huge plus, especially when Wallace gets a note from an internet sensation that managed to cut his own leg off. With the kid being extremely popular on YouTube, Wallace knows that this is his chance to take the show to the next level with a very special interview. But not everybody feels the same way about this one and are asking Wallace not to belittle the boy as he has been through so much already.  

Arriving in Canada to visit the YouTube sensation, Wallace is shocked to find out that the boy has killed himself. Needing to do something while in the great north, Wallace finds a note hanging in the men’s room saying a tenant is needed and the property owner will share stories of his fascinating life. With nothing else to go with, Wallace jumps at the idea of talking to the old man and at least come back to the States with a story to tell. Even with the location of the house being far outside of the main city, Wallace is not deterred and makes the trip as fast as he can.

Arriving at the house and meeting Howard Howe, Wallace is speechless when he hears a couple of the man’s stories. Howard is happy to share them with the young podcaster, but there is one story he has to tell about his time being lost at sea and the only thing that saved him was a walrus he named Mr. Tusk that led him to land. As Wallace listens to the tale, he starts to get loopy and passes out before the ending. Waking up in a large empty room, Wallace is shocked to find that his leg has been removed due to a spider bite. Wanting to get out of the house, he is not able to convince Howard to contact anybody. As Wallace is treated with the upmost respect from his host, he finds out quickly that Howard is not the man he thinks he is and Wallace will be a longtime fixture in house, but not as himself, but as the reproduction of Mr. Tusk.

I am still kind of blown away by how this movie played out. I am a sucker for Kevin Smith movies, but I never saw this coming out of his mind. I will admit, I did not know what I was getting myself into when starting this movie and that is the best way to go into it. I was shocked by Howard Howe and his obsession with the walrus that had saved him, but also how strong Wallace had to be to survive what was happening to him. With some flashbacks, explaining who Wallace was before he became the popular podcaster, it is easy to see why his friends may let the phone ring without thinking twice, but I would hope if I am ever put into a situation like this, that they would always answer their phones on the second ring. With plenty of Smith’s humor being infused into the movie, it makes it easy to keep watching, even when the worst of the worst is going down in front of your very eyes. Stay Scared!

Moving out on your own as a child can be something that you have been looking forward to all of your life, but when your parents are not around to help out with the basics, you can be in for a rude awakening. Even when you think you may be making the correct decision for your own future it is always good to make sure that your parents or family are involved just in case you might need a little bit of help. Although they might not show it to you right away, your family will do much more than you would ever expect to make sure you are comfortable and safe.

Janet Slate is sick and tired of living at home with her sister and mother and wants to move out on her own. Signing a lease on the first apartment that she has seen, Janet is ready to start her life over in a manner of speaking, without the abuse she has received over the past couple of years. Although her sister is upset with the situation, Janet could care less as she is out of the house, a grown woman and does not need permission from anyone to live her life the way she sees fit. Even though it seems strange being alone, Janet is happy with her decision and is ready for her first night in the apartment.

Seeing and hearing strange things on her first night, Janet is not able to locate who or what could be creating these noises. Not willing to give in to the theories that there is someone else in the apartment with her, she takes some sleeping pills and tries to fall asleep. But a stranger is walking outside of her bedroom, bouncing a tennis ball and not listening to Janet’s requests to leave, instead the stranger stakes her claim to the apartment by throwing Janet across the room. Not believing what happened the previous night, Janet does know that she does not want to go back to her new home, at least not alone for the fear of what she thinks happened to her.

Calling on her boyfriend to come over as she does not feel safe in the apartment, Janet feels comfort that she will be okay with someone else with her, but when Mark leaves the room, Janet is attacked by someone and thrown from the balcony. Not believing she would ever kill herself; Janet’s sister Lara decides to investigate what happened in the room, but when she is met by the detective who is in charge of the case, she believes that there is something more sinister going on than just a human causing the deaths. Lara does not feel right in the apartment but keeps getting drawn back to it when she receives a call from her dead sister to help her. Calling in her back up, Mark, Lara feels safe with someone else watching her back, but the hatred in the small apartment could be too much for even the two to tolerate.  

Apartment 1303 follows the relationship between the Slate family women. There is no father in the picture and the mother is a former rock legend who can only get her new ideas from mixing alcohol with her medications. Making enough money to survive comfortably for her and her daughters, she believes that everything is just fine, but when Janet moves out on her own, she puts the blame on Lara who is the stationary target. When Janet is found dead, the mother continues to blame Lara, but is now much more aggressive about it and Lara is pushed out of the comforts of her life and into the clutches of what killed her sister. With nobody else in the apartment, Lara wants to feel safe, but can tell there is someone, something else with her. Calling on the help of her sister’s boyfriend, Lara feels safe for a time with him staying around but starts to understand that just his presence will not be enough to keep whatever spirits inhabit the apartment at bay.  

This is one of those ghost story movies that will leave you a little bit skeptical about moving into an apartment or house where someone has died. Some tenants do not want to be bothered or move on when they have been told to and that can be a very dangerous situation for everyone involved. I really enjoyed the family dynamic that played out in this film with a mother that does not really understand what her actions are doing to her children, forcing them to find their own way. Without knowing what the apartment was really holding onto, both daughters are forced with the decision of a lifetime, whether to move back home or face their fears when it comes to living on their own for the first time. With a little girl telling everyone that moves into the place to leave, a creepy landlord that only wants to receive unwholesome payments and a ghost that wants the apartment to herself, this is a flick that will make you think twice about where you move to, next. Stay Scared.

It is not completely unusual to hear voices now and then, but most of the time it is your conscience giving you advice. But what if you start to hear voices from inanimate objects, or much more frightening, your pets?  If you are not able to tell that these voices are your own, it may drive you crazy and you might have a hard time knowing what is real and what is just in your head. Turning off these voices might not be something that you can do on your own, as many people have found out the hard way, but there is no shame in searching for help to control them, all you have to do is ask.

Jerry is just a happy guy and loves doing what he is doing and even though he knows his life could be better, he will let the changes come to him. When being asked to help out with the company party, he is placed in a room with his office crush Fiona. Backing all of her ideas, Jerry thinks that he has created a relationship with the office hottie, but when he gets up the nerve to ask her out, she does not decline, but stands him up instead. Driving around, listening to music in his truck, Jerry is surprised to see that Fiona is stranded by the factory and needs a ride home.

Fiona apologizes for the mix up and Jerry seems to be all right with what has happened on this night and while the two converse in the truck, Jerry takes his eyes off of the road and hits a deer at full speed. Hearing the deer’s call for help to die, Jerry takes out his knife and slices its throat. Not believing what she is seeing, Fiona gets out of the truck and tries to get away from Jerry before the crazy young man will hurt her as well. Tripping and falling in the woods, Fiona is the perfect target for the new killer, but Jerry is trying to help her, and has a hard time in showing her that as he trips as well and shoves the knife in her torso.  Seeing his love dying on the ground, Jerry has to take it to the next step and put her out of her misery and continues to stab her in the chest until her lifeless body lays on the damp ground.

Getting home, Jerry has a long conversation with his pets about what has happened and they both give him advice from opposite ends of the spectrum. Bosco, his dog, wants Jerry to come clean about what happened and get the cops involved right away, while Mr. Whiskers, his cat, wants him to clean up the mess that he made. While Jerry is torn between the two ideas, Mr. Whiskers seems to be more on point and Jerry brings Fiona’s body back to his home and disposes off it the only way he can see fit. Leaving her head intact, Jerry places her in the fridge, but Fiona is not done with him yet and demands that he take his crazy pills before he goes any further. Jerry is against taking the pills since they put him in a fog, but his love demands it, so he follows through. Having nightmares about his childhood and what happened to his mother, Jerry does not feel right and when he wakes up, he sees what he has become when his home is an utter mess. When Bosco and Mr. Whiskers are not talking to him anymore about what to do next, Jerry knows that the pills are holding him back and needs them out of his life. With his sanity back, Jerry has a darling conversation with his love in the refrigerator and she becomes demanding on getting her a friend to chat with during her alone time in her tomb. Jerry would do anything for Fiona and he has to set his sights on another woman in the office, but finds out that killing on purpose might be more difficult than he expected.

This is delightfully twisted movie that just made me smile as it played out. Jerry is battling demons from his past and with the help of his psychiatrist, is given the tools to hold it together, but refuses to use them when he loses the ability to talk to his closest friends. I must admit that Mr. Whiskers made me laugh as he is the killer in the house and wants his owner Jerry to take his advice to heart. I am not going to say that cats are evil as I have never been able to own one, but I do believe that they are more demanding than other pets that you own and with that being said, if you piss them off, they will piss on you if you do not respect them one hundred percent. Just a fun horror movie that will make you wonder why anyone who is in their right mind might even consider a murder spree, especially when it comes to people that you love and adore. Stay Scared!

​I do believe that it is important to see how other people live. Being stuck in one area of the world, you never truly get to see how others go about their daily lives, well, that was until documentaries hit the scene. Although most of these films will not get the praise that they deserve since the filmmaker has one story that they want to tell and if it does not get delivered in the correct manner, it comes off as preachy, but it is good for the world to understand what else is happening. I try to watch a couple of these films a year to keep me honest and although it does not follow what I generally watch, it is good to see something different and new. 

Viago, Vladislav and Deacon are ready to start their night, but now they have a film crew following them around. Sitting down at the kitchen table to discuss what needs to be done around their flat, Deacon becomes very upset that he is being singled out for not doing the dishes. Even though it has been five years since the last time the dishes were done, it is not his fault and he exposes his fangs. Being a vampire is not an easy life and now that Viago is having problems maintaining the flat's appearance, he is demanding that everyone start to chip in.

Finding the right things to wear, the flat mates take to the streets to live up the New Zealand night life, but needing to be invited in, they are not able to partake in any of the good clubs. Winding up in their regular vampire hangout, Deacon gets his regular Jackie to find him someone to eat. Although she seems happy to help, she has been doing this job for five years and has been promised to be turned, but her patience is wearing thin these days. But she will do anything for her master, including his chores around the flat and cleaning up the killing rooms for his flat mates. Finding two people from her past to bring over for a dinner party, she has done well, but when they are not as advertised, she is punished again, but that is only the start.

Nick is pursued by the crew and taken by the oldest vampire in the house, Petyr, and changed into one as well. Nick is happy with the change since he is now able to fly and is able to open doors to the group that have previously been shut in their faces. Living the life that he has always wanted, Nick takes it to the next level and tells everyone around town that he is a vampire, breaking the rules of being a night stalker. Not knowing what this could do, Nick sees first hand that vampires are not as loved as he has seen in the movies and when a hunter shows up to the house and kills Petyr, Nick is banished from the flat. But Nick will not be gone for long as the event of the year is coming up for the creatures of night and everyone that is anyone will be there to chat, drink and feed with others like them.

So, if you did not catch it, this is a movie about a group of vampires that have a documentary group following them around. I would have never even given this movie a second look with the description, but I would have been so wrong. This is one of the funniest horror movies I have ever seen, and the group of flat mates are all magical together. Even their best human friend Stu is able to steal some scenes without having to say anything at all. Each of the vampires has their own back story, why they are there, what happened to scar them in their past lives and so on and so on. You might think that this being more of a comedy that there would not be blood, but there is a ton of blood and it does not only come from the victims. When you are looking for something a little more light hearted when it comes to horror, this is a great one to watch. You might not get nightmares, but your sides will wind up hurting. Stay Scared.

Is there anything wrong with being scared? I think it makes you feel more alive than just going for a run. With the blood pumping and the adrenaline flowing, a little fright never hurt anybody. That is why Halloween is becoming such a huge holiday with the haunted houses and crazy mazes that keep appearing every year. That extra jolt of fear can make you do or say things that you may not have done before and it does not seem to be ending as more and more people are looking for the rush.

Pamela has set up a great getaway with her friends Bruce, Jessica, Mark and Kristy. A camping trip that will change their lives forever, or at least they hope so. Heading up to the Redwood House where the former owner went on a murderous spree twenty years ago, the group is ready to have the pants scared off of them, along with having a great time with the other groups that will be there. But when setting up camp, not everyone is there before sundown as Bruce gets knocked off course and is not able to meet up with his friends.

As the sun comes up after their first night, Kristy comes back to camp with a full canteen of water since nobody else will do it and finds out from Pamela that both Mark and Jessica have gone missing. Leaving camp and making their way to the Redwood House to see if the others are already there, Pamela finds out how jealous her companion really is. Kristy knows that Mark and Jessica are out having the time of their lives and they will both suffer her wrath as soon as she finds them. Arriving at the house, the two girls give it a look over and find it strange that nobody else is there. Trying to find their friends has become harder since nobody is answering and it appears that they may have found the wrong spooky location.

Underneath the house however, all hell is breaking loose. Mark and Jessica have been kidnapped by a masked man that is hell bent on killing whoever gets in his way.  Seeing their friend Bruce tied up as well, they know that the legend surrounding the house is real and have to try to escape before they become the next victims. Jessica is the first to be taken by the beast and tries to beg for her life, but the old stories about the farmer seem to be correct as she is stabbed repeatedly in the stomach. Next up, Mark is taken, and the killer’s choice of toys have changed as he starts in on the young man. Bruce however, is able to escape his chains and tries to find a way to safety, but as he continues to move around the kill house, he finds that he and his group are not the only ones in trouble as the twenty year anniversary of the Redwood Massacre is upon them.

I know I left several things out, especially about the killings and that is because they are so brutal, you will need to see them for yourself. I must admit that the blood was glorious in this movie though and you get to see it pouring from the victims like no other. The movie gives you the down deep story about the farmer and what he did to his family twenty years earlier and it gives you somebody to possibly put a face and name to, but you might be surprised to see who the killer actually is. While you don’t get a ton of face time with too many of the characters, Pamela has to be my favorite as she is not complaining the entire time and you learn little bits and pieces about her. Not a bad little flick and I would love to see a sequel to it as I like these deep wood horror movies where you have to face your fears, and a killer that cannot be stopped. Stay Scared.

Trying to find out why somebody has done something unspeakable can be a sticky situation, especially if they are a friend. Not being able to understand what drives some decisions in people can make it difficult to figure out what is really going on in their heads. When your friends end up hitting rock bottom and do not divulge this information to you, you can feel helpless and only want to understand where the problem is coming from, but most of the time, you will be left in the dark as your friend has to figure it out on their own.

In 1940, the small town of Friar, New Hampshire was left dormant by its inhabitants. Without rhyme or reason, everyone in the town left their lives behind and started to walk up a winding mountain trail called the Yellow Brick Road, never to be heard from again. When it was discovered that the entire town was evacuated for no foreseeable reason, the army dispatched a search party and located most of the hikers, but none of them were still breathing. For this reason, the Yellow Brick Road had been deemed off limits for anyone and everyone that wanted to travel it, but seventy years later, it has been re-opened and the curiosity seekers will have free reign to hike it once again.  

A group has decided to take to the road and put an end to all of the mysteries that surround the small town of Friar. Trying to talk to all of the residents about what they believe might have happened to the past occupants of the community, they are not able to get much information at all. Trying to create a book about their account while they make their way up the trail and find the real reason why the entire town took the stroll; they decide to keep a video log to show their loss of sanity. As they get further into their investigation, everyone starts to get a shorter fuse with their counterparts and find that their memories are starting to disappear before trying to conquer the trail.

As the group hits a clearing in the woods, they stop and listen to the wilderness around them and are met with the surprise of hearing music. Figuring out that it was Big Band music from one of the locals that has decided to join the group, and also learning that everyone who took the hike seventy years ago loved it, they start to show a bit of concern. The music is quiet to start with and easy for everyone to shut out, but as they move further north, the music gets louder and louder and starts to work against the group members in different ways. Then out of nowhere, the music stops, and this is what starts to drive the group crazy as they do not know what is causing it, if it is real at all or if they are all suffering from a mass hallucination.  
 
The group decides to keep moving north, but with every step they take, the men of the group start to form hatred towards the women they are traveling with and turn to violence. Not understanding what is happening to them, the group is faced with a decision after witnessing their first death, to move forward with their adventure or turn back and go home. Without knowing what the trail has in store for them, it becomes apparent that there is something much more sinister at work then they had prepared for.  

Wow is all I can say about YellowBrickRoad. I have been putting it off and putting it off for a couple of months and I do not know why. Something about the description left me apprehensive about giving it a view and boy was I wrong. Watching as each character starts to lose their sanity on the old trail was just fantastic and having a living soundtrack that the characters are hearing as well as the audience is something you don’t see in film that often. Playing with the common fear of being lost in an unfamiliar place, along with having an unseen or maybe even a nonexistent villain providing music for the hike is just altogether creepy element this movie provides. This movie caught me off guard and I am happy that it did. Trying to be a character study was the wrong choice for the storyline and is probably why it has lower ratings, but if you let that rest and watch it for what it should be, you will be far from disappointed. Stay Scared.

It always hurts to see a proud horror franchise fall from grace, especially when earlier films in the saga had so much potential, and for a fine example of this kind of problem, look no further than the Critters series of motion pictures. For the original film, released in 1984, featured a fun plot that saw a farming family fight off hungry little furballs that ate everything in sight, and the sequel actually managed to take things one step further by creating a perfect blend of comedy and scares and well…it was all downhill from there. Parts three and four were simply goofy and awful and well, they were bad enough that the franchise in essence faded into oblivion.
 
But these are strange times for the horror industry, and with the wealth of updates, reboots and sequels that are flooding the market, it only made sense for this particular series to receive that all-important second chance that it’s been waiting for and well, that shot at redemption arrived the other day, when the horror streaming service SHUDDER launched a brand new chapter in the saga entitled, Critters: A New Binge. If anything, I have to admit that I was excited to learn that this series was arriving on SHUDDER, simply due to the fact that I’m a huge fan of the franchise to begin with, but, I also have to be honest in mentioning that part of me was concerned that this second chance for the series was going to be squandered and the end result would be lack luster in nature, like the two sequels that came before it. So, imagine my surprise when I settled in to watch this, and ended up loving every single second of it.
 
Because it’s inherently clear that the folks behind the scenes took a good long look at the franchise as a whole, and looked at what worked and what didn’t work and worked to keep the problems that plagued the later sequels out of this story, which means this series locked its focus upon two key elements, scares and giggles, with a heavier emphasis on the latter. Because the jokes come fast and furious in this one, and by latching on to the more campier notions of Critters 2, the series wins you over by keeping you smiling before delivering on some genuinely eerie moments or some quality gore and well, while this alone could have carried this latest entry in the franchise, A New Binge has plenty more to offer.

​Take for example the fact that there are some surprisingly big names in this one, lending a sense of legitimacy to the story and well, Gilbert Gottfried and Thomas Lennon deserve some serious credit for their work in this series, since Gilbert is perfectly cast as the wacky Uncle and Lennon does a magnificent job of playing both the straight arrow Principal Weber and an iteration of the Bounty Hunter Holt and they aren’t the only acting standouts present here. For Stephi Chin-Salvo and Bzhaun Rhoden do a fine job as Dana and Charlie respectively, providing the audience with a genuine sense of surprise as their world changes upon the discovery of the existence of the Crites and a special shout out goes to the lead in this series, Joey Morgan, who plays Christopher, since he does a phenomenal job of driving the impressive plot.
 
In fact, the plot is the centerpiece here since in essence, the story revolves around Christopher’s surprising discovery about his heritage, which I don’t want to spoil here. But Joey’s performance, in combination with some top-notch writing allows for these reveals to surprise the audience perfectly, and I honestly didn’t have a clue what kinds of twists and turns were headed my way, and this impressive plot is only further enhanced by the format of the series. For A New Binge is broken up into eight easily digestible episodes that only run an average running time of ten minutes, a decision that quite frankly sucked me in because I needed to know more and needed to see how it was going to end and really, this ended up being quite the delight when all is said and done.
 
Because it is clear that everyone behind the scenes finally realized that the only way forward for the Critters franchise was to embrace its weirdness and make those love-able and starving furballs the focus of the story and by giving them a juicy plot, and personality, this series is a home run as far as I’m concerned. I simply had a blast watching this one, and I found myself laughing heartily on multiple occasions, and I definitely cringed when the Crites feasted and well, you really cannot ask for much more than that from this storied series, and I do hope that this will serve as the beginning of a brand new run for the franchise, for this one did a fine job setting up a second season for the show, and it would just be wonderful to see these fun little monsters continue their triumphant return.   

I’ve flirted with the horror film genre throughout my life, behind halfway closed eyes and tensely crossed arms. For quite some time, I was the type of person who would lunge for the remote and change the channel whenever the trailer for a scary movie came on. That being said, I have (somehow) seen quite a few horror movies over the years, and even plenty I loved, though very few of those instances were in theaters, where the silence is audible, and the scares are amplified. Then Jordan Peele’s Get Out came along and I found myself unable to fight the urge to see it on the big screen. Peele drew me back yet again with his newest release, Us.
 
Us continues Jordan Peele’s pivot into horror and firmly establishes him as one of the genre’s greatest minds of this era. Peele builds on the history of horror while paying homage to it. The film plays off a number of well-established horror tropes: an ordinary family alone in a secluded house; a home invasion; a cat-and-mouse game between good and evil; doppelgangers. But it also ventures beyond that contained format and challenges us to think about ourselves as a society more broadly, highlighting the ‘us vs. them’ mentality and pitting the haves against the have-nots. It’s a deliciously slow-burner that unfolds from within itself as the movie goes on and only gets more fun and thought-provoking the longer you dwell on it.
 
The cast is without a doubt the highlight of this movie. The entire ensemble deserves praise for their ability to portray both their characters and the unsettling ‘shadow’ or Tethered versions of their characters, existing as both the frightening and the frightened. Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, and Madison Curry - the kids in the film - all do a stellar job. Winston Duke and Tim Heidecker inject the tone with levity. Elisabeth Moss steals a few scenes without saying a word. Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o steals the show. Her masterful use of a wide range of facial expressions and emotions gives her characters, and the story, boundless depth. Nyong’o delivers a monologue that can almost be labeled as a ghost story, registering as one of the most bone-chilling moments of the movie.
 
The film also excels in its cinematography and choreography. Tension is heightened through several excruciatingly slow pans and zooms. You share in the characters’ terror thanks to lots of creepy tightly-framed closeups. Shots involving mirrors and glass tables make creative use of reflections to add to the movie’s overarching theme of duality. That theme is played upon beautifully with action late in the movie, where characters mimic each other through dance and fight scenes. 

Composer Michael Abels strikes gold again with a score that adds considerable value to the movie, as was the case with his inventive score for Get Out. Abels has the ability to take the most commonplace or unimposing songs and make them horrifying. One of the major hooks of the Us trailer was Abels’ remix of the hip-hop classic ‘I Got 5 On It’ by Luniz. The song reappears throughout the movie in some key scenes and sticks with you long after you’ve left the theater. Get Out’s opening credits rolled with ‘Sikiliza Kwa Wahenga’, an Abels original that is almost exclusively in Swahili and provides quite a bit of foreshadowing and insight when translated. Similarly, Us features a melodic and twisted rearrangement of the ‘do-re-mi’ solfége. (Not coincidentally, Abels said in a 2017 interview with ‘Film Music Magazine’ that The Sound of Music was the first movie he saw, and that ‘Do Re Mi influenced (him) profoundly’.) Thanks to Abels’ Hitchcock-esque score, Us is a horror movie that sounds as good as it looks.
 
One mistake I made was actively comparing this movie to Get Out while watching. Where the humor in Get Out is more satirical, the laughs in Us serve to break the tension in big moments (something I was mixed parts grateful for and disappointed by). The former’s social commentary is more pointed and obvious, while in the latter it is subtle and lingering, though it is ever-present and clever in both. Each gives you a lot to think about but Get Out ties its loose ends together a little more neatly, while Us delivers intentional ambiguity. I initially found myself faulting Us for these differences, but Peele’s newest effort is likely more ambitious and deserves to be thought of in its own space.  
 
I do have to admit that there was a stretch of the movie that had me doubting Peele. I questioned where the movie was headed and began to grow frustrated that it hadn’t started to tie things up and draw any larger conclusions. Yet while I thought I was two steps ahead, Jordan Peele had taken three. Although it follows along with the standard horror formula in some ways, Us does a solid job of subverting audience expectations. It yo-yos wonderfully between being a very contained home invasion slasher and something much more broad.

Us left me feeling unsettled exiting the theater. It was the first thing on my mind when I woke up the next morning and I’ve spent the last few days continuing to think about it. While some unanswered questions and potential holes do exist, particularly around the origins and mythos of the Tethered, Us gives you room to think about those things for yourself. I’ve enjoyed digging into all the fan theories and researching Easter eggs, including the meaning behind the movie’s recurring bible verse. It’s the type of movie that blossoms just as much in the time you spend processing it as it does on screen. Us is a thrilling, layered horror film; one that you’ll want to see in theaters and one that warrants a second viewing.

Getting ideas for a new project can be a difficult thing for anyone that works in the creative sector, and that can be complicated further when the artist needs to leave the comforts of their area to find inspiration for their new concept. Sometimes writers are the worst when it comes to this this as what they are trying to put down on paper is something that they personally have never experienced before. Coming up with the right idea may be easy enough but getting the feeling down of your new characters could end up being very difficult if you have never felt their emotions before.  

Writer Hall Baltimore is driving through the country trying to promote his new book that has just come out. He has been working on the same series of witch novels for many years and is getting very tired of the story line and is looking for something else. Hall feels that he has been wasting his talent on these books, and although they provide him with a steady paycheck, he needs something more to get his creative groove back. With the loss of his daughter a year before, Hall is trying his hardest to feel like he is someone of meaning once again but being belittled by his wife over their current financial situation, he has to succumb and promise his editor that there is another witch novel on the way.  

Arriving in a small town that does not have a book store for his signing, Hall sets up in the local hardware store. Noticing the clock tower in the center of town has seven faces, Hall is approached by the local sheriff that has an idea for a book of his own. Although Hall does not give the sheriff much credit, he listens to the tale of a murdering spree that happened in the town many years ago and comes up with a new idea. Passing out in his hotel, Hall has a dream where he meets a young girl named ‘V’ who goes for a nighttime stroll with the struggling author. Finding out that the town was once visited by Edgar Allen Poe, Hall walks to the hotel where his idol had once slept, but finds something very disturbing happening in the abandoned building, in that, it is open for business once again.

With ‘V’ refusing to enter the old establishment and Hall feeling very uncomfortable in his present confines, he leaves, but sees a group of children leaving the house as well. Hall is told a story that all of these children were buried under the floor of the hotel and killed by someone that they truly trusted. The writer in Hall is awakened again and now he has an idea for a new story that could put him back on the map. Overstepping his authority, Hall snoops around the town to find out all of the history behind the murders of the children and finds out that there is something more sinister going on. With the sheriff being afraid of the kids across the lake who worship the devil and the devil that lives inside of the clock tower, there is much more to the murders than he could have ever imagined.  

Twixt is the story of a down on his luck writer that is looking for a new story to tell. Not being allowed to come up with his own stories anymore and being directed to write what works, Hall Baltimore is tired and needs a change of pace. When talking to the local sheriff, Hall finds out that the small town he is held up in has a history that runs much deeper than anyone could imagine, along with the fact that his idol, Edgar Allen Poe, stayed in an abandoned hotel here many years ago, and he realizes he might be able to come up with something special. Having dreams that rival his reality, Hall is trying to find out what really happened in the town so many years ago, along with a new story that will end his reign as a witch novel writer. Finding out the secrets of the town and experiencing more than he bargained for, Hall is now faced with the problem of knowing what is real and what is just a dream.

This is one of those movies that you have to watch carefully to understand fully. With all of the changes that are going on with your main character, it is a fun ride that might have you question if what you are seeing is part of his story or just a dream. Movies about authors always end up sucking me in as I have battled with the creative process time and time again and it brings a smile to my face to see someone that has to go through the same struggles that I have. There's enough story line to keep you intrigued and a group of devil worshipers that may have more power than believed could be enough, but you also have a staking death of a little girl that starts the story and you are not allowed to know why she dies until the very end. Stay Scared.

I will never forget the night of October 23, 2016. For on this night, I had gathered with a group of friends to watch the season seven premiere of The Walking Dead to learn exactly who was going to die at Negan’s hands and well, this ended up being quite the devastating affair. For I watched my friend Kerri burst into tears the instant Lucille came down upon Abraham’s head, and I also watched my best friend Shae storm out of the room once Negan turned his attention to Glenn and the uncomfortable nature of that evening, is something that one simply never forgets because we all shared in the horror of watching the show go to some supremely bold and ugly places.
 
If anything ‘The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be’, was a milestone episode in its own right, because it was really the last time the series outright chose to go to the darkest places imaginable within this universe, and while there were more characters to exit in the years to come, and more sorrowful moments, none of them were as uncomfortable or as jarring as that particular tale, until last night that is. For ‘The Calm Before’, once again brought the audience to some disturbing places and what made this story so jarring and so powerful, was the sheer fact that it pulled such a feat off in the most unexpected way imaginable, since this particular episode started out as quite the uplifting and joyous affair.
 
After all, this was it, the Fair was in full swing and a beautiful speech from King Ezekiel about unity and bringing Rick and Carl’s vision to life was only further enhanced by the fact that the leaders of all the major communities were finally able to meet and make peace, thanks to an earnest apology from Michonne, and they were also able to make a pact regarding the new threat waiting for them in the woods. Which meant at long last, the Charter that Ezekiel so firmly believed in, would finally receive the important and symbolic signatures that it was lacking and it was quite beautiful and inspiring to see everyone finally come together in this fashion and finally work together as one, and the wonder and awe of this tale didn’t end with this magnificent moment.
 
For shortly after the Charter was signed, we were treated to a solid look at the Fair and for the first time in a supremely long time on the series, we saw a taste of everyday life on display once again. In fact, it was jarring in all the right ways to see people laughing, and loving and enjoying themselves once more and there was finally a sense of community present on the show and it honestly felt as though I was watching a completely different television series for a moment there, since people were filled with outright joy and serenity and this was just beautiful to see, for this really was what Carl and Rick had envisioned all those years ago. But alas, these wonderful moments simply weren’t meant to last. For while people were enjoying a little fun for a change, a monster walked amongst them. 

​Because Alpha had intercepted a wagon outside of town, and stole the clothes and the scalp of a woman who was on her way to the Fair from Hilltop and this new look, gave Alpha the opportunity to walk about the Kingdom without anyone noticing her or paying her mind, and while it was incredibly fascinating and unsettling to see her meander about the Fair unnoticed, and express disdain at the Kingdom’s way of life, we all knew she had come to this place for one reason, and one reason alone; to bring Lydia back to the rest of the Whisperers. But in a surprise twist, Lydia finally confronted Alpha about the abuse she inflicted upon her and told her mother to basically pound sand and leave her alone and dearest mother complied, fading into the night and that’s, when this episode took quite the downward turn.
 
Because Daryl and a small group that included Carol and Michonne had gone off to investigate what happened to the people of the wagon that Alpha attacked, and they quickly found themselves surrounded by the Whisperers and eventually, Daryl and Alpha had a little chat wherein she told him, this conflict was coming to its end, and that borders were now drawn between their two people and to know where that border started, his group merely needed to talk a walk north and what they found…was downright devastating. For while she was within the walls of the Kingdom, Alpha saw to it that ten people were kidnapped and beheaded, and had their reanimated skulls placed upon pikes to mark the Whisperers territory and the grand reveal of Alpha’s demented decision revealed that several prominent characters had met their end at the hands of the Whisperers and we were forced to unceremoniously say farewell to Enid, Tara and Henry…
 
Yet, while this is a series where people die and die often, it’s the deaths that happen in cruel fashion that tend to get to us and that’s precisely what made this ending so powerful and so unsettling. For that trio of characters, and everyone else who was placed upon those pikes deserved better, and even Negan knew better than to mess with children and teenagers, but clearly all bets are off when it comes to Alpha and this brand of cruelty and savagery more or less confirms that Alpha and her zealots have left their humanity completely behind and well, this is hands down one of the darkest moments the series has ever sent our way, one that rivals if not surpasses Negan’s cruelty and now we know just how far the Whisperers are willing to go when pressed and that makes them supremely dangerous and supremely terrifying.
 
But for now, there is a fragile peace and there are other concerns that come about from this devastating twist. After all, Hilltop is once again devoid of leadership and they will need guidance in the days to come since that small community will undoubtedly be left utterly shattered by their losses and I’m also worried about Carol to be honest. Granted, she’s as tough as they come and she’s endured some incredible hardships in her time on the series, but this is the second time now she’s lost a child, and the heartbreak present on her face when she realized that her surrogate son’s head was stop that pike, has me worried that Alpha has finally cracked one of the most hardened characters on the show. Either way, the darkness has returned when it comes to this series, and it may only get worse from here. For when an enemy doesn’t value life in the slightest and is willing to go that far to disturb and unsettle their foe, they’ll do whatever it takes to ‘win’ and that can only mean that more heartbreak awaits us in the future since Alpha has her first victory, and it is only a matter of time before she demands more…