Are you afraid of the dark?

There are several projects I should be working on right now; polishing the manuscript of my first novel, looking for agents to contact, writing up my proposal package, or working on chapter two of the sequel.

Fear is one of the things that keeps me from it; fear of rejection, of being told that the one thing I want to do with my life isn’t good, fear of my friend and family hating it. I’ve shown the unedited manuscript to three friends. One couldn’t finish it, due to heavy flashback. I eliminated them. One gave me constructive criticism to my face, but bad-mouthed the work to close friends and my boyfriend behind my back. The third gave me great criticism, but liked it over all.

So where does that leave me?

It’s not the most original idea, with the supernatural invading a mortal’s life. Man vs undead man. It’s got more variety than the most popular books in the genre, with vampires, ghosts, faeries, and a few creatures of my own design. But at its heart, it’s about relationships. Relationships between lovers, friends, enemies, the mortal world and what lies beyond; all colored with my friends and experiences.

‘So what?’ you say ‘All the best writers used their own experiences. Isn’t ‘write what you know’ the cornerstone of all writing?’

Then how do you explain H.P. Lovecraft? J.R.R. Tolkien? Ray Bradbury? All the greats who invented not just characters but whole worlds for the reader to lose themselves in?

All I want to create is a good scare. I’m not trying to be the next poet laureate. But I can spin a good yarn that people would like to read. I can make a person sound real; react to insanity as a normal person would. This is my greatest talent, and one I admire most in other writes: making characters ‘stay sane inside insanity’  as Richard O’Brien once penned. If I can make one person think ‘That makes sense. That’s what I’d do if I was being chased by a murderous Faerie.’ I’ve succeeded.

I will force myself to finish this project. If it never sees publication, that won’t be for lack of trying.

I just have to overcome my fear. Wish me luck.

Woah Mamá! WARNING: Spoilers, stream of consciousness writing

Review, Part 1

Mama is an outstanding piece of work. It’s got classical style, and a surprising lack of gore. The scares are real, and the imagery is the high-quality we’ve come to expect from the director of ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ and the Hellboy movies.

I watched the short film it’s based on, Mamá, and the influence is clear. The sequence appears almost exactly the same in the full-length film, albeit with different actors. The effects are good for something released on youtube. I’d recommend watching it either before or after you see the film; it’s a wonderful piece of work that spoils nothing.

The scariness of Mama comes from classic build-up of suspense. There are few jump scares; the terror is allowed to build slowly. I could feel the whole audience back up when Mama was about to come onscreen. There was complete silence during most of the film; amazing considering how many young teenagers were in the audience. I was astounded that it was rated PG-13, given how scary it was. ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’ another Del Toro film was rated R. It had about the same level of swearing, and was much less scary. I can only attribute it to the gore; seeing thousands of tiny faeries pulling bloody teeth out makes people a little more squeamish than a splotch of blood on a tiny bundle. Guess the board doesn’t rate on pure pant-shitting terror these days.

A woman walks towards a room where something is playing tug-of-war with the youngest girl. We never see the entity. We only see that it is very tall, or perhaps floating. And the stand-in Mother figure Annabel is getting closer to the room. It’s the closest I’ve ever come to screaming ‘Bitch, don’t go in there!” while in a theater.

The sound is terrifying as well. The scariest moment in the film for me was hearing the not-quite inhuman moans and grunts of Mama when she was off screen. The visuals are very effective as well, but the snarling, grunting wild woman is most effective when off-screen. Especially when the characters hear it, and know something is waiting for them literally around the next corner.

Things that were once human and now aren’t have always scared me the most. The cenobites from the Hellraiser series, Freddy Kruger, the Ghosts from The Grudge; all transformed by death into something terrifying. I guess that’s what it boils down to: a vision of life after death that doesn’t conform to Judeo-Christian norms. I am a practicing Baptist, and have strong personal beliefs about what awaits us in the afterlife. Nothing terrifies me quite like seeing a prolonged existence after shuffling off the mortal coil. Or perhaps it’s that evil can survive death, and avoid their eternal punishment so they can continue to wreak havoc. But Mama didn’t exactly fir the evil mold. She was driven to protect those girls, certainly, but she wasn’t exactly evil.

Mama was insane and possibly suffered from a mental disorder (likely Downs syndrome, if the facial structure of the character is any clue) and, having died over a hundred years ago, wasn’t treated all too well, we assume. She doesn’t understand that she’s hurting the children by keeping them from society. She even saves their lives at the beginning of the film, when their distraught father (who’s just murdered his estranged wife and his business partner) prepares to kill himself AND THEM. That was one moment when the whole audience rooted for Mama. Fuck that guy. He got what he deserved.

Weirdly, the same actor plays daddy dearest’s brother. It was to help establish a connection for the girls, but it’s a little jarring, especially when Dad reached out to his bro in a dream. “Please save my girls.” You were the asshole that was gonna shoot them. You get no say in this, numbnuts.

The creepiest visuals are when Mama is interacting with Annabel. There’s a moment she mistakes the hunched-up ghost for the youngest girl, realizes her mistake, and finally sees Mama in the flesh, so to speak. The reactions are very visceral. You feel like you’d do the same things the actress does; scream, run, and basically freak the fuck out. You feel very connected to the characters; they’re all realistic. No stereotypical ‘no such thing as ghosts’ men and ‘What a weird noise, I’ll wander around and check it out in my bra and panties’ women. It’s just a couple trying to make their life work under stressful circumstances. 

Tony Shalube is very intriguing as the doctor, and I give the character props for not being the ‘science, never anything else’ outsider. He believes with enough evidence. Sadly, this results in him getting killed, but a least he left all the evidence behind for Annabel. His death is done classically, lights strobing as Mama gets closer and closer…It doesn’t end well.

The death of the well-meaning, but bitchy great aunt is a bit more satisfying. She’s used by Mama to get the kids to the cabin (although, Mama can touch physical things no problem, so why she used her is unexplained). Annabel and Uncle Daddy find her at the cabin, at which point she falls down dead…and completely hollowed out. We’re left to imagine if moths did that, or if Mama ate away at her…

Long story short...

1. The movie can be seen in it's entirety here: http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi2201067801/ I'm proud of it.

2. I've finished the manuscript for my first novel, and have begun work on #2. More details to come.

3. I've bought the 20th anniversary editions of the oWoD VTM and WTA books. Woot.

4. I'm now working at a law firm.

More updates to come, a helluva lot sooner than the last...

More Movie news

Whelp, I'm shooting the movie next week in Adrien MI. It's a single cam 'into the woods' sorta thing. No it's not 'The Blair Witch'. I'm the only chick, though, so that's awesome. :D

So, I bought a new bookshelf and...

I think I might be able to fill it with my horror/sci fi/fantasy books alone. Not sure if that's good or...ah, who am I kidding, it's awesome!

Hey a movie! Yeah, it's gonna be Terrific, starring everybody...

And me!
It's not 100% sure yet, but in the next few weeks, I'm probably starring in a small independandant horror flick! :D

Don't be Afraid of the Dark (NO spoilers)

Be freakin' terrified. Or at least, mildly disconcerted.
DbAotD isn't as good as Insidious, but that's a rather high bar to set it againt. It's dark, chilling, and doesn't overuse 'jump' scares. The effects are good, and it's VERY atmouspheric. The actors are passable, espiecally Katie Holms as Sally.

If you enjoyed Del Torros 'Pan's Laberynth', you'll like this. It's dark Fairie Tale motiff is similar, but a lot less confusing. I'd reccomend it for viewing, but I'm not sure about purchase.

One small note: it's a remake of a 1973 ABC TV movie. I was completly unaware of this going in. I've been told the original is better in some ways, so I'm gonna seek that out in the future.

Insidious is

Friday night I saw Insidious with a friend. It was a creepy, effective movie, that was highly reminiscent of Poltergeist--in a good way! I'd recommend it for everyone who enjoys classic haunted house films; although, as the trailer says "It's not the house that's haunted. It's your son."

Spoilers start here! Fairly warned be ye, says I.

The movie's first 30 minutes are the typical slow setup that any horror film uses: The happy family unit, troubled in the past, is looking for a brighter tomorrow in their new house. 2.5 kids, Dad is the sole breadwinner as Mom is trying to write music. It's a happy, boring family.

The usual 'something isn't right here' feelings set in as Dalton (AKA coma kid) explores the attic. Stuff starts moving around and disappearing. All par for the course. This changes when Dalton is very suddenly in a 'coma', and the timeline jumps ahead 3 months. He's at home in a hospital bed, when things start rearing up again: Weird noises on the baby monitor, the parents are fighting, etc.

One of the most effective scares come when the mother checks on the baby, and sees a man behind the window curtain--AFTER about 30 seconds in the room. She notices him just when the audience does, although he's there THE WHOLE TIME.

After that, it really starts flying. The mother is attacked in her room, doors are flung open, and it's getting scarier. Then, the family does something I've never seen before: THEY LEAVE THE HAUNTED HOUSE. We're only about 1/2 way though, and they have the common sense to pack up and go!

Not that that helps. But at least, they're trying.

They move into a new home, and crazy crap is still happening, now with full-on child ghosts, and visions. The dad's mother reports a dream she had where a creepy entity stood over coma kid, wanting him. She gives them the name of an expert she happens to know (BTW, obvious plot point is obvious by now. The Dad's past has something to do with this lady).

Two geek-squad dropouts come in to provide help, and comic relief: one of them is actually the writer of the picture. The see more crazy stuff, and call in the Tangena Baron of the picture. She revels that coma kid isn't in a coma, and the house isn't haunted. It's actually infested with demonic forces and ghosts who want
coma kid's body because his soul is astral projecting somewhere called 'The Furthur', aka limbo. Several drawings in coma kid's room convince the skeptical Dad she's telling the truth, and he consents to let her try a seance.

After donning a WW2 gas mask, Tangena goes into full on seance, with the geek squad in tow. Coma kid tells Tangena that he's trapped, and if they keep talking 'He'll hear them.' The kid gets full on possessed for about five minutes, then goes back into a coma.

Finally, the main murky plot point is revealed: Coma Kid's dad was a gifted astral traveler that was almost possessed by a creepy old lady ghost. His mom knew because she tlook photos of him where the ghost got progressively clearer and closer to him. Tangena and the mom conspired to make him forget his talent, thus keeping him safe. Now, it's all up to him to save his son!

The dad travels into The Further, seeing very chilling specters, and winding up following coma kid's drawings to his location: He's being held in a dungeon by a demon listening to Tiny Tim's 'Tiptoe thru the tulips.' As dumb as it sounds, it's utterly effective and chilling, given that we've heard this song earlier when the new house started being haunted.

The dad rescues Coma kid, who seems none the worse for the wear, but the demon sees them, and they're chased back to the house by EVERY FRIGGAN SPECTER in the flick so far. Once they get back to the house, Coma kid is sent on ahead to his body, while the dad confronts the old lady ghost, yelling "I'm not afraid of you anymore!" She fades away, both men wake up, and the house is clean.

OR IS IT?

Tangena takes a photo of the dad, who loses his shit, and strangles her. The mom, kid, and mother-in-law in the next room hear nothing. The wife eventually senses something amiss, and calls out for the husband. Creepy shit begins once again as she gets to the living room, picks up the camera, and sees the old lady. The dad-old-lady grabs her and says "I'm right here." Cut to the title and loud, clashing music. After the credits, we see the old lady blow out the candle she's been holding through out. Symbolism!

For having a slightly silly explanation, the movie pays off beautifully with a scary finale. I give it a sold 8.

Job market

Whelp, I've walked the stage, and in two to three months, I'll get my degree in the mail. For now, I'm busy applying for jobs. I'm centering my search on jobs at OU--I'd love to be an office assistant, or library aid.

I'm also officially halfway done with my book! I figure at this pace, I should be finished by summer. Here's hoping...

Graduation fever

Well, it's official: I'm graduating in December with a BA in English (and a history minor). Let the job-hunt begin!

I purchased my cap and gown today ($45), and got a load for free info, including a graduation guide, alumnus packet, and a chaptstick on a key chain (thanks liberty mutual!)

So far, I'm underwhelmed by the process. But the grad party might be fun...