How to survive a horror movie tip #88
If you rent a fully furnished home and while cleaning you find a trunk full of dirt, please for the love of God don’t sift thru it.
Word of the day:
Subjugate
Pronunciation (SUHB-juh-gayt) Verb: To bring under control or make submissive
I can’t not count the times I’ve stood on a soapbox proclaiming that I will never again watch a book to film, or a foreign to American remake of a movie, and as of late I’ve also bemoaned the remaking of American movies that were perfectly perfect the way they are. I guess Sissy Spacek’s portrayal Stephen King’s of Carrie just wasn’t good enough and in the height of my hysteria a director comes along who gives me pause.
Logan Thomas has produced a film called The Yellow Wallpaper. Yes, that Yellow Wallpaper and just as I was about to go on a murderous rampage I read:
“The Yellow Wallpaper is an ‘Origins Myth’... rather than a direct adaptation of the famous Charlotte Perkins Gilman story. Drawing from the original short story and a number of Gilmans' other gothic works (The Giant Wisteria, The Unwatched Door, etc.), The Yellow Wallpaper is an original narrative of events that unfold around the actual writing of "The Yellow Wallpaper.”
I had to put my axe down and read that part again. And then again. And finally I decided to give it a go.
Plotline: In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story we watch the main character go mad as she is locked in a bedroom while suffering from postpartum depression. In Logan Thomas’ story the main character, her husband and sister are grieving the lost of the main character’s child who died in a fire. Homeless with very little money the trio moves into a big house that’s unreasonably affordable.
Scariness Factor: N/A
Gross-Out Factor: N/A
Complaints: The 1st thing that started to bug me was that this most of this movie is shot completely in the dark. I understand that during that time not everyone could not afford electricity, but for some reason even during the day the residents favored the parts of the house furthest from the windows, so they were always roaming around in the shadows. The other thing that irritated was the use of “scary” music when there was nothing scary going on.
High Points: All three people are struggling to find a way to live after the little girl dies and even though Charlotte is worse off than the others, they all try to comfort each other in the best way they can while at the same time dealing with their own personal feelings of guilt and varying degrees of depression.
Personal Commentary: Like with all movies where the house is as much a character as the cast it’s a slow build; and like with all movies where the house is as much a character as the cast the people living it ignore the signs letting them know that something may be wrong with/inside their new home.
After a series of strange noises & unexplained sightings, they enlist the help of a medium and of course the entity that shows himself is evil. The decision is made to leave in the morning. When they all wake up in the afternoon the physic missing. John takes his wife and sister-in-law outside forbids them to go back inside and leaves to go into town and rent a horse and carriage to take them away. Up to this point The Yellow Wallpaper is just another little haunted house movie but then things take a turn for the worse…
As John is walking to town out of nowhere there’s a cameo appearance of some tall blonde in armor and chain mail. John wanted to know if he came to stop him from going to town and if he was already dead, and the armored blond says ‘No I am.” Ok…
Meanwhile back at the house the sister’s find the physic dead in a shallow grave, and then all of a sudden wolves show up and chase them back into the house (don’t ask I’m just as confused as you are)
When John gets back home he can’t find his wife or her sister but who he does encounter is the very 1st owner of the house from 100 years ago. John demands how can this be and low and behold we find out the owner is still alive because he is a vampire. After being attacked John wakes up to find the landlord there who explains that Charlotte is now a vampire and it’s now John’s job to feed her. Fast forward to today and John is the new landlord and he is renting the house at an unreasonably affordable rate.
Stars: 2 1/2 out of 5 stars
Where I rented it: The Yellow Wallpaper is available to watch online for free.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
The Next Big Thing...Starring Me!
How to survive a horror movie tip# 12
Don’t fuck around with recombinant DNA technology unless you know what the fuck you’re doing … and if you do know what you’re doing, please for the love of humanity stop.
Word of the Day:
Wakerife
Pronunciation: (WAYK-ryf) adjective: Wakeful; alert
So a few years ago I stumbled upon an audio horror anthology called All Kinds of Things Kill by Robert R. Best I was so blown away by that anthology that I spent the next few days looking all over the inernet for his contact info & once I found it I began stalking him! I think the very 1st email I sent him in the subject line was something I am your Annie Wilkes...creepy right? But he responded! But now apparently he's grown tired of seeing me parked outside his house peering inside binoculars and has decided to give me something else to do...lol
What is your working title of your book?
In The Valley of Shadows, it’s the 3rd book in my Spectrum Trilogy
Where did the idea come from for the book?
The idea came when I wrote the 1st book The Darkness, I was about half way through it when I realized it was going to be a trilogy
What genre does your book fall under?
I would say it’s Science Fiction that’s been built on the foundation of Horror and held in place with pillars of Fantasy
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I would want up and coming actors so that viewers watch the movie for the movie without the expectations that comes with big name actors.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
“Within the shadows of darkness two women clash in a vicious battle that has been fought since the days of King Solomon – the fight over a child.” This is actually from the blurb from the 1st book The Darkness but it pretty much sums of the entire trilogy.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Self published
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I am about 7mths in and am hoping to have it done early next year.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I don’t know. I have been compared to other author’s but as far as the actual story goes I haven’t read one that I can compare it to and so far, no one who has reviewed the 1st two books, has compared it to another story either.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
The 1st book, The Darkness, was written as a short story, however I was advised by another writer by the name of Mike Jones that The Darkness was not a short story and he was right. I will always be grateful to him for pushing me to write a full length novel, because if he hadn’t I’m not sure I’d be here today.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
That it’s a little different than anything you’ve read before.
Five people in the industry I think you should get to know:
Producer/Author Lori Titus
Actor/Director/Author/Narrator, Kay Richardson
Horror/Sci-fi/Fantasy Critic Andy Angel
Freelance Editor, Stephanie Gianopulos
Illustrator/Author RL Treadway
Thanks again Robert for tagging me for The Next Big Thing, this was fun...
Don’t fuck around with recombinant DNA technology unless you know what the fuck you’re doing … and if you do know what you’re doing, please for the love of humanity stop.
Word of the Day:
Wakerife
Pronunciation: (WAYK-ryf) adjective: Wakeful; alert
So a few years ago I stumbled upon an audio horror anthology called All Kinds of Things Kill by Robert R. Best I was so blown away by that anthology that I spent the next few days looking all over the inernet for his contact info & once I found it I began stalking him! I think the very 1st email I sent him in the subject line was something I am your Annie Wilkes...creepy right? But he responded! But now apparently he's grown tired of seeing me parked outside his house peering inside binoculars and has decided to give me something else to do...lol
What is your working title of your book?
In The Valley of Shadows, it’s the 3rd book in my Spectrum Trilogy
Where did the idea come from for the book?
The idea came when I wrote the 1st book The Darkness, I was about half way through it when I realized it was going to be a trilogy
What genre does your book fall under?
I would say it’s Science Fiction that’s been built on the foundation of Horror and held in place with pillars of Fantasy
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I would want up and coming actors so that viewers watch the movie for the movie without the expectations that comes with big name actors.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
“Within the shadows of darkness two women clash in a vicious battle that has been fought since the days of King Solomon – the fight over a child.” This is actually from the blurb from the 1st book The Darkness but it pretty much sums of the entire trilogy.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Self published
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I am about 7mths in and am hoping to have it done early next year.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I don’t know. I have been compared to other author’s but as far as the actual story goes I haven’t read one that I can compare it to and so far, no one who has reviewed the 1st two books, has compared it to another story either.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
The 1st book, The Darkness, was written as a short story, however I was advised by another writer by the name of Mike Jones that The Darkness was not a short story and he was right. I will always be grateful to him for pushing me to write a full length novel, because if he hadn’t I’m not sure I’d be here today.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
That it’s a little different than anything you’ve read before.
Five people in the industry I think you should get to know:
Producer/Author Lori Titus
Actor/Director/Author/Narrator, Kay Richardson
Horror/Sci-fi/Fantasy Critic Andy Angel
Freelance Editor, Stephanie Gianopulos
Illustrator/Author RL Treadway
Thanks again Robert for tagging me for The Next Big Thing, this was fun...
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
How to survive a horror movie tip # 109:
If your child or infant seems especially bright, beautiful, AND has piercing blue eyes, kill it immwdiately. If you can't do it have a priest or a horror writer such as your truly to do it for you.
Word of the day:
Doyen
Pronunciation: (doi-EN, DOI-uhn) noun: The senior member of a group, profession, etc.
Hello peoples! I know I'm updating my blog, the end must really be near...lol. Happily Holidays guys I hope everyone is ready for Xmas and all the other things we celebrate this time of year =D
So my blog tour with Juniper Groove Book Solutions went really well, ...And They All Lived Happily Ever After! was well recv'd and the reviews were awesome. I was really worried about the feedback for The Lazarus Antidote because even though its a zombie story it doesn't have any zombies in it, so I was kinda worried that I would be slammed by hard core zombie fans but so far everyone who read it likes it. (Whew!) Here is the archived link to the tour if you wanna stop by all of the awesome blogs that hosted me and see what people had to say about my antho.
Do you guys remember last year when a blogger claiming to be a reviewer contacted me by email and requested a review copy of The Darkness and she turned out to be a church blogger and she posted pix on her blog of The Darkness buring in the fireplace? Well I decided to beat her to the punch...laughter is the best medicine but sometimes its good revenge!
This guy did an amazing job and I'm hella happy w/it. I am going to play this on a loop at the cons ;p Well that's all for now, going to grab dinner and then pick up my pen, I'm super happy with the way In The Valley of Shadows is turning out so far. Enjoy the day,
~Crystal
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