#world war z 2013

[thechills]

BUTCHES IN HORROR

[virginiamerrye]

watching world war z is wild because i literally could not care less about any of the human stuff goimg on but the zombies are SPECTACULAR. a solid example of running zombies. so i spend half the movie either skipping through it or on my phone. there should be like a bechdel test for zombie movies but instead of pretending its about lesbians i want to pretend its about the zombies and not... whatever this is. IF YOU ASK ME the book having a journalist as the main character working to figure out what all happened works sooooo much better than the movie interpretations bootboy, but then again, what ISNT better than a bootboy?

[screenshothaven]

World War Z (2013)

[thezombiegeekinthehawaiianshirt]

Three Zombie Films, Survived Two of Them.

[scarletwitchie2]

mydearesthumans.tumblr

1. Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2005 - LA premiere

2. July 29, 2013. - Premiere of "World War Z." Tokyo, Japan

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[whynot-movies]

World War Z (2013)

[adamwatchesmovies]

World War Z (2013)

The last time I saw World War Z, it was in 2013 and on the big screen. I enjoyed it but since then, this film hasn't made much of an impact. The sequel announced after its box office success never materialized. Combined with it not really being a faithful adaptation of the book and the overall lack of scares, it makes you wonder if the hype was just it being new and hot.

Gerry (Brad Pitt), a former UN employee specializing in navigating through dangerous zones, hears strange reports on the news. A new form of rabies spreads the disease rapidly as those affected attack their loved ones. To make things worse, the infected seem nearly unstoppable: only going down when shot in the head. In no time, every major city is overrun and he is recruited to help find a cure.

Some notable aspects of World War Z are that it actually uses the word zombie, and the people within the story act as though they’ve seen horror movies before. When Gerry defends his family from a pack of ghouls, he gets some of their blood on his face and immediately, steps on a rooftop ledge in case he feels himself transforming. Also noteworthy is the picture's scale. Most zombie films lean towards the low-budget production. Not this one. We travel to multiple cities across the world as Gerry searches for patient zero and/or a cure. In some locations, the undead number in the thousands. When there are that many, they behave almost like insects, crawling on top of each other to scale walls and forming a wave that devours everything in its path.

Another component worth mentioning is Brad Pitt. He’s always great and doesn’t disappoint here either. There’s a serious attempt made to make World War Z realistic. While Gerry is away on his mission, his wife, Karin (Mireille Enos) and children (Sterling Jerins and Abigail Hargrove) are being cared for by Gerry’s old boss, played by Fana Mokeona. The ship is full of people. Too full. More than once, we see people shipped away because they don’t have the resources to take care of them and we never find out what happens to them. You assume the worst because the whole world is falling apart. If Gerry dies on his mission or even fails to report frequently enough for people to think he’s still alive, his family is at risk. The stakes are high on a personal, familial and global level.

All that said, there’s a reason no one is talking about this movie now and why it isn’t looked upon fondly within horror circles. World War Z is not particularly scary. It’s got suspense, but no scares. The realistic look also means there aren’t any memorable zombie designs anywhere. Then, there's the conclusion, which is underwhelming. It makes sense but makes you go “really? that’s it?” then we get a quick wrap-up and the credits begin rolling. This picture is missing something. It’s got the action but needed something else. If only it offered insights into governments (it looks like it’s going to, but it’s more of a way to explain how the various cities we visit are still standing and/or why they’re about to fall) or individuals during a pandemic. Or if it was funny (the opposite of being scary), or do something so it could be known for something other than “the big-budget zombie movie with Brad Pitt in it”. I haven’t read the book by Max Brooks but from what I know about it, it contains all of those things to a degree. Where’d they go?

World War Z is a good movie but I don’t know who I would recommend it to. Horror hounds will be disappointed by the general lack of gore and scares. Non-horror fans are unlikely to take a chance on it. What I’d recommend instead is that the film be used as a gateway. Lure those non-horror fans in with the action, the big budget and the star power. Once your friend or significant other tells you they’d be up for more, then you can show them one of the better, more memorable zombie movies you have in your collection. (August 18, 2023)

[milliondollarbaby87]

World War Z (2013) Review

Former United Nations worker Gerry Lane must join the race against time to save the world from a zombie pandemic which is threatening to destroy humanity. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Continue reading World War Z (2013) Review

[omegaversereloaded]

please help nader @abdalsalam1990 and his wonderful family!!!

"Hello, I am Abdul Salam Al-Anqar, 26 years old, married to Aya Al-Batniji and I have a little girl named Iman who is (1 year old). My family consists of seven members: my mother Iman (49 years old), my father Ahmed (54 years old), and my brothers Mohammed (14 years old), Nader (17 years old), and Omar (21 years old).

Due to the devastating war in the Gaza Strip, our homes were completely destroyed and became uninhabitable. We were forced to flee to the south, and we are searching for safety, as we were displaced more than 9 times, suffering from harsh conditions. We suffer from severe shortages of water and food, and my daughter suffers from malnutrition due to the high prices of food and its scarcity, in addition to the closure of the crossings and the ongoing siege."

This fundraiser is vetted by @gazavetters, number four on the spreadsheet here

Here's a video confirming his identity as well.

Every amount send their way counts!! Thank you all so much!!!

[omnifuneral]

I don't really know who this post is "for", but this morning I've been listening to a couple records from right around the height of the "autotune war" of the late 2000s and I have some thoughts.

I was in school for music production right around the time all that was reaching something of a head. 808s and Heartbreak had a death grip on the zeitgeist, Jay-Z released that (corny at the time, ridiculous in retrospect, like most of his mid-to-late career work) "Death of Autotune" song, and even pretty normal people had Very Strong Opinions on something they didn't really understand.

One problem with the discussion was that two VERY different things were happening in popular music at the same time, both of which could reasonably be referred to as "autotune", because they WERE both using the same tooling:

Autotune as an artistic decision - think Kanye, Cher, T-Pain, your favorite rapper today if you're not a total cornball. Natural progression from Moroder's vocoder or Frampton's talkbox, really, but Black people were doing it With Computer now so it was Bad

Autotune designed to be invisible - this is more broadly called "pitch correction" in the industry and is a universal feature of pretty much all pop records made in the last 20 years, but is a LOT better now than it was back then... listen to the 2007 A7X self-titled record or some early Katy Perry if you want to hear how uncanny this could sound at the time. More objectionable sounding IMO, but harder to hear, and it all kind of got lumped together in the public consciousness around really stale, lame, point-missing conversations about "talent" and "authenticity"

Anyway, if this all seems quaint and a little weird to have gotten so worked up about in retrospect, that's because it is. Within a few years, "artistic" autotune was so ubiquitous it became impossible to imagine pop or hip-hop without it, and the tools and techniques for "transparent" pitch correction had gotten so much better that nobody except your real Rick Beato-tier production nerds (myself included) would ever hear it. By 2012 or 2013 the only people still bitching at all were, well, boomers.

The reason I bothered typing all this out, besides the fact that I find this stuff interesting, is that it's basically how I see artistic uses of generative AI shaking out in the next decade or so. There will almost certainly be an increasing bifurcation between uses of AI tools that are obviously AI - indeed, where the AI-ness is part of the point - and works of art where some generative tools were used somewhere in the process more or less transparently. Lots of people will stay very angry about the whole thing for quite some time, and (knowingly or not) conflate the two very different processes when discussing them. Both streams will evolve rapidly both in terms of tool quality and technique refinement, and eventually both totally AI-generated art, or music, or whatever and "traditional" works that employ contemporary tooling will exist side by side in a world where the vast majority of normal people are (mostly) done bitching about it.

Or... I could be totally wrong about everything. Whatever. The future is unwritten.

Either way, I hope you're having a great weekend. ✌️

[autumngracy]

October Movies Watchlist

Cozy Autumn Vibes

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

You've Got Mail (1998)

Mona Lisa Smile (2003)

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Clue (1985)

The Good Witch (1999)

Autumn in New York (2000)

Legends of the Fall (1994)

Dead Poets Society (1989)

October Sky (1999)

Big Fish (2003)

The Lake House (2006)

Rip in Time (2022)

Little Women (2019)

Knives Out (2019)

Anne of Green Gables (1985)

Cider House Rules (1999)

Remember the Titans (2000)

Nostalgic & Kid-Friendly:

The Halloween Tree (1993)

Matilda (1996)

The Iron Giant (1999)

Halloweentown (1998)

Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001)

Halloweentown High (2004)

Return to Halloweentown (2006)

James and the Giant Peach (1996)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Monsters, Inc. (2001)

Monsters University (2013)

Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie (2005)

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Pagemaster (1994)

Into the Woods (2014)

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

Don't Look Under the Bed (1999)

Spirited Away (2001)

Mary and the Witch's Flower (2017)

The Corpse Bride (2005)

A Monster in Paris (2011)

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)

Coraline (2009)

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

The Karate Kid (1984)

The Last Unicorn (1982)

Jumanji (1995)

Earnest Scared Stupid (1991)

Hotel Transylvania (2012)

Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (2022)

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Twitches (2005)

Twitches Two (2007)

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

Little Monsters (1989)

The Witches (1990 or 2020 remake)

Labyrinth (1986)

The Gate (1987)

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)

Mom's got a Date with a Vampire (2000)

The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018)

The Little Vampire (2000)

Haunted Mansion (2003)

Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021)

The Dark Crystal (1982)

Beetlejuice (1988)

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)

It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)

Hocus Pocus (1993)

The Addams Family (1991)

The Addams Family Values (1993)

The Addams Family (2019)

The Addams Family 2 (2021)

ET (1982)

Return to Oz (1985)

Paranorman (2012)

Monster House (2006)

Toy Story of Terror! (2013)

The Scream Team (2002)

Double, Double Toil and Trouble (1993)

The Secret of NIMH (1982)

Ghostbusters (1984)

Ghostbusters II (1989)

Ghostbusters (2016)

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

Wolfwalkers (2020)

The Secret of Kells (2009)

Song of the Sea (2014)

Goosebumps (2023)

Goosebumps 2 (2018)

The Goonies (1985)

Casper (1995)

Disney's Tower of Terror (1997)

Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman (2000)

Mad Monster Party (1967)

Wendell & Wild (2022)

Under Wraps (1997)

Under Wraps (2021)

Phantom of the Megaplex (2000)

Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School (1988)

Scooby Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988)

Scooby Doo on Zombie Island (1998)

Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost (1999)

Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000)

Zombies

Zombieland (2009)

Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)

Autumn (2014)

The Wailing (2016)

The Night Eats the World (2018)

The Dead Don’t Die (2019)

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)

City of the Living Dead (1980)

The Beyond (1981)

The House by the Cemetery (1981)

Rec (2007)

Rec 2 (2009)

Quarantine (2008)

Quarantine 2: The Terminal (2011)

28 Days Later (2002)

28 Weeks Later (2007)

Train to Busan (2016)

Seoul Station (2016)

Cemetery Man (1994)

World War Z (2013)

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Return of the Living Dead (1985)

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Shawn of the Dead (2004)

Zombi (1978)

Zombi 2 (1979)

Zombi 3 (1988)

The Plague of the Zombies (1966)

Resident Evil (2002)

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)

Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)

Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017)

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)

Vampires & Werewolves

Dracula (1931)

Dracula's Daughter (1936)

Horror of Dracula (1958)

The Brides of Dracula (1960)

Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)

The Empire of Dracula (1967)

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)

Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

Count Dracula (1970)

Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)

Scars of Dracula (1970)

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Van Helsing (2004)

Last Voyage of The Demeter (2023)

Renfield (2023)

Vampyr (1932)

Mark of the Vampire (1935)

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

The Vourdalak (2023)

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

Interview With the Vampire (1994)

Queen of the Damned (2002)

Dark Shadows (2012)

Abigail (2024)

Blade (1998)

Blade II (2002)

Blade: Trinity (2004)

Vampire in Brooklyn (1995)

Fright Night (1985 or the 2011 remake)

The Last Man on Earth (1964)

I am Legend (2007)

Daybreakers (2009)

The Lost Boys (1987)

Salem's Lot (1979)

30 Days of Night (2007)

Underworld (2003)

Underworld: Evolution (2006)

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)

Underworld: Awakening (2012)

Underworld: Blood Wars (2016)

The Howling (1981)

Ginger Snaps (2000)

Werewolf of London (1935)

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Silver Bullet (1985)

The Company of Wolves (1984)

Howl (2015)

Moon of the Wolf (1972)

Dog Soldiers (2002)

The Wolfman (1941)

The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)

The Wolfman (2010)

Slashers

Psycho (1960)

Candyman (1992 or 2021 remake)

Pearl (2022)

X (2022)

Child's Play (1988)

Child's Play 2 (1990)

Child's Play 3 (1991)

Bride of Chucky (1998)

Seed of Chucky (2004)

Curse of Chucky (2013)

Cult of Chucky (2017)

Scream (1996)

Scream (2022)

Happy Death Day (2017)

Happy Death Day 2U (2019)

Friday the 13th (1980)

Friday the 13th Part II (1981)

Friday the 13th Part III (1982)

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)

Jason X (2002)

Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

Friday the 13th (2009)

Children of the Corn (1987)

Halloween (1978)

Halloween II (1981)

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1986)

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)

Halloween Resurrection (2002)

Halloween (2007)

Halloween II (2009)

Halloween (2018)

Halloween Kills (2021)

Halloween Ends (2022)

Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)

A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)

Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Black Pumpkin (2020)

Hauntedween (1991)

Dark Harvest (2023)

Monsters

The Invisible Man (1933)

The Mummy (1932)

The Mummy (1959)

The Mummy (1999)

Frankenstein (1931)

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Son of Frankenstein (1939)

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)

The Monster Club (1981)

The Monster Squad (1987)

Hellboy (2004)

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

Hellboy (2019)

The Gorgon (1964)

Gremlins (1984)

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Pumpkinhead (1988)

Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings (1994)

Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes (2006)

Pumpkinhead: Blood Feud (2007)

Cloverfield (2008)

Jurassic Park (1993)

Jeepers Creepers (2001)

Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003)

Jeepers Creepers 3 (2017)

Jeepers Creepers: Reborn (2022)

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973 or 2010 remake)

Tremors (1990)

Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996)

Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001)

The Mist (2007)

The Descent (2005)

The Descent Part 2 (2009)

Bird Box (2018)

Aliens

The War of the Worlds (1953)

War of the Worlds (2005)

Annihilation (2018)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Slither (2006)

Forbidden Planet (1956)

Signs (2002)

Mars Attacks (1996)

Evolution (2001)

Color Out of Space (2019)

Cowboys & Aliens (2011)

Paul (2011)

A Quiet Place (2018)

A Quiet Place: Part 2 (2020)

The Faculty (1998)

Prey (2022)

Predator (1987)

Predator 2 (1990)

Alien vs. Predator (2004)

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

The Predator (2018)

Predators (2010)

Alien (1979)

Aliens (1986)

Alien 3 (1992)

Alien: Resurrection (1997)

Prometheus (2012)

Alien: Covenant (2017)

Alien: Romulus (2024)

Nope (2022)

Apollo 18 (2011)

Dreamcatcher (2003)

The Thing From Another World (1951)

The Thing (1982 or 2011 remake)

Evil & Hauntings

Annabelle (2014)

Annabelle: Creation (2017)

Annabelle Comes Home (2019)

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

The Curse of La Llorona (2019)

Ghost (1990)

Ghostwatch (1992)

The Uninvited (1944)

Hellraiser (1987)

Spawn (1997)

WNUF Halloween Special (2013)

The Lady in White (1988)

The Deep House (2021)

Ready or Not (2019)

The Woman in Black (2012)

The Woman in Black: Angel of Death (2014)

The Haunting (1963)

Ouija (2014)

Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)

The Others (2001)

La Llarona (1960)

Gothika (2003)

Poltergeist (1982)

Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)

Poltergeist (2015)

The Shining (1980)

Doctor Sleep (2019)

The Brothers Grimm (2005)

The Conjuring (2013)

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)

The Conjuring 2 (2016)

The Exorcist (1973)

Constantine (2005)

The Frighteners (1996)

1408 (2007)

Mama (2013)

Crimson Peak (2015)

The Grudge (2004 or the 2020 remake—OR, Ju-on, the og Japanese 2002 version)

The Sixth Sense (1999)

The Devil's Backbone (2001)

The Evil Dead (1981)

The Evil Dead 2 (1997)

Army of Darkness (1992)

The Evil Dead (2013)

The Evil Dead Rise (2023)

Skinamarink (2022)

Kill Baby Kill (1966)

Burnt Offerings (1973)

The Tomb of Ligeia (1964)

As Above, So Below (2014)

A Haunting in Connecticut (2009)

Shutter (2008)

The Mist (2008)

Pulse (2001)

The Eye (2008)

Ringu (1998)

The Ring (2002)

The Ring Two (2005)

Sinister (2012)

Insidious (2010)

Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)

Insidious: The Last Key (2018)

Insidious: The Red Door (2023)

Grave Encounters (2011)

Grave Encounters 2 (2012)

Paranormal Activity (2007)

Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015)

Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021)

Aterrados (In English: Terrified) (2018)

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)

High Spirits (1988)

Veronica (2017)

The Omen (1976)

The Omen 2 (1978)

The Omen (2006)

The First Omen (2024)

Thirteen Ghosts (2001)

The Babadook (2014)

Phantasm (1979)

Phantasm II (1988)

Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)

Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)

Phantasm V: RaVager (2016)

Devil Dog (1978)

Jennifer's Body (2009)

Lights Out (2016)

Kwaidon (1964)

Ghost Ship (2002)

House on Haunted Hill (1959)

The Devil Rides Out (1968)

Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)

Witches & Magic

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

Practical Magic (1998)

The Witch (2015)

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)

Blair Witch (2016)

The Wicker Man (1973)

The Wicker Man (2006)

The City of the Dead (1960)

Bell Book and Candle (1958)

The Witches (1990 or 2020 remake)

Black Sunday (1960)

El Espejo de la Bruja (In English: The Witch's Mirror) (1960)

I Married a Witch (1942)

The Craft (1996)

Apostle (2018)

The Love Witch (2016)

Burn Witch Burn (1962)

Horror

Creepshow (1982)

Creepshow 2 (1987)

November (2017)

The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Trick r Treat (2007)

Bad Candy (2020)

The Barn (2016)

The Barn: Part II (2022)

Tales of Halloween (2015)

Willy's Wonderland (2021)

Eyes Without a Face (1960)

Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)

The Midnight Hour (1985)

The Curse of Bridge Hollow (2022)

The Birds (1963)

Cape Fear (1960)

Horns (2013)

M3GAN (2022)

The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

The Phantom of the Opera (1943)

The Phantom of the Opera (1962)

The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Viy (1967)

Haunt (2019)

Diabolique (1955)

The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008)

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

The Lodge (2019)

The Mask of the Red Death (1964)

The Premature Burial (1962)

Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)

Dark Night of the Scarecrow 2 (2022)

Buried Alive (1990)

Midsommar (2018)

Island of Lost Souls (1932)

Honeymoon (2014)

Session 9 (2001)

The Blood of Satan's Claw (1971)

Black Death (2010)

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

Pet Sematary (1989 or the 2019 remake)

It (1990)

It: Chapter One (2017)

It: Chapter Two (2019)

Hereditary (2018)

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)

Re-Animator (1985)

Bride of Re-Animator (1990)

Beyond Re-Animator (2003)

Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

V/H/S (2012)

V/H/S/2 (2013)

V/H/S: Viral (2014)

V/H/S/94 (2021)

V/H/S/99 (2022)

V/H/S/85 (2023)

V/H/S/Beyond (2024)

Eyes of Fire (1983)

The Red House (1947)

Deadly Blessing (1981)

Dark Water (2002 or 2005 remake)

The Substance (2024)

Thinner (1996)

Cobweb (2023)

The Happening (2008)

Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)

House of Wax (1953)

House of Wax (2005)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

The Devil-Doll (1936)

The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)

Black Sabbath (1963)

Cabin in the Woods (2011)

The Ruins (2008)

Summer of Fear (1978)

Fear Street: Part One, Two & Three (2021)

The Ritual (2017)

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)

The Black Cat (1934)

Teeth (2007)

Late Night with the Devil (2023)

I Saw the TV Glow (2024)

Freaks (1932)

The Old Dark House (1932)

Mr. Sardonicus (1961)

I Bury the Living (1958)

Plague Dogs (1982)

Watership Down (1978)

Ringing Bell (In Japanese: Chirin No Suzu) (1978)

Felidae (1994)

Psychological

Lake Mungo (2008)

Shutter Island (2010)

The Dead Zone (1983)

Donnie Darko (2001)

Us (2019)The Village (2004)

Carnival of Souls (1962)

Carnival of Souls (1998)

Deus Ex Machina (2014)

The Lazarus Effect (2015)

It Follows (2014)

Get Out (2017)

Comedy/Satire

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Young Frankenstein (1974)

Death Becomes Her (1992)

Hubie Halloween (2020)

Scary Movie (2000)

Scary Movie 2 (2001)

Scary Movie 3 (2003)

Scary Movie 4 (2006)

Scary Movie 5 (2013)

[girlactionfigure]

#onthisday, 2018, Sara Ginaite Rubinson z”l passed away. She was a world renowned author and academic, a legendary resistance fighter in Lithuania against the Nazis during WWII. After the war she eventually joined her daughters in Canada and wrote several books in Lithuanian. Her most famous work translated into english was “Resistance and Survival: The Jewish Community in Kaunas 1941–1944.”

Sara was born to Yosef Ginas and Rebecca Virovitch, in Kaunas, Lithuania on March 17th, 1924. Raised in a successful Jewish family, Sara was on the verge of graduating from high school when, in 1941, her life was interrupted by the Nazi invasion of Lithuania. Three of her uncles were subsequently killed in the Kaunas Pogrom that year, and she, along with the rest of her family, were placed in the Kovno Ghetto. That was when she decided to fight back and join the Anti-Fascist Fighting Organization, a resistance of fighters against the Nazis. 

After marrying Misha Rubinson, they escaped together in the winter of 1943-44, she created a Jewish Partisan unit called, “Death to the Occupiers.” She would often bravely venture back to the ghettos to rescue people, helping them escape to safety. Both she and her husband participated in the liberation of the Kaunas and the Vilnius ghettos, although the Nazis had already wiped out most of the region’s Jewish population. Only her own sister and brother-in-law survived of the rest of her family. 

After the war she became a professor of political economics at Vilnius University. After her husband died in 1977, she emigrated to Canada where her two daughters Anya and Tanya were already living. Sara became an adjunct professor at York University and was frequently invited to lecture throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, and Israel. She gave an inspirational lecture in 2013 in Toronto, titled “History and Personal Memory: the Beginning of the Holocaust in Lithuania.”

On April 2nd, 2018, Sara died in her home at the age of 94, the 17th of the Jewish month of Nissan. May her light and legacy shine brightly for Jews and all oppressed people of the world for generations to come.

onthisdayinjewishistory

[thezombiegeekinthehawaiianshirt]

Two Zombie Films, Didn't Survive Either of Them.

[hamliet]

Wait what, how did Attack on Titain's narrative get accused of being interlocked with fascism?

I'm sorry I'm new to this since when did AoT ever visualize direct support of such a thing? I'm so so confused, it's a story COMBATTInG that exact thing??

I think a couple things, two of which I find sympathetic but still incorrect, and the rest of which--the main reasons--I find exasperating.

Main reason: people can't read well and don't understand framing. This is a very real phenomenon among younger generations (Z and below). If a story is about something, it's automatically seen as endorsing it. Just look at social media and the anti movement, or at problems plaguing YA literature and harassment towards authors.

In this kind of environment, where portrayal=endorsement, the concept of a tragic protagonist is especially anathema to people--if a protagonist does something, surely it's endorsed! Except, Shakespeare would like a word. Historically, this isn't the case in literature, and it's not the case in AoT either.

Now, to be fair, something coming out in a monthly fashion may mean that parts seem ambiguous at the time since we don't have teh full picture. However, I don't think AoT was ever ambiguous and never made me feel like it would endorse Eren, so while I can understand occasional confusion, I can't understand ever thinking it was even close to endorsing it especially after Mikasa's "that's already... unforgivable" line in 101.

The parts I am sympathetic to are these:

Isayama, in like 2013, posted an image of a Japanese military figure in WWII or something. I forget the details. This man is taught as a hero to Japanese students. To the rest of the world, he's uh, a war criminal. Isayama I believe deleted this? and at any rate never did it again. Still, I'm not going to defend this. I empathize with people who still live under the effects of brutal Japanese imperialist occupation, for which Japan still hasn't taken responsibility. Yet as someone who grew up in America in a cult where I had to unlearn basically everything, I'm also sympathetic to a man who was in his young-mid 20s who grew up with a perspective that was very different and appeared to learn from it. It's like a lot of Americans grow up hearing great things about Winston Churchill and George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, only to then realize in your 20s the Bad Things they did, like slavery and assault and more. Also, these things were not as widely available (via the internet) to people growing up at Isayama's age (he's just a little older than I am) as they are now. So I see this as a man learning. Yes, there's privilege there, but that's not something he can help, and it's a project to do the work unpacking it--which to all accounts he appears to actually be doing. It's nonsensical to assume that someone who ever speaks positively of a historical figure is actually endorsing their worldview. If the story did endorse it, that'd be different--but it doesn't.

The armbands. I have talked about it before and won't get into it, but I won't ever defend that use of the armband (it's incredibly insensitive) while also thinking that its use is not remotely an endorsement (framing-wise, it isn't) and also thinking that someone raised in Japan, again, doesn't learn nearly as much about the Holocaust as someone in the west does.

Even with those things, being angry about them or offended is one thing, and thinking the story endorses fascism as a result of it is another. I can defend why I called BNHA a fascist-esque story in the end tying it into the themes and messaging. I've yet to see someone do this with SnK because it's blatantly anti fascist--though, it is a story told within the foibles and limits of coming from one man's background.

Also, to quote @aspoonofsugar, I think the most blatant evidence it's anti-fascist is looking at who hated the ending. Answer: fascists. Young, alienated men angry that their hero, who was written to represent them, turned out not to be the hero of the story and as a tragic, hurting child throwing a tantrum. Raise your hand if you recognize any of our real-world fascists in that.

Edit: An Anon gave the details for the picture of the Japanese imperialist: From Tv Tropes; Dot Pixis's character stirred an outrage among the Korean fanbase, especially when Isayama admitted that he was based off of Akiyama Yoshifuru, a historical general of the Imperial Japanese Army who has a complicated and controversial history in Korea. This resulted in a heated debate over the general's war record, angry messages and even death threats towards Isayama, as well as an overall decline of interest in the series in Korea due to what they saw as Isayama glorifying the man.

Thanks to Anon for the details; I'd forgotten. My opinion on it remains the same.

[wanderersrest]

An Abbreviated History of Mecha Part 4.2: A Grand Glorious Gathering (1996-2000)

Welcome back to An Abbreviated History of Mecha! Last time we left off, the Lost Decade had just begun, Gundam got a radical makeover, CLAMP came onto the scene, Takara created a replacement for Diaclone, and Evangelion would begin its run on television. What we'll see now is the rise of a lot of fan-favorite shows in this era, but we will also see the sudden appearance of a third honorary mecha series. We will also see why [adult swim] is going to play a big picture in all of this, as they will begin to get more involved with the production of anime. With all of that out of the way...

Big O!

Showtime!

Pocket Monsters/Pokemon (1996, honorary mecha show 3)

Pocket Monsters, or Pokemon for short, is a multimedia series created by Satoshi Tajiri and the folks at Game Freak, Creatures, and Nintendo that would round out the four anime that would make anime mainstream alongside Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, and Gundam Wing. The reason why Pokemon is worth mentioning in a series about mecha is due to the nature of a lot of mecha stories, primarily those involving giant robots: Pokemon would grow to eventually become the single largest franchise OF ALL TIME. And as it is a franchise that is aimed primarily at children, this would prove to be one of many things that would help in the decline of giant robot stories, as a lot of the giant robots of old relied heavily on merchandise sales (namely in the form of toys) in order to be successful. Now that Pokemon is in the picture, there is competition, especially since Pokemon's video games would be published by a little company known as Nintendo.

Fortunately, Pokemon wouldn't become the highest-selling franchise of all time just yet. It would take a couple of years for that to happen.

Martian Successor Nadesico (1996) & Martian Successor Nadesico: The Prince of Darkness (1999)

Produced in 1996 by Xebec, Martian Successor Nadesico would be the first series since the original Gundam to really take a swing at subverting and/or deconstructing the giant robot. Primarily a screwball comedy, Nadesico is known for its extensive use of its show-within-a-show Gekiganger 3 (a pastiche of shows like Getter Robo) to foreshadow events that would happen later on in the story.

Nadesico proved to be popular, but that chance of becoming something more would peter out with the release of the Prince of Darkness movie in 1999.

After War Gundam X (1996)

Also releasing in 1996 was After War Gundam X, a series that would suffer from the fact that it would be the fourth Gundam series in a row on television. Not helping things is the fact that Gundam X would infamously have its episode count reduced from the then-standard 50 episodes to 39, and then it would also be moved to the Japanese equivalent of the Friday Night Death Slot.

It would remain in obscurity for years until 2013 when Gundam Build Fighters would feature a protagonist whose primary gunpla kit would help to bring the series back into the spotlight.

The Vision of Escaflowne (1996)

When one thinks of older mecha isekai shows, they are usually thinking of 1996's The Vision of Escaflowne. Escaflowne, unlike its older sister series Magic Knight Rayearth, would feature its giant robots more openly in a truly even blend of mecha action, fantasy adventure, and romance.

Armored Core (1997)

1997 would see the release of legendary game development studio From Software's Armored Core. Featuring mechanical designs by Shoji Kawamori of Macross fame, Armored Core would see the player navigate through a world of high speed mecha action and hair-tearing difficulty that would become a trademark of FromSoft's future games.

Cowboy Bebop (1997)

Cowboy Bebop would be the brainchild of one Shinichiro Watanabe. Released in 1997, Cowboy Bebop would take Japan by storm due to its mix of science fiction with the aesthetics and tropes of the western. Part of Cowboy Bebop's legacy has less to do with its popularity in Japan and more to do with how well it did in the west: which was very well.

Like "Cowboy Bebop was part of what made [adult swim] successful in the early days" well. If the quartet of Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Gundam Wing, and Pokemon made anime mainstream, then Cowboy Bebop would be the one that would prove to the mainstream that anime wasn't just for children.

The King of Braves, GaoGaiGar (1997)

Speaking of anime geared for children, 1997 would also see Takara's Brave franchise peak with its final entry: The King of Braves, GaoGaiGar. Acting as an homage to the original Brave Exkaiser, GaoGaiGar would go down in legend as one of the most hot-blooded mecha shows of the 90's, second only to fellow Sunrise production Mobile Fighter G Gundam. Unfortunately, GaoGaiGar would see its viewership falter due to the success of the Pokemon anime, which would bring an official end to the Brave franchise. But it would not be the end of GaoGaiGar's story just yet, as the production staff got to work on another series that would serve as a spiritual sequel to The King of Braves.

Full Metal Panic (1998)

In 1998, the light novel Full Metal Panic! would be published by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Written by Shoji Gatoh, Full Metal Panic would blend elements of giant robot sci-fi with elements of the romance, slice-of-life, and comedy genres. The series would eventually branch out into manga and anime at the turn of the millennium and prove to be one of the big hits of the early 2000's.

While the original light novel along with its manga counterparts would wrap up their stories eventually, the anime would ultimately be abandoned after the release of its fourth season, Invisible Victory, in 2018.

Dai Guard (1999)

What if you took Getter Robo, made it adhere to real-world physics as much as possible, and then have be piloted by a trio of office workers who have to also navigate a lot of corporate red tape on top of the military trying to undermine their endeavors? That's more or less 1999's Dai-Guard in a nutshell. And don't let that fool you: the giant robot is still as cool as any other giant robot, regardless of the hoops the main cast have to go through just to use the damn thing.

Turn A Gundam (1999)

Meanwhile at Sunrise, Yoshiyuki Tomino would return to the directing chair for 1999's Turn A Gundam as a way to celebrate Gundam's 20th anniversary. Turn A would feature a very unique set of mechanical designs courtesy of Syd Mead, who was known for his work on Blade Runner, Tron, and Aliens. This series would also mark the end of Gundam's use of cel animation, as the next Gundam series would be the first to use digital animation. As a result, the animators went all out on Turn A Gundam's animation as a proper send-off to cel-animation.

Unfortunately, while Turn A is often regarded as one of, if not the, best Gundam series, its lackluster performance during its initial run would not be enough to help Gundam out. It wouldn't be until 2002 when Gundam would become a major hit again.

Xenogears (1999)

Directed by Tetsuya Takahashi, Square Enix would release the JRPG Xenogears in 1999. Xenogears would differentiate itself from the competition by combining a combo-based JRPG with giant robots and Gnosticism. A lot of Gnosticism. Unfortunately for Takahashi and company, Xenogears would prove to be a tad bit more ambitious than expected, and boy is that oversimplifying what happened to Xenogears. Suffice it to say that what happened to Takahashi and company to form Monolith Soft under Namco. But, like a lot of other things covered here, that is a story for another time.

Betterman (1999) & The King of Braves, GaoGaiGar FINAL (2000)

Reuniting for a spiritual sequel to The King of Braves, GaoGaiGar, the same animation team would create Betterman. Taking a turn to being darker and edgier than its older brother GaoGaiGar, Betterman would be the basis for the OVA finale The King of Braves GaoGaiGar FINAL adding things like a darker storyline, fanservice, and, weirdly enough, more HOT BLOOD.

Unfortunately, plans for the two series to have a crossover would fall apart as Takara shuttered the Brave franchise for good after GaoGaiGar FINAL. It wouldn't be until about 2018 that the two would finally get to meet in The King of Kings: GaoGaiGar vs Betterman.

The Iron Giant (1999)

Released in 1999 by Warner Bros., The Iron Giant would be the directorial debut of one Brad Bird (the guy who did The Incredibles, among other things). Set in the 1950's, The Iron Giant would tell a story similar to that of the original Godzilla, though in the case of The Iron Giant, the titular character would be treated with much more sympathy due to his earnest attempts at trying to not destroy the town.

The Big O (1999-2003)

Created in 1999 by Sunrise, The Big O was a mecha show influenced by American media like Batman. Helmed by most of the people who worked on the Giant Robo OVA alongside the controversial Chiaki J Konaka, The Big O was supposed to be a more commercial spin on Giant Robo. Which is wild, because the series was cancelled after its first season in Japan.

Fortunately, that little American channel called [adult swim] would come to the rescue and produce the second season, as The Big O was a big success in the US.

For more on The Big O, I'd recommend Argonbolt's video On The Big O.

Throwbots (1999)

And finally, LEGO would release the Throwbots series of toys for their Technic line in 1999. Throwbots would prove to be moderately successful, but it's legacy is most known for being the predecessor to BIONICLE.

Conclusion

And that's a wrap on the 90's. As we have seen, the last two decades have been a big boon for mecha, though this would be soon to pass in the following decades. What we will begin to see in the following decades is a change to how anime in general is produced. You can even see it as early as 1999 with some shows such as Dai-Guard using digital animation as opposed to cel animation. The 2000's will see digital animation become the primary way shows get animated, though there will be growing pains. It should be interesting to note that cel animation doesn't go away in its entirety until 2015 when the last holdout, one Sazae-san, finally gave up the cel-animated ghost.

"The journey was long, but soon I found myself accompanied by a strange man in a black tuxedo. I couldn't tell if he was friend or foe, but he looked like he was about to faint from starvation. I think I remember him saying his name was Van... Van of... I don't remember what his title was anymore, he kept on changing it every time I asked him."