As Halloween Kills began, I began to worry as the film started to commit the cardinal sin of the Halloween sequels, it felt as if they were going to explain away Michael Myers. But I endured and as the first of our flashbacks faded away, I settled in and rapidly discovered that this was a very different film than an “explain-away” sequel. It’s also very different from a Return, a Revenge, a Curse, an H20, or a Season of the Witch sequel. Somehow, and I’m not sure how David Gordon Green pulled this off but, Halloween Kills is all of those: the mother of all slasher sequels
 
Halloween Kills is, in essence, Halloween II plot-wise, though technically with our newest canon shakeup we’re into the 3rd film in the series (and that concludes my final attempt at translating where we are in the series into prose). Laurie and her family are rushed to the hospital following their harrowing encounter with Myers, and a frenzy is sparked in the historically traumatized people of Haddonfield, Illinois. When it is discovered that Myers has returned and is still at large, survivors of his first murderous spree are spurred into a vicious mob led by self-appointed poster child Tommy Doyle, who Laurie defended on that night back in 1978. Through flashbacks and open-mic night confessionals we round out our understanding of the depth of the trauma experienced by Haddonfield’s citizens: guilt, fear, and mindless rage. 
 
This is the main focus of the film, the sheer force of generations impacted by brutal inexplicable violence and how that frenzy, that fear can make monsters of us all. We identify with and are thus repulsed by the violence and mindless obedience of this mob to the crude slogan “Evil Dies Tonight.” The film cuts between this mob’s wild fruitless pursuit of the Shape, flashbacks of the first Halloween, and the survivors of the Strode family who are all trying to navigate their new, horrifying reality. The heart of the film, and our champions are 3 generations of women who all understand that Myers must end, and they have 3 very different ideas about how that should come about. 
 
As much as this film and its predecessors have attempted to reason out what motivates the Shape, it is in its restraint and loyalty to that primary characteristic of the monster as enigma that this sequel avoids devolving into the camp it so joyfully incorporates this time around. Myers is a void, he’s not excited, or spurred to act out of 40 years of seething, thinking only of the survivor girl who got away. He’s an automaton, a force. Wind him up and watch him go. And boy does he go in this film. 
 
Michael Myers did not die in the blazing inferno of rightfully paranoid Laurie Stroud’s compound basement. He escapes. He escapes like Nic Cage at the end of Mandy... look there are a dizzying number of references, Easter eggs, and self-parodies going on in this movie. I’m not going to lie: it’s a lot. But the mystique of the Shape and its brutality rises above the ashes of tropes, camp, emulation, mockery, tribute, and homage and after all these years, Halloween continues to Kill.

There is nothing wrong with getting cold feet when making a decision that will change your life, in fact most people do. Having an idea of where you are planning on going in life alone is just fine, but when you add in someone else to take the journey with you, you never know what will happen. The fear of the unknown is what keeps many people from taking that next step and while it is good to be cautious, you should not let the fear control what you do. Take that next step, whatever it may be, because if you don’t, you may find yourself regretting it and that weighs you down much more than failure does.
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Starting her bachelorette getaway with her friends Jill and Kirsten, Casey is starting to wonder if getting married is the right thing for her to do. With all of the questions jumping through her mind, her support system seems to be keeping her pointing towards yes, but there are just so many factors that they do not understand. Coming clean about her fiancé’s mother hating her and that after the wedding they will all be living in the same building; Casey has come to the conclusion that the wedding will have to wait. Getting some information about a secret swimming hole from a local, the girls all head out and jump in the amazing water, but when Casey feels something bite her on her thigh, she finds out that her world is about to change.

Getting home and running out of laundry detergent, Casey tries to fall back on her future mother-in-law for help and while the old woman rips her to shreds about procrastination before the wedding, Casey does not allow that to phase her. Still trying to make up her mind about what she wants to do, she notices that the bite on her hip is starting to look infected. Trying to pay it little mind, Casey does something that will piss off her mother-in-law to no end by sleeping with Jared, her fiancé. But during the act, Jared pushes a little too hard on the spot of the bite and a large amount of ooze comes pouring out causing the couple to put the ending on hold.

After cleaning out the fresh wound, Casey finds herself waking up in the bathtub for no reason. Trying to get her wits back about her and returning to her normal lifestyle, she has decided to delay the wedding and needs to find the right time to tell Jared. As her friend Kirsten continues to try and talk her out of doing it, Casey finds out another secret that will change her world forever, she is pregnant and the baby inside of her is not from her fiancé. After having an awful dream about what is about to come out of her, Casey finds out that it was not far from the truth as she wakes up to find eggs splattered all around the apartment. With Jared’s mother banging on the door, Casey begs the old woman to leave, but as she starts spitting out her hatred for the young harlot, Casey’s new instincts take over since her new litter of babies need to be fed.

This movie was just what I needed to see at the right time, and it is filled with plenty of thrills and emotions. I must admit I did not know which way this movie would go, but when it was apparent that Casey was undergoing a change, both emotionally and physically, I felt like I understood her pain. The subtle changes in her appearance were very well done as the movie played on and while she believed that she was just sick, it became much more than that. And the dream sequence involving her giving birth to a million eggs was freaky, but the reality of the situation was much worse than anyone could have ever imagined. With a bunch of ooze, a traitorous friend, cold feet, a bathtub, a new-found respect for motherhood and payback in the finest way possible, this movie will give you chills once you see the total transformation of Casey and her new family. Stay Scared.

It is definitely safe to say, that the Boulet Brothers are taking the horror world by storm, and it makes sense as to why. Because they are providing fans everywhere with the perfect blend of fan service and originality, while at the same time blazing trails from a diversity standpoint. Since they are helping to shatter tropes and stereotypes in their quest to make drag performance mainstream and their incredible work and the quality that goes into it, really has left fans of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, ravenous for more of this inventive and unique series. To the point where the brothers put together a special pandemic edition of their stunning series to further their own creative needs and to keep the fans satisfied.
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But now that things are starting to get back to normal, the time has come for this series to return to its full strength and offer us another year of artistic competition with a horror twist. For yesterday saw the season premiere of this dynamic show on Shudder and well, from the opening moments of this premiere… it is obvious now that the union between Shudder and the brothers is going to pay off in spades. For the Boulet Brothers put together a magnificent blend of cinematic storytelling to accompany this year’s fierce competition and once again, they’ve assembled the best drag performers from around the nation to wow us with their skills and all of these elements made ‘Horror Icons Reimagined’ a downright compelling episode, one filled to the brim with wonder. 

In fact, it is those cinematic elements that first elicit awe, because normally shows that feature some kind of EFX or fashion competition just get right down to it and let the competitors do their thing. So, to be drawn into a wraparound story here, one that features some wonderfully delightful slasher elements that come around full circle is a real treat. Since it speaks to the fact the Boulet Brothers want us to enjoy an experience, not just a competition for show, and they’re so intent on that being the case, that even this year’s competitors were forced to undergo a bit of a cinematic/theatrical ride themselves. Since they were treated to a haunted house experience unlike any other before finally getting their chance to create, and that was equally as engaging and engrossing to watch. 

Because this year’s artists are not only as diverse as they come, but they’re full of personality and fire, to the point where we spent a good ten minutes watching them spar with one another. But once that was done, it was down to business in creating fresh and vivacious iterations of classic horror icons and we saw some incredible work come to life for certain. Since Sigourney Beaver created an amazing take on her horror icon and of course, this week’s winner, utterly deserved the victory, thanks to her unique take on a classic monster. But alas, there must be a loser as well, and this week’s bottom tier looks went through a hellish second competition to determine who would go home. One that involved quite the bold and unsettling twist.

You’ll probably note however, that we really kept a lot of details quiet in this recap and there’s good reason for that. Because you need to experience this premiere and all of its surprises firsthand. Because this premiere was compelling through and through thanks to its unconventional structure and outright homage to everything we love about the genre. Plus, the costumes this week were downright killer, and the show also deserves a round of applause for giving us insight to what makes the artists tick and what makes them crave the art they assemble and well, this writer is hooked and eager for more of this amazing competition. And it will be quite interesting to see what other storytelling surprises and incredible art awaits us in the weeks to come as this bold new season of The Boulet Brother’s Dragula, unfolds. Until next time.

​I've always found Italian horror films to be an incredible ride since they are so vastly different to American horror films. While we do enjoy our blood and guts, the Italian market takes it to a new level, making sure to go above and beyond to cover the screen in red.   

They are also vastly different story telling wise. While we either expect our horror films to be mindless entertainment or loaded to the gills with social commentary, many of the horror flicks I've seen from Italy take the big topics straight on and there is one particular zombie film that I caught years ago from Italy that still sticks with me today, Cemetery Man.  

Known as Dellamorte, Dellamore in its country of origin, this film revolves around Francesco Dellamorte, the caretaker of an extremely special cemetery. For reasons we never quite get an answer to, the dead return to life in this place and it is Francesco's job to make sure they never escape to the outside world. Well, it technically isn't his job, he just knows that horrors such as these should never reach mankind.  

​Either way, that's the basics of the plot, because Cemetery Man spends a lot more of its time taking an in depth look at the desolate life of the cemetery's caretaker and quite frankly, our obsession as a whole with death, which is of course, also explored by way of our enigmatic main character. Francesco sees death as nothing important, which is ironic given his career choice. He consistently watches people mourn for their dead and celebrate their life mere hours before he puts a bullet in their head. It's an interesting juxtaposition for the film, and one that gets more fascinating as the film progresses.  

Especially since the movie also delves into our need for love and companionship in the strangest of ways. Francesco's assistant Gnaghi finds his companionship by way of a severed head that once belonged to a reanimated corpse and our enigmatic caretaker has his own obsession with a specific woman, which of course leads to disaster, giving Francesco reason to handle the matter of death by going on one hell of a murderous rampage.

It leads to a bleak and hopeless ending and when the credits roll you're left with one simple message, that death comes for us all and there is no escaping it and well, that's what makes Cemetery Man so unique. It's an angry, depressing film that offers no hope or joy, and that makes it a unique horror film for sure because there are so few like it. See this one if you haven't but make sure you're in a calm state of mind first, since this is one that will leave you uncomfortable after you've watched it.  

​The battle for higher ratings is something that no network or television show is above. I remember a South Park episode where they said ‘Sh*t’ 162 times and while they were trying to make a point, it was one of the highest rated episodes of the show for many years. You see it all the time as shows continue to push the boundaries and we have seen some of them succeed like The Walking Dead while others fall. You never know what they will do next or what the FCC will allow next year, but one thing is for sure, you will be entertained.
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Producer Gene Robinson has a new idea for a show that will take him to the next level. The Ghost Kids will take over the paranormal genre for one reason alone, nobody has involved youth in a ghost hunting show up to this point. Getting the interviews done, Gene has formed his team with some good-looking kids that are going to skyrocket the ratings. With Jason, Matt, Chelsea and Bree all on board to shoot their first show, the group is excited, but have no idea what awaits them in the infamous Mitchell House.

Sitting the group down the night before the big event, Gene opens up about what happened in the Mitchell House many years ago. Sam Mitchell was spotted talking to a child that later disappeared, the towns folk were quick to point fingers at the man and were able to find the child in his basement, ready to be killed. Not knowing how many other kids were killed in the same manner, the town’s folk strung him up in the front yard and left him to die. But there is a twist to the ending of the story as Sam Mitchell’s body was never recovered. Now that the story has been told, Gene lets his Ghost Kids have a good night’s sleep, as they will be in the house looking for any signs of Sam Mitchell or his victims to get the ratings and prove that he can still produce a quality television show.

Entering the house with a couple crew members, Jason is in the lead and directs the group where to go first. Finding all sorts of stuffed animals around the house, none of the kids seem to know what to do when their equipment starts to go off. Trying to call out to the old killer, the group witnesses’ cold spots and the team outside picks up some EVPs, but nobody is catching Sam Mitchell roaming around his house. As the night continues, the group breaks up to investigate more of the house, allowing for Jason and Matt to head down to the basement while Bree and Chelsea head upstairs. Getting some readings, but not seeing the ghosts, the group is forced to come back together when Matt mysteriously disappears. Trying to find their co-star, the group tries to call for help, but being locked down in the haunted house until the sun comes up, there is no escaping the Mitchell ghost and all the torment he is going to bring.

A ghost hunt gone wrong on so many levels and I must admit that I enjoyed the heck out of this movie.  While I did not appreciate the ghost hunt aspect of the movie, I did enjoy all of the paranormal expert’s opinions being shuffled to give it more context. Also, all of the cuts to the locals who were willing to talk about the house and its history made the movie really easy to get lost in. While nobody that lives in the area would go near the house and other paranormal investigators avoid the place due to the nature of the haunting, the hunt for a paycheck is too great for Gene and he is willing to put that before the wellbeing of his young team. With a haunted house, inexperienced ghost hunters, stuffed animals, a creepy basement, and some ghostly torment, this movie will make you think twice about entering a house where horrific murders have taken place, not only because the killer may still be there, but because their victims are sick and tired of being sought out. Stay Scared

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 203 of ‘The Walking Dead: World Beyond’.

Over the course of the last ten years or so, The Walking Dead Universe has posed a great deal of questions about humanity as a whole. Such as what it would take for us to work together as one or what makes us worthy of being the dominant species on the planet, a question that The Walking Dead is exploring in great detail in its final season. But of the many questions this franchise continues to ask throughout the years… none are more important than its uniquely philosophical ones that relate to the here and the now. Since that adds depth to the franchise and give us plenty to think about in regard to current events and issues hanging over our society, such as what community really means in 2021 and how it needs to evolve in order to keep humanity united in the face of future crises. 

If anything, those latter concerns are of note today, simply because they served as the focal questions that hung over last night’s episode of The Walking Dead: World Beyond. For ‘Exit Wounds’ is a story that opted to deeply ponder upon all of that and that made this quite the cerebral and poignant story as well, since those are questions, we are asking ourselves right now when it comes to climate change and the pandemic, and what was truly fascinating about this tale… is that it more or less explained to the audience that our future more or less lies in simplicity. In that, reinventing the wheel and making sweeping changes is one thing and sometimes a necessity, but if we don’t stick with the fundamentals of society, then we stand no chance at keeping our species going. 

A point that this story expressed, by showing us point blank how the reinvention of some core concepts doesn’t work. For we spent a great deal of time in this tale, at the CRM’s fancy research facility… wherein we saw firsthand how life really goes in this place and, it is nothing more than a shell of the world we enjoy now. Sure, there are well-furnished places for people to live in, the kind that features all the creature comforts of home and warmth and food and the like. Plus, the CRM has education rolling along and the stability that comes with that. But in reality, the CRM is quite hollow, there’s simply a forced feeling to this place, as though it desperately wants to be the right path and doesn't know how to properly achieve that… a reality that was exposed when Hope took the time to hang out with some of her classmates.

Since they revealed to her that a great deal of them were forced to come to this place as she was, thanks to good aptitude tests and a scientific mind. And they are so entrenched in what the CRM is doing, that their families only see them a couple of times a year. Which means that until then, they’re on their own to forge relationships and forge connections and that scared Hope to no end. Because in that moment, it hit her, and the central theme of this tale came to life. In that, humanity can reinvent the wheel all it wants in the face of adversity and try to force community. But if we don’t build it and make real connections with our fellow man under zero pretenses, the end result is nothing more than what we saw here; shallow existence without meaning. And if we cannot figure out how to do those things as our species faces more challenges… then we are as doomed as Elton believes.

But while the story did a wonderful job of hammering home that point, it made sure to go above and beyond with its lesson and show us the value of fostering that kind of future, as evidenced by Hope’s decision to demand that Huck take her to the community where Iris is hiding and by way of a morality tale that played out with Elton and Percy. For we also came to learn in this tale, that they did indeed fly under the CRM’s radar at the end of season one and their voyage toward Hope and their friends… wasn’t going all that well. In fact, that’s putting it mildly, it was going awful. For there was no food on the road, nor was there any solid shelter. Their only win was finding a horse, and some survivors believe it or not.

For they ran into a pair of people that had a cozy camp set up, one complete with food and water and everything one could ask for. And that’s when the morality lesson came into play. Since Elton believed that kindness and honesty would net them plenty to eat and a chance at tomorrow, whereas Percy believed… to hell with the rules. Which is a shame, since Elton’s plan was the right one after all, and Percy’s decision to go against that, led to all kinds of trouble for this duo. Since they were forced to fight the dead in harrowing situations and were of course chased by those that they tried to steal from and once the dust settled and all were safe… for a time it seemed as though, the lesson inherent was going to be a sorrowful one for Percy and Elton.

But the reveal that this duo was from the very community where Iris was held up, alongside the tough lesson they taught them about honesty, helped to remind us of the importance of community and its safety and it also injected a bonus lesson into the tale in the process. In that, kindness is something that has to be a standard for us as well. Because crisis brings strife and tough times make life terrifying. But a little kindness can heal that for people and give them hope and Percy and Elton both found that as well. Since they were finally safe and welcomed and fed again, giving this story quite the lighthearted feel, one that only grew as the story came to a close.
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For in the end, sisters were united on a quiet night, since Huck did indeed fulfill her promise to reunite them and that not only brings the wonder of these message’s home, but it truly allows for us to believe that better days might be ahead for the campus survivors. But while we wait to see what plans come out of their reunion, we can bask in the wonder of one supremely intelligent tale. For this one really did dive deep into some powerful and timely concepts. The kind that were hopeful in nature and reflective for certain. Since they serve to remind us, long after this story has come to an end, to be better and to fight for a better tomorrow. So that we never lose sight of what matters and so that nefarious forces are kept at bay, since unity will never let it gain a foothold. Until next time.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season seven premiere of ‘Fear the Walking Dead’.
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Believe it or not, the vast majority of horror stories out there have a tendency to hold back true terror from their audiences and there is logic as to why. For horror movies and shows and books, are a form of entertainment, and while they genuinely feature unsettling material through and through, the kind that gives us nightmares and motivates us to engage in a little more scrutiny regarding the shadowy pile of clothes in our bedroom… creative minds know that in order to keep the illusion between fantasy and reality in place… they cannot fully terrorize the reader/viewer. Because to do so runs the risk of chasing off a viewer or a reader by pushing them too far and well… logic or no, this really isn't the right way to handle horror stories.
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Because time and time again, we’ve run into horror stories that remove the filter and go as hard as they can with the scares and when that happens, the story in question is often applauded and celebrated for certain, for being brave and for challenging the viewer in ways no one thought was possible, and it does leave one to wonder why it doesn’t happen more often. But as the genre grows in popularity, more creative minds are eager to push the envelope with this genre, and it just so happens that showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg have decided the time has come to see how far Fear the Walking Dead can go as a franchise when it comes to the terror, and they are planning to accomplish that goal, by plunging us into the darkest and scariest set of stories ever written for this franchise. The kind that will unsettle us and leave us wondering what will be become of beloved and trusted characters, and the setup for such a dark journey… started at the end of season six.

For Teddy’s desire to rain nuclear fire upon the Gulf Coast, set the stage for what Lennie James called in a recent interview with us, a ‘double apocalypse’, where the dead roamed the landscape under the clouds of a nuclear winter and well… our first foray into what this is setting is going to look like, and how scary and disturbing it is going to be, took place last night. For the season seven premiere of this show, ‘The Beacon’, wasted little time in plunging us into a post zombie/nuclear apocalyptic world and it didn’t take long for the viewer to realize, that this is quite the horrifying world to live in. For we spent a lot of time with a man named Will, who was doing his best to get by in the heart of one of the blast zones and well, he was struggling mightily to make it to another day. 

For the nuclear blast left little of anything in its wake, prompting Will to have to scavenge hard to find food and shelter and anything resembling a sense of normalcy, or at least… as normal as one can expect when the dead walk the earth and this sequence of events, mostly told under the guise of silence… was supremely disturbing to say the least. For it basically removed any semblance of hope or safety for the viewer. There was merely death and destruction and the possibility that Will was going to starve in this wasteland or succumb to the greasy clutches of the radioactive living dead, and just when Will (and the audience) were at their lowest, this episode decided to pose some important questions in regard to this kind of devastation. 

In that, what impact would a double apocalypse have upon the mental health of those who survived the ‘second coming’ of doom? Would they be able to soldier on as they have in the past with the dead surrounding them? Or would the devastation and the unknown of how far ‘The End 2’  reached, warp minds and psyches to a disturbing level? And it explored these queries by having Will come face to face, with a Mister Victor Strand. Who in the time since we last saw him, had been quite the busy little bee. One that got word back to all of the Rangers from Ginny’s failed societal experiment, that there was shelter and safety with Strand and guidance and direction. Provided of course they showed him loyalty and for a time it seemed as though Strand  was desperately trying to control the uncontrollable, making it appear as though this world had finally claimed his mind. 
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But the discovery of the fact that Will spent time in the bunker with Alicia and could potentially bring Strand to her, brought back the hero we saw form over the past couple of years. The one that would risk everything for his friends. And his admission to Will that Alicia was family and someone that was able to tame his darker impulses and bring the light out of him, made it seem as though hope was on the horizon. Since it appeared that Strand was eager to find her again and use her insight and her clarity to find his way back from the dark world surrounding him. Especially when one considers that he even set up an actual lighthouse beacon at his new fortress. But alas, his decision to deal with Will in a shocking and unsavory manner, speaks volumes to the fact that the darkness is strong in Strand and his actions here raise more questions than answers.

All of which of course, relate to the overall theme of this episode and how incredible stresses could potentially transform us. Since we are now left wondering if Strand is indeed inherently slipping toward pure evil and wants his own Negan-like empire to rule over and whether he wants Alicia around to gloat and prove to her that being good is for chumps in this new world and that a Governor’s grip is what it is needed to truly survive the chaos and threats that await everyone in the countryside. Or… if he is really does need his family back to ground him and save him, regardless of the bile and venom he spit out regarding them. But while we wait to see what Strand’s real end game is here and learn more what the double apocalypse does to the human mind, we can celebrate, one of the most devastating and bleakest episodes to ever grace The Walking Dead Universe.

For there are no feel-good moments to be found here. Just wastelands and gory corpses that still hunger for flesh. And this new world is one without hope or reasoning or kindness in the slightest. It is instead, the darkest hour our heroes have ever faced, and that quite frankly, is a stroke of genius. For this kind of unfettered and unrestrained horror is the genre at its finest and this episode does remind that us going this route from a storytelling perspective can achieve wonders. The kind that leaves us texting or chatting with our friends about the shock we are experiencing over what we’ve seen, and it will be quite interesting to see exactly how horrifying things are going to get, in a world where the silent ambition of radiation is as big of a threat as the corpses that walk and hunt what little remains of humanity. Until next time.  

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 303 of ‘Eli Roth’s History of Horror’.

The vast majority of horror documentaries out there, focus upon the monsters that populate the genre and rightfully so. After all, beings such as Freddy Krueger or the living dead from George Romero’s sweeping saga, serve as allegories for our modern world and their actions and the genesis of their evil really do give us plenty to discuss. But while it is nice to know that these types of documentaries are going to offer us fascinating insight on what makes The Shape, tick, sticking with only the monsters in documentaries… can be problematic in some respects. After all, there are other dynamic aspects to the genre and other types of characters that can offer audiences similar subtext and meaning and thankfully, as our love of the genre and our demand to learn about every corner of it, grows, there are documentarians out there that are starting to focus on those other aspects.

Such as Eli Roth. Because after spending a few years digging into the more common creatures and concepts that make our skin crawl, his series, Eli Roth’s History of Horror is indeed starting to focus on those other corners and characters of the genre that aren’t discussed enough. Such as psychics for instance. For these unique human beings have populated the horror landscape for decades and have accomplished wonders storytelling wise, but since they are often in the company of say… iconic haunted hotels or madmen with machetes, their abilities and their meaning is buried behind the icon. But ‘Psychics’ finally let them have their day in the sun and what we learned about their time in the genre was quite fascinating to say the least.

Since we came to learn, that psychic characters can in fact… stand in as the outcasts of the world and explore the troubles they experience. Since movies like Firestarter and The Dead Zone showcase individuals that don’t quite fit into the norms of the world and often found themselves under fire in some form or fashion from people who didn’t understand them. Which is quite relatable since we’ve been those very people or known them. Plus, they can also be fascinating villains as evidenced by Scanners, since their abilities can twist the minds of some individuals and make them predators of sorts and psychics can even handle the funnier corners of the genre… as evidenced by Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice.

But while it was fascinating to learn how these characters work within the framework of the genre, what truly makes psychics so special and worthwhile storytelling wise, is the sheer fact that their abilities can help us to relate to supremely complex and powerful moments and emotions. For instance, The Shining saga, which is comprised of the 1980 Stanley Kubrick film, and the Mike Flanagan sequel, Doctor Sleep, are a pair of stories that use psychic powers to explore the nature of addiction and recovery and trauma. Allowing for psychic phenomena to stand in for the pain that we experience in regard to those concepts and how dealing with them makes us more attuned to certain situations, emotionally.

Which in essence, makes the psychic perhaps one of the most versatile characters in the horror genre, since people with these powers can explore concepts on a level so intimate that they in essence, can put the real horrors of the world upon display. Making them far more intriguing than men with knives for fingers, or flesh-eating corpses… simply because our feelings and the realities of life are far more frightening than anything those beings can produce. If anything, this episode deserves a serious round of applause for going to places that few documentaries ever do and this just goes to show that Eli Roth is eager to showcase every corner of the genre, no matter how big or how small and it will be quite interesting to see what other fascinating aspects of horror this series will explore in the weeks to come. Until next time.       

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the motion picture ‘The Medium’.
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For the most part, religion and faith have been quite helpful and healthy for modern mankind. Because they in essence, laid down the foundation for the society we live in now by providing us with good and just rules with which to live by and their wonder doesn’t end there. After all, throughout the years, they’ve given people a place to gather and share in the majesty of life and share in the belief of something more and of course, it has given so many people in their time of need… outright hope. Because in our darkest hour, a simple prayer or chat with something powerful… gives us the strength to go on.
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But there was mention of the fact that religion and faith don’t have a flawless track record when it comes to our modern world and that is important to note. Because for every good deed religion and faith provide the world with, there is a dark deed to accompany it. Since it has led to wars fought in the names of Gods and in this day and age it has been weaponized and transformed by some into something quite toxic and unwholesome, allowing for bad things to happen to good people when they agree to follow a leader of faith whose intentions are grounded in ego and lies and charm, and well… this is such a fascinating aspect of religion that recently, a film was assembled that opted to pose the question, what if genuine evil decided to take full of advantage of humanity in the same way the charlatans do? And that makes The Medium, a fascinating and frightening film. 

For this Shudder exclusive holds nothing back in its examination of that possibility and it makes this exploration possibe, by immersing us in a world where faith is akin to oxygen. For in the Isan region of Thailand, Shamans are a way of life and what they stand for is so engrained in the culture there, that the journey to becoming one is viewed as an everyday event and that allows for us to easily get to know a Shaman named Nim. For she is an open book to a documentary team wanting to learn more about this lifestyle and it isn’t long before we are introduced to Nim’s family and their powerful story and also… the strange occurrences surrounding her niece, Mink. The kind that leads Nim to believe that something sinister has found their family, and those beliefs are confirmed when Mink exhibits otherworldly behavior, and now it will take every ounce of faith on Min’s part… to free her niece from an evil that she is completely unfamiliar with.

Which is at first glance, a plot that seems grounded in a traditional possession story and for a time it does seem as though the story is going down that route. But it is the slow-burning style that this film utilizes that explores that all-important question we made mention of earlier and well, the answer to it is quite terrifying. For it informs us that our desire to believe in something more, and our ability to blindly follow people of faith in our darkest hour… could lead to mankind’s downfall if enough were to stand behind a strong enough evil force and that is a horrifying reality to watch play out in this film. Since one by one, good and logical people are quick to give into the wrong kind of faith when fear comes into play, making this movie quite relevant and poignant for certain, since there organizations in our modern world that use fear and faith as recruiting tools for ugly machinations. 
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But while the commentary in this film is spot on and chilling, make no mistake about it… this is a horror film and there is something from beyond in this story that is eager to get what it wants. Which is awe and fear, and it goes after that in this story, in the most disturbing ways imaginable. Largely of course, by casting off all the rules that society has laid down and seeing a human being, albeit a possessed one, do things that we know are out of line… does indeed lead to some uncomfortable moments. The kind that the audience can initially forgive since hey, evil force. But once the evil truly takes hold and makes its power play, well that is when the film goes into the stuff of nightmares, by breaking on screen taboos in a manner that will make the viewer squirm in their seat and that ending… well that ending will leave you silent and uncomfortable and quite frankly… in need of a hug. 

How exactly the ending accomplishes that, we won’t spoil here, because this is that kind of raw and visceral ride that needs to be experienced firsthand. Because this movie really is designed to take you on an emotional rollercoaster, and it really does accomplish that mission through and through. But truly, the standout point for this writer, is its intelligent and powerful commentary regarding religion. Since it really holds nothing back in its examination of its benefits and its dangers and honestly, this is the kind of conversation that needs to happen more often in storytelling. Not to knock such institutions in the hopes of bringing them down, but to make them better and make them far more useful and well... in the end, if you’re looking for an intelligent and utterly frightening horror movie to enjoy this spooky season, then swing by Shudder when you get a chance and give The Medium a look.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 304 of ‘Creepshow’.
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Something that is genuinely fascinating about the various monsters that populate the horror genre, is how their popularity ebbs and flows as the years roll along. Because that simply informs us that our tastes in regard to what scares us, changes with the times and that allows for these creatures to serve us well when the moment is right. But it does leave one to wonder, if it is possible to make ancient monsters that are lying dormant popularity wise, scary and poignant, without waiting for society to deem them as such and that question is relevant to our discussion… because it is the exact one that this week’s episode of Creepshow takes the time to explore.
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For this week’s tales of terror feature a pair of monsters that the horror genre really doesn’t ponder upon or feature all that often anymore, such as say, the Siren. Something that ‘Stranger Sings’ pulls off by introducing us to a lonely man named Barry that meets a beautiful woman named Sara, and their instant attraction leads to all kinds of trouble for Barry. Because it turns out that his crush is eager to absorb the power of the Siren, the ancient singing being that once lured men into doom related traps with its powerful song, and she has brought Barry to this house to make that happen. For Barry is also a doctor, an OB/GYN by trade, but that should be enough to help Sara obtain the power of her siren friend, Miranda.

Which is a plan that leads to near disaster when Sara becomes drunk with the power she’s given, but an assist from a monster turned human, saves Barry’s life… and in the end this plot makes the Siren quite relevant again. Because one big reason that this creature was so popular back in the day, is that it preyed upon our now lost fears of desire, since so many believed that lust would bring harm. But here, our newfound fears of dating and loneliness, the kind that revolve around the urban legends and horror stories we’ve heard about lonely folks that are lured back to a particular location by a charming monster with darkness in its heart… allows for the Siren to enjoy new life in 2021 and this slightly fluffy and downright fun story is counterbalanced nicely by its far darker counterpart.

For ‘Meter Reader’ is a story that is quite bleak in nature, since it uses modern day commentary to update a concept we’ve forgotten about, possession. A feat that this particular tale accomplishes, by plunging us into a world where it turns out that evil is actually quite real, and it has managed to sneak into modern society by way of a virus. One that resembles outright possession and grants the infected supernatural powers, and this rush of evil has brought society to its knees. But there is some hope to be found, by way of immune heroes that work for the church known as Meter Readers and when we catch up with one named Dalton, we come to realize how dire things are in this world. For Dalton’s latest mission goes awry and that delays him in getting home to his family, and that worries his daughter Theresa to no end.
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Because she understands the dangers this transformed world now presents, and that brings about great frustration at home since her brother and mother do not, and that in turn leads to all kinds of horrifying strife when dad returns home… past curfew. But what matters more here, is that possessed beings are given new life here thanks to the pandemic related commentary present in this tale. For it truly mirrors our world right now and the fears we had of those infected by Covid-19 and of course, the horrors that the Anti-Vax and MAGA crowds have produced, after they were possessed by lies and the stupid bravado of their wannabe leader and that commentary really does make this quite the powerful vignette, one that genuinely gives new life to a tried and true and downright cliché corner of the genre.

If anything, this particular episode just serves to remind us that creative minds need not wait for a world crisis or a shift in society to capitalize upon the monsters that populate the genre. They merely need to look long and hard at the world and figure out which monster fits a particular scenario best and roll with that, because with a little care and creativity… even the most obscure monster can haunt our nightmares again. Plus, it doesn’t hurt if your story has KNB Efx and Director Joe Lynch behind it. Since the former made all the gross out moments here impactful and Mister Lynch, well he simply knew how to use darkness and shadows to terrify and now that this journey through the more obscure corners of horror has come to a close, we’re left waiting impatiently for next week’s tale. So, we can see how Creepshow will surprise us with its creativity once again. Until next time, kiddies.