The truth is something that every single one of us seek, every single day of our lives. After all, as the old saying goes, it will just so happen to set us free, and while often times this saying holds true...sometimes it's best we don't quite know the truth. Because once in a while, the truth hurts, and we discover things that we never quite wanted to know and that darker side to the truth ended up being the focus for this week's outstanding episode of Outcast.

'What Lurks Within' delivered on so many levels, finally revealing the truth to some incredible plot points that we have all been waiting for, but there was a price to be paid for that, because wow...everything we learned last night was downright ugly and most of our uncomfortable truths came about courtesy of Sidney. Because this was the story that finally revealed who this man is and where he comes from and well, believe it or not...before he was possessed, he was just as evil, if not more evil than he is now. As it turns out, the Sidney of old was a brilliant photographer, and a simple man who enjoyed working at a local entertainment center for kids from time to time, the kind that offers up tickets for prizes, but not out of the kindness of his heart or to pass the time...oh no, it was to find his next victim because old Sidney...was a child killer.

That little nugget would become quite important in this story, because Chief Giles decided it was time to bring Sidney in for assault, and while he waited in his cell, he was paid a visit from Kyle Barnes for what turned out to be one contentious meeting at first. In fact Kyle was ready to rip the evil out of him...until Sidney pointed out what kind of man he was before the demon took root and once the bravado cooled down...we finally got our answers. We learned that the possession process is in essence random. Both good people and bad people will find themselves under the spell of darkness on a moment's notice. But more importantly, we learned that Kyle has in a way, helped some of this mess along. For when these creatures find their host they feel lost and out of sorts...and Kyle is somehow a beacon for them, shining bright and helping them find their way.  

But while Kyle learned all about the evil within...Reverend Anderson finally completed his downward spiral. With the church empty on Sunday thanks to his little outburst, he doubles down and tries to get his hands on Chief Ogden's possessed wife in the hopes of getting Kyle to free her, and in the process get the testimony of her plight that he needs to bring the flock back to him. The whole event turns out to be a disaster since Kyle spares her from his special touch, which means he's clearly learned more about these beings that the show is saving for later and well by denying her 'redemption'...the good Reverend ends up in a fist fight with Kyle and eventually loses the church for his actions. He's now more or less on his own at this point and he's earned this. It's clear now it's not about saving lives for him, it's about pride and that's a damn shame because he truly could do some good.  

But what was equally as fascinating as Anderson's fall from grace, was the fact that Ogden confessed point blank that he knew what his wife was and that he liked this new version of her better. His confession also revealed that the trailer existed as a 'recovery' center for the newly possessed, giving them time to acclimate before returning to the world. But while it was nice to finally get some answers, plenty more questions arose from this story. For starters, what exactly does Kyle know about these beings...and did Sidney tell him the truth?  Because despite the sympathy created for these creatures in this episode, including the final shot with possessed Sidney sparing the child that old Sidney was going to murder...one gets the feeling he is still up to something and is working to keep Kyle off balance, and of course we're still left wondering...what will become of Anderson now? He's a man without a pulpit or a cause and that's just downright dangerous, and it should be interesting to see where the story goes from here, until next time.

Chief Hopper does not think being picked up by the military and Dr. Brenner is a setback, he is actually kind of happy they have him. Being able to make a deal to keep what has been happening in the town of Hawkins under wraps, Hopper and Joyce will be allowed to take the trip to the Upside Down realm to try and find her son. Even though Dr. Brenner does not believe that they will find the boy, much less make it back from their adventure. Also having to give up the location of the girl, Hopper is comfortable in his decision, especially since it is to save a life. Seeing that the Upside Down world is a dirty reflection of his world, Hopper moves through with ease, but when finding that Castle Byers is destroyed, the two will have to find another familiar place to hunt. 
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Nancy and Jonathan have left the youngins alone and are ready to set up their trap for the monster. Going back to Jonathan’s house, the two set up everything that they need to catch the beast when they get a knock on the door. Steve comes into the house and cannot wrap his head around what the two are doing. Being told to leave, it is too late as the monster comes out to kill whomever it can get its hands on. Not being fooled by the trap, the monster is able to escape, but it does not go far. Leaving the house, Steve sees the lights start to act up again and decides to help Nancy battle this thing. Being able to get the monster to back into the bear trap, the group lets loose on it with flames, but when they are put out, the creature once again has vanished, but this time for good, they hope.

Sitting and waiting for Nancy and Jonathan to return is not going to keep the boys occupied, especially when Dustin gets the hankering for some chocolate pudding. As Mike sits alone with Eleven, he tells her how different the world will be for the two when this is all over and even wants to take her to the school dance. When hearing a car pulling up, Mike thinks that Nancy has returned, but when he walks outside, he sees that it is the government men again. Trying to find the perfect hiding place in the school, the boys and Eleven are caught in the hall and all guns have been trained on them. Seeing her friends being picked up by the troops, Eleven will not allow any harm to come to them and uses her power once again, this time destroying the troops brains. Seeing Papa again, Eleven starts to feel safe, but with all of the blood on the floor, Eleven and Mike know that the monster is not far behind as it comes through the wall and attacks the troops, but thankfully the boys and Eleven are able to find a place to hold up, but they will need more time in their safe place since Eleven needs to rest to get her power back.

Being able to track the monster by the blood trail that was caused by Nancy, Steve and Jonathan’s assault on it, Hopper and Joyce make their way into town. Keeping their eyes open to see the monster, they have no idea what is happening in their own world. When the monster is finished with all of the troops, it turns its attention on the kids in the classroom. Without any real weapons that can do any damage to it, the boys are out matched, but once again, Eleven will not let any harm come to her friends. Being able to overpower the monster, Eleven uses her talents once again, this time dissolving herself, along with the beast that she has released on the town. In the Upside Down world, Joyce finds her son hanging on a wall with something stuck down his throat. Hopper is able to get the boy breathing again, but the two have no idea what they are dealing with and just want to get Will back to the land of the living.

Well, there it is, the final episode of season one of Stranger Things and we are primed for a second season as long as it gets green lit.  I don’t see why not as the story seems to be far from complete and there are still so many questions about the Upside Down world that need to be answered, especially an egg looking thing that has apparently hatched. I really dug the boys’ interaction throughout the series, as these are the same things we all fought about when we were kids, just without really having to deal with monsters. Hopper was still my favorite in the series and this episode really shows why as he is able to keep his cool under pressure and get exactly what he wants, and then some. I liked how the relationship between Jonathan and Nancy worked out in the end and while they will not be together all of the time, they seem to have bonded over the experience. I still did not really like the Nancy and Steve storyline throughout the season, but that is just me as I think the teenage love stories have been completely played out. I can see that this series is truly catered towards my generation since it is just an 80’s joygasm. Well, I hope there is a season two, but until then, I will have to find another show to binge on, but I don’t know if there will be another one that will be so much fun.

Old friendships may never die as Lucas is riding his heart out to get to his friends and let them know what he has found. Seeing the Hawkins Electrical trucks outside of the Lab and seeing everyone load up, he knows that nothing good will come of this, especially for his friends. Being able to get their attention and hide from the government for a little bit, the boys get a call from Chief Hopper wanting to know where they are hiding.  Promising that he is there to help, the boys believe him, but are surprised to see the government pulling up to their hiding spot. When they see Hopper is actually there to save them, the group has to keep Eleven out of the hands of Dr. Brenner until they are able to find their friends that have been taken to the Upside Down world.

Jonathan is being held in handcuffs for assaulting a police officer and his mother cannot believe that her son would do such a thing. But when the trunk of his car is emptied, he has more to answer for, but this time there might actually be someone there that will understand. Telling Hopper and Joyce about their theory of how blood might be the activator for the monster, their monster hunting kit would work out great. Seeing that the government is keeping a close eye on the Wheeler’s house, Hopper does not want Nancy to go home, but to stick with him and find her little brother. When the group gets reunited, they are able to form a plan of attack to have Eleven speak to the kids in the Upside Down realm. 

Eleven knows what she is able to do and has to pick and choose when her powers are used. Being able to help the boys escape from Dr. Brenner and his men, she is having a hard time finding Will and Barbara in the Upside Down realm. Knowing that she can get a stronger signal if she could be back in her ‘bath’, the group is able to find out how to make one with help from the science teacher. Taking over the school’s gym, the group makes up their own contraption, but before Eleven is put in, she gets some encouraging words from Joyce. Being comfortable, Eleven goes back to that dark place where she found the monster, but now is looking for anything that seems out of place. Finding Barbara dead, Eleven needs to be calmed down before she can hunt for Will. Seeing 'Castle Byers', Eleven is able to find Will inside and knows where he is hiding.

With information of where Will is, Hopper knows exactly where the gate is and is ready to take the fight to the other side. But Joyce will not be left behind this time and wants to be the one to cross over. Arriving at the lab, the two are greeted with an increased military presence, but Hopper has not even considered giving up hope on the plan yet. While staying at the gym to keep an eye on the youth, Jonathan and Nancy want to be a part of the hunt as well and make their way back to the police station to pick up their monster hunting gear. With their own plan of trying to attack the monster still the best option, they are on their own and now it is a race against time to find young Will and put an end to the monster's wrath over the town of Hawkins.

Another great episode and now all of the buildup is finally going to lead to something spectacular.  With the teams of Hopper/Joyce, Nancy/Jonathan and Eleven/Mike/Lucas/Dustin all on the same page of what needs to be done, there is no way that Will does not make it back. I still like the way that Hopper is able to take over the situations that he gets thrown into and is able to keep his cool when coming up with new plans. As Eleven has lost her girly look, she still hopes that Mike thinks she is pretty, I like their little story, it is cute. Steve is mad at his friends for treating Nancy so harshly, I guess the beating actually got to him, but I did not like that part of the story at all and would rather the teenage lovefest stay out of the plot altogether. Lucas is back in the group and has even allowed Eleven to be part of it now, which is a huge step for him, especially after she could have killed him. The highlight of the show however was Ted Wheeler, Mike’s father, he actually had some lines and most of them were funny. I hope he gets to talk again, but maybe not that much during the finale, since it should be all about the Upside Down world.  Only one episode left, this show really did not last long enough.

Things in Hawkins may never be the same again as Nancy has returned from the Upside Down realm. Seeing the monster feeding, Nancy is pursued by the beast and is lucky enough to find another gate to run back through to see Jonathan once again. But now whenever Nancy closes her eyes, she sees the monster in her head and cannot stand the fear of being alone. As Steve wants to check up on his girl, he sees Jonathan in Nancy’s bedroom and knows that she is cheating on him. When Nancy and Jonathan formulate a plan to bring the monster out in the open, they pick up supplies to kill it, but when Steve drives past them making fun of their new relationship, he does not know what he is in for. Insulting Nancy for shacking up with someone else, Steve then starts to push Jonathan over the edge by making fun of his family. Beating the bully to a pulp, Jonathan will be off of the monster hunt for the time being as he accidentally hit a cop when wailing on Steve.

Chief Hopper gets a chance to tell Joyce what he saw in Hawkins Lab and when he mentioned seeing a child’s room, Joyce starts to get her hopes up. Telling her about the picture that he saw, Joyce knows the room was not for Will and wants to move on. Thinking back to the reports he has been getting, Hopper realizes that he has been looking for the wrong kid all along. Remembering the name Terry Ives in connection with Dr. Brenner, Hopper takes the investigation out of town and this time takes Joyce with him. Seeing that Terry is not all there, the two talk to her sister Becky who goes through Terry’s past for them. Believing that Terry lost her child in the third trimester, Becky does not think that Terry’s daughter could still be alive, but with a telekinetic link to her, Eleven has been able to keep in touch with her mother for the past twelve years.

Mike is upset with himself over the fight he had with Lucas and the loss of Eleven since she has not returned to the basement. As Dustin comes over, he makes sure that Mike knows that he was in the wrong with this situation as well and needs his friends to make up. When Mike tries to make amends with his friend, Lucas will not accept his apology since he does not want Eleven to be part of the group and that is a deal breaker for Mike. Heading out on his own, Lucas is able to locate the gate at Hawkins Lab, but also sees the power trucks that the government have been rolling around town in. During the hunt for Eleven, Mike and Dustin run into their bullies and now they are not prepared. Holding a knife to Dustin’s throat, Mike is forced to job off of the edge of the quarry, but little does he know that his new friend has his back. Stopping Mike from being killed by the fall, Eleven uses her power to bring him back up, along with taking care of the bully problem that has been plaguing the boys for years.

This episode however is all about Eleven and what she is able to accomplish. When needing to get something to eat, she flashes back to a day in the lab when she is forced to face the beast head on. With Dr. Brenner watching, Eleven touches the monster and when it starts to attack her, the gateway is opened in the lab and it turns out she is the cause of all of the current troubles in the town. Being able to control her powers now, she has shown that nobody can stand in her way, but she still has a fear of the Upside Down realm. As she continues to harness all of her power, she may have a way to close the gate, but will she be able to get close enough to the lab again to do so?

This show keeps getting better and better as you learn more about the characters and the backstory for Eleven is just off of the charts. Watching as she harnessed her powers, and now she wants to be held responsible for bringing the beast to this world, well, she is going to be a mess when all is said and done. I really liked how Hopper’s investigation has put a thought in our heads that Eleven is Terry Ives' daughter, and I am pretty sure that she is at this point. Then Steve getting the beating of his life was just great and a long time coming if Barbara was alive and had anything to say about it. I love how Jonathan took a stand for his might be new friend, but mainly to defend his family’s name as Steve continued to trash it. Well now, the government has found Eleven and is gearing up to make their move against Mike and his family, I wonder how Karen is going to take it when they come in since she has lost the handle on her children and has no idea that Eleven is living in the basement. I wanted a bit more of the Upside Down world in this episode, but I am sure that it will be shown in its entirety before the season ends.

After seeing that Will’s body is fake, Hopper breaks into Hawkins Lab to find out what is really going on in the facility. Being able to force his way past the guards, Hopper stands face to face with the entity that is terrorizing his town, but before he can get his hands on it, he is drugged and placed back in his trailer. Knowing that some sort of cover-up is in place, Hopper franticly searches his house for listening devices and when he finally locates one, he knows that they are watching him. When his deputies come to talk to him about a couple more hunters that have gone missing, Hopper knows exactly where his search will have to go to next, but first he needs to go and see Joyce and let her know that she was right.
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Joyce gets an unexpected visit from her ex-husband Lonnie. Trying to comfort her, Lonnie tries his hardest to make her believe that everything that has been happening is all in her head. Seeing his father again, Jonathan tries to strong arm him out, but with Will’s funeral coming up, Lonnie will not leave. As Joyce calms down and accepts that Will is dead, she does not speak to anyone at the funeral and with Lonnie in the house, she knows he is there to help, that is until she finds out the real reason why Lonnie has come home in the first place.

Being able to find a common area where all of the people have been disappearing, Jonathan is ready to hunt for the creature that terrified his mother. With Nancy wanting to come along, the two are ready to search for Will and Barbara and if they come up against the creature, they only have one option, to kill it. Walking through the woods, the two restart their conversation that started in the dark room of why Jonathan likes to take pictures of people. Trying to explain himself only gets Nancy more frustrated, but Jonathan knows that he is right and lays into the girl with all that he has learned over the years. Speechless, Nancy continues to search the area and finds a deer that is suffering on the ground. Wanting to put it out of its misery, the deer is dragged away by an unseen force and when the two try to tack it down, they get separated. When Nancy finds an opening in an old tree, she thinks little about it and crawls through, but when she sees the creature on the other side, she tries to escape, but being all alone, the portal closes without a trace.

Knowing that their friend is not dead, Mike, Lucas and Dustin are still forced to attend his funeral. As all of the people are in mourning about the loss of the boy, the three know that Will is out there somewhere. As Eleven told them about the Upside Down world and the boys are able to put it into perspective with their game, but if this is a real place, they will need help in getting there. Talking to their teacher, the boys are able to make up a new plan for their hunt, but they will need Eleven’s help to make it happen. As Dustin is noticing something strange with his compass, he shares the information with the others, but they do not seem to understand. With a new magnetic field somewhere in town, all the boys have to do is follow the signal, but Eleven does not want them to find what they are looking for since it is where the Bad People are, along with a portal to another dimension. 

This is my favorite episode to date, mostly because of Joyce and her changes. Being convinced that Will being alive is all in her head, she starts to accept it as reality, but when Hopper comes to share his findings with the grieving mother and tells her she is right, she pops back out of it. The Nancy and Jonathan relationship is seeming to grow, but whenever Jonathan opens his mouth, it seems to make the girl upset, especially since she knows he is right. Putting herself in the Upside Down world, Nancy will need to find a way to escape with her life and that will prove to be difficult since nobody that we know of it has done so. The boys are getting fed up with Eleven’s tricks as she will not lead them to the gateway to the other side. I would hate to see Mike and Lucas call off their friendship over the girl, but when her power is used against Lucas, he may never want to come back to the group. Trying to convince his friends that Eleven is using them, it may be lead to the biggest fracture in the show, the loss of Eleven. I cannot wait for the next episode since we will be in the Upside Down world and I want to know everything about this place, including what the creature really is.

Getting older is not fun for anyone, especially when your body begins to change in ways you never expected. While there are some ways to slow this down, you can never stop it completely, you just need to be comfortable with who you are and deal with it the best way that you can. It can be disappointing to see how others may view you when this starts to happen, but it is what will happen to them as well and they will be treated the same way. You might not look like the people that are on TV or in the magazines, but as long as you are happy with yourself, you should not let any of these people get you down.

Ginny Reilly has passed her prime, but is still looking back on what forced her out of being one of the top models in the industry. Keeping to herself, Ginny lives alone and hardly makes contact with her neighbors, but her new one Debbie Lombardo is keeping an eye on her. When two young cheerleaders show up at her door trying to sell their fundraising stuff, Ginny can only think about one thing, how terrible the two girls are and how they flaunt their goods for everyone to see. Drugging and taking them down to the basement for a life changing experience, Ginny knows that what she is doing is right.

Moving into their new home, Sal is ready to start living it up, but Debbie wants to be back in New York. Suffering from anxiety, Debbie jumps at every sound that she hears and while she has medication to control this, she does not want to deal with any of it. When hearing strange things coming out of her next door neighbor’s house, she worries that there is something terrible happening over there, but does not know exactly what. While keeping an eye on the older woman’s activities, Debbie notices that the car out front has changed and does not know what is happening behind the closed doors, but knows that Ginny is up to no good.

After selling the cheerleaders car, Ginny drives home only to see a young woman standing on the side of the road looking for a ride. Picking her up and finding out that the girl wants to make her way to New York to be a model, Ginny listens to her complaints about her body. Knowing that this girl knows nothing about life, much less what real beauty is, she knocks out the stranger and shows her what she has learned over the years. Cutting the flesh from her thighs, Ginny is taking care of one of the body parts that the girl is not happy with. Knowing that she is being watched by her neighbor, Ginny decides to make a peace offering to her and with some great seasoned meat with a little bit of dope in it, she is hopping to make Debbie her next meal. But when Debbie refuses the meal and her husband Sal eats it all, Ginny will have to wait a bit longer to plan her next meal, but with so many people coming to her door on a regular basis, she never has a shortage of fresh food.

I have been waiting to see this movie for several months now after seeing the project go up on Debbie Rochon’s Twitter Feed. With so many of the actresses that I have loved in horror movies being involved, I knew that it would be a great movie and with this being Debbie's film directorial debut, I was not disappointed at all. Ginny has lost her mind after losing her top model spot due to her changing body type and that pushed her way over the edge. Keeping an eye out for the beautiful girls, at least the ones that think that they are beautiful, Ginny is more than happy to dish out revenge upon them, even though it is not them, but society that has made body shaming all right. I am not a fan of inner dialogue in movies, but in Model Hunger, it is done the right way and I was impressed that it did not turn me off. With plenty of disturbing scenes, you get to see how Ginny has decided to live in the world that she has been thrown out of and will not stop in her current goals, even if someone catches her in the act. This is a movie that you will need to get on DVD for sure since the extras are fantastic. There is a movie score only track that will only play the music throughout and in any good horror movie, there has to be a good score to go with it, plus the outtakes of Lloyd Kaufman and Debbie Rochon are just fantastic and the New Jersey Meathook line still continues to have me snickering whenever I think about it.  Stay Scared!

The town of Hawkins is all abuzz since the state troopers have been able to find Will Byers body, but Joyce is not willing to accept it. When talking to Hopper, she tells him all about the lights and how she was able to talk to her son by using them, along with the creature that came out of the wall.  Jonathan not only has to take care of himself now, but his mother as well and when the two go to the coroner’s office to identify the body, Joyce knows that it is not her son. Needing to find a way to get the connection back with Will, Joyce pulls out all of the stops in the house and Will is able to speak again.

Being defeated by seeing Will’s body dragged out of the quarry lake, Mike is upset with Eleven. Wanting his friend to be alive, he wants to place blame on the young girl, but when he hears Will singing on the radio, he knows that she was right. Calling Dustin and Lucas over to hear the same thing, the boys figure out that they need a stronger radio to channel their friend, so they plan to use the one at school, but to get Eleven in, they will have to do some work. Dressing up the girl and giving her a wig, the boys are ready to go, but when they find that the lab is locked, they are caught by their teacher and forced to attend the memorial for Will, but after that, they have free reign over the radio for the rest of the day.

Nancy is still very worried about her friend Barb and wants to find out for herself what actually happened to her. Being called in to talk to the police about what happened that terrible night, Nancy feeds them lies about her night. Her mom knows that she is lying during the questioning, but waits to call her daughter out until they get home. Nancy comes clean about sleeping with Steve, but does not believe that it is important to finding Barb, so she let it go. While sulking in her room, Nancy pulls out the torn up photo of Barb and notices a strange figure standing in the background and thinks that it is the thing that could have taken her friend. Needing to find Jonathan to figure out if he saw anything, Nancy will have to talk to the young man that does not like to talk back.

After delivering the news to Joyce about her son, Hopper shows up at the coroner’s office to find that the state patrol has taken over for Will’s autopsy. Thinking little about this, Hopper watches as Joyce storms out of the building yelling that it is not her son on the table. Not fully understanding what is happening in his town, Hopper wants answers and knows of a good place to start looking for them, the bar. Sitting next to the man that found Will’s body, Hopper takes the questioning a little bit harder as he beats the answers out of the state trooper.  Seeing that somebody is watching his interrogation, Hopper needs to see the body of the Will Byers to confirm that something strange is afoot in his town. 

​While Nancy is able to find Jonathan at the funeral home, she tells the young man what she thinks that she saw in the woods behind Steve’s house. Showing Jonathan the picture he took, he is able to blow up the image and now is starting to think that his mother is not crazy. While Joyce is trying to get Will to start talking again, she is met with a surprise as Will is able to talk without using the lights. Yelling from the wall, Joyce peals back the wallpaper and sees her boy’s face. All the while, Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Eleven are listing to the events unwinding, but are unable to talk to their friend. Hearing the pleas for help on both ends, Will is scared away once again by the entity that runs this alternate realm and nobody seems to know what the secret behind it really is.

Wow, strange things are really starting to take over in the town of Hawkins, and now more people are starting to see it. Like I said earlier, I love how Hopper works with his own way of investigating and now he believes that there is some sort of cover-up concerning Will’s disappearance. Nancy has turned to Jonathan for help since she feels like nobody is listening to what she is saying, and since he is a man of few words, he might be the right one to rely on. Jonathan is also starting to understand that his mother has not lost her mind completely, but I really want to see his reaction when he sees a new hole in the wall when he gets home. What I really liked about this episode is that Dr. Brenner is starting to work on the entity that houses this alternate realm. Hearing a little bit about what it looks like on the radio, he loses his man inside to something that they have not seen. I cannot wait to get another look inside of this realm, since it is nice and dark and seems to have a monster inside that is looking to feed on anybody that enters, of their own choice or not.  ​

​It's been quite the tumultuous first season when it comes to Outcast when one considers all the incredible things that our characters have been through. They've been dragged through the proverbial wringer, facing incredible odds and challenges week in and week out. Which means one particular question suddenly arises when you think about the abuse they've been dealing with...exactly how much more of this can they take?

After all, every single person, regardless of how strong they are in life, has their breaking point and well...several of the characters reached their own on Friday night, answering that all important question, and taking us to some dark places along the way because 'The Damage Done' was an absolutely brutal episode through and through, despite the fact that this episode went light on the horror. Our first major breakdown to discuss, came by way of Megan and Mark and their ongoing saga with the nightmare that is Donnie. Megan was able to hold her own the longest, despite the fact she pawned her wedding ring and cleared out her bank accounts in an effort to pay off Donnie and keep him silent. But it was all for naught. Donnie was out for revenge, and more than happy to take the money and run and file charges regardless against Mark, leaving Megan and her husband broke and broken and where they go from here...is anyone's guess.

But while Megan's story was a devastating one, Reverend Anderson's was equally as painful to watch. Despite seeing him go through the motions of poker night with his buddies, and still doing his best to stand before the town and inspire hope on Remembrance Day, the events of last week have clearly shattered this man to his core. There's a vengeful fire in his eyes now, something we've never seen from him before and well...that's dangerous. It means the good reverend will no doubt be willing to take stupid and unnecessary risks in his quest to fight the evil massing in the shadows and for proof, well look no further than his dealings with Sidney this episode. Not only did he track the monster down to have a little bravado fueled chat with him in the barber shop, but he was more than willing to reveal to the town the Pentagram Sidney carved into his chest and call him out for being evil. Sure, we all know of course that Sidney is something quite sinister, but the town is still fitfully unaware and it was right of Kyle to call the Reverend dumb for his actions. 

Yet while Kyle is finally coming into his own and becoming the voice of reason for those around him, his story was not immune to the mental collapses happening all around him, since his ex-wife suffered a crisis of her own...she was finally able to recall what happened on that fateful night, and now we know why Kyle was trying so hard to keep that awful truth from her a few weeks ago, he knew full well she wouldn't be able to handle it. Granted how she came about the truth was outright fascinating, since it took Amber's artwork around the house to initiate a few flashbacks, but the moment she uncovered her daughter's drawing of her spewing out the evil...it all came flooding back and well, it led to the most heartbreaking moment of the night when she took Amber to Kyle...and even spent the night with him in the most romantic of fashion...before abandoning her husband and child, believing herself to be a monster and a danger.

Despite that heartbreaking and heavy ending however...there were some bright spots to be found. For starters, it's quite cool to see that Chief Giles is finally warming up to Anderson and Kyle's cause, even going so far as to chat with the Reverend about Sidney...and finally make good use of Kyle's ability by having him outright place his hands on our suspicious Fire Chief. It's like a little Justice League forming in this town, and it's wonderful to know that at long last, there are people ready and unified to fight against whatever the hell is taking control of this city. But...there is still one big question remaining, what is Chief Ogden's connection with this whole mess? He's not possessed, but he's clearly involved. Is he some kind of care taker for this evil? A man who has agreed to help Sidney do his thing? We will simply have to wait and see of course, but either way, this was one devastating episode and in all honesty, it's hard to say where we go from here since so many characters were left picking up the pieces of their lives by the end of this one. Until next time.

Of the many, many horror films from the 1980's, The Return of the Living Dead remains one of the quintessential movies from that era simply because of all the wonderful things it accomplished. It held its own with George Romero's work in the summer of 1985 and it opened up new possibilities for the zombie genre as well.

It is in fact, the only fast moving zombie film (with a deceased corpse that is) that I absolutely adore, but truth be told I don't think I've ever been quite able to truly enjoy this film for one specific reason...it's never had a good print available on any medium. VHS was always VHS. The DVD and Blu Ray editions that came out over the last few years were murky at best, so while the film is fun to watch, one cannot truly appreciate Dan O'Bannon's unique vision...that is until now since Shout Factory has gifted all of us with an incredible Collector's Edition of this iconic motion picture.

At long last, this film finally looks outright gorgeous, with a stunning new 2K transfer that allows for everything to pop. Details that I never knew existed in this film are everywhere to be found now, even down to something as simple as the sweat on the foreheads of the characters as they move about on their hot summer night filled with terror and that also means...the living dead look better than ever. These ghouls take on new life in this incredible new transfer, showing off all the gory and disgusting detail that was intended to be seen on screen from day one and the transfer alone makes this set worth purchasing but it only gets better from here because holy cow, is this set loaded to the brim with extras. 

There's so much stuff when it comes to this film's rich history that Shout Factory actually included a second disc that is nothing but extra goodies, including a fascinating documentary on how the film came to life, beginning with John Russo's original script to the final product we enjoy to this day alongside other documentaries that chronicle the movie's killer soundtrack and how these gruesome zombies came together special effects wise as well. But of all of the many special features that I am STILL going through in this collection...none of them compare to the crown jewel...they actually managed to include the only decent copy I have ever seen of the film's workprint.  

Yes ladies and gentlemen, the ultra rare workprint, where one can find the film's alternate ending is finally on display which means that this collector's edition is an absolute must own for any horror or zombie fan. Shout Factory has given this film incredible care and its new look and remastered soundtrack actually make the film feel like a big budget modern zombie epic and the stunning detail found here almost begs for the viewer to watch it several times over to soak in just how much incredible work went into this cult classic. Either way, snag this one today from either Shout Factory's website or Amazon if you please, and enjoy The Return of the Living Dead the way it was always intended to be seen.

As the party comes to a close at Steve’s house, Nancy is already starting to regret her decision about giving it up. Looking briefly for her friend Barb, she returns home to be grilled about what she was doing by her mom. Although she will not admit to what she has done, her mother knows that there is something up with her children and needs to find a way to make them open up.  After school, Nancy sees Steve and his friends picking on Jonathan about his stalking problem and even though she does not believe it, she sees a picture of Barb sitting on the diving board at the pool and now she is starting to fear for the worst. 
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Joyce has found a way to talk with her missing son and it seems to be working out well. As Will is able to control the lights in the house, Joyce stocks up on Christmas lights to track his movements through the house. When she needs more answers than just yes and no however, she paints the alphabet on the wall and allows her son to spell everything out for her. When Will tells his mother that he is in the house with her, she gets the next disturbing message to 'RUN' as the creature from the other side is on the hunt once again. With a plan in place to find Will, the boys head off to school and leave Eleven in the house by herself once more. With nobody home, Eleven investigates the place, but all it does is bring back the memories that she has been trying to escape. With her training fresh in her mind, she sees Papa, (Dr. Brenner’s) face all too often and wants to forget everything about what she has been taught. Meeting the boys after school, Eleven takes them to Will’s house, but the boys do not understand and want answers. They soon get them when a large group of sirens go driving by and they decide to follow them.

While conducting the hunt for Will, Chief Hopper has a thought that the boy might have crawled through the pipe leading to Hawkins' Lab. Being able to gain access to the off limits location, Hopper is able to review video footage from the night the boy went missing, but knows that he is being lied to about it. Thinking that Will might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, Hopper hits up the library to find any new articles about the lab and what might actually be going on there. With plenty of stories to filter through, anything to do with Dr. Brenner rises to the top of the file. Knowing that the doctor is behind some sort of cover-up, Hopper is ready to take his next steps in finding out what happened to the boy, but he gets another call, the one he did not want to get.

Karen Wheeler is losing control of her kids and does not seem to have a way to fight it. Wanting them to tell her anything, they are still keeping secrets from her and it is getting worse. Going to visit Joyce and seeing that her friend is losing her mind, Karen decides to stay and cook lunch with the grieving mother. As the two older women sit and talk, the baby Holly sees the lights turning on and off and decides to follow them. Being taken to Will’s room, she sees what Joyce had seen, a body trying to come out of the wall and grab the living.  Being sent away, Karen believes that her friend has lost her mind, but still cannot understand what is happening in her own home.

Without as much action in this episode, you do have plenty of scenes that are starting to tell the story, along with revealing the creature that is hunting people around town. With the loss of Barb, I am sure that Nancy will have to come clean to her mother and the police about what happened the previous night with Steve, and that will break her heart. Jonathan is trying his hardest to keep his mother sane, but she is more dependent on talking to the lights than actually finding Will. Developing his photos, Jonathan seems to have eyes for Nancy and when it is revealed, he is met with Steve and his friends that break his camera. Even though he has more photos than just the party night, he will not be able to take anymore. I like that you find out a bit more about Hopper as his investigation tactics are sound and he can tell when he is being lied to. He is also a bit of a player around town, being able to get with almost any woman that crosses his path. It is a depressing ending as Will’s body has been located in the quarry, but there is something still keeping his spirit alive and at the house to talk to his mother, I cannot wait to see what that is. On to the next one!