Cat O' Nine Tails (1971)

It's been described as a "pure giallo".
Much more subtle than what I'm used to, and I found it disappointing for a long time.
It's kind of special, despite not being violent, or dark in an atmospheric sense.
Has an excellent car-chase scene, and pretty sturdy dialogue, especially at the end. 6.5/10

Florida Residents?

I know half of us are bat shit crazy but for some reason, Flordites get lumped with the the most batshittiest. I live in Florida, I know Troma does, who else from here lives in the the big FL?

#cannibaltacoparty

Hannibal (2001) (the Florence scenes)

There are plenty of things to be said about this movie, from all kinds of different perspectives. But, I just wanted to say, Good Lord, the shots in Florence are spectacular. What a beautiful city. Yes, I know, I am not the first one to think Florence is beautiful, but still, wow. Maybe the Ridley Scott director's touch made it even more beautiful, if that is even possible...

Anyway, I found this blog. Someone visited the spots where they filmed those scenes (and the other scenes too). That blogger must have a few extra bucks kicking around, to be able to visit all those locations. Anyway, here's the blog:
https://movie-tourist.blogspot.com/2013/01/hannibal-2001.html

OK, here it comes: the Zombie Apocalypse

I guess it is POSSIBLE that this is not the beginning of the zombie apocalypse, but.... no, I'm not buying that. This is The Big One. It has to be.
https://www.foxnews.com/travel/2015/10/19/brazilian-man-bites-passenger-on-irish-aircraft-collapses-and-dies-woman/?cmpid=edpick&google_editors_picks=true

New Feature: Chess

I had a total of one person ask me for this, so I spent the last 3 weeks working on it. It took longer than I expected it to, working out the kinks for the turn-based stuff, but I learned a few new coding tricks along the way.

It's very basic, but it works... on some browsers.
https://trashepics.com/chess/

This post exists merely to link a shoutbox to the chess page.

Boat races in Boston this weekend

if any of you guys ever want to see a new city, I'm just going to give Boston a plug here. This weekend (it changes a little, but it's pretty much always in October) they have the "Head of the Charles" Regatta.
https://www.hor.org/the-regatta/schedule/]

That means boat races. Lots and lots and lots of boats. The first time I saw it, I was like "you have got to be fucking kidding me, there is no way this measly little river is wide enough for all those boats," but somehow they pull it off.

I like all the colors. It's extremely colorful, with all the dozens of different school uniforms, and the autumn leaves in New England, of course. This year the leaves are a little behind schedule, but at least the maples are near their peak colors. Maples are the best, for fall foliage.

So anyway, it's just a beautiful weekend in this city. Basically anything with boats out on the water... you just can't go wrong. It can be a little too much of a "One percent" people type of deal, but it really isn't all like that. There are plenty of people walking around who are obviously "one percenters", but there are also plenty of people walking around who are obviously NOT one percenters, and plus, everyone watching from the shores is $%^?&^$#@! hammered anyway, so no one would notice or care about anything like that.

So, yeah. Had to share.

Blue Ruin (2013)

Jeremy Saulnier's sophomore effort just so happens to be one of the best revenge thrillers of recent years. This guy really came out of nowhere and has a great career ahead of him! As with Murder Party (2007), it has a low budget (was successfully crowdfunded!), and is a competently made film. It takes a grounded, serious approach to its subject matter, which is all for the best.

The film follows Dwight Evans (Macon Blair), a quiet vagrant who lives out of his car. When he's informed by police that the killer of his parents, Wade Cleland is being released from prison, he returns to his hometown in Virginia to seek revenge. He kills Wade and must face the grim consequences of his actions when the rest of the Cleland family seeks revenge of their own.

What's great about the film is the harsh reality of revenge it depicts. Dwight's motivations for wanting revenge are understandable and he's initially depicted as a guy who has nothing to lose, but he finds himself completely unprepared and makes crucial mistakes when murdering Wade. The consequences affect not only him, but his sister, Sam (Amy Hargreaves), and her two daughters, whom he must send away in order to protect them. The fact that the police aren't present in the film other than to inform Dwight of Wade's release is terrifying and makes for a more tense film. The scene in particular where Wade's surviving brother's break into Sam's house is brilliant and shows that the rules no longer apply when seeking retribution. Dwight finds himself suffering both physically and mentally from the consequences of his actions and we as viewers feel just as uncertain and uneasy as he does by everything that's happening.

As for the cinematography, it's flawless and demonstrates Saulnier's previous background as a cinematographer. The acting, especially from Macon Blair is also top notch. He's very believable in his role as Dwight and one can't help but sympathize with him even though he sets the grim events into motion. The only "big" actor in the film happens to be Devin Ratray (Buzz from the Home Alone flicks!) as Ben, an old friend of Dwight's who assists him despite knowing better. I say the lack of big names or experienced talent works in the film's favor because it demonstrates that they aren't a necessity to make a great film. The music also fits the mood of the film, especially the song that plays over the end credits.

In this day and age when a lot of revenge films are basically overblown and over the top action films, it's great that a film like this comes along and gives them more credibility. Its focus on character and story first is what makes it a brilliant film.

Desensitized by Dead Alive



For those of us who love gory and extreme films, there's always that one that finally does it for you. After watching this film, nothing ever seems quite as extreme as it would have, otherwise. Watch enouugh of these movies, and eventually, you will come across one which will desensitize you. Not everyone can put their finger on exactly which movie finally did it for them. But Me? I'm certain I was officially desensitized after viewing Peter Jackson's Dead Alive for the first time in 1997. Since that day, seeing violence on film at any level doesn't bother me one bit, and I honestly can't see why it would ever bother anyone. That's kind of fucked up.

Like most of the world, I had no clue who Peter Jackson was at the time. I believe I had already seen his previous film, the vulgar puppet Epic, Meet The Feebles, but wasn't aware it was connected to the guy who made this. Jackson would of course go on to become rich and legendary and all that good shit, less than a decade later. But in 1992, Peter Jackson set out to make the ultimate masterpiece in gore/splatter cinema. And that's exactly what he did. He made what is still the undisputed goriest film ever made. A film I wished I would have held off seeing for a few more years, because ever since witnessing this amazing, entertaining film, nothing else I've seen since has seemed like that big of a deal. Hell yes! It's THAT gory!

Set in 1957, New Zealand. This film involves a young man named Lionel, his controlling old mum who keeps him under her thumb, and his new love interest, Paquita, who falls for Lionel at first sight, which ends up creating quite the shit storm. Paquita practically pushes herself on Lionel right off the bat, and practically tricks him into asking her on a day date to the Zoo. Mum is not pleased by the news of her son's first date, and in what would prove to be a very stupid move, the old bitch follows them in order to spy on their happiness. Blind with anger, mum doesn't look where she's going, and gets too close to a cage containing a very dangerous creature. A vicious little bastard rat-Monkey. A species supposedly conceived by rat on monkey rape. Mum, of course, gets bit. Lionel immediately recognizes her screams and ditches his date to take his poor mum home, where she milks this "tragedy" for all it's worth. She gets waited on, hand and foot. Mum once again has her son's undivided attention.

One problem (aside from the obvious). Mum isn't getting any better. In fact she's getting worse. Much worse. Lionel's mum is starting to look almost like a dead person. And she's starting to act like someone else. Or something else. Mum now seems downright monstrous by this point. She does eventually die. But returns from the grave a full fledged member of the living dead, courtesy of rat-monkey. Not sure where to go from here, Lionel does all he can do to hide this from everyone they know. Even Paquita, whom he coldly blows off. Instead of putting his undead mum down, Lionel continues doing what he does best. Look after the old bitch at all costs. Mum kills a few people, Lionel takes them in, and looks after them all, which leads to some truly ridiculous situations, as well as one hell of a blood bath like you've never seen. All leading towards Lionel finally gaining his independence.

More widely known as Brain Dead, Dead Alive is not only the goriest film you'll ever see, but also one of the most fun zombie flicks out there, that could easily rival that of Return Of The Living Dead. A little slapstick here and there, but not enough to make it dumb. While Dead Alive is a gore film, a zombie film, and a Horror-Comedy, it's also the inspirational story of a man who has been forced to stay a boy for far too long by a repressive parent, and somehow, finds the inner strength to finally make some major decisions, grow up, and break away to find happiness. It's just all buried underneath some rather unusual circumstances. Considering that, and the fact that all of this is set in the 1950's, makes Dead Alive one very unique gore-fest. I've seen many gory movies and plenty of films far more disturbing than this, but seeing Dead Alive as a teenager more or less ruined the shock value of the August Undergrounds and the Slaughtered Vomit Dolls of the next decade. Unfortunate, but that's life if you're a gorehound.

I really do wish someone would finally break this movie's long-running record of goriness. It is about time, I'd say. I know it's possible, and it seems like a few low-budget filmmakers have even made half assed attempts over the years, but it's just never happened. 23 years later, and Dead Alive is still king. I have no doubt that someday, it will happen. But when it does, this will never take away from the impact this film has made, or the influence it has had on slpatter-comedies and the zombie sub genre. Dead Alive is one of the few true gems to come out of the 90's, with staying power that will always keep people talking about it, despite those Lord Of The Rings films never bringing Jackson's older stuff the notoriety many thought they would. Any glory this amazing film has gotten, it got on it's own. Because Dead Alive is pure greatness. Great comedy, great story, great gore. This is Peter Jackson's masterpiece! 10/10



#Review

When was the last time a trailer creeped you out?

I am watching House (87) right now and this old Hellraiser trailer is on it and it has a great vibe. I remember seeing this trailer in the theater when I was a kid (I think it was when I saw Predator in the theater). Anyway, this scared the fucking shit out of me. I didn't end up seeing Hellraiser until I lived next to a Video Store in my 20's)




#Creepyhorrortrailers #Hellraiser #Jessicafisherqueensa

Any nerdy things you do?

1. I do 2-4 sinus rinses every weekend.

2. I use food thermometers for my TV dinners.

3. I kill every black widow I see, even if it's on neutral ground (behind a store, etc.)

•Confession: One of them isn't actually true (yes, it's the middle one).