#he was the creepy child in every horror film

[viviandarkbloombartylusversion]

Rising movie director Barty crouch jr working on his father's (barty crouch sr, the producers) set and meeting famous actor Regulus, known for starring in horror and gothic films from childhood, who he's had a huge celebrity crush on for years, Barty adores watching Regulus on set and Regulus loves having Bartys attention on him

[ponderingmoonlight]

Hi hi! I have a req- can you maybe please write a Megumi x reader where they get lost in a haunted house and the reader is too scared to move and Megumi helps her (as a stranger) and then it goes more from that ?

I fell in love with this immediately and needed to write that wonderful request of yours! Thank you so much darling, I'm crossing my fingers you like what I came up with 😭

Getting lost at a haunted house only to be saved by Megumi

Pairing: Megumi x fem!reader

Word Count: 2k

Synopsis: After your friends dragged you into a tunnel of terror at an amusement park despite your irrational fear of creepy stuff, you find yourself lost in your own panic. Until a sudden blue-eyed boy appears and helps you out...

Warnings: your friends are shitty, Megumi is a sweetheart, reader is obviously scared of creepy stuff lol

„This is probably the worst thing you ever made me do”, Megumi mutters, annoyed by the sheer sight in front of him.

When Gojo-sensei told them about a day off, he certainly didn’t see himself going to an amusement park with Itadori and Kugisaki. He should have stayed back, he could have read the new book he just bought, enjoying the silence of empty Jujutsu High while the others were out doing whatever they want. But instead, he finds himself surrounded by crying children with their hands covered in sweets, people bumping into him with every step he takes.

What on earth is he doing here?

“You’re such a pain in the ass, Fushiguro. How about going out and having some fun instead of making it your mission to look as if somebody killed your puppy? Geez.”

“Look, a haunted house!”, Yuji cries out, his eyes glossy from sheer excitement.

“Oh, I wanna go in!”

“I don’t wanna go in”, you protest while your friends literally drag you after themselves.

To be honest, the thought of going into a haunted house alone makes you want to leave immediately. If there’s one thing you hate, it’s creepy stuff. No matter if it’s as innocent as Halloween or things like horror films based on a true story. There is nothing worse than getting jump scared, feeling as if your heart will stop beating any minute, cold sweat running down your neck. No, there is absolutely no way in hell you will step one foot into this cursed place, you’ll just wait here and get some ice cream, you’ll-

“I really don’t wanna do this”, you whine into pitch-black darkness, heavy creepy music making you feel sick in an instant.

Your heartbeat hammers against your already aching chest, palm getting so sweaty that you are unable to hold onto the hand of your friend any longer.

“Hey, where are you? I-I think I lost you guys!”

No response, no sign of life. Just you, the darkness around you and your own blood rushing through your ears.

Fuck, you can’t do this alone. Where is the emergency exit when you need it? Is there somebody else around you?

“H-hello?”

No response, no sign of life.

Panic starts to rise in your chest, disturbing screams, violent laughter and creepy music drowning your head in nothing but thick fear. You need to get out of here as fast as possible.

Your wobbly feet carry you down the dark hallway. But instead of being able to simply sprint through the tunnel of horror, you are greeted by a never-ending hallway that is that is filled with macabre clowns decorating each and every centimetre around you. There aren’t many things that scare you more than strange dolls that look like Annabell herself, but clowns…You hated them since you were a child, no matter how friendly they looked.

And these ones definitely don’t.

“Are you lost, little one?”

That voice is close, too close for your liking. You rest your eyes for a second, pretend that this deep voice that shook you to your core isn’t really there. No, this must be part of the music, a stupid joke-

“I am still here.”

Something touches your arm. Out of instinct, you widen your glossy eyes, staring straight into the maniac grin of a clown.

A real clown.

Not just a doll.

Your body react on its own, a violent shriek escaping your lips.

Run.

As fast as you can, past the clown decorating the wall, straight into nothing but darkness while this little voice inside your head can’t stop laughing about your pathetic self. How old are you? 10?

It doesn’t matter. Your frightened eyes are darted fowards, adrenaline pumping through your veins while all you can think about is stepping through that door, getting out of this living nightmare as soon as possible. You just need to push yourself a little harder, get through this dark hallway right in front of you and it will be over, you are almost there-

You see stars. Before you are even process what happens, you bump into something hard and fall straight onto the floor with your head spinning in confusion. Was is a wall, a door? No, the dim light shows you the outline of a person. Your guts turn in an instant, the horrifying face of that clown you saw seconds ago still haunting your mind. Please, not another one of these actors.

It stretches out his hand, ready to grab you.

“NO!”, you scream on top of your lungs, crawling backwards in a desperate attempt to escape those fingertips.

Megumi can’t help but stare at your puny figure in sheer disbelief. Why the hell are you so scared? And why are you here on your own? Your thick and heavy breaths hang in the air between you both, distracting him from his mission to find a way out of here after Itadori and Kugisaki ran away like some 4-year old kids.

“Calm down, I’m just trying to find my way out of here”, he calmly announces.

You blink against the darkness around you, too stunned to say a single word. That is definitely a boy with a voice that could calm down entire oceans, making your heartbeat tame down in an instant.

“Let me help you up, okay? Give me your hand.”

There it is, his big hand stretched out in front of you. Like in trance you take it, palms still covered in cold sweat when he lifts you off the ground with ease. In the dim light you aren’t able to see anything but the outline of his features, his tall and actually quite muscular frame.

“We’ll get out of here together, just don’t let go of my-“

In the matter of seconds, your whole body clings onto his arm for what feels like dear life, nails digging into his firm biceps without mercy. He can’t leave you alone here like your friends did, there is absolutely no way in hell you’ll let go of this boy.

Much to Megumi’s fortune, the room is so dark that you can’t tell the deep blush creeping up his face. You’re a girl with a voice sounding so angelic that it caught him off guard, with your breast pressed against his arm-

Oh god.

“Let’s go”, he mumbles.

He forces himself to stare in front of him, to not risk a look at you while tumbling down the dark hallway with you by his side. But the second he opens the next door filled with red lights, his gaze wanders to his left side, gets greeted by your doe eyes immediately.

Time stands still, Megumi’s heart pounding as hard as yours when all he does is staring at your way too gorgeous but frightened features. You have to be around his age, even though it’s hard to tell in that strange light. But oh your face definitely matches your angelic voice.

“Thank you for not leaving me alone”, you mumble against his arm, eyes directed towards the next door ahead of you.

“There’s no need to thank me. How did you end up in here anyway if you are this scared?”

“My friends forced me and left me after the first door on my own.”

Megumi huffs in response. Well, that definitely sounds way too familiar. When he sees these two idiots again…

“But aren’t they aware of the fact that you’re scared?”

“Everyone is. But I guess they just thought it would be funny…”

“It’s not”, Megumi replies in an instant.

“You don’t deserve this. It might not make sense to them, but you are stressed. And no friend should want to see you like this for their own amusement.”

You swallow hard, still holding onto his arm tightly. Of course you know that he’s right, that your “friends” aren’t suppose to treat you this way. But you’d never say it out loud, would never confront them.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

His voice catches your attention just before you start to panic over another set of creepy dolls laughing in the corner, his arm moving you closer to him.

“Don’t look at them. Look at me.”

When you gaze up at him again, his world stops spinning for a minute. You really seem to trust him, your hands still intertwined with his arm, your body firmly pressed against his side. You look so lovely, seem like such a nice person. It becomes more and more personal to get you out of here.

“I’m sure we are close to the exit. Focus on me, okay?”

“My name is (y/n)”, you suddenly blurt out.

“I’m Megumi Fushiguro. Nice to meet you (y/n).”

Out of his mouth, your name sounds so relaxing, so melodic. His calm voice really suits the ocean of his dark blue eyes that never break contact with yours even though he walks down the hallway with you by his side.

“I think this is the last door.”

With a swift motion, he opens it. Slowly but surely his features get light up by lantern light, the cries and screams from the amusement park ringing in your ears again. You take a look around you.

He really did it.

You made your way out of the tunnel of horror.

“Thank you so much for helping me out”, you mutter, pulling him into a tight hug before you are able to stop yourself.

What would have happened if he didn’t find you, if he didn’t keep a cool head and lead you through the right doors? You rest your head against his broad chest, heartbeat calming down completely. How lucky you are to have met him.

“Oh – uh…No problem at all”, he mutters.

Megumi has to tell himself over and over to keep a straight face, to not allow himself to turn redder than the devil himself. But you hold onto him so tightly, so thankful for nothing but the fact that he guided you out of a haunted house.

“Who’s that girl, Fushiguro?”

You let go of him immediately, eyes darting towards a girl with short brown hair coming your way while dragging a pink-haired boy behind her like a bag of trash.

“After you left me alone in there, I met (y/n) and she helped me finding a way out.”

“Nice to meet you (y/n)!”, the other boy greets you instantly, a kind grin plastered on your face.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have helped him, Fushiguro fits just right in a tunnel of horror”, the girl comments dryly.

“There you are! We thought the clowns already ate you up!”

Oh no, not now, not in front of him and his friends. You want to sprint away, to hide yourself from your “friends”. But instead, all you can do is stare blankly why both of them approach you with a toxic smile.

“Is this what you consider funny? Dragging (y/n) in there and leaving her alone even though you know she’s scared?”

Megumi’s body tenses up immediately as he positions himself between you and the other girls. They really have some nerves, approaching you like this after what they did. There is no way he’ll let them get away with that.

“Huh? Who the hell are you and why would you care?”

“Because I was scared as well and (y/n) helped me to find a way out.”

He glimpses at you for the split of a second. It’s more than crystal clear that he’s lying. You need to stand up for him, defend him, tell them the truth.

“Oh, you’re braver than I thought (y/n)”, one of them mutters.

“Yeah…Well…We see each other tomorrow, okay? Bye?”

And with that, they disappear into the evening, their awkward walk leaving you speechless for a second.

“Promise me you’ll never let them treat you like this again”, he finally speaks up again.

“I…I promise….”

“Can you just give her your number so that we’re able to grab something to eat? I’m starving”, the girl next to him complains.

“Yeah, I’m super hungry as well!”

“Can’t you just shut up for a minute?”, Megumi hisses under his breath.

“But…would you mind giving me your number?”

-Bonus-

"Megumi-chan!"

His steps quicken in an instant, carrying down the hallway of Jujutsu High at high tempo. If there's one thing he's not in the mood for right now, it's definetely Gojo-sensei. Itadori and Kugisaki probably told him ever little thing about you.

"There's no running for me. Tell me, who's the girl you've been with today?"

He can't help but roll his eyes, the wide grin on his teacher's face simply driving him insane.

"I just met her today", he mumbles in response.

"Don't forget to use protection, I don't wanna be a grand-"

"CAN YOU JUST SHUT UP"

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Gorgeous dividers by @saradika-graphics

[yeahiwasintheshit]

finally watched 'longlegs' tonight, and man is it a beautifully made, expertly constructed film. mood and atmosphere felt so appropriate and put you in the right frame of mind for what they were trying to do. It felt creepy and dirty, ominous and threatening. shot compositions were gorgeous and the use of the 4:3 vignette or rounded edges (whatever its called) felt appropriate… for a minute i thought the whole movie was gonna be like that, thankfully it was only in a few scenes, and felt like it was for a purpose.

unfortunately i just didnt care for the story it was telling or rather I mean I was fine with the story they were telling, I just didnt think the story was executed linearly with as much care and precision as the look and feel of everything else in the movie. Its doing a bunch of things at first, but you start off thinking the movies going to be a like police procedural, and then they introduce some supernatural elements which then really takes it right out of the kind of cat and mouse / mystery movie you spend the first 10-15 mins thinking its going to be. Things you think should take some time to build up to, just happen. And I get it the movie is not really a police procedural, its more light supernatural horror but idk, theres that police procedural I was kinda wanting because of how the movie started. the supernatural thing kinda gets us to plot points quickly, and to me that felt a little too quick, a little too forced or something. Idk I mean I get why they do that, and why it all comes together at the end, but a little slower with the build up and police work would have helped build more of the tension, I think.

Also you can pretty much guess where its all going, I mean there are definitely some weird right turns you will not guess, and those are good moments, but almost from the beginning, they are like ‘who is the accomplice? Who is the accomplice?’ And its like yea, duh, we know, like they made that pretty clear almost right off the bat, so when it is revealed, you’re like, uh yeah, we knew that lol

also, what really took me out of the movie each and every time was Nic cage. They should have absolutely not had him in this role. His voice was so ridiculous, the choices in like singing were like not scary or creepy at all, it was just silly and each and every time all I saw was Nic cage, maybe if his voice was lower and creepier or something, idk, its just Nic cages voice, and it just didnt work for me. They should have had some unknown actor or anyone else in his role. Someone whos intimidating and actually creepy. I got nothing creepy or ominous about his choices. and I think its clear they knew that, cause they shellacked him in that makeup… anyway to not see Nic cage, but his voice was a dead giveaway each time.

Maika Monroe was fantastic tho, and it was really great to see Blair underwood coming out of wherever hes been for 30 years ago, back from la law I guess lol. He looks great, and he has such a great voice. Also really great to see Alicia Witt! Almost unrecognizable, I really hope they caked her in old age makeup, cause at first I was like is that her? Cant be, there’s no way Alia Atrides is old enough to have a 30+ year old child lol also nice to see sally draper in this, and that Oz Perkins has a cast of actors he likes working with. She was great in his other movie the blackcoats daughter.

Overall it was the visuals that were the standout in the movie, the director, Oz Perkins, who is the son of my bby Anthony Perkins, is really good at building these atmospheric moody visuals, he also did a movie called Gretel and Hansel which also was more visually appealing than it was a good story. and I just read that his brother, Elvis Perkins did the score. Ive loved his album Ash Wednesday for almost a couple decades now, and the score really helped build the tension and really worked with movie.

It got so much hype at first so Im glad I saw some reasonable reactions too, cause it lowered my expectation. At first I’d heard it was the scariest movie ever!! And it’s not. I’m glad I went in not thinking that. So its not a bad movie whatsoever, I def wouldnt say I loved it, there are choices that I dont think work with the story, and that really dampens what couldve been something special, cause visually and atmospherically its gorgeous.

[detectivesebcas]

Promptober Day 28- Horror Movie Night (AU, Post-STEM)

Prompt: horror movie night where someone gets scared

Warnings: none

“It’s scary movie night,” Sebastian announces as soon as they return from trick-or-treating.

With all of the changes their little family has gone through in the last year, he’s been eager to start implementing some traditions.   His past efforts have produced mixed results in terms of enthusiasm from Stefano and Lily, but this time they both seem to be fully on board.

Stefano goes to the kitchen to make popcorn, and Lily changes out of her costume.  Once she has sorted her Halloween candy into things that must be eaten right now and things that can wait a little bit, she plops down on the couch next to Sebastian.

“What are we watching?” she asks, tucking her feet underneath her and watching the screen, where Sebastian is scrolling through a seemingly endless array of movie possibilities.

“I’m not sure yet…” Sebastian says.

He hadn’t expected picking a movie to be so difficult, but Lily is eleven, and it seems like all the Halloween movies are either animated stories intended for younger kids or slasher films that would be more appropriate for a teenage audience…or maybe Stefano, but Sebastian isn’t going to go there.

Then a title catches his eye.  “Got it,” he says immediately.  “We’re watching Poltergeist.”

“It looks like an old movie,” Lily says, eyeing the title screen with suspicion.  “Are you sure it’s scary enough?”

“Oh, it’s scary alright,” Sebastian says.  “I saw it when I was nine, and I didn’t sleep for three weeks.”

Just the sight of the title screen takes him right back to those days, trying to convince his parents to leave the hallway light on and checking his closet door a dozen times to make sure it was really closed before jumping into bed, burying his head under the covers, and anxiously waiting for morning.

“So it is a really old movie,” Lily says, her fears clearly confirmed.

“How old do you think I am?” Sebastian asks.

Lily looks him up and down.  “Thirty-five,” she says, and her tone makes it clear that as far as she’s concerned thirty-five is positively ancient.

Sebastian laughs, because apparently he’s even older than Lily’s definition of ‘old’.

“I’ve never seen Poltergeist,” Stefano says, entering from the kitchen holding a bowl of popcorn.

“What?”  Sebastian is genuinely shocked.  “How?”

Stefano shrugs.  “I don’t think I was born when it came out.”

“Probably not,” Sebastian says, “but still…”

He scoots closer to Lily so Stefano can sit down on his other side and starts the movie.  Stefano leans over to turn off the lamp beside the couch, so the living room is almost completely dark except for the glow of the TV.

The movie begins, and Sebastian is already starting to feel like his nine-year-old self.  He wraps an arm around Stefano, leaning his head on Stefano’s shoulder while his eyes remain fixed on the screen.

They watch in silence at first, but Sebastian’s heart is pounding, not just at the scary parts, but every time he anticipates one of the scary parts, which is basically the entire movie.

“Oh no,” Stefano says about forty minutes in.  “Did you pick another movie where someone’s child is missing?”

Sebastian does have a special talent for doing that by accident, but right now that’s not at the forefront of his mind.

“That’s not even the worst part,” he says.

“Oh?  Then what is the worst part?” Stefano asks.

“The ghosts,” Sebastian says, thinking this should be obvious.

Lily snorts in laughter.

“What?” Sebastian prompts.  “You don’t think this is scary?”

Lily looks at him apologetically.  “It’s creepy, but the monsters don’t look very real.”

He glances over to Stefano, who nods in agreement.  “I don’t know if the special effects hold up.”

“But…” Sebastian sputters, pointing to the screen where one of the most intense and iconic scenes of the film is playing out.  “Are you guys even seeing this?”

Stefano pats him on the shoulder.  “I can see how this would have been frightening when you were nine, but haven’t you seen much scarier things since then?”

“I guess so,” Sebastian replies.  Some of the things he saw in STEM were pretty terrifying, but those memories feel different than this movie does.  He remembers the horrors of Union and Ruvik’s domain, but he was always so focused on saving himself or saving Lily that there was no time to be afraid, no time to dwell on any of it.

Here he can’t do anything, can’t help the people on the screen.  He can only sit and watch the horror play out before him, and that, plus the remnants of his nine-year-old imagination, makes this so much scarier.

Even if Stefano and Lily aren’t convinced, Sebastian’s eyes are glued to the screen for the rest of the movie, and when it ends he still feels jumpy, on edge.

Lily goes to bed without complaint, and after they’ve cleaned up and turned off all the lights downstairs, he follows Stefano up to their bedroom to turn in for the night.

“Are you going to be able to sleep?” Stefano asks playfully when he has finished undressing and brushing his teeth.

“I don’t know,” Sebastian says, only half-joking.  Then, “Are you guys ever going to let me hear the end of this?”

Stefano frowns.  “I expect Lily now has some very good ideas about pranks to play on you.”

“What about you?” Sebastian asks, giving Stefano a pointed look.  “Are you going to keep me safe from the ghosts?”

Just saying the word again brings up an image in his mind- long black hair and flowing white fabric, an eerie voice singing a haunting song…Anima.  He shivers.

Stefano is staring back at him, and he’s sure they’ve both had the same thought.

“Okay, maybe STEM was scarier than the movie,” Sebastian says, “but I still need you to make sure the closet door is shut before you come to bed.”

Stefano leans in to kiss him.

“I think I can manage that.”

[littlealeta]

Abigail Review (Spoilers)

LONG BLOG! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THIS BLOG, SCROLL DOWN TO THE OVERALL SECTION FOR A TL;DR and ALETA REWRITES

We haven’t had an evil child film since uh… Annabelle Creation? So, I was excited to see how this movie would play out.

Unfortunately, it’s like every other evil child film.

So… the positives?

The actors are excellent. They fit seamlessly into their roles. Their comedic timing and wits are great. Abigail’s actress is adorably sweet and innocent and portrays her manipulative split personality naturally. Everyone looked like they were having fun and were really into their roles, which was always entertaining to see.

Some of the scenes are entertainingly quirky. Like Abigail using Sammy as a puppet, while cliched, was humorous and fun with the intercut shots while this wildly unfitting song is playing. The scene is melodramatic but it somehow comes off as ironically humorous (in a good way). Abigail dancing to classical music with Dean’s beheaded body is another moment of good creepiness. And the entire scene with Puppet Frank was interestingly disturbing and sometimes funny. It was crazy.

Rickle was a likeable character who the film, unfortunately, had the misfortune to kill off early on because… I guess they didn’t know what to do with his character.

And… that’s about it.

Story

Like I said, the story, besides a few scenes, doesn’t really do anything special with its concept. It had a good concept (ballerina who just wants to play and can turn people into her slaves), but it never really goes that far with it. Instead, it’s just another horror film where a group of people are being chased by a monster.

The ending is a total wtf mess. Joey gets her heart stabbed and twisted and somehow survives because the protagonist's gotta have plot armor. Abigail turns a 180 and starts protecting Joey for some reason. Lazaar appears and…we don’t know what he’s about, besides the fact that he’s creepy. He and Abigail let Joey out because the movie has to end.

Characters

The cast is an entire mixed bag. The only one I liked was Rickle because he seemed like the most decent in the cast. But instead, they write him off, leaving us with a group of ignorant scumbags for the rest of the hour. We don’t even really get much time to know Rickle because he was killed off so soon. I feel Dean had more personality than him. I don’t remember much about Rickle other than he was the nice guy. And Dean has the same problem. The film fucks him over too early so we don’t have time to find a reason why we should care about these two characters.

Besides Rickle, the cast are all unsympathetic people. Luckily, some of their actors are good enough to make them appealing. And they DO have their moments where they are funny and badass, but when they’re being serious and/or trying to make a decision, they’re just your average dumb horror movie character. Some of the dialogue that they make is on the nose, notably right before they die, they do the cliche “I will always be there for you” kind of shit. 

Joey (seemingly our protagonist) is revealed to have been a deadbeat mother who dabbled in drugs and a life of crime. One poor decision she made was betraying the group over killing Abigail despite knowing she was Valdez! She is also apparently psychic (as she can read other people), but is never said to be so because the film is too lazy to. Dean is the dumb horror character who somehow just has no brains. Implicitly, he seems to be on drugs, but they don’t do anything to make his character likeable, nor do I believe it was stated that he WAS on drugs.

Sammy is my least favorite. Not only do I hate the way her character is designed, but she’s just a total whiny bitch who often has something annoyingly smug to say. Or she just gets pissed off for no fucking reason, like when she finds Dean’s body.

Peter and Frank? They’re on the more likeable side, but they’re not too great either. Peter, for example, makes the dumb decision to kill Abigail before knowing she was Valdez and almost released her from her cage at the expense of his group. Frank is the only sane man, I probably tolerated him the most, considering he was the only one with a brain. However, he can often be harsh and insensitive (like about Joey's troubled life) and, he too, threatens Abigail, screaming at her when for all he knew at the time, she was just an innocent little girl. And then, he just turns completely against the group because the writers LOVE making these characters impossible to care about. He has a similar past to Joey because the writers couldn’t come up with something different.

Last but not least is the titular character Abigail, who apparently has some dark past, but still manages to be a bland villain. She’s your typical horror movie character out for revenge and to kill the main characters. Her ballerina moves can hardly make up for it. Despite having a backstory, her development still feels shallow. There’s a whole slow ass scene where she monologues about how everyone came to be the way that they are. Number 1. How do you know who anyone is? Number 2. SHOW DON’T TELL, MOVIE.

Overall

Abigail gets 3.4 bells out of 10

Actors feel natural in their roles and are hilarious with their humor. The concept is a tad quirky, and there are some scenes where they run with that, but they are few and far in between. Plot feels mostly like your average horror film and is slow at some parts, especially at the beginning. Characters tend to make some horrible and appallingly dumb decisions with Rickle being the only nice guy in the group. If the characters are not horrible, they are shallow, like unfortunately our almost one-note villain. Dialogue sometimes feel so obvious, it’s unnatural. Ending feels very lazy due to the shallowness of the characters and their development.

Aleta Rewrites: I would make Abigail a playfully eerie child, like a Chucky kind of situation. Like, obviously, I think the movie tried to make her out to be this playful, quirky ballerina kid. So, I would lean into that more. So, it doesn’t seem like she’s just some generic character hell bent on revenge, but rather a lunatic with a morbid fascination with gore and death. So, the only reason she’s bodying people is so that she can play and mess with them, like in the scene where she’s dancing with Dean’s beheaded body. Maybe she can kill her victims while she’s dancing/playing, that would be funny. Lean in more into the horror comedy instead of making it a gritty drama about corrupt people.

I would also develop Lazaar more. Maybe make him the final boss of the film. Or preferably, do a twist where it shows that HE was the one possessing Abigail and everyone in the film, so when he's killed off or his magic is wrecked, Abigail will be free and THEN will team up to fight Valdez.

[prongsfish]

sigh

im post blocked

anyway

FISHALICIOUS

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE EVAN ROSIER HEADCANONS

(ive been asking everyone because he's slowly becoming my favourite)

just now realising you asked this nearly a month ago i'm so sorry i don't know why i struggle with answering asks so much!! but anyways evan headcanons i will GLADLY give. my characterisation of him is less concrete than characters like barty or regulus but i think about him loads still i love him...

this is a classic ofc but i will always see him and pandora as twins!! i love siblings in media so much and i think it allows for suuupper interesting dynamics between them, even in canon

in muggle aus my go-to career for him is either a piercer or something in the medical science field. i can just picture him as this mildly off-putting medsci student who goes on to be a forensic pathologist or something, he's really intrigued by the human body and how it functions in various ways. could definitely also go the way of unlicensed surgeon or mad scientist who performs fucked up experiments on people but that sort of thing doesn't quite fit into every fic lmaoo

i've always thought of him as more of a piercings guy than a tattoo guy (which is the opposite to barty). he'd definitely have both but i associate him more with piercings if that makes sense? i imagine he'd have a labret, bridge, stretched lobes (~7/8"), stretched septum (~0g), eyebrows (normal and middle placements), and high nostrils. all symmetrical!! plus probably some other non-facial piercings

he'd love sci-fi, thriller, and horror (especially psychological) films. anything super tense and probably confusing

when he was a child he and pandora would trap and kill insects. they'd spend ages examining little bug bodies and dissecting them with sticks and stuff... as he grew older he became more and more interested in bigger animals. occasionally he would kill animals himself but more often he'd search for those already dead, especially roadkill. once he was finished with any given specimen he'd carefully remove, clean, and reconstruct their skeletons to give to pandora. she didn't like the organs stuff as much as he did but she loved collecting bones and taxidermy insects, in exchange one year for his birthday (10-14th, maybe) she spent ages searching to buy him a surgical set from an antique store

waaay scarier than barty. if you don't know them you might be more initially scared by barty but while barty is loud and crazy and violent and laughs at pain/danger, evan is creepy. he knows way a million and one ways to kill someone without leaving behind any evidence. he knows every single pressure point on the human body. someone mentions a medicine they've taken their whole life for the first time and when someone else asks what it is he can explain in minute detail exactly how it works to the point where not even the person who takes it knew even half of what he says. he's super quiet moving without even meaning to be so he scares the shit out of people all the time. he doesn't blink as often as he should but just often enough that you don't notice until you're paying attention. and this is all revealed gradually, whereas barty's most "scary" traits are purposefully the most surface level things about him

he loooves medical dramas. he's watched tons of them. he HATES the good doctor though, purely on principle because once someone said that must be his favourite because he's autistic. his actual favourite is house

he runs cold and NEVER wears shorts. lots of beanies and jackets

these were so random and i went on a few tangents but oh well i did like five other things between writing these so it's a bit of a mess LMAO

[hannahwatcheshorror]

DEAD SILENCE (2007)

Who doesn’t love a creepy puppet? I remember being so afraid of this movie when it came out, just the commercials freaked me right the heck out and when I was finally brave enough to watch it for the first time I was certainly right to be creeped out! This movie does an excellent job with the makeup and effects, Mary Shaw is downright terrifying. The story can get a little ridiculous at times but overall it is very theatrical and spooky.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

A mysterious package arrives at Jamie and his wife's doorstep, inside is a ventriloquist dummy. That same night Jamie’s wife is brutally murdered. Now, I love that Jamie immediately doesn’t trust the doll but still props it up in the seat of his car and in a chair at the motel. That thing would be in my trunk or in the closet, are you for real? (Yes I realize that the damn thing would probably move but I would still try to put it somewhere away) Jamie has it set up looking out the window like Billy is thinking about who he wants to kill next, no, put him in time out! We got DONNIE FUCKIN’ WAHLBERG AKA Detective Eric Matthews from SAW. Amazing, simply amazing to see him in another horror movie as a detective busting another dudes balls over a different creepy puppet named Billy. Amazing. The universe is good.

Back to the film, there are whispers about Mary Shaw, a ventriloquist of yesteryear who maybe/ probably killed a child. There is a whole nursery rhyme about her where if you see her you better not scream or she will cut out your tongue. Cute right? Anyways, when she died she had a very special request and I gotta call shenanigans because there is no way that any mortician would turn Mary Shaw's body into a doll, it is so highly unethical, wild, wack and WHAT? Seriously, a spooky idea for sure but there is no way it would have happened and no way that the mortician's son would have just told Jamie about it (because jail). 

Jamie goes to the old theatre where Mary Shaw used to live and for no real reason he goes up on the decrepit catwalk that is literally falling apart as he is walking on it. What is this man doing? Oh, Mary Shaw’s room is up there, but how did he know that? He just assumed it was up in the rafters? Wack. He doesn’t really find anything but goes back to his dad to talk about his missing uncle. The dad is really quick to give up the story about Mary Shaw after he is caught and he was very quick to believe that Mary Shaw is an evil ghostie which is why the dad has always been a dick to his son, to push him away from the curse (ha). Jamie doesn’t take that answer lying down and sorta storms out (but gets interrupted by Don Walhberg) so he has to run back to the theatre to try and get some answers solved. Small chase then both boys are at the creepy theatre and now Jamie finds the hidden room behind the hidden room (couldn’t have found it the first time?). 

We find every doll that Mary Shaw ever had in this room as well as the missing uncle who Mary Shaw attempted to turn into a puppet at one point (wack). The dolls all start moving at this point and even talking, Donnie is shooting them up but there are too many, they must be cleansed with fire. As they attempt to escape Donnie Walhberg gets a gruesome end because he starts to fall off the catwalk which makes him scream so our lady in black scoops him up and takes out his tongue. Poor guy! He knew not to scream too but falling to your death will make a guy yell! Jamie does a pullup but gets scared by Mary so he falls and crashes through the floor into the dark water below! There are all these dolls and mannequins under the water so it is really spooky when he is under there, I hate/love it so much because dark water is one of my fears!

Jamie runs to find Billy, the last doll and therefore the last piece of the puzzle, and finds out his dad took him home? But how? His dad was paralyzed after the stroke, right? Jamie gets to his dads house, burns Billy and goes to face his father… Twist of all twists! Daddy is deady! He has been a puppet this whole time! Pretty unique movie with a twist I didn’t see coming. Sure I noticed that the wife was with the dad always but I didn’t think he was a puppet all along! How spooky! Too bad Jamie screamed at the end, if only he could have held it in! Either way Mary Shaw got really good at making dolls to make the wife and also the dad. I am unsure if the wife is a full puppet or if she is just a dead lady or what but again it was a solid twist so I will forgive them for not explaining every little detail of it.

[nitrateglow]

Spooky Season 2024: 39-45

1408 (dir. Mikael Hafstrom, 2007)

A paranormal skeptic visits an alleged haunted hotel room. It turns out to be haunted. Moral of the story: when Samuel L. Jackson tells you a hotel room is evil, BELIEVE HIM.

1408 is emblematic of how I feel about most Stephen King anything: it's a mix of really potent, effective horror with the goofiest things I have ever seen (there's literally a scene that plays like Groucho's bit with the mirror in Duck Soup and I could not tell if it was supposed to be funny or not). It comes off like a Nicholas Cage movie without Nicholas Cage, though that's not to say John Cusack does a bad job in the lead. Despite Samuel L. Jackson being prominently placed on the posters, this is essentially a one-man show, with Cusack acting his heart out amidst silly CG ghosts in the hotel room from hell. I didn't think it was amazing, but it is fun at least.

The Innocents (dir. Jack Clayton, 1961)

A governess fears her charges are possessed by ghosts, but her fervor to save them might be the greatest danger of all.

The Innocents is a dynamic chiller, one of the most atmospheric gothic thrillers I have ever seen. My perspective on the characters and story evolves every time I see it. The viewer is never told the "truth" of the situation. Are there actually ghosts possessing the children or are they merely traumatized? Is the governess a savior or an agent of destruction, unwitting though she may be?

If you haven't seen it, do not read the rest of what I have to say, because you'd be robbing yourself of a wonderful experience with one of the best horror films of all time. But I do want to talk about my current reaction to the central character, Miss Gibbens the governess.

SPOILERS

This time around, I found myself actually frightened of Miss Gibbens.

In the past, I found her sad and disturbed, but this time around, the danger she poses to those kids stood out more than usual. When she says she isn't a "cruel" person, I certainly believe her, but good intentions do not absolve her actions of psychological harm. If anything, the woman has a savior complex, likely augmented by her being a clergyman's daughter. At one point, she says her father taught her to "help people even if they refuse my help"-- basically to shove her brand of salvation on people no matter the harm it does because the ends justify the means.

And then there is the weird sexual undercurrent of her relationship with Miles. It's clear Miss Gibbens is enamored with her employer, the aloof bachelor who supports the children but otherwise wants nothing to do with them. She cannot be with the object of her desire for a variety of reasons (class difference, his disinterest, her own moral scruples, etc.), but her infatuation does not dissipate. Instead, she seems to transfer these affections onto Miles. Miles puts on a bit of an act, assuming he's quite grown-up compared to his sister Flora and flirting with Miss Gibbens (almost as though he were imitating Quint?), and maybe this act also influences Miss Gibbens to an extent. The dynamic between them gets really damn creepy and gross, with Miss Gibbens cloaking everything in her more amiable desire to help others and be needed. That final kiss she plants on his mouth after he dies never fails to make me shudder-- it's incredibly disturbing.

Miss Gibbens' lack of awareness-- of her own desires and of the real world-- is largely her fatal flaw. She is herself an innocent in many ways, thinking the uncle will care about her ghost theories, assuming her good intentions mean the children will not be harmed by her forcing them to confront their trauma head-on, seeing Miles as both child in need of help and corrupted, sexualized adult in a child's body. And yet, her innocence does not make her heroic or even good. It simply leads to more tragedy.

Deborah Kerr is amazing at channeling all of these contradictory elements of the character. Really, hers should be considered one of the great performances of all time, it's so good.

Candyman (dir. Bernard Rose, 1992)

Graduate student Helen is studying the urban legend of the Candyman. In life he was a Black artist named Daniel Robitaille, a son of former slaves who was brutally lynched after his affair with a white woman was discovered. A skeptic, she inadvertently summons him from beyond the grave. She is subsequently hurtled headlong into a nightmare scenario in which she is accused of several murders and her only salvation is offering her life to the Candyman as a sacrifice.

I knew about Candyman for years and it was sold to me as a slasher. It really isn't when you watch it-- with its mystery and crime thriller elements, it resembles a giallo, only far less goofy. While there are a handful of cheesy slasher moments, this is more of a gothic thriller with a dark romantic edge (romantic in the Mary Shelley sense, I mean).

But yeah, this was great. I really never knew where the film was going, and much of the imagery genuinely creeped me out. However, I also found the lore of the titular character fascinating. He essentially remains "alive" through the urban legends spread about him and resents the protagonist's efforts to make people disbelieve. The juxtaposition of the grounded, real world setting and the eerie, otherworldly images associated with the Candyman gave the film a rich sense of the uncanny. I can definitely see myself revisiting this one again and want to get a physical copy ASAP.

Also, Tony Todd's voice is just--- YES.

Bride of Frankenstein (dir. James Whale, 1935)

Following the events of the first movie, the Monster survives the burning windmill and seeks out companionship in the countryside. Meeting mostly fear and violence, he is driven to Dr. Pretorious, his creator's former mentor and an avid devotee to the idea of creating a new race of beings. Pretorious and the Monster join forces to coerce Henry Frankenstein into making a mate for the Monster, but their efforts do not end how they desired.

What can I say about this movie? It's absolutely brilliant. It takes all the strengths of the first film-- the pathos, the campy humor, the gothic production design-- and cranks it all up to eleven. Literally, my only beef is I WANT MORE OF THE BRIDE. She is so iconic and Lanchester gives her such an unsettling, alien presence. I wish she had been given more opportunities to play the character.

The Mad Doctor (dir. David Hand, 1933)

Pluto gets kidnapped by an insane scientist who loves cutting every living thing in sight into pieces. It's Mickey Mouse meets Saw, more or less.

One of the classic Mickey Mouse cartoons, the macabre humor is off the charts here, paying homage to the aesthetics of the gothic horror films of the period. It's a really good homage too-- the backgrounds and effects are astonishing. There's a sequence where the "camera" is following Mickey through a tunnel and the evocation of three-dimensional space is so cool. Part of what I love about Disney in the 1930s is how ambitious their work could be, even in short films like this.

Peeping Tom (dir. Michael Powell, 1960)

A shy photographer kills women while filming their deaths for a "documentary," but a burgeoning romance with a young woman threatens to both upend his mission and reveal his crimes to the authorities.

Disturbing and tragic, Peeping Tom remains a unique horror experience. It gets compared to Hitchcock's Psycho often-- both of them were controversial proto-slashers about disturbed, sexually repressed young men whose childhood abuse turns them into killers. Both films came out in 1960 and pushed at any notion of "good taste" with their sexuality and violence. However, Psycho became its director's biggest hit, while Peeping Tom permanently damaged Michael Powell's successful directorial career. While Psycho also provoked disgust, it was also more "fun" and humorous, while Peeping Tom has a sadder core. The ending haunts me in a way few other horror movies do.

Sisters (dir. Brian De Palma, 1972)

Ambitious young reporter Grace Collier witnesses a murder in the apartment across from hers, but when she cannot get the police to believe her story (mainly due to their prejudice against her, as she's written articles critical of police brutality and racism in the past), she investigates the crime on her own. Her inquiries uncover a disturbing conspiracy involving a pair of previously conjoined twins and the emotional rift caused by their separation.

Sisters has become a staple of my Halloween viewing since I first saw it years ago. It's weird because I initially didn't like it very much, but now I count it among my absolute favorites. It's certainly a riff on Hitchcockian themes of voyeurism and violence-- movie geeks will easily spot references to Psycho and Rear Window-- but it has a very countercultural edge. Having seen De Palma's earlier, politically charged comedies like Hi Mom! really illuminates that element of the film, particularly its feminist themes and commentary on police corruption.

But that all sounds very academic, and this film is anything but a dry pamphlet on sociopolitics via 1972. This is a darkly funny and stylistically playful thriller with some visceral shocks, and the performances from Margot Kidder and Jennifer Salt are absolutely amazing. Actually, I love Salt's character Grace the most. She's abrasive but ultimately sympathetic and admirable, her aggressive personality hiding a great many vulnerabilities, namely her anxiety about going nowhere in a writing career her mother seems to view as a distraction from "proper" womanly goals like getting married before age 30. I find Grace a funny yet poignant character, her fate disturbing.

[silasphoenix]

silas as a love for all this horror and creepy and it's actually what got him writing and drawing which later lead to his career choice he's not very good with people, so he lacks a lot of good connections since moving away from sweden, but it's a work in progress still being an only child, silas always struggled to open up to others and most of what he enjoys doing he does alone like reading he almost got into tattoos & piercings as a job, doing some on himself, but he couldn't imagine trying on others silas loves to express himself in different ways, mainly how he appears out and about during the day. he'll change his looks based usually on his writings and currently enjoyments he enjoys jokes and pranks, which tends to become more shown as he gets to know people [ foxy, they/them, 25+ EST ]

wanted connections | full navi | pinterest | full bio -- the group threads - tracker - visuals - musings - aesthetics - likes

— BASICS ☆

full name :;  silas constantine phoenix

nicknames :; si

gender :;  born male

pronouns :;  he/him

sexual preference :;  bisexual

relationship role :;  dominate with woman, varies with men

birthdate :; november 10th 1994, aged thirty-one years

birthplace :;  stockholm, sweden

zodiac sign :;  scorpio

occupation :; best selling author

spouse / lover :;  none currently

living situation :; a four bedroom home in macon park

— APPEARANCES ☆

face & voice claim :;  bill skarsgard

height :;  6'4″

eyes :;  emerald green

hair :;  naturally dark brown, had blond and black before

body art :;  tattoos all over his arms, chest, back and one on his face

other distinguishing features :;  has a scar on his right cheek, on his cheekbone where he has a small tattoo over it

fashion sense :;  classy, casual, comfy

body type :;  toned and rather muscular

— PERSONALITY ☆

traits :; funny, friendly, clumsy, out-going, sassy, sneaky, bright, courageous

fears :;  being alone, the dark (but he also enjoys both to a point)

hobbies :;  cooking, baking, reading, partying, hanging out with friends

skills :;  cooking, baking, writing, drawing

quirks :;  clumsy, sassy, sometimes bites lip or nails

— FAMILY & CONNECTIONS ☆

mother :;  veronica phoenix

father :; xavier phoenix

siblings :;  none

children :;  none

pets :;  none

— FAVOURITES ☆

ice cream flavour :;  any ben & jerry's ice cream

food :;  lasgana

time of the day / night :;  evening

season :; fall/autumn

holiday :;  halloween & new years

animal :;  dogs, foxes & wolves

colour :;  black, red

scent :;  freshly baked goodies

musician/band :;  black veil brides, green day, weathers, waterparks

— OTHER ☆

education :;  high school graduate, never did college, but took writing classes

bad habits :;  drinking, weed, cigarettes, vapes

a cherished item :;  a silver chain necklace he always wears

— BIOGRAPHY ☆

silas was born an only child to veronica & xavier phoenix as he himself was a surprise pregnancy for his mother. they'd been trying for a bit, found out chances would be similar and to consider adoption or surrogacy. while looking into those options, veronica became pregnant. the pregnancy wasn't easy for her and so silas was born without any siblings. however it made time with him from his parents rather easy, and they gave him uncontrollable love for being their miracle child to begin with.

growing up wasn't too bad for silas, however he did struggle some to open up to others, being a rather shy kid. it wasn't until he was in school for three years that he finally started making some friends. one thing a young silas hated was being alone. it scared him, so he made friends and would have one of his very best and him would have sleepovers every weekend, swapping between each other's homes. it made that part of schooling fun, but middle school was a different time for silas. at this time he was considered the weird kid for only having one friend and being alone reading a lot.

during a sleepover with his friend, they watched their first horror film together - the ring and were rightfully scared. however, silas rather enjoyed it still and this started his love of horror. that love started with just movies but bleed through to books and reading those gave him a drive to want to write his own. the moment silas reached high school, that was exactly what he did, started taking a writing classing and writing in his free time. at first he just wrote short stories as poems, not sure of a full book or series idea at the time. though he did brainstorm some.

as his last two years of school happened, so did the start of silas' future author career. he worked hard on the book, whenever he had the time between school, time with his parents and time with his friends. it was going well, but as graduation drew near, so did the wrong crowd. something silas didn't fully welcome until after he graduated and then he was also partying and drinking in his free time. there was also a time he hit a massive writer's block and stopped writing for a bit. the idea of being a writer was leaving him, so this is when silas went with his not so great friends to get tattoos. his first one being of garfield. he ended up asking some questions to the artist and then he was learning the art of tattooing and piercing. this was what he thought would be his new career, but he ended up having the skills and only using it friends and himself.

after a situation with his best friend and some of their not so good friends is when they parted ways. silas thought it'd be hard to go through but it somehow sparked ideas for his book and finally he finished his first book and went through the hardships of getting it pushed with the help of good friends and his parents. the joy of that day coming after four years of writing was everything to silas. so he than planned to start a series.

—- C U R R E N T L Y  —-

when silas was twenty five, all he had out to his name was one book and a book of short stories - collecting all he wrote prior. he was working on his book series and a graphic novel as well, to show case his art hobby with his writing craft. it was also during this time that his best friend moved away and they dropped contact almost right away, leaving silas rather devastated.

coming close to his twenty-sixth birthday is when silias moved out to new bellevoux. it was a fresh start for him, being in stockholm all his life. so he took a few months off writing to get used to the new place. all he managed to do was learn the must need places to go and that was it. closing off from others which partly was due to losing everyone he knew and loved. however, he does keep up with his parents in texts and face times from time to time.

now at thirty-one, silas has two books out for his series and one graphic novel to add to his growing library. he's also taking a liking to putting his own art on his body, so he's pretty covered in tattoos and some piercings. during his writing he'll sometimes re-invent himself. dressing as some characters (males only, of course) from his works to help him with his writing, so he'll tend to change his style, cover his tattoos, change his piercings around and even dye his hair. however, his face is mostly unchanged, not really falling into the makeup world entirely.

[ will try to update as time goes on ]

[otakween]

Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning

So, I saw The Beginning yesterday at an AMC theater. I saw it subbed to keep things consistent. I'm gonna split up my reaction into two parts: experience and the movie itself. Angry rant ahead...

Side note: Why is this movie called "The Beginning?" Are they planning more...? (I mean, they're always planning more I guess lol).

Theater Experience:

Always such a delight to see an anime movie in theaters, it's becoming as common as every-other-month these days which is very exciting! It's very rare that I get to see a movie like this that's a continuation of a series. Usually I'm not caught up enough to do that (although I did watch the Shirobako and Jujutsu Kaisen movies without watching the shows lol).

I had no idea that they were going to give me trading cards as I walked in!! This seems to becoming a more common gimmick these days. When I saw the most recent MHA movie they gave me a mini manga. More of this please! I know it's just cheap junk, but it makes the whole thing feel like an experience :D

Theater was more crowded than I expected and full of geeks, of course. I heard someone's ring tone go off and it was a Digimon sound effect. When the ad for the vital bracelet played one dude proudly shook his wrist in the air. I saw a Gatomon plush and the dude in front of me got so hype for the digivolutions that he started filming it on his phone (which I don't condone, but it was kinda funny seeing how into it he was).

Not a single child in the crowd. I guess this movie is obvious millennial-bait tho, so that's to be expected. (Also it was 7pm on a dark Thursday).

Cute little intro interview with the director was cute. My brain had to adjust to reading subtitles on a big screen. I guess I just don't watch foreign films outside the home too often.

Movie Reaction (MAJOR SPOLERS AHEAD):

WTF did I watch!? This movie was batshit crazy and I have many conflicting emotions. I feel like it was simultaneously super intense and really bland at the same time? Let me elaborate...

Putting aside the new dude for a second, the 02 cast really didn't do much in this at all. They all kind of acted as a collective instead of feeling like distinct people with their own roles to play. Their entire motivations/existence revolved around Lui's plot line which is really a bummer. Some characters, like Iori and Hikari were especially sidelined and bland (not that Iori was that great to begin with lol).

The only scenes I really liked with the 02 cast were when everyone (especially Miyako) was telling Lui to cut the edgy crap and just talk to them. I like when aloof characters are called out like that. Also, I liked the part where Miyako accused Daisuke and Ken of flirting teehee (queer baiting!? In MY digimon??) That got a laugh out of the audience too.

Okay...moving onto Lui's story. Jesus Christ. I liked where it was going at first and thought the whole grimdark, Madoka angle (major Kyuubey vibes) was interesting (if not a little too over the top), but then (in my opinion) they COMPLETELY bungled things!! So essentially, Ukkomon kills Lui's parents and potentially multiple children in their efforts to "make Lui happy" by making all the humans in his life behave "correctly." Horrifying and effectively creepy (especially in the scene where they "puppet" Lui's parents). This all culminates in Lui "killing" Ukkomon and losing his eye (which then gets replaced with Ukkomon's eye). I was on board for this horror angle, but then the 02 kids were like "awwww, poor Ukkomon~" WHAT. THE. FUCK. A kid tells you that a monster thingy killed your parents and your reaction is "but did you try being their friend??" Nooooo! So basically the rest of the movie is the kids victim blaming/gaslighting Lui into submission and he's like "you know what? It IS my fault that my parents died! I should have been a better friend." NOPE. This madness just ruined the whole thing for me. Like, what the hell were they thinking? Anyway, rant over. I'll go back to talking about the not as heinous things now.

I liked Ukkomon's sea angel-based design. I didn't exactly find them cute but they were good at being creepy. It was definitely disturbing to see what happens when a digimon partner is HATED by their human.

The "Unkomon" joke was funny but they didn't give a translator's note or anything so I was wondering how many people in my theater got it lol (I guess it depends on how much anime you've seen).

Lui's digimon eye looked really stupid and I think they knew that because they covered it up for most of the movie. I think it was more effectively shown in brief closeups but anymore than that it was just too goofy looking to take seriously.

The scenes about digimon bonds and the (obviously fake) threat of losing them were boring and cheesy. I think they were going for heartwarming, but something about it was very forced. The stakes definitely never felt real.

At the beginning of the movie they used smartphones to digivolve instead of their D3s...wha...?

Speaking of D3s, when they faded away (weirdly slowly) at the end and Hikari was like "what even was the digivice for anyway?" I had to laugh. That's what I've been saying! The lore around digivices, D3s, Arcs (or whatever Tamers wanted me to call them) has always been so vague. Anyway, I feel like they should be more concerned. Doesn't this mean they can't digivolve now...? (They acted like the power of friendship would just make it happen somehow, but I'm not convinced).

The updated digivolution scenes were fun (and funny to see on the big screen), but after watching Tamers, they still seemed lazily done comparatively. I still dislike that they show the greater digivolution at the start of the sequence. What's the point of that?

The movie started with Bolero, because of course. I had to roll my eyes at the nostalgia pandering. We also got a random reference to the first Digimon Adventure short film. That felt jarring since the animation style is so different.

So like...Lui time traveled and told his abusive mom to "be nice cuz your son loves you" and that just stopped all abuse forever? Riiiight...What is it with anime's crappy handling of child abuse lately? They pulled this same shit in Belle. You can't stop domestic violence by going "tsk tsk" to the abuser!

Rolling my eyes at Lui's introduction: "He's the first kid to ever partner with a digimon AND he has a super special eye AND cool grey hair AND his digimon can grant wishes." Serious "My OC don't steal!!" vibes.

Wait...I don't think they ever followed through with the "Ukkomon is connected to a digimon God" plot thread. Is that for the sequel or something? (Digimon 02 2 - The End? lol)

We got a little shipping stuff with Miyako and Ken at the end there. They had zero chemistry in the show and they continue to have zero chemistry in the movie...yaaaay.

I feel like, other than Daisuke and Lui, they just gave all the other guys the same haircut and they faded into the background lol. Ken just looks like some guy now.

Ukkomon's eldritch design was cool. I wish they just let him be evil instead of misunderstood...

So yeah, the writing in this was kind of a train wreck but I had fun regardless! Very curious to hear the dubbed version someday. How many people reprised their roles?

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: Terrifier 2 (2022)

Terrifier 2 (2022)

Not rated

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2024/10/review-terrifier-2-2022.html>

Score: 4 out of 5

All Hallows' Eve and Terrifier were flawed, but fun low-budget slashers that were both elevated by their villain Art the Clown, their grungy atmospheres, and a willingness to trample over every line of good taste with their kills, their writer/director Damien Leone putting his background as a special effects artist to great use in order to make movies that looked like they cost a lot more than the pittances they actually did. What they lacked, however, was in their stories and writing, the former film having been cobbled together from three short films Leone had made over the years and the latter being chiefly a special effects showcase with only the barest framework of a plot to hold it together. Here, Leone got something close to resembling an actual budget, along with plenty of time to think about the kind of sequel he wanted to make after Terrifier blew up, knowing that another round of plotless, gratuitous violence just wouldn't cut it -- and what he decided to make can only be described as a slasher epic, a film with a 138-minute runtime comparable to a Marvel movie that not only considerably fleshes out Art and the lore surrounding him but also gives him actual characters to hunt and kill, most notably its heroine Sienna Shaw. And for the most part, it worked. It probably could've stood to have a lot of scenes trimmed down, but Art is still one of the greatest villains of modern horror, Sienna is one of its best heroines, the production values have been beefed up considerably, the kills are some all-timers that make the previous movie look almost PG-13, and the story adds just enough to make things interesting without taking away the aura of mystery surrounding just who Art is and what exactly is going on. Having now seen all three films featuring Art the Clown, I would recommend this as one's entry point into the series, not just because it's altogether a more lighthearted and "fun" film than its predecessors (even with the increased gore) but also because it's simply a better one, and easily one of the best slasher movies in recent memory.

The film starts right where the first one left off, with Art the Clown waking up on the mortuary slab after killing himself at the end of the last movie, as puzzled as anyone as to how he's still alive. As it turns out, there's a supernatural force at work that brought him back from the dead, represented by a creepy little girl in a similar outfit and clown makeup to Art who wants him to keep killing, Art of course being happy to oblige. Right away, this was a creative solution to the question of how you flesh out a slasher villain in the sequels without ruining his mystique. It's a tricky tightrope to walk, one that the Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street franchises both notoriously fumbled as they gave Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger increasingly convoluted backstories that took away the basic, simple hooks that their characters were originally built around. Here, Art the Clown is still just a guy who likes killing people, the added story elements all falling on the Little Pale Girl, as she's credited as. Played by Amelie McLain as a more child-like version of Art who never directly kills people but otherwise haunts them and helps Art do his dirty work, there are hints as to just who she actually is (or at least used to be) but nothing concrete beyond the fact that she's more than just a mere ghost. She was an injection of supernatural horror into what had been a fairly grounded slasher story on the last outing, a Devil figure of sorts guiding Art while occasionally appearing to the protagonists as well, and proved to be a very intriguing and creepy addition to the story hinting that there was a lot more going on here than just your usual tale of a slasher villain coming back from the dead for the sequel.

There's more to a great slasher movie than just a great killer, though. My biggest problem with the last movie was that there wasn't much to it beyond Art the Clown, and it's one that Leone went out of his way to try to solve here, putting a much greater focus on a singular protagonist fighting him. And I must say, Sienna Shaw is easily one of the best final girls I've seen in a long while. Initially presented as unconnected to Art, Sienna is a creative but troubled teenager with a passion for costume design whose father, who died of a brain tumor that turned a once-loving family man into an abusive bastard in his final year on Earth, still looms large over her life. Her mother is constantly on edge, and her younger brother Jonathan has developed an unhealthy interest in true crime and murderers, particularly the "Miles County Clown" case from the prior year. It turns out, however, that her father, implied to have been an artist of some sort, may have possibly been psychic and known about Art the Clown, and the fantasy drawings he left behind included detailed depictions of some of the events of the last movie before they happened -- as well as a drawing of Sienna defeating Art.

What grabbed me about Sienna right away was her actress, Lauren LaVera. She spends most of the film in a sexy, badass "warrior woman" outfit she made for Halloween, and she absolutely lives up to it, LaVera putting her background as a stunt performer and martial artist to great use as she battles Art during this film's lengthy climax. Leone originally designed the character as something more akin to the heroine of a fantasy story for a different movie he was working on that ultimately never got made, and that shows through in Sienna's grit and toughness under pressure. There's more to a great horror heroine than just being tough, though. There's a reason why the phrase "strong female character" is a running joke among media critics both feminist and otherwise, and that's because it's all too easy for poorly-written versions of such characters to turn into one-note hardasses, clearly trying to be Ellen Ripley or Sarah Connor but missing the humanity that made those characters work. Sienna, by contrast, spends most of the film's first two acts away from Art and the action, the problems she has to contend with being of the personal and psychological sort, and here, LaVera shines and delivers the kind of performance that makes careers. Sienna felt like a capable survivor, but one who had been thrust into a situation she was in no way ready for and wound up getting as good as she gave. There are implications that she's slowly going insane as the pressure of her father's death and the breakdown of her family starts to get to her, especially once she starts having strange, violent dreams about Art that seem to predict what's happening in real life. Her seemingly being tied to premonitions of the future was a plot decision that could've easily gone wrong, but the way it plays out here, especially given the new mystery surrounding Art and the Little Pale Girl, it only adds to the feeling that there's a lot more going on under the surface than just a simple slasher story.

The surface, though, is plenty thrilling enough. Leone felt like he was on a personal mission to top the last movie in the gore department, starting right away with a kill that one of my co-workers told me caused him to stop watching just ten minutes in. I think I know the one, and I can certainly say that it doesn't even register in the top five most brutal moments in this movie. The all-time highlight, the one that typically comes up whenever this movie is discussed, is one that, if Mortal Kombat ever decided to add Art the Clown to its character roster (as it's done with various other horror villains), would probably have to be cut down in order to make the cut as the most graphic fatality in the game. The thing about Art here is that he doesn't usually just go for the easy kill, he likes to follow it up with more and draw out his victims' suffering for as long as possible. He'll land the killing blow and knock a victim down for the count, then reach for a different weapon and go for style points. There's not a lot of real tension when Art is killing people, but sheer excess packs a punch all its own. Leone has said in interviews that he envisions Art as having a supernatural ability to keep his victims alive so he can torture them for longer, and while this is never implied in the film itself (the human body can take a lot, and I just assumed that's what was happening), I certainly buy it. All the while, Art's sick sense of humor is out in force, with David Howard Thornton once again making him feel like a silent Freddy Krueger between his prop comedy and his often bemused facial expressions.

The drawn-out nature of the kills is, unfortunately, also reflective of what is probably this movie's biggest problem. Leone made a slasher movie that is two hours and eighteen minutes long, and there were a lot of scenes that could've been cut for time. It did help with the character development to give the story more room to breathe, but there were also a lot of scenes that overstayed their welcome and slowed the pace of the story considerably. I can handle a long horror movie, but there are limits, and they come when it feels like scenes were left in less to serve the story and more because Leone couldn't bear to cut anything, no matter how minor. The subplot with Victoria, the lone survivor from the last movie, is a case in point. While I have no doubt it will come back into play for Terrifier 3, especially given the mid-credits scene, that was just the thing: it felt like it was building up for a sequel more than anything, putting the cart before the horse and being another similarity this has with a lot of blockbuster superhero movies. Furthermore, while LaVera and Thornton were both great as Sienna and Art, the rest of the cast was a mixed bag. Sienna and Jonathan's mother in particular frequently overacted and came just one step away from a character in a Saturday Night Live sketch, and a lot of the supporting cast didn't exactly shine either.

The Bottom Line

If you can handle over two hours of absolute fucking carnage, then Terrifier 2 is for you. It's a modern slasher classic with a lot to like for horror fans, and I can't wait to see how the next movie plays out.

[wheezechu]

Brad Dourif’s Voice and Acting range is Remarkable. I Need it.

I truly do admire Brad Dourif’s ability to inhabit complex and often eccentric characters is unparalleled. Whether he's playing a mentally disturbed patient, a charismatic villain, or a sympathetic outcast, Brad Dourif brings an authenticity to his roles that captivates audiences. His dedication to his craft is evident in every performance, making him a celebrated figure in the world of film and a true inspiration to aspiring actors. Brad Dourif's talent is a gift to cinema, and his work continues to be a source of admiration and appreciation for fans and fellow actors alike.

So that’s why I am Voice Claiming him as Amaro. He’s perfect to listen to when writing his character and it’s really fun.

I know it’s silly, but I also wanted to make clear that, yes, This Blog is mainly Beetlejuice heavy, inspiration for my story and with the characters but I really want to capture the essence of Brad Dourif’s Chucky in Child’s Play, more than I wanted to with Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice when writing my Creepy Character Amaro. Childs Play was my number one most feared movie growing up and I mean I was really petrified of everything that seemed even slightly scary and with my Father being a major horror fan, everyday seemed like a waking nightmare Lolz. So it only makes sense that I would want Chucky to be one of my main inspirations for Amaro. Not a huge deal but still.

[iwanttoplayagame20]

100 favorite horror movie deaths PT 6!!

51. Deputy Anthony Perkins- Scream 4

This wasn't a gross kill really, he was just stabbed in the head. But I like it cause he still tried fighting despite what had happened. He stayed alive for a few more seconds before finally falling over dead and his partner did not despite being stabbed once too.

52. Margaret White- Carrie (2002)

I specified the movie here because I think this Margaret's death was a lot cooler than the other two. She had her heart stopped with someone's mind. I think I'd be terrified to go out this way and I honestly think that it was a cool way to go. Any supernatural like death is cool to me as long as it's done right.

53. Dr. Foley- Cult of Chucky

I kind of hate this character, but he got his face absolutely smashed in by Nica. Yes she can't walk but she was technically possessed, so she was able to smash in Foley's face with the brand new red heels that had placed on her by him. (Cause he's a creepy fuck)

54. Pete- Shaun of the Dead

He was bitten off-screen but I think he makes a cool zombie even if the look is so simple. He was angry alive and he was angry as a zombie too. This one is cool because it's kind of comical if you think about it really. His personality seemed to stay the same even when he turned, though you can't tell too well since he acts like every other zombie. It's the facial expressions for me.

55. Buddy Repperton- Christine

He gets ran the fuck over by a flaming fucking car. If that isn't cool I don't know what is. And he really deserved it cause he was such an ass toward Arnie. I think all antagonists of horror films need to go out in cool ways like this one, it makes it all the more satisfying.

56. Dr. Brenden Ryan- Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings

This is the most mechanical trap in all of the franchise. And it's really Saw like too, which is cool. He's pulled up by gears and had barb wire wrapped around each limb, which is then pulled off one by one until all is left is his head and torso. Shitty way to go for someone who didn't deserve it but it was cool.

57. Peter Strahm- Saw V

Another death that makes me really sad. I really liked Strahm and loved his chemistry with Perez. But he had to fucking die because why not and I'm pissed about it. Although he went out in a really gross way, he was trapped between walls closing in on him and he got squished like a big. You could see his bones snap and tear through his skin and it was nasty and you know that feeling when you watch something like it's happening to you? Yeah get the same feeling watching this scene.

58. John Bishop- Childs Play

He gets killed by his own bullshit because he stupidly has a voodoo doll of himself and leaves it down where a two-foot menace can grab it. Though I think being killed by voodoo magic is a cool way to die.

59. Henry Bowers- IT Chapter Two

Glad we got to see him die and glad we got to see Richie kill him. It wasn't really gross or anything but the scenes leading up to it definitely had me intrigued. The whole fight between him and Mike was cool and it was well done, and right before he can finish his shitting comment about Mikes parents dying in a fire he gets an axe to the head. Good job Richie.

60. Carlos Rodriguez- Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare

Another example of love this kill but hate this movie. This movie is absolute garbage and would be the worst of the franchise if it weren't for that shitty remake. The one good thing about this movie is this kill. Everyone is sensitive to the whole "nails on a chalkboard thing" right? But this takes it to a whole nother level. Carlos has a hearing aid and Freddy's knives on a chalkboard eventually makes his head explode since it became too much for him to handle. I think it looked cool even if a lot in this movie is like a looney tunes joke.

[mothmanatemysister]

5: An American Werewold in London

2 Americans are backpacking across Europe and immediately disregard advice they get from creepy locals to stick to the road (which you think would be obvious even without a killer werewolf on the loose).

Jack is killed while his buddy David runs off, then gets bit when coming back after his concious kicks in. Tragedy and sick effects ensue.

The pacing of the film is all weird. I'm not sure if the tonal whiplash is meant to be funny or just off. David's friend tells him he's a werewolf and to kill himself, he has a breakdown, then he immediately kisses Alex and they have a day out. Then she gives him a full body count and it cuts to them in the shower? It's so fucking weird.

The transformation scene still holds up to this day. This is one of the few werewolf films where the 'curse of the werewolf' genuinely feels like a curse  upon someone. The brutal pain of changing and having your victims torment you brings so much to the archetype.

Unfortunately a lot of the film is boring padding, which isn't great for a straight horror (much less horror/comedy). I'm not usually one of those "The only good parts are the scenes with the monster/kill/godzilla/etc", but aside from the ghost scenes and that phonebooth scene, this is just one of those movies.

In the end, more people are killed by their own stupidity and bad driving than by the werewolf. Seems to be a theme with this subgenre.

6: [REC 2]

Sunday I rewatched [REC 2] since I've been thinking bout it since the first one. The quality jump between films, from the cameras to the acting and makeup, is insane.

I love the switch-ups in quality between the different camera types. It's kinda wild that this film has the closest depiction of a Fallout ghoul and a VATS kill we've ever gotten.

Like most sequels, it's a bit of a critique of the original. Whenever Father Owen tries the same shit that the Agent guy did in the original, everyone threatens to kick his ass. Instead of being stuck with moronic assholes the whole time, the ones we do end up with act that way because they're dumb kids who have no clue what's going on. There seems to be a little poke at the copy+paste Quarantine remake (2008 to this film's 2009) with how one character rushes off to get water immediately after getting infected. It's not rabies, it's demons.

This is the main film to piss me off with it's treatment of Tristana however. Spoilers and trigger warning for the next bit: CSA, religious abuse, child abuse, human experimentation.

"At 11, Tristana showed signs of possession". Strange way to say "was raped by a group of priests and received no medical care". I finally found a scan of Historias Inéditas, so I'll go more in depth when I do a full breakdown of her character, but suffice to say the priests are not the good guys in [REC] and I don't get why they're treated like they didn't cause the whole damn outbreak. Even though Tristana was possessed (and her possession was caused by the Church to begin with), if Albeldo hadn't experimented on her and countless children, the possession wouldn't have morphed into a physical plague. The series' refusal to acknowledge any of this and solely pin the blame on Tristana, a victim of the Church's actions, is extremely disturbing when you look at real life cases in the Catholic Church. At the very least, this film has Father Owen be the one giving the information, so it makes sense that he would be biased and continue with the coverup.

Angela's way better in this one than she was in the previous film (not screaming PABLOOOO every two seconds and beating the shit out of the annoying priest helps). Still think it's funny that she's always a better character when she's not-Angela than when she is. Also think it's funny that the priest dies because he doesn't understand that he can get blood from a freshly dead body. He is just so dumb through the whole thing.

The officers are no Manu God of Thunder or Pablo, but they're likable enough to carry the film until we get to the firefighter. He's the best character hands down- that slap!

The kids are designed to be annoying, but Tito brings it up to a new level. Watching a second time makes them all a bit more palatable, but seeing him drag his poor sister into everything (especially knowing her fate in the comic) means you'll be cheering when he's finally left the film.

This film may not be as scary as the first (I'd probably rank it 2nd/3rd in the series), but it's pretty decent overall and you can tell the filmmakers really love making these and coming up with batshit endings. The ending has a really weird gimmick that doesn't make sense once you think about it, but the scene is really well done overall. It's definitely worth a watch, especially if you liked the first.

[hannahwatcheshorror]

THE CANAL (2014)

Slow burn Irish horror with a twist you can see a mile away. Probably would have served this better to be a short instead of a full length film but someone had to make a buck somewhere. 

⭐⭐⭐

(Trigger Warning Graphic Childbirth, Child Death)

Husband and wife move into a house near a canal (The Canal), and raise their kid there. One day when the husband, David, is archiving a film he finds out a murder happened in his home which is unsettling (a husband killed his wife)! David begins to believe his wife is cheating on him which she very much is, he catches her in the act and his first thought is to bludgeon the guy to death. David is able to avoid doing this but is plagued with some special visitors when he is next to The Canal. The next day his cheating wife doesn’t show up back home… Dun dun dun! “People always suspect the husband… because it’s always the husband. Every fucking time.”

They find her body in The Canal! It appears that her heel snapped and she fell in and drowned. David continues to learn more dark history about The Canal. A dark figure is also coming up a lot in his footage and in his life, David is rather haunted. He is so convinced that the bad man is coming for him that he sends his son away but then sees the dark figure over video chat! The nanny is scared and wants to leave but isn’t sure what to do. She gets attacked by an unknown force in the night and David locks her and the kid in the closet so she totally thinks David attacked her so she’s gone.

David attempts to capture the thing on film and even puts powder on his floors so that he will see the footprints left behind by whomever is in his home! The cops find a hammer with his fingerprints on it but his wife didn’t die via hammer so I don’t know that it’s fair that he’s in any trouble other than for littering. David follows the path that he found when he opened up the wall and he follows the tunnel behind his house that leads to The Canal.

He finds some creepy stuff there and his coworker tries to talk some sense into him but he just ends up feeding her to The Canal Creature. Oh, but suddenly David remembers it was him all along who killed his wife and coworker, woops! But The Canal demons made him do it and then they dragged him down with them into the depths. I guess the dad became one of the demons too because he encourages Billy to kill himself so that he can be with his parents again.

[boredgamespoppybrinkmann]

Crypt TV is a really awesome YouTube channel that makes short horror films with their own unique monsters that are all connected, some of their most popular and known characters are the Look-See, Miss Annity, Sunny Family Cult and The Birch though there is many more, they have grown as a production company and have made some horror series that can be watched on Peacock and Netflix, like the girl in the woods. Their unique monsters are so creepy and strange, each with their own rules and lore behind them, the Look-See is one of my personal favourites, he's known for his creepy smile, fancy suit, red gloves and his eye pocket watch that ticks backwards, he unlike other monsters is very human-like in his behaviour as well other than mindlessly killing, people who cannot release, say grief from the death of a child, a broken marriage, guilt for a crime or love for money, will get a piece taken from them, hence his notes "if you yourself cannot release then it will come to take a piece", it's a really creepy yet cool concept, his design is quite simple but very effective. Miss Annity is another favourite of mine as she is gruesome in the ways she kills and who she kills, she goes after people with insecurities, like the three people she attacks are a gymnast who hates her body and wishes to be skinnier, a new father who is so stuck in work that he's worried he won't be apart of his daughters life, and a man who dresses as a women who gets abused by his father, apart from the last one they all get killed in gruesome ways, like the gymnast gets severed in half by a tape measure that she tied around her waist. Their unique monsters and stories really inspire me to push the horror factor in my creatures and how they may act and their rules they may follow to kill.