#there should be more vampire scary content imo

[monkayy]

Its october tomorrow yay yippee ect. Still doing these!!

[thecitythatdoesntsleep]

Imo (because personally I feel this -> way) that's because it's really scary. Like not with gifs, but whump writing/prompts/etc that you write yourself getting to "normal" (🙄 lol) parts of Tumblr. Especially if they involve extra sensitive topics. It's very scary to put it out for one specific community and know that one reblog from the wrong blog that branches out to hundreds of others could make you have to delete the post/possibly your whole blog because you have 50 anons screaming at you that you're a criminal and telling you to kill yourself in horrible graphic ways all because you write whump, and even when you turn off anon a lot of them just make sockpuppet accounts to do it more. Once you're on those people's radars they don't let it go, I follow someone stalked years later :( And people shouldn't have to be worried about having anon on, because it's nice when shy people can still talk to you. Idk about other reasons and that might not be what you were referencing but that's definitely one reason :(

-Long post, ranting from the mayor-

First of all, I just want to say that I'm extremely sorry that you've experienced these things, even second hand and I wish that the blogger you follow, didn't have to either. I don't think it's right or fair that people take things to such extremes and perpetuate such visceral hatred when it should never escalate that much.

So, my sincerest apologies because that's atrocious.

I'm aware that it gets too serious extremes but I guess it was more generalized; in those cases, I completely understand why people would like to keep to their side of the internet. In such extremes I understand.

I guess what I was referring to was the fact on some reblogs, through the years I've seen fear and shaming of reblogging content that is harmless. I've seen people directly close out other groups because of what they enjoy or go back and put something nasty like: 'No kpop fan reblogs' or 'no weeb interactions/reblogs' and I guess what I mean is, even if you don't like what someone is into.

There's absolutely no need to be cruel and unappreciative that someone on a completely different end of the universe, liked something you liked. I have k-pop followers, I have anime followers, and I have likes and reblogs from all kinds of fandoms and niches. Especially now that tags are on the activity page, it makes it even more obvious and direct when tags are made.

And I personally, love it.

I would never want to isolate someone and say, oh because you like this thing, I don't want you liking or enjoying my content or following me to keep up with it. Stay away, don't come close because you like this thing and I like that thing.

I want this blog to be a safe space for everyone to just chill with some vampires and bask in some drama. Something fantasy, something to help draw them from their worries and problems. I write about violence and dark tropes the same way horror authors do. The same way thriller novels do, so I refuse to feel shame about it when so much culture is soaked in the same thing.

I'm just saying hey, for that story you were writing; try this scene on and see if it gives the kick you want. Even if it's not whump, if someone likes it and it helps them unstick something, even just the fundamental basics of a scene; I'm so ridiculously happy.

While I understand people have certain issues and that severity of hatred and such can come from all edges; like you said it only takes one blog to hurt someone... I won't speak on those matters as those are unique and I feel each person needs to do what they can to protect themselves.

But on a very shallow, very surface-level; I don't understand why some people get angry and write tags or posts that demand no interaction from xyz fans/fandoms/exct. On a much deeper level, I understand the psychology behind it, don't worry. My heart, however, doesn't understand why people do it in the first place. :( Just let people have fun.

I used to run a semi-popular anime blog and sure enough, I've had all of those things you've mentioned happen to me aside from intensive stalking. Because of liking a certain ship, I would get threats, hatred, and things that would be personal attacks from posts I've made prior.

I'd get messages not to reblog posts that weren't related to anime but I liked and wanted to share with my few thousand followers. Even things that were anime-related but in a different fandom than I was.

Even now, I've had a few reblogs from different fandoms, apologizing if they 'weren't supposed to reblog it' or if 'op doesn't mind if I reblog'. I put this content in a public space with the knowledge people of all kinds can find it, even if I specifically dabble in whump, whump is everywhere. And while I understand some may argue that whump is 'weird' in comparison to other things; I'll heavily argue that.

Everything just about that anyone likes has a form of whump in it. Anime has violence, heavy topics, gore, and plenty of emotional suffering. Anything with real people in it has usually, emotional suffering if not physical. Even fans that write for musical artists or authors or celebrities; they're usually dabbling in something whumpy. Unless it's smut which depending on how they make the relationship, can still be whumpy if someone is not being treated well in the fiction.

But I hear you and I'm sorry if my prior post offended anyone, as it's not deep or aimed at anyone specifically; just an observation of mine that I wanted to mumble into the void. (I will probably delete this post and the prior one, and reform it into something a little softer as I don't want anyone to feel any kind of way about it.)

I have no issue if people need to keep safe and do what is best for them but we're not in cults or sects that have to be segregated; at least I'm not and I won't be treating anyone that way.

I apologize that the internet has made people so volatile and unable to feel safe. That's honestly not fair and the people that do that, shouldn't have accounts. To take something so fun, so light-hearted and turn it into violent death threats and hatred, I'll never understand it.

It was also a general lament about the fact that I enjoy seeing blogs that aren't whump blogs, get down to a post I made. I love seeing people relate to my content, even if they aren't intimate with the whump community. Again, I assure I meant no harm or would ever think someone is wrong for wanting to keep to themselves. For whatever reasons, even if it's just anonymity.

I just really enjoy sharing, I guess and it's pretty heartbreaking to hear that people can't enjoy everything, all at once without being victims of the mean and hurtful.

Seriously guys, just love creation, if you can't love the people creating. Be good to each other, know that your words can hold more power than we'll ever know, and use them to uplift our fellow bloggers.

I might be a whump blog but there's nothing I hate more than real-life cruelty and people getting torn down for what they love. If they aren't hurting themselves, animals, or others; leave them alone if you can't say anything nice.

Just to anyone, not you anon, just... To anyone thinking about robbing someone's tiniest ounce of joy, from a life you'll never know they're having to live.

These are just thoughts, from a lover of life and a creator at heart.

Take care of yourselves and do what makes you happy, for however long you can grasp it.

-xoxo

[tlbodine]

A Decade of Horror Recommendations: Millennium Edition

After my 2010s horror recs post, @comicreliefmorlock asked me to do some for older films. So I figured I’d just work my way backward. 

The lists might get a bit shorter and less diverse as I go back in time as I’m not as well-versed in older horror films, but I’ll toss out some recommendations for what I’ve seen and maybe some will be new to you anyway :)

Long post under the cut! 

2000: A Surprisingly Good Year for Horror 

Maybe we don’t think of the Y2K year as a big one for the horror genre, but it was still riding the tail end of the slasher/teen horror revival. Some must-sees:

Final Destination: I’ve written pretty extensively about this movie and it’s no surprise that I like it a lot, even if the sequels get downright ridiculous. The original still stands on its own feet. 

Ginger Snaps: Maybe one of the best werewolf movies, period. Smart writing and a strong female cast as an added bonus. 

American Psycho: Did you know this came out in 2000? I honestly always thought it was older, somehow, maybe because by the time I watched it in college it seemed like everyone had seen it. Fun fact: did you know it was directed by a woman? 

What Lies Beneath: Part psychological horror, part drama-thriller, and sporting a surprisingly A-list cast. It has some well-worn tropes, but it’s a solid watch. 

Battle Royale: Speaking of movies that seem like they’re way older than they are, did you know Battle Royale only came out in the year 2000? 

There were a smattering of Asian imports in 2000 but none of them quite got their feet under them. I will make a shout-out/honorable mention here for Blood: The Last Vampire, an anime film that’s pretty well-known and gets referenced a lot. 

2001: The Beginning of the End (for a little while)

Some solid stand-alone titles came out this year, but it also was the start of when the 90s revival started to dwindle down, I feel, with plenty of disappointments to go around. Scary Movie didn’t help much (and it also launched a whole trend of really awful spoof movies, which tried real hard to kill the comedy genre for a long time, imo). Anyway, some recs! 

Jeepers Creepers: The director is an unfortunate sack of shit, but the movie is quite good. The first part, which draws heavily from a true story, is especially chilling. 

Thirteen Ghosts: An underrated gem. The plot twists too much for my liking, but the ghost designs are super cool and the whole concept of the house is neat. A+ for originality. 

The Devil’s Backbone: Maybe my favorite Guillermo Del Toro film, and a damn good ghost story to boot. 

Suicide Club: A Japanese import that feels a bit ahead of its time in terms of pop culture (and internet culture especially). Features a couple of squick-heavy scenes I still struggle to watch (but, like, in a good way). 

Ichi the Killer: Another Japanese import and my introduction to Takashi Miike, who makes me more viscerally uncomfortable than just about anyone. 

It’s also probably worth mentioning From Hell, the Johnny Depp movie about Jack the Ripper, which many people enjoyed. I personally strongly dislike the film for reasons I can’t fully explain. 

2002: Wait, That’s When That Movie Came Out? 

I feel like 2002 was a big year for me in the “movies I enjoy but didn’t watch until years later” department, probably because I was a teenager with minimal access to decent cinema. It was also a rocking good year for Japanese horror. 

28 Days Later: A movie that brought about the return of zombies in a big way, and also introduced (or at least popularized) fast zombies. Also it’s super scary. 

May: I don’t even know if May counts as horror, but it’s a dark, quirky movie that I try to make everyone watch because I love it so much. 

Ghost Ship: Honestly the bulk of the movie is pretty forgettable, but the opening scene is one of my favorite moments in gory cinematic history. 

Signs: M. Night Shyamalan’s last decent movie or his first shitty one, depending on who you ask. I liked it a lot when I first watched it, and it started to fall apart more and more as I got older. 

Ju-On: The Grudge: One of the better-known Japanese horrors and one whose tropes still get referenced and re-used. Skip the 2004 remake and watch the original trilogy. 

The Ring: Probably the best-known Japanese horrors and maybe the import that put “Japanese horror” into public consciousness. 

There was a lot of shlocky dreck in 2002, some of it decent (Cabin Fever) and some of it downright awful (Pinata: Survival Island/Demon Island). I should also mention Red Dragon, based on Thomas Harris’s novel of the same name, which quite a few people liked (I’ve only seen it once but I recall being underwhelmed). Also an honorable mention to Dog Soldiers, which I have not seen but which I hear frequently recommended as an A+ werewolf film. 

2003: Wow that’s a lot of dreck 

Look fam nobody said these film recs would be objective. There were a ton of horror movies that came out in 2003, I just didn’t really like hardly any of them. Some exceptions: 

Willard: The movie that made me want to start keeping rats as pets, which says more about me than it does the film. It’s a great movie, though, the first thing I ever saw Crispin Glover in (and god, he’s amazing), and one of the few films that I think is better than the book. 

Identity: A pretty decent psychological horror starring John Cusack. Watch this and 1408 together as a double-feature for maximum fun factor. 

House of 1000 Corpses: Look, if you’re reading this blog, you probably already have an opinion one way or another of Rob Zombie. The movie’s on the list because it’s arguably historically important, not because it’s objectively good. 

A few other notable moments from 2003 included a Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake (just watch the original, but if you insist on a remake, this is one of the better ones), the second Final Destination film (the last good one in the franchise), the Jeepers Creepers sequel, Freddy vs Jason, Darkness Falls, and Dreamcatcher. Like I said, there were lots of movies that came out this year, I just don’t think they were very good. 

2004: Oops we created torture porn 

I was in college at this point, which meant I was watching less horror than at any other moment in my life (I had a roommate who really hated scary movies) so maybe that’s why I haven’t heard of the majority of movies that came out that year. Or maybe they were all just really bad, hence why I still haven’t seen them. Hmmm. But! A few shining stars: 

Saw: Obviously a classic. I’m lukewarm about the franchise, but the original is an excellent film and well worth watching, especially given the impact it would have on the next many years of horror cinema. 

Shaun of the Dead: Hilarious, and honestly one of my favorite zombie films of all time. 

Dumplings: A Korean important you likely missed in 2004 but may have seen in a Three Extremes compilation. Well worth the watch if you’re not squeamish. 

Otherwise 2004 was pretty lackluster. Some forgettable franchise installments, some shlocky creature features, some unnecessary remakes. Lots of titles I’m unfamiliar with, though, too, so somebody tell me if I missed a big one that year! 

2005: Ehhhh

Just a couple important titles this year too: 

Hostel: Not a great movie. In fact, pretty damn campy. But an important one to watch to understand the torture porn genre. 

The Devil’s Rejects: See above re: House of 1000 Corpses. Hit or miss but a well-liked film by Rob Zombie fans. 

And  you know what, I think that’s actually it. I mean there were other movies -- a remake of The Fog,  the infinitely predictable Hide and Seek, the second Saw installment, and of course Doom. But it just wasn’t a great year for horror, imo. One shout-out here though for Wolf Creek, which is on my to-watch list; I haven’t seen it so I can’t vouch for it, but it does get recommended to me a lot. 

2006: Mostly more of the same 

Did we seriously have a Saw movie every year in the 2000s or what? No wonder everybody got sick of them and thought all horror was torture porn for a while. Talk about market saturation. 

Anyway, some shout-outs: 

Stay Alive: This movie is ridiculous, but I love it a lot. It’s about a video game that kills you in real life, and is a more successful video game movie than most actual adaptations. 

ReCycle: An Asian import. I missed this one entirely when it came out, but it’s one of my favorites to have discovered in later years. It’s a seriously cool movie, both fanciful and deeply uncomfortable. Content warning for abortion, but it’s not what you think. 

Otherwise, just some mostly soulless remakes (The Omen, The Hills Have Eyes, The Wicker Man), some franchise installments (Saw III, Final Destination 3, The Grudge 2). I will give an honorable mention to Black Sheep, which is so-bad-it’s-good ridiculous, and to that cult favorite Slither. 

2007: Wait, is horror getting good again?

Well, not quite, but we’re back on the map with some promising additions in a year where the genre seemed to be struggling to rediscover its identity: 

The Mist: One of the better Stephen King adaptations. 

30 Days of Night: A divisive entry in the canon, but a pretty interesting piece to study for anyone interested in vampires. 

28 Weeks Later: Not exactly a direct sequel to the earlier 28 Days Later, and probably not as good of a film, but pretty good in its own right. 

1408: Watch this one with Identity (see above) and enjoy a night of John Cusack going crazy in hotel rooms. 

The Orphanage: One of my favorite horror films of all time, both deeply unsettling and agonizingly sad. 

Paranormal Activity: The highest-grossing film of all time thanks to its low budget. Also what we can blame for the burst of popularity in the “found footage” style. 

Dead Silence: A movie that still frequently gets recommended and delivers some solid spooks. I’m not as fond of it as a lot of people, but it deserves a mention for how often it gets referenced (and for playing “killer ventriloquist dummies” straight as a trope). 

Trick r Treat: A Halloween classic. 

Of course the year brought us another Saw and another Hostel, a contentious Halloween reboot, another stab at I Am Legend (often adapted, rarely well), and a smattering of other sequels. I have not seen The Girl Next Door but based on how rarely I hear it recommended compared to the book, I imagine I’m not missing much. Borderlands was OK but, for my money, forgettable. Oh, there was also Grindhouse, a double feature which I quite enjoyed (I saw it in theaters, where it came with a warning for length, which I found amusing) but which history does not seem to have remembered positively. 

2008: Did Somebody Order a Recession? 

Back to slim pickings, although I admittedly have not seen most of the films released that year (I was pretty damn broke in 2008, so maybe that’s why). Still: 

Let the Right One In: Skip the later English remake, you cowards, and watch this with subtitles. It’s so good. SO GOOD. An unexpected twist on the vampire story, and kind of a romance to boot. Sort of. In a really messed up way. 

Cloverfield: A couple things are neat about Cloverfield. One, it was an early adopter and trope-setter for found-footage movies. Two, it successfully spawned a franchise where none of the movies feel related at all. Three, it launched with some really cool viral marketing that was utterly ahead of its time. On the downside, the shaky cam may in fact make you vomit if you get seasick easily. 

Repo! The Genetic Opera: A classic. Also may in fact be the only film of its kind, or at least the only rock-opera scifi-horror that comes to mind. 

I haven’t seen Pontypool, though it’s on my watch-list -- I’ve heard it’s quite good. Ditto Tokyo Gore Police which delivers, to my understanding, exactly what it says on the tin. Speaking of movies I didn’t see, can we take a moment to appreciate that a film called “Sauna” with the tagline “cleanse your sins” came out this year? Jfk 2008, are you OK? 

2009: Why are all the best horrors comedies this year 

It really does become obvious just how much the genre was floundering to figure out what it was doing the latter half of the decade, because the movies are so weirdly hit-or-miss. I do have some favorite hidden gems, though, alongside a couple well-known recs: 

Zombieland: A genuinely funny feel-good zombie comedy-horror, feeding right into a growing cultural fascination with zombies. 

Jennifer’s Body: Is this a comedy? Is this a horror? What is this? I’m not sure how to classify it but I sure do like it. 

Antichrist: Ok I don’t know if this is a recommendation per se, but if I had to watch this with my own eyes, I’m making y’all watch it too. Have you ever wondered what it might look like to watch a filmmaker have a psychotic break while making a movie? That’s almost literally what this film is. 

The Human Centipede: This is a cop-out because I have not watched these movies and I in fact refuse to watch these movies because the premise is fucking stupid, but I will acknowledge the historical, ah, importance? of this film in the greater scheme of 21st century horror. 

Dread: One of my favorite movies, and the film I recommend to anyone who wants to watch a torture film done right. I love the shit out of this movie. Please go watch this movie. 

Grace: Deeply disturbing and pulling approximately zero punches. It’s one of the best films to tread the “horrors of motherhood” territory, which is saying something because that’s very fertile (ha, ha) ground. 

I actually have not seen Drag Me to Hell or The Last House on the Left, although people have recommended both to me. Anyone want to chime in with how good they might be? I also want to make a shout-out to Daybreakers, which I feel like nobody ever talks about but which actually has one of the most fascinating vampire concepts I’ve ever seen on film. The movie itself is kind of boring and forgettable, but the idea is really neat. 

And that wraps up my journey through the 2000s in horror. Next decade: The 90s, coming right up!