It can be very difficult to know what you should and should not believe about the paranormal, mainly because we don’t know what is real and what is not. It seems like all of the paranormal shows on television are trying their hardest to frighten us instead of showing us what might exist and that is kind of sad. I know that it will not get ratings if there is nothing to show during an investigation, but some of the things that make it on the airwaves drive people to believe that all spirits are demons and looking to kill us. While this might be the correct assumption about demons overall, there might be people out there that want to take their exploration of the paranormal to the next level and while most of them will come out alright, there are some that may be susceptible to a possession, something that rarely happens this day and age.
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Listening to Professor Tucker talk about witchcraft and how it was handled back in the day, Brandon is starting to get an idea what he really wants to do his final project on and is liking the idea of writing about his findings from interviewing people about possessions and exorcisms. Being able to get a couple of books on the subject from the professor and getting pointed in the right direction to a couple of men of the cloth, Brandon is on his way to finding out if possessions are real, or just something made up by the church. 

While digging through his new material, Brandon comes across an exorcism gone wrong a town over and decides to dig into it further. Getting a new partner for his short trek in a stoner named Clay, the two head to the local police station to pick up the old report on what the officers picked up at the scene. Pulling out an old VHS tape that shows the Tracey Crowell Exorcism and people being killed left and right by the possessed mother, Brandon is very intrigued on moving forward with the report and is able to get Clay to come along for the ride of a lifetime. Breaking into the old Crowell house, the two step into the basement where the bloodbath took place and Brandon is drawn towards something he did not expect.  Fining a Ouija Board buried behind a wall with a strange mark on it, the young man has no idea what evil awaits him in his future.

Being willing to invite a demon into his body, Brandon sets up a funding page to get money to support his cause and finds out many people are intrigued to watch the process. Hiring a med student in Leda to measure his vitals during the event and a Medium in Julie to get in touch with those from the other side, the stage is set for the first ever live possession on the internet. Using the basement in the Crowell house once again, everything is set up and people are watching, but after a little shaking and some things being thrown around, Brandon does not feel any different. With negative feedback from his viewers coming his way, along with his mother not willing to talk with him after trying to invite evil into his body, Brandon’s life falls into a tailspin, but is this coincidence or a hidden demon waiting for its time to pounce?

From the first scene of this movie, you should be prepared for a gore fest and while it takes a little break to get the main story going, it is worth it in the end. I liked the relationship between Brandon and Clay to start off their partnership and Clay’s reluctance to having his new friend become possessed by a demon. But when the money comes raining in, well, all bets are off the table and you have got to give the people what they want. Brandon’s mother however really stole the show, not wanting her flesh and blood in the house was great, but her fate was even better. With an exorcism gone wrong, a family falling apart, a demon, a love story, some guns, plenty of blood and a cult looking to carry out their final orders, it is a good possession movie to dive right into. While I may not be that up on possessions these days, there are plenty of cases from the past that seem legit, so who am I to say that keeping a little holy water handy might be a good thing. Stay Scared.    

Some people like to say that everything happens for a reason and while that is an easy way to look at things, it is also a bit short sighted. Saying that a person’s pet getting run over in the street or getting fired from your job for no reason happened for a reason, most people will still wait to find out what that reason really is. We all have our own choices to make in this life and while some of them could drastically change the direction our lives will go, they happen because we make them. There is always a reason for making different choices than we are used to doing, but that is what living life is all about.
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Getting put to bed by his babysitter, young Josh is worried about what might be going bump in the night and refuses to take his sleeping pills. Faking out the babysitter, Josh hides the pills under his pillow and listens to the voice of his ghost brother that is warning him about someone coming to get him. With a warning to hide, Josh sees that this is no joke and the group of kidnappers mean business. With one seemingly nice kidnapper in Nancy who is promising that no harm will come to him, Josh is taken against his will to a place where he is not the only child who has been hidden within the walls.

Arriving at the house in the middle of nowhere, leader Jacob makes the call to his client stating that the job has been done. Laying down some ground rules for the gang to follow while in the client’s house, Jacob wants them all to make sure to not wander around, much less touch anything since they don’t really know the person. Setting up the video camera and having Josh beg for his life, the group is done with what they are supposed to do and are forced to sit and wait for the ransom money to come their way. But there is something strange in the house that none of them know about and with the help of an invisible friend, Josh is able to escape with nobody noticing until it is too late.

Being able to wave down a passing car, Josh begs for help from the young couple who are quickly disposed of by the trigger happy Mick. Returning the boy to the house, Nancy is forced to keep a closer look over him but is getting intrigued by what her partner Jack has found in the basement. Wanting to know more about the house and what is on some old VHS tapes, the group finds out that they have bitten off more than they bargained for in the seemingly simple kidnapping job. With a new group starting to surround the house and the spirits coming alive within the walls, it is only a matter of time before one or all meet their fate at the hands of Pure Evil Himself.

Interesting premise overall, with Josh being given a heads up from his ghost brother to the dangers that may and will be presenting themselves. Josh is able to prove to Nancy that his brother is real by telling her something from her past that nobody could have known about her. Nancy really helped to carry the story through the different transitions and she did a great job in doing that, because even with all of the craziness in and outside of the house, she was able to focus on her primary job of keeping Josh safe from the other kidnappers. With a boy that can talk to spirits, a lamb stuffed animal, some creepy kidnappers, some gun play, plenty of hand signals, blood, a house with plenty of secrets and a gateway to talking to the Devil himself, this movie does not pull any punches when it comes to what the fate of the victims will be. I will admit that this movie does make me a little bit interested in what my fate will be and how many hands went in to making my life what it is today. Stay Scared.

​There comes a point during every single Stephen King story that the proverbial floodgates are opened and horrors and nightmares untold spill out onto either the page or the screen and well, it would seem that moment has arrived when it comes to Castle Rock. Because this week’s episode of the show, ‘Past Perfect’, was a truly unsetting tale. One where answers started to sneak out when it comes to the Kid and where the darkest parts of people were put on display once again and most importantly, this is a story where as many plot threads as possible came together in beautiful and terrifying fashion and well, it’s clear nothing will ever be the same in this depraved little berg after this episode.
 
Because it would seem that everything is falling to pieces in this town, and the chaos really started with Henry’s escape from the Schisma Listening Room, thanks to Molly, wherein we learned that Odin died, likely at the hands of Willie and well, death and destruction continued to surround Henry after that moment. After all, once he returned home he found out what happened to Alan, and that his mother survived, albeit she was still filled with confusion and this is where The Kid revealed a little more about his past, in that, he was the one to rescue Henry from that mysterious basement flashing about in his memories and that he’s been waiting all this time to reunite with Henry for reasons that still remain unknown and thanks to the police, we weren’t able to learn that much more about The Kid, but that didn’t stop Henry from trying to.
 
Which brings us to the plot threads that wonderfully blended together. Because we also caught up with the stuffy couple that was interested in the Lacy house several episodes ago, and well, they bought the place and wanted to turn it into a macabre tour destination, wherein Castle Rock’s dark and twisted history would be put on display for all to see and they were good with this idea because the couple had a dark side to them, the murdering kind in all honesty, to the point where their first customers met a bloody and violent end and despite their best abilities to blend in, Jackie Torrance started to put two and two together regarding this couple, and thank heaven for that. Because driven by his need for answers, Henry found himself at the house, so he could finally figure out what Warden Lacy was hiding in the basement. 
 
As it turns out, it was 27 years’ worth of paintings of The Kid, dating back to shortly after Henry disappeared and well, while he would have liked to have discovered more about these paintings, the murderous couple came home, and demanded more blood and thanks to Jackie and a lucky deflection, Henry was able to escape the attack with minor wounds. But the chaos isn’t quite done in Castle Rock just yet. After all, Henry’s son can hear the Schisma, and is headed back to town after being asked to leave in order to learn more about his family’s past and Henry’s mom is at her lowest point and potentially in danger and Molly…well she may not survive to see the end of the season. Because she and the Kid are spending some quality time together in her old house, and the Kid just revealed that he’s everywhere and sees everything, including where Molly died…
 
So, this was about as Stephen King as it gets to be honest. Because it was just carnage and chaos through and through and well, gone is any deeper meaning when it comes to the story for the moment, it’s all about moving toward a powerful goal, which it would seem involves a grand reveal of every single mystery, but not before some serious bloodshed is going to find its way to the series, first and while one can cite this episode to be as bloody as they come, I get the funny feeling this was merely the appetizer and Castle Rock is about to see its worst disaster to date and I love how everything is steadily coming together and I really am dying for it to be next Wednesday already so I can see what horrors await us next. Until then.    

I forget when it became the in thing to do, but house flipping was a huge thing for many years and anyone who had the drive to do so made a fortune. This continues to happen in the buyer’s housing markets and with a new coat of paint, most of these flippers can make a very good living. But you need to know what you are getting into when trying to flip a house, mainly if there are serious issues that you will not be able to handle on your own, because those things cost a whole lot more money that you might never see again. Then there is also the history of the house that can come into play, especially if there was a tragic event that took place there, or something that will prevent you from completing the job.
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After the recession took away most of Malcolm’s life, it he has been squatting on his last piece of real estate. Getting a visit from his good friend Sonny, Malcolm is forced to come to terms that he needs to get his life back in order once again, especially since he owes people money. Trying to get the inspiration to renovate his last property, Malcolm finds out that there is something strange about the master bedroom and will need to find out why it is smaller than on the original plans for the house. But this will take some time, as Malcolm’s days are filled with drinking to cover up something nasty that happened in the past.

Hearing muffled screams coming from what appears to be a false wall; Malcolm decides that it is time to find out what the previous tenant was hiding. Taking his trusty hammer and putting holes in the wall, Malcolm starts pulling out some strange artifacts and does not know what to make of them. With enough evidence that there were at least a woman and a little girl that lived in the house previously, Malcolm gets a fresh set of eyes on the new finds. Being urged to call the police by his neighbor Sally to find out what happened to the women, Malcolm decides that it would be best and makes the call.

Getting visited once again by his good friend Sonny, Malcolm hears that the financial trouble is worse than expected and he needs to sign over the lease, so his friend can keep the bill collectors at bay for a short while. With the promise of finding something that may be worth some additional value, Malcolm takes his friend down to the basement, but he has something else on his mind. After disposing of the body, Malcolm gets a visit from a detective that gives him little faith that anything will be done to find the previous tenants. Needing to find out what happened, Malcolm goes on a drive that will re-open his repressed memories, but not in a good way as he starts to remember what really happened in the house.

Even though this was really a slow burn movie, it did keep the story moving, especially when it came to the mystery of what happened to the previous tenants of the house and it featured a well-deserved payoff at the end. From the start of the movie, you get a real feel for the down on his luck Malcolm and how bad life has treated him since the recession. Being a recluse and constantly drinking his life away in the house, he does find a light in his neighbor Sally that could bring him back to the land of the living, but it means that he will be forced to face his inner demons. With a creepy house, a fake wall, a hammer, some creepy mannequins, plenty of drinking and suppressed memories, this is really an interesting movie that will make you wonder if there is anything from your past that can keep you from moving forward. Stay Scared.

It may seem like I review every movie that I watch, but that is far from the case. The current ratio of horror movies that actually make it to the page is one in four and for numerous reasons. While I was raised to believe that if you do not have anything nice to say, to not say anything at all, I have come to find out that it is easier to bash an under-budget movie than to give it praise for what it is. So, to not go after any of these movies, I will go down the list of things that will make me turn them off or not give them a review when all is said and done.
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First thing is first, my biggest peeve is not being able to hear the dialogue during the movie. While so many people are willing to put their best foot forward and give us some great stories, if I cannot hear what the characters are saying, well, that will make me skip the movie altogether. When you are storytelling, you need to make sure that the story is being told, even if there is not the budget for a sound person, you need to make sure that the audience is able to hear what is being said. This falls in line with something else that I have been noticing with some newer films, the background music is equal to or louder than the characters, this will also make me turn off the movie before anything starts to get going.

Second, with the number of movies that I end up reviewing, they have fifteen minutes to have something important happen before I turn it off. This has become the window for me, as I have found out that if nothing happens in this allotted time frame, nothing will happen in the movie. I am all for slow burns to help build up the suspense in movies, but there needs to be something to keep me intrigued. This can be accomplished by having a character I really seem to relate to, or having something strange happen in a haunted house, but there needs to be something that matters to the story that happens or once again, off goes the movie. 

Repetitive dialogue is a huge pet peeve of mine, as it is just lazy writing and it gets very boring. I remember watching a movie that had the main character repeating every line three times with different inflection and while it could have been good, it added nothing to the story and just got very old very quick. This falls into one of the main movie-making rules to not make the movie longer than it is written, because that is where many of the big budget movies go so wrong. If the script is only seventy pages, then you have a movie that will be an hour and ten minutes and filmmakers need to keep it at that and stop with silly types of filler, because audiences are not dumb and should be given some sort of credit since they paid to see the movie. 

I have never been afraid to say that I HATE FLASHBACKS, so this is something else that will keep me from writing about a movie. While the flashback is a great storytelling device that has been used through the ages, if it is not important to the story, or could be replaced by something called dialogue, it should not be used. Even though this has not always been the case for me, some recent movies and television shows have used flashbacks too often, showing that the writers have become too lazy or are looking for fifteen minutes of filler for their shows since they cannot come up with anything better to do. Once again, audiences are not stupid and should be given some sort of respect since they are the ones that the stories are being written for. 

Finally, there is nothing more important than the ending to a movie, and this is something that could make or break the story altogether. While I am not a huge fan of it all being a dream, since it has been done many times before, it still seems to be popping up all over the place and it is just a copout that makes the audience wish they had their thirteen dollars back. Too many times, past and present movies seem to lose their path when it comes to ending the movie and that is very sad, because it could be great up until the credits roll. I do find myself throwing anything handy I have at the screen if the ending of a movie makes no sense to the plot. I don’t like the feeling of being cheated out of the story, much less my time.

Well, there are some reasons why I do not review every movie that I come across. While there might be some great stories in the movies that I have not reviewed, you now know why they have not made it to the site. In reality, I just like to be entertained and I keep my standards pretty mild when watching indie horror flicks, because I know that they are grossly underfunded movies and are just trying to tell their story. I really do look forward to seeing what the next year has in store for the genre, especially since the horror industry seems to be picking up a little bit of steam at the box office, I just hope they don’t go too Hollywood on us however, because sometimes hidden agendas can take over the film and make something that was prefect to begin with into a piece of drab that nobody wants to watch. Stay Scared.

Family first is a motto that I have always said and will continue to do so until they prove me wrong. Making decisions for your family and not yourself if something that you learn with age and while every decision may not affect them, the big ones always do. It is important to keep this in the back of your mind, even if you don’t think it will make a difference in what you are doing, because in the long run, everything comes back full circle.
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Getting a call from a lawyer, Heather Miller finds out that her life up to this point has been nothing but a lie. Confronting her parents about being adopted, Heather does not know how to handle the news, but will have some time to figure it out. With a vacation already planned, Heather and her boyfriend Ryan and best friend Nikki, along with Kenny are going to make a quick stop in Texas to check out her new inheritance. Not knowing her actual family history, much less where she really came from, Heather is in for the shock of a lifetime when all the pieces are put together. 

Arriving at a massive gate to her grandmother’s property, Heather meets quickly with the lawyer and gets the keys to the house, along with a letter that should explain everything. Putting the letter aside and walking up the long pathway to her new house, Heather is shocked to learn that she has inherited a mansion. With her friends and hitchhiker all agreeing that the house is too much to pass up on for the night, Heather and her friends head into town to get some supplies while the hitchhiker decides to hang back and winds up unleashing the Sawyer family secret.

Returning to the house to see that it has been vandalized by the hitchhiker, Heather blames herself for being too nice to people, but that is short lived as Kenny finds out the ultimate fate of the man that tried to rob the house. Finding a strange man with a human face covering his own, Heather comes face to face with her family’s secret, yet has no idea why this is happening now. Being able to escape the basement of her new home, only to find that the chainsaw welding psycho will follow wherever she goes, Heather is let in on a little bit of history that the town has been trying to cover-up for years. Now she is not only being hunted by a psycho, but half of the police force as well, and Heather will be forced to make the decision of a lifetime, since if you cannot trust family, who can you trust?

Playing as a direct sequel to the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the movie did a good job in catching you up on what happened after Sally was able to escape the wrath of Leatherface, along with the family. Having a sort of reunion to start off the movie was very nostalgic and really set up for some fun storytelling from there on out. I must admit that the extracurricular activities between Ryan and Nikki really got me rooting for Leatherface to get back into action and the kills were just so bloody, it made me cheer in fear. With plenty of blood, some gun shots, a pitchfork, a couple of chainsaws, a family secret, a county fair and a town divided between good and evil, you may find yourself cheering for the wrong side when all is said and done. I must admit that I was a little shocked that anyone could have survived the opening scene of this movie, but very happy to see that Leatherface still does one thing right, putting family first. Stay Scared.

It’s a well-known fact that the horror genre, and zombie related stories to be a touch more specific, often focus heavily on an examination of the human condition. They’re either able to speak to the events and troubles of our world through powerful social commentary, or they find an opportunity to outright challenge and question elements about mankind that other genres simply cannot explore. Because terror and trouble bring out the best or the worst in us and if there’s one show currently putting on a clinic when it comes to this kind of exploration, it’s Fear the Walking Dead.
 
Because week in and week out this season, it’s finding new ways to explore who we are as a species in just about every single way imaginable since we’ve seen the best and worst parts of us on display this year. But what’s supremely fascinating about this particular season is the sheer fact that it’s taking this examination to a whole new level, by asking far more philosophical questions as it tells its story such as, is there truly any hope for the human race? Can we be better as a species and if so, what will it take to help us improve and be better toward one another? And oddly enough, those questions were put on full display during last night’s Morgan-centric episode, ‘The Code’.
 
For in this tale, we caught up with Morgan shortly after he and Alicia parted ways in the mid-season premiere, wherein Morgan was able to hunker down for the night in the back of a semi-truck that was filled to brim with more of those mysterious boxes that Althea and June found along the side of the road, informing people to take what they need and leave what they don’t, and after enjoying some peace and quiet during the storm, Morgan eventually awoke from quite the deep sleep…only to discover that the driver of the truck had taken him far away from his friends in Texas, to what turned out to be quite the oasis in Mississippi.
 
I call it an oasis, simply because, everything and anything a weary traveler could want was at Morgan’s final destination. Food, water, peace and quiet and even running water were present in this place and the creature comforts of a world long gone were a fine reminder of how hard it is for everyone in this death filled world right now and this is where the first real surprise of the night arrived. Because in the midst of partaking in said comforts, and once again hearing the mantra to take what he needs from a voice on the radio, Morgan ran into some new friends named Wendell and Sarah who claimed to be leaving these boxes on the side of the road to help people in need and they were happy to offer Morgan a car and more supplies to take back to his friends. 

But, Morgan’s fears once again took root, and rather than face the possibility that his friends might be wounded, or worse dead, he made a clean break toward Alexandria, inviting his new friends to head there with him and saving a man named Jim in the process, only to learn that Sarah and Wendell were in it for themselves, and they cared not for other people or their plights, just comfort and gain and the same went for Jim and well, this is where those all important questions were posed. Because these new acquaintances seemed to serve as a reminder that that in times of crisis we sometimes put our worst foot forward in order to survive and the fact that they left Morgan high and dry and handcuffed and surrounded by the dead spoke to that selfishness mankind often exhibits.
 
If anything, this ugly series of events seem to rob us of any and all hope that this episode briefly provided for us, but there was a rhyme and reason to all of this. Because being double crossed and abandoned seemed to remind Morgan of his flaws and his fears, and that he could be better, that he owed it to everyone that he’s encountered on his journey to this point to be better and that realization motivated him to do his best to get out of his tough situation and deal with the dead and make his way back toward Texas, which in turn led to the finest moment of the night, a final confrontation if you will with the trio that outright left him behind.
 
Now normally, that kind of encounter on this series means grand violence and more ugliness, but this time around, there was only inspiration on display as Morgan took a moment to reason with those that had done him wrong, and believe it or not, his powerful words and newfound confidence, helped to inspire this new group of people to do a little good for a change and help others and it would seem that thanks to Morgan, they’re all headed back to Texas to rescue Morgan’s new friends before heading back toward Alexandria and while that should have been the perfect ending to this subtle and poignant tale, there is still trouble on the horizon.
 
Because back at the truck stop, someone mysterious was listening to Morgan’s hopeful radio transmissions, and she clearly has plans for him and his new friends when they arrive, but I have to be honest, her appearance was grossly overshadowed by the incredible storytelling that preceded her cameo. Because one by one, the characters are dealing with their pain and their sorrow, and this was Morgan’s opportunity to do so and it would seem this is the closest he’s ever been to healthy since he’s working to inspire hope in others for a change and well, I’m thoroughly enjoying these little hurricane themed vignettes and the fact that the series isn’t offering easy answers when it comes to its examination of our world. Instead the series is simply asking us to think about those matters because we most certainly should and that’s just downright brilliant in an era when storytelling prefers to spoon feed its audience. Until next time. 

Over the course of a year and a half, Cinemax’s Outcast has accomplished a great many things storytelling wise. It’s established itself as a master of the slow burn style of storytelling, and it’s definitely proven to everyone that it can be a chilling and scary affair and of course, it’s been a fine character study as well. But despite its impressive resumé when it comes to the horror genre, I’ve yet to see the series just straight up let loose and take some risks, the kind where say, the bad guys suddenly take control and if anything, this thread of thinking is another fine lesson when it comes to being careful what you wish for, since the series gave that notion a try during last night’s episode and the end result, was stunning to say the least.
 
Because ‘Fireflies’, more or less became a waking nightmare through and through, wherein evil reigned supreme and the audience was more or less toyed with, since in the opening moments of the story, we came to learn that Kyle Barnes died on the operating table, leaving his friends and family in one hell of a bad place as they tried to reconcile their newfound loss and well, this was a dark plot thread to say the last since Allison damn near reached her breaking point and Giles slipped into a drunken depression over his actions in getting Kyle killed and really, this plot thread set the tone for a bleak story that honestly, left me with some doubts when it came to Kyle’s fate. After all, his surgery was performed at the hands of the evil Dr. Park and I’m glad there was suspicion in my mind, because as it turns out, Kyle was alive and mostly well.
 
As it turns out, the good Doctor had hidden him away in the closed off wing of the hospital, and it quickly became obvious from the locked door and the care he was receiving that someone wanted Kyle isolated, in order to sell the lie about his ‘death’, so they could have Kyle all to themselves, no doubt for nefarious purposes, and the person that made such a twisted plan come to fruition, just so happened to be Sidney. Who surprisingly showed a touch of empathy and kindness toward Kyle in the hopes of getting Mister Barnes to rest and heal and he was so relaxed around Kyle this time around that he let it slip that part of the long-term plan when it comes to the Merge, was to transform our world into some kind of strange and unrecognizable place where the creatures/demons that inhabit people’s bodies, won’t even need flesh anymore.
 
But thankfully, Kyle was having none of Sidney’s crap, and after duking it out with him and an orderly, he was able to make a wounded escape, and eventually find his way into the arms of his friends and family (with an assist from Amber) since they too had doubts about Kyle’s death and arrived at the hospital to confront Dr. Park, and while that should have signaled a happy end to this wild episode, there was one surprise still waiting for us, one that involved Aaron. Because a new friend was introduced into Sidney’s inner circle, one that Aaron didn’t care for and was happy to dispose of and once Sidney found out his protégé killed his best shot at earning a speedy upgrade to becoming evil, Sidney came to realize that there was only one way to properly deal with Aaron, and he robbed the troubled young man of his life, without giving it a second thought.
 
If anything, the best word to describe this episode is chaotic and I mean that in the best way possible. Because danger was around every single corner in this story, and kudos to this episode for selling Kyle’s death so well early on and for leaving every single character confused and slightly shattered in this tale because it really gave the story a gravity that I wasn’t expecting and well, now that we’re through the worst of it for Kyle we can move on to bigger mysteries, like who the other beacon was that helped Giles host evil, and the fallout of his Rose Giles’ actions and most importantly, what Sidney’s next move is going to be and well, when all is said and done, this show is downright scary when evil takes control and here’s to hoping it doesn’t get a chance to do so in the future of this tale because holy cow, it almost won in this story. Until next time.  

After watching all of the Blade movies I thought it would be a good idea to bring forth what we have learned from our famed vampire hunter. Now I am not one that likes to try to find all of hidden undertones in movies since for me, it takes away from the enjoyment that is on the screen. I will stay away from those right now and just hit a few of the key things that were pointed out right in front of our very eyes.

Evil is Everywhere – Yes, I would hate to say it but there is evil all around us and there are people out there that are trying to keep it from hitting the streets. With vampires roaming around the streets in all three films, it is a shame that the only people that know this are the ‘familiars’ and the people trying to stop them. Sadly, there is but a handful of people trying to put an end to this unrelenting evil force, but stopping these iconic monsters is the sole focus for Blade and he truly does believe them to be evil and creatures that are completely without remorse.

Trust Must Be Earned – Blade keeps everyone at arm’s length, and for good reason. There is only one person he trusts with his life, Whistler, and the only reason is, is that the old man has saved his. Everyone else Blade tries to allow into his life is looking to stab him in the back and he has kept his shell wrapped very tight for this reason. When trying to make new friends and relationships, it is a safe assumption not to let all of your thoughts or past out right away, get to know the person a little bit better before giving them ammunition that can be used against you. You never know what the other person is looking to gain from the relationship, most of the time it is good intentions, however there are those people out there that are looking to stab you in the back the first time you turn around.

Learn How to Handle Your Enemies – As the old proverb says, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Blade shows that he is willing to talk about his business to others he does not trust but will not divulge the vitally important things. This is a good trait to have as you never know what cards your opponent is holding, giving a little to get a little back makes you better prepared for what is coming in the future. But you must remember not to give too much away when trying to outwit your opponent since they are most likely doing the same thing to you.

Surround Yourself with the Right Friends – Blade only has a close set of friends, okay, he only has one friend. This falls back on the trust segment, as whenever he tries to open up to someone and gets burned, he puts a tighter leash on his emotions. This is not a bad thing and people have many friends at all times, but only a few that they truly call close friends. These are the people that you can depend on for anything that is happening, and they will run to help you if there is anything that they can do to help. Having many people, you can call your friends in life a good thing, but you need to make sure that the ones you call your closest ones will be there for you in thick or thin.

Learn to Improvise – Blade has fought many different enemies and he always is able to find a way to defeat them with his ability to improvise. If garlic does not work, move to silver, if silver does not work, move to fire, if fire does not work, move to sunlight, and so on. There is always something out there that will work time after time, but for that one instance it does not work, you need to open up your arsenal and pull out your next best thing. Everyone has a bag of things that they are able to draw from and even if it has been a while since using it, it is always a good idea to pull them out and make sure they are still working since you never know when you are going to need to use it.

Well, that is my list of things that have stuck with me from the Blade franchise and I hope if you have seen the movies, have a good list of your own that you can transfer into everyday situations. I do love these movies and I think it is because our hero is more human than he gives himself credit for and for that, I think a praise needs to go to the writer, David S. Goyer. Goyer has written all three of the Blade movies, along with some other favorites that involve a guy cosplaying as a bat. Making his heroes believable, along with human is something that he has perfected over the years and for that I will applaud him for. It’s a great series and I hope if you have not seen them, that you give them a try at some point, they will not disappoint. And bear in mind that this was an early Marvel Comic Book movie as well, it is fun to see where the comic book movies started before the whole production came into play.  

It is frightening how much media coverage can change the opinion of the population. You've probably noticed that when a star is kind to the media, they are always given the benefit of the doubt, but if they are rude or refuse to talk to them, it is a completely different story. The same goes with regular news coverage as well, if they have a shred of evidence that could prove or disprove something, they will not run it unless it is in the benefit of the person they are running the story against. Now with social media being as big as it is, the opinions of many are influenced much sooner than when we only got our stories and gossip from the five o’clock news.

Blade has found fame, but in the wrong way. With the vampire powers having their fingers in everything, they are trying to turn the public opinion against the man that is keeping the humans safe. Although he does not care about this, because he knows that he is doing the right thing, he is recorded killing a normal human being and it causes an uproar. Now not only the vampires are looking for him, but the police are trying as hard as they can to track him down before he causes harm to anyone else. With eyes and ears everywhere around the city, it is only a matter of time before his secret hideout is located and all hell breaks loose.

Being led by Danica Talos, the vampires are looking for their final solution and wind up finding the original member of their species. Digging up Dracula and bringing him home, the vampires now have a weapon that not even the feared Daywalker can stop. With help from the police and their own Dr. Vance, the vampires are able to capture Blade and take away all of his weapons, so they can do with him as they will, but nothing, not even the lack of serum can keep the hunter down. After being awoken from his many century slumber, Drake (Dracula) is very displeased to see what has happened to society, along with the lore of his vampiric roots. Wanting to bring honor back to the world that he has left behind, he finds that Blade is the nearest thing to him and is happy to have found a worthy opponent.

With the loss of the main vampire hunter, Whistler, his next team is stepping out on their own. The Nightstalkers have been hunting the bloodsuckers for a couple of years and are ready to step up to the plate in assisting Blade. Although they are just kids, Blade has to find a way to trust the young group since they are the only backup he will have in the fight against Drake. As each member of the group has their own special ability, the main hunters, Hannibal and Abigail have to prove their worth to the veteran hunter before he will allow them into his livelihood. Even though the group seems to be green in the arena of hunting vampires, they have come up with great leaps in technology that can assist in the killing of the blood suckers. Not only do they have the technology, but they also have the intel of what their opponents are up to and are able to make quick solutions for their next battle, although with the return of Drake, they are feeling like this is the end game to their long battle.

Blade: Trinity is once again following Blade as he has new challenges rising up all around him. With the police after him now, he needs to keep a low profile, but as they are being directed by the vampires that want his blood, he will not be able to escape unscathed. When he loses his best friend and mentor, Blade is trapped in the clutches of the vampires that have been hunting him as long as he has been hunting them. Meeting the Nightstalkers, Blade sees that there is much more work to be done but does not want to take it upon himself to train the group of misfits. Finding out quickly that they are more equipped to handle the situation than he expected, he leads them on his hunt to find out what the vampires are doing with the release of their lord, Drake. As the first vampire has been set loose in the city, Drake notices that the civilization he has left is now making a mockery of his life and wants to return order to the world. Blade will not allow this to happen, but with everything he has seen from the ancient lord, there is little that he and his group can do to stop it.  With one last stand for humanity, Blade and the Nightstalkers have one more plan to put into effect and if it works, all of the vampire population will disappear, just like its originator. 

The final installment of the trilogy and not a bad way to end it. With plenty of star power being added into the movie, it also releases the legend of Dracula on the screen. Watching the ancient vampire walk the streets and show distain for how the civilization has changed over the years and how everyone makes a mockery of him and his legend, was just fascinating. Making up his own mind on what is right and what is wrong in the society, Drake wants to return his name to greatness and instill honor among the current vampire nation, along with the cattle that are roaming the streets. But when he sees that the Daywalker is a mirror image to him, he knows that vampire lines are in good hands, even if he is not able to accomplish the goals set forth by his offspring. Stay Scared.