John Dies at the End

First off, I am completely guilty of judging books and movies by their covers AND their titles.  When I first heard of the movie, There Will Be Blood, I was totally psyched to see the movie, because with a title like that, how could it not be excellent.  The movie was not at all what I expected, but I wasn't disappointed.  I still think that it should be the title of a zombie flick, or a vampire movie.  So when this particular novel popped up on my Amazon.com suggestions, I was intrigued.  And just like There Will Be Blood, John Dies at the End wasn't what I expected, but I was not at all disappointed.

I finished this book about two weeks ago, but I couldn't put into words what I felt about the story.  I knew I liked it, but I didn't really know why. And the book is so involved, I think I needed time to digest everything that occurred.  I'm not entirely sure what to define this as, except as a comedy(?), it wasn't always scary, but it was really funny. And eerie, then creepy, but always funny.   And I guess since it deals with alternate realities and demons it is part of the supernatural spectrum of the horror genre.  I mean, bad things happen in this book--like end of the world type shit.  But John and Dave are so funny; and nonchalant about the what they see and experience, you find yourself chuckling despite the horror going on around them (at least I did).

This book is jam-packed with comedy and action.  I know I couldn't put it down because I wanted to find out the rest of the story.

Synopsis:  First, the book is told in the first person narrative by David Wong, the author and one of the main characters.  He's telling the whole weird tale to an investigative reporter who has heard of Dave and John through weird web blogs that talk about the supernatural events Dave and John have "taken care of".  Dave Wong (not his real name btw, he's not even Asian)  then spins this unreal, tangled tale of demons and alternate universes that want to take over our own world.  And it all began for these two slackers (John and David) with a drug called soy sauce.  John and David, a pair of college dropouts that work at a video store, are what stand between our world and an invasion.

There is just so much going on in this book, I can't really do this book justice with a small synopsis--so I'm not really going to try.  I advise you to pick this book up and read it.  I mean, it has strange beasts, hauntings,  a portal to hell in an unfinished mall, a drug that can possess you, shadow people,  a dog that won't die--I really can't list the entire tangled web of events that go down.

[caption id="attachment_885" align="aligncenter" width="421" caption="I like this book cover the best because it's just as busy as the story inside"][/caption]

Here's a taste of why I really dug this book--The Set-Up: the gang, along with the main characters John and David are being held captive by Justin/monster and are prepared to fight when he opens the door.  They are telling each other things like, if I die, get rid my drugs and porno stash--stuff like that (you know the usual). And then we get to Fred and John:

(From the book) 

Fred whispered, “Okay. If I don’t come back, and say they don’t got my body,

like if Justin eats me or somethin’, tell everybody you don’t know what

happened.Make it mysterious. And then a year later spread rumors that

you’ve seen me wanderin’ around town. That way I’ll be like fuckin’ Bigfoot,

everybody claiming to have seen me here and there. Legend of Fred Chu.” John

nodded, as if he were committing this to memory. He lit his own firebombs,

glanced up at me and asked,“You got any final requests, in case this don’t

end well?” “Yeah. Avenge my death.”

On a personal note, this is exactly how I want my death to be--mysterious and righteous, and right when people are moving on with their lives after my loss--people will start seeing me around.  Am I dead, or did I fake my death?!

AND IT DOESN''T END THERE!

There is already a sequel in the works, entitled:  THIS BOOK IS FULL OF SPIDERS:  Seriously, Dude Don't Touch It

PLUS:  John Dies At the End is now a movie soon to be released. Directed by Don Coscarelli, (Phantasm, Bubba Ho-Tep). Starring two dudes I've never heard of as John and Dave and Paul Giamatti.  Coming out in 2012.

Here's the link, check it out:  http://www.johndiesattheend.com

The Sound and the Fury

I was watching some forgettable comedy one night, whilst flipping through channels, and I laughed aloud as I heard one of the characters proclaim that the scariest movie he ever saw was The Sound of Music, "Come on, listen to the words, the hills are alive!...."  I had never thought of the The Sound of Music as a horror, but yeah, when you tale the lyrics literally--yeah, it's frightening.

The power of music on a person's emotions is very real.  We cry to country music, dance happily to club beats, dance erotically to a heavily bassed piece. It effects our mental health through our emotions.  Remember that year we all went through death metal and wore nothing but black and carried around any book by Edgar Allen Poe.  But I'm re-iterating what all of us know, music is emotive, a language of its own that we all understand--the language of the soul.

But I digress.  I love horror movies, and everything about them.  Every element is important to convey the mystery, or build up the fear and just set the overall mood of the film.  But music--that combination of sounds that express an emotion--help move the audience move along with the story  by basically coaching the audience.  Put your favorite horror movie on mute and you'll realize what an impact the musical score has upon the feel of the movie.

Just think of a haunting melody in good ghost story, or a musical cue, you know what I mean, that build up of music when you know something is about to happen--then crescendo--evil strikes.  Imagine Jaws preying upon his victims without the famous da-nun da-nun daa-nun sound, or Janet Leigh getting murdered in the shower without the creepy shrieking violin sounds.  [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VP5jEAP3K4&w=425&h=349]

The soundtrack of screeching violins, violas, and cellos was an original all-strings piece by composer Bernard Herrmann entitled "The Murder."

Did you know that Alfred Hitchcock originally didn't want any sound for the shower scene?  But the score was written anyway, and when he heard it-he knew it was too good to pass up.  And horror movie history was made.  How many times have we mimicked the screeching violins and stabbing motion?  (Don't lie, I know it's not just me, we've all done it).

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH7czR4fjEA&w=425&h=349]

I know that every time I'm in a pool, someone always mimics the Jaws theme.  It's cool--if someone else doesn't do it, I will.

John Williams' first Oscar for Best Original Score went to Jaws. The jaws theme song is probably one of the simplest, but most inspired creations in he history of music, let alone film music. It can instantly warn of danger by implying the shark's presence even when we can't see it on screen. There are some great action cues interspersed with quieter, but tense moments as well as optimistic tracks highlighting the holiday season on the Island of Amity.

That dramatic buildup and subsequent scary reveal is almost always accompanied by really freaky music or somebody screaming.  But we all know this.  We expect it, and like me, you probably love it.  The right kind of music enhances or highlights the horror genre.

The sounds that we love the most become auditory symbols for the movie.  Its usually the sound we hear when the killer is around.  We hear it, recognize it, and remember the fear it evoked when we first saw the film in question.  Think of the ki ki ki, ma ma ma scenes from Friday the 13th (based on Mrs. Voorhees “Kill her mummy” from the original.)  Or the very simple yet effective theme 3-note piano theme from the Halloween movie franchise, or the tubular bells from The Exorcist.  Okay, now I'm getting chills.  Lets face it, if life had a soundtrack--and we heard these--we'd be looking for a 12-gauge, a crucifix, and well-lit room to barricade ourselves in.  Even people who may have never seen the movie can usually identify what movie these songs are from.  That is how deeply etched into our culture these auditory symbols have become.

THE SOUND OF HORROR:  

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNgyVliUM3c&w=425&h=349]

 Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells was the premier release of Virgin Records and launched a global empire for Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire entrepreneur known these days more for ballooning and boating than music.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBZcf4GC2o8&w=425&h=349]

This earned an Oscar for composer Jerry Goldsmith.  The creepiest part of the song is the chanting, but then again, isn't chanting, in general, pretty effing foreboding.  But in this song, the refrain to the chant is, "Sanguis bibimus, corpus edimus, tolle corpus Satani" (Latin, "We drink the blood, we eat the flesh, raise the body of Satan").

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMLPnk9-6MM&w=425&h=349]

I don't believe John Carpenter won any awards for this simple yet awesomely chilling track.  This is one of my favorites.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja0KKoPr9Ik&w=425&h=349]

Composed by Henri Manfredini.  He also came up with the k k k ma ma ma (the most well known part of the number)-- "ki" comes from "kill", and the "ma" from "mommy". To achieve the unique sound he wanted for the film, Manfredini spoke the two words "harshly, distinctly, and rhythmically into a microphone" and ran them into an echo reverberation machine.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQk8VNkAZBw&w=560&h=349]

This particular nugget was composed by Charlie Clouser and is entitled Hello Zepp. The piece's appearance in the first film was timed to bring a dramatic tone to the end of the film (which I believed it completely accomplished), in which the supposed bad guy named Zep Hindle, is revealed to actually be a victim of the real baddy-Jigsaw.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxIFzdwrzek&w=425&h=349]

Composed By Christopher Young. He also did the music score for the first sequel.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=405636sy3RY&w=425&h=349]

Another wonderful score by Jerry Golsmith, entitled Carol Anne's Theme.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7Tn1Y-ERCE&w=425&h=349]

Composed by Ennio Morricone for one of the best horror/thrillers of all time!  It still gives me chills!

Give these a listen, they'll send chills down your spine!

I'm sure I've forgotten some.  Which theme gives you the heebie-jeebies?

Oh and on a peripherally related note:  We should all get one of these.  The best part is you can upload your own theme music.  Yeah, I would definitely put a few of the above music themes on this shirt, and walk around with a knife and a Michael Myers mask.  I want it![youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdIZ2nlUkbE&w=425&h=349]

for sale on ThinkGeek:http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/interactive/a5bf/#tabs

100 of the Greatest Horror Movie Quotes

100 of the Greatest Horror Movie Quotes.

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IezWgqg_-cQ&w=560&h=349]

I blogged a few posts on horror movie quotes, and now here's a great vid of the memorable lines of those I've mentioned and many, many more.

 

0’00 - Session 9, The Devil’s Rejects, Candyman, Texas Chainsaw Massacre

0’32 - Misery, Psycho, American Psycho, The Hitcher (1986)

1’00 - Peeping Tom, When a Stranger Calls (1979), Black Christmas (1974), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), A Nightmare on Elm Street

1’32 - The Fly (1986), An American Werewolf in London, Aliens, The Blair Witch Project
2’00 - The Thing, Friday the 13th, The Haunting (1963), Poltergeist

2’29 - The Ring, Scream, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, The Exorcist, Manhunter

3’01 - Dracula (1931), IT, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Child’s Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street

3’34 - House of 1000 Corpses, Halloween, The Omen

4’01 - Hellraiser, The Lost Boys, The Evil Dead, Pet Sematary

4’33 - The Omen, My Bloody Valentine, The Return of the Living Dead, Scream

5’04 - Friday the 13th, Island of Lost Souls, White Zombie

5’35 - Zombie Flesh Eaters, Dawn of the Dead (1978), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), The Birds

5’59 - Jaws, The Thing, Halloween, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Psycho

6’33 - Carrie, Evil Dead II, Black Christmas (1974)

7’01 - The Sixth Sense, The Shining, Candyman, Freaks

7’32 - Dracula (1931), Blue Velvet, Hellraiser, Videodrome

8’02 - Friday the 13th, The Mummy (1932), The Shining, IT

8’37 - Silence of the Lambs, The Black Cat, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

9’01 - Audition, Black Sunday, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Saw II, The Serpent and the Rainbow

9’30 - Deliverance, The Mist, The Wicker Man (1973), The Wicker Man (1973)

10’00 - The Fly (1958), Evil Dead II, The Exorcist, Frankenstein (1931), Rosemary’s Baby

10’34 - Se7en, Carrie, Hellraiser, Silence of the Lambs, IT

11’06 - Black Sunday, Them! (1954), The Haunting (1963), Night of the Living Dead, Poltergeist, The Shining

11’28 - Phantasm, Suspiria

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

First off, you know that saying, Don't judge a book by its cover.  Well, sometimes I am completely guilty of that.  I mean, come on, look at the cover.  It entices you to pick it up, lures you to it.  So I did.  And I was not disappointed.

When I read the jacket before I purchased it, I was immediately intrigued.   The author, Ransom Riggs,  took beautiful yet unusual photographs and wove  a coherent tale out of them.

[caption id="attachment_796" align="aligncenter" width="322" caption="An image used in the novel. Jacob's grandfather tells him, this man had a mouth on the front and back side of his head!"][/caption]

The main character, Jacob, had always been enthralled with his grandpa's adventure tales.  His grandfather had lost his family,  grown up in an orphanage, joined the army, and traveled the world over.  His colorful tales made Jacob want to be just like him.  When Jacob gets a little older, the tales just aren't that believable anymore.  But then his grandfather's unusual murder and cryptic last words send Jacob to the small island his grandfather grew up on, to find anyone who could confirm the stories of gifted orphans with amazing powers.

I don't want to give too much away, but let's just leave it at--Jacob finds his own adventure.

The images Riggs used, he got from many collectors of "found" photography.  People who've amassed collections of interesting old photographs.  The images are fantastic.  I hope this becomes a series and we get to see more. Also, quite an interesting hobby-found photography.  The photos are amazing. I mean, today with photoshop and other various means, even the rank amateur can manipulate photos.  But these were the real pros, using light and double exposure and other means to create a picture of a girl suspended in air (which is what the pic on the cover of the book is, she is levitating--that's right, take another look.  Did you realize her feet weren't touching the ground?).

Wonderful photos, colorful tale.  I hope there will be more to come.  Definitely checking out Ransom Riggs's other novels.

Midnight Movie

[caption id="attachment_781" align="aligncenter" width="317" caption="Midnight Movie, a novel by Tobe Hooper and Alan Goldsher"][/caption]

.

Do I really have to say it?  A book by the creator of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Alan Goldsher wrote Paul is Undead, which is next on my list to read.  It got really good reviews on Amazon.com. I've noticed that every ad for the book touted that.  And all I could think is: really? Do people really need to be reminded that Tobe Hooper created The Texas Chainsaw Massscre.  I was excited about the book, and couldn't wait to download it onto my Kindle.

It's a work of meta-fiction.  That means Tobe Hooper tells the tale himself, for the most part.  We glean the rest of the story from notes from a government agent, the blog of a twenty-something girl, the tweets of home terrorists, the scribbling of a madman, and the main characters themselves.  The book reminds me of Max Brooks' World War Z (my favorite book-ever) in that it blends other people's stories together, along with just enough real-life fact to make you wonder.

Long Story-Short:

Tobe is invited to speak at the showing of his never-before-scene first movie, Destiny Express(I won't lie, I googled this, hoping it really existed).  The movie is creepy, but more than anything, just terrible.  But things begin to happen to the people who attended the viewing. Before long, people are dying by the thousands.  Tobe's movie, one he doesn't even remember making, is causing people to become zombies.  Tobe gets together with a few people, and the original cast of Destiny Express(those still alive) to recreate the movie and understand what is going on.

I loved this book.  Tobe took the best of grindhouse and mockumentary and made it into a gruesome and sometimes humorous novel.  On a personal note, I'm always tickled when a story or movie takes place somewhere I've actually been to, and as a fellow Texan, I've been to a few of the places he mentioned.