Day 1: All Time Favorite Scary Movie - In the Mouth of Madness

I remember being awake at some ungodly hour between 2:00 and 4:00 a.m. when I was younger, going through all the movie channels when I saw Sam Neill and finally stopped. "Hey, it's that guy from Jurassic Park," is what I thought and anything Jurassic Park related is enough to catch my interest, even if I have no idea what I'm getting into.

In the Mouth of Madness is a film about the disappearance of a horror writer, Sutter Cane, and the mass hysteria caused by his novels. The more people who read Cane's work, the more the world shifts into something darker and his "creations" begin coming to life. The ending is ambiguous, something I really enjoyed about the film. You're not exactly sure what to believe by the time it's over. Was Cane really a prophet for the Old Ones? Or did everyone actually go insane after reading his books?

I'm a huge fan of this film, I wish more people would watch it. John Carpenter had so much success with Halloween, but honestly, I think In the Mouth of Madness (as well as The Thing and The Fog) was so much better, as someone who isn't really into slasher films. The name of my blog is even a reference to the movie. It also lead to my interest in H.P. Lovecraft and Lovecraftian horror. I had no idea who Lovecraft was until I went online to read more about this film after I watched it. Now, looking back, you can see that this movie is filled with references to his work and I would even say that this is the best film I have ever seen inspired by his work that isn't meant to be a direct adaptation of one of his stories. It's so well done and genuinely horrifying at times. I highly recommend it.

31 Day Horror Challenge

While thinking about this list, I kept adding new categories and removing others because there are so many horror related things that I love and want to talk about. 31 days just can't cover it all. To be completely honest, some of these categories exist only because I wanted to discuss specific things, I already had my answers to them. Others, as I was going through and considering my options, I had a definite answer, but I also had other things in those categories that I really enjoyed. While my original plan was to give one answer to each category, I realized I didn't want to leave anything out, so some days there will be "honorable mentions" as well.

Here is the list, in full, for the entire month of October:

1. All Time Favorite Scary Movie
2. Favorite Horror Movie Theme Song
3. Favorite Black and White Horror Film
4. Favorite Universal Monster Film
5. Favorite Silent Horror Film
6. Favorite Vincent Price Film
7. Favorite Foreign Horror Film (That Isn't Train to Busan)
8. Favorite Holiday Horror Film
9. Favorite Stephen King Film Adaptation
10. Favorite Hitchcock Film
11. Favorite Zombie Film
12. Favorite Horror Comedy
13. Favorite "Kid Friendly" Horror Film
14. Favorite Horror Movie Remake
15. Worst Horror Movie Remake
16. Favorite "Bad" Horror Film
17. Horror Film That Was Surprisingly Good
18. Favorite Movie Based on a Horror Game
19. Favorite Survival Horror Video Game
20. Favorite Survival Horror Series
21. Scariest Horror Video Game Ever Played
22. Favorite Song from a Horror Game
23. Favorite Horror Themed Board Game
24. Favorite Horror TV Show
25. Best Horror/Halloween Special from A Show That Isn't in the Horror Genre
26. Favorite Horror Themed Cartoon
27. Favorite Horror Anime
28. Favorite Horror Anthology Show
29. Favorite Horror Music Video
30. Favorite Horror Novel/Novella
31. Favorite Book to Read for Halloween

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is a 2018 Korean horror film, inspired by the rumors surrounding the real (now demolished) Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital. It was once named one of CNN's 7 freakiest places on the planet. In the movie, the hospital was closed down in October 1979 after the mass suicide of the patients residing there and the disappearance of the director, though there were rumors that the director murdered everyone and then killed herself. In reality, the hospital closed in the 1990's, and I'll talk some more about that later.

The film is about a group of six investigators and their "captain" (who directs the others from a tent outside the asylum) who plan on doing a livestream for an internet show called Horror Times, allowing everyone to watch them explore the abandoned asylum. Two of the investigators already work for Horror Times, making the others four complete strangers. Their plan is to navigate through the rundown hospital while performing various rituals, and end the livestream by opening the door to room 402, where rumor has it you'll be cursed to death. All of this is intended to get Horror Times one million views.

Slight SPOILERS: Things start out lighthearted enough, with everyone drinking, getting to know each other and discussing the rumors surrounding the asylum. They even to to the blob jump together on their way to Gonjiam. (If you don't know what a blob jump is, google "Running Man blob jump." You won't regret it.) Once they reach the hospital and begin exploring, doors slam shut on their own, candles blow out and bells begin ringing during a ritual the group performs. Unsurprisingly, these initial experiences are completely fabricated by the members of Horror Times, unbeknownst to the other four investigators. But then things that even the two crew members can't explain begin happening, and that's when the movie becomes truly terrifying. [End of SPOILERS.]

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is an incredibly stressful movie to sit through. It features two of the settings that scare me the most: The woods and a rundown asylum. The over the shoulder camera, aimed behind the characters, had me on the edge of my seat throughout most of the movie because it always makes you believe something horrible is about to happen. The use of shadow is extremely effective. Most of the movie has no score, and it's not needed, you probably won't even notice that there's no music playing to clue you in that something awful is about to occur. The film is so incredibly tense because nothing ever happens at the moment you expect it to, it's really unpredictable. You know something is coming, but you don't know when, and right at the moment when you think to yourself, "I guess I was wrong," that's when the movie attacks. I actually had to look away at one point towards the end because I knew it was only a matter of time before the worst happened, but each time, it never did and the buildup to it stressed me out so much that I couldn't watch anymore. (It was no less stressful during the second viewing.) I never get like that with horror movies. It's almost impossible to unsettle me to the point where I'm actually afraid to look at the screen.

The film feels more realistic because the actors are relative unknowns, and they used their real names, with the exception of Moon Ye Won (who plays Charlotte, but I think I read that she does actually go by that name as well). Since you've probably never seen the cast in anything before, it seems more believable, like they really could be any random group of people exploring a haunted location. If they had cast someone like Gong Yoo, it wouldn't have the same feeling because he's very famous, you've likely seen him in things like Coffee Prince, Goblin and Train to Busan, and it would break the immersion that allows you to feel like this is all actually happening to these characters.

If it isn't already clear, I loved the movie. My boyfriend said it would have been better with a bigger budget (I strongly disagree, it's a found footage movie and it comes across exactly as it's meant to) and that some of the acting wasn't great (again, I disagree, Moon Ye Won was especially great as Charlotte). I decided to recommend the film to a few friends because I was curious to see how other people felt about it. I don't normally enjoy movies about ghosts, but I really loved this one and I would even say it's probably in my top five horror films of all time, I was very surprised that I liked it so much. And considering my boyfriend didn't care for it, I wanted to see if I was in the minority before posting and saying it's a must-see horror film. Just because I love it, that doesn't mean everyone else will. (Full disclosure: My boyfriend prefers sci-fi and the friends I recommended Gonjiam to are all fans of scary movies.) Here's what everyone had to say: The first friend watched it twice and said she was really creeped out and disturbed by the movie. The second friend said she liked it and it freaked her out. And the third friend said it was slow, but worth it and legitimately creepy.

Watch Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum if: You like found footage horror films, Grave Encounters, House on Haunted Hill (1999).

What you should know before watching the film: There's some buffering, film distortion and black screens. This is intentional, to make it feel as if you're actually watching the livestream.

The Real Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital

According to this article, the hospital closed down due to economic downturns and maintenance issues, not nearly as interesting as the rumors surrounding the building. The article says the hospital was demolished in May 2018, but in a blog post from another website, someone visited as late as May 29, 2018 and a comment left in August 2018 claimed that the building was torn down "about a month" prior.

Still, even though Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital wasn't closed down in the 90's because of mass suicides/murders or hauntings, that doesn't stop people from spreading similar rumors. The Paranormal Guide states that one story claims patients and staff suddenly began dying without cause. They also talk about rumors of a mad doctor and their experimentation on patients and even staff members. Inside the hospital remained furniture, lab coats and paperwork scattered about, making it appear as if everyone left in a hurry.

It's interesting that the building was demolished not long after the movie was released. In all the articles I've read, I never found a reason why they decided to knock it down. The locals were apparently very secretive about the hospital's location when visitors would ask for directions, so it seems to be a sensitive subject. There was also a lawsuit from the owner of the building that attempted to prevent the movie's release because they believed it would make it difficult to sell the hospital. Just based on speculation, I wonder if it was torn down because they knew even more people would attempt to break into the building once the movie came out.

Regardless of what really happened at Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital, the rumors told about it are unsettling. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum did a great job bringing the rumors to life in the film. Even though you can no longer travel to the real hospital yourself, you can always experience it through this terrifying movie.

Slow Burn vs. Action Horror

This post will seem like a direct comparison between Hereditary and Truth or Dare, but I swear it isn't meant to be. The comparison here is between horror that starts out very slow, with a lot of buildup and horror that is almost nonstop action, which works better (for me) and why. I also want to talk a bit about Truth or Dare without giving it its own post, because it doesn't deserve one. I would love to talk about Hereditary as well, but there is no possible way for me to talk about that film without giving away major spoilers and for that movie, you really need to experience it for yourself.

Let's start with Hereditary. This movie...There's so much I want to say, but I can't. The only things I can really say, that are still sort of SPOILER-ISH are that I was amazed when I went back and rewatched the movie, that there were so many hints that tell you exactly what is going on. If you go back and watch even the first 30 minutes again, you'll wonder how you ever missed that ending. The other slight spoiler I want to mention is that the ending really reminded me of the original Suspiria, but I wasn't mad about it. Suspiria is a movie that I love, up until the point where you find out what's really going on. I didn't feel like it worked in that film. In Hereditary, however, it was so perfect.

The only reason I watched Truth or Dare is because an episode of Running Man was inspired by it. It's very Final Destination-esque. A group of friends repeatedly have to escape death (by choosing truth or dare and completing their mission), in the order in which they played the game the first round. So here come the SPOILERS because this isn't really a movie I mind ruining for anyone. The ending isn't particularly clever or innovative (I could swear I've read stories with similar endings on r/nosleep), but I didn't hate it. Throughout the entire movie, Olivia and Markie talk about how they'll always choose each other above everyone and everything else, with the exception of Olivia's first truth (before the game went off the rails), which was would she choose to save her group of friends or the entire population of Mexico during an alien attack? She chose the population of Mexico, because her character is supposed to be "too nice" and that's the correct choice to make, right? Saving many over a few. However, at the end of the movie, Olivia once again tells Markie she chooses her, takes out her phone and records a video detailing the ordeal they've just been through, uploads it to Youtube and asks her viewers, "Truth or dare?" Because at this point, the girls have exhausted all their options and the only way to save each other is to get more people into the rotation so it takes longer for their turns to come around again. I guess Olivia is no longer saving the population of Mexico.

Now that we've talked a bit about both films, here's how I felt about each of them. I thought Hereditary was very slow, but had a satisfying conclusion. I kept checking my phone throughout the movie because not much happened, until the last 20 minutes or so. I was very creeped out and disturbed by the movie's conclusion and it's something that stayed with me for days after watching it. Truth or Dare had a lot of action and it did hold my attention, but it was a pretty ridiculous movie overall, it never actually scared me and it's something I'll never think about again once I'm done writing this post.

So which is better? There honestly isn't a definitive answer because it depends entirely on if it's done right. It Comes at Night and The Blair Witch Project are both examples of films that, in my opinion, had a lot of buildup with very unsatisfying endings. Hereditary worked so well because you can clearly see, once everything is revealed, that the film was always headed towards that conclusion. And once it reached it, it was horrifying. It was worth every second I sat there thinking, "I hope this is going somewhere amazing and I didn't waste my time watching it." Because that's usually what ends up happening for me with these types of movies. They're slow and the ending never makes up for it.

The same goes for more action oriented horror films. If you want to get into a really specific sub-genre, action oriented horror films about a group of college friends going on vacation together, who end up playing truth or dare and screwing over the entire world. Let's talk about Cabin in the Woods, a beautiful loveletter to the horror genre. It is extremely heavy on the action for a good portion of the film and it never lets up. It completely goes off the deep end later on in the movie, in the best possible way. It's a thoroughly enjoyable horror film and it worked very well. These types of movies can be extremely clever when done correctly.

As usual, I don't have an answer to the question posed. Everything is on a case by case basis, you can't judge one movie based on another. They're all unique, some work and more often than not, some don't, but it's extremely satisfying when you find one that hits all the right marks and manages to surprise you.

Favorite Fall Candles to Light on a Crisp, Dark Fall Night

I know this is a horror blog, but there are certain things that I associate with horror. If I'm sitting home reading a scary story, my ideal atmosphere for it would be a dark, rainy night, with just the fairy lights on to read by, and a fall scented candle burning.

I've been a loyal customer of Candles By Victoria for years now. I won't buy candles anywhere else. Their candles are really good quality with a strong scent throw and you can see how much loves goes into them. They have all different jars to house the candles in, you can choose whichever you'd like in any of their available scents, and on top of that, they also make decorative candles in specific scents and they are beautiful. (I actually had to stop buying the decorative candles because I felt so bad burning them.) In addition to candles, they also offer room sprays, as well as scent shots if you prefer using a tart warmer rather than burning candles.

I'm terrible at describing scents myself, so below I'll list my favorites with the descriptions from the CBV website, as well as link to some of their decorative fall candles.

These first three are combos that I get in Victoria's Create a Scent candles. You get to choose two scents you think might work well together and she'll mix them for you. You also get to name the candle. And if you choose one of the glitter tureen CAS candles (my personal favorite), you can choose which color glitter you'd like.

Granny's Pie Crust + Caramel Apple - I don't really need to add the descriptions for each scent here, they're exactly what they sound like. I love both of these scents on their own, but they're even better together and this is a CAS that I'll continue to order in the future.

Apple Cider + Cinnamon Donuts - Again, no description necessary. I ordered this CAS because I was thinking about things that remind me of Halloween, and the first thing I thought of was the haunted hayride I used to go to with my cousins when I was younger. At the end of the hayride, they would always hand out apple cider and cinnamon donuts, so those are the two scents I chose and of course, I named this candle Haunted Hayride.

Bonfire Bliss + Country Bumpkin - "Gentle, dusky breezes and bonfires, with notes of dried wind-blown leaves, heliotrope, charred woods of pine and cedar, amber, smoky sandalwood, on a musky background containing hints of roasted marshmallows, brown sugar, coconut and soft vanillas" mixed with "Apples, candied yams, marshmallows, sweet cream butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, crushed cinnamon, bark and fresh cloves." This is an extremely strong scent, and I've ordered this CAS at least three times now, possibly four. It's my favorite scent, you can smell the fire and spices, perfect to burn on a cold, rainy fall night.

The next three scents can be bought in candles or scent shots, in many different designs.

Apples & Oaks - "It's fall all year round as you sit on the porch with a barrel of granny smith apples. You catch the breeze as it picks up not only the smell of the apples, but of the aged oak barrel housing them." This smells exactly like what you would expect.

Autumn Leaves - "Green and musky with heavy notes of bergamot." Literally smells like wet leaves.

Pumpkin Apple Cinnamon Bread - "Sweet creamy pumpkin, rich cinnamon apple with a crunchy strudel base note." This one has all three of the main fall scents and it's amazing.

The rest of these candles are some of Victoria's decorative candles. I have owned all o them in the past and I highly recommend them, if you won't feel guilty burning them like I did. I'll include links and pictures from the CBV website below.

Bake Shoppe Donut Shop Candle - This candle comes in Victoria's Cinnamon Donuts scent. The design isn't reminiscent of fall (it's still adorable though), but the scent definitely is.

Coffee Cup Cutie Leaves Type Candle - This candle is housed in a coffee cup, topped with glitter and tiny wax leaves. It's in the scent Leaves Type, which is described as "Rich Autumn notes of fresh ground cinnamon generously sprinkled over tasty dried apple peel. Allspice, fresh clove bud, and drips of Vermont maple complete this festive aroma." This one almost reminds me of the way a craft store smells if you walk in during the fall season, and I mean that in the best possible way.

Comfort Caramel Gingered Apple Crisp - The description for this candle states that it includes maple, caramel, ginger and apple cinnamon. Wax apple slices are embedded into the top of the candle.

Comfort Pumpkin Gingerbread Splash - A mix of maple, gingerbread and spiced pumpkin chutney, this candle features a gingerbread man who looks like he's bathing in the wax.

Maple Butter Pumpkin Frap - If you're one of those people who runs to Starbucks as soon as they start selling their pumpkin spice latte, this is the candle for you. It's a huge candle, 24 ounces, and features maple crumbs, wax pumpkins and real cinnamon sprinkled on top.

If you enjoy candles as much as I do, I definitely recommend checking out Candles By Victoria. I've purchased more candles and scent shots from them than I want to admit and I have been happy with every order. They're a great company and you'll be glad you ordered from them.

Horror Subscription Boxes

I've never really been interested in subscription boxes. Aside from the fact that I don't want to commit to anything, or deal with the hassle of trying to cancel a subscription (I've read horror stories from other people who have had a really difficult time getting companies to cancel theirs), it just always seemed like a waste of money. You spend whatever the cost of the box is, to receive items that will probably just add to whatever clutter you have lying around. I have a lot of clutter already. There are books and games piled up everywhere, I can't add clutter I may not (most likely won't, honestly) even want on top of that. You pay $20/$30/etc. for random items that you have a chance of not even liking. In my mind, I can't justify that. I would rather take that money and spend it on a single item that I know I actually want. However, I thought, "For the sake of my horror blog, which I do not promote and no one even knows exists, let me look into some horror themed boxes."

Everything ended up coming down to two boxes, after I read the somewhat negative written reviews and the FAQs for various other subscription boxes stating that if I wanted to cancel, I would have to go through Paypal or e-mail them...Which brings me back to the reviews and people stating they never received a reply to their e-mails and continued being charged. Again, this is exactly why I don't want to deal with subscription boxes, especially from companies I've never heard of. So after a bit of research, I had two decent options left to consider.

The first box was the Occult Box ($34.95 a month). I watched a video review of their Ouija box and it seemed well thought out, they even included items for protection. Personally, even though I don't really believe in those things, I don't want to screw around with it because there's a good chance I'm wrong and I'll be terrorized by a nasty spirit. The only other video review I was able to find was for their voodoo box and I could tell a lot of thought went into that one, too, but I would never use any of those things. They would get lost in the abyss or thrown away next time I decide to clean out all the things I've been hoarding for too long. So while this seems like a very nice box, ultimately, I realized it's probably not for me. (I will admit that I am going back and forth about whether or not to pre-order their Samhain box.) But if you're someone who is interested in that sort of thing, you would probably really like it. And what's nice about Occult Box is you can buy a single box without subscribing. You can also put your subscription on hold if you don't like the theme for the current month and if you just want to cancel, they say you can do it directly from your account. No contacting Paypal, no waiting for a response to an e-mail, it's very simple.

The other subscription I considered was Box of Dread ($24.99 a month for the 1 month plan), which seemed to be pretty reputable. This one claims to come with a variation of collectibles, promotional products, shirts, stickers, figures, etc. I watched two different video reviews, from different months, and in both of those boxes, the people received a poster and a movie (along with a couple other things). That's when I decided this box wasn't right for me either. I already have a lot of horror themed posters hanging in my room, there's no space for more, any new ones would probably end up in the trash. I'm also really particular about horror films. A lot of them are awful and I'm not one of those people who can see the beauty in that, and based on the movies the other people received, I know I probably wouldn't enjoy them. So once again, we're back to not knowing exactly what you'll get and being unsatisfied with it. I would rather save money and maybe buy the Universal Classic Monsters Complete Collection that's being released on Blu-ray today. As with the last box though, there are people who would really like this subscription box, if they're more open minded and not a horror snob.

I think what I was really hoping to find was a subscription box featuring horror decor. Not tacky Halloween decorations, but items I could leave out all year. No such luck though. It would also have been nice to find a horror themed book subscription box that had reviews that didn't scare me off. I really wish the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society would start their own, because they put so much thought, love and artistry into their products, I think it would be amazing. Hopefully one day, they'll offer a service like that. Until then, I'm staying away from subscription boxes.

It (2017)

I'm going to start off with a disclaimer: I have never read It by Stephen King. I owned the book when I was younger, I read the first chapter and then I put it down forever. I love his short stories and novellas, I cannot deal with his novels. He's too verbose for me, I just want him to get to the point. I did watch the TV mini series a while ago and while I don't remember much of it, I do remember being bored. If you're afraid of clowns, I guess it might be scary. To me though, clowns are just weird space aliens who can make T-Rex shadow puppets eat people and turn them into popcorn. (If you haven't seen Killer Klowns from Outer Space, you need to.) So why did I even bother watching It, right? A lot of people told me it was better than the original and the new Pennywise was creepier...Honestly, I completely disagree. Tim Curry was way scarier. The makeup in the remake is almost cartoonish, I didn't like it.

It is about a group of kids in Derry who are being terrorized by a clown. Or an evil entity masquerading as a clown. Every 27 years, there are a significant amount of disappearances and deaths in this town. Whatever scares the kids the most is what Pennywise shows them, and based on at least one scene from the film, it appears that only the kids can see these manifestations. I really don't have anything else to say about the plot specifically, it is what it is.

The opening scene with Georgie in the basement was the scariest part of the entire film, probably because of a recurring nightmare I had as a child. There is nothing scarier when you're a kid than going down into a dark basement. And of course, the scene after that where he goes after the paper boat...Every time I hear an adult complain about kids today staying inside and playing video games or watching TV, I want to show them what happened to Georgie when he went outside to play in the rain. See what happens? SPOILERS: Your arm gets bitten off by a sewer clown.

A lot of things in this movie made me extremely uncomfortable, and not in a good, horror movie kind of way. Beverly's relationship with her father, the lecherous pharmacist, the bullying, the sheep being shot (I almost turned the movie off). Surprisingly, not the death of a bunch of children, although I did feel bad for Georgie. And I felt very frustrated because these kids never asked the adults for help. Where were all the cops in this movie? Oh, right. Henry killed the only one in the entire town.

I love movies like The Monster Squad and Little Monsters, it may just be nostalgia because I watched them when I was a kid myself. Those are both films about groups of kids working together to overcome the threat of monsters. Stephen King's It doesn't have the same effect or humor those two films had, the tone was more serious and it's definitely a darker movie, so I'm hesitant to say, "This is a great movie for kids!" Because it doesn't really have the same kind of "innocence" those movies had. It's very gory and it's not fun, it's just disturbing on many different levels. Is it even meant for kids? Doubtful. I just keep trying to make that connection because of other films (like those I mentioned above). Don't let your children watch It, unless you want to traumatize them.

Overall, the cinematography was nice, it had a good musical score. It held my interest for about an hour before my mind started drifting. But the movie didn't scare me and that's what I was hoping for based on everything that people were telling me about the remake. So it's definitely not my kind of horror film, but I can still see the appeal of it.

My History with the Resident Evil Series

I started playing videos games when I was four-years-old. Both of my parents played (my dad more than my mom, although my mom did keep me home from school on occasion to help her with Super Mario Bros. 3) and they passed the hobby onto me. When I was around 15-years-old, I stopped playing. Not because I no longer enjoyed it, but because I cared too much about what my friends thought. Five years went by before I played another game.

I remember watching Resident Evil in the middle of the night on some movie channel (I have so many stories that start this way), back when I would watch any horror movie even if it sounded terrible. I actually really enjoyed it and I still feel that way about the first movie even today. As its own thing, Resident Evil is not a bad addition to the RE universe. It's when they began adding in known characters while completely changing their personalities and making them Alice's sidekicks, and turning Alice into a superhuman, that things went downhill. So basically, Resident Evil Apocalypse. To get back on track though, because I always go off on a tangent, the first movie wasn't horrible. Especially to someone who knew nothing about the games, it was a decent zombie film. I had heard of the games, of course, and I knew my cousin played them, so I asked him, "Is this what the games are like?" And he said no. Not at all.

Fast forward a few months. I went to stay with my aunt and cousin in Florida for five weeks. I asked my cousin to show me the Resident Evil games, I was still curious about them. At that time, he owned RE Director's Cut, RE0, RE2, RE3 and RE4. I started playing RE0. Was that a mistake? Yeah, probably. Play the first game before 0 if you don't want to spoil the story. My cousin told me he never beat that game, he never even figured out how to get off the train. I did. At that point, we started passing the controller back and forth, taking turns playing through the rest of the game. That was my first experience with the Resident Evil series and, regardless of what other people say about RE0, I really enjoyed it and I still love that game.

When I went back home, I had to get a Gamecube. To go with it, there was RE0 and RE4. I give RE4 a lot of hell these days, but back then, I spent a significant amount of time playing it over the phone with my cousin, because I was pathetic and I wanted him to tell me what was waiting in each room before I entered. I had a difficult time with this one, it was only the second game I had played since my five year break and my first time ever playing a shooter (yes, that's what it is, a third person shooter without the ability to completely control the camera because someone made bad choices). It stressed me out. It still stresses me out. I can't even think about the water room without getting frustrated. But again, I spent a lot of time playing it, especially after acquiring the Chicago Typewriter. And if the game had included Ashley's suit of armor, I would have had even more fun with it.

After that, I believe REmake was next. My cousin bought it at the same time I did, but I started playing it first. I read a lot about the game beforehand and I knew Crimson Heads were a thing, and I also knew where the first encounter was. They sounded awful, but I wasn't sure just how bad they actually were. I needed a way to gauge it before I faced off against one, so I called my cousin and said, "Hey, I'm going to walk you through the first part of the game so you can catch up to me!" And that's exactly what I did, like he did for me with RE4. I walked him through everything in the beginning of the game, told him exactly what to expect, except for when he had to walk past that first Crimson Head and it woke up. I purposely left that out so I could hear his reaction and see if it was as scary as I had built it up to be in my head, but...He didn't even react. He just carried on like it was nothing. I would have to get over it and see for myself. As bad as the Crimson Heads were, they were nothing compared to what was waiting for me later in the game.

I don't remember exactly what came next between RE2, RE3 and RE CVX, but I can say I enjoyed RE2 immensely and spent a long time replaying it. The same goes for CVX and I eventually started my infinite rocket launcher run, which was a complete nightmare. I made it to the free save in the middle of the game and never finished it because of the Nosferatu fight. As for RE3, I only played that game once, on easy (sadly), and for whatever reason, I really struggled with it. Nemesis was too much for me and I wasn't good at fighting him. I really need to go back and play it again eventually.

To give you an idea of where my life was at this point, I was someone who went on GameFAQs and read through this entire plot analysis, as well as this one, because I was so enthralled by the story in this series, before RE5. I even read some of the S. D. Perry novels.

By this point, I had run out of Resident Evil games to play, until RE5 was released for the PS3. This time it was co-op! And I could use a mic to talk to my cousin, we didn't have to talk over the phone while we played anymore. Perfect. I can say with 100% certainty that RE5 is my most played Resident Evil game and the thing is, I don't even like it. It's boring. The only way that game is fun is if you're playing with a co-op partner on Pro. And that's what we did most of the time, until the Lost in Nightmares DLC was released. That DLC was amazing, it felt nothing like the main game and it was genuinely frightening. To me, it completely made up for how terrible the rest of the game was.

Next up was RE6...You know, I had high hopes for that game after the demo. The opening of Leon's scenario was quiet and dark and there were ZOMBIES. Actual zombies. Not people with parasites popping out of their heads. So imagine my disappointment when the game was released and I continued playing, only to find that the zombies were replaced by enemies that can be described as mutant dinosaurs. The story was ridiculous and the enemies were even worse. Chris, who was my favorite character in the series prior to RE5, was insufferable. Even the co-op couldn't save this one, and playing alone made me realize how bored I was by it.

I'll briefly mention that I played Umbrella Chronicles, Darkside Chronicles, and Revelations 1 and 2. I don't have much to say about them though. I own Operation Raccoon City, but I've never bothered to play it, I'm pretty sure I bought it on sale for almost nothing. I would love to get my hands on Gaiden, only because I want to see, for myself, Leon supposedly being infected with a virus before RE4 was released. I know Gaiden wasn't canon, but if it were, the implications of that whole thing would be super interesting.

Finally, there's RE7. There was this random, creepy trailer shown during Sony's E3 2016 press conference. The reveal at the end of the short clip was that it was Resident Evil 7. I was stunned and excited and amazed. All kinds of emotions were rushing through me. It was so unexpected and the trailer looked awesome and like nothing we had seen before from the series, which normally would have bothered me, but Capcom already went off the rails with RE4/5/6, so at least if they were done with zombies, this looked like something that would still be really scary. They released several playable demos before the game came out, all of which added something new to what we had already played through. By the time January hit and RE7 was finally in my hands, the anticipation was killing me.

Resident Evil 7 was everything I ever could have hoped for. That game was terrifying. It starts off very survival horror-ish and becomes a bit more action oriented by the end, but you know what? I'll take that over what we were given in RE5 and RE6. Even when it did seem more action-y at the end, it was still fun and my faith in Capcom was completely restored. They were still capable of making a really great Resident Evil game, and on top of that, they finally proved (to me, at least) that they don't have to follow the same old formula to be successful with this series.

Next up for Resident Evil is the remake of RE2, which will be released in January. I went to E3 in June and while I didn't get to play the demo (they cut off the line because it was so long), it was fun to see the mock RPD they set up there. I do have some reservations about the game (specifically, the camera) and I'm slightly disappointed that they're not going the REmake route with it where it's classic and mostly the same, with updated graphics and a few items switched around/things added, but I still think it will be a fun game and I like that they're including the option to use the original soundtrack (if you buy the deluxe edition).

I have a long, love-hate relationship with Resident Evil. The highs were really high and the lows were incredibly low. It's not my favorite horror series, but it's definitely in my top 5 and I am really excited to see where Capcom goes from here, now that I know they're still capable of creating installments that have new ideas while instilling the same sort of dread in me that the original games did. I can't wait to see what the remake of RE2 (and eventually RE8) will have in store for us.

What Is Horror?

Spoiler alert: You won’t find out by reading this post. If you were expecting an actual answer, John, you’re going to be very disappointed. I’m sorry. This is the best I could come up with because the more I thought about it, the more I realized there’s almost no logic behind my thought process.

My boyfriend has asked, on several occasions, what defines something as “horror.” I think it started when we watched the first season of Westworld together. All hell broke loose and he asked, “Is it horror yet?” No, it’s still sci-fi. He then asked why, and I guess “It just isn’t” wasn’t a satisfying response because this continued with Ex Machina and Sunshine (more on that later) and my answer, of course, was still no. These are not horror films. At one point, he asked me if Prey is considered a horror game and I was at a loss, partially because I haven’t completed the game and I need to experience the story and the overall mood/tone in its entirety before I can come to a conclusion, and also because based on my first impressions, I think it equally qualifies as sci-fi and horror. After he’d asked me enough times about this subject, I even started asking myself, okay, what makes something “horror” then?

Until John started questioning me about it, I never really thought about what makes something a horror film/game/show. Is it the overall tone? It can’t be dependent on whether or not it manages to scare me because there are so many movies that I consider horror films and they didn’t even make me flinch. John brought up this “What is a chair?” exercise that perfectly relates to the problem I started having when I initially wanted to describe what I think a movie needs to include in order to be a horror film. I began describing it to myself while working on this post and I realized, “Oh wait, but it also includes this, and not every movie has that,” and it became one huge contradiction. Because not every scary movie, regardless of what Scream will have you believe, follows the same formula.

There are sub genres of horror. It’s not a one size fits all thing. There’s psychological horror, slasher films, sci-fi horror, comedic horror, Lovecraftian horror, supernatural horror, fantasy horror, God awful torture porn. There’s Cabin in the Woods, which is the most beautiful love letter to the horror genre I’ve ever seen. There are movies I consider fringe horror, like the first film in The Purge franchise. It’s more suspense than horror, but I would throw it in the horror category anyway.

There are films that can fit into several genres, but they lean slightly more in one direction than the other. I would classify Alien as a sci-fi horror film, with emphasis on sci-fi, but Event Horizon as a horror sci-fi film, emphasis on horror (and Dead Space as a horror sci-fi game since it’s pretty much Event Horizon). And then there’s John Carpenter’s The Thing, which is just straight up horror even though it does have an element of science fiction to it. I think the reason Alien leans more sci-fi than horror is because...It’s about an alien, whereas Event Horizon leans more horror for me because EVERYTHING happens. Everything. Seriously, watch Event Horizon. It’s the only good movie Paul W. S. Anderson has ever made. Maybe one day Uwe Boll will surprise us, too. Probably not though. Anyway, back to the point. What’s “interesting” is that I say Alien (the movie) leans more sci-fi than it does horror, but Alien Isolation is one of the scariest games I have ever played and I absolutely 100% consider that a survival horror game. I couldn’t even explain or defend my reasoning for this if pressed to, John, so don’t ask.

I can’t categorize Jurassic Park, even though it can technically fit into horror or sci-fi, I have a hard time saying it’s either. I know a lot of people consider Jaws a horror film, but I think I just put Jaws into the “shark movie” category, as if that’s a genre in itself. When it comes to dinosaurs, sharks, oversized bugs and mammals, those all lean way more sci-fi than horror to me, no matter what the story is, Cujo being the exception, but even that is something I don’t consider horror. They’re “animal films.” Not to be confused with “family friendly animal films” like Homeward Bound.

As a counterpoint to John’s questioning about whether or not something becomes part of the horror genre based on a brief moment where something frightening happens, I’d like to offer this example. No one would ever call Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune a horror game, but surprisingly it has a really scary section you have to play through later on in the game, and this is the best case I can think of that explains my feelings on this subject. Just because something has horror elements, that doesn’t make it horror.

Last night, we watched Sunshine, a movie that deserves its own post (but isn’t getting one because I refuse to waste any more of my time on it) for being a spliced together trainwreck of what seems like two totally different movies and once again, he asked me, “Is this horror?” This movie is the one that should be impossible for me to categorize because even the movie itself doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be, however, I think it helped me figure out, at least somewhat, how I determine whether something is sci-fi or horror. For me personally, if a movie spends a significant amount of time developing a plot around a science fiction story, at the very least, it’s sci-fi horror, if not just completely sci-fi. If it has a slight sci-fi subplot happening in the background, with mostly a horror overtone, it’s a horror film. When I was watching Sunshine with John, I told him, “This is just regular space stuff. This is what happens when you’re dumb enough to go into space.” The first hour and twenty minutes of that movie could have been Armageddon or any other “We have to go to space to save the planet” movie ever made, so even though it turned into a really bizarre slasher/supernatural horror film at the end...It’s still just regular space stuff to me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ That’s the best explanation I can come up with. Thanks to my boyfriend for making me sit through that mess (I had such high hopes for it, I was expecting necromorphs) and helping me reach some sort of conclusion about how my mind works.

The Investigators of Arkham Horror

I'm not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to the Arkham Horror Files games. I've only recently started playing Eldritch Horror and Arkham Horror LCG and I've yet to successfully complete a game. But I am a fan of most things inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's work, as well as horror-themed artbooks, so I was really excited to read The Investigators of Arkham Horror.

It goes without saying that the tales in this book are inspired by Lovecraft's stories, but I was also reminded of A Night in the Lonesome October, House of Leaves, The Thing and most notably, Eternal Darkness (many of which were also inspired by Lovecraft). As with the characters in Eternal Darkness, the investigators in the Arkham Horror universe were [mostly] just ordinary people who somehow stumbled into something extraordinary and their lives were changed because of it, they chose to fight against the evil threatening to force its way into our world. And that's the main difference between what Fantasy Flight Games has created and Lovecraft's fiction. In these stories, the characters fight back. They try to save the world (and if you're playing the games, more often than not, they fail miserably).

Each story is told in a variety of different ways, with quotes from Lovecraft sprinkled throughout. Some include journal entries, newspaper clippings, medical records, photographs and sketches. I usually really enjoy that sort of storytelling. It adds a little something extra and almost makes it seem more believable.

Cthulhu, studying the sketch of a nightgaunt.

The first story, Wilson Richards, set the tone for what I expected from the rest of the book. It perfectly describes the feeling of dread someone would have while visiting Arkham. You don't know exactly what is making the hair on the back of your neck stand up, but you know something is off. (Wilson stops for a slice of cherry pie and strong coffee at Velma's Diner, and I was reminded of another strange, little town called Twin Peaks.)

I did a double take the first time I saw this picture. It seemed normal at first.

Charlie Kane's story focuses on Arkham's Founder's Day celebration. Hints are dropped throughout that give a sense that something more is going on during this event than just a regular celebration. Why is Charlie so particular about which items are displayed? Why are the fireworks set to go off at 8:41 p.m., exactly 47 minutes after sunset? And why is Charlie so specific about which ingredients go into the fireworks? "Any mistake, even the smallest, could lead to disaster." This is just one of many mysteries you're left to ponder while you read about each investigator.

Reading about Agatha Crane reminded me of House of Leaves. So much so that I'm positive it was partially inspired by it. "As she began to measure the wall a second time, the measuring tape snapped tight between her outstretched hands. After a moment, she frowned and checked the worn length of tape. The wall had been slightly smaller the first time she measured; she was sure of it." I wonder if Will Navidson ever heard about this house? The house in question is Arkham's very own Witch House, which looks somewhat familiar.

With House in Salem, MA next to the Witch House in Arkham

While I'm on the subject of witches...The one thing that really bothered me, that always bothers me, was a journal entry from Mandy Thompson's story that read, "May 7th, 1690. Last night we did God's work, when other men would not. Witches burned, but Uriah Crawford yet lives." I've visited Salem several times, I studied its history, I know it well. Granted, this takes place in Arkham, not Salem. I'm hesitant to say witches were never burned in America because I'm not positive, I thought that was mostly done in Europe. However. Since Salem is the most famous case of the witch hunt hysteria this country faced and it was mentioned more than once within this book, I'm going to assume Arkham's history was inspired by Salem's. And not one witch was burned in Salem. They were hanged, with the exception of Giles Corey, who was pressed to death. It's a common historical inaccuracy and I cringe every time I see it.

Since I'm on the subject, I recognized a lot of names from Salem. Peabody, Derby and of course, the Witch House. This is probably just a coincidence, albeit an interesting coincidence considering how frequently Salem and the witch trials were mentioned, but I was happy to see them.

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

What can I say without going off on a tangent? The illustrations in this book are exquisite. I'm not sure how much of the artwork is new, but I recognized some from Eldritch Horror. I did notice a few minor errors in some stories that must have slipped past the editor, but nothing terrible. The chapters don't tie into one another, even though characters and locations tend to reappear throughout.

I'm 100% convinced Preston Fairmont is actually Laurence Olivier.

When I started taking notes, with the intention of writing this post, everything started off very positive. Then about halfway through the book, I was ready for it to end. It's really beautiful and I appreciate the work that went into it, but when I'm reading something...I want an actual plot. It's hard to keep my interest for 260 pages when the stories are just getting started and then they end abruptly. I wanted more. The accounts in The Investigators of Arkham Horror are short and most of them end before anything really begins. That being said though, the point of these tales is to give some insight into the investigators, an idea of why or how they found themselves fighting against the ancient ones. These small snippets are just part of a larger narrative, one that you create yourself while playing the Arkham Horror Files games. If you're looking for something similar to Lovecraft's work, this isn't it and you'll be disappointed (it does have Lovecraftian elements, but it lacks the actual horror I feel reading something like The Outsider or The Shadow Over Innsmouth). But if you're a fan of the Arkham Horror Universe and the incredible artwork from the games, I highly recommend The Investigators of Arkham Horror.