#he spent 2 years in a rock star satanic cult

[mushiemellows]

Stoner Brook's Old News, LSD Brook who pops his spine and it reactivates like a glow stick is In

[theparanormalperiodical]

The True Story Behind An American Werewolf In London (1981), And The 9 REAL Werewolves That You Might Bump Into This Full Moon

What makes a horror film a cult classic?

Is it a suspenseful and seriously-addictive plot? Is it iconic characters with quick-witted one liners? Or is it the way the director throws out the old rule book and redefines the genre forever?

An American Werewolf in London (1981) doesn’t score so highly on any of those questions, but despite hitting the big screen amongst a herd of werewolf-inspired movies, it is officially a cult classic.

But why? 

With CGI so bad it’ll rival a low-budget episode of Buffy, and with sex scenes so bad it’ll rival a high-budget episode of Buffy, this Yankee doggo wouldn’t need a silver bullet to be floored at the box office these days.

However, when the hum of the theatre-goers melted away into a hush as the opening shot of the Yorkshire Moors back in ‘81, this film was set to terrify the audience.

Jump-scares worthy of Annabelle 36: Yes, This Doll Still Ain’t Dead redefined the genre, with the shockingly realistic transformation scene taking centre stage.

Back in the 1980s, you didn’t see stuff like this. 

That’s why to the previous generation An American Werewolf In London is considered one of the most terrifying movies to date. But to me, the real terror doesn’t lie in the engorging snout of the American tourist, nor his every-decaying gap-year bestie. 

It’s how realistic this movie is to real werewolves.

Today’s post is all about how accurate the film’s portrayal of the werewolf is to the legends of the beast, and the roll-call of the 9 most famous real werewolves.

Let’s get spooky!

First, Let’s Recap Of An American Werewolf In London (1981)

The horror genre is infamous for many things.

The grotesque violence against women, female characters with less complexity than a box of condoms, and plots thinner than the women cast as final girls.

This film is no different, but it's the latter point that really matters here. 

The story starts with two American tourists who decided to spend their Gap Year in England. 

Yeah, me neither.

But instead of having an emotional connection with an elephant in India, they stumble into a cosy little pub named The Slaughtered Lamb. Chockful of secretive villagers and satanic imagery - oh, and a vague warning about the full moon - our scene is set. 

Basics, they tell ‘em: “Teach english to the primitive villagers all you want, just don’t go on the moors or you will get pregnant and die” 

Guess who gets lost and ends up on the moors. What’s that I hear? Mysterious howling that is getting closer to them? 

One of the pair - Jack - is attacked first, and is mauled by the wolf-like being. David is attacked too, but the pub-goers shoot it before it has a chance to rip his throat out.

But moments before he passes out from the pain, he does not see a creature. He sees a naked man, instead. 

(Dun dun duh)

David wakes up 3 weeks later in a London hospital with no recollection of the attacks, but a policeman fills him in, claiming he was attacked by a lunatic. David’s dead pal Jack then makes the first of his appearances in a kind of ghostly-corpsy form. He lets him know that what attacked them was a werewolf, and that David is now one. 

Jack urges David to commit suicide to prevent an attack he cannot control, and to end the curse that makes Jack appear as a ghost that will continue with the existence of the bloodline. During his stint in hospital, he falls for a nurse who he shacks up with when he leaves hospital.

During his first full moon, he stalks the streets of London, slaughtering several in the process. He wakes up in a wolf enclosure at the London Zoo, unharmed by the creatures and with no memory of last night.

Eventually, he begins to piece together the reality of his, uh, werewolf-ness, and attempts to prevent another massacre by getting himself arrested, but he fails. He is drawn into an Adult Cinema by Jack, and meets the ghosts of his other victims who helpfully suggest suicide methods for him to try. 

David transforms for the last time, and continues his attack into central London until he is cornered in an alley. His nurse-lover rocks up, and attempts to calm him. For a moment this seems to work, but he is then shot by police and dies. 

A sequel did follow up this film, and and sees a similar story set in Paris. The setting isn’t the only difference, however; this time we see an underground werewolf society that’s looking for ways to control the, uh, werewolfness using drugs. 

How Accurate Is This To The Legend Of The Werewolf?

Haunted houses, mass murderers, and the creepy details of infamous court cases - it doesn’t take much to justify typing ‘based on a true story’ onto a movie poster.

But the original inspiration behind this film doesn’t just follow one vague story about a vague ghost doing vague ghost things like taking that 10 quid out of your coat pocket even though you spent it on that candle from TK Maxx and are officially in denial that you have a problem it’s not a problem mum it just really rare to find that candle okay these are american imports.

The writer-director, Max Landis, wanted to focus his film on something real, on “something where you really [didn’t] have to suspend disbelief”.

To Landis, Werewolves are an “international” monster, with each individual culture having some man-beast supposedly roam their lands and ravage their communities. He even cited historical cases like in France or in Wales where people were burnt to death for their afflictions, cases that will get their attention later in this post.

So if this film was directly based on the legend of the werewolf, what was the legend of the werewolf?

*Inhale*

A werewolf is a human that can shapeshift into a wolf having been cursed by another, or by an affliction from another werewolf during the night of the full moon. 

Then again, tales tell of drinking water from the puddle created by a wolf’s footprint or wearing a fur belt too much that can cause one to become a ‘wolf-man’.

Scientists have debunked claims stretching back as far as 27 AD with a variety of medical causes unexplained in years gone by, from Lycanthropy (a disorder from which one believes they can transform into a wolf) to Werewolf Syndrome (medical conditions which involve excessive hair growth), to Poryphoria which coincidentally is also used to debunk rumours of vampirism. But the widespread belief that once dominated the world suggests supernatural forces could have been at play, too.

In fact, only in the 18th century did official court cases stop referencing werewolves in Bavaria and Austria.

Nevertheless, this hasn’t stopped myths and mysterious stories from still cropping up today. 

Historically, werewolves and witches were often closely aligned, whether the wolves were used by witches for their own purposes, or they were ridden by them. Therefore, a link was forged between witchcraft trials and the hunts for the man-wolves.  

That being said, it wasn’t just witches they were closely allied with: Germanic tradition might have focused on the former associations, but the Slavic countries considered them closely allied with vampires. This belief in werewolves in Europe - the epicentre of the beastly action - emerged in the 14th century, and peaked in 16th century france. 

This is where the first link between the historical cases of wolf-men and the movie emerge. If the number of werewolf cases grew during one era, this can point to 2 things: that rumours of werewolves fuelled more rumours, or that werewolves were real and thus spreading the curse.

So, when Jack appears as a corpsey-ghosty-being-thing and tells him that the werewolf bloodline needs to end with him, the film conforms to werewolf legends.

Specifically, werewolves were considered to have a variety of give-away traits whether transformed or as a human: unibrows, curled fingernails, low-set ears, and a certain swagger were dead giveaways for werewolves in their human guise. 

Or, when in wolf form, it will bear characteristics such as not having a tail, bearing human eyes and speaking with a human voice. So yes, that scene in Twilight is an accurate depiction of a werewolf. 

But aside from David looking like a wolf during his transformation, one of the key similarities between historic cases and the film is the post-transformation effects:

Having returned to human form, werewolves are often weak and completely debilitated. In fact, severe depressions are often mentioned, too, something that must become pretty annoying if its every 4 weeks. 

Remember when David was in that coma for 3 weeks?

Remember when the ghosts lectured him on suicide methods?

Speaking of folklore mirroring the film, remember the totally-not-creepily-named pub? Ah yes, The Slaughtered Lamb:

The five-pointed star was enough satanic imagery to suggest a divine link to the werewolf that isn’t explored in the movie, but historically curses from gods, saints, and the devil are mentioned. The latter is specifically true for Russia, suggesting this werewolf might be fresh from Mother Russia. 

Oh, and of course, witches supposedly did deals with the devil, suggesting a witchy-satany-link that explains the decor of the pub. 

Given their warnings of a full moon and a desire to protect the young men from their original forays onto the moors, it suggests the decor was put in place as a protection against the supernatural forces haunting the area, or maybe even a deal with the forces to protect the pub or village itself. 

The penultimate parallel is the OG attack itself.

The policeman claims David and Jack were attacked by a lunatic. And if you check out this post on the full moon, you’ll know how well this fits the concept of the werewolf. 

The final key similarity is this: 

The Ancient Greeks and Romans believed in the power of exhaustion to cure people of werewolf, uh, -ism. The captured victims would be subjected to unruly levels of physical exertion in the hope that it would drive the beast from the body. 

We discover in the second film that the actual ‘cure’ is adrenaline. By engaging in activities which encourage enough adrenaline to rush through the body, the beast can be kept at bay.

This is confirmed by the concept of killing a werewolf in the first film: when the werewolves are shot, they immediately return to human form. 

Quick flashback to GCSE biology, ‘couple dots connected, and here we are.

The 9 Real Werewolves That Have Existed Throughout History And Might Still Exist Today

So - we know that An American Werewolf In London is pretty-gosh-darn-accurate to the legend of the mythical beast that is the werewolf.

But it’s not like werewolves actually exist, do they?

Do they?!

#1 - Pierre Burgot (1502)

The 16th century was a pretty shite time to be alive. If you weren’t dying in childbirth, you were being beheaded for adultery, you dirty b*tch.

Pierre Burgot was facing such a predicament, but his was slightly more furry. Whilst tending his sheep like most french farmers, three men on horseback rocked up and asked him if he’d like to renounce god and follow them, instead. With the promise of protected sheep, he accepted, and was later turned into a wolf as a part of the contract.

Then, in true devil-worshipper-werewolf fashion they terrorised the region, willingly becoming wolves to kill, pillage, and eat innocent civilians. 

When Burgot was eventually attacked during a quick snack, he was discovered in human form, mirroring the movie titling this post.

#2 - Giles Garnier (1573)

A hermit concealed in the woods who may or may not turn into a wolf is a pretty common tale still cropping up today, but back in the 16th century, this was more popular than ever. 

With a taste for childrens, he began to pick off and partially devour young locals. The villagers’ proof of his attacks, however, did not simply come from pinning the attacks on a recluse:

They saw a wolf maul a young boy and followed it to see it transform back into a human form - the human form of Giles Garnier.

Garnier even confessed to his shapeshifting-situation. 

#3 - Perrenette Gandillon (1598)

A 15 year old boy was livin’ his best Middle Ages life when he saw a wolf lunge at his sister. With its human hands it grabbed her and killed her, then switching its attention to him. 

It might have left deep wounds, and he might have died days later, but the boy had just enough time left to cough up a brief description of the hairy hands he saw grab his younger sister - and the scar gracing the wolf’s body.

From here the villagers led a mob to the house of Perrenette Gandillon, a woman who bore the same scar. This was actually a very common way to deduce a werewolf back to its human form. The thing is, they then worked out that it wasn’t just her who was getting wolfy.

Her whole family had actually been spotted in beast-mode, something they later each confessed to. 

(They were even believed to pace on all fours in their prison cells.)

#4 - Jacques Roulet (1598)

This is the ultimate werewolf story, bringing together an ostracised member of a community and family relations that would make Christmas dinner more awkward than my UKIP aunt naming dropping Jacob Rees-Mogg.

When a young boy was found mutilated and two wolves seen, they were hunted down until a man dressed in rags and in a daze emerged from the darkness.

Jacques Roulet was his name; slaughtering innocent children was his game.

It is believed that he and his amigos had been given their powers by the devil himself, and the eventual confession of these amigos supported this claim.

#5 - Peter Stubbe (1582)

Whispers of werewolves have littered court records and conjured up local legends for centuries, but there are some people that stand out from the crowd - this is one of those werewolves.

Peter Stubbe was a well-off farmer who made his name in the community. Unfortunately, how we remember him is different to his community. Supposedly, Stubbe made a pact with the devil, requesting that “at his pleasure he might work his malice on men, women, and children, in the shape of some beast”.

His pact resulted in a murder spree spanning 25 years. By the time he was supposedly discovered as the culprit of the murders haunting Bedburg, he was described as devoid of humanity during his time as a wolf, and he had no memory of his actions once returned to his human form. 

#6 - The Beast of Gevaudan (1764)

Our story starts in 1764, when the residents of Gévaudan started noticing people were dying. Sure, it’s nothing new for 250 years ago, but when their throats were consistently being ripped out, concerns were raised.

With 210 attacks being blamed on these legendary man-eating animals or wolf-dog hybrid, this became a myth all too real for the inhabitants of the area. Lone men, women and children near livestock were the victims of these attacks, suggesting a totally normal beast attack, right?

But when they discovered that only the necks were being targeted, this pointed to much more mythical roots, explaining why we consider this one of the most prominent potential sightings of a werewolf to date.

#7 - The Livonian Werewolf (17th century)

You’d think werewolves would be mysterious marvels of nature, rarely divulging the realities of their lives, right? This guy bucked the trend.

Thiess of Kaltenbrun was a typical Swedish bloke who spent his time practicing folk magic, wearing fur pelts, and becoming a wolf. Widely known to be a werewolf - despite being in his 80s - the authorities brought him in for questioning on an unrelated matter. From there he spilled on his specialist lifestyle.

He claimed he and others of his kind would only change on certain days like Pentecost or Midsummer Night by throwing on a wolf pelt, a common method of becoming the mystical being.

He also claimed that they would kill and ‘gather’ meat in wolfy form, but cook it in human terms. 

Yet the most peculiar point he made was that werewolves were not demonic creatures, but were agents of god. Werewolves would spend their free time travelling to hell to battle the devil and the witches, and bring back the livestock they had stolen, contradicting all other tales we have seen so far.

#8 - The Southend Werewolf (1952)

William Ramsay was only 9 years old when it first happened. One day, he suddenly felt an icy shiver take over his body, a smell like rotting meat float around him, and an aggression overcome his mind. He was shivering, he was growling, he was in-tune to his senses.

He had - or so he claimed - become a werewolf. 

He then finished up his transformation by ripping a fence post out of his garden. Super-human strength was often reported whenever this would overcome him, confirming that all these signs bear a similarity to cases of demonic possession. 

Other events of turning into a werewolf bear similar resemblance, including him attempting to attack and kidnap a prostitute and biting doctors attempting to restrain him. After every event, Ramsay would fail to remember the attacks. 

He even checked himself into a mental hospital in an attempt to get to the bottom of his affliction in the 1980s. They found no explanation for these events.

And it was following these similar cases of him ‘turning’ - including one that involved the police and splashed his story across the papers - that the Warrens decided to pay him a visit whilst in London. They deduced that this was a Demon Animal Spirit. Having been suspicious of his claims prior to their investigation, they then claimed an exorcism was required. So, Ramsay was flown out to the USA, and an exorcism performed by Bishop McKenna occurred. 

At first, the exorcism did fuck all. But it was only when the bishop touched his forward and asked the demon to reveal itself that Ramsay once again began to turn. That was the final time that Ramsay ever became a werewolf.

#9 - A Mysterious Beast Is Killed In Montana (2018)

Strange and unknown creatures are always being killed, captured, and caught on camera. But with the ‘hoax’ label stamped firmly on most of these cases, they often go disregarded. This is not one of the cases.

In May 2018, deep in rural Montana, a creature was shot dead by a rancher. Cloaked in long, grey fur, bearing huge claws and an oversized head, this was no ratified beast.

The authorities had no clue what it was. 

The teeth and paws were too short to belong to a wolf, and the floppy ears and fur did not point to a doggo, either. 

Do You Think Werewolves Exist?

If you liked hearing ‘bout werewolves, I’m sure you’ll love to hear a new ghost story everyday, right?

Tap follow to see a new one in your feed on-the-daily!

[grimelords]

My August playlist is finished and while it does unfortunately begin with Tool it also has two of Elvis’ gospel songs on it so please believe me when I say it takes a turn! Everything you could ever want over three hours of music from 70s christian hippie cult music to a funky remix of Also Sprach Zarathustra to Ante Up.

If you’re interested in getting these emailed to you instead of having them mysteriously appear and clog up your dash, I’ve started a tinyletter you can subscrine to at tinyletter.com/grimelords

but in the meantime,

listen here

Lateralus - Tool: Tool is on streaming now and they've got a new album out and so it's a very nice time to reinterrogate a band that meant a lot to teenaged me that i have almost completely exorcised from my life since. What's interesting firstly is how much better it is to consume their music digitally than it ever was in any physical format. They apparently resisted making it available for so long for nebulous reasons of artistic control and intention, wanting a say in how their music is listened to - they design these long and overwrought albums to be experienced as a whole. My contention is that as a whole album, start-to-finish, is one of the worst ways to listen to this band. Tool have maybe 12 great songs across four albums and every single album is around 70-80 minutes, pushing the limit of the CD. Which means for every great song there's at least two ambient interludes, Bill Hicks samples, 90s alt comedy bits (Die Eir Von Satan is just menacing music and a menacing voice reading out a weed cookie recipe in german, now that's what I call comedy) that really add nothing to the experience of the album on a casual listen. Being actually able to listen to these songs on their own, and playlist them and pull them apart from the mire is so refreshing and makes experiencing this extremely exhausting band actually pleasant for once. That's not to say ambient interludes and sketches and whatever aren't worth it, I absolutely love that shit and a lot of my favourite albums are absolutely chock full of that sort of thing - just like, don't make me do it every time. Their new album seems to reflect this at least a little bit, with the more overarching themes and arcs of the previous albums replaced by more singular and self-contained long songs interspersed with dedicated 2 minute interlude tracks. The runtime blows out to an hour and a half unrestrained by physical limits but it seems to contain more actual music and less funny than any other Tool album which is a welcome change. I'm still lukewarm on the album itself, it seems to just be a complete rehashing of the ideas on 10,000 Days (to the point of almost note-for-note repetition of some old riffs and themes) which is a bit disappointing considering how long they've apparently been working on it. I'll give it more time because Tool albums always unfold over multiple listens but for now they kind of just sound like the dad-rock version of a once extremely edgy 90s band - which I guess they are now so that makes sense. As for Lateralus, I think it's their best song. The perfect combination of Joe Rogan spirit science woo-woo sacred geometry fibonacci sequence 'open your mind' bullshit and good old fashioned riffs, it's the best of both halves of Tool and great starting point if you've never listened to this band and are interested in becoming insufferable.

Mars For The Rich - King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard: This album is so good and it's finally converted me to being a full time King Gizz guy so look out for a lot more of that in the future. It's a thrash metal concept album about ecological collapse forcing the rich to flee to mars and the poor to flee to venus where they lose their minds and fly into the fire. I spent a little while the other day obsessing over the insane vocal leap in this absolutely incredible song when he jumps down an 11th on 'mars for the riiiiiiich' somehow effortlessly.

Pattern Walks - Cloud Nothings: The interplay between Cloud Nothings second and third albums is something I think about a lot. Attack On Memory is a visceral experience of depression and living in your own head where Here And Nowhere Else is about being able to finally move past it, and living with it. There's a good quote from the singer on the Genius page for this song where he says "It was almost a response to “Wasted Days” on the last record. It ends with “I thought I would be more than this” over and over and this one ends with “I thought” over a beautiful bit of music which is an easy way to explain the way I was thinking when I was writing this record. I wasn’t as depressed as I was when I was making the last album. Before, I felt like nobody liked the band and I was doing it for three years. I was not in a good place. Now, I had more time to think about why I felt that way. It’s a positive song."

M.E. - Metz: Metz put out a B-sides and rarities album a couple of weeks ago and then they put out this Gary Numan cover on it's own for some reason. It's very very good! I love just putting a generally harder edge on it without taking anything away from the spirit of the original. I also, somehow, didn't realise that Where's Your Head At by Basement Jaxx was a Gary Numan sample until I heard this cover so we're all learning every day.

The Ocean And The  Sun - The Sound Of Animals Fighting: Here's what's good: having the last third of your song just be a monotone voice reading from a CrimethInc anarchist zine over swirling guitar ambience. The drums are so good in this, Chris Tsagakis makes me want to muscle through the ska and listen to RX Bandits more, he’s just that good. The extremely crunchy part in the chorus especially, it switches through like three different distortions and sounds absolutely great. I’m a big fan of anyone that can make a very straightforward groove like the main one here really work just by absolutely leaning into it.

Uzbekistan - The Sound Of Animals Fighting: Uzbekistan is the most out-there and wild song on this album which was sort of mostly a way back into post-hardcore for TSOAF after Lover, The Lord Has Left Us.. which was perhaps a little too-out there for most. (seven minute closing track of a guy singing John Cage's Experimental Music essay over formless tabla and mandolin). The drums alone in this are worth it. The way they transition in and out of the super distorted electronic parts is so good. This song fortunately also has a section where someone recites poetry over electronic noise and a second voice whispers 'who holds your strings? wake up..." over the top near the end. I will love and defend dum-dum pretentious music until the day I die.

Gangsta - Tune-Yards: I love Tune-Yards and I'm incredibly interested in the way she interrogates whiteness. It's a complicated thing to get into in this playlist post but when she first turned up, a lot of people assumed she was african american just by the sound of her voice and music - it reaches and pulls from a lot of african music in a very postmodern sort of way and when people found out she was white, straight, cis and from New England it kind of felt like a betrayal for some people. On her 2018 album I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life she digs into it a lot in a way that becomes almost uncomfortable for what is ostensibly a pop album. An NPR article about it at the time said "Ever the student, the Smith-educated Garbus, who writes most of Tune-Yards' lyrics, designed an anti-racist curriculum for herself. She attended a six-month anti-racist workshop at the East Bay Meditation Center. She read the work of noted anti-racist educator Tim Wise and explored the activism of Standing Up for Racial Justice, a nationwide, progressive activism network dedicated to "moving white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority.". That's a lot. This song, Gangsta, from her 2011 album when all the hype was fresh feels like a pretty early look into the mindset she'd later fully fledge out of interrogating white identity and cultural appropriation while also participating in it. The lyrics are simple but they get to a simple point, "What's a boy to do if he'll never be a rasta?" is basically making the same point as Ras Trent by The Lonely Island except it's asking where else does Ras Trent fit? Can a white guy participate in anything like that in a way that's not cultural appropriation, and how can a culture like that participate in the larger world without being appropriated? It's 2013 tumblr discourse but it's still churning for a reason I suppose.

Ante Up (feat. Busta Rhymes, Teflon & Remi Martin) - M.O.P: An all time great Violence Song, in the same genre as Knuck If Ya Buck and X Gon Give It To Ya. Opening with "'this shit feel like a whole entire world collapsed" is such an insane way to open a song but the absolute whirlwind of threats that follows makes it feel warranted. "Fuck hip-hop, rip pockets, snatch jewels" is sooo good. I don't even care about this song I am just straight up robbing you. The absolute power in the rhythm of the overlapping getemGETEMgetem hitemHITEMhitem part is just so, so strong. It's like a VR experience of being fucking robbed.

Awake (feat. JPEGMAFIA) - Tkay Maidza: It seems like Tkay is finally nailing down her sound and she’s absolutely killing it. She’s been through a few different styles since she started out and now she’s really hit on something that’s very distinctly her with this and her other new song Flexin and I cannot wait for the album.

Big Head - Ms. Jade: Ms Jade had one album in 2002 and then basically disappeared which is a shame because she's got a very interesting approach. The star of the show is as usual, Timbaland. The man is a singular voice somehow making the tabla and a wikiwiki noise his signature sound. I love the drone of the raps interspersed with the vocal spikes and I love the chorus as the gospel vocals surge up from underneath. This whole song is just completely bizzare in its construction in a way that works perfectly and feels strangely.

Titanium 2 Step - Battles: Battles are finally back and I’m fucking bouncing off the walls. They’re a two piece now and it does not seem to have slowed them down at all which is very exciting. I can’t think of any band that has ever continued with only half of their original members and also moved forward radically every time. Everything about this song is great: the super strength drums, the hypercolour guitar and the vocals that are just screaming absolutely whatever you like whenever you like. It feels closest to Ice Cream, and Gloss Drop in general more than La Di Da Di but i’m so excited to see how the new album sounds - and how they adapt their old material live now that there’s only two of them.

Dancing Is The Best Revenge - !!!: I’ve never actively listened to !!! for no good reason, but plenty of times in my life I’ve heard a song playing and been like damn what the FUCK is THIS?! and it always turns out to be !!!. This is yet another example.

Skitzo Dancer (Justice Remix) - Scenario Rock: The first clap in this is one of the best sounds ever. Right after 'so you think you've seen and heard it all' everything drops out of the mix for this one very comedy clap and it makes me smile every time. The rhythm of the Disco!... Disco! Disco! part near the end is one of those things that's just always playing in the back of my mind, which as far as constant reminders go it's not the worst. I've also over the last week or so been a big fan of this 11 year old youtube video I found of some guy covering the bass on this song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0DLAUaV3f8

16:56 - Danger: Danger had a new album this year that I don't think I gave enough attention to because I relistened and it's very good. He spends the majority of it refining his original sound but it's such a distinct and original niche that it works out great. The songs are so densely layered and frankly just sound so beautiful! Which is a strange thing to say about 80s inspired electro but it just does. The strings and timpani in this about halfway through are just a gift as well, I love it.

Also Sprach Zarathustra - Deodato: As part of my ‘thinking about Elvis’ I was looking up a live album of his called Aloha From Hawaii Via Sattelite which has a very good cover which doubles as an illustration of how my proposed international peacekeeping satellite will function, projecting an immense Elvis themed blanket of darkness over ‘troublemaker’ regions to immerse them in an eternal freezing night until they’ve settled down. Anyway his entrance music for this this concert in Hawaii is Also Sprach Zarathustra, which is a very very funny thing to do and I think gives an appropriate measure of his status at the time. When I told my girlfriend about this she directed me to this bonkers jazz funk version of it by Deodato which deservingly won a grammy in 1974 for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

Hollywood Forever Cemetary Sings - Father John Misty: I’ve resisted listening to Father John Misty for a long time because he just seems like a real asshole. A big brain man genius that saw what Lana Del Rey was doing and thought “what if.. me?”. But I can’t deny this song, it’s absolutely magical and as far as songs about fucking in a cemetery go it’s definitely one of the most singable.

Remember / Medicine Man - Yma Sumac: In reading about the Hollywood Forever Cemetery and who was buried there, I learned about Yma Sumac. Yma Sumac was a Peruvian soprano with one of the most incredible voices I've ever heard who was an absolutely huge deal in the 50s when Americans were clamouring for the exotic, real or imagined. She made extremely good mambo music and claimed to be descended from the last Incan emperor. Her popularity faded after the 50s and then for an unknown reson in 1971, ten years since her last album, she made this rock album. It is insane. It's the best example of 'voice as an instrument' that I've ever heard. She is making every kind of sound possible with a human voice and her range seems completely limitless. She's just as comfortable in a piercingly high whistle register as she is in deep guttural growls. About 2 minutes into Remember she just straight up jumps four octaves in a row just to flex. She also sings in a way in the second verse of Medicine Man that I've never heard before that sounds like she's blowing out her cheeks and then singing with her mouth almost closed. It's absolutey bizzare and I love it so much.

This Thing - King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard: Listening to the other album that King Gizzard put out this year is really making me appreciate how much of 180 Infest The Rats Nest was for them. This album is basically a Black Keys album of groovy fun songs about fishing for fishies with fantastic harmonica work and it makes it look even more like they just snapped when they did the next one.

The Warrior (feat. Patty Smyth) - Scandal: I've been very passively watching GLOW since the second half of season 2 and now I'm very passively watching season 3 and this song was the opening credits theme for the first episode. It fucking rocks I don't know why they don't just make it the theme song all the time. This sort of 80s hard-rock pop is very good when it's good and extremely bad when it's bad and I wonder if we'll ever see any sort of revival of it once 80s nostalgia nostalgia takes hold in 2030. Being a singer named Patty Smyth is very funny also. She's billed as a feature even though she was in the band because she left to try a solo career as soon as it was released, possibly even before. She is also John McEnroe's wife I just found out. What a life.

A Girl Called Johnny - The Waterboys: I found this song because I was googling to see if it's possibly to get a random album from spotify and instead foumd a guy on rateyourmusic who was generating random rym album pages and then listening to whatever came up if it was on spotify - which seems just as good. This was one of the albums he talked about and he seemed to like it so I listened and I did as well. Sometimes the best way to find new music is throw dice on the internet and see what comes up.

New Year's Eve - City Calm Down: The new City Calm Down is one hundred percent great and I have such admiration for them for making a complete left turn with their sound and sounding like a completely different band since their last album but being equally as great in both forms. It's very inspiring and it's also the second song of the month I've heard for the first time while walking around Richmond that's mentioned Richmond. Very spooky.

Cruel Summer - Taylor Swift: It's fucked up how good Lover is when ME! and You Need To Calm Down were so bad. It feels like they changed direction at the last minute and changed the tracklist dramatically because those two songs seem sort of wildly out of place, along with London Boy. It's so uneven it's basically two albums in one but when it's good it's extremely good. This song is fucking powerful. The way she straight up screams "he looks so pretty like a devil"? Amazing. What a crazy thing to shout. If you're interested I also resequenced Lover and took London Boy off it and it's a far better album in my opinion https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3LN1uAhp8BS8Ms4bgmHiVP

Kelly - Van She: I have no idea why but this is in the opening paragraph of Van She's wiki page: "Their label introduced them as a "new band from Sydney fresh on ideas, fresher than Flavor Flav, fresh like coriander, fresher than the Fresh Prince, fresher than fresh eggs."[2] Despite these claims, the band began with a sound very much rooted in the 1980s, heavy on synthesizer." which really makes me laugh. Van She had a very specific mid-2000s indietronica thing going that was really good as this song proves but they also did a bunch of remixes under the name Van She Tech that are very out there and completely different to the main band. Their remix of UFO by Sneaky Sound System I'm sure I've yelled about in these posts before, it's absolutely phenomenal. Anyway I guess what I'm saying is get you a band that can do both.

Shadow - Wild Nothing: Somehow I missed Wild Nothing back when they were a big thing and only listened to them this month. I listened to this whole album while I was doing housework and when it finished I though 'that was nice' and could not remember a single thing about it. That's the beauty of shoegaze! I had to listen to it about five more times for it to stick and now I'm getting more and more out of it every time, I love it.

Heaven's On Fire - The Radio Dept.: Years ago when I was having a major 'depressive episode' for about a fucking year I listened to this album Constantly and as a result for a very long time I couldn't listen to it without inviting megawatts of bad vibes back into my brain. Thankfully through hard work and time passing it appears I've fully healed my assosciations with this album which is fantastic news because it is delightful start to finish and worth getting obsessed with again.

Crystalised - The xx: It's nice to see news articles posted almost every day about which albums are turning ten years old. It makes me feel one million years old and viewing the world from a television in my hermit's cave. It feels hard to overstate just how much quiet influence the xx have had over the music landscape since 2009. Without The xx we don't have Royals and without Royals we don't have You Need To Calm Down, so. Something beautiful of theirs that I think is sad hasn't caught on in the intervening years is the idea of writing romantic duets when duets had been out of fashion for so long. They wrote a whole album of them and continue to! There's a beautiful contextual depth to it, in that it's two queer people singing not exactly to each other but with each other. In an interview they've called it 'singing past each other' which is a very nice way to put it.

Aspirin - Tropical Fuck Storm: I really appreciate the continual development of the guitars in Tropical Fuck Storm where they sound so pencil-necked and reedy in these angular little melodies and then sometimes explode into thick cacophanous howls, but what's especially good is in songs like this when they don't explode and instead just sort of sprout tendrils and crawl around each other. They're really drilling down on a very singular and very unsettling sound and I really love it. It is also a very interesting feeling to be walking around Richmond listening to this album for the first time and having him mention Richmond. Spooky even.

Pasta - Angie McMahon: "My bedroom is a disaster / my dog has got kidney failure" is an all-time great opening lyric for me. I love the way this song kicks up from the doldrums, like forcing yourself to do something just so you've done something today. Angie McMahon is so great and I'm getting more and more out of her album every time.

If I Had A Hammer - Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash: The way this song is performed here is so fucking cool. The guitar tone, June's voice and the general energy of it is just absolutely electric. It feels like Highway 61 Bob Dylan where it's still folk but it's got this massive power in it. The solo fucking rips in that very old fashioned way and when it finishes and that riff comes back in by itself it's just great.

Elvis Presley Blues - Gillian Welch: I was thinking about this song because I too was thinking about Elvis. I thought for a long time that the lyrics to this were ‘didn’t he die?’ and not ‘day that he died’ and I think I prefer mine more. Idly thinking about Elvis like “whatever happened to that guy? Must be old now. Wait, didn't he die? No way to know I suppose.”

Everything Is Free - Sylvan Esso: Rolling Stone had a very good article and interview about how this song about napster has had a resurgence and remained relevant through the streaming era which is a very good read. I love the original and really this version is very similar except for the one key difference where they really dig into the anger and frustration at the heart of it in the 'fucking sing it yourself' line.  https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/gillian-welch-everything-is-free-courtney-barnett-father-john-misty-725135/

It's Nice To Have A Friend - Taylor Swift: This is the strangest song on Lover and one of the best, I absolutely love it. It's a very old fashioned kind of Taylor Swift Love Story type song but it also has a a fucking trumpet reveille in the middle, so that really spices it up a bit. I also keep accidentally listening to this backwards - there's a few phrases like when she sings 'it's nice to have a friend' where the 'friend' lands on the offbeat but is accented like it should be ON the beat and because of the way the music is in this where it's just the steady pulse it's hard to tell whether the chime is supposed to be on the beat or on the offbeat. It feels like it sort of slides back and forth throughout the song depending on what everything else is doing around it. I don't know if that's intentional or not but it's a very interesting effect. This song is also, in my estimation, about a woman and is detailing a fantasy Taylor Swift is having where she can come out to the world with no fuss and enjoy a simple fairytale love story as a gay woman.

Psalm 42 / Chant For Pentecost - The Trees Community: I have a mental list of albums I google every few months to see if they've been added to streaming and by the grace of god one of them finally has been. Years ago I used to listen to this almost every night to fall asleep and I think it brainwashed me slightly in a delightful way, and now I finally have it back again! This is proper hippie music: a bunch of long haired new york christians who drove around the country in the early 70s in a school bus playing their elaborate and beautiful music for anyone who wanted to hear it. The multilayered, multi-movement construction of these songs is completely entrancing to me. It's not a hollow beauty, but one that brings new meaning to old words in the way they stretch and snap and waver throughout the song, moving past each other and through each other as it moves forward. I absolutey love it. Chant For Pentecost is a good illustration of the other side of them, a short song that starts sweet and turns almost maniacal. There's a wild-eyed feeling to the harmonies and the way this melody sits on a single tone for such long stretches before the frankly scary conclusion.

In My Father's House / Working On The Building - Elvis Presley: The backing vocals in these, and especially the bass vocals are so incredible. The way they work in the second verse of Working On The Building is so great, Elvis is the lead vocal but the middle harmony and somehow it just works perfectly. The harmonies is In My Father's House are amazing. The bass solo is mind blowing and the part about halfway through where Elvis swallows the mic and says "jesus died upon the cross [VRRMER] sorrow" is very funny. It's got it all.

The Greatest - Lana Del Rey: Norman Fucking Rockwell is an absolute masterpiece and this is the best song on it. Lana has always had a knack for this apocalyptic feeling but this is a whole other level.  https://www.stereogum.com/2056565/lana-del-rey-norman-fucking-rockwell-review/franchises/premature-evaluation/ The Stereogum writeup for this album was really great, and really nailed my opinion of her whole character thing as well, but he described this song as her version of that video that Ted Turner commissioned for CNN to play at the end of the world and it's really a perfect description. The part at the end where she says 'Kanye West is blonde and gone' is so chilling to me. Like Kanye losing the plot makes sense because he's only a few months ahead of the rest of us. He’s been a thought and culture leader for so long and it only makes sense that he’s spun off into space in these last days before it all wraps up.

listen here

[true-halloween-tales]

2018: #2-GUIDE TO DOCTOR WHO

Previously, cult horror-related tv series such as The Night Stalker, Dark Shadows, and the Outer Limits have been examined. Even though Doctor Who is primarily a science fiction tv series, over its 55 year history it has delved into horror many times. After Darren McGavin’s The Night Stalker series was cancelled in 1975, I sadly still tuned in at the same day and time in case it ever came back (see 2015: #5-GUIDE TO THE NIGHT STALKER). Weepers! Eventually it was recommended to me to watch this Doctor Who show, but I was not interested in another Marcus Welby, MD series at age 6. I tuned in anyways to find an argumentative older man yelling at people, and I soon became bored and quit watching the series. However, I was encouraged to persist and watch further episodes, so I did. One twenty-two minute episode was shown a day. A few episodes later and the older argumentative man was now in an apocalyptic world with people devolving into monstrous green werewolves! It was terrifying! I was hooked!

Doctor Who was scheduled to premier on November 22, 1963, but it was delayed until the following day due to the assassination of President Kennedy. It features an alien, a Timelord, who can change its body, and currently the Doctor’s latest body is female as played by Jodie Whitaker, with her debut episode appearing for the first time this Sunday afternoon! This alien serves often as the savior of the Earth as well as the closest the universe has to being a good, near-godlike force. The original series ran from 1963-1989 featuring the Doctors’s first seven bodies or “regenerations.” In 1996 Doctor Who returned in a U.S. production with a new regeneration of both the Doctor and his primary villain, the Master. In 2005 the new series continued with a new regeneration, but in later seasons it is revealed that one regeneration was skipped between the tv movie and the new series. This regeneration, technically the ninth, played by John Hurt, renamed himself the War Doctor. The new series has also featured the Eleventh Doctor, played by David Tennant, who consumed a regeneration to heal himself, and eventually the Doctor used all of his thirteen regenerations. But he got more, and he even doesn’t know how many.

There are a variety of rare facts about Doctor Who. A spacesuit costume from the series was reused in the Empire Strikes Back and worn by the scaly bounty hunter, Bossk. Peter Cushing starred as Doctor Who in two movies in the 1960’s (see 2018: #1-GREAT HORROR FILM ACTORS). The two color movies are remakes of popular televised stories featuring the evil alien race, the Daleks. One of the films, 1966’s Dalek’s Invasion Earth 2150 AD, included British comedian Bernard Cribbins as a police officer, and he joined the tv series in 2007 as another character. The movies differed from the tv series by Cushing portraying the character as a human, not an alien. There is an original pilot of the series from 1963 that had a significant scene removed from the first story, An Unearthly Child. The First Doctor, portrayed by William Hartnell, shares that he and his granddaughter are from the year 5,000 and may be humans. By cutting that from the final broadcast, it made alien bodily regeneration a much more plausible concept. The Doctor also is not always the benevolent good guy. In An Unearthly Child, the Doctor prepares to cut the throat of an unconscious caveman because he is annoyed and wants to leave prehistoric Earth. In Doctor Who canon, there is still at loose a future evil incarnation of the Doctor, once known as the Valeyard. Big Finish has dozens of the continued audio adventures of previous regenerations of the Doctor including many of the surviving actors who played the Doctor as well as supporting cast members.

There is much written about Doctor Who, but for the purposes of Halloween we are primarily interested in horror episodes as well as potential crazy costumes that could be made based on aliens in the series. If you have a spare plunger and a box, you can make a Dalek costume. Dressing as one of the regenerations of the Doctor is easy if you have any of the specific costume elements. The easiest is probably to dress as the Third Doctor with a velvet smoking jacket. A lot depends upon if you require your costume to be widely recognizable to not. Don’t dress as the Doctor’s time and space vehicle, a blue police box, the Tardis; that is stupid. The three best aliens to create costumes for include: Alpha Centauri, appearing as a green, hermaphroditic, one-eyed Beholder from Dungeons & Dragons with a high pitched voice (see 2015: #3-STRANGE MONSTERS FROM DUNGEONS & DRAGONS). Alpha Centauri is one of the few characters from the original series that have reappeared in the new series. Another amusing costume option is the Face of Boe, a large sleepy head resembling a Japanese Nuppeppo yokai (see 2018: #10-YOKAI). Or perhaps an alien from the planet Vortis which are large, vaguely humanoid insects, such as the Menoptra bee/butterfly people. Doctor Who is a series that offers cosplayers a huge amount of possible costumes as well. The series is a wealth of creativity.

Doctor Who has a lot of episodes, and out of the entire series, here are the ten best horror-related stories:

10-The Chase: features the First Doctor encountering Dracula and the Frankenstein monster.

9-The Unquiet Dead: Christopher Eccelston, technically the Tenth Doctor, finds zombies and dead ghost-like aliens possessing bodies.

8-The Pyramids of Mars: the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, has major problems with an Egyptian god and his mummy servants.

7-The Brain of Morbius: Baker’s Frankenstein episode, but featuring a Hitler-like Timelord trying to be more than just a brain in a jar.

6-Midnight: Tennant in a tense, claustrophobic episode about a telepathic thing outside of a stalled tour bus on a deadly planet.

5-State of Decay: Baker versus a giant vampire, the ancient enemy of the Timelords, on a planet ruled by vampires.

4-The Daemons: The Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee, dealing with a giant horned demon running across the English countryside, summoned up by a satanic cult led by The Master.

3-The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit: Tennant discovers the physical, Godzilla-sized body of the Devil himself, a being from the universe that existed before this one.

2-The Seeds of Doom: Baker meets The Thing, including in a polar setting.

1-Inferno: Pertwee popped into a parallel world and is faced with a dreadful apocalypse with the planet rapidly being destroyed, people devolving into green werewolves, the world is ending and there is nothing he can do. This scared the crap out of me when I was six years old. The episode set a Guinness Book of Worlds Record for the longest drop by a stuntman. It is also one of the longest complete stories.

There are many other Halloween-worthy episodes of Doctor Who. The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances are two very popular episodes with Eccleston in WW2 investigating very creepy unexplained phenomenon, and he also meets John Barrowman’s very popular assistant, Captain Jack, in that story. The Caves of the Androzani is an acclaimed Phantom of the Opera story with the Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison. Werewolves appeared in Tennant’s second story, Tooth and Claw. An infamous mummy appeared in Mummy on a Train with the Thirteenth Doctor, Peter Capaldi. Many of Patrick Troughton’s episodes, who is the Second Doctor, are lost and missing. But there is surviving footage of his stories versus the Abominable Snowmen, who were quite frightening skulking about in the London sewers. A prehistoric lizardman species is discovered on Earth in Pertwee’s The Silurians, and an aquatic version of the species is encountered in Pertwee’s The Sea Devils, one of my all-time favorite stories of the series. The Master as virtually an undead lich appears in Baker’s The Deadly Assassin (see 2013: #10-LICHES). Baker’s The Horror of Fang Rock flows just like a horror film, with people barricaded in a lighthouse to escape a prowling monster. The largest monster that has appeared in the series was a tentacled, Lovecraftian swamp monster the size of a city in Baker’s The Power of Kroll. Doctor Who tends to be at its best when delving into horror.

There are some noteworthy Doctor Who stories that were planned or written, but they were not made. The adventures that almost happened! Pertwee’s Third Doctor was planned to start the tenth season with “Deathworld.” It was about the President of the Timelords basically playing chess with Death, and he summoned up the first three Doctors to be pawns in his game. The Doctors were to materialize in the Underworld to face the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as well as personification of the Seven Deadly Sins. Content from the plot seems to have drifted into the stories: The Three Doctors and The Five Doctors. Pertwee’s final story had to be changed because the actor portraying the First Master, Roger Delgado, was killed in a car accident. “The Final Game” was planned to reveal that the Doctor and the Master just were not brothers, but they were the same person – divided into two halves – with the Doctor effectively being a Freudian ego and the Master as the id. Both the Master and the Doctor were planned to die in “The Final Game.” The Master was going to permanently die saving the Doctor, yet the Doctor would regenerate. There was also a second U.S. tv movie planned with McGann’s Eighth Doctor which would have included a major redesign of the Daleks. A third Peter Cushing film was planned but cancelled, Daleks vs. Mechons, based on the story, The Chase.

I have attended some science fiction conventions and have had correspondences with some of the stars of the series. I met Pertwee several times, including once with Elizabeth Sladden, aka the assistant, Sarah Jane Smith, at the Granada Theatre in Chicago in 1989. I met and chatted with Tom Baker who is really tall, about the various death scenes he had in various roles. But I spent an entire morning with Peter Davison, Sandra Dickinson, his then wife who appeared in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and the series producer, John Nathan Turner, wearing a bad Hawaiian shirt. We all sat together with less than ten others and watched Davison’s excellent Cyberman story, Earthshock, more than a year before it aired in the United States. There is nothing better than sitting next to the lead actor in Doctor Who and watching them star in the series in a great story. I had correspondence with the Sixth Doctor, Collin Baker, who wrote me that he was not sure how much longer the BBC would keep him in the role, and he was fired shortly later. I also ran into the enigmatic Seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy at a bar the night before a convention. I was sitting with the stars of the cult British science fiction series, Blakes 7 including Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, and Brian Blessed (see 2011: #7-SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTIONS). Over the shoulder of Gareth Thomas could be seen Sylvester McCoy sitting at the bar by himself, silently and sadly meditating on his ale. I had correspondence with another Master, Anthony Ainley, one of my favorite actors in Doctor Who, and he wrote back to me on his wonderful Master stationery.

Doctor Who offers a wealth of treasures for Halloween. If not costume ideas, then sheer entertainment. I am very much looking forward to the new season starting this weekend. Not only has the lead actor changed but so has the entire production team, sets, producers, etc. I was totally turned off by the previous Steven Moffat production team, so I am looking forward to the new Chris Chibnall team. It’s one of the only series that regularly reinvents itself, and few series exceed being fifty years old. Just about anything goes in Doctor Who, from very odd aliens to all sorts of monsters – even McCoy’s Seventh Doctor encounters a dragon in one story (on Monday see 2018: #3-DRAGONS)…

[alightwhendarknessfell]

My American Satan Review

So I will place any spoilers below the read more line for those that have either already seen the film or don’t plan on seeing it. 

I have been waiting for this movie to come out since it was announced. Clearly, I am a bit bias by the fact that I’m a huge Black Veil Brides fan, but I really was interested in the plot. I went and saw the film last night (in cosplay), and I have to say I enjoyed every second of it. It’s got its faults, and it’s clearly and indie film but it’s one of the best indie films I’ve ever seen. 

I’ve decided to make a list of the pros and cons of the movie, so here we go.  

Pros

The storyline is absolutely incredible. There is so much thought put into even the smallest of details. It’s one of those films where each time you watch it you pick up another little detail. The concept of rock bands/musicians making deals with Satan is a very popular one and it’s honestly shocking this movie hasn’t been made before. It follows the story of Job where the devil and God fight it out over who Job will ultimately follow.  Andy’s character ‘Johnny’ is clearly based off Job. Clearly it also follos the story of Faust (aka why the main character is Johnny Faust) who makes a deal with the devil in exchange for knowledge and success. 

There are actually plot twists that I didn’t see coming (see spoilers) 

Booboo Stewart  is a gorgeous man.. like seriously 

I like that there are clearly things that happen or aspects of the film that are based off of Andy’s actual experiences moving out to Hollywood 

There are some really funny parts to the film,  but also some VERY dark parts. 

Ben Bruce is actually an incredible actor 

My expectations for Andy’s acting weren’t too high and there were some parts where it  was kind of poor but overall he channeled the character and the character’s emotions very well

The ending leaves open the possibility that the story isn’t over  

Remington was a PERFECT choice for vocals, the soundtrack and songs made for the movie are amazing. Seriously if you watch it the song ‘Let Him Burn’  gets a whole new meaning

Since there are actual musicians in the film, it really does paint a very accurate picture of what the life of a rock star is really like. The film doesn’t shy away from the pretty horrific side of it. 

Mr. Capricorn plays an amazing devil holy shit, he was  the perfect choice

The casting was done very well, everyone’s character is very believable 

Cons

There is WAY to much story packed into two hours. The film follows the band from their start then over their 2 years rise to fame. It would often times get confusing as to how much time had passed. There weren’t dates included in different scenes so it was hard to follow the progression. Especially when it came to the drugs, rehab, court dates, etc. It didn’t feel like two years had passed.

There were some major plot holes where it felt like things were left out. For instance (minor spoiler) the band knows automatically that Mr. Capricorn is the devil right after meeting him. To me, it would take a bit more than just one talk with someone to go from not believing in the devil to thinking that you’re sitting with him. 

Gretchen’s character and Johnny’s mom weren’t that good

There were some parts that were not believable, won’t get into them but some things would happen and I would go “yeah right” 

The news interviews were kind of cheesy 

Johnny’s rehab scene was incredibly unbelievable (more in spoilers) 

All in all, though the film was very well done. The acting was, for the most part, good and the movie LOOKED good. I would recommend it if you’re into the emo/rock/metal scene or like Asking Alexandria/Black Veil Brides. It’s not so much horror/thriller but darker. I would also recommend it if you like films with deeply religious themes or important lessons.The film makes you think which I like. My mom went to see it with me (she also liked it) and we’ve both spent the whole day just going over parts of the plot.  I liked that the ending isn’t exactly ‘happy ever after’ as well. And what really won me over was just the amazing plot and writing. I plan on maybe even seeing it again and I’m for sure going to buy it when it comes out on DVD. I do feel like if this film was done by a major movie company it would become a cult classic. 

I’m giving the film two ratings before I go into spoilers. One from the perspective on an indie film and one for overall.  

Overall:  3.5/5 Indie: 4.25/5 

Spoilers below 

So here are my spoilers that I just wanted to give my opinion on. I’m just going to do points and talk about them. 

The ‘Let Him Burn’ Scene: This is hands down one of my favorite scenes from the movie. When the band makes a human sacrifice by burning the local asshole (forgot his name) alive in a van, it was really well done. Instantly you know that Johnny has chosen the devil. He, of course, changes his mind and frees the guy who then is electrocuted but the hesitance in that decision really shows that he has evil in him. This is the evil that Mr. Capricorn exploits. The rest of the band stands by and lets Johnny take the lead. It sets up the film perfectly because while the rest of the band members sort of keeping their souls, for the most part, Johnny completely loses his. Later on in the fight scene at the country bar where Andy once again kills is another amazing scene. 

Is Lilly Mr. Capricorn?: About halfway through the film, I started to suspect that Lilly may, in fact, be the devil/Mr. Capricorn. She’s deeply involved in satanic imagery (Satanic brothel hello). She’s the one who gets Johnny to start doing heroin then fucks him and answers the phone so that Johnny’s girlfriend hears the whole thing. Also, she insists that HE be the one to shoot up, which follows with the whole the devil doesn’t make you do things, he encourages you to do them yourself. She is also never around when Mr. Capricorn is. The band even says “should we tell Lilly?”. Another important point was that she was not around during the conversation with Mr. Capricorn in the bar nor at the human sacrifice. She constantly leads Johnny into danger and temptation. In the final kill scene, Mr. Capricorn tells Johnny that he is in fact who Johnny has been fucking (also fucking his mom). The question of whether he is actually Lilly is left open. Personally, I think Mr. Capricorn does take different forms, Lilly being one of them. Which means the whole time Johnny has been literally fucking the devil (which is a pretty bad ass plot twist). 

Gabriel/Mr. Capricorn: The older black man that Andy keeps running into throughout the film is Gabriel. He and Mr. Capricorn seem to take turns trying to steer Johnny in their direction. This goes back to the whole story of Job. He kept warning Johnny throughout the film but Johnny doesn’t listen. In the very beginning of the movie when he asks Johnny to watch his stuff while he goes into the liquor/convenience store I feel that it was a test. Johnny doesn’t leave the man’s stuff or steal it and instead waits for him to come back. When Johnny looks in Gabriel’s bag there is no liquor in it, just food. To me, this signifies the ability to resist temptation exists. Gabriel also gives Johnny an apple before leaving (the forbidden fruit). Gabriel also makes a comment in the final performance of how they’re both on this stage but got there different ways. 

The Heroin Scene: This was another favorite scene of mine. It was pretty graphic of a scene but then again doing heroin is no joke. I felt like this was a very important moment in the film because it signify’s Johnny going off the deep end. In my opinion, I do think that Lilly and Mr. Capricorn are the same people. So that means that Johnny literally shoots up heroin and has sex with the devil. 

The CNN Interview: This to me the funniest part of the movie. Vic is tripping on acid during the band’s interview with CNN and I just thought it was a beautifully done scene. 

Johnny’s Rehab: This was my least favorite part of the film. Heroin is one of the HARDEST drugs to kick. It was very hard to believe (with no time frame given) that all Johnny had to do was go to this monk(?) rehab facility and meditate and then boom he’s clean. In fact, even the dope sick scene where he can’t go on stage isn’t very realistic. I’ve seen people dope sick they often are violently ill and I felt like it could have been portrayed better. Johnny was just sitting on the floor and coughed a few times then they shoot him up and boom all better. 

The Ending: The ending kind of confused me. So he’s in jail for murdering Mr. Capricorn on stage but it was self-defense? Then the dad of the kid they killed, in the beginning, offers to get him off? I was paying pretty close attention but I still feel like I missed something. Is he going back to the band? He gives this kind of evil smirk at the end which makes me think that in fact, the devil is still working in his favor. He’s once again going to get away with murder. Johnny says that the devil will keep coming back, and in my opinion, I think the lawyer may be the new reincarnation of him. 

And finally, I have my own kind of Andley inspired comments. 

Parallels to Ashley Purdy: I have no way of knowing if this was on purpose or if I’m just reading a lot into it but I noticed a lot of parallels to Andy and Ashley’s relationship with Johnny and Lilly/Mr. Capricorn. First off Lilly is the bassist in the band. Mr. Capricorn/the devil tricks the naive Johnny into signing a contract with him essentially. Of course, it’s come out that Ashley had Andy sign a contract splitting the ownership of the band back when they first met. Lilly also tempts Johnny into doing heroin (Ashley has a past with this) and then ends up having sex with him.