cuts.happening

Ready or not

2011-05-14T18:32:00.000-07:00

Monsters (2010) is a quiet film with few monsters. Directed by Gareth Edwards, the film covers the travels of two post-alien invasion humans who have a very human story to tell. They must travel trough an infected zone in Mexico to the "safety" of the United States. While this alone is a great allegory on immigration and foreign relations- the film I feel, prides itself on its characters. Whitney Able plays Samantha, the daughter of a big wig media guy who hires Andrew (Scoot McNairy) to escort her to the U.S. This seems simple expect for the fact that Andrew appears madly in love with Samantha. We see him protect her, lead her through Mexico, but more times than not, fail. He makes mistakes. Together, they make mistakes, loose things and trust the wrong people. Monsters doesn't show us nearly enough monsters, but ultimately, that okay.

Monsters allows us to see that life after crisis will still be human. Instead of focusing on battles with the aliens (insert zombies, vampires, infected, etc), Monsters seems more real. In a real crisis government would most likely not fail. Instead it would segregate. It would quarantine. It would pick and choose the people who lived with the insurgence and those that were able to live in ignorance. Daddy's little girl would get an escort back to daddy. Your average human, or in Monsters case, Aladdin-Esq street dude, would be left to make mistakes.

The really cool thing about Monsters is the opportunistic nature of the films direction. Apparently the two actors were placed in scene and given basic outlines of how the scene should go. For there, they were able to interact freely. The other actors and extras in the movie were real people who agreed to follow along. This premise provided for the great human qualities of the film. No one seemed to be acting. The mistakes and story were compelling. Ultimately, when the invasion, crisis, zombie apocalypse comes- we will all make mistakes. Great film. Rent it. 7.5/10

Adam Green: with anticipation

2010-09-19T08:30:00.000-07:00

Right now I'm struggling. Last night (a Saturday night mind you) I found myself at the grocery store. At 8:00PM. With my family, whom I love, but at the grocery store none the less. So, being that I am at the grocery store and most fun loving adults in the Cincinnati area are drinking pints of wonderful beer at Oktoberfest- I decide to rent some horror. The least I can give myself is a night of horror glee. I got my caffeine free diet Coke, my BB-Q chips and the freedom to go rent what I'd like. So I go to my local Family video, with it's crap selection of movies. I paid part of my late fees, since I never can return movies on time and I rented three horror films.

Wait, not three horror films, three pieces of crap. Two of the After Dark Horror Fest selections, Dark Ride and Mulberry St. Both crap. Dark Ride I probably couldn't access fairly since I literally shut it off 45 minutes in. I was wasting my time. Also, The Cottage, whose cover looked cool, but we all know we can't judge a horror film by it's box art. That was crap too.

Rather than waste time reviewing the bad horror- I want to talk about upcoming horror. Adam Green's Frozen and Adam Green's Hatchet 2. At times I feel like I am passing time until these films get released. Frozen i know is coming out on DVD Sep 24th. Hatchet 2 will have limited theater release, closest to Cincy is a Columbus metroplex. These two, and a few others are all that I long for.

Adam Green is a great breath of fresh air to the horror genre. Hatchet was a slasher gem that lived up to its moniker of "old school American horror." That it was. I expect more of the same from Hatchet 2. Frozen on the other hand looks tremendous. i try not to watch too many previews, but i did here a interview with Adam Green on the horror show fearshop.com/horrorpodcast. On it, Adam admits that Frozen is his best yet. I will wait to judge until I can actually view and review the film- but i strongly believe a fresh voice like Adam Green's will be a welcome harbinger to the Fall season.

Exam: What would Sartre do?

2010-09-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

Way back in 1995 I was required by my beloved high school English teacher to read Jean-Paul Sartre's play "no Exit." This French play intrigued me, taught me about existentialism and at the time connected directly to my love of horror films. While Sartre's play is not specifically horror, the scenario of situations that happen behind closed doors is. The family barricaded in their house by zombies. The rag-tag group of misfits holed up in a gas station, fending off the virus, the plague, each other. Take any group or cross section of society, trap them in an environment and let the audience rattle their brains on who the sole survivor will be. Sartre's play has been used as a basis for several films and the scenario makes for a great horror setting. Some bad like Saw III-VI. Some great, like Cube. A recent film that uses this scenario is Stuart Hazeldine's Exam.

i caught Exam the other night on IFC On Demand. Had to pay the ghastly premium price of 5.99. But my wife was willing to watch a film, borderline horror and this looked like it might suit us. The film plays with similar situations, people trapped in a room. The cross section of society. The riddles they must solve. The movie was good, not great, but good. With a second watching I might pick up on more. What I enjoyed was that it seemed a little more realistic than Cube. i love Cube. Will admit I even am a sucker for the sequels. When i mentioned in trying to justify the 5.99 price tag, i said to my wife that Exam looks like it might be similar to Cube. She reminded me that I liked Cube, while she on the other hand didn't see the reality in it. Exam is more likely to happen.

My real question here is the No Exit scenario and in what real life settings could it happen. I see the upcoming film Devil uses the people trapped in an elevator scenario...and one of them is...you guessed it. But what of these scenarios might happen in real life. Maybe war, soldiers captured. Hostage situations, bank hold ups, that sort of thing. Maybe people are in a real life No Exit, in their cubicle, their semi-truck, their life. The writer Sartre perhaps explains horror's use of his source material best in the quote from No Exit: "We are in hell, my dear, there is never a mistake and people are not damned for nothing."

The Crazies: horror's public relations

2010-07-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

I will admit, I don't do a good job of supporting horror in the theaters. Not that I don't want to. Every time I see a good horror film come out I wish to see it on the big screen. With my popcorn and my Cherry Coke. Maybe I am a victim of the laundry list of things that keep me out of the theatre: the fact they are now over ten bucks to go during the day...even more at night when horror is meant to be scene, the fact I have a blue ray player, the fact that a blue ray or DVD costs about the same as a theatre visit, the fact that my kids are five and still a few years away from joining me in wanting to see Freddy slice and dice. All of these reasons seem valid. I still feel like I do a good job supporting horror with the amount of money I spend buying films on DVD and blue ray. That is how I watched Breck Eisner's (2010) remake The Crazies. In glorious blue ray. With my 59 cent fountain pop from Circle K and my bag of Orvil Redenbocker all to myself.

This is not so much a review of the Crazies- as much as it is a questioning of horror marketing. The Crazies was a great film. One I will probably purchase to add to my collection. A film worthy of multiple viewings and one in which I feel will stand the test of time. In the remake category, I would rank it right up the with the Aja's Hills Have Eyes remake. It's that good.

But, like I said, this is not so much of a review. How this movie was marketed confuses me a bit. My wife, mind you, is admittedly not a huge horror fan, when she likes a horror film I see her as more of the conscious of America. How the typical moviegoer might view a film. I might be a little biased and find even a Saturday afternoon syfy channel movie good. But if the wife likes it...

She pointed out how awful the movie was marketed as it was in theaters. The Crazies did not fare that well in theaters. I realize many movies have a great life on DVD and blue ray and can be good without doing well at the box office. But, the Crazies is an example of poor marketing. if you saw previews for the films...it comes across as being yet another zombie flick. Not a whole lot of brains to it besides the ones the ghouls are feasting on. But, there is much more to the Crazies. It is a well rounded, spooky, well made, well acted film. The marketing for some horror films, especially horror films in the Winter/ Spring is terrible. Saw 7 will be marketed out the wazoo this October and more teenie-boppers will see that then probably saw the Crazies. And, most horror hounds will agree, we would rather the teens give there parents money to a film like the Crazies then to Saw 7. If not, we will just get Saw 8, 9 and 10. If we go with the notion that better horror films should do better in the box office, then they needs to be marketed better. And hypocriteslike me need to actually go to the theater to see them.

Deadgirl: Stand by Her

2010-07-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

Today I will begin going through some recent films that have kept me up. I qualify some films as "films to fall asleep to." This does not mean they are boring in any way. Simply, these are the films I've seen a number of times, maybe even watched the directors commentary a few times. In this sense, even a great film, like Nightmare On Elm Street 4 would be considered a "film to fall asleep to." Like a great bedtime story.

Other films, mostly for me- new films, are films that "keep me up." Sometimes because they are scary, sometimes they are just interesting. Sometimes they are just...car wreckage. One example of this kind of artful horror car wreck is Marcel Sarmiento's (2008) Deadgirl.

Now I am not normally one for torture horror. Violence for violence sake is not cool. Deadgirl is not that kind of film anyway. It is a shocker. There is a deadgirl (duh) buts she's more of a zombie. Take a couple bored slacker teenagers and you can imagine what ensues. But really the story takes off on one of the boys grapple with his true love and the dark paths his friends are taking. Shiloh Fernandez and Noah Segan play the boys. Noah is the sick one who makes it a circus sideshow to come and fool around with the girl. Shiloh is conflicted. He turns in a great performance as Rickie. He is the main showcase of conflict in the story as he struggles to overcome some of the darkness in his life. A girl that does not like him back, a drunk stepfather, and a friend who is busy screwing a deadgirl.

Here we have a film that people will A: get freaked out by due to the content. B: get over that and focus on the story of Rickie.

When you focus on the story of Rickie you have yourself a unique independent horror film. The kind of which they should make more of these days. Not a remake, but an original take on the "Friends in transition" theme. So ultimately, I did enjoy Deadgirl, be it for reason B. The car wreck nature of the film might serve to bring some viewers into the fold or may turn some away. Either way, we cannot deny good fresh storytelling and independent horror. Next up...a review of the complete first season of the short lived (thankfully) Mick Garris project "Fear Itself."

How (Ti) West Has Won

2010-07-09T18:21:00.000-07:00

While I haven't updated the Cuts Happening blog in some time, I certainly have watched plenty of horror. Horror is still the worn out teddy bear I snuggle up with every night. Some folks read. I watch horror films. On a small portable DVD player with headphones. Most of the films are just my own strange lullaby's. Episodes of Tales from the Crypt. Masters of Horror episodes. Random favorites with director commentaries caring me towards slumber. Some of the films still scare me. Or at least, they fascinate me enough to write about them. I will spend tonight's entry discussing a genre favorite of mine; director Ti West.

My first Ti West film was The Roost.

This film was a refreshing new approach to the ol' barnyard spook. Since my only other experience with "bat horror" was the campy Lou Diamond Phillips' Bats, I experienced The Roost as an original work. The film is framed by some excellent narration by horror great and recent Fangoria Hall of Fame inductee Tom Noonan. Here, Noonan's voice over just gives the film a certain edge. A film that you might find stumble upon on late - late night T.V.

The Roost was Ti West first showing us that he was an original voice. There was a certain style in The Roost. At first it seemed low-budget, but after a few viewings, one sees that the film just works on building tension. Spaces of silence. Not a whole lot of music video cuts or slam bang horror soundtrack stuff. Highly recommend this film, late at night, lights out.

The film of Ti West's that really proved to me that he is emerging as one of the best young horror directors is the recent House of the Devil.

Tom Noonan returns, this time in a lead role of a creep-tastic dude looking for a last minute babysitter. No one could have played this role more perfectly that Noonan. At times the viewer may wonder what he is up to. Is he a pedophile? A killer? A decent guy that is leading us away from something else that might come out and scare us? Either way, the first 45 minutes of House of the Devil pushes the viewer into guesswork. What's gonna scare me here? What's gonna come out and get me? Eventually, I found myself looking around my own house, wondering where the spoke was going to come from. It's this type of build up and tension I enjoy. Ti West is a master of tension. The real horror certainly comes out in the third act of House of the Devil, but the build up is intense.

The film also boasts a terrific look. Being a child of the eighties myself, I really got lost in the look of the film. The young babysitter, with he stone washed jeans, hiked up past her belly button. The gum snapping girlfriend who would rather smoke cigarettes than warn her friend that she's crazy for baby-sitting some creeper's kid. The film sports an excellent making of feature that even explains where they found some of the old school set pieces. Right down to the Coke cups they found on EBay. Ti West just seems to get it. He goes the extra mile to include the detail. to spend time setting you up. So when the chills do come, it does not have to be the blood and guts you are scared of. It is mostly the anticipation and the aftershocks. When you find yourself looking at your neighbors differently, or lurching into bed from a few feet away, so that creepy hand does not get you. I recommend House of the Devil. It's spooky. I will also, try and post more reviews. Like I said, I watch a lot of horror and will always love the genre. More to follow!

Pontypool (indeed) changes everything

2009-07-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

Writing and words, specifically poetry has been my passion long before I fell in love with horror films. Yet, writing has always been a private passion. Poems on napkins kinds of stuff. Volumes of poems that will never see the light of day. My poems. Some I'm sure good enough for publication, as some of them have been. For me writing has never been something I need others to read.

This brings me back to the blog. Back to cuts happening. Millions of people blog now, for reasons all their own. My wife blogs and has plenty of friends and followers who look forward to her updates everyday. This blog has been left to dust like a poem. I write and walk away for long periods of time, always promising not to. Recently I have come back to the blog when being awaken by a great film, or book. This blog was started shortly after being mesmerized by Donnie Darko. I felt as if horror films and poetry had a stronger connection than I realized. That these two passions of mine were not coincidental. I could not possibly ignore what vices poetry and horror have become for me. I should do what modern people are doing...blog about it. I have, sporadically for the last year, but like most poems....I rarely see the need to share my view. Or, rarely do I find a view I feel compelled to share with others.

But Pontypool changes everything. After reading an article here in my childhood's favorite magazine Fangoria I kept the film in the back of my mind as one to watch. Last night I found it On Demand. I casually watched it. I was slowly overtaken. Nothing in the film scared me, but after the film I felt spooked. The kind of deep fear that is not obtainable through monsters jumping out from behind doors. I was affected. I was confused, scared, curious, and deeply happy. I had not had this sensation since watching Donnie Darko. Like Pontypool...I stumbled upon Donnie....watched it with no expectations and very little information. This is the recipe for the deep spook. The check under the bed before you sleep spook. Like Donnie, after watching Pontypool I instantly felt compelled to watch it again. More info on the film can be found here

What made the experience even betters to see at the end of the film that it was adapted from the novel Pontypool Changes Everything by Tony Burgess. I was again compelled to search for this book. Unable to find it in stores....I was forced to order it on-line and will be waiting patiently for two to three weeks for it to arrive. Amazon seemed to have the best price here. I am never proud to say I saw the movie before reading the book. However, if the movie was this good....

I strongly recommend Pontypool. I will be reading the book soon and will be sure and write about it. For now I am just enjoying the feeling of being trust back into my blog. I thank Pontypool. Sometimes a film like a poem or a single word...can change everything.

red men, blue men, watch men, read men

2009-03-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

This is a post of firsts. First film I saw before reading the book. First graphic novel I have read. First comic book film I will consider horror.

I read comics growing up. But these were the occasional ones...Tales From the Crypt, some Ghostrider, some Punisher. I was far from a comic nut. However, I always appreciated them, the artistry, writing and people who were into them. They were "my crowd," my friends. Until now I have never read a full graphic novel.

So here I am, reading Watchmen and loving it. I really think for the rare occasion- it was better for me to see the film first. This was a great movie. One that lived up to the hype and boy, was I sceptical. I am not one to jump on the proverbial bandwagon of pop culture. I was invited by my brother in law and even at the time told myself to be cautious...pop art ahead. I was horribly mistaken. Watchmen is a tour de force. Three hours that feels like one. Blood. Oh yes, there is blood. Social commentary that is so think I could not even follow it...told myself when leaving I either see it again or read the comic.

Watchmen had me at the blue man...Dr. Manhattan. The first time we see him on screen he is huge...ten times his normal size. Like I said, I am no comics expert...but he is the first comic, supernatural hero-guy that really caught me as original. Rorschach was great too. One mean S.O.B.! In reading the novel now...I can take my time and soak it all up. There is enough stuff in the book to write countless blog posts. Maybe I will. For now, I am simply a convert. Pop culture is sometimes wonderful.

You are not what you own

2009-03-12T14:05:00.000-07:00

Back in my horror hay day; circa 1989/90 I would listen to what the films told me. Don't smoke pot. Don't have pre-marital sex. Don't make fun of the miss-formed. While horror film was my visual interest, music was my love. Boy did I love Fugazi. This band taught me more than my parents. Fugazi actually turned me into a straight-edge, hardcore, poet. My friends and I listened to Minor Threat and talked with glee about how we would take over the system. Fugazi transcended us into a life-style of "you are not what you own." While I can admit, I have not practiced this mantra all my life. I have long since been straight edge. And I admit my short comings. "You are not what you own" still sticks with me. Fugazi, lead by Ian McKaye and (my hero) Guy Picciotto stressed the need for personal, internal wealth. This, as opposed to wealth in the sense of commodity. Here we are, in 2009. Where we all pay the price for living beyond our means. We have all smoked pot. We have all left our friends when the monster is in the house. We are targets. We have not applied the long-standing lessons followed (somewhat) blindly in our youth. Most of us were different people. We swore we would never let this happen. Recently, I have challenged myself. To remember the things I fell in love with when I was young and impressionable. Things like poetry I have never forgotten. But Fugazi...not being what I own... and the concept of being straight-edge... have escaped me.

In looking at my life, I have it all. A family. Poetry. And a whole catalogue of horror films and great music. Furniture, has no say in life. Lately I have felt like a bookcase, gathering dust. I want to be re-read...knocked over...or the books should be stacked in a corner and the shelf should be sold. I am not what I own.

Say my name, say my name...

2009-02-20T16:56:00.000-08:00

Today I learned who "the man" is. Who the man is at Netflix at least. You see, I am now convinced there is a man (or a lady) (or the little boy from The Shinning) that sits in an office at Netflix somewhere. Their job is to review your que. To see what you have on deck and from time to time hit you up with an oddball combo. You know what I mean...you get Spaceballs and Balls of Fury. Or you get Redneck Zombie Massacre in the same mail delivery as Barbie in Mermadia. The ironic combo. Or, in some cases, the embarrassing combo of films you want but didn't expect to get in the same week.

Now I enjoy Netflix, don't get me wrong. I just think that someone is toying with me, or the horror Gods are in alignment: as today I received both My Name is Bruce and His Name was Jason. both films I have been waiting to see, but was not expecting to get together. Could there really be a small boy, rabid robot dog, or computer program fucking with my que?? That ain't nothing nice. But, I will be enjoying watching these two horror giants. Jason and Bruce. Maybe one day they could battle each other. With the winner taking on "the man" at Netflix.

He would not run...

2009-02-11T16:53:00.000-08:00

What would Jason do? What would he do if he found out that Marcus Nispel was remaking him. What would Kane Hodder do if he found out Derek Mears was playing him? What will Michael Bay do when he runs out of major horror properties to remake?

All of these questions will be answered with time. While I wait patiently at the dock of crystal lake like the rest of us for this new re-launch--I wonder--"this is still just theater fluff, right?" This, and the countless remakes before it are what we call theater fodder. Movies for teens and old school horror junkies like myself to maybe catch in the theatre--more likely to catch on DVD. But the real horror is out there. unfortunately, this Winter it is not in the theatre.

I will see the new Jason--for entertainment. More than likely on DVD. Maybe even Cupid will get me the what would Jason do t-shirt I've always wanted. The preview looks neat-- I like the burlap sack look....I like the atmosphere....and I like the director. Marcus Nispel did a yeoman's job with the Texas Chainsaw re-launch.

There is one issue I will take before seeing the film: HE WOULD NOT RUN. There is a rather cool, jaw-drop inducing "Jason running" scene in the preview. I myself at first was even all like "holy shit, that's cool." but....he would not run. Jason was a slug. A meat head. A drowned hydrocephalus head- soggy- bulky- behemoth. He would not run. This is the one scene that looks to be making him into more of a video game killer. Let's hope this is not the case.

What I will do is enjoy the show. But- let us not forget, the real horror films that are out there (just maybe not in theatres). Like MARTYRS. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. In October- THE BOX. OFFSPRING. And many many others. The New Friday the 13th is our theatre horror fair for this month. Most of us will not run, but drive to the video store to see the angry Voorhees boy.

Cuts happen...

2009-01-24T15:20:00.000-08:00

Things happen. New presidents are elected, years change, and blog writers loose their interest. I admit- I haven't blogged since....well, last year. Since we still had a crooked white guy as president. Since Mirrors was still in theaters (and now is tanking just as bad on DVD...what let down for Aja fans). I will make no excuses. I will make no promises to "do better" or "make-up" somehow, as the devotees to this blog are few and far between. There aren't many people, even many of my own friends who share my love for horror films and poetry. Sure, maybe some people like one or the other. But few see the corlation between the two. A short tense hour and a half horror film can easily evoke the same thrill as a short tense poem.

So here I will continue. I will continue to comment on the horror film and literary industry. I will juxtapose this commentary with my own poems on the side (quite literally). I will not just log in and check facebook alone. I will not blog once a year. I will not make promises about my blog.

This will remain the place to find out what is happening in the world of poetry and horror. Light and dark. Or, dark and dark.

back in the saddle

2008-10-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have not blogged for awhile. No excuses, just haven't found time. Good thing is I have written a bucket full of poems...which i will add to my Urbis site later this evening. But, I do promise to keep up on more horror posts...especially now that we are in the most Hallowed month of the year. The best one of the all. All things good in my life have happened in October...or around Halloween. If I were Napoleon Dynamite, I'd say "It's pretty much my favorite holiday." If one could pick their death date...I'd like to die around Halloween. (but that's not a request for any crazies that read the blog). Anyways...I will start my horror DVD viewing/reviewing this week with Argentos Mother of Tears and Feast 2. I know Feast 2 might be crap...but I want to find out for myself as I really enjoyed the first one. And Argento is Argento...should be great. I will review these, as well as a gore-load of other classics right here on cuts happening in the coming days and weeks. A horror movie a night. And I aint talking about that crap you find on sci fi.

once more....with feeling

2008-09-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

While not a horror icon, Forrest Griffin is an icon to me. I have not blogged for awhile. Horror is still and will always be, my third love. Behind my wife (#1) and poetry (#2). But if there was a life I live- or a life I'd like to live- it would be Forest Griffin's. The real life Brad Pitt from fight Club. The man who can turn a boyish happy face into Swiss-cheese in under fifteen minutes. I have always wanted to be a fighter. The blood dripping into my lungs, in real life- not just on screen.

So, I wrestled in high school. I was never good. But I loved the sport. The brutality. The contact. The blood after practice. The drive. The passion. I was never good, but I tasted the feeling just enough to make it stick. Now I am a high school wrestling coach. This would have to be my fourth love, coaching wrestling. Just this past week I started training and weightlifting again. I want to get into shape before this season begins (Nov 1). The feeling i get after my body has been put through the grinder is on par with the feeling I get after writing a good poem. So here I am, once more....with feeling. Trying to not talk about fight club.

Six Feet Under True Blood

2008-09-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

While I will refrain from judgement until I see more episodes...the early reports (from me and my wife) indicate that HBO's new series True Blood will be fantastic. No, I have not read the Charlaine Harris books, but will over this Fall. Like the Dexter series on Showtime, I like how cable networks are making good shows that promote better literature. Will this series still has much to develop, it looks great. Horror= bring it on. the show is by Alan ball who did Six Feet Under...a friggin classic of a show. I used to count the days until another new six feet episode. i hope to get the same from this program. And if it fails...so what, at least the networks are trying. Although the new incarnation of Masters of Horror (Fear Itself) was watched by me and two other people. Kudos to networks, especially HBO and Showtime for giving horror a chance. Let the blood friggin flow!

sleep....continued

2008-09-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

"I've been guarding my gate for a long time..bitch!"

-Freddy proclaims to Alice Johnson (Lisa Wilcox) in the final scene of A Nightmare on Elm Street 4.

That line just stuck with me. Here we are, another random Tuesday...and I am restless.

Let me explain. Every night, I fall asleep watching a horror film. I go on kicks. Or series you could call them. Right now, for the hundred and fifth time, I am on an Elm Street kick (no, that's not all I watch, I am not obsessed). I start with one....then watch em' all...all the way up the Freddy v. Jason (which I loved) or...whatever else "they" make my "last" film of the week.

That line....I've been guarding my gate a long time....stuck with me. i have been doing this awhile. even before blogging. Before facebook. Even before Bill Gates. I have been in love with horror. I complain, yet, bring on the lack of sleep. I admit, yet relish in the love of horror. I want to hug and appreciate all those that admit...horror is A O K. No, I am not goth. I am a straight-laced father, teacher and I go to church. But horror is undefinable. Thanks to all that are out there, reading this, loving Halloween, enjoying blood, and seeing the truth that this genre presents us with.

My face...a book...oh the horror.

2008-08-31T19:32:00.000-07:00

Clive Barker once said..."every body is a book of blood, when we're opened, we're red."

I hope facebook serves me right. Yes, through the advice of a trusted best friend I have joined facebook. When my friend visited this weekend he asked "are you on facebook?" My reply was....ummm...yes, I've heard of it, no I don't live in a cellar, but no I have no facebook...I'm not sixteen.

His reply..."well it's a great way to stay connected to old friends." and given that I am not the best for staying in touch with people. I talk to the friends I have here in Cincinnati, but not other friends, the few I have, that live in far away cities. I don't call them. i don't write to them. i don't send Christmas cards.

But per the conviction of my friend, I have joined facebook. To meet old friends. So if your on there, I'm on there. Maybe, like Clive says...i will be a face book of blood. Back to more horror blogging after the fireworks are over here in the nati.

Stephen King's N.

2008-08-25T13:03:00.001-07:00

Nightmares

2008-08-22T17:19:00.000-07:00

Well, the first week of school is over. And I am exhausted. Not due to school. But rather, what I think are self-induced nightmares. While getting back to school and asking for back to school horror films to watch...I found what I forgot is one of my favorites. I appreciate the suggestions, Christine and Ginger Snaps- both wonderful films. But I forgot A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge.

While A Nightmare on Elm Street may be a franchise riddled with comical cheese...nightmare 2 was the one that got me. When I was in the seventh grade and my family lived in a small, two-bedroom apartment...my brother had a friend over. My brother and his friend were four years older than me and my parents were out of town. He was supposed to be watching me. But he and his friend watched A Nightmare on Elm Street 2. And they let me watch.

I was spooked. I was scared to death. But kept watching. And here I am twenty years later blogging about it. So, when I brainstormed back to school horror movies, I remembered Elm Street 2. The bus scene.

This week I watched Elm Street, over two or three nights, in bed....as I always do to fall asleep with a horror movie. Normally I watch a movie, about twenty minutes worth, then drift into sleep. for some reason, the stars aligned this week and when I watched Elm Street 2...i never fell asleep much afterwards. I have probably only slept max, about three hours a night this week. Granted, it may be due to stress...back to school...whatever. But I think it is the film. Nightmare 2 is one sequel that i think....and I know I'm on a limb here...is better than the original. That buss scene creeps me out. The pool scene...where Freddy proclaims "you are all my children now..." are classic.

I didn't have nightmares this week. I just couldn't sleep. I am tired. But like it. Horror films can scare us, spook us, make us think, or just make us restless. that is why they are so powerful. The good ones affect people. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 is a good one.

Real horror: back to school

2008-08-18T14:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's that time of year: back to school. While daddy day care all Summer is fun, nothing beats teaching and going back to school. the students hate it- but teachers love the sounds of squeaky new shoes, scrawny-scared-freshman, and that feel of Autumn in the air.

So, while I may not be able to blog as much in the next few weeks: I did brainstorm what would be a great back to school horror movie to watch. I realized, there aren't many that I can think of (please, send suggestions in if you have some).

One I did think of was Lucky McKee's THE WOODS. This is a fantastic film, set in an all girls academy with spookiness going on in (you guessed it) the woods. There is great acting in this one, particularly from Ash himself, Bruce Campbell... playing a fairly straight-laced father. Luckey McKee is best known for his film May- starring Angela Bettis. Bettis in turn directed McKee in Roman. May and Roman are both great films. The Woods came after Roman and is a film I feel got too little attention. Maybe its not too scary....or too bloody....or came out at the wrong time (during the Hostel fueled torture horror times). But give the Woods a chance. And...please send me any ideas for "back to school horror."

The best school movie I could thin of was Summer School. With those guys that love Leatherface and the teacher leading the summer school class of misfits. But that's not really horror. Happy Haunting to all this Fall!

Monster Slayer Saturday

2008-08-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

While there may be debates over vampires and werewolves, zombies and the infected; but when it comes to 80's horror make-ups, nothing was better than the GHOUL. The monster, one-eyed-man, drooling lunatic. The 80's didn't just bring hair metal and Reaganomics- they also gave us some of the best ghouls and monster hunters around.

One great monster movies of the decade is Blood Beach. Hearkens back to the days when an old weathered VHS box could provide real artistic scenes and tag lines. "Just when you thought it was safe to..."
Now, a list of great 80's horror film could take up pages. Some of my favorites were the anthologies, the Creepshows, Tales From the Darkside and Body Bags. But recently, some horror directors that also grew up on this feast of flesh have gone retro. They've gone back with the make-up, the prosthetics, the blood and slime. This is much appreciated by fans who long for the reality spook that non-CGI materials make. The stuff you could SEE falling off the actors faces and living and ghouling with them. I look forward to the nostalgia and campiness of the up coming film Jack Brook's Monster Slayer. While it may not retain the same coziness of the 80's films, it certainly waves a bloody paw at the masters of the genre. Long live make-ups! RIP Stan Winston- an original ghoul maker of the field.

Poem of the Friday

2008-08-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

In protest of the fact that every Friday is not Friday the 13th...I propose Poems for Fridays. Poems for the day. Horror films for the night. Man-made bliss.

Here is one of my idols from college: Robert Creeley (1926-2005)

Billy Bob Kruger???

2008-08-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

Not that believing Internet rumors is good...but IMDB and now Fangoria are reporting that Billy Bob Thorton is going to play Freddy in the the new Nightmare on Elm Street re make.

Being that I derive my tittle "cuts happening" from the nightmare films...I am flabbergasted. Do they need to remake it? No. Does Michael Bay need to give it up? Yes. Has Billy Bob made a good film other than Sling Blade? No.

Granted...he's got a good Robert Englund-esque look for the role...but SO DOES ROBERT ENGLUND. And last I checked Robert is still making good horror films (up soon in Jack Ketchum's Red and Jack brooks Monster Slayer).

THIS GUY IS A CLOWN!

Happiness is Halloween!

2008-08-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

http://oh-the-horror.blogspot.com/
A quick video clip from Halloween III inspired by a blog post http://oh-the-horror.blogspot.com/

Ga Ga for Aja !

2008-08-13T07:53:00.000-07:00

Yes this entry may be a little bit on the "fan boy" side of the aisle. But I cannot express my appreciation for Alex Aja's work. In the words of Tom Cruse, he had me at High Tension. This 2005 film was a ground breaker. Literally HIGH friggin tension throughout. A tense talent he brought into The Hills Have Eyes remake. For those who have seen Hills...content wise-of stealing a baby...it cannot be denied that the "burning father, baby stealing scene" was not one of the most tense twenty minutes of any recent film. That scene quite frankly made the remake good and so good that every other horror film that can be remade is being remade.

But Aja remakes it right. He honors the original, but injects his own....tension. His latest jaw-dropper is Mirrors...out Friday. Another remake. But another one that looks separate enough from the original to release the tension. There is something to be said about how bad a remake is...but there is also something to be said about a director that gets a remake right. For as much as horror fans (myself included) don't want to see our heroes Freddy and Jason and Leatherface and Ash remade. There is just as much appreciation when it comes to Aja's work. The best thing about him is that his remakes a good, better than the originals...AND his original work is so solid no one would ever touch remaking them.

Can't wait to Remember

2008-08-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

Can't wait till my copy of the new Fiery Furnaces three record, fifty song vinyl comes in the mail! I added some furnaces videos to the video bar to the right. Fall in love and order you live Fiery Furnaces album from Thrill Jockey records www.thrilljockey.com

Get in, the water's nice

2008-08-12T09:55:00.000-07:00

I would rarely recommend a horror film based on a crocodile. Aquatic horror (as we'll call it) tends to teeter on the verge of campiness by its very nature. I mean, really- other than Jaws, what aquatic horror film really scared ya? Lake Placid? No. Open Water? Hell no. Most tend to showcase an absurdly large animal, typically genetically altered by scientists- hunting pot smoking skinny dippers. All this despite the warnings from the local townspeople to not go in the waters.

HOWEVER...for the first time in awhile, I really enjoyed an aquatic horror film. ROGUE...the follow up to up and coming horror director Greg McClean's WOLF CREEK. I rented Rogue because Wolf Creek was so darned good. So, if you have not seen Wolf Creek- go rent it. Or, borrow it from me. But you can find Rogue right now at most video stores. The bad thing is that the film has horrible cover art...looks like a campy crap fest. But it's not. Rogue delivers real terror and is more about the plot than the croc. But the croc is scary. I was spooked a few times. Which means you may be spooked countless times. I really recommend this one and McClean's other film Wolf Creek. Great horror by a great new director.

OH, YEAAHH!

2008-08-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

At the store today, the girls both requested kool-aid. Now, I was raised by a mother who was a dental hygienist. In turn, we had no kool-aid, no sugar cereals and no sugar gum. Yet even without all this sugar, my brother and I still ended up a couple of fat asses. (sorry, I'm a bit genetically bitter today, as my Wii Fit informed me I had gained two pounds over-friggin-night). So there is still a part of me that says...no, no to sugar.

But my girls eat sugar cereal (sorry mom). They seem fine. No hyperactivity, no third eye, no teeth falling out. So I let them get the kool-aid at the store today. Pink lemonade. Yes, it called for one cup of sugar. And yes, I couldn't help but skimp a bit on the sugar.

But my mind on sugar stuff has been somewhat re-shaped. As after taking her first sip, Arlene exclaimed (insert cute Arlene voice) "Daddy...this is refreshing, and delicious!" I mean it sounded like a damn commercial. She was so stinkin cute, she got a second glass.

So when my kids suffer the life altering displacement that sugar creates, blame me. I'm taking the life attitude of "OH YEAAHH!"

Band of the Summer

2008-08-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

is....TOKYO POLICE CLUB!

http://tokyopoliceclub.com/

check out some of their videos right there

to your right

right there

um....stewardess, I speak jive.

A Productive Cough

2008-08-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

The girls and I have coughs. This may sound plain- and for the matriarch of our family, the coughing is getting quite annoying- but we are going to make our coughs productive ones. The next two days in the Naty are supposed to be steamy hot. The girls and I typically fill up our days. Going to the library, the grocery store, the pool, ect. We do stuff. But the next two days, we will be sloths.

I have made the executive decision that we are staying inside. I will work on some lesson plans for the school year (and obviously, some bloggin). The girls have been coloring and playing their various self-made games that only they know what they are. Games like "tent" where you layer blankets over bar stools and make yo-self a tent. Games like "dollie-liberation" where you liberate, or TAKE OUT all of your dollies and make them watch your own personal dance show. fun stuff.

wilful suspension of disbelief

2008-08-04T08:29:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wish I could apply this feeling to other aspects of my life. You know the feeling: you find yourself on a KICK...a kick featuring a long lost favourite band. Doesn't matter the band. For me, in the last week or two, it has been modest mouse http://www.myspace.com/modestmouse

Recently, they have gotten big and are one of those bands you can find in a catchy car commercial. But back in the day...they were an intimate, angry, car trip kind of band that we discovered in Bowling Green. Modest Mouse played in BG when The Lonesome Crowded West was released. May I just say that that album remains one of the greatest indie rock gems of the decade.

Recently i went on the mouse KICK. Rocked out to Lonesome while hanging with my brother in law and some friends at a fish fry. Wrote some poems to Interstate 8 and This Is a Long Drive For Someone with Nothing to Think About (still the best tittle of any album, period) and even got the girls listening to The Moon and Antarctica.

I'm curious to see if others go on these KICKS? If you comment, tell me the most recent kick you went on, what the music was, and if you think we can bottle the magical feeling of falling in love with a band over and over again.

There will be blood...at some point...

2008-07-23T07:15:00.000-07:00

Call us behind the times, but Wendy and I finally got around to watching There Will Be Blood. Could not pass up all the critical acclaim, let alone one of the best tittles in awhile. I agree that Daniel Day Lewis' acting was top notch. He really worked the role well. This said, I thought the film was incredibly long and without purpose. The music was cool at times, but at other times, the music seemed to be trying to hard. You know when a film score is too over the top...that they are trying to make the film sound more dramatic than it is. Come on, the films about oil. Four to five hours of oil. I think I fell asleep for a few hours, woke up, watched a few hours and they were still in the same scene they were when I fell asleep. I was disappointed for the shear fact that I was waiting for the film to end. I was not engaged. i was not tricked by the clever music and scenery. After admiring Daniel's acting, I felt like I had nothing else to do the rest of the nine gazillion hours of film. I will wait with baited breath for the sequel....The Blood Will Scab Over...uncut directors edition. Oh boy.

On an Island in the Sun

2008-07-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry for anyone out there that reads diligently- I have obviously been out for awhile. Literally on an island in the sun. I spent some time on Island 10 in Northern Ontario, fishing, writing, relaxing with my brother and father. I am home now and promise to get back to blogging. I will be uploading some poems this evening to Urbis...check them out. i will also perhaps watch a horror film or two (after the girls go to bed) and review. Only a few more weeks till school returns and I'm back to slangin the poetic knowledge to high school brains. I'm out like Freddy and Jason... until the sequel.

Retro Wednesday!

2008-06-25T12:54:00.000-07:00

Believe it our not kiddies...today is retro Wednesday. Our creature feature for today is the 80's scare-fest "The Gate." This film was a nice departure from the slasher fair of the 80's and provided many a nightmare for kids of the same age of the lead character Glen (played by a young Stephen Dorff). The plot is simple enough...three kids accidentally unleash a horde of beasts from a hole in their backyard. Simple enough, but the film creeps you out with this little tiny creatures that come out of nowhere and terrorize the characters. It has a great metal sound track. Levitation. Kids in peril. Parents away. Family dog dies...all wrapped up in nice 80's horror artistry. This has to be my favorite time in horror. Maybe cause its my youth...when I saw the films....but the 80's were great. And....to prove even more that this film is a classic....it is being remade. Yes kids, remade. While some chambers and corners of the current horror world are doing fine coming up with original ideas...Hollywood horror still can't keep its grubby little hands off of 80's classics. Do yourself a favor- rent this tonight...VHS...BETA...or DVD (for sale at Best Buy...only 5 bucks!)...and wait for the little ghouls to bite your ankles! Happy Horroring!

Have Mercy On Us All #2

2008-06-24T18:25:00.000-07:00

You're the Quarter, I'm the Well

Have Mercy On Us All 2

I really think I need to get a hold of myself. To tell the truth- there is a mysterious, "Clue"-like factor in finding a hidden doorway in your daughters bedroom. The library with that secret bookshelf to push. That candelabra that when pulled down, opens a passage to a crawlspace. Those eyeballs looking at you from the painting.

But a small door. In a little girls bedroom. This was not what I expected when my wife left for the weekend. The darkness scares me too. I knew my daughters paranoia came straight from her Daddy. For her sake, I will need the courage to investigate this with some sense of calmness.

The crest was straight out of Davey Jones locker. A crimson and gold chest, dressed perfectly, even down to the over-sized padlock on the front. The lock was undone. A flash of dust and soft light yawned from the chest as we opened it. A staircase, winding down into the well. Wet bricks and and dripping sound somewhere ten to twenty feet below. But stairs. Inviting stairs that called us down.

The water was only a few inches deep at the bottom and flowed down a short hallway. Every few feet there was a doorway. Wooden doors, two on the left and two on the right. The first one to our right was already open, revealing the edge of a table. This appeared to be a short, metal veterinarians table extending from the wall.

The doctor looked up at us.

"We mostly treat farm animals. Our specialty is horses. Rare breeds, race horses, prize winners." The doctor put both hands simultaneously in her lab coat pockets. 'Do you like horses little girl?"

Arlene's eyes widened at the question from the doctor. She grabbed my pant leg as I stepped forward to confront the woman at the table.

A good Independent never dies...

2008-06-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

The horror genre like the music genre is defined by independent work. When a indie rock bands starts a movement- sooner or later the mainstream catches up and copies. When a good, independent horror film comes out the genre tends to follow in the box office. Carpenter's Halloween, Sean S. Cunnigham's Friday the 13th, George Romero's Night of the Living Dead, at their time, were independent films. They went on to spawn decades worth of Hollywood horror nightmares. Even more recently, many of these groundbreaking films are being re-made; yet another attempt at Hollywood's cinematic plagiary.

So it's safe to say, a good independent horror film never dies. Recently, the Horror Society put on an independent film fest here in Cincinnati. While mostly consisting of shorts, the fest showcased a few feature length indie fright fares. Director Lou Vockel's http://www.onemanfilmindustry.com/The Stalking Hand and Vagrant played to crowd applause and intrigue. Vagrant's cast displayed a Reservoir Dogs like pacing throughout. They played off each other and against each other in a grindhouse style heist film. With a back-drop of a vagrant, homeless killer in the house- this scenrio proved the best of the fest and most likely to transcend the indie film world. Halloween, Friday the 13th or Night of the Living Dead it may not be- but the independent world seems to be alive and screaming in Cincinnati, OH.

Goodbye to a MASTER of the genre

2008-06-16T16:38:00.000-07:00

Farwell to Stan Winston, who died of cancer today. Stan has given us so many movie monsters and inspired make-up/ creature effects. Film highlights (for me) include Aliens- Terminator films- Wrong Turn- Pumpkinhead- The Thing- The Entity- Starman- Predator- just to name a few. This is a sad day for horror fans...but check out http://www.stanwinstonstudio.com/home.html

and simply peruse the long list of films Stan Winston leaves us with- and you'll see he will most certainly never be forgotten.

Cincy screams for a new Bruce

2008-06-15T17:10:00.000-07:00

If Cincinnati Reds fans want something to cheer about amidst a dismal season...they scream for BRUCE. Jay Bruce that is. And when horror fans have gone for awhile since a new Evil Dead film, they want to scream for a new BRUCE Campbell. Fear not horror hounds...our new Bruce appears to be here in the form of Russell Hurley, star of this weekends Cincinnati Horror Film Fest and center piece of this http://citybeat.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A145355 City Beat article. Hurley is a barber in downtown Cincinnati and our towns largest independent horror philanthropist. I saw Hurley this weekend in a small role in The Stalking Hand. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475401/
as well as the lead role in Vagrant http://youtube.com/watch?v=kd3EzjhqMyg. Hurley absolutely stole the show in both pictures. If going from being a barber to being a film star seems hard, fear not, as Hurley provides horror with a real shot of comedic intensity. He goes from a humorous, Elvis loving cop in the Stalking hand, to a dead serious thug in Vagrant. Both turns showing that this Cincinnati son is destined to rise as a marauder of the undead. A slayer of the severed limb. A leader of the misfit gang. All while engaging the viewer in Samuel L Jackson-Esq monologues and Bruce Campbell wit. Russel Hurley may enjoy being a barber- but he trades pork chop sideburns for acting chops when it comes to his latest film. Vagrant was the crown jewel of the Horror Film Fest. Hurley, along with the rest of the cast of Vagrant established themselves as innovators of the genre. The film itself relies on a grainy, grindhouse feel. But the film is carried by the acting performances alone. The group of actors in this film gave what may be the rocket launcher to their careers. This may not be Hurley's Evil Dead as Bruce Campbell had. But unfortunately for Bruce, I personally feel that Hurley's acting skills will send him straight into many more diverse roles, he's that good. I look forward to seeing more form him. Better than a rookie coming up from AAA ball and invigorating a stadium of thirty thousand.

Happy Friday the 13th !

2008-06-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

What a splendid day it shall be! Friday the 13th!
Things you could do today to celebrate: 1. go see The Happening 2. Watch Friday the 13th movies (probably will be some on AMC or Sci-Fi tonight). 3. Go to the Cincinnati Horror Film Fest in Fairfield tomarrow. 4. Play a trick on someone. 5. Step on a crack. 6. Dress up as a camp counselor and and see what happens when you mix sex drugs and alcohol. 7. Play with a quiji board tonight. 8. Say bloody Mary or Candyman into a mirror. 9. Don't listen to the old crazy guy that warns you of what in them der woods. 10. Or, just sit at home and do whatever your wife tells you.
Whatever you do, enjoy the 13th.... chi chi chi ha ha ha...

It's all in a name

2008-06-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

Nancy: [about Freddy] What'd he look like? You get a look at him?
Rod: No.
Nancy: Well then how can you say somebody else was there?
Rod: Because somebody cut her. While I watched.
Nancy: Somebody cut her while you watched and you don't know what he looked like?
Rod: I couldn't see the fucker. You could just see the cuts happening, all at once. I probably could've saved her if I'd moved sooner. But I thought it was just another nightmare, like the one I had the night before. There was this guy who had knives for fingers.

That's right guys and ghouls...you're favorite horror blog received it's name from Nightmare On Elm Street. How can you see somebody when they're not there? you can if there's cuts happening. How can you keep getting the latest in horror film, literature and original stories? Tune in daily to cutshappening.blogspot.com. Or else...I'll pin all of the murders on Rod Lane!

Never Knew

2008-06-12T08:31:00.000-07:00

Gary Braunbeck is from Ohio. Newark, OH to be exact. I used to deliver Home City Ice there in high school. Gary is a Bram Stoker Award winning author of several short stories and novels. His latest is Coffin Country. Which I will be reading after I finish the non-horror-mass-market-yet-still engaging as hell Dean Koontz novel The Husband. I will give a full review of the Braunbeck novel in a week or so and I have added a link to his site on the horror authors list. While we're speaking of Koontz...many may cry out "why have you not included the dog lover Dean in your horror list?" I will premise this by saying I enjoy Dean Koontz. Read him almost as much as the King in high school. Almost everything I read by Dean Koontz is great, reels me in and I cannot stop reading (like The Husband a great novel). This said...I have begun to think he is not a horror writer. He is a great writer, but more suspense and crime and kidnapping now. Plus, he puts out like twenty some novels a year...i can't keep up. So, no I don't include Koontz as a horror writer. But he is a good one. For this sites purposes, I'll stick to real creepers and ghouls...like Braunbeck, Ketchum, Keane, Lee, and (even though he's gone soft himself...) the King. Constant readers will always listen.

seeing sounds

2008-06-12T08:25:00.000-07:00

Although I know my wife does not care for the beats and the rap...and I typically don't either....more of a rawk guy....I cannot get enough of the new N.E.R.D. album "seeing sounds." It's terrific! Highly recommend, even for someone who does not like hip hop (like myself). But this is good. So good you can see it. http://www.n-e-r-d.com/

Have Mercy On Us All #1

2008-06-11T18:59:00.001-07:00

*This story is inspired by, in tittle only, the Fred Vargas novel Pars Vite et Reviens Tard (Have Mercy On Us All). I have neither read the novel, or seen the recent 2007 film. Although I plan to do both when done with this story.

This story is copyrighted by back words 4.

Have Mercy On Us All

part 1

"I want to tell you something. I want to tell you about the monsters in my room and the bad dreams I'm having. They are behind the door and in the ceiling fan and in the shadows of the night light. Turn that off. Check behind the door. The horse's in my dreams are all unicorns with wings. They walk around like people and there's one behind the door."

-A beaded necklace rattles the wood as the door opens. The hollow ping of the plastic slapping the wood takes too long. Time begins to slow. But behind the door yields no monsters. No goblins. No unicorns with wings walking around. Just the horror of the once area daddies vacuum doesn't get. Dust bunnies. Far worse than Easter bunnies or fuzzy bunnies in the yard. A beaded necklace and a grey streak of dust behind an off white door.

"There's nothing in here. See. Monsters are just pretend. Besides, Mommy and Daddy would never let anything scare our little girl. We're right downstairs and you can come down if one appears."

"But mommy is not here and there are more monsters in the ceiling fan and the closet. The fan turns into a wing and the unicorn walks around up there. He wants to get home but he cannot get to the closet before they hear him. They lock the door on him. That's their hideout. There, behind that tent."

-The yellow fabric feels cool from the constant sway and billow of fan-wind. If it were a tent the campers would have to pray for no rain. The right hand section seemed to open itself with a ghostly swagger. The left hand panel of curtain held shut, blocking the light from the killer of all monster killers, a child's flashlight. Sometimes, the beam alone has been said to have launched ceiling fan monsters right back to Home Depot.

"Shine that light over here. For one little girl, you sure can jam pack a closet like a grown woman. Half of these clothes should be sent out to goodwill or something. The diapers. Those should be tossed, you haven't been in those for a year at least."

-The curtain stayed closed on the left side. There was a quick flash of white behind the plastic over wrap of a bag of diapers. A piece of thin trim from a panel. The trim was only one piece, straight up from the baseboard. The diaper bags, cloths and stuffed animals all toppled over with the slightest touch. With the hallway light illuminating parts of the wall, there was a change in the paint color. What was a clean white wall, seemed grey in part. The part felt different too. Like particleboard. Like it wanted to give a hand a splinter. A door.

-A makeshift, but flush with the existing wall, three by three square door. Big enough to crawl through. Any monster pliable enough to fit through though could not be that terrifying. The door looked like an access door to a fuse box, or a attic entry. Nothing near big enough for a talking winged unicorn.

-But big enough for a little girls imagination.

-The light bulb popped in concert with the switch.

-In the dark, the door in the closet seemed to disappear. Then, the square got darker as the panel fell back into a space behind the wall.

Since the Reds are choking...

2008-06-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

I'll write a story. Our ol' Cincinnati red legs are suckin like a vampire on a tampon, Have been for the last three nights (or is it weeks)? Either way, there has to be something better to do with my time. I will of course support the Big Red Tricycle by having it on, on mute, while I listen to some records and write a little bit. Each night I will write. Just a few paragraphs a day. Of a longer, serial story horror story. More of a fable for kids- no Pans Labyrinth or Hansel and Gretel. But closer to a Thief of Always. We'll see how it goes...I see it being kind of a modern age old time radio show late night horror tale. A Tale From the Crypt! So as the Creepier would say "cuddle up kiddies...you're in for a nasty little terror tale I'd like to call... Have Mercy On Us All..."

U.S. v. Them

2008-06-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

One of the recent trends in horror seems to be the U.S. remaking/reduxing/or just plain borrowing from foreign nightmares. This is most prevalent with Japanese horror films. I honestly stopped counting Asian horror remakes shortly after The Ring. But, there is some comment to be made on if/why someone would rather see the U.S. version of The Grudge...rather than seeing Takashi Shimizu's Ju-On. I personally enjoyed both, but for real, dark, horror- Shimizu's original cannot be challenged. It's creepier, darker, more dank. Granted maybe the U.S. version is more accessible because of the language- but often for me at least, subtitles make a film even more spooky. I could spend hours comparing original foreign films to their U.S. remake counterparts- but won't. I appreciate most good horror films, U.S. or otherwise. I especially appreciate when foreign directors make blow your mind apart "U.S." horror movies. I do not care for all the borrowing though. Case in point....which came first? This weekends 'The Strangers," or "Them?" Now, I will be a hypocrite and probably at least rent The Strangers when it rockets to DVD after getting pummeled by the super-hero-Jones onslaught that is in the theaters now. Due in some part because it looks somewhat spooky and I'm a sucker for masks. BUT...the movie does at least appear to borrow somewhat from David Moreau and Xavier Palud's "Them." Now that movie was a horror movie. An absolute creep-fest. "Them" was a quiet, tension building spook of a film that indeed scared me at times (that's what it's all about, right). "The Strangers" may do well. But most likely will get dissolved into the pea soup that is the U.S. taking others ideas and not playing nice.

Links

2008-06-09T16:13:00.001-07:00

As advertised...the new and improved cuts happening blog will be more devoted to horror than ever before. This includes links. Not sausage links my dear readers...or Zelda Links my dear gamers...but link links. I have begun to list links to my favorite horror filmmakers and horror writers. You should peruse them there to your right. This is by NO MEANS a comprehensive list. I will add to it at will. I give my cuts happening seal of approval to all of the filmmakers and writers listed. You should not go wrong with any of these masters work. Furthermore, I will not share the taste of every horror fan...so as Brian Keene would say "Don't look for your town here."

Horror Society?

2008-06-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

What a revelation! I suppose if I was a little more with it, not so old, or out of touch....I would know of things like the horror society http://www.horrorsociety.com/. Instead, my family, that allows and forgives (as it is an odd hobby) my love of horror films, brings this film festival to my attention http://www.cincinnati.horrorsociety.com/. Over the years i have been isolated in my interest in horror films. Maybe one friend or two that says "yeah...I like horror movies, you seen that new Saw film?" But no one who appreciates in concert with me, the vast array of horror talent that is out right now. I have been a fan since watching the Shining with my mother as a young boy. Since watching Nightmare on Elm Street with my brother, when the parents were away. Since watching Evil Dead with my old college roommate-and to this day, my only ever real horror friend. Since today- where I find myself starting my horror blog back. Sifting through my collection of close to two hundred films- asking myself, "do other people enjoy horror films as much as I do?" the answer is yes! I will be attending this horror fest this weekend. A wonderful thing since I cannot afford the travel costs of attending a fangoria festival- which only comes as close to cincy as Chicago. I will have a blast. Perhaps even meet some others of my kind- then this blog will really get going and my family will see there are others like me out there.

cuts are happening again!

2008-06-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

The world's favorite Horror Blog is back. Cuts Happening has fought off the zombie hordes that overtook the company headquarters about a month ago- and have emerged hungry as ever to report on the world of horror films. This renewed interest in discussing horror has come in some part to this weekends "Cincinnati Horror Film Fest" brought to you by www.HorrorSociety.com. My father in law brought it to my attention that this was happening here in Fairfield this weekend. I checked into it- and it is for real. Eleven hours of independent horror films. I cannot wait. I am so happy to see horror films coming to my area. So ecstatic in fact, that I am officially bringing back cuts happening. This time, it will be bloodier, cover more horror and review more film than ever before and I will proclaim the wonder of horror film to anyone special enough to fall upon this blog. So keep checking back. And remember what Rod Lane says "There were just like....cuts happening man."