Horror Poll Part 2

Thanks for voting in my horror poll. There was a 3 way tie for the most traumatic horror movie, so I guess it's time for a tie breaker: (for the record, if you weren't a child then pick the movie that freaked you out as an adult)

Which of the following horror films had the most traumatic effect on you as a youngster?
	A Nightmare on Elm Street
	The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
	The Exorcist
pollcode.com free polls

Poll Dance

Hello everyone,

I thought I'd try to incorporate more interactive materials to my weblog and throughout the next few months I'll be testing out various poll services. I'm keeping things simple for now - a poll about horror films. Please submit your answer below and hopefully I'll get a better idea of how this particular service provider works. As always, feel free to post your comments afterwards!

For the record - if you weren't a 'youngster' when you saw these films, feel free to choose the movie you found the most disturbing at the time you saw it.

Which of the following horror movies had the most traumatic effect on you as a youngster?
	A Nightmare On Elm Street
	Friday the 13th
	The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
	Pet Sematary
	The Exorcist
	Halloween
	The Omen
	Rosemary's Baby
pollcode.com free polls

"Words Of Wisdom, Lloyd, My Man"

A look beneath the surface of Kubrick's "The Shining":

http://www.disinfotainmenttoday.com/darenet/kubrick.htm

And as a bonus:

http://www.angryalien.com/0504/shiningbunnies.html

Happy Halloween

I have some pics to post from Saturday's Rue-Morgue party . . . all in good time though.

Fonzie’s Leather Jacket

It seems that Rob Zombie is set to direct the latest installment of the Halloween films. I love the Halloween franchise (despite it having many obvious flaws), yet I despise Zombie’s films (blood and guts are fun, but only one aspect of great horror). I’m not completely dismissing the potential for goodness here, but for the project to be done well Rob Zombie’s going to have to drop the whole “look at me, I’m still cool!” approach to his work.

www.halloweenmovies.com

Moustapha Akkad

R.I.P. Moustapha Akkad

Halloween Triple Threat

I had an eventful Halloween season this year. In fact, it was the best one I’ve had in a long time. Here’s a run down of the shite I did:

Saturday (Oct. 29th): Rue-Morgue Graveyard A Go-Go

Pros: stage events; costumes; music
Cons: crowded; costly

I hope to post some pictures from this night soon)

Sunday (Oct. 30th): Paramount Canada’s Wonderland’s Fearfest
Pros: elaborate haunted mazes; horror atmosphere; lightless rides
Cons: crowded; took costly to expensive new levels

Monday (Oct. 31st): Friday the 13th Part 3: 3D at The Royal

Pros: film was actually in 3D; cheap night out
Cons: blurry for about 20 percent of the movie!


Cons aside, these were three great events. The Graveyard A Go-Go was a great way to hang out with my friends, Fearfest allowed me to see Wonderland in a freakishly fun new light, and I was finally (after waiting 23 years) able to appreciate the third Friday movie the way it was meant to be appreciated.

What Mike Did Vol. 3

Holy crap, it's been over a week since my last post. I was working evenings last week and which means I had little time to myself. The week-end was full too. I was at a friend's place in Georgetown Friday night. His girlfriend and him are expecting a baby and just bought a damned fantastic new house, which meant we were up late celebrating (that is until all four of us passed out watching a crappy bootleg of The 40 Year Old Virgin).

On Saturday Jen and I went with some friends to see Nightmare Picture Theatre at the Rue Morgue office which is, fittingly enough, in a former funeral parlour. The show was a lot of fun. I have seen James Fisher perform before and am impressed by both his ideas and his execution. This new show however was lacking a little in the stage movement department. The concept was solid enough - put a live musical score atop some creepy, stop-motion, existential films (courtesy of the Brother’s Quay), while an ominous dark figure taunts a small child in between each clip. Although James' music was beyond effective and his performance as the dark figure was indeed ominous, I still could not help but want something more grandiose. Still, I am confident that Rue Morgue and Mr. Fisher will produce nothing short of brilliance in future endevours (no pressure though).

After the show, more beers found their way to our lips. I don’t know if it was the beers, the fact that we are getting older, or the fact that Jen and I are boring hosts, but we actually played charades. Scoff if you must, but it was actually fun. Of course that meant Sunday was spent proving to myself once again that hangovers and family gatherings do not mix. Jen’s family must seriously wonder why I am so lethargic when we get together . . .

Neato

http://www.jimwarren.com/illus_index_horror.html

A Full Moon In October

A glow of moon lights the grey forest floor,
As you walk on to your home.
You think to yourself about warmth,
Think to yourself about love,
Think to yourself about far away dreams,
Think about sleeping in your bright, fluffy-bed,
And think about . . .

snap

A lightly cracked twig is enough for your thoughts to muddle a bit.
You remember the stories,
Of people killed in the woods,
Of people killed by animals,
And
by
other
people.

You quicken your pace,
Like good people should,
And you think about rapes,
And of crimes on T.V. ,
And you start to sweat,
(just a little bit though).

But the trees and the moon,
Seem so bright on this night,
And the forest is quiet . . .

So you stop for a moment,

Near a tree for a moment,

To catch your breath for a moment,

And stop the panic for a moment.

The moonlight subsides,
As the autumn clouds shift,
and
then
you
freeze . . .

Can’t step forward.
Can’t turn your head.
Can’t even really breath because,
Out of the corner of your eye,
You
can
see
us
in
the
shadows.

You can’t move.

Through the silence
You can hear
our raspy growl.
Your mouth is dry.
Your skin is pale.
And you dare not turn your head.

We move slowly closer . . .

You now can feel a warm, dog-like breath on the back of your neck.
We are behind you.
We can smell you.
We can almost taste you.

Do you sense the dancing hunger beneath our yellowed eyes?

But you are brave tonight,
You feel strong tonight,
And so, in one fantastic moment,
One amazingly heroic moment,
You leap ahead and run.
You run so very fast.
Faster than you ever have!

We lunge at you.

We miss.

And you run ahead with the power of fear,
With the desire to stay alive.
So very very fast.
You can hear us behind you,
But you run
And run
And run
And then . . .

You can see the edge of the forest!

You can see the clearing near your house!

You run even faster,
Faster than you ever believed you could,
You're almost at the clearing!
Almost made it home!
You realize you are crying,
as you run
and run
and run.
And
as
you're
almost
out . . .

You stumble.

Throw

out

your

hands

to

catch

yourself

but . . .

It doesn’t matter now.

In the end, we were faster.
In the end we were stronger.
In the end
you didn’t
make it
home.

What Mike Did

These late nights are starting to take their toll on my sleep schedule. Getting up for work tomorrow will be a real treat.

I know a lot of people with birthdays in August - my Dad, my girlfriend’s brother, my friend Shawn, and now Art and Tomb D. I wonder if that’s an indicator that lots of unprotected sex happens on New Years Eve . . .

Art celebrated his birthday on Friday. The poor bastard just got back from camping and then had to put up with us drinking in his kitchen until the wee hours of the morning. I spent Saturday recovering and then dragged my ass off to the Vatican for the Rue-Morgue Festival of Fear party. It was Tomb’s birthday, but he was doing the DJ thing. The night was considered to be a private party, so the booze flowed often, albeit expensively, and you could actually smoke inside. Clive Barker and Tony Todd (aka Candyman) were hanging around, but I didn’t get to meet them. I’m not big on bothering celebrities just so I can say I met them. The best part of the night was The Matadors’ set. Their stage show is hilarious (and the music’s good too). Seeing them was a nice reminder that there is still a Canadian underground to combat the commercial posers plaguing my car radio.

Note: I plan to write my log updates weekly. All other posts will still come as often as I am able.