If you are put into an extreme situation, how would you handle it?  Most of us believe that we would be just fine, but never having to face it up close and personal, it is hard to speak to what will really happen. When your life is on the line, how far would you go to protect yourself and ensure that you will survive? There are several people that have faced something so dramatic that it has changed them forever and they will never be able to return to their normal lives with what they have done. Even trying to repress these memories will not make you forget what you have been through as there is always something in the back of your head telling you that you did wrong.

Waking up in a pitch black room, Jordan hears a woman sobbing and asking for help. With no memory of how she got there, she is trying to navigate using the walls and floor to help the other woman. Running into Grant on her search, who is in the same boat as she is, Jordan does not know if she should trust him, but with the calls for help from the other side of the room, she stops worrying about herself and puts the worry on the others that are trapped with her. Finding a young man on the floor, covered with blood, Jordan is able to see if he is still alive, but there is another stranger in the room with her, making it a group of five that are trapped in the darkness.

Waiting two days in the darkness with no food or drink, the group is starting to get fed up, but then someone turns the lights on. Being able to see everyone that is trapped in the rocky cavern, they start to search for a way out. Finding a wooden door, Grant and Luke are able to break it open and the group finds drums of water and find out that they will be trapped in their cage for some time. Looking for another way out of their prison, Grant starts digging at a bricked off portion of the cavern as the group starts to get to know each other better. Trying to find a common bond between them all, Jordan leads the conversation and finds out that only one of her fellow prisoners is not guilty of killing someone. Trying to find a way out of their underground cell is hard enough, but a gift from above has come into their midst and the group is faced with their next hard decision.

​A surgical knife with a note attached to it that simply states a normal human can go without eating for thirty days and that’s all, and the group does not know what to do. With a day clock ticking away, the group believes that they will have to survive the thirty days and will be let go, but their unknown captor is working on something else. Studying his prisoners from above, he is taking notes, eating and drinking and watching for the first person to crack and turn to cannibalism. As each member of the group below has their own demons to face, they are now faced with starvation if they are not willing to take their games to the next level. As their bodies start getting deprived of the essential proteins to survive, their animal instincts start to take over and need to find a way to live until the clock stops running.

Hunger follows a group of strangers that have been pulled from their everyday lives and put into an underground cavern with no chance of escape. With their captor playing them the entire time, they want to find out why they are being held against their will, but they never get a response. As each member of the group starts to feel the effects of starvation, they become much more like animals and have to find a way to feed their starving bodies. Watching anxiously from above, their captor is taking notes and enjoying how his experiment is going since he was put in a similar situation and forced to do something to survive that he has to justify in his own mind. Thinking that they will be released after thirty days in captivity, the group tries to survive without incident, but sooner or later, the need to eat will always take over, but will everyone be willing to change their lifestyle to survive?

This is a hard subject for many people, as survival is human instinct and we all have things that we are willing to do to make sure we are okay. But eating a person is usually not on the list if there are other options available. What if all of the options have been taken away from you? Would you even consider killing another human to survive… and eat them if it meant that you would live? A strange question that most people never have had to face, and hopefully never will. This movie shows you how strong your body really is and explains that it might not be up to you once it starts going down one of the darkest paths imaginable. Stay Scared.

Sarah, her father and uncle are all out at the family lake house, trying to fix it up to put it on the market to sell. Without having a tenant, the past season, the local kids had free reign over the house and broke out all of the windows and messed up some of the rooms. Not being able to see what is happening when they are not there, John and Peter get very fed up, but it will not stop them from achieving their goal of getting the house back up to specs. But being brothers, John and Peter still continue to have their little battles and although they always seem to get back on the same page, they do need time away.

After their last rift, Uncle Peter heads back into town to find an electrician to come and rewire the dark house. Staying back with her father, Sarah starts lighting lamps and candles around the house so there will be light since none can enter through the boarded-up windows. Hearing something upstairs, Sarah begs her dad to go up and check it out but does not want to be left alone downstairs. Walking through the upper level, Sarah and her father don’t find any reason for the sounds, but her father seems to be trying to hide something from her, when finding a batch of Polaroid photos on a bed. Being told to get back to work, Sarah does just that since it is her job, but when her father leaves the room, she starts hearing strange sounds again and when a strong thud echoes through the house, she starts fearing the worst and cannot locate her father.

Finding her father's battered body in one of the closets, she sees that he is still alive and tries to leave the house to get help, but without the keys to all of the locks, she is trapped. With no natural light illuminating from the outside, she has to depend on her flashlights and lanterns to show her the way, but those are not dependable as she drops them along the way. Being able to get out of the house through the basement, she is able to flag down her uncle while he is driving back. Hearing that his brother is in trouble, Peter enters the house to try to find him but there is someone outside the house, stalking Sarah and she is forced to run back into the dreaded house.

Silent House follows the story of young Sarah as she is trying to escape whatever danger is hiding within the walls of her family’s lake house. With no light being able to enter the house from the outside world, she has to be dependent on her lanterns and flashlights. But with someone else in the house, she is too scared to keep track of the lights and tries to escape, fearing for her life. Trying to get help from her uncle, she is driven back into the house to try to find her father, but there is someone roaming the halls that is not looking for help, but for retribution. As the lights go off, Sarah hears strange things around the old estate, and when they come back on, it is not any better as she sees other people walking around and doing things that she has never seen before. After her uncle gets knocked out by one of the intruders, Sarah has to find a way to get out of the house again and get help, but when her childhood friend is standing at the front door, Sarah sees that there is more going on than she could ever imagine.

The only thing I can really say about this movie is, wow. More of a psychological story than a horror story as you can see Sarah dealing with her own fears when they come to light. After roaming the house in the dark, it is easy to find things that could be scary, but it was more focusing on something deeper in Sarah’s mind than anything else. I will admit, if I am looking for light to see what is in front of me however, I will never use a camera to see what is there, since the intervals between flashes could help manifest some very strange things. If you are afraid of the dark or going to be stuck in a place that does not receive any external light, you might want to avoid this movie since there are things that go bump in the night, that only the light can protect you from. Stay Scared.

Over the course of the past few weeks, we’ve talked a lot, both directly and indirectly, about how The Walking Dead is more or less a chameleon, storytelling wise. Because season ten has featured stories that feature a vastly different array of themes and concepts. At times, we’ve seen some chilling stories involving the darkest parts of mankind’s souls or the sheer horror of flesh hungry walking corpses. But we’ve also enjoyed tales that make one ponder upon our world and what makes mankind tick, and this is just brilliant to see when all is said and done. Because it not only speaks to the versatility of the series as a whole, but to quality writing that knows how to captivate us like never before.
​
If anything, this is on my mind today simply due to the fact that once again, this show found a way to tell another unique story, by taking the time to revisit a theme it touched upon a couple of weeks ago; fear. But as an added treat, ‘Open Your Eyes’, also felt the need to offer up quite the game changing surprise in regard to something fans everywhere have been pondering upon, but we will get to that later. Because we really do need to talk about the fascinating exploration of fear that this story embarked upon, one that showed us how fear can transform us the longer it infects us. Specifically, it touched upon how the longer it resides in our hearts, the more it encourages other negative emotions to grow, such as anger for instance. For we feel wronged when someone genuinely terrifies us and the anger that comes out of fear prompts us to punish those who scared us by way of revenge.

But how this was explored is what matters the most, because Carol exemplified this notion since her capture of a Whisperer motivated her to exact a little revenge, despite the fact that she tried to abide by the rules at first. For she tried to kill her captive with kindness early on, since she offered the man food and creature comforts, a suggestion on Lydia’s part, all in the hopes of getting him to turn on Alpha and leak some secrets about the horde. But despite her best efforts to make the man feel welcome within the city limits of Alexandria, he rebuffed Carol every single step of the way, even going so far as to spit a wonderful selection of jellies into her face, and that’s when the fury in question came into play. Because Carol wanted nothing more than to instill the fear of God into this man and make him understand that she and her friends were not to be reckoned with, which brought about merciless beatings and torture in the hopes of getting some answers.

Yet despite her best efforts to dish out what the Whisperers have provided her with, the man simply would not crack, and while he eventually died due to medical negligence (more on that later), he did offer one particular tidbit that Carol would exploit. For the man did reveal that Alpha told her clan the great lie that Lydia died for the sake of their safety and Carol was quick to bring Lydia along to one of the meetings that Aaron conducts with Gamma, so someone from the clan could see the truth, and well, not telling Lydia that she was going to be a pawn was problematic. For that did not sit well with her and she quickly disappeared into the night and her exit is what hammered home the lesson present here about fear. Because Carol had truly transformed thanks to the fear residing within her soul and it made her conniving and bitter and ruthless and vengeful and, in many ways, no better than the monsters who wished to scare her in the first place. 

However, I did make mention of a big surprise present within the framework of this tale and that oddly enough came by way of Siddiq. For his journey in this tale brought his struggles with PTSD to a head, but not before he suffered more of it, and suffered more in general. Because everything that could go wrong for Siddiq in this story, most certainly did. Because he began to see losses when it comes to the good fight against the stomach bug ravaging this community, and he also saw his skill set begin to falter. For according to Dante, he was the one who packed the medical kit that put down the captive Whisperer and seeing more patients die and making supposed mistakes put him at his lowest point and it kept the dark memories coming, prompting Siddiq to go off the deep end since he was at his wits end with all of these revelations coming to light.
​
But thankfully, Rosita was there to lift him up and prompt him to be honest about how horrible that fateful night was in the barn, and finally being able to open up about the horrors of that night lifted the weight upon his chest, and it prompted him to do better and to be better and to solve the mystery of what was making so many people in Alexandria as sick as can be. Which motivated Siddiq to ponder upon the facts before him and eventually he came to surmise that the water was the key to this entire mess and of course, the fact that he provided so many with potentially tainted H2O only sent him further into the darkness and that’s when the surprise in question arrived. Because Dante went to see his friend in the hopes of cheering him up in his time of need, but a key phrase from his lips finally helped to jog Siddiq’s memory and he realized too late that Dante was a Whisperer he met in the barn, and I say too late because Dante got the better of the intrepid doctor and quietly murdered him in the middle of the night.

Which is a stunning twist to say the least, one that I did not see coming and it’s also a terrifying reveal as well, since it loaded with troubling implications. Because Dante truly understands the inner workings of this community and the instant, he gets the opportunity to tell Alpha all the details he learned about Alexandria, who knows what she will do with that information and how she will exploit the community’s weaknesses. But all shock and dark implications aside, the bigger issue here is that Alexandria has now lost its doctor, and a good man for that matter as well, and this kind of secretive death will rock this community like never before and perhaps that was the plan all along. For Alpha loves to mess with people psychologically and seeing their own disappear or learn that a spy was in their midst will do just that.

Either way, this was a magnificent twist to throw into the mix and it definitely leaves the audience uncomfortable when all is said and done because now, we simply don’t know who to trust when it comes to any of the new people, we’ve met this season. But that’s the nature of a war of this manner, one where the enemy hides their faces and I really am curious as to what kind of fallout is going to come from all of this. However, I suppose that not all is lost, for despite Carol’s selfish and wild behavior in this tale, she did in fact land quite the blow. For Gamma now knows that her master has lied to her and that particular seed could very well grow into something more and all of these events likely mean that we are in for one powerhouse midseason finale, one that might be filled to the brim with painful farewells as this war escalates to new heights. Until next time.    

Have you ever been out, walking through someplace late at night and hear something that scares the ever-living crap out of you? I think that we all have, since no matter what age we are, we are raised to believe that the darkness holds something terrible for us, something that we never want to see. As you get older, this fear subsides for a lot of people, but if you do not know what is lurking in the shadows, how could you not be just a little bit frightened? Not knowing who or what is waiting for you in the dark could make you scared, but it could also make you a little bit more excited, get the adrenaline pumping and make you feel alive and you want to see what life has in store for you.

A group of friends are heading up to the mountains to have some relaxation time with each other and most of all, get away from the world. Although they do not all see eye to eye with what getting back to nature is really all about, they come to the conclusion that keeping a cell phone with them would be a good idea, just in case they need to call for help, or need to take pictures. As the trip starts off, everyone is having a great time, but time flies up in the mountains and the sun starts to set and the group starts to hear something moving around in the woods in front of them.

Shining the light on a strange animal that seems to be feeding, the group has to high tail it out of there since this is something that they have never seen before. With long teeth and an alien shaped face, they do not know what to expect from the beast, they just know that it is coming after them. Seeing some lights off in the distance, the group is able to find a house that is boarded up and might be able to keep them safe from the blood thirsty beast. After one of their group is taken by the predator, they are let into the house and by way of the present inhabitants, they find out that the house was vacant when they showed up.

​Seeming like a good place to steer clear of the mystery beast that is outside, both groups have their own plans of how to stay safe from it until they are able to get help. Making calls to 911 and their families, the group thinks that there will be some help on the way, but when the cold hard facts come out about their situation, they do not want to hear it. One of the present inhabitants in the house has lost his wife to the beast and is holding nothing back about what is going to happen to the group if they continue to stay in the house, as the beast is lurking around outside and attacking different parts of the house, looking for weaknesses. The group comes up with their only real plan of survival, and that is leave the house and make it out to the highway. But they need a way to distract the beast as they start to run, and the only thought is to offer it, fresh meat.

Animal follows the stories of two different groups as they wind up in the same boarded up house in the woods while trying to find refuge from the beast outside. Even though they don’t know each other, they are more than willing to help keep each other alive while trying to formulate a plan of survival. Without knowing what they are really up against with the blood thirsty beast outside, they keep an eye on the windows and doors and make sure it will not be able to find a way into the house until they are able to break free of its hunting radius. Even though it seems safe in the house, the beast is attacking different areas and discovering weaknesses around the foundation. Knowing that it is smart, the groups have to find a way to outsmart it while they make a run to safety. Not all agreeing with the fresh meat plan to allow the predator to feed while they all escape, the group tries to battle it with fire since that has worked in the past. Although this does not guarantee them freedom, it buys them extra time to come up with a real plan of escaping, but they have to put faith into each other and that there is only one of these creatures they are trying to escape.

Who really knows what is hiding in the woods in this movie. There seems to be so many sounds coming from all directions and a screech that will remind you of Jurassic Park. You get to see the beast early and often throughout the movie, but you never get to find out what it is, or where it is from. That being the only part of the movie I did not like; all of the character interaction is just fantastic as they are trying to come up with a plan of leaving what appears to be their only safe haven. Knowing what the creature likes, meat, and what it fears, flame, I would have just set up a barbecue for it to see what it would do with the best of both worlds and possibly get some kabobs out of the deal. Stay Scared.

There are things that happen that are beyond explanation. Sometimes it happens in the strangest of places, away from prying eyes, but other times it happens to a person and that is much more frightening. When a person loses control of their body and starts to talk and take shape as a being that is not of this earth, how could you explain it? Most of the time, doctors will say that they are suffering from multiple personalities and give them pills to fix the problem, but that is not a fix for everyone as there could be something else inside of them that is dying to be set free.

Emma is regular teenager who is trying to rebel against her parents, but not get in trouble for her actions. Since she is being homeschooled by her mother, she craves the attention of her friends more than ever and will do anything to impress them. But on her fifteenth birthday, she takes it a little bit too far and after playing with a Ouija board and drinking heavily, she is in for a change of a lifetime that nobody in her family is willing to admit is happening.

Saying that she cut her hand by falling in the bathroom, Emma has a secret that she is not willing to tell her parents, but knows that she needs help. Thinking that it is just her lashing out at authority, her parents send her to a psychiatrist to receive treatment, but during her session, the doctor has a heart attack and falls dead in Emma’s lap. Not remembering anything that happened, Emma is starting to go through spells of time that she cannot recall, and it is slowly starting to drive her crazy. Not being able to tell anyone but her uncle about what is happening to her, she tries to hide it from her family, but her little brother sees her in one of her phases and calls her out on it.

​Wanting to find out what is happening to their daughter, Emma’s parents decide to call their brother in to help, and he just so happens to be a priest. Even though they do not believe in possessions or the devil, seeing Emma levitate off of the floor after she was ready to harm her mother, they know that there is something other worldly taking ahold of her. Uncle Chris comes into the house and prepares to help his niece, but has some ground rules that have to be set with the family first, and the main one is that he must video tape every session he has with the girl, mostly to protect himself from the church if he gets discovered. Being disbanded by the church for another girl’s death, Chris is looking for answers and a way to protect his flesh and blood from receiving the same fate, or is he?

Exorcismus follows Emma as she has welcomed the devil into her life after feeling like it is the only way for her to be happy in her home. Not knowing the power, the beast can bring, Emma starts going through periods of time where she cannot remember what she is doing, along with seeing things that are not really there. After she confides in her uncle what she has done, she finds that he is willing to help but will still keep her in the dark about what is happening to her, especially when he starts conducting an exorcism on her. Emma wants to know desperately what is happening to her and her family wants to know why the beast is becoming more powerful in their daughter's body. As the sessions continue, they become more violent, but that is not all that is happening as Emma is losing her friends and family to freak accidents that are feeding the devil inside of her. With his power growing by the day, the beast inside of Emma will not be stopped by anyone until the transformation is complete, but will her uncle be able to save her from certain death or is he just along for the ride?

As far as possession movies go, this is a pretty good one to give some time to. Watching as Emma is slowly consumed by the beast, she is still trying to live her normal life and have fun with her friends and family, but when she is taken over, she cannot remember what just happened. With very few occurrences outside of the house, she believes that she is okay and with her uncle’s help, she can defeat the beast, but she does not truly understand what she is in for. With her body trying to kill her brother and her mouth destroying her friendships, Emma has only one person to trust. It starts off as a very light story but turns dark quickly when the devil starts to surface, and everyone is trying to stop his rise inside of the young girl. I dig it, even though it does not have the pea soup or a head spinning completely around, it keeps it focus on faith and the power of words, and whether they stand true or not. Stay Scared.

Revisit episode 15.03, ‘The Rupture’, right here.
​
Week after week and year after year, the adoring fans, myself included, tune in to Supernatural (CW) for many reasons – thrills, chills, mystery, mayhem, comedy and more. Did somebody say eye candy? (LOL) It’s become such a fixture, a ritual if you will, to settle in every fall, then come round again every spring to follow Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) Winchester to hell and back… literally! Usually, by episode four, the chess board has been set. Many of the players have been revealed as well as some of the major obstacles. And though this season, on its surface, appears to be no different, because we all know it’s the last season, every episode feels heavier. What normally amounts to a typical monster of the week, turns out to be the thing that gets us all one step closer to the end. Therefore, the overall story moves along at a familiar pace, but with substantial consequences. Rowena (Ruth Connell) is dead, Castiel (Misha Collins) is gone and Chuck (Rob Benedict)… well, he’s out there somewhere!! Despite all this, like a familiar warm blanket, besides the average villain of the day, Atomic Monsters gives us two things that often lingers season after season within the Supernaturalverse… egos and lies.

Directed by none other than Jensen Ackles himself and arguably one of the best openers to date, in a scene cast in red light to let us know it’s parallel to Sam’s vison in episode one, we see Dean fight his way, John Wick style no less, through the bunker. Seriously, it’s bad ass!! However, whether on purpose or not, the whole things seems… untrue. Mostly because I don’t want to believe it. Dean is making his way towards Sam, stopping along the way to see Benny (Ty Olsson) die. Huh?? He’s already dead isn’t he? Regardless, Dean confronts Sam who appears to be pumped up on demon blood as he says, “I will not be stopped.” Whoa!! And just after snapping Dean’s neck, Sam awakens with a fright, the visions now coming in his dreams and all I can think is yep, that darn demon blood thing is back! YIKES!!

As Sam enters the kitchen, I can already tell, that just like so many times before, Sam isn’t going to be truthful with Dean about his visions. Same as I know Dean isn’t going to talk about Castiel. Inserting humor to get past the hump, the “Meat Man” scene, which is truly glorious by the way, feeds the ego side of things while the discussion that never happens builds upon the lies. Veggie bacon be damned!!

The monster of the week seems almost not worth mentioning as it’s obviously just a backdrop for the bigger picture. A high school murder, frustrated parents and a scared teen vampire, who, as it turns out, is ready to die. Wow, that was easy! Playing the song, Sounds of Someday, from Jensen’s own band, Radio Company, as the vampire accepts his death is truly the highlight of this part of the story. That, and of course, the school’s beaver mascot on a standing motorized scooter!

At the true heart of the episode, catching up with the biggest ego of all, Chuck visits Becky Rosen (Emily Perkins). Cliché or not, I feel compelled to say “Oh my God, Becky!!” (LOL) Once Chuck’s number one fan, Becky is now a wife and a mother. Holy cow, good for her!! But why is Chuck there? Turns out, God needs a pep talk and who would he turn to when everyone else is gone, but someone who used to worship him, of course! As he discusses losing his way and not being able to write about the Winchesters’ anymore, Becky speculates it’s because he lost his prophet powers. Upon hearing this, Chuck rubs his shoulder – AKA: the bullet wound he shares with Sam. Interesting!! Does this have something to do with his overall power or his ability to manipulate the Winchesters’? Maybe!! Becky pushes Chuck to write and write he does. 

Back with the Winchesters’ discussing the job on the drive home, Dean tells Sam they gotta keep going. Admitting that it was Sam who made him realize this with his saving people mantra early on after the big Chuck reveal. And even as we scream at our TVs, wanting Sam to tell Dean the truth about his visions or for Dean to reach out to Castiel that would be too easy. I mean, here we are… nearing the end of a 15-year meal and lying is still on the menu. On the whole, the formula of a Big Bad and the issues that plague the Winchesters’ is on full display here and try as I might to be annoyed with it, I just can’t. You’d think the lies between them over the years would be played out, but honestly, it’s their modus operandi, or M.O. for short. To protect each other. To get through another day. They lie, including to themselves!!
​
At this point, I believe the fans subconsciously expect it and if the writers were to veer too far away from the formula this late in the game, it might come across as disingenuous. Why?? Because, the boys must not only conquer the Big Bad, but their own issues as well. Monsters? To quote Becky, “Meh!” (LOL – epic!) Saving people. Hunting Things. Of course these things matter, but as I’ve come to realize, it’s the boys’ growth that matters more!! The lessons they learn along the way are what keep us coming back year after year. We love them so much that we’re willing to accept the lying just to see the story play out. To see them save, not just people and the world, but each other. Heck, I would even argue that, we the fans, are addicted to this formula!! The boys have their share of egotistical moments too, but it’s the lying that truly drives their stories.

God on the other hand, feeling defeated, seeks Becky out, not because he cares, but to feed his over inflated ego. He feels lost and though his speech to Becky includes hating himself, I seriously doubt he truly feels that way. Even when his sister walked out on him, he seemed more bewildered than reflective, no? As he asks Becky to give him feedback on his new piece of writing she pumps him up in what appears to be an effort to get him out the door. I mean, that Supernatural fan fiction isn’t gonna write itself, right? LOL. When pressed, Becky reveals the many flaws of Chuck’s new story. His ego lies naked and bruised to the point of wrath!! It’s truly an epic moment, acted perfectly by Benedict as he immediately moves to amending his latest tale. Upon reviewing the re-write, Becky is actually scared of what Chuck plans to do to our boys and to Cas. She FEELS the atrocities set forth and Chuck is happy… giddy even! Proving even further how little, he cares for humanity, but rather the manipulation of Sam and Dean… his favorite characters, not humans! I’m trying to wrap my head around any ideas on what Chuck has written, but I’m too distracted by all the Supernaturalverse merchandise in Becky’s house – the largest Etsy site for unofficial Supernatural merch!! Again, holy cow, good for her!! The Meta is off the charts in this episode. Maquettes, posters, hand crafted miniatures, purses, a quilt, Pop vinyls and so much more. The writers even take digs at fan fiction, monsters and writers in general. Not to mention discussing the actual works unabashedly making fun of themselves because yeah, we all pretty much hated Leviathans… LOL! The only thing saving that story arc was Dick Roman (James Patrick Stuart), the Alpha Vampire (Rick Worthy) and Charlie freaking Bradbury (Felicia Day) – am I right??

By the end of the episode, Chuck reveals himself to Becky as God. He admits how much he likes it at her place then makes her and her family vanish. Whoa!! Sitting down to write even more, nourished by his fluffed ego and surrounded by the merchandise of his creations, Chuck says “Oh yeah! This is gonna be good,” and boy do I agree!! So now, having laid the groundwork for more big reveals, in both egos and lies, the story continues.

What did you think about Atomic Monsters? Do you agree with my take? Let me know in the comments below or reach out to me @obi_juanita on Twitter. Until next time… Go Team Free Will!! 

​Whether we like to admit it or not, tragic and ugly moments in our society, the kind that are newsworthy; often have a short life cycle when it comes to the general public. Because once there is some semblance of closure, or a sense of justice, people lose focus on the matter and move onto whatever new story is currently dominating the headlines. But while we turn our attention elsewhere, we often forget that there are survivors and victims of these moments that have to pick up the pieces and start over and sometimes, those folks have a long and hard road ahead. The kind that features a never-ending fight for internal peace because of the trauma they suffered and oddly enough, Castle Rock took the time to explore the whole journey of what comes next, for victims of trauma, in thoughtful fashion in its next episode.
 
Because ‘The Mother’ allowed for us to follow up with a victim of crime and trauma by way of Rita Green, Joy’s biological mother. But before we dive too deeply into that part of the plot, let’s take a moment and discuss some of the other important plot points that came about in this particular tale since we were also privy to the fallout of Nadia’s discovery of what Pop did to her mother in Somalia and well, things went from bad to worse in regard to that since she also came to learn… her brother knew everything well before she did. Which did not sit well with Nadia in the slightest since she expected her last remaining family member to be honest and open with her and now their relationship is strained like never before. Plus, we also got some solid insight onto what Ace is up to and as it turns out, he and his cohorts are the resurrected souls of the Satanists that founded Jerusalem’s Lot and they’re beyond excited to be back in the world, just in time for the 400th anniversary of Castle Rock, and they hope that soon, their leader will be back in their midst by way of Annie Wilkes’ body.
 
Which brings us back to the fallout in question that I made mention of a moment ago. For this particular tale showed us what became of Rita after that fateful night where Annie killed her father and plunged a pair of scissors into Rita’s abdomen and well, Rita has not done well since that life-changing event. In fact, she turned to the bottle to cope with the loss of her child and love and did everything she could to escape the memories of Bakersfield and eventually moved to New York and even then, life was still challenging. Because it took her years to finally be free of the sauce and put herself in a solid mental place to start over, but she never forgot her daughter and it was just fascinating and powerful to see a realistic depiction of how something that traumatic and devastating can in essence destroy a person and their view of the world through and through and sadly, things only became more difficult for Rita after that fateful phone call came through.
 
Because that motivated her to come to Castle Rock and meet with Joy, who was now in a group home as she prepared for a new life and this meeting, brought about more heartache and strife. For it left Joy/Evangeline confused and terrified and shattered since she came to learn that her life was in essence, a lie. It also broke Rita because she was hoping that such an encounter would end in happiness and wonder instead of confusion, and the difficulty of seeing her daughter for the first time in sixteen years and all the devastating memories that came with such an act immediately drove her back to the bottle. And Annie, well, this development left her in a terrified place because now her carefully crafted world was crashing down around her and really, the fate of both women rested in the hands of Joy as she took the time to decide what should come next. But that didn’t stop Rita from taking the opportunity to confront the woman who killed the love of her life and well, that ended in disaster. Because Rita was ready to get even. But mere moments before she could kill the woman that ruined her life, Joy showed up and made her choice, and she chose to stand with her big sister Annie and in the confusion and shock of this stunning twist, the gun fired, putting an end to Rita’s life and her longtime suffering.
 
If anything, this really was quite the powerful episode, and this is the second week in a row now that Castle Rock has found a way to merge the horror of reality with the fantasy of Stephen King’s world and this blending of the two made for another harrowing story that felt a little too real at times. Because we’ve either known someone like Rita, or we’ve been Rita in some capacity and it is always shocking when a show finds a way to resonate with you on that level and while it seems as though this particular chapter in Annie’s life has come to a close, there may still be fallout from Rita’s discovery since the police did arrive in the closing minutes of this tale, and no good can come from finding Annie with blood on her hands and a freshly fired gun nearby. Either way, this was another incredible episode from an outright incredible season of this show and the quality of writing this year is just top notch and once again, I’m ready for more and saddened by the fact that I have to wait until next Wednesday to see where this fascinating tale is headed. Until next time. 

​Getting away from all of your troubles in the form of a vacation is something I vouch for very much these days as I never seem to get a good one very often. But if something on your vacation goes wrong, it demeans the experience altogether and the only thing you are left wanting, is another couple of days off before getting back to work and you are also left wondering why you ever did this silly trip in the first place. Hopefully this does not happen too often for people, but with experience, I know that it happens more often than we like to talk about.

Martin went up to his friend’s cabin with his girlfriend and several friends from school to get away when the unexplainable happened, a zombie attack. Fighting for his life, he had to saw off his own arm and return the gold that the flesh eaters were looking for, but it was not enough. Driving away from the attack zone, Martin was still hounded by Herzog, the zombie leader, because a piece of gold fell into his jacket. Forcing the ex-Nazi leader into an oncoming truck, Martin escaped with his life, along with the arm of Herzog.

Waking up in the hospital, Martin is surprised to find that the zombie arm that was found in the car with him has been attached to his body. Knowing that this is the arm of Satan, Martin is trying everything in his power to escape his confines, but the arm has a mind of its own. Killing his doctor, an orderly and a police officer, Martin gets strapped down to his bed and needs to find another way of escaping. Having a vision, brought forth by his new appendage, he knows that the Nazi zombies are moving towards town and looking to kill everyone in their path. With time growing short before the next attack, Martin is able to find a way of escaping by lying to a little boy that is communicating with the Zombie Squad from America about his grotesque arm.  

General Herzog is looking to complete some unfinished business that was given to him by Hitler himself. Death will not stop the stubborn general and he is able to control his old troops, along with recruiting some new ones on the way to his destination. Needing to find a way to stop the dead zombie army from fulfilling their goal, Martin teams up with the undermanned Zombie Squad and comes up with a plan of his own, as his new arm has the power to bring the dead back to life. With the group's plan in place, Martin has to head back up the mountain and resurrect a group of prisoners that were killed by Herzog in the forties to take on the tyrant’s army. Not knowing what will happen when bringing the dead back to life, Martin is concerned about the consequences, but to save a large town, he puts his fears aside to save the innocent people that would be ravaged. Pounding his fist in the ground, Martin’s army is resurrected, now they can only hope they are strong enough to defeat the fighters from the Third Reich. 

This movie honestly took me off guard. I did not know what to expect, since the first Dead Snow was all about the horror and scares with a little bit of laughs. This one delivers the comedy as soon as it is relevant. Now don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of blood and guts being thrown around the screen, complete with syphoning gasoline through a person’s intestines, but most of the time I was laughing. I have found a love for Nazi zombies since my old man’s favorite thing to talk about these days is WWII, but in these movies, they become so much more. With more powers than regular zombies and an ability to think about things outside of feeding all the time, they want to take over the world. A zombie that cannot be killed is one thing, but a zombie that has a purpose, is something completely different. Stay Scared.

Some people are able to find solace in solitude, and more power to them. I have found that if I am alone for too long, I start to think about things in my past that have led me to this point and that sometimes makes me wonder what I could have done differently. Finding that talking to people about my problems is the only way to make sure they do not come and haunt me at a later time, the loneliness still gets to me on occasion and these old thoughts come creeping back into my mind.

A group of prisoners are locked up in a dungeon of sorts with no chance of escape. Knowing that their fate is being decided on by the Judge, they are left with only themselves and their fellow inmates to keep their sanity. With nothing to look forward to as they are all guilty of something, they try to determine when the final decision will be made for them as they are left to fight with their own inner demons.

But when a new prisoner is brought into their cages, their feelings begin to get worse. Princess gets locked up with the others and invokes feelings that the other prisoners have not felt in a long time. Although she does not understand the rules of the prison, she is able to get the other inmates to open up about their feelings and why they are there. When Debbie, one of the previous prisoners, starts to understand Princess’ game, she calls out the new beauty, but falls ill and accuses the new woman of being a witch.

​Although Princess is locked up with the rest of the wrong doers, she seems to have an agenda of her own. When the other prisoners start to open up, their minds refuse to let go of what they have done to deserve to be locked up. As each person battles with their past, Princess seems to feed off of their despair and enjoys every minute of it. With their fates being decided from an outside force, the thought of escape runs rampant though the group’s minds, but when an opportunity presents itself, can they find a way out of the old prison, or will they be locked away forever?

Wrath of the Crows follows a group of inmates that have been locked away for their wrong doings in the past. Ranging from killing one’s child, to killing a priest with healing powers, everyone is guilty and has to await their fate from their unknown judge. When a new inmate is brought into the prison however, everyone starts to re-live their past and the blame is put on the witch that joined them. Figuring out what is caught up in their souls, Princess is able to play upon their greatest fears, but is she doing this for her own delight, or for someone else?

A very dark character study movie that keeps you guessing as to who really has the power that is displayed. With plenty of gore, this movie gives you an inside look at what being locked up in solitude can really do to your inner psyche, especially if you have something to hide. Getting each character’s back story, along with their fate, it is hard to imagine that anyone will find a happy ending, although the promise of freedom is waved in front of them. Without knowing who the villain really is until the end of the movie, this is one you have to pay attention to until the very end. I love how the story played out and the performances on screen left me wondering where the actors had to go mentally to embraces their roles. Stay Scared.

Finding that one sliver of evidence, the proof that something exists outside of what others believe, is the lifelong goal of several people. It does not matter what they are looking for, as long as it can be proved that their beliefs are backed by some hard evidence, it makes them feel comfortable and safe that their thoughts have not been wasted for all the time they have been looking. Finding this ‘unicorn’ could take longer than anyone could expect, or it could come knocking at your door one day. The point is, you have to keep your eyes open to see what is coming, and you never know if it will show up right in front of you.

Renowned ghost hunter Carter Simms is at the top of her field when it comes to investigating the unknown. As she has been able to gather some evidence over her years in the field, she has the belief that most of the places she is paid to investigate are free of spirits and are the result of the client’s imaginations getting the better of them. But with an open mind, she is willing to check out any place as long as the story seems credible and the fee is right.

Arriving at the old Masterson house where the family was murdered years ago, Carter listens to the stories and the claims, but that is not what sold her on the house. It was how the owner and cleaning lady act when asked about what happened in the home. With the stories seeming like they were on the level, Carter accepts the investigation, but is going to be joined by a camera man, along with a journalist to help document her experiences. Although she is used to working alone, Carter accepts the help, but arrives to the house before everyone else to get a feel for the haunted location. She notices that the house has a very dark feeling around it, and without the lights on in the middle of the day, it feels like it is sundown.

​Meeting with her new crew, a late arrival shows up at the door. Mary Young Mortenson will be joining the group to protect the family’s reputation as they were very prominent in the community, along with the church. The group accepts her in and start checking out the house to see what secrets they can unlock as the sun goes down. Although the first night is relatively quiet, a strange occurrence takes place in the kitchen where a chair moves on its own and a gunshot is heard ringing through the house. Not knowing what to make of this, the group checks their footage and wait for their next night in the house.
 
Death of a Ghost Hunter follows a group of strangers who have been brought together to investigate the validity of a haunting in the old Masterson home where the family was murdered years ago. Being led by Carter Simms, the group seems to be in good hands, even with a late, unknown arrival to the group that keeps the others guessing of why she is involved. Each night brings something new to light for the group as they are not only trying to prove that the house is haunted, but also trying to discover the secrets that are hidden in its walls. The more they dig around, the more they are able to find out about the Masterson Family and the secrets they have kept from their community for many years.

A ghost movie that is not only about ghosts, even though there are several that show up and around the old house. I see it more about a murder mystery that has to be solved and all of the answers are right in front of the group, but the question is will they have enough time to figure it out? With a disturbing character such as Mary Young around the house, making sure that the others do not get out of line and trying to relate with the mother that was killed in the house years ago, it could be hard to believe that the spirits in the house could be a threat as well. But you will just have to watch and see what happens as there is more than one reason to be afraid during a ghost hunt, especially now. Stay Scared.