When growing up, you only have once choice and that is to listen to your parents. Hoping to make your life easier when you grow up, their life lessons may be more valuable than you can ever understand. It is easy to let what they say go in one ear and out the other, but when you look back, they might have given you at least one or two tidbits of information that has helped you along the way. Even in your older years, they can still be insightful, especially when it comes to living the life you have always wanted, even if you do not want to hear it.

Young Toby McClift is being sworn into a life of servitude by his born again father, to a life of fighting evil. With his birthmark being that of the chosen one, Toby will be forbidden to ever fall in love, no matter the circumstance. Not believing what his father is teaching him, Toby sneaks out to the local cemetery to be with his girlfriend Katie who has set up a great night for both of them. When finding a quiet spot, Toby believes that he is chosen to walk a different path, to be with the love of his life for the rest of his days. But there is something ominous in the air when his father finds the two love birds and tries to end the affair before anything can happen. Watching as Katie is about to be ignited, another figure appears and drags his young love away.

Six years have passed and Toby is being evaluated by his psychiatrist once again, but this time, he has been given a clean bill of health. Admitting that what he saw was not something other-worldly, just the actions of man, Toby is ready to join the land of the living once again but does not know what to do. With help from his doctor, Toby finds a tutoring job that might be right up his alley since he has been teaching within the walls of the asylum since he was admitted. With nobody left that he can turn to for help, this may be the only thing that will help to keep Toby afloat and as long as he takes his crazy pills, he will be fine in the real world.

Arriving at the address for the job, Toby sees a rundown mansion and starts to question his decision, but knows it cannot be that bad overall. Entering the mansion and finding Lady Wallace getting a blood transfusion that seems to be going wrong, Toby cries for help, but when Mortimer comes into the room to find the young man, he displays a bit of his power. Thinking that this is not the place for him, Toby starts to leave, but when looking back at the house he sees a vision from his past as Katie is walking on the balcony. Wanting to be reunited with his love, Toby decides to take the job and is welcomed back into the Mansion Wallace. With all of the rules being laid out for him by Mortimer, Toby is more excited to see the girl of his dreams again, but when finally meeting her and finding out that she is going by the name of Laura, Toby must uncover the secrets of what is happening inside of the massive house. The term forbidden is not in Toby’s dictionary as he explores the home and is unable to open doors that are off limits to him, but what he finds will change what he believes in forever.

You know, as a long shot film, this one did a pretty good job at making the story flow. I have read some other reviews about it being predicable and such, but is that really a bad thing for a horror movie?  Not knowing what he is dealing with inside of the house, Toby wants to know what is hiding behind all of the locked doors and when he is able to discover part of the secrets that he is dealing with, he is determined to find out more. I was a little disappointed that when he was able to find answers that he did not pursue them a little bit more, since it was laid out perfectly to know what kind of house he was really in, but his pursuit of love for Katie/Laura would not be stopped, so I guess that is why he refused to see what was staring him in the face. I liked the interactions between Toby and Katie/Laura the best, but Mortimer really stole the show when it came to Lady Wallace and her needs that he could not fulfill. I enjoyed the storyline very much since all of the questions were answered in the end and even though the effects might not have been what you might expect, they did their job making this an enjoyable ride. Stay Scared.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 205 of ‘NOS4A2’.
​
Our love affair with horror exists for a great many reasons. For some, it’s all about the buckets of gore that splash upon the screen, or it’s about the delightful one liners that the monster or the hero spouts on a consistent basis. But when all is said and done, we all indulge of the wonder of this genre for one reason and one reason alone; it’s oddly cathartic. Because in essence, horror offers us a supreme sense of safety. For where else can we spend a couple of hours exploring our worst possible fears before returning to the comfort of our everyday lives? And to top it off further, there’s something reassuring about watching evil fall at the hands of good and just people, especially since deep down, we know that evil is quite successful at its machinations in the real world. 
​
Which is why time and time again, good is triumphant in this genre, regardless of how many sequels a particular scary story generates. But while it is nice to go on an emotional roller coaster and feel good about turning off the television or walking out of the theater when the nightmare has come to a close, the bravest horror stories out there… do not subscribe to this particular formula. For these are the tales that truly want to terrify the audience to their core and leave them shaking when the credits begin to roll, and it just so happens that the AMC series NOS4A2 is a show that meets this darker criterion. For it truly wants to take us on a visceral and powerful experience, one that leaves us talking and worrying about what horrors might come next, and for proof that this series is fearless in regard to going to darker places, the kind where evil is triumphant, then look no further than last night’s episode.

For ‘Bruce Wayne McQueen’ took the audience on quite the horrifying and unconventional ride, one that quite frankly, tricked us into thinking everything was going to be safe. Because the early segment of this tale, wherein the Hourglass Man was able to turn a pair of noble federal agents into outright assassins, ended in the favor of Team McCarmody. For Chris McQueen’s valiant efforts to stop said agents from getting into the house, worked. Giving everyone precious time to regroup and heal and wait for Vic’s return and her arrival at the house could not have come at a better time. Because Bing made his move about the time that Vic returned, leaving the audience to firmly believe that Wayne would be in her hands in no time and that Bing would finally get his just desserts for being so cruel to just about everyone. 

But that’s precisely when the false sense of security surrounding this tale outright disappeared. Because the unthinkable happened since young Wayne was tossed inside the Wraith, forcing his mother to battle Charlie Manx one on one, after Manx took the time to run her over of course, and well, this made for some stunning television to say the least. After all, a grandiose showdown between the hero and the villain, are often reserved for the end of the story, or a season for that matter as well. But since this show loves to shatter norms and surprise us at every turn, a battle royale unfolded before our eyes, one where both good and evil were able to trade heavy blows with one another before Vic was forced to retreat. Due to the fact that Bing came to play dirty and brought a gun to a fist fight. 

Yet while that was quite intense in its own right, it doesn’t quite speak volumes to a story that outright devastates the audience. But Vic being forced to run and hide, served as the perfect catalyst to open the proverbial floodgates, since Vic was forced to watch in helpless horror as her beloved Lou had his face smashed into the Wraith by her greatest enemy. And despite her father’s best efforts to save the day by putting a bullet in Bing and buzzing quite a few over Charlie’s skull, Mister Manx was still able to get away in the Wraith with Wayne. Giving Vic one last chance to chase that horrific ride down and save her son from an outright disgusting fate and sadly, she was unable to do so. For the Hourglass Man offered up an assist and laid her out with his lovely car. Which is a heartbreaking way to end this tale, and sadly… the show wasn’t quite done dragging us through tough moments just yet.
​
For this story also took the time to plunge us into the immediate aftermath of this unfortunate fight, one that saw Chris McQueen in bad shape and Vic on a gurney in more emotional pain than any of us will ever understand. Because it is strongly implied that her beloved Lou is dead from the awful injuries he sustained in the battle, and worst of all, poor Wayne is still in the backseat of the Wraith. And despite his pleas that he wants his mother and nothing to do with Christmasland, Charlie is adamant on taking him there. Which in essence means… that evil wins in this tale and wins big, and that’s a tough pill for the audience to swallow because it wasn’t supposed to be like this. Because Vic was supposed to win and teach Charlie the ultimate lesson.

But instead, he was able to outwit and outmuscle Vic at every single turn, making this episode the darkest that this series has offered to date, and that’s saying something. But while this one gives you pause and leaves you stunned and in silence long after it has come to an end, one cannot help but praise the bold nature of this tale. For it takes guts to let the bad guys win, especially this early on in the season. Because now, we are in uncharted territory, where anything can happen and that is both terrifying and thrilling all at once. If anything, the only silver living in regard to how this episode ends, is that now we know just how much Vic loves her son and that she will truly do anything to keep him safe and that will hopefully spell some bad news for Charlie Manx down the line. 

In the end however, this really was quite the impressive episode. One that hit the ground running with action and tension and everything in between and by going the intense route, it kept the audience on the edge of their seats and kept our hearts racing as well, and undoubtedly; there were some tears shed at the end of this tale. For it was savage and raw and really, all of this comes courtesy of incredible writing (Tom Brady) and direction (Hanelle Culpepper) and acting as well. Because everyone in the cast brought their A game to this particular tale, to the point where every single moment moved us and that makes this, a perfect episode through and through and truly, the wait between episodes is getting harder and harder. Not only because this series tells such a great story, but also because… the stakes are higher than ever and we’re all dying to know what comes next.

If there is one particular goal that all filmmakers are hoping to accomplish when they step behind the camera, it would have to be that they would like to change someone’s life in some way with their work. Something that said filmmaker could accomplish by offering up a story that moves someone emotionally in a manner they’ve never experienced before. Or it could be by offering up a revolutionary story, the kind that outright changes the landscape of film and the genre the movie is working within. Or it could just be to make an incredible film, one that people love and fawn over for decades on end, one that might motivate someone to create their own motion picture down the line, all because one particular story unlocked a part of their creativity they never knew existed.
 
If anything, this overall goal is something that a great many filmmakers have achieved throughout the years. But often times it only occurs after the auteur in question has been working within the industry for decades on end, signifying the amount of learning and practice it takes to become a master storyteller. Yet while we celebrate those films often and wait for the next great classic from a current generation of writers and directors, at times there are prodigies that pop up out of nowhere and accomplish a great deal of those goals early on in their career. Which can be a good and bad thing, since some of them create a masterpiece and disappear, or see their work slip into decline after reaching their peak. But here and there, the industry will produce a true filmmaking genius, one that creates incredible stories at every turn, the kind that achieve every goal we’ve outlined and back in 1968, a young director/writer named George Andrew Romero fit this particular bill.
 
For the debut of his first major motion picture, turned out to be the stuff of legend. Because Night of the Living Dead forever changed how we look at horror and how horror stories are told, to the point where this simple, low-budget feature, found its way into the Library of Congress’ archives because of its importance and what it offers to an audience and one element that allows for this film to stand out, is the sheer fact that it reinvented the zombie. For prior to this story, they were often regular people that were under the influence of voodoo, and these poor souls did the bidding of their horrific masters. Which is scary in its own right. But changing these beings to be reanimated human corpses that feed on the flesh of the living is an outright game changer, in part because it was something that was unheard of before in cinema, but also because… these awful creatures injected a new level of terror into the genre. 
 
Because living death is in many ways, a horrific insult to everything that mankind stands for. After all, our biological purpose in life is to die, and that in turn motivates us to live life to the fullest and accomplish incredible goals in order to be remembered fondly by those we leave behind. So, to see, mothers and daughters and sons and fathers returning to life with their jaws slack and their eyes hungering for the poor soul in front of them, is genuinely terrifying and it creates an ominous air over this film that few horror stories have ever replicated or rivaled and what’s truly horrifying about this movie, is that the terror that is present in this particular tale, is further enhanced by way of some brilliant storytelling. 

Because this motion picture is a masterclass in building tension and revealing true terror. For despite seeing a title that is ominous in the opening moments of this film, we quickly forget that reanimated corpses are in this feature. Since we quickly become lost within the framework of a compelling story, one where the people roaming about and attacking others, match the descriptions of the news reports we hear as the film goes along. They’re just people, in a trance like state, and there is some other force committing them to bloodlust and mayhem, and that makes the grand reveal that they are in fact the dead returned to life, supremely chilling and horrifying in every sense of those words and once the flesh eating begins, well… that’s when the story truly becomes akin to a waking nightmare, one that the audience seemingly cannot wake up from.
 
But while the horror elements alone are quite important to this story’s success, it is what it has to say about modern society that adds depth to a simple and effective tale. Because this movie digs deep into notions of how poorly people react to a genuine crisis. Since different agendas are at play throughout the entire film, to the point where it is frustrating to watch Cooper consistently fight with Ben over simple decisions that will save lives. Which are elements that quite frankly still apply in modern America, since so many believe their opinion or belief should take precedence over anything else, and by putting up a fight over their ‘virtues’ they delay a logical solution and allow for things to get worse and it turns out that social commentary would be something that would continue to pop up in Romero’s work for decades to come.
 
However, what truly allows for this story to shine, is what it has to say about the civil rights movement and the treatment of African Americans in our country. Something that is encapsulated by Romero’s decisions to choose African American actor Duane Jones to play Ben, and put the character in charge of the group's response. Which spoke volumes to the fact that it wouldn’t be long before African Americans were finally in positions of power in the United States, and watching a white man consistently question Ben's obviously sound logic makes one uncomfortable, since it feels a little too real at times since we see that in everyday life. And it is quite brilliant and powerful to see a film from this era, put America's difficulties of accepting African Americans as equals on full display. Plus, we would be remiss to not mention the closing moments of this tale, wherein Ben’s powerful and shocking fate is akin to what we see on the nightly news in 2020, something that definitely gives one pause since not much has changed in that arena. 
 
When all is said and done however, it's only right to call this film an outright instant classic. Because this film was genuinely transformative, since horror was fluffier and far more fantastical before this terrifying treat came along, and what’s truly impressive is that this movie continues to engender fear in our hearts after all these years. But in regard to Romero, and his career, this is a movie that truly put him on the map, and his desire to make a simple scary movie, one that offered up the philosophical notion of an old guard being replaced by the new guard, and the fear that creates for the old guard; would lead to a storied career. One that would continue to push the envelope in regard to filmmaking and storytelling, by way of stories that would use incredible concepts to challenge the audience and allow for us ponder upon our world and our lives.

Okay, fine, I will admit it, I am a sucker for horror adaptations of classic fairytales. With the Brothers Grimm being the basis for so many bedtime stories over the years, why not add a little bit of something different to them to give them a twist. It is an idea that I have enjoyed seeing every time one of these movies comes out and I am never upset to see them mix things up. There is something to be said about stories that have lasted over hundreds of years, especially if they can be revamped to suit new audiences, along with pleasing the elders that have been telling the stories for generations. 

Thomas Kaiser has been shut in for far too long and his friend Nathan is trying to hammer that point home. Wanting to get his friend out of the apartment to experience life for just a little bit, his pleas fall upon deaf ears. Thomas has not felt like himself for quite some time and has been having a Sleeping Beauty dream ever since he has become an adult. Trying to find answers as to what this dream means, he visits a psychiatrist who gives him the same answers that everyone else has given him, to get out and live his life. Getting a strange call about an inheritance from his uncle, Thomas stops by the office and finds that he has just acquired Kaiser Gardens, something that has been in his family for years.

Reading his uncle’s note, there are rules to staying at the house since his blood will allow him access to the entire property. Not fully understanding what the note means, Thomas meets with an appraiser to get the value of his new property and finds out that there is a sinister past surrounding it. With people going missing over the years around town, all signs point to Kaiser Gardens swallowing them up, but despite all of the police investigations, nothing ever proved that this was the case. Being told that there is a false wall in the basement, Thomas tries to find a way in, but there is a lock that will not let him pass. Frustrated, he heads upstairs and finds real estate agent Linda waiting for him. Wanting to see more of the house, Linda has her own motives to being there, but Thomas and his strange dreams do not allow him to open up about his family yet.

Going to the records office in town, Thomas is able to find out that the house has been in his family for many more years than he expected. There has also been a change in his dreams since he is now able to kiss his Sleeping Beauty, knows that she is named Briar Rose, and that she is hidden someplace on the property. Running into Linda outside of the local bar, Thomas finds out that she lost her brother to the house and wants to find him to get some sort of closure. Heading back to the house, Thomas and Linda venture down to the basement, but this time Thomas has an idea about how to open up the hidden doorway. Using his blood, the door opens and the two are welcomed into a large study that houses an old journal from someone in his family line. Not being able to make out the inscriptions in the book, the two decide to take it, but when they start to look around an army of mannequins have appeared that are looking to take their souls. Being able to escape the house, the two meet up with a paranormal researcher who has never seen a haunting like this and when finding out that Thomas is tied to his house via a curse, they know the secrets of the journal must be unlocked so he will not become just another casualty that the house has claimed.

This is a pretty dark take on Sleeping Beauty, but not a bad one overall. With only one way to wake her, the blood of the Kaiser men is the only thing that can bring her back to power. I liked how the storyline forces Thomas to stay at the house, no matter what, it really puts a timetable on trying to figure out what is happening there and what can be done to stop it. Then there are the mannequins, so many mannequins that come to life and want to stop people from accomplishing their goals and will stop at nothing to do so. They are freaky and I will never look at the ones in stores the same way after this, it is almost like my fear of porcelain dolls. With Thomas’s blood being the key to everything that happens next, he really has his work cut out for him and with the crazed Briar Rose calling for his help, he shows the strain of the world on his shoulders. Stay Scared.

There is nothing like a good family vacation to take your worries away. With everyone gathered, it is easier to reconnect with them when you leave society behind, even if it's only for a weekend. As the world continues to spin, it is easy to get out of touch with your family and forget about what is most important in life. Even if it does not seem like it will be an event that you are looking forward to attending, in the end, you will feel better about it and when looking back, you will be grateful for the time you got to spend together. 

Wanting to get away for a long weekend with his mother, Rick is able to get a little bit of a buy in from the family, but mainly from his wife Diane. Wanting to do something special for his mother, Rick takes the family to the Ozarks where she had so many fine memories. But not everybody is excited for the trip as Harrison has no idea what he will find in nature and Molly does not want to leave her boyfriend, even for a few days.

Arriving at the lake, Harrison finds out that there is more to nature than he thought and with plenty of bikini wearing girls around, he will find something to keep him busy. While at the cabin, Molly gets a great surprise as Curtis, her boyfriend has made an appearance. Wanting to spend time with him, Molly backs out of the little boat trip her father planned for them and goes into town with Curtis, Harrison and Grandma to see the sights. While the boys decide to get some lunch, they start talking to Jones who runs the bait shop and find out that the old man is rather paranoid about what secrets the Ozarks hold and warns them to be ready for anything. Thinking that the old man is crazy, the two find a hysteric Molly who just watched as Grandma be eaten by a shark. Knowing that this is not a hoax, Jones follows the family down to the river and lets off a warning shot as a shark is making its way toward Harrison. With sharks in the water, Harrison is worried about his parent’s whereabouts while Molly and Curtis follow Jones to his workshop.

With weapons galore at his fingertips, Jones is ready for anything that the Ozarks can throw at him and is ready to kill some sharks. Being able to kill one shark that has just chomped on a local fisherman, he sees that there are five more in the water and they are all making their way to the lake where a huge fireworks festival is about to be held. Knowing that more people will die, his attention is turned to saving Molly’s parents from their impending doom on the water. While finding them mostly in one piece, the lake is next and with Big Betty ready to party, so is Jones. But the sharks are watching and take their main hunter out of the equation leaving it up to Molly and her team to save the people at the lake from a sharky bad time.

Some of these movies are serious and other ones are fun, this one really falls under the fun category for me. With the wisecracking Curtis never missing a queue for a joke, there are plenty of laughs, but they do not all come from him as there are some spectacular shark kills in this movie, including ones from fireworks. I liked the family dynamic in this movie as they all are able to pull together when they know that they are the only ones that will be able to save people waiting for the fireworks show at the lake. Jones really steals the show and since you never see his demise, I hope that if there is a sequel to this movie, he makes it back, at least for a few shark kills, since that is what he was made to do. This movie also has one of the greatest post death shark kills I have ever seen and if you ever doubted the power of a wood chipper, you might need to check this out. Stay Scared.

Companies try so many things to get their employees on the same page these days, and while nothing ever seems to work a hundred percent at making that happen, some attempts are welcomed. Team building exercises seem to be the best way to pull this off and while some people cannot stand these events, others love them to death, especially if they are at an off-site location. Getting away from the office for even a few hours with your co-workers can help remove some of the daily stress from your life. As time has shown, some companies do not have the personal touch when it comes to dealing with their employees and while their main focus is usually making money, there are still more valuable things to focus on.

Tanner Brooks is the head of Horizon Tech and makes sure that everyone knows it. Boasting about his own successes, he does not want to mention all the bad karma that now hangs over the company and has taken some of his prized employees for a team building event by the river. With only a few people actually knowing what is going on back at the office, Tanner has his remaining associates with him while the office has started its layoffs. Focused on the task at hand, Tanner’s team is ready for a day of team building that will make them stronger before they return to the office to find out what has happened to their company.

While upriver, Kate and Mark are checking on a large dam that has heavily cut the water flow downstream. Checking out the dam, Mark sees that it is not composed of only wood like every other dam, it has body parts thrown into the mix. Not being able to escape the fate of the dam, Mark is chomped by an unknown shark and Kate is set to face reality. The river is infested by sharks and she must do everything in her power to get all of the people in the area away from the water, along with blowing up the dam so the sharks can make their way back out to sea. With the help of Carl, she may be able to do just that, but little does she know that it is the sharks who are running the show.

As people are being chomped but not chewed, Kate sees that the sharks are the ones maintaining the dam, so they must be killed off as well. With only her rifle, Kate does her best to keep the sharks at bay, but with so many people along the river, it will take a bigger gun to keep them from finding their next piece of building material. Blowing up the first dam, Kate is sure that the sharks will try to rebuild further downriver and is ready to make the trek. Running into a small group of survivors from the Horizon Tech retreat, she points them in the right direction toward safety, but if she is not able to blow a hole in the bottom dam, nobody on the river will be safe from the shark-tacular threat. 

Dam Sharks, yup, and that is what they are, sharks that build dams to stay in their favorite feeding area. I cannot get past the body parts that are thrown into the dams and put into place with such precision for that matter, too. But really the movie is about John and Stella forming a bond over the shadiness that is taking place at their company with Tanner at the wheel. That and being hunted by sharks on the company retreat could drive anyone to quit their job and rethink life in more than one way. I cannot get over Tanner’s character and the craziness he exhibits before the shark attacks and then having to deal with the knowledge that he is the man after they strike. With so many people meeting their fates in the river, around and above it are no longer safe as the sharks are able to take their attacks airborne and they have some pretty good precision when it comes to headhunting. Stay Scared.

​Have you ever wanted to be able to forget something from your past? Sure, we all have. But it is not as easy as turning a switch to make it disappear, and most of the time even when you think you have forgotten it, it comes right back up. When this happens, most people try to adjust their memories, not forget it entirely, but change a couple aspects of it so it no longer hurts when they think about it. Although this can be done, it takes years to accomplish and such a move may be worse for you than facing what you are trying to forget from your past.

After moving to his new practice, psychiatrist Peter Bower is ready to start his life over again, but there seems to be something strange about his patients that were been referred to him by his doctor, Duncan. While his patients seem to be stuck in the past, Peter thinks that there is something strange following him, but when Elizabeth Valentine comes to visit him, he knows that something is completely off. Without saying a word in his office, Elizabeth seems to need help, but when Peter tries to do something for her, she runs away, but leaves him a note with only numbers on it.

Thinking little of this, Peter tries to go on with his troubled life. Thinking about how he lost his daughter and how much life has changed since then, he sees Elizabeth in his office once again, but this time she almost dies in his arms. Disappearing when he tries to call for help, Peter thinks that he is going mad, but starts to research the names of all of his patients and discovers they all share a disturbing similarity. Finding out that they all died on the same date in 1987, Peter takes this news to Duncan for an explanation, but since Duncan is the one that referred them all to Peter, he comes to realize that he has been dealing with a ghost. Tracking where all of his patients used to live, Peter follows the train tracks that they must have traveled on and it leads him back to his childhood home.

When arriving there, Peter and his father pick up where they left off after Peter’s daughter died. Going around town, Peter finds his old childhood friend Barry drinking in the bar and wants to talk to him. Wanting to come clean about what happened back in 1987, Peter has to clear his conscience and hopefully the ghosts will leave him alone. Even though Barry is against it, Peter goes along with his plan and tells Constable Henning his story and leaves his best friend out of it. But the ghosts continue to come after Peter and now they are getting more violent towards him. With more research on his part and Constable Henning at his side, the two are searching for the truth of what happened on that terrifying night that claimed the lives of forty seven souls that Peter has put on his shoulders for so many years.

I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this movie, but Netflix said I would like it and they were right. Even though it is started out a bit slow, it was apparent that Peter had demons of his own that he needed to face and his sessions with Doctor Duncan led you a bit deeper into his mind than expected. I was blown away by the fact Peter was able to leave his wife at home, alone, when he went back to his childhood home, as she was heavily medicated. The effects were pretty good, and the jump scares are effective, along with a decent storyline that leads you to an ending that you did not want to see coming. Not a bad movie at all and I am impressed with the cast they were able to secure for it, since you have a couple big names that do a fantastic job. Stay Scared.

If given the opportunity, each and every last one of us would be happy to avoid tough and trying times in our lives. Because no one enjoys navigating rough waters in life, since they tend to bring stress and anxiety and tears, so naturally, living a life free of those kinds of problems sounds pretty darn appealing for certain. But whether we like it or not, tough times will find us, and they will come about by way of circumstances that are our of our control, or because of the many mistakes we will make in life and really, what matters most when they arrive; is how we handle them. Because there is a choice to be had when tough times happen. In that, we can either let disaster wash over us and hope that everything turns out fine in the end, or we can take a moment and look at this situation objectively and learn and grow from it. 
​
Because just about every single moment in our lives, either good or bad, teach us something quite important and it just so happens that last night’s episode of NOS4A2 explored that concept and the challenge that tough times present to us, in great detail. For ‘The Lake House’ gave everyone in Team McCarmody a chance to catch their breath and look at their current situation in an objective fashion after arriving at Chris’ lake house and that led to some supremely powerful moments, especially for Vic. Because this quiet time allowed for her to realize that the time had finally come to bid farewell to her drinking habit, not only because it was beating her down physically and mentally, but also because it was quite the crutch. The kind that helped her to avoid ever dealing with her pain and her trauma and her problems. Something that was pointed out to her by Lou when he took the opportunity to offer up a little commentary on the family’s current and tenuous situation. 

But while Vic was quick to acknowledge his words and the reality of her situation, she did struggle mightily as to what comes next in the healing process. Because she really didn’t have a clue how to reach her love and her son, after spending so many years keeping them at bay, and that led to a surprisingly beautiful moment between father and daughter. For a now clear Chris McQueen, offered up some solid advice to his baby Brat. In that, it’s not enough to apologize or say one will be better in regard to how they treat their family. They have to show that they mean it and that’s what brought about the conflict in question. For Vic really did have quite the choice, either stand back and let Lou and Wayne become their own family without her or fight like hell to be a part of something supremely special and thankfully, Vic chose the latter option and used this opportunity to grow and make amends.

Which meant that heartfelt and genuine apologies were in order for Lou and Wayne. And it was quite lovely to see Vic express her love for a man that has been there for her every step of the way, and be honest about her mistakes and how she was going to make things right, and it was equally as wonderful to see him reciprocate her love and continue to stand by her because he knew her words were genuine. But while it was quite nice to see Vic patch things up with Lou, Wayne was a tougher customer, because he’s heard it all before. But with great effort on Vic’s part, she eventually reached her baby Bat and it was just incredibly uplifting to see this family start to heal and more importantly, it was supremely satisfying to watch Vic finally face her demons and her past pain and recognize a wonderful opportunity in the face of chaos, rather than continue to run and hide.

If anything, her growth could not have come at a better time. For while the McQueen family and Mister Carmody healed by the water, evil was pressing forward with its twisted machinations. For Charlie Manx was in full on revenge mode in this tale, and nothing was going to stop him from persuading young Wayne from coming with him to Christmasland, not even a good night’s rest. Because the candy cane that Charlie handed over to the younger McQueen in the last episode, served as a conduit to Wayne’s dreams. One that Charlie exploited by showing this young man the wonders of Christmasland whilst informing him how much happier he would be living inside its walls instead of dealing with a mother and a father that were constantly fighting and inattentive, and slowly but surely, he wore Wayne down and was able to get some pertinent information from him.
​
But before Charlie and Bing could corrupt another child, they had to deal with the wonder that is FBI Agent Tabitha Hutter. Because while Vic was finding herself and her family, and while Charlie ran his salesman routine in the middle of the night, she was working the case and hard. For something in her gut, told her that Bing was going to return to Haverhill. Because a guy like Bing would firmly believe that no one would look for a guy that committed a crime in the very place where he broke the law and her gut feeling paid off in spades. Because all the clues she uncovered, such as missing sleeping gas and word that he was hiding out in a nearby church, led her to the right spot at the right time. For she spotted Bing preparing to depart and sadly, without backup being readily available, she made the call to go in after Bing on her own. 

A decision that she would regret for certain, for Bing’s new House of Sleep was far creepier than his old one, and Bing was of course, ready to get his hands on her and exert his incredible strength over his prey. But he met his match in Agent Hutter, since she was able to do some serious damage to Bing and get the cuffs on him before squaring off with Charlie Manx. Which is another fight that ended in great pain since he seemingly snapped her collarbone in two. Which genuinely made it seem as though Tabitha might not live to see another day. But perfect timing allowed for Tabitha’s backup to arrive before more harm could be done, and Maggie and Vic’s arrival brought her some much needed comfort. And while that makes it seem as though this episode ends happy, since evil is on the run for the moment and the heroes are safe, that simply wasn’t the case. 

For the information that Wayne revealed to Manx, was the location of the lake house, which means it won’t be long before the Wraith arrives there and well, when all is said and done this was just an incredible episode. Because it offered so much to the audience, since we were treated to a moving drama, quality character development and sheer chills and thrills and that made for one engaging hour, one that was quite frankly exhausting when all is said and done. Which reinforces the fact that this is hands down the finest horror series on the air right now. Because no other scary show out there is offering this kind of outright depth and intensity. But in the end, what’s truly impressive about this particular tale, is that there was no respite from the horror. For Charlie isn’t messing around anymore, and he is on his way to the lake house and that is going to make the wait for next week’s episode, an unnerving one for certain, as we wait to see whether or not Vic can save her family in time. Until then.

I am a huge fan of superstitions. I grew up trying to avoid every crack in the sidewalk for fear that it would break my mother’s back. I would not shave when on a long hit streak when I played baseball and I would never talk about anything that was going good for me at the time, because that would jinx it and I would be back to square one. But these are just a few of the superstitions out there and there are so many more and even though they may not be as well known, they are nonetheless there and if one person believes it, it has the power to come true for anyone.

Casey Beldon is having strange dreams that she cannot explain, but with the help of her good friend Romy, she can slightly start to understand what they might mean. While babysitting, Casey gets the update on her dreams when she hears one of the kids wandering around upstairs. Arriving in the baby’s room, she sees young Matty holding a mirror over his little sister and when Casey tries to intervene, she gets hit in the eye with it. Thinking little about what has just happened, Casey is in for a world of change and it is not only noticeable to her, but to her friends as well. 

When one of Casey’s eyes starts to change color and she is seeing strange things head on, she knows that there is something wrong. Getting her eyes checked, she finds out that she may have a sibling that she has not known about. When questioning her father about it, she finds out that she had a brother in the womb, but he never survived, but the more disturbing fact to her is that his nickname was Jumby and that is the name that little Matty has been yelling at her for the past couple days. Still determined to learn more about what is happening to her, Casey is able to locate an elderly woman who might actually have some answers.

Sofi Kozma is loving life in her retirement home until Casey comes to ask her questions. After throwing the young girl out on her first visit, Sofi invites Casey back for a long conversation. Being a survivor of the holocaust with her twin brother, Sofi knows of something darker that has been plaguing the world that nobody every questions; The Dybbuk, an evil spirit that preys on mainly on twins as they get older. While Sofi lost her brother to the beast at a young age, she knows that it can get powerful enough to take over an adult as well. Knowing that something strange is happening to her, Casey takes the old woman’s words to heart, but she is the only one and finding a priest or rabbi that can help her release this demon may be more difficult than expected. 

One of the things that I focus on when watching a movie is the story. You can have a cast of unknowns running around on the screen and if the story is good, the movie will also turn out to be good. But when the story takes twists and turns and does not stay consistent, you have an issue. While the cast of the movie was great, and the effects were good with a dead little boy that will terrorize your dreams every single time he appears on the screen, it is not enough to make up for a weak storyline.  It seems like they were trying to do too much in this movie by covering so many different legends and superstitions, if they would have just picked one and stayed with it throughout, this might have gone down as one of the best horror movies to ever grace the silver screen. Sometimes when it comes to making a horror movie, less can be better, especially if you are trying to get a point across. Stay Scared.

I have always been fascinated by Europe for one reason, the history that surrounds the region. With so many places that I wish to visit, Paris currently tops the list. I know everybody is filled with wonder that this would be my choice, the city of love, I mean, what would Scotty do there? I actually would love to go to the underground and explore the catacombs underneath the city and get a feel for what it means to be in the presence of over six million lost souls. Yeah, that is what I would want to do in Paris when I go, that and also learn some words in French so I could yell them at people when I got back home.

Traveling to Paris to visit her sister, Victoria has completely left her comfort zone. Suffering from anxiety, she has to keep a close eye on what is happening around her, along with her pills. Meeting her sister Carolyn at the airport, Victoria has no idea what will be happening later on in the night. Arriving at the cheap loft apartment where Carolyn lives, she starts telling a story of what happened there back in the day with grisly murders taking place. As Victoria starts to envision the deaths in the lofts, her sister sees that not much has changed from their youth, Victoria is still a push over.

With a party being held that night, Victoria wants to pass, but is convinced by Carolyn and her friends that it is a night that she will never forget. Getting to an entrance to the catacombs, Victoria does not know what she has gotten herself into, but when getting to the actual party, she can see why so many people like to attend. With the party never being held in the same spot twice, the vastness of the catacombs keeps the party goers out of trouble with the law and is rarely interrupted. Listening to Jean Michele talk about the reason why he puts on the parties, Victoria is drawn away from her fear of the dark, as long as she can be near him.

Leaving the main floor to a little retreat with Carolyn’s friends, Victoria listens to the stories about the catacombs and how people come down and never make it back to the surface, but that is not the true scare for her as she hears about a man that was born in the depths of the city and has only been trained to kill and feast off of the mortal body. Thinking this is just a legend, Victoria finds out firsthand that this goat head wearing monster is real as he kills her sister right in front of her. Trying to get help, Victoria is able to locate the party, but the police arrive at the same time and she gets lost in the craziness. Wandering around on her own, Victoria runs into another lost individual trying to get back to the surface as well. But there is something different about this Henry that she is now traveling with, although Victoria cannot seem to get a handle on it yet. Searching the tunnels for many hours and running from the dark that is closing in, Victoria needs to find a way to safety before she becomes a permanent resident of the catacombs herself. 

I have been told several times to watch this movie by my friend and it finally showed up on one of my many channels. So yes, I do take advice on what to watch, especially if they give me a warning about what happens. This is a solid little movie, and the one thing that kept it going was the story. I really liked seeing how Victoria had to leave her comfort zone and when she no longer had the anxiety medicine to keep her calm, she pretty much kept it together. Henry was a great counterpart for Victoria, not only because he was in search of the same thing she was, but because he made her open her eyes to what the catacombs actually hold and can do to people. I enjoyed this movie maybe a little too much and now I really want to get into the Paris underground, but might need to bring a GPS or something so I can get out alive. Stay Scared!