Daredevil (#32)

Well, some of you may wonder why I'm reviewing a Daredevil comic here on a horror related review site but, this is the beginning of a storyline with MONSTERS! :D So, lets get you caught up in the happenings of ol' horn head. Ready? Lets begin! Okay so, Foggy has cancer, Matt's life has been screwed with by Bullseye who didn't die and now the Jester, with help from the Serpents are trying to ruin Daredevil and New York. Okay? Good! So, with Foggy's assistance, they find that the Serpents have occult ties and, after talking with Doctor Strange, decides to follow up with the doc's friend and find out more about this book and occult ties. What it leads to is people in Kentucky chasing down a group of monsters, Daredevil thinks something else, tries to stop the villagers with torches, sees the monsters, gets the f out and is shot. Then there is a picture for the next issue that mentions that good old Dr. Frankenstein is making an appearance.  Samnee's art is great and Waid's writing is superb! I mean, there is so many ways to go with the story that I'm chomping at the bit to see where it is headed as Mark Waid's run has been amazing so far! :)

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

This, is the new novel by Stephen King that we have been waiting for now for years! The sequel to his classic The Shining. Now, some of you remember the The Shining from the classic 1980 Stanley Kubrick film which is disowned by King (as the movie didn't focus all that much on alcoholism like the book did which was an important element to the novel) while, some people like my sister, remember the book more so then the movie. Either way, this is a great sequel to The Shining no matter how you remember it! Starting just after the conclusion and the demise of the Overlook Hotel, we catch up with Dick, Dan and his mom Wendy as the ghostie people from the hotel decide to follow Dan and his mom while Dick teaches him how to lock up those bad memories for good. Fast forward to Dan hitting the bottom of the barrel with his alcoholism and a scene that plays over and over in his head before he sobers up with the help of AA and joins as hospice in....wait for it....New Hampshire (thought I was going to say Maine eh?) where he works and is known as Doctor Sleep for what he does his patients. Enter a child named Abra Stone with a shining as powerful as Dan (more so now that he is older) and the student becomes the teacher as they battle other people with the shining who like to take the essence or "steam" as they call it to gain immortality. Everything builds slowly and nicely as an old character beloved by all joins a whole host of new characters in this story that, in the end, comes full circle for everyone that is involved including a shocking revel. As well, if King's track record of just about everything that he writes seems to be made into a movie....this would be a welcome to sequel in film as well as in print! Or this could just be wishful thinking on my part but, give Danny Lloyd a call and see what he is doing anyway.

Hotel Transylvania (2012)

Ever wonder what our beloved Universal Monsters do on vacation? Well luckily we now have that answer with Hotel Transylvania. Last year, there was a run of family friendly horror movies and this was another one and it was a funny release. The movie focuses on good ol' Frankie, the Invisible Man, the Wolf Man, The Mummy, Dracula and his daughter Mavis. These monsters are looking for a safe haven from the horrible humans who are out to hurt the monsters, or so they think...oh! And don't forget the miniature teenage romance between daughter and human who decides to enter the hotel. This is a kid's movie with plenty for adults to laugh at. As well, this is a great introduction for youngsters before you pull out those classic Universal Monster movies. By the way, the best part of the movie has to be when Dracula sees Twilight and utters "this is how we are represented?". So go through the haunted forest, through the cemetery full of the living dead and enter the hotel....the zombies will take care of you and the laughs are plenty for the full 90 minutes. As well, this is a great way to distract the little ghouls from tarrying up the place on your watch.

Nothing Left to Fear (2013)

So, you've seen every possession movie you say? Well, let me present to you the first offering from Slash's (famous guitarist from Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver, Slash's Snakepit, Solo...this could go on forever really) new company Slasher Films, and produced by him as well, Nothing Left to Fear. This movie is inspired by the legend of Stull, Kansas...it's apparently one of seven gates of hell and it is so evil that the Pope himself will not fly over it....seems like the perfect setting. The movie stars a young family, moving across the country so that their father can be the new pastor of said town. Even though it looks like the perfect little place something seems....off. It begins with the eldest daughter having nightmares, then a tooth in a cake is found by the younger sister, two teenagers with a crush on each other and oh! A sacrifice to bring forth a demon to shut the door....may all hell break loose. There is even a little of the Old Testament thrown in there with the sheep blood on the doors. All in all, this movie is entertaining, starts off slow with some cheap jumps but it picks up. You soon find out why this town is off and why you shouldn't live there. The effects are amazing! The demon, the victims...it's done so very well. So, yea, not bad but not the The Exorcist. It is a very well done movie with vibrant colours as we must be careful not to let the darkness take the light.

The Loved Ones (2009)

This is a movie that I was finally able to track down after almost a couple of years of searching and, after hearing so much about it, I finally found it in a Walmart (weird I know!). All I can say is BITCHES BE CRAZY! Well, the woman all in pink and listening to pop music in this one is (nice switch for once!). Here we have a metal loving teen, has a girlfriend and the crazy "normal" girl has a crush on him and asks him out to the end of school dance but gets rejected....begin the prom from hell! I mean, this movie has awesome torture scenes, demented woman, weird dad, hot women, cannibalism, killer metal music, pissed off principle, wicked camera angles....what more can you want? Oh! The story itself is pretty awesome as well! Taking what they usually do, make the outsider the victim, and the story unfolds from there. No plot holes and everything gets tied up nicely in a little over 80 minutes...not a second wasted. Not your average movie as this shocker from Down Under will have you on the edge of your seat with a giant smile on your face and thankful that your prom wasn't like his!

ParaNorman (2012)

Are you looking for that perfect movie to put on while you are watching the little ghouls or, when you want to feel like a little ghoul yourself? Well, check out ParaNorman; it will have you smiling from beginning to end. I mean, this movie is funny! It will have you laughing at the jokes as it takes everything we love about zombies, witches and ghosts, throws in a "weird" kid and you have the basic premise of the movie. I mean, you'll love Norman....he's just a monster kid like all of us but, he can see and talk to all the ghosts of the town. Soon, all things go to hell when the past comes back to haunt the little town and it's up to Norman, his only friend, sister, friend's brother who sister has a crush on and the school bully to save the day (just your normal everyday horror group) when a ritual that has kept to sleeping "witch" wasn't preformed right and she wakes up....and she is not pleasant after such a long sleep. He later gets help from his parents and, after an epic sequence, all is well. This movie is something enjoyable for people of all ages and will have you smiling and laughing from beginning to end. Also, like any kids movies, there are plenty for adults to laugh at. And if you die from all the laughter, just come back and haunt Norman like everyone else does!

CryptozoicMan (Issue 1 of 4)

So, I will preface this by saying that I am a huge Kevin Smith fan and, was thus drawn to the show Comic Book Men. When this idea was pitched on the show, I was excited! I mean, it sounded sooooooooooo cool! And now, issue one has dropped. This issue I liked but, haven't been sold on it just yet. There is some confusion about who is who, why he looks like that, what happened to his daughter and who the hell is this pig man!? Hopefully these will be cleared all up in the 3 remaining issues. Other then that, Brian Johnson perfectly sets this mystery and confusion with well chosen words while Walter Flanagan's art is top notch! The monsters and the CryptozoicMan look awesome! Also, with Kevin's name behind it, I feel they could of gone to a big name like DC or Marvel but I am glad they went with Dynamite instead...keeping it indie gives you the freedom to go way out of bounds if needed....especially for a story like this. If some of this confusion can be cleared up, and it looks like in issue 2 it is headed that way, it will be a good mini series.