New Obsession: Clark Ashton Smith

I swear this is not becoming a literary blog- but I have been reading a whole lot lately.  I am afraid of the netflix movies I have at home.  Anyway, I am having my yearly read of At the Mountains of Madness and I got sidetracked by a Clark Ashton Smith reference.  Which led me to this really cool site: http://www.eldritchdark.com/.  And I killed a few hours there.  Smith was an artist, poet, and friend of Lovecraft, although the two never met. 

Here is a nice piece of his art and a poem entitled Afterwards:

There is a silence in the world

Since we have said farewell;

And beauty with an alien speech

An alien tale would tell.

There is a silence in the world,

Which is not peace nor quiet:

Ever I seek to flee therefrom,

And walk the ways of riot.

But when I hear the music moan

In rooms of thronging laughter,

A tongueless demon drives me forth,

And silence follows after.

And now I know what my nightmares are going to be about tonight.

Post 666: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

Hey-we have arrived at post 666!!  I would like to thank the dark lord Satan and Netflix.  Seriously, I can't believe I have written (don't laugh- this qualifies as writing) 666 posts! 

So what do I write for post 666?  A plea for you all to read The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.  Again, I managed to wait 36 years to read this story.  I know, bad horror girl.  If you haven't read The Lottery please go do it now.  I will wait.   Here is a link: http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/lotry.html

Awesome wasn't it?  The older I get the more obsessed I become with the short story form, most likely because of my reduced attention span and inability to remember things I did 10 minutes ago.  The Lottery may be the most perfect short story I have ever read.  In less than 4000 words Jackson creates a realistic and terrifying world.  I am not going to say much about the story, in case you couldn't spare the time to read it now (it took me 10 minutes).  Written for The New Yorker in 1948, The Lottery created quite the commotion.  People canceled their subscriptions and wrote hate mail, all of which was forwarded to Jackson.  It seems that this short little fable that she wrote in one 2 hour sitting was more powerful than she could of imagined.  Enjoy!

The Thief of Always (rare book review)

The Thief of Always is not a rare book, the fact that I am writing a book review is rare.  But since my last got such an overwhelming response (3 comments!) I figured I would do it again.  Anyone who knows me knows that I love horror written for children.  I also love the show Toddlers & Tiaras.  Anyway, two of my favorite "horror" books of all time were written for the young and young at heart: The Graveyard Book and Coraline.  Both of those books were written by Neil Gaiman.  The Thief of Always is written by Clive Barker.  Yes, the creator of the Books of Blood and The Hellbound Heart wrote a book for children.  I love this on so many levels.

The Thief of Always was really terrifying.  If I were a 10 or 12 year old reading it I would wet my pants.  When I was 10 or 12 I was reading shit like Flowers in the Attic and Sweet Valley High, which actually explains a lot about me.  The Thief of Always tells the story of 10 year old Harvey Swick, a bored boy who is sick of winter, sick of school, sick of his family, sick of everything.  He wants some excitement.  He wants to relive the happy times like spring and summer, Halloween and Christmas.  I am right there with you Harvey. 

One night a mysterious man named Rictus flies into Harvey's room.  He offers to take Harvey to a place where it is always fun, and where all his wishes will come true.  After some soul searching (I would have been like "take me!") Harvey decides to go.  Rictus assures him that his parents are fine with him going, and that he can leave anytime he wants.  Rictus takes him to "The Holiday House," a place where all four seasons come and go in one day, and everyday is Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  All he has to do is wish for something and it appears.  At the house he meets Wendell, a boy about his age who had been at the house for some time, and Lulu, a mysterious girl who likes to hang out by the lake.  It doesn't take long for Harvey to figure out that everything is not what is seems at the Holiday House, and that the host, the unseen Mr. Hood, may have bad things in store for the children. 

Harvey escapes the house with Wendell but the world he returns to is not the one he left.  Mad that time was "stole" from him, Harvey returns to the house to confront Mr. Hood.  What ensues is a battle of wits, magic, and thievery.  Plus, some children get turned into fish.

The Thief of Always

The Thief of Always has plenty to appeal to adults and children alike.  For kids, it is about being careful what you wish for.  For adults, it is a reminder of the pleasures and the all to quick passing of childhood.  And although no one shows up to scream "I am going to tear your soul apart!!!" you can imagine it happening.  I didn't love this as much as I love Neil Gaiman's stories for children, but it was enjoyable. 

"Happy Birthday to Me"

 What an auspicious start to the New Year! (This is something my husband, who is Buddhist, says a lot.  I am not sure what it means but I think it means good.)  My first horror film of 2011 is Happy Birthday to Me from 1981. (My first actual film of 2011 is Tron: Legacy which I like very much, especially when Daft Punk showed up.)  How have I lived 36 years without seeing this? (I once forgot how old I was.  I may be 35 or 37-- I am not very good at math.)  Anyway, I have lots to say about Happy Birthday to Me, unlike Black Swan, which was too psychologically scarring and deep for me to deal with on this blog.  Let's just say Black Swan fucked me up (in a good way) and Happy Birthday to Me just made me happy to be alive and in love with horror films.

Happy Birthday to Me was directed by J.Lee Thompson, who directed Cape Fear.  It stars blue eyed beauty Melissa Sue Anderson as Ginny.  MSA always kind of creeped me out on Little House with her bright blue eyes.  She may be the reason I have such a strong aversion to people with blue eyes.  I still can't explain my aversion to men in turtlenecks, but perhaps some other 80's horror film can explain that.  Ginny is a Senior at the prestigious "Crawford Academy."  Crawford Academy is kind of like Hogwarts in that all the students wear really cool striped scarves.  Ginny belongs to the "Top Ten," a group of popular and rich students that can buy beer at the local pub.  The Top Ten like to play pranks and play chicken on the local bridge.  Among their group is a sexy French guy named Etienne and a total dork who likes taxidermy and carries around a pet rat.  Why this dork is part of this group is never explained.  He must be rich, as all the members are, but I don't see how that automatically makes you part of the group, especially when you are so obviously a serial killer.  At least, that is what we are lead to believe...

Members of the Top Ten are getting killed off in highly original ways.  One guy gets a shish kabob through the mouth (hence the iconic poster) and one guy gets killed by dumbbell.  My favorite death is poor Etienne, who bites it ala Isadora Duncan.  Is the dork with the mouse the killer?  Or is it Ginny, who, as it turns out, was in a really bad car accident a few years ago and had experimental surgery to fix her brain.  Ginny blacks out a lot, and she begins to think that she is responsible for the murders.  It doesn't help that her shrink is played by Glenn Ford, yes, that Glenn Ford, and he wears cardigans and gold chains.  At first I thought Glenn Ford was drunk the whole time, but my research did not support that hypothesis.  It is just a really strange and somewhat pervy performance.

I had read a lot about this film over the years but I could not remember what the twist was at the end.  In short, the film kept me totally involved throughout, and I was sure I knew who the killer was.  Then we arrive at the fucked up ending.  Ginny is at her 18th birthday party, surrounded by all of her friends, dead and alive.  The twist literally makes no sense, and it almost made me hate the movie.  But then I decided that it did not matter that the ending made no sense.  This is a beautiful, bloody, totally stupid 80's slasher and I loved it!!  It was also filmed in Canada, so I have to give it extra points for that.  I love Happy Birthday to Me.  The only thing it could have used is a totally radical disco scene. 

Happy New Years!

Happy New Year everyone!!  I wish everyone a wonderful yet kind of scary 2011!  My resolution this year is to post more and use even more swear words if possible.  I have never seen New Year's Evil but doesn't this guy kind of look like Bill Pullman?

Christmas Neil Gaiman style

39 Degrees North: Christmas Card 2010 from 39 Degrees North on Vimeo.

Merry "Christmas Evil"

 I recently had the distinct pleasure to see a midnight showing of Christmas Evil at the Bridge Theatre in San Francisco.  The night, which was hosted by the amazing Peaches Christ, not only featured a living nativity scene made up mostly of Drag Queens, but also a "Scary Santa" contest and Christmas Evil Director Lewis Jackson live in person!!  But you know what the most awesome part of the night was?  John Waters was sitting behind us.  Yes, that John Waters.  See, Christmas Evil is John Waters' favorite seasonal film.  And if you know what kind of taste John Waters has, then you have a pretty good idea of what kind of film Christmas Evil is.

I had never seen this film, also known as You Better Watch Out, before this magical night.  Yes, a few beers at the English pub down the street increased my enjoyment, as did the contact high.  On its own, Christmas Evil is a bizarre little horror film that is actually kind of melancholy. Brandon Maggart (Fiona Apple's Daddy) stars as Harry Stadling, a man-child who is obsessed with Christmas.  See, as a little boy, he caught Santa fondling Mommy (actually Harry's dad dressed up.)  This so disturbed Harry that he developed an obsession with Santa.  Not just Santa, but the idea of BECOMING Santa (this film is as psychologically disturbing as Black Swan.)  He has what must be the most awesome job in history, supervisor at a toy factory.  He keeps a list of naughty and nice girls (this sounds really gross and perverted, but the way it is played out on the screen it is actually kind of sweet).  His grasp on reality is very thin however, and one bad day pushes him over the edge.

Disappointed with the company he works for and his coworkers, Harry decides to steal a bunch of toys and give them to needy children.  So far so good.  I can totally get behind this.  He dresses as Santa and delivers the toys in his van, which he has painted to look like a sled.  While passing a church he is mocked by a bunch of yuppies leaving Mass.  Thus begins what is perhaps the greatest church step/yuppie/Santa slaughter scene in all of history.  He kills those yuppies and he kills them good.  I can totally get behind this.  Are there even yuppies anymore?  I don't know.  Not where I live.  I am surrounded by a bunch of socially awkward geniuses and Hoover institute fellows.  At least they are not yuppies.

Anyway, Santa begins a killing spree which for the most part is totally justifiable.  He also has some fun along the way, crashing a holiday party and dancing his jolly red ass off.  Harry's uptight but sexually active Brother, Phillip (played by Jeffrey DeMunn, Dale from The Walking Dead.  It is bizarre to see him all skinny and getting it on.  It was really strange.) figures out that Harry is the killer Santa.  What does he do?  He kills him of course!!!  What a fucked up family.

The film goes on and has a very strange ending.  Well, actually, it is the exact type of ending you would expect from a (non-horror) Christmas film.  There is magic and wonderment.

This film is worth seeing for the church step slaughter scene alone.  Brandon Maggart does an excellent job as Harry.  You really identify with him and feel sorry for him, even though it is clear that he is bat shit crazy.  Now, as my holiday gift to you, please enjoy this picture of John Waters with this pretty little girl.

Happy Holidays!!