Post Mortem: Haunt

     A movie that promises a romp through ten romance and the discovery of the afterlife turns into a nightmarish terror-time with Haunt. Made in 2013 with Andrew Barrer's screenplay, and directed by Mac Carter, this movie is about a family of five that moves into a house that carries a dark curse. "The Morrello Curse" as the people of town call it. The oldest boy, Evan (Harrison Gilbertson) moves into the attic and, after taking a midnight stroll, comes upon Sam (Liana Liberato), who is the victim of familial abuse from her drunken father. She sleeps over, the two begin a young love, and Sam pulls out from a secret room a box that is part Ouiji Board part Ham Radio.
     They contact the dead and learn of the existence of the ghosts within the house, one of which is incredibly aggressive. This female ghost possesses people and then forces them to commit suicide or murder, thus creating more ghosts.

     The acting stands out for what this movie is, and what it could have been, marking it as something different among the direct-to-DVD crowd. The pacing is great and the writing was solid, with actors placed in roles that they seemed meant for. I can honestly say that this movie was good, but not great. The suspense was there and they built on it, but the climax was like a teenage boys first time - bursty and quick. The exposition could have used a little tinkering as well, moving it to where the teens could have learned the secret without the rather "meh" ending.

Miskatonic Press

     A small press, but one named after the University I've always wanted to attend and knew I never could. I bring them up because of two reasons. They have a novel on my summer reading list, a Temple Made Without Hands by Michael Porter, which is said to be a real thriller of a piece.

     The second reason I bring them up is their magazine, Dead But Dreaming.

     This magazine is on sale at Lulu for $2.75. That's a print magazine full of horror tales for less than three dollars. Go and grab a copy to support small presses everywhere.

     Especially grab a copy of the next one when I am going to be writing a blurb on the history that comes with the words Miskatonic University, but more on that later.

Dying Light

     A new game coming out that looks like it will be taking advantage of a new movement engine for better, more fluid running and jumping. From the trailer it seems like this game is going to be a rather horrific zombie survival game that combines smart ways to handle the dead. Take a look:

     
     Looks pretty gnarly.

Atheists Nightmare Part Three

Previous

I slowly leg press this girls body off of me, dragging from its recesses a deluge of pus and fluids unknown, as well as one very intact spine, which was wriggling like I garden snake, the fibrous tissues and nerves still attached to it granting it enough motor functions to do that. I lie there on the ground, staring at Loren. Or Laura.

Lincoln Green

The heavy pounding of rain on the truck was broken only by the light static on the radio and the occasional clap of thunder, followed by a distant echo of roiling lightning striking rolling through the wooded hills in the darkness of the stormy night. Lynn shivered from the cold seeping through the rusty door, huddling closer to the middle where the central heater could warm her body. Holding her hands out, she smiled softly at the ring on her left hand.

Birthday Gift for a Friend's Child

     This would be a perfect gift for a friend of mine who has some young children. Teach them fear can be funny early. Or cause mental scars. Whatever, its the thought that counts.
     And the thought is "this is too funny to keep to myself!"

Post Mortem: World War Z

     To be clear, I am not doing a review on the novel, but the movie. The novel itself is a good read for a lazy Sunday, going over the political, socio-economical, religious extremes that the world would undergo if the world were to have a zombie outbreak. It's written as a reporter interviewing survivors about the pre-war, during the war, and post-war world that has been affected by a zombie plague that is never fully explained (though it is explained in the Zombie Survival Guide, written by the same author). Best selling novel, written by a best selling novelist. Great book.

Atheist's Nightmare Part Two

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I do the manly thing and flinch back, snapping the blinds taut once more, standing there waiting to hear the tell-tale moan of a zombie (they look dead and shamble, we’re going with zombie until shown otherwise). Minutes pass and I hear nothing, so I inch closer and pry open the blinds by the merest fraction, slowly spreading them wider as I took in what had happened to her.

Atheist's Nightmare, Part One

My alarm clock jars me from my sleep, as it does every morning, causing me to groan and throw my arm over my eyes, trying to mentally will time backwards another few hours. Sighing, I roll out of bed and stumble through the hell-hole that is my bedroom floor (my “floordrobe”, as I lovingly call it) and into my bathroom, where I gargle the acrid taste of whiskey from my breath, replacing it with the acrid taste of mouthwash, before picking amidst my “floordrobe” for the clothes that seem clean enough, and begin donning them.

End of the World, Part One

Sakura awoke with a sharp cry, twisting as she moved about on the floor, a cry on her lips that was quickly shushed by another student, Ben. Ben, the tall rugby player that had been Sakura’s longtime crush, was now holding her in a tight embrace, his hand muffling her voice. This would have been part of a dream come true, especially as they were in a broom closet, save for the fact she didn’t remember getting in here.