#Like the veil is thin but in an intriguing way; not a scary one

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

Anyone else feel like they’ve been walking around in a lucid dream since they were born?

[lilflowerpot]

In honor of October I must ask, would Lotor like Halloween?

As with every part of alien culture, he’d find it intriguing at least (if a little silly with the way that people dress up as something scary… but it doesn’t have to be scary? And children are sent around to the houses of strangers at night to eat sweets even though throughout the rest of the year they are categorically taught to not accept sugary treats from people they do not know??).

The history of it would be of particular interest to him though. Halloween as most people think of it isn’t at all what it used to be, and has its roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain as a festival marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of a new year, with this night being one where the veil between the living and the dead is thin, so spirits and ghosts may return to the mortal plane (both to wreck havoc and pass on prophetic knowledge to the druidic priests). This shares similarities with several old Galra festivals (the bonfire to ward off ill-meaning spirits and protect the living, the animal sacrifices and wearing of animal heads/pelts, the blood magic, the fact that humans had druids that do not sound dissimilar to the Galra’s own), and indeed Lotor finds it fascinating that thousands of cultures from all across the universe share this same concept of having one particular point in their calendar when the dead can - in some form or another - interact with the living.

[animalslifestyle]

The Devil is among a group of people trapped in an elevator!!!

The film ‘Devil’ is a smart and scary tale about good, evil, fate, and religion. It also implies that M. Night Shyamalan’s primary ability has always been imaginative narrative rather than actual filmmaking.

If you’ve gone to a movie theater in the last few months, you’ve probably seen people’s reactions to the Devil’ trailer: they sit silently fascinated until the phrase “From the imagination of M. Night Shyamalan” appears on the screen. That’s when the applause and/or boos start.

It should be noted, however, that Shyamalan’s participation with Devil is limited to writing the story for the picture and guiding it as the first chapter in his ongoing trilogy, The Night Chronicles. And believe me when I say that having Shyamalan at a remove makes all the difference in the world. The Devil isn’t the best ghost story ever told, but it’s a lot more fun than you may think.

The concept is typical Shyamalan: on a stormy day in Philadelphia, five individuals visit a high-rise office building downtown (for varied reasons) and happen to board the same elevator. While the building’s employees and several officers try to get the stranded passengers out of the elevator car, the passengers begin to experience bizarre and fatal happenings that pit them against one another.

People look at that simple concept — set in a single location, no less — and the odds of Devil having the creative energy to sustain itself for 80 minutes begin to collapse fast in their thoughts. However, I am here to tell you that this is a common mistake (one I was guilty of myself): Devil plays it smart by making effective use of time, perspective, and, most importantly, plot, which would have been a terrible catastrophe to carry off in a respectable way. In classic Shyamalan fashion, there are certain plot twists tossed in for good measure, some of which you will definitely see coming, while others you may not.

Let’s start with pace. Taking into account the time it takes to set up and put things down, the real screen time spent in the elevator is about 50–60 minutes. The events unfold in real time, which benefits the picture by keeping things tight and urgent, and it helps the actors involved to infuse their performances with high-octane intensity since their characters are naturally caught up in the terrifying moment.

The film is also clever in how it employs the “single-setting” format, which is a deceptive term. The screen time is mostly divided between the elevator and the events taking on outside of the elevator, including the security officers and cops attempting to rescue the trapped people.

In reality, the majority of the film’s plot revolves around what happens outside the elevator, with the elevator itself serving as the necessary trigger. Brian Nelson (30 Days of Night, Hard Candy) is the screenwriter who fleshed out M. Night’s plot, and he smartly keeps the dialogue between the passengers within the box snappy while keeping viewers focused with movement and physical action carried out by the actors on the outside.

This tight control of time and space keeps us engaged (searching for that hint that will unveil the enigma), but also prevents us from being too bogged down or bored. Perspective was also well managed. Director John Erick Dowdle (Quarantine) frequently shifts between the individuals within and outside the box, keeping us aware, intrigued, and on our toes.

Dowdle employs clever camera angles within the elevator, gently moving around from the center of the box, capturing each passenger alone in the frame for a brief period, allowing the actors’ responses to hint at what they’re hiding, or what we should be wary of. The elevator feels like an enclosed and unavoidable death level, which heightens the suspense. Lighting is also used wisely — after all, it’s difficult to determine who a murderer is when the killer exclusively strikes in the dark; sound is also used well in those “dark times.” Bottom line: an elevator murder mystery is a premise that might easily go off the tracks, yet filmmakers manage to keep the train on track all the way to the station.

The actors are mostly “seen them someplace” faces that you might not know by name. The five passengers stuck in the elevator are played by Bokeem Woodbine (Black Dynamite), Logan Marshall-Green (Dark Blue), Jenny O’Hara (Mystic River), Bojana Novakovic (Edge of Darkness), and Geoffrey Arend (500 Days of Summer), and they all work nicely together.

It also helps that each of the five performers is brilliant; just when you think you’ve figured out which one is the one, another actor will give you cause to rethink. They do a fantastic job of maintaining the strong sense of five individuals who are terrified as heck (no pun intended) but not scared out of their wits. You’ll have to see the movie to understand what I mean.

The people working outside the elevator are also recognizable faces with names you might not recognize. Jacob Vargas (Traffic, Death Race) excels as the one religious security guard. Vargas’ job is to provide all of the goofy supernatural/religious exposition necessary by the tale, and the actor smartly handles his character with enough sarcasm to guide us through those silly portions with chuckles rather than moans.

Matt Craven (Public Enemies) portrays the straight guy to Vargas’ comedic character, a second security officer who believes his partner’s religious warnings are nonsense and isn’t afraid to tell him so. Chris Messina (Greenberg, Julie & Julia) plays Detective Bowden, a police officer who is called to the scene and quickly finds himself in the middle of something he never imagined.

I previously stated that the plot is also one part of the Devil that was handled properly, and this is correct. It’s difficult to describe without giving away any spoilers, but I will say this: there is a plot at work here with a distinct arch and goal, and it goes beyond what the original “whodunit” concept indicates.

What Shyamalan has created seems more like his Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs days than the controversial later part of his work portfolio. Devil reminds me of a period when M. Night was more interested in telling interesting stories that defied genre norms than in novels that functioned as thin veils for his preachy or egotistical lectures.

Working with other talented filmmakers and writers clearly relieves some of the pressure and gives Shyamalan the space and freedom to do what he does best: tell clever and moving stories that chill, thrill, and keep us guessing, and while Devil isn’t the greatest movie ever, it certainly achieves those things.

As you might expect from the title, religion plays a significant role in the plot, presenting the picture as a type of morality tale. It’s a bit surprising that the film wasn’t marketed as a Christian drama a la God’s Not Dead. Fortunately, the film does not portray religion as the best thing since sliced bread, instead of employing faith in a higher force to make the five imprisoned humans effectively atone for their crimes.

As a result, it’s a shame that the characters aren’t as thoroughly developed as they could have been. With the exception of Messina’s Bowden, most of the other characters are fairly poorly drawn, living solely to die or to vomit out a sickening quantity of exposition.

Though its structure and dialogue might have been improved, Devil isn’t Shyamalan’s worst effort. In reality, the multiple stressful sequences, along with superb camera work, make for a surprisingly enjoyable film.

Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIUvYQqHaJulahGrU942ONQ

Playlist:

Sexy Love: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIUvYQqHaJulahGrU942ONQ

Horror: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru4FE1-1keyyqd1rYJnlwpqE8ysUn2uv

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

release the accidentally selling your souls to a demon story

So my birthday is only two days before Halloween. 

The day after I turned 13, I had my birthday party, which just consisted of my two friends sleeping over. It was a pretty average night, we just ate pizza, made some weird videos and watched movies. Everything was fine. 

Morning time comes- and we’re all pretty Buzzed. It’s Halloween, I was officially a teenager, we had some cool costumes planned, we were all very hyper and giggly that morning. We didn’t want our party to end yet so with some calls home, the girls were set to hang out at my place for pretty much the rest of the day- but we then realized we didn’t have anything to do. My mom had to go to Target for some reason or another, and told us if we went with her, she’d buy ‘any movie you want’ for us to watch. So we went. 

Now, firstly- anyone who’s ever been inside a Target knows it’s Not A Real Place. Secondly, the veil is always thinner on Halloween (facts) so this Target had suddenly become…Super Weird. Like, brighter and hazier than normal, and it’s like 9 in the morning and we’re roaming the empty and seemingly abandoned aisles in our pajamas. It just felt like one wrong step and you’d find yourself in another dimension, really intensely. 

We get to the movie aisle and start looking around. Now, at the time, I was the only one of my friends who actually liked horror movies- Raychel loves them now but she was the BIGGEST WIMP when we were kids, and Angie was just Very Quiet And Easy To Startle- but, like, Halloween. Teenager. The girls were surprisingly down for getting a horror movie, which in itself might have been a Warning Sign, but hey, I was stoked about it. We were going through some classic titles but nothing was really jumping out at us- until we see a dvd case, not even on the shelves, it was lying on the floor half shoved under a discarded shirt. The cover was pure white with a clown face laughing out at us. The title card read “Stephen King’s IT”. 

None of us had seen it before- but we had heard about it. It was one of those movies that the adults™ always got weird about, like Chuckie the Killer Doll or the Exorcist. Like it was something that actually scared them. So, like, we knew we totally had to get it. 

My mom tried to put up a small fight with “you’re only supposed to be getting into PG13 not R” (lmao as if this woman has ever given a flying fuck with restrictions I watched so much age inappropriate stuff starting at like age 4) but she quit pretty quickly. The entire ride home was met with “Okay I never watched the full version but it is a Very Scary Story so you’ve been warned!! Don’t start complaining when you’re scared!!!” stuff like that, you know. So we get home, pop some corn, get some hot chocolate, and jump in front of the tv and turn it on. 

So like…firstly, I think we all know by now that the original movie (or miniseries, whatever) isn’t actually That Scary. Secondly, I’m a fucking gem to watch movies with because I make a lot of jokes and laugh at the characters actions. And thirdly, it’s like thirty hours long. So we were all having the time of our damn lives here. Like, there were definitely parts that did scare us (Raychel had trouble with Bev’s bathroom scene. Angie hated the part at the sewers with Ben. Personally, I got freaked out by Eddie’s shower scene and sometimes I still find myself covering the drain with my feet just in case lol. And the blood balloons and the restaurant scene got to us too), but we were still all having a total blast. Watching this movie for the first time is still like a prime happy memory! But, you know, things come to an end. The movie was over, Raychel got picked up and Angie had to head home too (we were meeting up after dinner for trick or treating). I decided to walk Angie home since it wasn’t that far. 

The Veil Still Felt Thin. 

On the walk we kept talking about the movie, and made a point to not walk close to any sewer grates. Our small PA town bore enough of a resemblance to Derry for Angie’s comfort. But it was a nice day, you know? It was late afternoon, birds were chirping, sun was shinning, leaves were blowing everywhere, cars are honking hello at us, front doors were open and little kids could be heard excitedly yelling about their costumes. It was a day that struck me as very picturesque. We eventually got to the place where she could just shortcut through someone’s backyard, so we said ‘see you later’ and suddenly I found myself all alone. 

As quick as a snap, it’s suddenly dead silent. 

And I don’t mean “oh, someone closed their door and we can’t hear the kids any more” like seriously. It was unnaturally silent. No talk, no birds, no wind, no cars. The street was deserted. I couldn’t even hear myself breathing. I thought I had gone deaf at first! It was getting darker, only it was like an hour before that was supposed to happen and there weren’t any clouds near the sun. The air felt burning hot and freezing cold at the same time. I felt like a million eyes were watching me, except I was alone on a dark empty street, all the doors closed, all the curtains pulled shut. There wasn’t even so much as a squirrel or bunny running bye. I thought about calling out to Angie to see if she was still in the back yard, to see if she noticed anything, but the bushes weren’t rustling or moving at all. She wasn’t there. I was 100% alone. 

I start hearing a quiet, deep, throaty chuckling. 

I had been standing still in the same spot from where I watched my friend disappear through the bushes. At the sound, I slowly turned around. 

I was standing directly across from a fucking sewer.

It was too dark to see into it, and yes, I was 100% expecting that fucking clown face. But it was too dark. I couldn’t see anything. I still couldn’t hear myself breathing. All I could hear was this terrifying chuckle going on and on. I felt like if I moved something would pounce on me, like I was a rabbit playing statue. 

Now, I’ve mentioned on here before that I was That Asshole Kid who kept having weird paranormal experiences, and this was a lot more intense than I was used to. Like, shit, I’d had panic attacks over way less than this. I literally thought I was about to die.

And then…something in me kind of snapped. 

I don’t know what, exactly- if I was just tired of always being scared by this crap, or if it was some newfound teenage attitude, or just a primal urge of ‘hey I don’t wanna die’, or if the laughter just ignited something in me, but I just…snapped. 

I looked directly into the pitch dark in that sewer, and I said, loudly, over the still ongoing laughter, and more confident than I’ve ever felt in my life, “No. I am absolutely not doing this right now. You don’t actually need to screw with me, you’re doing this for what, fun? Attention? Find it somewhere else. I am not dying right after my thirteenth birthday.” The laughter got louder at that, more obnoxious. It just pissed me off even more. I made myself step off the sidewalk, and got to the middle of the street, still staring into the pitch black sewer and hoped I was making some intimidating eye contact. “What do I need to do for you to leave me the hell alone? You want my soul, or something? You want me to just pledge alliance to you or some bullshit? I will! All Hail This Creep, or whatever you go by! I’ll do what you want if you leave me alone!” 

And…the creepy laughter trailed off for a moment at that. Back to full, unnatural silence for a minute or so, before the disembodied voice let out an intrigued sounding, “Hmm.”

Next thing I know, the sky’s back a full, bright light that’s making me blink back stars from the sudden change, the wind’s blowing all over the place, and I jumped out of the middle of the street to narrowly avoid getting hit by a car that hadn’t been there a literal second ago. I still felt a little watched, but not as intensely as before. Everything seemed to be completely back to normal. I went back home (constantly glancing over my shoulder) and went on with the rest of the day. Went on with the rest of my life.

But, uh…sometimes this whole scene just comes back to me, and I can’t help but wonder about it.