Part of enjoying this time of the year is seeing scary movies, TV etc. I thought I might address the newest scary TV show that premiered last week called American Horror Story. I have now seen both episodes and I must admit to not being sure whether I like it or not. It’s very scary and like I read somewhere recently it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen on a TV show before. The main thing that bothers me is the constant feeling of having seen everything before. The reason I feel that is because almost every major scene is copied from some famous scary movie or another. Interestingly, though, it appears to be very much on purpose which I find so strange. They cover every scary movie from The Shining to The Strangers and everything in between in the first 2 episodes. I find it somewhat irritating and enjoyable at the same time. I’m actually reminded of the show Lost. I know what you’re thinking, but hear me out. I watched every episode religiously from day one and when it came down to the last episode I was really pissed off. They spent the entire series feeding us cryptic information in every episode and in the end most of them remained unanswered. How is that like American Horror Story? There is so much stuff being thrown at the audience in every episode that I have this feeling that we will never get the answers to any of it. I find all the characters to be pretty unlikeable. I don’t think they’ve spent enough time on character development. It seems like they are spending all their energy on trying to shock you and no time on making you like the characters. As Scary Hubby pointed out though, it’s very well made and the acting is very good. It does do what it sets out to do. It definitely scares you. I just don’t know if that’s enough. If you have the hots for Dylan McDermott, then you’ll love the first episode. I lost count on how many times we saw his butt. I really like him, but that just got old after awhile. Why these people continue to stay in this house and even bought it in the first place is the big mystery. In the end, if you like to be scared, turned on and disturbed all at the same time then this show is for you. If you want a story you can dig yourself into then look elsewhere. Not sure if it will last and I can’t decide if I will continue to watch, but this is just my thirteen cents.
Even though the Fright Night movie from 1985 didn’t make the Scary Jane reader’s top ten best scariest movies list, doesn’t mean it didn’t belong there. Well, maybe not top ten worthy, but it sure deserved an honorable mention. Actually maybe this year I should do the top ten best comedy horror films. If, or should I say when I do I’m sure the original Fright Night will appear. Anyway, being fan of the original I was a little nervous to see the remake. I can’t think of a single horror remake that has come anywhere close to the original. Most notably Psycho. Love Vince Vaughn, but despised that remake. I always wonder why they bother. If it ain’t broke, don’t f***in fix it! So, last weekend we went to see the Fright Night remake with Colin Farrell. Normally we would have avoided it, but it got some decent reviews, so we just went for it. So glad we did. It actually turned out to be quite good. They changed enough of the story to make it interesting for those people who have seen the original a million times (like me). Colin Farrell made a very good (and sexy) vampire. The script still had laughs and was more scary than the original, but not really gorey. I hate 3D, so we went to a regular showing. I’m sure there were supposed to be more scares, but I think 3D detracts from the story. I loved that they even poked a little fun at the original. I highly recommend you take a chance and go see this. If you do, keep an eye out for a great cameo from one of the original actors.
I’ve never been much of a believer in fortune telling, horoscopes etc., but I do find it fun. In college I became obsessed with tarot cards and learning how to read them. Strangely it was not because I wanted to really tell people their fortunes. I just wanted to know how to do it and what the cards supposedly meant. Now I look at it as a fun parlor trick that I pull out for our Halloween parties. I have a fantastic outfit that I wear and everyone seems to love it. I, of course, go way overboard and predict all sorts of weird things. What’s funny is when one thing I predicted actually happens. I just came back from a little vacation to visit Scary Hubby’s family in Philly and as usual we went to lots of bookstores. You know I have to check out the competition. Anyway, we ended up in Barnes and Noble and as I was looking through the bargain books I found this little book called Horrorscopes: A Little Book of Misfortunes. I didn’t have time to look at it, but it had a skull on the cover so I went ahead and bought it thinking it would give me something to read on the plane. This little book is just so fun. It has a twisted horoscope for every day of the year. The book is not for any particular year, so it even has Feb. 29th. The horoscopes can range anywhere from predicting a zombie apocalypse to preparing for impending horrors like your transformation into an ogre. It also lists dark days, unlucky numbers, evil omens and gruesome gift ideas. Such a riot. I highly recommend this book if you have a dark sense of humor or if you just need to discover the horrible fate that awaits you.
Every day we get books into the bookstore. Most of the time they are just your standard novel or a history book that I barely look at long enough to price. Once in a while though, a book will come through that door that catches my attention. Today was one of those days. As you may have guessed I am a huge fan of dark humor. I find most people take themselves way too seriously and need to lighten up a bit. This particular book was written by a man named Jim Benton. I know about this author mainly because Scary Daughter loves his Franny K. Stein books. They are written for kids, but they are wickedly funny. He’s also the creator behind It’s Happy Bunny. So, along comes this book today called Cherise the Niece and it’s by Jim Benton. The cover intrigued me right away and I promptly read it. It’s a short little book, so it doesn’t take long. It’s about a little girl named Cherise who goes to live with various aunts after her parents “mysteriously disappear”. I was laughing from the first page and it has the best last line of any book I’ve ever read. I highly recommend it if you have a murderously funny mind like I do. If you are easily offended, then what the hell are you doing reading my blog?
I love my iPhone, I really do, but I’m not the ideal user. I rarely download apps. Scary Hubby will tell me about something that I just have to have and usually I download it and then get bored with it. I will admit that I have a healthy obsession with Solitaire, especially Pyramid Solitaire. I do use those apps quite frequently. A while back Scary Hubby emailed me a link for yet another app. This sat in my inbox for the last month not getting touched. I finally opened it up this afternoon to see what it was. Big mistake. I can’t stop playing this game! It’s called Grimm: Ride of the Perambulator and it’s incredibly addictive. Basically you play a lost baby in a carriage and you have to maneuver it through darkly gothic victorian worlds where Mr. Grimm and other scary men are trying to stop you and kill you. It’s kind of like Super Mario, but with a baby in a gothic world. The graphics are just gorgeous. Think Tim Burton with a dash of Gorey. I wish they made it for the iPad, because I would love to see that artwork on a larger scale. You can download it here. It’ll cost you $0.99, but it’s worth it. Just make sure you read the device requirements and that yours is completely up to date.
There are times when I wish I lived in New York or at least near it and this is one of those times. Clearly last year was not my best and somehow I missed this little piece of scary news. There is a new, well new as in October of 2010, Off-Broadway thriller called Play Dead. It is co-written and directed by Teller (of Penn & Teller) and co-written & performed by Todd Robbins. I have always been a magic geek. I know dumb, but I love trying to figure out how everything is done. Penn & Teller are great, but Teller is the mastermind in my opinion and Penn is the showman and comedian. Since Teller is one of the minds behind this I just have to find a way to see it. Maybe it’ll go on the road? Judging by reviews and the website it is very difficult to describe what this play is about. Without having seen it yet, I hesitate to try and describe it. Here is a blurb from the site.
“Teller and Todd Robbins invite Death out to play in PLAY DEAD, a new spirit-shaking Off-Broadway show inspired by “Midnight Spook Shows,” an American institution from the 1930s to the 1970s. As the guide for the evening, Robbins draws audiences into an unknown haunted world full of frightful surprises and diabolical laughter. Although very much a theatrical work, it is hardly a typical “play,” but rather a dramatic, unnerving thriller – here and now in an “abandoned” theater, illuminated by a single ghostlight – in which audiences test their nerves and face their fears as they are surrounded by ethereal sights, sounds and even touches of the returning dead – all achieved by wry, suspenseful storytelling and uncanny stage illusions.”
One reviewer said that it’s basically true ghost stories told in a seance setting where things happen to the audience. Apparently the majority of the play/performance happens in complete darkness. It’s gotten rave reviews. Sounds like something right down my dark alley.
I finally got around to watching the rest of the Oscars. I was out that night and only caught the big awards at the end. I had heard that there was finally a tribute to horror movies and I was anxious to see it. Now that I have seen it I have some complaints. First off why were Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart presenting this? I mean, really, are they today’s only answer to modern horror movies? I liked the movies, but they are pretty tame in the horror department. Why not have the queen of scream, Jamie Leigh Curtis or Mr. Nightmare himself Robert Englund? Heck, why not Bruce Campbell? I know they wanted to pull in the viewers by getting the Twilight kids, but use them for something else. There were much better choices for this presentation. My other big beef with this was the opening statement that the Oscars had not honored a horror movie since The Exorcist, 37 years ago. Really? What about the numerous awards that have been given out since to horror movies for visual effects, sound, makeup, costumes etc. Do these not count? Tell that to the winners. So, if these don’t count, what about all of the awards given to Silence of the Lambs? Best actor, actress, picture, director, screenplay were all awarded to that which is much more than what was awarded to The Exorcist. They only received awards for sound and screenplay. I guess you could argue that Silence of the Lambs was not a full on horror film, but the Academy included it in the montage, so that argument goes out the window. Putting all of that aside, I was thrilled to see the Academy giving horror movies their due. You can’t deny that the general public loves horror movies and it was about time that they paid homage to that.
I have pushed one of my favorite shows on here before and I’m going to do it again. I love Psych because it is incredibly creative and it always keeps me guessing. Plus, I can watch it with my 7 year old. Once in awhile they do one of their tribute episodes. Wednesday’s episode was a tribute to Hitchcock that just thrilled me to pieces. They creatively tied together such movies as Psycho, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Rear Window and North By Northwest in a continuation of a serial killer storyline featuring Ally Sheedy which unfortunately goes unsolved by the end of the episode. The writers of this show obviously have a fondness for horror and mystery movies and repeatedly incorporate them into the show. If you haven’t ever watched this show you need to check it out and give it a chance.
Finally got to see Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant last night. We had meant to see it when it came out, but with a small child in the house it can sometimes be hard to get away. It didn’t help that the movie pretty much disappeared after just a couple of weeks. I had read the bad reviews, but I didn’t care. It looked like the perfect movie for me. I went into it with very low expectations and was very pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed it and the more I think about it I like it even more. I think this movie definitely suffered from much to long of a title. Movies with really long titles don’t usually do as well at the movies. With some exceptions I’m sure. The movie was based on the first book of a series, which I have not read. I plan to now. I liked the feel of the movie right away. It had a sense of humor, but still delivered some scary scenes and even a rather brutal scene. The town that the movie was set in was obviously supposed to be very vanilla and I like the fact that everyone wore pastel colors all of the time. Very “I shop at JCrew” kind of look. I just think they should have played that up a little more because I’m not sure it came across enough. Lots of great stars, too. It was also refreshing to see vampires portrayed in a more ugly way instead of all brooding and sparkly. Not all vampires are handsome. You can tell that they meant this to be the first of many, but unfortunately it did not do well, so I’m thinking it’s not in the cards. Too bad. It’s a world that transferred really well to film. Scary Hubby and I always tend to like the movies/TV shows that no one else does. I’m looking forward to exploring it more in the books, though.
In my quest to catch up on some of the scary movies released the last few years I saw The Eye from 2008 today. Yet another remake of an Asian film. Aren’t they all lately? I’ve been selling books for years and it constantly amazes me that Hollywood insists on remaking perfectly good films instead of mining more of the wealth of books out there. I have not seen the original of this movie called Gin gwai, but from what I can understand it’s much better than the remake. Very predictable. It’s about a blind girl who gets a cornea transplant and starts to realize that she can see dead people. Very similar to a movie from 1994 called Blink, which was much better in my opinion. It was good for some jumpy scares in the beginning, but otherwise I would not highly recommend it. Maybe a way to pass an afternoon, I guess. I’ve seen better remakes for sure, but all in all I wish they’d stop doing it. Most of the time they are not very successful anyway, so why bother.
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Part of enjoying this time of the year is seeing scary movies, TV etc. I thought I might address the newest scary TV show that premiered last week called American Horror Story. I have now seen both episodes and I must admit to not being sure whether I like it or not. It’s very scary and like I read somewhere recently it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen on a TV show before. The main thing that bothers me is the constant feeling of having seen everything before. The reason I feel that is because almost every major scene is copied from some famous scary movie or another. Interestingly, though, it appears to be very much on purpose which I find so strange. They cover every scary movie from The Shining to The Strangers and everything in between in the first 2 episodes. I find it somewhat irritating and enjoyable at the same time. I’m actually reminded of the show Lost. I know what you’re thinking, but hear me out. I watched every episode religiously from day one and when it came down to the last episode I was really pissed off. They spent the entire series feeding us cryptic information in every episode and in the end most of them remained unanswered. How is that like American Horror Story? There is so much stuff being thrown at the audience in every episode that I have this feeling that we will never get the answers to any of it. I find all the characters to be pretty unlikeable. I don’t think they’ve spent enough time on character development. It seems like they are spending all their energy on trying to shock you and no time on making you like the characters. As Scary Hubby pointed out though, it’s very well made and the acting is very good. It does do what it sets out to do. It definitely scares you. I just don’t know if that’s enough. If you have the hots for Dylan McDermott, then you’ll love the first episode. I lost count on how many times we saw his butt. I really like him, but that just got old after awhile. Why these people continue to stay in this house and even bought it in the first place is the big mystery. In the end, if you like to be scared, turned on and disturbed all at the same time then this show is for you. If you want a story you can dig yourself into then look elsewhere. Not sure if it will last and I can’t decide if I will continue to watch, but this is just my thirteen cents.
Finally got to see 
In my quest to catch up on some of the scary movies released the last few years I saw