Sometimes thinking that you are going crazy can drive you more nuts than you previously thought you were. Most of the time, you are not the one that thinks of yourself as being the crazy one, but everyone around you is saying that you are. It is trying to get them to believe you that you are not going crazy that is the hard thing to do as most of us house a little bit of crazy and that is just normal in my eyes.

Kristen is being chased by the police in 1966 and does not understand why. Burning an old home to the ground seemed like the right thing for her to do, but she is going to be placed in a psychiatric ward none the less. Being a danger to herself and everyone that gets around her, she is going to be under the medical care of Doctor Stringer who is practicing some future techniques to help cure the mentally unstable. Although Kristen does not believe that she has anything wrong with her, she is forced to succumb to the treatments as she is outnumbered by the orderlies.  

Meeting up with the other girls that are also being held in the ward, Kristen tries to be friends with them all, but finds that not everyone is willing to go along with it. Emily, Sarah, Zoey and Iris have all been housed together for some time and have their own problems and secrets that they have to keep to themselves. Kristen still feels that she has nothing wrong with her and that she does not belong in a place for the insane, and she tries to find out if there is any way to escape the premises. But once Kristen finds that there is someone else in the holding block that is not human and is looking to hurt her, it becomes more apparent that it is time to find her way out. 

After dealing with a strange visitation while taking a shower, Kristen is freaked out, but none of the doctors or her ward mates are willing to listen to her about what she witnessed. Needing to know why this strange character is targeting her, Kristen is able to convince one of the other girls to give up the name of the girl that is terrorizing her; Alice. With no help from the medical staff, Kristen tries her hardest to figure out what happened to Alice and why there is a ghost hunting her in the ward when she did nothing to instigate the attacks. When she discovers that the other girls did not like Alice and killed her off before Kristen’s arrival because she was abusive to everyone else, Kristen has to find out why she is being targeted as well.

The Ward follows Kristen as she is desperately trying to prove to the medical staff at the psychiatric ward that she is not crazy. As she is locked up with a group of girls that seem to have real problems, she finds out that there is something strange going on in the ward that no one wants to discuss as some of the girls go missing. Trying to figure out what is causing the strange occurrences, Kristen finds that there was a girl named Alice that is trying to exact her revenge on the girls that murdered her and has Kristen next in her sights. With no help coming from the medical staff, Kristen needs to find a way to escape the ward before she ends up becoming Alice’s next victim.  

A battle of wills is the best way to describe how this movie moves along. Focusing on what happens in your mind when you are trying to forget something from your past and coming up with the ultimate coping mechanisms. John Carpenter takes you down the rabbit hole as you follow Kristen on her path of proving that she is of sound mind but finds that there is no happy ending as she will never be able to escape the ward. With Alice killing off her new friends, it is enjoyable to watch as Kristen comes up with the ultimate plan of escape but will always be held back by the ghost of Alice who is looking for much more out of her. Stay Scared.

Sometimes there are films that leave you with incredible internal conflict. You may like the film, yet hate it all at the same time and that strange back and forth somehow keeps you coming back for more. Despite your best efforts to take a side, you simply cannot, because there is so much that leaves you on the fence.  

There is a horror film that does this for me. Every single time I watch it I grin ear to ear at some scenes, and grimace with disgust at others. Because I have such a great love for the zombie genre, yet I simply cannot stand fast moving corpses. Which means there is only one movie that can create this kind of grand conflict for me...The Return of the Living Dead.  

The Uneeda Medical Facility is harboring an incredible secret. Sitting in its basement beneath its life saving medical inventory are metallic canisters that contain an abomination; corpses that once appeared to be alive, thanks to a chemical experiment gone wrong from so many years ago. But this secret is about to reveal something far worse. Because when two employees accidentally release the contents of the tank, they discover that the chemical within does more than just make dead bodies appear to live...it actually resurrects the dead, and the corpses this chemical reanimates, hunger for fresh human brains.  

When this movie was released in the summer of 1985, it did something incredible...it beat the King of the Living Dead, George A. Romero, at his own game by outperforming Day of the Dead in theaters and its success was completely warranted. After all, this was an absolutely fresh take on the zombie genre, one that mixed in the punk culture of the 80's while at the same time adding some over the top slapstick to a genre that is normally quite serious. Yet while there are plenty of laughs to be found in The Return of the Living Dead, it never strays from its roots, providing the audience with some solid scares and there is plenty of gore to be found here as well.   

However, we do need to discuss my main gripe with the story. Only because this is the film that in many ways was the genesis of the fast-moving zombie. I mean, there are some scenes where these suckers move, and just from a logical standpoint, I don’t understand how the hell can a corpse move that quick. To top it all off, this film goes ahead and takes such a wild notion one step further...by giving these corpses the ability to talk. It's a strange decision that still takes me by surprise to this day because it’s definitely off putting to hear a corpse speak in a zombie film, and at times, it is a tad silly.  

But perhaps that is the point of The Return of the Living Dead, to be the anti-thinking zombie film. To allow us to just kick back and enjoy the ride while these crazy creatures dig in to feast on brains while metal and punk music rain down upon us. It's worth seeing, and it has grown into a cult phenomenon as the years have progressed. In fact, it managed to spawn four sequels in the franchise, but this one stands out as the best of them all.  

It is difficult to allow someone you don’t know into your family, but it can be done, it just takes time to get used to the idea. As there are so many unknowns about people, you can reassure yourself that a child would not come with any baggage, but that might be wrong as well. Not knowing the story about where they might have come from or who or what their parents were may hinder your ability to connect with a child on the deepest level. Most people believe that they can form and mold a new child into what they want them to be, but there is really no way to keep them from becoming what they were bred to be.

Getting a frantic phone call while his wife is in labor, Robert Thorn rushes to the hospital to find out what is happening with her and their child. Finding out from Father Spiletto that his son has died and there is a very good chance that Kate will not be able to bear any more children, Robert is beside himself, but does not have to face the problem alone. Father Spiletto has a solution that will solve both of their problems as he has a baby boy who was born at the same time that lost his mother during the delivery.  With nobody being the wiser, Robert decides to bring the boy into his life and nobody will ever know what  has happened on this fateful night.

As years pass by, Robert has good news for Kate and Damien, that they will be moving to London since Robert has accepted a position as the Ambassador's second in command. But things are looking even better for Robert as the Ambassador is killed in a freak accident and he is now the head of the station. Feeling remorse for what happened to his friend, Robert has earned the position and should not have any issues in doing his job. While celebrations are not in order for the parents, Damien’s fifth birthday party is a success, until the young boy’s nanny hangs herself declaring that it is all for him. Taking photos at the event and even of the dead woman, photographer Keith Jennings is trying to figure out what is happening with his film as there are strange anomalies on his pictures that he cannot explain.

Since the media has taken a liking to Robert Thorn and his problems, they keep the offices surrounded at all times trying to get a soundbite of what he knows about his nanny and her death. But there is someone else that has taken a great interest in Thorn as Father Brennan has an important message to deliver to him. Not understanding what the father is trying to say, Robert heads out into the city and if the Father's persistence was not enough, Jennings is also hot on Thorn's trail. Meanwhile, Kate is wiped out after several failed interviews and simply wants to end her day, but there is one more applicant that would like the chance to take care of her son. Wooing the couple, Mrs. Baylock is given the job and will keep Damien safe, no matter the situation.

Remakes are difficult to do, especially with a classic story like The Omen, but this one made the story its own. Diving into different scenes the previous movie did not touch, it was nice to see some of the slight changes that were made to the story. But it also had its issues whereas the original did not seem to have any to start with, so really, it all comes down to perspective. Aside from that, the interactions between Kate and Robert Thorn were great, but Father Brennan, Keith Jennings and Mrs. Baylock really stole the show. With a little bit larger presence in the story and on the screen, that is one change that I did not take away as a bad thing since they are extremely important as to how the story is told. As far as remakes go, it is not awful, but I would say that if you want to get someone interested in the story, you should recommend they watch the original and then the remake. Well, that is the end of The Omen movies for now, since I don’t see any more on the docket to be released at the moment, and hopefully someday there will be a new story to captivate us. But for now the story of the Antichrist will live on in Damien until he is disposed of the right way.  Stay Scared.

I think it is safe to say that every geek/nerd out there, can easily pinpoint what shows and movies helped them become the geek/nerd they are today, and one of the many stories that I grew up with that did that for me, that I try to revisit as often as possible, is The Twilight Zone. Because this unique series broke ground when it first arrived on the scene, offering up unique perspective on our society and our world, and this is a series that often stayed with you long after an episode came to an end thanks to all of the fascinating ideas it sent our way. In fact, I would venture to say that this series is one of the big reasons that social commentary found its way into pop culture since so many episodes focused on parts of our world that we weren’t discussing enough at the time.
 
If anything, this particular series is back on my mind once again, simply because it’s about to see itself reborn on CBS All Access in a few weeks when Jordan Peele’s iteration of the show premieres. And as we grow closer to that all-important premiere, I find myself revisiting old episodes of the show, and this need to consume as many of these incredible stories as possible, has also motivated me to dust off the Blu-Ray that I own of the motion picture version of this franchise that hit the silver screens back in 1983. Because, Twilight Zone: The Movie, is a film that is special to me on several levels, in large part due to the fact that I saw it the instant it arrived on Home Video back in the day, giving me a chance to consume a big budget version of the show in my own home, but also because…it’s one of the finest collections of Twilight Zone stories out there.
 
After all, this particular film stays true to the spirt of the franchise, by offering up stories that feature the fantastical, like ‘It’s a Good Life’, since that segment features a psychic boy who can conjure anything he imagines at will. And the movie is also able to address problems in our modern world since ‘Time Out’, takes a good long look at Racism in America by way of a man named Bill Connor, who is forced to understand the plight of minorities throughout history because of his own issues with people who are slightly different than him and well, this is indeed a segment that gives one pause because it’s a little terrifying how little has changed when it comes to people like Bill…

​However, all of that aside, there are really two segments that instantly ignite joy in my heart when they come on since they remain so special in their own magical way, and the first one I truly adore is ‘Kick the Can’, which is a remake of an episode of the series, but putting Steven Spielberg at the helm of a story involving old people wishing to be young again ups the ante in ways one never thought possible. For at this point in his career, Spielberg was a master of stories that involved the magic and wonder of youth, so who better than Steven to helm a story that focused heavily on staying young at heart and appreciating the moment since it will never come again. 
 
But for me, the true masterpiece of this anthology, is the remake of ‘Nightmare at 20,000 Feet’, in large part due to the fact that this story is one of the first Twilight Zone stories I ever had the pleasure of watching and also because, John Lithgow sells this sucker like no other. I mean seriously, you really do believe the terror oozing from him once he discovers the strange little gremlin hanging out on the wing of the plane and really, this vignette is a master class in horror themed storytelling when all is said and done, simply due to how well its paced, and the sheer sense of claustrophobia this tale provides the audience with, since the walls seemingly begin to close in as the nightmare continues to grow…
 
If anything, this movie is just a delight. It captures the spirit of the show, it makes you laugh, it makes you jump, and it is the kind of anthology that I’m more than happy to watch over and over again, simply because I find something new every time, I put it in. Plus, there’s an added bonus to this film in that, you’ll find some other big names featured throughout the various stories, including Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks in the most memorable wraparound story out there, one that answers an important question in unsettling fashion and if by chance you haven’t seen this one yet, please do. It’s just an incredibly fun ride, and if you’re like me, and you’re needing your fix before the new series arrives, this is a movie that will definitely help to satisfy your hunger…

When it comes to the villain or villains of just about any particular story, I think we can all agree upon the fact that they all have their own respective ceiling, or low point if you will, when it comes to their particular brand of evil. We simply know what to expect from them, and how far they’re willing to go when it comes to the heinous acts they’re going to commit, providing the audience with a sense of comfort and a solid reason to rally behind the hero’s quest to bring them down. Unless of course, that story happens to be The Walking Dead, since this particular show has finally decided it is high time to allow for a villain to truly let loose and take their wickedness to a whole new level.
 
For last night’s episode of the show, ‘Guardians’, provided us with some incredible insight when it comes to Alpha and how she operates as leader of the Whisperers and my goodness, did this exploration provide us with some incredibly dark and unsettling material. But, I don’t want to get into her bleak and twisted journey just yet, because while this episode definitely left me squirming in my seat, it also offered up some fascinating ideas when it comes to the nature of leadership, and the need to relinquish our fear, and all of that was explored by way of a return to Alexandria in this tale, wherein both of those issues were handled by Michonne’s journey, since we found her at quite the crossroads. 
 
Because her return to Alexandria brought about all kinds of debate and fury amongst the Council. For Michonne and Aaron both believed that now was the time to tighten their borders with a new threat surrounding them. But there were others who firmly believed it was it was high time to do the opposite and take part in the fair and re-open relations with neighboring communities in the event of a crisis and just to spread goodwill and well, Michonne was having none of this discussion. In fact, she outright made mention of the fact that she would veto any decision by the Council involving unity, all of course in the name of security and while the Council seemingly let her have her way, there were others who challenged her panicked authority in fascinating fashion.
 
For example, Negan took the time to question her decisions and her leadership, and he even pointed out that she was slowly losing her grip on everything in Alexandria by hanging on to everything so tightly, and ironically…Negan even offered his help as a consultant to help her regain control. And as if that wasn’t enough to unsettle Michonne, she came to learn that Judith had been speaking with her once mortal enemy and thankfully, a moment of honesty that only a child can provide about who Michonne was becoming, helped her to understand it was high time to loosen her proverbial grip and as it turns out, Alexandria will be helping out with the fair after all…

If anything, Michonne’s story, and the nature of leadership that it explored, in that, the best ones collaborate with others and reign in people when appropriate, served as fine contrast to the nightmare awaiting us in the woods. For out there, in the wild, the Whisperers roamed free and they also caught up with young Henry and brought him back to their base of operations and this, was quite the sight. For we came to learn that this group is more than a mere handful of people, they’re a thriving community and their leader rules over them with an iron fist. Because we saw on several occasions, people turn their eyes to the ground or outright cease their conversation when Alpha walked by and while that’s fairly innocuous in its own right when it comes to a villain, what happened when she was challenged by a couple for leadership is what brought Alpha to a whole new level.
 
For she was quick to rise to the challenge and point out the great deeds she had done in keeping everyone alive to this point and for a brief moment there, it seemed as though mere words had finally quieted the disdain from these potential usurpers. But Alpha wasn’t satisfied with just using words to quell a rebellion, she knew action was necessary and in a stunning turn of events, she sliced the head off of the real challenger, a young woman who used her boyfriend as the front man to her plan. And she even went so far as to deliver that oozing skull to said boyfriend before plunging a knife into his flesh as well, and to properly remind everyone that she was still in charge, she had the bodies of these troublemakers fed to the dead and well, this truly hammers home the point that Alpha is not to be messed with.
 
But what matters more here, is the sheer insight that we were provided with when it comes to Alpha, and her twisted vision of the world. For she truly believes that the dead are the natural successor to man on this planet, and that adaptation is necessary in order for mankind to survive. And we also learned of her real disdain and disgust for the old trappings of civilization since she seems to enjoy living in the wild, and most importantly, we came to learn just how much she thrives on not following the old rules. It’s her world, and what she says, goes and those who don’t fall in line pay the penalty and that makes her hands down, the most calculated and terrifying enemy that our heroes have ever faced. Plus, to make matters worse, her daughter is on the run, as is her prisoner, and that will no doubt cause more harm than good and well, when all is said and done, this really was a fascinating episode.
 
Because we really did need a story that explores what makes Alpha tick, and how happy she is in a world where her impulses can be indulged, and this truly was a disturbing tale to say the least. Because there is a real savagery that surrounds the Whisperers, the kind that jars you since we are so used to seeing some semblance of civilization on this show and well, that lack of civility is downright chilling and while I’m sure Daryl and his tiny group will be just fine once Beta starts chasing after them, because Daryl, I can’t say the same for other folks at say, Hilltop. For Alpha is cold and calculating, and she knows how to use the ties that bind the rest of mankind against people and well, it’s only going to get uglier from here on out as this conflict continues to grow. Until next time.

With Damien Thorn not making it through the Second Coming, I was very curious of what the Omen IV would bring to the screen. I mean, the Antichrist is dead and there is no way of bringing him back…right? But in movies I guess, there is always a way to bring one of the biggest baddies back and Omen IV: The Awakening does just that. Pure evil can never die, it just lays dormant until the time is right and several years later seems like the right time for it to pop back up.

Not able to have a child of their own, Karen and Gene York have turned to adoption and have found the most beautiful little girl they have ever seen. Bringing the child home, everything seems to be great with the addition of Delia to the family, but on her first night, she scratches her new mother's face causing an infection. But that is not the only thing that seems strange about the little girl since she will not allow herself to be baptized by crying her way off of the altar.  Growing up as a normal child, Delia is a happy child and becomes close with her father who has been skyrocketing up the political scene and she makes a promise to him that she will never do anything bad.

However Delia has a lot of problems at school, and Karen is wondering if her daughter is putting on a different face when she is not around the family. With no friends and others keeping their space from the young girl, Karen is concerned about what is happening with her daughter, but she is always so tired that she cannot force herself to ask Delia any questions. Getting a nanny, Jo seems to be the perfect fit for the household and with her determination to get through to Delia, there is no reason for her to be removed. But with her beliefs being challenged by the little girl, Jo decides to take Delia to a psychic fair and see what kinds of readings her friends take away when seeing the girl. With a muddy aura that looks more like an infection, it is confirmed that the child is housing something evil inside of her and after Jo is pushed out of a window to her death, Karen is starting to believe that there is something wrong with her daughter.

After being released from the hospital, Karen finds that her lifelong dream of becoming pregnant has come true, but she cannot understand how it happened. With the good news on the table, she is determined to find out the story of Delia and where she came from to make sure that there will be no problems in the house when the new baby arrives. Turning to the private investigator that found the dirt that opened up her husband’s political career, Karen sees the name of a family friend in his initial report. Not knowing what this means, Karen awaits further word from the private investigator and turns to the church for help as well. Finding out about the Antichrist and what other people are seeing in her daughter, Karen is sure that Delia is the Beast looking to take over the world, but when getting a file from the P.I., she finds out a dark secret about Damien Thorn's followers and what all of this has to do with her.

As far as a TV movie goes to finish up a series, this one is really not that bad. This story doesn't follow Damien Thorn, but having his name and followers make a comeback was a good addition to this story, but it could have been added in much earlier. It was great watching as Delia started to bypass her mother who was starting to fear that there was something wrong with her, allowing for the young girl to turn to her father for everything. The fights between Karen and Gene concerning Delia were great and the family's internal conflict should have been more a highlight, but once again, it was a TV movie and they did not have time to dive into any one aspect of the story. Even though the ending was rushed, it was nice to see that the story did not vary too much from the original and with Gene’s stock on the rise, it would be interesting to see where the story goes next as the Antichrist has once again been reborn. Stay Scared.

​With great power comes great responsibility, I have heard that somewhere, but it seems to continue to be true in this day and age. With so many people needing help in all aspects of life, they are looking for someone that is able to step in and make their lives better in some form or fashion. There might not be many people that think that they can make a difference, but just an outreached hand can make someone understand that things are not all that bad for them. Sometimes it is difficult to believe that there are still sincere people out there trying to help with all of the madness that surrounds the country, but I bet you that you can find one or two that are willing to make a difference if given the chance.

Damien Thorn is all grown up and has taken over his family business and is making the world a better place. Wanting everyone to know what an upstanding citizen he really is with all of the relief efforts that Thorn Industries has made all over the world, his team of advertisers is not making the company's contributions public enough. With only one prize on the table that he wants, Damien knows that the only way to accomplish it is to have the people love and follow him, no matter what he says. Talking to his second in command, Harvey Dean, about what comes next, Damien wants to assume the post of the Ambassador to Great Britain that his late father held many years ago to have  his agenda heard.

With the former Ambassador killing himself, the President of the United States wants Damien for the job, but Damien will have to have a couple of demands met before he will assume the role, most importantly; that he is put in charge of the youth council. With his demands met, Damien assumes his new role, but has no idea if anyone still alive knows who or what he really is. As astrologists see an alignment of stars that has not happened in a millennium the religious factions know that this is a sign of the Second Coming and that their savior will be back on the planet to protect them from the Antichrist. 

After receiving the only knives that can kill the Antichrist, Father DeCarlo and his fellow monks are on a mission to kill Damien before the Second Coming takes place but fall short and need to come up with a new plan of attack. As the day of the Second Coming has come and gone, Damien demands all of his followers to take action in stopping the rebirth of Christ before he can be dethroned, even if it includes killing their own children. As every child that was born during the alignment is taken out, Harvey is not willing to give up his own for the cause, believing that Damien is crazy. Seeing what is happening, Father DeCarlo knows that there is only one person that can get close enough to Damien during his rise to power, a reporter, Kate Reynolds, that has taken a fancy to the young and powerful man. Telling her the truth about who Damien is not enough to prove to her what is really happening on the planet, but when she finds the proof that she needs to make the correct decision, will she be willing to act to save her son and all of humanity?

Wow, talk about a final conflict indeed. I must admit that Damien’s rise to power was crazy to watch and seeing all of his disciples was very disturbing. One thing that I wish this movie (which was also marketed as Omen III: The Final Conflict) gave a little more focus on is how Damien’s power really works, as he can control people’s minds with ease, but I would have liked to see some people struggle with it.  The monks that try to come to the rescue of mankind are great, but they were ill prepared for the battle with the Antichrist and are left having to rely on someone else to do their dirty work, I wish that was not the case, but it made for a great twist in the movie. The relationship between Kate and Damien was fun to watch grow, especially since she is forced to use her feminine woes to get what she really wants from him, the mark of the beast. With promises of better lives during the end of days, Damien has the message that everyone wants to hear, but I can guarantee you that he is not looking to make a good life for anyone, he is just going to acquire souls for his father and himself that they could not get any other way. Now wait just a second here, this seems to be a great ending to the series, but there is another movie that follows this one? How? Why?  Well, I guess I will have to answer those questions when I check out the fourth installment of The Omen series. Stay Scared.