Welcome to the Third Annual Halloween Bash

It's that time of year again horror fiends.  A time when our admittedly odd sensibilities overtake the nation.  When stores have motion activated demons, and buying fake blood is so very easy.  Here at Cutis Anserina we will be hosting guest bloggers such as Naima Haviland, Jack Ketchum, Brian Mooreland, Scott Baker and many more in celebration of the season.  Stick around for a chance to win a book or two as well.

So Welcome my friends to Halloween.

From Still Watching Cartoons in my Batman Boxers; What if Roman Polnski directed Ender's Game?

This is an interesting thought from another person who has been boycotting Roman Polaski...Click to jump over to the article.

  "I am curious though if there would be this much outrage about Scott Card if the flick was directed by Roman Polanski, a man who drugged and repeatedly raped a child as she called out for her mother.   Orson Scott Card has said some disgusting things, but Polanski has done some disgusting things..."
Simon Frost

The Unseen

This was an oddly watchable movie, that I never thought of turning off (I do that a great deal) yet it was unquestionable shit, derivative, predictable, with laughable melodrama and incredibly poor direction as well as acting.  But I kept watching, and I can't figure out why.

Riddick Review at Ravenous Monster

Vin Diesel returns to his cult favorite role as Richard B Riddick in a lean, gritty flick that returns to the franchise’s roots.  This movie is very much Diesel’s project and he reportedly worked for scale in order to get the project green lit. 

We first met the convict Richard B Riddick in Pitch Black a small sci-fi horror flick with a cool premise that came out of nowhere. Diesel’s performance as Riddick won audiences over if not in theatres but on DVD, paving the way for the inflated Chronicles of Riddick.  Though making in more money theatrically (though not enough to warrant a direct sequel), Chronicles of Riddick felt almost nothing like Pitch Black.  Riddick was no longer a cunning killer, but someone who lunged headfirst into danger while relying almost exclusively on his brutality to vanquish his foes.  Chronicles of Riddick ends with Riddick accidentally becoming the ruler of a violent alien race and beginning the search for his home planet of Furya.

Click either image to jump over to Ravenous Monster for the full review

Top 10 X-Files episodes at Ravenous Monster

The X-Files debuted on September 10^th 1993 and to celebrate the franchise’s 20^th anniversary we’ll be counting down the top 10 episodes here at Ravenous Monster.  How can I choose just ten from the series 203 episodes?  Very slowly and painfully cutting many of my favorites and you can be the judge of how well I fared.  The main criteria for this list was the strength of the specific episode, not necessarily its importance in the overarching mythology.  Most fans admit that by the end the overarching mythology was incredibly convoluted and the series finale fails to wrap it up in any satisfying way.  To remedy this (and score some money) a new comic series is currently being sold and billed as season 10.  I was very excited about this until four dead characters were resurrected in the second issue and this concept totally lost me in the process. 

Click either Image to Jump Over to Ravenous Monster for the list. 

Ghosts in the Attic by Mark Allan Gunnells

Mark Allan Gunnells’ Ghost in the Attic is a new collection of short stories released from Bad Moon Books and Evil Jester Press.  I would categorize the collection as more darkly supernatural as opposed to straight up horror as a whole, though at no point did I feel Gunnells was writing with kid gloves and worried about going too far.   

The most impressive element from the stories in Ghosts in the Attic as whole was the successful combination of eerie atmospheres and genuinely deep emotional characters.  Gunnells writes with a sincerity, that almost feels old fashioned in our world of meta humor and ironic winking. 

If you like old school style supernatural horror without restraint in the content I would strongly recommend Ghosts in the Attic.   

No One Lives Review

Ryûhei Kitamura the director of the decent Midnight Meat Train and the incredible Versus directs the new flick No One Live from a script by David Cohen.  Kitamura’s direction is solid and he creates a dark tense, while still knowing how to shoot kick ass action sequences. The movie stares Luke Evans, Adelaide Clemens, America Olivo and Lee Tergesen.  The plot revolves around kidnapping, torture and survival, combining elements we’ve all seen in flicks such as Texas Chainsaw and Last House of the Left.

No One Lives is a difficult movie to review because there is a pretty cool plot twist about 20 minutes in that drastically changes the entire dynamic of the movie.  If you go with the twist the film is pretty enjoyable, however there are some serious detractors from this movie living up to its full potential. 

While the performances are solid across the board, none of the characters are likable in the least.  This would be fine if the plot was a bit tighter, but the script requires a few great moments of suspension of disbelief to work.  Again this would be fine if some of the twists were a bit more clever.  If any two of these complaints were addressed I would put the film at highly recommendable as opposed to an enjoyable B Movie that is never boring with some solid actions set pieces that you will probably forget about in a few days.   

Kiss Of The Damned Reviewed at Ravenous Monster

Writer director Xan Cassavetes's film Kiss of the Damned is a beautifully intriguing film guaranteed to divide its audience.  The vampire tale is equal part horror and romance, with a strong focus on internal conflict.  Each of the main characters is the greatest danger they face. ...click either image for the full review.