#Relic 2020

[maroonghoul]

Horror Movies I watched: September 2023

Final bunch until I start my real big annual marathon! Here we go!

Night of the Demon (1957) So this is where the plots we've seen popularized in ones the Wicker Man and Drag Me to Hell came from. Personally, I prefer those, but probably because they were made in a time audiences could handle the leading man losing. Most of this movie is this smug know-it-all jackass mocking people for their religious beliefs pretty much. I'll admit, his final gambit to switch the curse back onto the main villain was a maneuver that would make Columbo proud. Though I still don't know what Karswell's whole plan outside of his demon hitman was.

Speaking of which, as iconic as that design is, it hasn't aged too well. The far away shot is the stiffest puppet ever seen, and even the closeup shot is...honestly, adorable. The most effective shot of it is near the end when it's tearing apart it's last victim. The claws not withstanding, it's head is in darkness with it's eyes glowing and you actually see the tearing even from a distance.

Though that was probably the key to it being one of the more effective horror films of the decade. Most times, the monster has to die or reveal to be secretly good. This is a demon, with no good bone in it's body, and it "gets away". Sure, the only real punishment it could've gotten is being chased away by a priest or an angel or such, but even that doesn't happen here. The devil is real. Demons are real. We might've escaped them this time. But by our own wit, not God's. If He is even real.

Side note, if I knew there was a Halloween party in this, I would've waited. Eh, close enough.

Christine (1983) It's surreal watching this after Halloween Ends. Sure, I think I've seen reviews saying that movie felt more like a remake of this movie plotwise. But now I see what they mean. Granted, the themes were handled with a bit more nuance in that film. I don't know; it's weird seeing a sequel to John Carpenter's most famous movie is used as a "backdoor remake" for one of his lesser known ones. It's at least a more interesting idea to handle a Halloween movie then a lot of the previous ones.

As for this movie; I never liked the 1950s. Even before and without knowing the awful political, racist, sexist shite that happened during it, I thought the aesthetics associated with it (cars, fashion, music, attitude, etc.) were the ugliest of any decade in the 20th century. Good ole days, my ass! The amount of similarities and homages to it in the 1980s were strikes against that decade too for me, in a weird guilt-by-association way. So it's oddly comforting that during a time where people, all the way up to the white house, were thinking "boy, don't you wish we could go back to such a time?", Both Carpenter and Stephen King made works that were responses in the fashion of "No! What are you, crazy?!"

But yeah, this does feel to me one of Carpenter's lesser efforts, not surprising since he practically saw it as a work for hire. It's a pretty typical King story, given a Carpenter coat of paint. I wonder if King gave him shit for being the second director of one of his adaptations that didn't redeem it's main character at the end. You wouldn't think the directors of book adaptations would make them more cynical then the produced-for-less-people source material.

Relic (2020) This film needs to be studied. by film scholars and then by students in film schools. It established a threat, a horror, that is unique to this movie, but you can follow what it's supposed to symbolize, and get a good handle on what it's doing in-universe to the grandmother. All without a single line of dialogue of exposition!

I really am so tired of films expecting to explain every weird thing in it, that I'm starting to love it whenever one just trusts you enough to get it and not raise arms about the small details that don't actually make or break a story. This is why the past few years have been seen as a golden age of the genre. It trusts us.

Another sidebar. Houses that turn into a magical maze that keeps you trapped might be one of my new fascinations. Simple, but super effective. I've seen it before in Grave Encounters, I heard it's in House of Leaves, which is on my reading list. It doesn't scare me, but I find oddly captivating. Got to try and figure out why.

Crawl (2019) If I covered Alligator, I'm going to have to cover this one. Though there's not much to say. A half hour of building mystery and tension, then once the gators literally explode onto screen, it's about surviving them and surviving them only and then credits. Not sure those many regular gators would have that strong a hankering for human flesh but whatever. Credit where credit's due, this movie made me jump the most out of any in recent memory. So it pretty much succeeded in it's main mission. Also, happy the dog made it, but it must've been miserable being wet for like 90% of the shoot.

Swallow (2019) Well this is new; body horror being the lesser of two evils. Hell of a pro choice message; "I'd literally feel safer putting anything else in my body". Many uncomfortable moments throughout, not all of them involving what she put in her mouth (though that freaking push pin!). Honestly, it's great to see a movie commits to that even the most egregious of supposed attention-seeking self harm is a symptom of a much larger problem. And that a film can be feminist and violent while actually looking pretty feminine. Though you probably all know that. We've all seen Barbie at this point.

I'm also watching Hot Fuzz. I'm not going to count it but I am watching Shaun of the Dead next month so I might mention it there.

Next month is the big one. Wish me luck and stay safe!

[relatablepicturesoffinnmertens]

[haveyouseenthishorrormovie]

SUMMARY: A daughter, mother and grandmother are haunted by a manifestation of dementia that consumes their family's home.

The mod really likes this sort of sub genre in film that explores the toll dementia takes on someone, plus this movie is Australian so the mod really wants to watch it, but just hasn't got around to it.

[morganpdf]

just saw a piece of art that referred to vaccine cards as "a relic of the pandemic" and im just. my fucking god. how does this fucking gallery keep managing to piss me off so bad

[katartna]

Birthday gift for @Stabbyness! 

Tonight, there’s going to be a session featuring his Reflection NPCs on https://www.twitch.tv/stabbyness! It’s an incredible action-packed TTRPG show featuring cute beans like these pictured and reality bending superweapons!

Mic, Ridill, Noctua belong to Jay (Stabbyness)

Treble belongs to Roma (RomaHeroii)

[demon-of-side-quest-hell]

is this anything

(Alternate version that still has the original text and some headcanons under the cut)

Personally I just like the idea that the Real Johnny and Engram Johnny are distinct but similar characters

I like to imagine that 2020 Johnny was less cynical and more rambunctious but I think that slowly got beat out of him as the 4th corporate raged on to it's explosive conclusion. And in his final moments that disappointment in the world was the most prevalent thought.

(Not a Silverhand fan even that much, he's just a fun character to analyze)

[thebest-medicine]

Listen. I have always been a dino kid at heart. I fucking love dinosaurs.

> so I was listening to a dino podcast and they interviewed the author of some dinosaur shapeshifter series.

> I’m like. This sounds ridiculous but I need to see if it’s on my library app.

> got the audiobook which is read by Kirt Graves who does a bunch of excellent MM romance audiobook readings

> just listened to the entire first book of the 5 book series and I honestly fucking loved it. It was like listening to a fanfiction trope romance novel but also with dinosaur animorphs.

> fucking in love with the main two characters.. went onto ao3 and there’s only 1 fic for the entire series / fandom

> I’m about to make it my problem to make more works for this because jesussususjs is the switch / teasing energy strong with these boys

> the series is called RELIC by Maz Maddox and the first book is called Smash & Grab

> for more good dinosaur related recommendations hit me up 😝

[shatterstaar]

the rum tum tugger (1998, colorized)

[civilization-illstayrighthere]

literally like. hewwo. hewwo mr pondsmith. what the FUCK.

[dimity-lawn]

A Relic From Times Long Passed! I found this meme that I made back in 2020. Of course the photo is from Good Omens.

Agnes would've needed several books to cover the last couple years, and probably would've left notes like "goode luck" and "howe are you stille alive?" and "ineffable mess" throughout the pages.

[artofrainbursts]

On Borrowed Time: A New Dawn

-Fanfic + something a little extra under the cut!!-

Ladies, Gents, & Enby's in the audience, it is my pleasure to proudly represent my prize winning entry for @woo-led 's On Borrowed Time: Born Yesterday Fan Art feature that she hosted over on the @ask-obt blog, as well as Deviantart, last year!

Even if I never got the chance to 100% complete the fanfic I wrote for this I'm still incredibly proud of what I was able to accomplish with this entry considering how hard I was being on myself at the time. I'm still ecstatic that I not only got a whopping 5th place in what was originally a 3 place contest but also managed to do what I set out to do by managing tp predict two, THAT'S RIGHT TWO, events that are slated to happen in comic, that's INSANE!

Hopefully one day I can return to this fic & complete it, maybe even more ;), but for now enjoy what I was able to complete for the contest and a reminder to myself that if you ever find yourself doubting yourself or your abilities or feel like you aren't good enough again then I want you to come back to this and remember all the great things you've accomplished in your life, I want you to remember that no matter what you're wonderful, you're the light that shines through the darkness even when it dims, you're the rainbow that appears after every storm no matter how rocky the weather gets, and the harbinger of change that will guide this world on a path to peace even if we don't live long enough to see it, and I'm proud of how far we've come in almost 23 years of being alive. It may not always seem like it but I know we're going to go on to do great things in our lifetime, even in the next should we decide we want to come back & experience life all over again, no matter how small & I can't wait to see the radiant person we turn out to be by the time we're 100 💕🌈

-A New Dawn-

“Farewell Rune, I would have never made it this far if I hadn’t been blessed with a friend like you. Although the parting hurts…….I……..leave…………..”  The sands of time swirled around the fading Shinx as flashes of blush, celeste , and emerald  were swept under the grainy waves below. “No….” thought Rune as she swiftly plummeted back into the past, back to where her nightmares began. “Not now, not when I finally found my way!” Her vision started to slowly fade to black as she pleaded “Please…..I don’t want to be lost!” to no avail, she was already lost once more or so she thought.  “Naomi.” resonated a gentle voice throughout her eardrums amongst the sound of waves. “My new champion you must rise!” echoed another voice as the clawed palm of the first carefully rubbed along the soft icy back of the Alolan Vulpix that currently rested on the sand. Slowly opening her eyes, Rune found herself in front of a Grovyle,whom currently had Maelstrom wrapped around his shoulders, standing alongside a familiar shore, wait wasn’t this? Yes it was!! This was the same beach where she awoke lost without her memories, where she………..”I’m sorry about your teammate.” Dante said in an attempt to console his old friend as she starred at the soft orange tinted sand with a mix of sorrow, bewilderment, and relief in her eyes. He just looked upon her with a frown as he tenderly wrapped the flash scarf of the now departed Malachi, the abstract grooves etched across Maelstrom briefly flickered a flash of blue but she too remained silent. “I’m sure you have quest-“ but Rune merely interrupted him by flatly stating “Many but this isn’t the place to talk.” Gesturing for him to follow, the trio carefully navigate their way up Sharpedo Bluff unseen as the sun sets on the horizon.  Dielle let out an exasperated sigh as she collapsed atop the bed she had made for herself after an exhausting day on the job. “Them Mimikyu sure know how to give a Meowth a run for her money but it was all worth it for this.” Sapphire shined from the badge perfectly snug between electric claws as Dielle admired Team Maelstrom’s newfound mark of the Diamond rank. “If only the three of you were here to see how far we’ve come, I’m sure you’d be proud.” She let out a sigh of sorrow before her ears perked up at the sound of foot steps and speak of the Impidimp guess who waltzed right into their team base. “RUNE I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!!!!” Dielle exclaimed as she practically pounced upon her, holding her in a tight embrace. “The whole guild searched everywhere but no matter how hard we looked no one could find hide nor hair of you, everyone assumed the worse had happened, how are you even here? Where’s-“ she trailed off as a perturbed look washed over her features at the sight of Dante. Whipping her head towards the Vulpix for answers Rune quietly states “I believe we have a lot of catching up to do” with eyes of Gloom. 

(On Borrowed Time and it's cast of characters featured in the art/fic belong to @woo-led , The video game OBT is loosely based on, Explorers of Time, Darkness, & Sky, along with the Pokemon mystery dungeon spin off series belongs to Nintendo and Game Freak.)

-Extras-

To kick things off we have a lovely little piece of Dune (Dielle x Rune) sharing some Bi-Lesbi kisses beneath a shimmering pink sunset I did as part of an OBT 12 fan art challenge I sadly never got the chance to complete but hopefully can find the time to come back too & even spruce up this piece a bit.

If you're a fan of OBT or just the PMD series in general you're more than welcome to put the prompt list I whipped up for my now abandoned challenge to good use if you're ever in the mood for some fan art. Just be sure to ignore the part that says "Please read description for rules-updates!!" if you do.

(Decided to include the Time Gear I made as a foreground for said prompt list.)

And to pretty much put a bow on this entire post here's a collage of photos I took of the prizes I won from the contest & a raffle Woo hosted earlier this summer.

Please be sure to order you copy of Born Yesterday and Dielle's Wish here & support Woo over on Patreon!!

Dielle's Wish is now available to read on comic fury should you lack the money or no prints are available to order at this time.

[senkusphone]

[moo-moo-meadows]

your url🙏🙏

hehe

[rockmonopoly]

Peeling my old stickers out of my car so I can eventually replace them with new ones when it’s running again and one of them just straight up disintegrated in my hand

[readandwritesilver]

THESE BITCHES ALL UP ON ME

[baddingtonbitch]

just watched a dementia themed movie that pissed me off so i'm bringing back one of the only pieces of media on the subject that i respect.