Film review: Excision

I'm not sure how to begin speaking about EXCISION, except to say that I can't remember the last time I was this touched and impressed by a horror film. "Touching" is not a word one can often use when it comes to this genre, which isn't to say that we don't connect to the characters in these films. We often do, at least if they're written, developed and portrayed well. This film is different than the usual fare, though.

Book review: The Dead and the Gone

If you enjoy books that leave you with a certain feeling... heart-wrenching despair? Just this side of utter hopelessness? A hollow, depressing fear of the future? Boy have I got a series for you!

Horror Comic Awards

I just discovered this, so forgive the last-minute nature of it all but ComicMonsters.com is taking votes for their Horror Comics Awards over the next couple days. Even if you're not that up to date on your horror comics (like *ahem* ...me) you'll still see some familiar titles like THE WALKING DEAD, LOCKE & KEY and 30 DAYS OF NIGHT. You do need to register for an account in order to vote, a minor hassle but not a huge deal.

Invasion of the End of Year Lists

It's that time of year where millions of "Best Of..." lists scatter across the vast wasteland that is the internet.

For many of my friends, that means compiling lists of their favorite albums of the year. While music is like oxygen to me, I have never done this. For one thing, I don't keep up on current music. My other issue is that I'm not an "album" listener. I prefer my playlists to be made up of a variety of individual songs played in no special order at all. The age of on-demand streaming music is a good time to be alive if you're like me.

I also don't make any sort of BEST HORROR OF WHATEVER YEAR THIS IS list because frankly, I don't get to see most of the movies that come out during a given year. I wait for the sites I follow to make their lists, then I embark on a quest to find any that sound good to me. It's gotten a little easier to find new horror movies within my library system over the years, so some are ordered through interlibrary loan, others I find on Netflix and the rest are put on a shelf until they otherwise make themselves available to me.

Vampire Slayer Update

Remember when I said I was going to drink the hell out of this Imperial Stout?

Totally did. That's the very bottle I bought. 

And... that's my tablecloth. It has skulls on it.

It's delicious (the beer, not the tablecloth) and every bit of 

"Mmmm... itsss good" that I hoped it would be.

I'll have some new entries coming up soon, you know how this holiday mess goes. 

Buffy vs. The Mayans

Like It's 1999

Happy Mayan Apocalypse Friday!

As I discussed when reviewing THE DIVIDE, I have a profound fascination with apocalypses thanks to all the nightmares I've had over my life. But worry not, your Librarian of the Dead is not one who believes the Mayan-zombie-comet-flaming-Planet X apocalypse is really happening. I am wary of tomorrow, but more because I'm afraid of what other people with fewer critical thinking skills might do. It's something horror has taught me: Be more afraid of other people than the monsters.

The Claw

Have you ever played video games for so long, you get "the claw"? Your fingers curl in, perhaps your thumbs begin to blister. I've given myself "knitting claw." Next time I think it's a fantastic idea to knit some of my CRYPT-mas presents, I'm going to start in June.

Seriously, I've been working myself to the BONE. I've been in a caffeine-and-Star-Trek-TNG-fueled knitting whirlwind for a couple weeks. I am DEAD tired and ready to TERROR my hair out. I wish I could bribe Santy CLAWS and the BRAIN-deer that pull his SLAY to do my work for me, if only they were real. In fact, I--

Alright, alright, I'll stop, don't hurt me. I do love a good Crypt Keeper pun though, so here's some fun to be had before the weekend:

Crypt Keeper Pun Time
Crypt Keeper Tumblr
Crypt Keeper via Comic Vine

A new weapon against the undead...

I had never heard of Clown Shoes up until last week, while having lunch at a restaurant near work. I was prepared to go with a bottle of Bell's Two-Hearted Ale because it's a current favorite, but I like trying new beers so I took a chance on their draft of Clown Shoes Tramp Stamp, which is a Belgian IPA. I felt pretty safe with that, I like IPA's, but I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. Since I can't help but start researching things (how I ever got along without a web-enabled smart phone is a mystery) I looked up the brewery on RateBeer's app and my jaw dropped:

They have a beer. Called "Vampire Slayer". And I have not drunk it yet.

Truth be told, my palate isn't quite sophisticated enough for imperial stouts. Yet. It's a little intimidating, but I have to try this beer. I'm making it my mission to track it down soon. Merry Christmas to me, indeed. 

I'm sorry to say I won't be reviewing it, but I don't think I have much talent for reviewing beers. I'm much more in the "Mmmm.... itsss goood" camp when it comes to that. But if you want to see some reviews, I'd recommend RateBeer's Vampire Slayer page. Plus, if you click on "Locate Sellers" on the right hand side you can find someplace to purchase it from. Dear Binny's in Arlington Heights, we have a date with destiny approaching. Hearts, me.

Clown Shoes Beer from Ipswich, Massachusetts

Try RateBeer or Beer Advocate for your boozy researching needs

Or Untappd to feel your boozing is accomplishing something. I'm there (rachelsstorm)!

Film review: Rec 3: Genesis

The first [REC] is one of the best horror films to come out in the past few years. I was completely unprepared the first time I watched it and, as a result, terrified. I couldn't look out my windows, I didn't want to sleep. It was so well done, so perfectly claustrophobic and realistic that I couldn't turn off that little panic switch in my head.

Before seeing it for myself, I had heard that REC 3 was not like the other two films that came before it, but wanted to give it a chance. Unfortunately the person who told me that was right, it's a different zombie movie altogether.

Book review: The Devil I Know

"It is possible to live in the logical world and the spiritual. The two are not mutually exclusive."

 - Jackie Barrett, "The Devil I Know"

If you plan on reading THE DEVIL I KNOW, you're going to need an open mind. I'm talking wide open, stretched to the max, maybe with something like those metal fasteners they held Alex's eyes open with in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. You'd better be ready for a heavy dose of spirit communication, ritual, astral projection, demons, exorcism and all manner of spiritual manifestations. And that's aside from Ronnie DeFeo's psychosis, which is its own kettle of crazy fish. I consider myself pretty open-minded and even I found a few things tough to swallow.

Is it over yet?

Hold back your shock, but I'm not really into Christmas. I don't even decorate. I can't stand holiday music. I do the family thing, I do the presents thing, I appreciate friends and family who send cards. I have my own little batch of Christmas movies that I may or may not toss on near the... what is it, the 25th? But overall I don't get very much out of the holiday itself, and like many people the world over, I often find it a very stressful time of year. 

With the stress, and the business of preparing for the holiday, it's been a little more difficult to keep up with blog posts, but I'm chugging right through, looking forward to that light at the end of the tunnel that is 2013. I've got a lot in mind for this next year, so here's to gaining a little momentum out of the ashes of 2012.

Horror Marathon: Snow Edition

Chicagoland gets its share of wintery weather, and then some. The icy winds, the lake effect snow, the inevitable Hoth jokes. The cold doesn't get to me, but I despise ice and snow unless I'm housebound. This year we've had an extremely mild winter so far which I am delighted about. But what I do love is the effect all that cold, wet, frozen stuff has in a horror movie. As part of my December vacation I decided to have a marathon of snowy terror in lieu of the real thing.

Central Burying Ground (Boston, MA)

I've been a little slow on the posts this week, I'm taking some of my last vacation of the year and that means my mind is occupied by some other at-home projects. One of those tasks involved getting some old files off a laptop from two replacements ago. Luckily they were perfect to talk about here.

Several years ago I had the opportunity to travel to Boston, and although I was very sick at the time and didn't have much money to travel I couldn't pass up that kind of chance. Back in college when I was preparing a thesis paper on the value of cemeteries (go on and try to act surprised) my adviser rightfully suggested that I make time someday to visit two places: Boston and New Orleans. Reason being, their cemeteries are unique and in a word, amazing. So off to Boston I went.

I have many photographs from that trip that I'd love to share here over time, but for today I just have a few from the first cemetery I visited while there, the Central Burying Ground.

Homespun Threads now on Amazon!

The eBook I mentioned on Friday is now available on Amazon as a Kindle version! Click here to check it out!

If you do happen to buy the book, please leave a review of it somewhere-- either on Amazon, or if you're on Goodreads or some other book website that you prefer. We'd all appreciate it! It will help promote and encourage other people to buy the eBook as well. Remember, this is to help support children's theatre!

LORDS OF SALEM also released as a book!

I recently wrote about the upcoming LORDS OF SALEM film coming from Rob Zombie-- turns out he's also publishing the story as a book, to come out a month earlier than the film! The book is set for March 12, while the movie will be out April 26th. I really like this approach, he says the book and film will complement each other and I'm interested to see how.

Rob Zombie's "LORDS OF SALEM" has a release date; book details via Fangoria

Days of the Dead @ Ax Wound Zine Blog!

I've got an article up on Ax Wound Zine's Blog about the evening I spent at Days of the Dead Chicago this past November. It was a fun little horror fest out in the northwest suburbs, my neck of the Chicagoland woods, and they had a great panel with the three leading ladies of ROCK 'N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL. As you may or may not recall, two of the three are horror actresses as well. See the article for more info!

I was very lucky when years ago, I stumbled across Ax Wound and "met" Hannah Neurotica, its founder. The zine focuses on exploring gender, sex and sexuality in the horror genre which was right up my alley. Gender and media studies almost became my unofficial second major in college I loved it so much. Hannah's amazing, and she has some fantastic people working with her that are just as passionate about the genre as she is. I've written for Ax Wound a few times over the years, never as much as I'd have liked to. Even if you don't go to read my piece, check out the website and grab a copy of the zine. If you love horror and want some brain-stimulation it's a must!

Rock 'N' Roll High School Reunion  via Ax Wound Zine Blog

Days of the Dead Chicago

More about Hannah Neurotica

Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters...

...I said it three times, did that work?

If you keep even half an ear on the film world I'm sure you've heard about all the back-and-forth, will-they-or-won't-they, crazy stories about the GHOSTBUSTERS sequel. It's been going on for years. There have been scripts, there have been revisions, there have been issues getting Bill Murray involved, it's been a debacle. Some people don't want to see this happen, but I'm too curious to be against it. Besides, a sequel being a bad idea has never stopped anybody before! And I think this could actually be a good idea.

A few days ago there was an article from /Film that discussed an interview Dan Ackroyd did with Esquire where he of course, talked about the film again. No solid news out of it, but it sounds like he's had his fill on all this frustration and is calling on Sony to either do it now, or forget about it. I don't blame him, after all the work they did. Kudos to /Film for this line, though:

"The guy is on a marshmallow man fueled rampage and I love it."

That's one I'll have to start incorporating into my everyday speech: marshmallow man fueled rampage. Check out both the article and the interview for more on Ackroyd's Stay-Puft rage:

Dan Ackroyd Challenges Sony to Make Ghostbusters 3 via /Film
Q&A: Dan Ackroyd is Keeping Ghostbusters 3 Alive via Esquire

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

If I can be off topic for moment, I have a short story called "The Blacksmith's Daughter" in this collection of fairy tales that Homespun Theatre UK JUST published as an eBook! It's called Homespun Threads and it's available on Smashwords for $9.99, and will eventually be up on Amazon. I'm super excited about it, and I can't wait to read the other stories in this book. My story is a little dark, so if you like reading about everything else I post here you'll probably enjoy my tale too :)

Click here to check it out!

Profits from the eBook are going towards the development of Homespun's theatre productions, so if you love fairy tales, theatre, me or some combination of the above please help support them and grab a copy :)

I would be really grateful for this to be spread further, so if you can share either here or elsewhere that would be awesome!

Rites of Passage

An anthropology professor sleeping with one of his students takes his would-be girlfriend and several of her substance-abusing classmates to another student's family ranch home with an ancient Chumash Indian burial site, his whacked out brother and a looney drug dealer on it? What could go wrong!

Zombie Statistics

Nothing punches up charts and graphs like a handful of the walking dead! Or in this case, hundreds of them. Canada's National Post has a lovely bunch of zombie statistics based on, well, The Walking Dead's two and half seasons worth of kills. Had to be fun being in the Post's art department the day they pitched this one.

And if you haven't already, check out The Talking Dead Podcast or Live Show with Chris Hardwick for more undead analysis and discussion!

That reminds me, I have mega-serious catching up to do on the Walking Dead comics!

Book review: "Red Rain" by R. L. Stine

Before I was the Librarian of the Dead, before I was even a teenage Library Page of the Dead, I was just an odd little kid who liked reading all sorts of creepy stuff. Some of which I probably shouldn't have been reading. The price one pays for having a reading comprehension level that exceeds one's mental and emotional maturity.

I used to love the paperback, pulpy horror-thriller novels about high school kids being terrorized and haunted and vamped and slaughtered. One shots, anthologies and series by the likes of Christopher Pike, Caroline B. Cooney and of course, R. L. Stine.

Resolution

Much of the movie news I try (and sometimes fail) to keep up with is tossed in a mental junk drawer, rattling around until I come across it again and think "Oh! I remember hearing about that. I think I'll see it." This plan has more holes in it than a moth-eaten piece of lace, but keeping a huge list of movies I came across and wanted to see someday wasn't working out either.

I only take special notice of films that I think I may not get reminded of again, and/or I absolutely don't want to miss. So I read an advance review of the film RESOLUTION recently and had a strong feeling that both of those might be true.

A Random "Buffy" List

Yeah, alright. So I teared up by the end.

115 Reasons Why We Love Joss Whedon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

It's wise not to agree to watch the series finale with me, it would be embarrassing for us both. So many tears.

And don't worry, it's 115 photos. You're not making a serious long-term commitment if you decide to jump in and read the article!

Zombies on Ice!

If you live in the Chicago area and like more Halloween in your Christmas, you absolutely must check out Zombies on Ice 2012! It's happening Sunday, December 16th from 2:30-5:30 p.m. with more undead fun at the Christmas Market afterwards. They'll be skating at the McCormick Tribune Ice Rink in Millennium Park, which is the rink under the Bean. 

Sadly, I will not be there. The Librarian of the Dead has to slave over her reference desk that Sunday. Always missing out on something the weekends I've gotta work! I'm not big into Christmas anyways, but this would definitely have been a sight for red-and-green sore eyes. Have a blast for me!

Zombies on Ice 2012 via ChicagoZombie.com

Guillermo Del Toro's Haunting

Earlier today Deadline.com reported that Guillermo del Toro's next film "Crimson Peak" is going to be a haunted house movie. In the article,  he cites films like THE HAUNTING, THE INNOCENTS and THE SHINING as inspiration for the type of film he wants to make. He says:

"I think people are getting used to horror subjects done as found footage or B-value budgets. I wanted this to feel like a throwback."

Be still my black little heart! This is truly my favorite sub-genre of horror, and THE HAUNTING is one of the best films in the entire genre, as far as I'm concerned. Not to discount THE SHINING or THE INNOCENTS, the former is also one of my favorites and I think the latter doesn't get enough credit, which makes me happy that he mentioned it. I've just taken on THE HAUNTING as one of my personal crusades, especially after that crummy remake. The original version is amazing on so many levels, and I want the entire world to know!

I'm so excited that there will be a new, lovely, grand film to add to the haunted house canon in the near-ish future. Thank you Mr. Del Toro!!

Guillermo Del Toro To Helm "Crimson Peak" As Next Feature via Deadline.com

Guillermo Del Toro Is Making A Haunted House Movie! via AICN.com

Circus of the Damned

With the overwhelming amount of information the web serves up it's difficult to stay in the know and yet preserve the feeling of surprise at discovering a great new film. Horror can be especially tricky since there are many that never make it to a theater, never get mainstream press, but are still worth pursuing, so you have to seek out that information. Oh, my first-world Librarian of the Dead problems! Weep for me!

It's easy to learn too much about a film, to the point that it affects your reaction to it. I always forget how much damn fun it is be surprised by how good a movie is.

What is this, Cemetery Week?

I've been talking about cemeteries a lot already in this blog, which I suppose is indicative of the way my mind works. I find a thread and I follow it, sometimes much too far. But I discovered this article from last year which gives a great summary of the history of cemeteries as well as answering some of my own questions about how technology might be changing our burial customs. The interviewee also echoes many of my own thoughts and feelings about cemeteries, so I think it's worth a read. Check out:

Our First Public Parks: The Forgotten History of Cemeteries

Rob Zombie's "The Lords of Salem"

THE LORDS OF SALEM is Rob Zombie's latest entry in the horror genre, after his less than successful remake of HALLOWEEN and its sequel. This film is about a radio DJ who triggers a curse on the town of Salem created by four real witches that were secretly killed back in 1692 at the same time many innocents lost their lives for claims of witchcraft. Check out the trailer below, along with some more info-- I especially recommend reading the review from TIFF.

"Where the living relax among the dead"

This article from an African news aggregator popped up in my special "Librarian of the Dead" section in Google News. It's an opinion piece someone wrote about a cemetery in Aberdeen, Scotland. It's not exactly well-written, but it thankfully says something many cemetery enthusiasts, myself included, have been saying for a long, long time.

"Graveyard Where the Living Relax Among the Dead"

Supernatural Sleuths from NERDIST

Today Nerdist put out a list of supernatural detectives from comics, if you're looking for something new to read in that genre I'd have a look. I've read many, but not all of the HELLBLAZER trades and love them. I really should read HELLBOY, since the movies already made me a fan. I'm not familiar with the other three, so they are fertile ground for new Librarian of the Dead reading material.

Merlin

Okay, this may a little bit of a stretch for my theme. But this is Arthurian legend, and Le Morte D'Arthur is a major piece of literature in that realm. So there is some twisty side logic that creates a link. Besides, the reason I started watching MERLIN in the first place was because I had read somewhere that it was similar to Buffy The Vampire Slayer. And BUFFY is highly relevant here, I will eventually talk about it a great deal.

Death Watch

I've really enjoyed some of the books and series coming out of YA Fiction these past few years, Twilight aside. I'm never touching that one. A couple of my personal favorites have been The Hunger Games and Beautiful Creatures, the former of course already made into a film and the latter well on its way. This book, Death Watch, came out last year but I'm only hearing about it for the first time:

"Critically acclaimed folklorist Ari Berk explores the worlds of the living and the dead, and the relationships between parents and children in an novel steeped in lore, mystery, and magic." Barnesandnoble.com

Sounds right up my alley, but check out the review in Publisher's Weekly to help you decide for yourself.

Bronswood Cemetery

I belong to a special category of nerd that has an affinity for cemeteries and gravestone art. No, the word you're looking for isn't "goth." Don't let my predilections fool you, I'm far too much of a Poindexter to belong to that subculture. In my case the correct term would be a "taphophile."

The appeal of a cemetery to a taphophile has nothing to do with image, being morbid, or the idea of a burial ground as Spooksville USA. I don't visit them to lie around on top of graves in tragic poses or commune with the spirits of the departed. As fascinating as I do find ghost stories, I mostly go for the same reasons I would go to a museum. For the art, history and a large helping of philosophical reflection. Cemeteries do not make me feel the least bit morbid. In fact, I find them soothing and inspiring. I feel connected to something bigger while walking among the dead. Take from that what you will.

Top 5 Horror 30-Second Bunny Cartoons

I've been a big fan of Angry Alien Productions' "30 Second Bunnies Theatre" for a long time. If you've never seen one before, they boil down movies into a 30 second, bunny-starring cartoon, often with hilarious results. Lucky for me, quite a few of the films they've tackled have been horror movies. In no particular order, my top five are:

Sales from the Crypt

 Ever since Halloween I've been on a bit of a Simpsons bender. After watching a few Treehouse of Horrors in celebration of the holiday I remembered why I love the show so much. I've even been listening to a bunch of commentaries, which I highly recommend if you're a fan. It's interesting and informative to be sure, but what makes them so good is how entertaining they are. Watch for ones that include special guests! I've been using the TV Audio Commentary Database to pick and choose which commentaries I listen to.

Film Review: THE DIVIDE

Given my attraction to all things scary, it may come as little surprise that I’ve suffered from nightmares all of my life. A relative few have been what I refer to as “apocalypse dreams.” They started when I was in grade school, and while they don’t come often, they are the most vivid, realistic and terrifying dreams I’ve ever had. Once in college, I refused to leave my room for the entire next day because the physical panic of that dream would not let go of me.

Despite that fear, I’m a sucker for apocalypse stories. This speaks volumes about my pattern of fascination with the things that scare me the most.

Good Evening...

It only took me twenty-something years of being a creepy weirdo and five years of being a degree-carrying librarian to come up with this one.

Simply put, I love all things dark and scary plus a few things that I don’t think are dark and scary but may sound a bit odd without a proper explanation. Especially in light of all the dark and scary.

So welcome to a collection from beyond the grave, all that which fires my synapses and puts a chill down my spine. As your host on this ghastly exploration of the macabre, just call me: Librarian of the Dead!