#VERY different vibes from the original lovecraft series

[jtownraindancer]

I see y’all weren’t exaggerating 

[heavensmortuary]

🍁🍂🍁🍂Alright, since its mid-September, its time for my annual spooky movie reccomedation list! I include ratings, and I can include trigger warnings for any of these films upon request as well! I'm also looking for horror movies to watch myself, so feel free to comment/ask any as well!! So, here we go, in no particular order...🍁🍂🍁🍂

Fantasy/sci-fi horror:

The Thing 1982 [R]: A group of scientists find a shapeshifting alien underneath the ice in Antarctica, and they just survive as it imitates them. Trust no one. The Thing is one of my favorite movies in general. Its scary, retro, and the special effects are insane. It reminds me of classic Lovecraft, but better. Very terrifying. 10/10

Pan's Labyrinth 2006 [R]: During the Spanish Civil War, a young girl named Ofelia enters a world of twisted fantasy while above, her step-father's brutality causes trouble in the midst of a rebellion. Genuinely a beautiful movie. It's like a fairy-tale, and sometimes you forget it's a horror movie. It's simply magical, but frighteningly real. If you love classic fantasy, monsters, history, and horror, you'll love this movie. 10/10

Alien 1979 [R]: A team on a shipping vessel in soace come in contact with a parasitic alien within the clausterphobic confines of the ship. A classic, and it's still absolutely terrifying. Sharp insight on early 80's consumerism (in more than one sense), and a marvel of alien horror. Its very claustrophobic, tense, and 100% worth watching, especially if you love scifi. 10/10.

Aliens 1986 [R]: Continuing the story of Alien, space marines must investigate a distress signal from a colony, and what they find is more horrifying than they could have imagined. Full of retro action, humorous quips, scares, and plenty of bullet spray, it's a terrifying and fun watch. I enjoyed it just as much as the original, and its just awesome, while being scary at times. 10/10

Annihilation 2018 [R]: After the mysterious death of her husband, a Biologist goes into Area X to discover what horrifying cosmic entity his team found there. Not nearly as good, or accurate as the book (I CANT reccomend the Southern Reach trilogy enough), but this movie genuinely frightened me at points and the setting is simply beautiful. Its clever, creepy, and it's a strange watch. 8/10

Signs 2002 [PG-13]: After strange symbols appear in the cornfields on a family's farm, they must protect each other, and their faith, during the invasion. Love this movie, it's just spooky enough, but outside if the monsters, the people in this movie are what really matter. It's compelling, and a beautiful story. Simply excellent. Plus you'll know where the screaming guy in a closet meme comes from after seeing this one. 10/10

A Quiet Place 2018 [PG-13]: Could you survive a world where making a single sound could spell your death? Monsters decend upon the Abbot family, just as a baby is on the way. One of my favorite movies ever. Its beautiful and ABSOLUTELY horrifying. I think I forgot about eating my popcorn while watching this one. Overall, the desperate survival of the Abbots is heartwarming, but oh so stressful. If you can, PLEASE watch the sequel right after this one. 10/10

A Quiet Place 2 2021 [PG-13]: The Abbots face new challenges as they traverse a devestated landscape, and monsters wait around every dark corner for them. An EXCELLENT sequel. I caught myself actually going "NOOO AAAA" at some points, and its totally a worthy sequel to the scares in the first one. Again, great story, great characters, great cinematography, great message. 10/10.

Coraline 2009 [PG]: Coraline Jones, unhappy with moving to a new house, suddenly finds a whimsical world in a little hidden tunnel inside the house, but she learns the sinister truth behind the candy-colored world beyond the wall. Dont let the stop-motion animation confuse you; this movie is terrifying. A classic from my childhood, and its a treat to watch every Halloween. The Beldam has to be on the list of the most horrifying villains ever. 10/10

Zombies, ghosts, ghouls, and everything in between:

The Haunting 1963 [G]: Based on the novel The Haunting of Hill House, a group of people must stay in a supposedly haunted mansion. Eleanor, one of the women, suddenly believes that the house is talking directly to her. One of the many adaptations of the book, it's spooky, and it's very disturbing, while also having a nice theme. Perfect for setting the mood on a October night. 8/10

Night of The Living Dead 1990 [R]: Survivors take shelter in an abandoned farm house while the undead attack. Can they work together, or let their own prejudices get the best of them? I havent seen the original yet, but I love this movie. Very scary, and its directed by Tom Savini, so lots of good ol zombie gore. Not only that, there's a good bit of social commentary here on racism. The classic was the original zombie film. 9/10.

Dawn of The Dead 1978 [R]: As the undead rise up, survivors take to a shopping mall in order to survive. I don't know how to describe this movie's vibe. It has this weird retro 70's feel, mixed with uncanny horror. It's campy at times, but it doesn't take away the scariness. Very fun in a weird way, and its an on-the-nose satire of american consumerism. 10/10

Train To Busan 2016 [R]: While the world crumbles around them, a small group of survivors must learn to protect each other on a train headed to Busan. Seriously, please watch this one. It's completely unique to any zombie film I've seen. It's scary, but you genuinely care about the characters, and its VERY intense. Love this one. 10/10

Murder and ect:

Scream 1990 [R]: A masked serial killer stalks high school students in middle class suburbia. Its a parody of the modern horror genre, clever and scary all at once. I enjoyed it as a classic and I liked the commentary on how violence with no essence effects people, especially when glorified with horror films. Definitely not for everyone, but its good never the less. 8/10

Wait Until Dark 1967 [NR (I give it a PG-13)]: A gang of criminals looking for heroin attack the home of a blind woman, and it turns into a horrifying game of back and forth between them, until it can go on no longer. Literally one of the best thriller movies ever. Genuinely scary, and genuinely clever. This was actually the first film I saw Audrey Hepburn act in. Super tense near the end, I was biting my nails the whole time. 10/10

The Village 2004 [PG-13]: A rural community is faced with a hard decision as the monsters in the woods leave bloody warnings around their small town. I watch this one every autumn. Its atmospheric, the score is breathtaking, and its a great story. Its beautiful, gently frightening, and its overall a love story. I love this one a lot, even though I know a lot of people didnt like it. Don't go in expecting a great twist at the end, and you'll enjoy it. 10/10

Jane Eyre 2011 [PG-13]: Jane Eyre becomes the governness to an estate, and find a dark secret there. Not necessarily horror, but its gothic and absolutely beautiful. Its the perfect october movie. I love it lots. Nothing hits different than a rainy october day, a cup of chai tea, and this movie playing. 10/10

TV Series:

Stranger Things 2016- [PG-13]: After a child is taken by a supernatural force, the small town community of Hawkins must search for answers and find him before its too late, but as they search, a horrifying conspiracy comes to life before them. I adore this series. Its a love letter to the 80s. Cant reccomend it enough. 10/10

The Twilight Zone 1959-1964 [PG]: A serialized series featuring many different stories ranging from scifi to horror and everything inbetween. Its genius honestly. Each story is compelling, and thought provoking. A great Halloween watch. 10/10

The Walking Dead 2010- (seasons 1 & 2) [R]: A sheriff wakes up from a coma to find himself in a terrifying world of the undead. Its a decent series, at least in the first two seasons! Its pretty scary. Its great if you like zombie movies! 7/10

Over The Garden Wall 2014 [PG]: Two brothers find themselves lost within the world of the Unknown, a place where time is blended together and reality isn't quite right. Ok, real talk here. Its my favorite series of all time. I could go on and on and on about it. If you haven't seen it, please I beg you. Theres nothing like it. Its literally the BEST autumn show to watch. Clever, funny, lightly disturbing, deep, nostalgic...its fantastic. 11/10

So, there you have it. Huge list of horror movies I've enjoyed and actually reccomend. I have seen quite a few more than this (Halloween, Dawn of the Dead 2004, Nightmare on Elm Street, ect), but I specifically picked out the ones I love the most. Enjoy! And have a great autumn.

[lightdancer1]

You know with the benefit of hindsight I think my Sandman and Avatar fandom may be more connected than otherwise:

Most people in the Sandman fandom look at Death of the Endless and see a manic pixie dream girl who's far more human than Dream of the Endless and certainly much more likeable. The likeable part is true. The only Endless that would be safe to talk to would be Destruction and Death, in personality terms.

But due to the ways that I got into that fandom and what I read first I happened to read "A Winter's Tale" in the Death collection and noticed everything it said about Death as a character, what it specifically did not say....and then it provided a means to completely redefine her dialogue that reflects how I write her. I also give her an element akin to Lovecraft's Nyarlathotep of being affably human and then veering into cosmic horror and back to affable humanity again. This is far from a standard view of Death, and it's even less of a standard view of enjoying her scenes as she's still my favorite character not just in Sandman but beyond it.

Likewise when I look at Avatar as a setting, I appreciate the canon for what it is, and that it offers room based purely on the stories it told (and I freely ignore the comics after the 'evil demon crib baby' panels made it laughably easy to do so, let alone the navel gazing on the Fire Nation Royal Family in an entire goddamned world) for multiple stories based purely on what is there.

Too much of the fandom when it does fanfiction in the setting plagiarizes the existing story with minor changes and switching around characters to expand the roles of their favorite. I opt for a complete perspective flip in changing one of the major villains to an outright hero, not merely an antihero. I came up with seven different ways for an unambiguously heroic Azula to work in the setting, and seven different broader genres, ranging from two cosmic horror stories, to the very Fatherland-influenced Dragon-verse, to the 1905 Revolution-influenced Continuation verse, and even what i call semi-derisorily the Hunger Games universe in the Sins verse due to Azula in that universe taking a wee bit of a Katniss Everdeen vibe in a few ways.

I enjoy Avatar, but in contrast to Sandman or the Godzilla franchise where the claws come out, I do think of Azula as my favorite character in the series, without the kind of passion that a lot of people get into with their favorite characters in this series. Nothing wrong with it, or with enjoying your favorite characters. But for writing in this universe and daring the waters of writing a character who works excellently as a villain with an arc of 'do not do this cool thing' and 'there are no good imperialists, even the ones that are the least blatantly evil will end up this way' and 'Beware the Superman for where the Superman's powers become their personality only bad things await'.

But even then I find it an interesting exercise to explore what can happen in a setting by taking various bits of fanon conventional wisdom on characters, and applying actual canon versus the fanon and watching some of the interesting elements of how people react.

The Zuko in the Canon Continuation verse is the Zuko of the cartoon in full original flavor who's seen the very bad expectations that finally become problematic here unfold in his favor, as he prefers to remember it, repeatedly. His dumbass behaviors stem from reality REWARDING this rather than condemning it. This is the Zuko who saw his sister kill his world's equivalent of a physical god and went LEEROY JENKINS YEE HAW right into charging at her to fight her knowing that.

And even canonically there's the characters actually written, like Azula, Suki, Toph, Katara, Aang, Sokka, and Iroh, and there's the ones both the writers and the fandom insist exist when the actual straight up text, as with Death of the Endless, says something completely different. Dealing with this exercise in cognitive dissonance in two very different fandoms is....interesting.

[theultimateegghead-blog]

50 Follower special!                       Part 2

Welcome back! Shall we continue? Today we shall cover number 40 – 31 on my favorite game list. Here we go!

40 - Salt and Sanctuary

Metroidvania is an awesome genre, and Dark Souls is an awesome game. Take these two styles and smash them together with a lovecraft vibe and you get Salt and Sanctuary. This 2D Metroidvania style game is essentially 2D Dark Souls, its stylized, has awesome levels and some amazing but difficult boss fights. With customizable characters, different play styles, covenants and all sorts of goodies, this is a game I can sink plenty of hours into.

Will I review this game? – Yes.

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39 - Jak II

At the time I played it, Jak II was the most mature and gritty game I have ever played. This action-packed open world third person shooter is a classic for the PlayStation 2. You play as Jak, a gun totting, somewhat foul-mouthed rebel and try to topple a tyrant while fending off an alien threat. As a kid, I felt like I was watching a rated R movie without my mom, the sensation of seeing something more mature, something you would have been grounded for. Plot twist, I did get grounded for a week…Yeah, my step dad was not the nicest person in general. Regardless, this game was fun and challenging, and I have beaten it over 4 times.

Will I review this game? – Already written but not yet published.

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38 - Sly Cooper

Sly Cooper is a stylish title that was another one of my first outings on the Ps2. This stealth oriented adventure game is colorful, vibrant and kinda challenging. You play as Sly, a Racoon thief who is trying to recollect a lost family treasure and avenge his father’s death. It has some glaring issues here and there sure but that does not change the fact that I love this game. I have beaten it multiple times and platinumed it on my play station 3. If you own a Ps2 or a Ps3, do yourself a favor and get this game, it isn’t expensive. It has aged relatively well and its safe for most ages.

Will I review this game? – I already have, its score was 7.8/10

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37 - Final Fantasy I

The original Final Fantasy was a revolutionary title that brought forth the RPG genre to the west and single handedly saved square enix from bankruptcy. You want to know what it is called Final Fantasy despite there being so many? Because the first one was going to be the last one, their final game. This turn based RPG might be basic by normal days standards but was revolutionary in the years long past. With various remakes of this classic title it is easily accessible. If you play it, play the most recent anniversary editions. Unless you truly want the original experience.

Will I review this game? – Yes.

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36 - Mega Man 2

Probably my favorite video game from the 80s. Mega Man 2 takes everything Mega Man 1 did and does it better. I consider Mega Man 2 to be the best Mega Man game, albeit with some competition. Mega Man 2 was my first Mega Man game and I loved it. It was tough, had great music and is very fun to replay. And of course, it is home to my favorite robot master, Metal Man.

Will I review this game? – Already written but not yet published. ---------------------------------------

35 - Resident Evil 4

My first horror game and what a creepy game it was. This third person shooter takes place in the creepy woods of Spain. You play as series veteran Leon S. Kennedy on his adventure to save the president Daughter from an evil cult. Said cult is enhanced and violent by a parasite and Leon is plunged into a battle for survival. This game was somewhat difficult, and enemies can be very brutal, like the chainsaw totting Dr. Salvador or the claw wielding blind Garrador. What keeps this game lower on the list is actually the president’s daughter herself, she can be rather annoying.

Will I review this game? – Yes.

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34 - Ratchet and Clank Going Commando

Ratchet and Clank Going Commando is another great Ps2 game. This action-packed game is a title I have sunk many hours into. There is a myriad of weapons to use and worlds to explore. There are plenty of secrets to find and challenges to overcome. You play as the small but strong alien named Ratchet and you try to stop an evil corporation from unleashing a deadly creature upon the galaxy. This was one of the games I came close to completing 100% when I was a child. This was a fun game and another game I would recommend. It is also my favorite Ratchet and Clank game.

Will I review this game? - Yes

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33 - Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 2

Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 is a video game adaptation of the first half of the anime and manga series Naruto Shippuden. This retelling is a 3D fighting game with various play styles and character types. The game has a huge emphasis on amazing boss fights. The game has great music as well and I have played through it many times. Naruto and Dragonball are among some of my favorite Japanese animations and I truly loved this game. It may not be for everyone, but its good for me.

Will I review this game? – Maybe.

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32 – Starbound

Starbound is a 2D crafting game that encompasses an entire universe. It cashes in on the craze of crafting games that Minecraft brought forth but its in its own merit a great game. It starts slow and kind of tough, but it gets better as time goes on. With various races to play as and weapons to use, and literally thousands of worlds to visit, this game can keep you occupied for hours on end.

Will I review this game? – Yes.

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31 - Kirby 64 the crystal shards

Kirby 64 is a great N64 game starring everyone’s favorite puffball Kirby. This game introduces the ability to combine various powers to create new abilities for Kirby. With various pretty levels and a fair and challenging scavenger hunt to get all the crystal shards.  This game was simple and fun to play, its cute and all, but it is also home to one of the most disturbing bosses in the Kirby franchise, a being who literally bleeds from the eye, good luck sleeping tonight folks.

Will I review this game? – Yes

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Sorry for the late post. Today was not a good day but I do not want you guys to be neglected during this special for my 50+ followers. A special thanks to my beloved friend Tiphanie, who is always there for me regardless of what is going on. Thank you Tiph, you’re the best.

[aion-rsa]

Surprise! Lovecraft Country Is Indeed an Anthology

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The following contains spoilers for Lovecraft Country.

The ending of Lovecraft Country’s second episode could have very well been the season finale, if not series finale, of many other shows. All in the span of two episodes’ time, our heroes Tic Freeman (Jonathan Majors), Leti Lewis (Jurnee Smollett), and George Freeman (Courtney B. Vance) meet their proverbial archvillians, learn of their plan, and ultimately dispatch them.

Tic even reaches a series finale level of catharsis by meeting the shade of his ancestor, Hannah, who assists him in defeating Samuel Braithwhite (Tony Goldwyn) and helps him find safe passage out of the crumbling Braithwhite Manor. In the process, George loses his life. The events of “Whitey’s on the Moon” are so enormous and consequential that it might have been hard to viewers of the show to imagine where it could possibly go next. 

That question is answered definitively in episode 3 “Holy Ghost.” Where can Lovecraft Country possibly go from here? Well, back to the beginning of course. Yes, with its third episode, Lovecraft Country has finally, proudly revealed that it is an anthology series of sorts, more than a serialized actioner. That’s not to mean that the show has gone completely back to square one. The events of episode 1 and 2 very much still happened, and the emotional effects of George’s death linger on within Tic, Leti, and George’s brother Montrose (Michael K. Williams). The Braithwhite family even lives on as a threat with Christina Braithwhite (Abbey Lee) following Tic and Leti back to Chicago to stay all up in their business.

Read more

TV

How Lovecraft Country Uses Horror to Tell Black Stories

By Nicole Hill

But the general thrust of Lovecraft Country’s plot resets in episode 3, presenting a standalone story about Leti buying a home, only to find it plagued by all manner of ghosts – literal and figurative. This is an X-Files “monster of the week” style format and that’s very much intentional on Lovecraft Country’s part. In fact, the show’s anthology format is inherent to the book upon which it is adapted. 

Lovecraft Country author Matt Ruff revealed in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle that he originally envisioned the novel as a TV series, which would use The X-Files monster of the week format to tell different supernatural stories from a Black perspective. And that’s exactly what the book, and now show does. As evidenced by plot descriptions for future episodes, Lovecraft Country will be maintaining this anthology format going forward. 

The description for episode 4, “A History of Violence” reads: “After Christina shows up at her doorstep, Leti confronts Atticus about his plan to surreptitiously return to Florida; in search of missing pages to a crucial text, Leti, Tic and Montrose head to Boston, with Hippolyta and Diana along for the ride.” This is accompanied by a teaser of the episode that has some clear Indiana Jones, adventure vibes. 

The description for episode 5, “Strange Case,” reads: “After making a devil’s bargain with William, Ruby steps into the charmed shoes of a white woman; a betrayal by Montrose unleashes Atticus’ pent-up rage, leaving Leti deeply disturbed and sending Montrose into the comforting arms of his secret lover.”

That’s right, Leti’s half-sister Ruby (Wunmi Mosaku) will be getting in on the action. Such is the benefit of a show that’s more episodic in nature – those episodes get to expand the series’ viewpoint well past the original lead cast. 

Lovecraft Country’s following the book’s anthology route as opposed to more linear storytelling comes along with some inherent advantages and drawbacks. But at least now the show has officially declared its intentions. And for those craving a more serialized experience, it’s also clear that the Braithwhite threat isn’t going away anytime soon.

The post Surprise! Lovecraft Country Is Indeed an Anthology appeared first on Den of Geek.

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