Halloween Countdown: Heather's Top Halloween Movies

Hello my darlings! Though you probably didn't enjoy reading about my suffering, I hope you at least learned something from my last post.

YES! It is finally that time of year! I officially have begun decorating my home for Halloween. I can't wait until I'm feeling well enough to pull out the rest of my decorations. Though I don't need to decorate as much this year because a lot of my decorations got kept up from last year xD. Anyway, here is some of what I have out so far:

Taken from my Instagram

And I have these really cute leaf candles that I put in water to float around. I am loving them so much, they're so pretty that I'm afraid to light them!

Also taken from my Instagram

I'm hoping to continue to update and show you all my decorations as they go up. I know some of my online friends would die to come see my house around Halloween. Ahh fall, I love it so much *^*. It is my favorite season and of course I love Halloween so much. My favorite thing about living in New England is the fall leaves. It is absolutely beautiful here! I love the way my house looks when the leaves begin to fall, I have a large front yard and trees that surround my house so I have beautiful leaves everywhere. I just love fall so so much.

Fall, last year.

Fall is the one time of year I can totally be myself and not get treated like a freak or get odd looks when I go out. Even in April, I'll dress like it's Halloween. I just go all out spooky for October.

To kick off my celebration of this most wonderful spooky season on this blog, I thought I would discuss my list of essential Halloween movies. These are movies I absolutely HAVE to watch as Halloween draws near. Every September and October I have horror movie binge watching marathons. I watch a TON of movies, but this list are the top that I save for closer to Halloween.

 I am hoping (though I promise nothing) to post a lot more often with Halloween themed posts from discussing costumes, to makeup tips to DIY decor and even recipes. It all depends on the time I have and if I remember to actually update. I will do my very best though, after all I am the creepy queen.

Anyway, here are my top 5 movies for Halloween. I'm sure I've discussed some of these before, but who cares.

Hocus Pocus

It's all a bunch of hocus pocus!! 

I am a sucker for witch movies, after all I am one (I am a practitioner of Wicca. I consider myself a witch and I have a coven.  Maybe I'll do a post on this if anyone is interested but I've honestly been a bit afraid to do a post about it all). I have been watching Hocus Pocus ever since I was a little kid. I've always wanted a black flame candle as well, though I wouldn't care if the Sanderson sisters showed up. I'd love to hang with them. Hocus Pocus is really the ultimate Halloween film that people of any age can watch. It takes place on Halloween. It has witches, zombies, ghosts and a talking black cat. Plus the beautiful scenery. It really is perfection. I find myself watching this movie many times during the season.

Trick r Treat

One of my favorite horror movies. Trick r Treat is an anthology horror film with a bunch of intertwining stories revolving around Halloween. It is the ultimate Halloween film and has everything. It truly captures the spirit of Halloween. And literally has the spirit of Halloween, this cute little nugget named Sam...who murders people.

I would hug him...if he wasn't going to stab me with his lollipop.

A sequel has been in the works for several years now and I absolutely can not wait for it! The creator of Trick r Treat is coming out with the movie Krampus, which is supposed to be a holiday horror film about the famed Krampus. I can't wait to see that one either.

Halloween - Rob Zombie's and the original

I love both the original Halloween and Rob Zombie's remake. The original is a classic. Nothing can beat the classics. For those that live under a rock, Halloween is about Michael Myers who killed his family as a child escaping from the mental hospital and going on a killing rampage on Halloween night. Laurie Strode (who SPOILER turns out to be his baby sister) played by the wonderful and original scream queen, Jamie Lee Curtis is his main target. They just don't make movies like Halloween anymore.

As for the remake, I love the re-imagining of it. I love how Rob Zombie brought in the back story of Michael and showed a new side of him while also keeping the spirit of the original film. But Scout Taylor Compton as Laurie Strode's screaming and whining makes me want to strangle her.  Both in my opinion are must watches on Halloween. Though I DO favor watching the original on Halloween night.

Rob Zombie has a horror movie coming out called 31 and I absolutely can not wait to see it!

Nightmare Before Christmas

This is Halloween, this is Halloween.

Okay, let's be real. How can we talk about Halloween movies and NOT include this classic??? I have watched Nightmare Before Christmas ever since I was a baby. What's great about this movie is you can watch it for two holidays...which I make sure to do. Jack Skellington is one of the most well known symbols of Halloween in Pop Culture. Tim Burton is a mastermind for Halloween, almost all of his movies are perfect for the season. It doesn't feel like Halloween to me without this film and I just wish I could visit Halloween town. Fuck Edward and Bella, I want to be Jack and Sally. Tim Burton is coming out with a sequel to Beetlejuice (YAAASSSS), though I'm not sure how long it will be until it comes out.



Some other movies I love watching for Halloween time include The Conjuring, the Chucky movies (save for maybe Seed of Chucky. That movie was a train wreak), Evil Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street and Ginger Snaps. What are your favorite Halloween movies? Comment and let me know. Until next time!

Xoxo

Stay creepy!

RIP Wes Craven

Hello, my dears! Sorry for lack of posts lately, I have been so absorbed in working on my book that I keep forgetting to post! I've been spending all of my energy working on it but I am loving every second of it! Not only have I been learning a lot through my research for it but I've also been going through some self discovery and getting more in touch with my witchy roots.

And now onto the post. 

It is with a heavy heart that I must share that Wes Craven passed away on Sunday. Wes Craven is an iconic film maker, he is famous for creating and directing Scream and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Some of his other movies include My Soul To Take, Red Eye, The Hills Have Eyes and The People Under The Stairs. His specialty was horror. 

Wes Craven was my favorite horror director and film maker. He is my 2nd all time favorite film maker after Tim Burton, of course. Not only because he created my favorite horror film, A Nightmare on Elm Street but because of his amazing story telling. He knew how to tell a story and not just that, he knew how to shake things up and instill fear into his audience. I was extremely saddened to hear of his passing, I couldn't believe it! I literally cried.  It devastates me to know that his brilliant mind is no longer with us and that we will never have another movie made by him. 

Without Mr. Craven, I never would have become the horror fan that I am today. The very first horror film I remember seeing was Scream. I was about 3 years old and my aunt was watching it while babysitting me. This is actually one of my earliest memories. I remember seeing Ghost Face and being confused as to if I should be afraid or in awe. Growing up I would continue to watch horror movies with my aunt, but she would make me turn away at super scary or  gory parts.

Being a kid in the 90s at Halloween you saw an abundance of boys masquerading as Ghost Face while trick r treating. The boys in my neighborhood being no exception. At one point I became horrified of Halloween masks. The boys in the neighborhood knew this; they would chase and follow me around on Halloween to scare me. This fear sort of pushed me more towards horror. 

When I started getting back into horror in my pre-teen years I was sleeping over a friend's house and we watched Freddy Vs. Jason with her sister. I enjoyed every minute of it. I didn't feel an ounce of fear, but I was excited. This was the first time that I had seen a Freddy Krueger movie. I loved watching him, he was unlike anything I had ever seen in horror before. Unique and creepy yet hilarious. I craved more. 

So one late one night when the original Nightmare on Elm Street was on TV, I jumped at the chance to watch it. I was totally enthralled! I fell in love with this movie. It was just so awesome! Especially Freddy. It was such an amazing yet terrifying concept: a villain with knives for fingers that can kill you in your sleep. 

It immediately became my favorite and I sought out to see every Freddy movie that I could get my hands on. 

Soon I found myself having some dreams with Freddy in it. But unlike most people I wasn't scared, it was a great dream for me. Once in a while I will have dreams of a zombie apocalypse where I'm fighting zombies and I wake up with a smile on my face. It isn't scary for me, it's badass! It's like being in my own horror movie but without someone trying to kill me in real life. 

From there Wes inspired me to try to make my own horror films and write stories. Though it never went anywhere, I wrote an entire screenplay and even had auditions for some of the roles. He also contributed to my inspiration for special effects makeup. I wanted, and still do to recreate things from his movies. Whenever I get a certain ingredient I can create prosthetics to look like Freddy Krueger burns and I absolutely can not wait! 

Then came My Soul To Take. Parts of this film were actually filmed in my town. I was so mad that I missed the chance to meet my hero! Though this isn't my favorite of his movies (but I do like it) this one has some special meaning for me. One of the filming locations and major piece of scenery in the film was the place where my dad proposed to my mom and it also is a place where we threw some of my dad's ashes. 

And of course, when Scream 4 came out I was ecstatic! Though I couldn't see it in the theater, I begged my mom to buy me it when it came out on DVD, as soon as it came out. 

Thank you, Wes Craven. Thank you for the wonderful movies and characters you created. Thank you for the fear and the memories. And of course thank you for inspiring me as well as countless film makers. The horror industry would be a vastly different place if it weren't for your visions and creations. Rest in peace. 

Xoxo

Stay creepy

Urban Legends: Dudley Town

I  love urban legends, especially creepy ones. I've neglected the horror aspect of this blog so I thought I would talk about some of my favorite ones. Today I will be focusing on one, because there is a lot here! Also disclaimer: I do not claim that any information in this legend is 100% true. It's what I have been told over the years. 

I grew up with my fair share of local legends. There are quite a few popular ones told from generation to generation in my town. One such involves many of the locals convinced that a certain business in town has a resident ghost in the basement.

Image from Hauntedrooms.com

New England is very old and filled with tons of legends and stories. One of those that has always fascinated me is that of Dudley Town. If you live in Connecticut and have even the slightest interest in the paranormal (I have a huge interest and have had many experiences) then you of course know about Dudley Town. It resides in Cornwall, CT. It is essentially a ghost town in the middle of a forest. Nothing remains but the foundations and basements of the abandoned homes.

Satellite view from Google Maps of where Dudley Town is located

As with any legend, the story differs slightly depending on who is telling it. Basically, Dudley Town is Connecticut's most famous ghost town. Legend has it that Dudley Town is cursed. In 1510, a man named Edmund Dudley was beheaded for plotting to overthrow King Henry the VIII. According to legend, a curse was placed upon Dudley's descendants proclaiming that all of his descendants would experience death and tragedies. After this incident, many terrible things happened to this family.
In 1745 a man named Thomas Griffis bought some land in Cornwall, CT that would later become Dudley town. In 1747 the Dudleys began settling here starting with Gideon Dudley, then with Gideon's brothers Barzallai and Abiel in 1753. From there, strange things began happening.

It is said that many deaths and suicides occurred. Most notable being an epidemic that struck in 1774. The entire household of Adoniram Carter was killed. His brother, Nathaniel completely distraught moved himself and his family to Binghampton, NY. His wife and infant child were murdered by native Americans. His other three children, two daughters and a son were kidnapped. His daughters were held for ransom and his son stayed with the captors. That's some crazy shit!

In 1792 Abiel Dudley's good friend and neighbor Gershon Hollister was killed while building a barn at William Tanner's home, who was also a friend/neighbor to Abiel. Tanner lived until the age of 104 but he went insane. He often claimed to see strange creatures in the woods at night.
Abiel died in 1799. He was the only Dudley that stayed in Dudley Town. The others moved away and lived long lives without any influence of a curse. Abiel lost his entire fortune and then his mind. Unable to pay his debts he became a ward of the state at the age of 90.

Another well known tragedy is that of a General Herman Swift's wife Sarah Faye being struck by lightning on their front porch, dying instantly in 1804. He then went insane after losing his wife.
By 1899 Dudley Town was mostly deserted. Many of the residents went insane before their deaths. One of the last residents, John Patrick Brophy lost his wife to Tuberculosis (referred to as consumption back then). Soon after his two children disappeared into the forest never to be seen again. Then, not long after that the home of Mr. Brophy burned to the ground by an unexplained fire. He then disappeared into the forest and was never seen again.

Although deserted another known death after that did happen in connection with Dudley Town. A man named Dr. William Clarke bought land in CT in the early 1900s, including Dudley Town. He built a summer home for himself and his wife Harriet Bank Clarke. One weekend, Dr. Clarke had to go to New York for an emergency leaving his wife in their summer home by herself. He returned 36 hours later to find that she had gone insane. She claimed that strange creatures came out of the forest and attacked her. Soon after she committed suicide. He, being Dudley Town's last resident left after that.

People say that Dudley Town is cursed. That there is a ton of paranormal activity here including alleged demonic possessions. The Warrens (Ed and Lorraine. They are renown paranormal investigators. They were depicted in the movie The Conjuring. They are most famous for investigating the Amityville Horror case.)  have even investigated here. I have heard many accounts of them being asked about Dudley Town and not wanting to talk about it. Though it is not as famous/well known as it used to be, ask anyone in their mid 30s or older and they will probably have a story to tell. People have mixed experiences: some have seen and experienced odd things in Dudley Town. Others have experienced absolutely nothing.

I have heard many accounts of people feeling watched or uneasy there.

A lot of people claim to see unexplained odd lights, hear things and even feel as if they are being touched, pushed or scratched. Some people say that it will be a bright sunny day, and when they enter the forest it will be pitch black and silent. Many say that there are no birds.  A lot of people say that satanic rituals and demonic sacrifices happened there. Apparently police have found animal sacrifices in the past.

I have an aunt that has been to Dudley Town with a group of friends, probably in the 90s. She did not get far though! She claims that they got into the forest and their flashlight - with new batteries died. They of course hauled ass out of there too scared to venture any further. 

Unfortunately, it is now illegal to go into Dudley Town and people get in trouble for even being close to it. After The Blair Witch Project came out, it prompted many people to try to investigate for themselves. Many people trashed the place and causing trouble. They ruined it for everyone else. Dudley Town is now private property owned by the Dark Entry Forrest Association. The DEFA was actually founded by Dr. Clarke in 1924! I believe it was founded to protect others from the forest.  From my many years of research, they are pretty sketchy about the level of protection of this place. There are actually a lot of sketchy things about this organization. They claim they are protecting and preserving the nature but won't grant passes to anyone serious about observing. Which is strange, because every other nature preserve here is open to the public.....they are also typically owned by the state.

They have local and state police constantly patrolling the area as well as very hefty fines (last I've heard it was at least $75, if not in the $100 mark now) just for walking near it. The people that live near Dudley Town are pretty fierce about catching people that try to sneak in. Apparently an elderly woman resorts to pretty rude means. 

I have always wanted to see it for myself.  I used to dabble in some paranormal investigating. Even if nothing were to happen and all of the stories ended up being BS, it still would be interesting to see. It's history! Even if a lot of people died there, I like to think that no matter where you go something died. This earth is very old so you never know!

I do know where it is located and have been by the entrance to the road that it is on a many times. Sadly, trying to visit is not worth the fine/possible arrest!

I hope you all enjoyed this spooky story! I will do another urban legends post discussing my favorite scary games that have urban legends attached. I know there are a lot of skeptics out there, which is why I don't really talk about my paranormal experiences here. If there is anyone that would be interested in such a post, let me know. Just don't call me crazy. I prefer eccentric!

Xoxo

Stay spooky 

Housebound

Hello dear readers! I hope you are all well and not having too bad a case of the Mondays. I know I have a case of the Mondays, I just want to sit around and watch this new Kdrama I'm addicted to all day. 

I watched such an interesting horror movie saturday night called Housebound. I haven't seen anything quite like it. It's an independant movie on Netflix streaming if you would like to check it out.

Housebound is set in New Zealand and it's about a young woman named Kylie who gets in trouble with the law and is put on house arrest in her mother's home for 8 months. Her mother believes in ghosts, but she is a skeptic. Strange things begin to happen, Kylie's mother is convinced that the house is haunted while Kylie thinks she's just crazy.

Amos, a security guard/probation officer is an amateur paranormal investigator. He offers to help investigate the haunting, things only get worse. Quite a few unexplainable incidents occur which convince Kylie that there truly is a haunting. My favorites include a scene with a demonic teddy bear and when a man is stabbed to death (the lights go out, the lights flicker on for a moment and you see a figure standing there. They flicker off then back on and this man is stabbed by this metal object).

Kylie finds this teddy bear with a "record your own message" feature. It suddenly begins talking on its own in this creepy demonic voice and moving. So she throws it in the fire when it won't stop. But of course this isn't the end of the bear, as it shows up again later burnt up and talking demonocally.

We learn that the house was once a halfway house and a teenage girl was murdered there. Her murder remains unsolved and Kylie with Amos' help tries to find out what happened to put the haunting to an end. But can she find out before she is killed? That's as much as I'm going to tell you!

This is such a unique horror film. It is by no means a typical haunted house variety. This film actually combines quite a few different types of genres. It starts as a ghost story but ends as a slasher. It is totally unpredictable. I haven't seen an indie film as thrilling as this in a long time.

It is well acted (with the exception of the scene where the mother is choking). There aren't any stupid "the cat made a noise" scares. It is a breath of fresh air from the typical horror movie. I did really enjoy it and it held my attention. I'm very picky with the horror genre as of late. If I stick with it longer than 20-30 minutes then it must be good. If you are a horror fan, I highly suggest checking this one out. If you do, let me know your thoughts!

Xoxo

Stay creepy 

Top 5 Horror Heroines + New Poll

Hiii! I almost didn't post today because I'm incredibly exhausted and things aren't going good at all right now. I'm stuck in a ridiculous situation causing all of this so I am unsure of when my next post will be up. But I thought since I haven't posted in days, I should today. Also NEW POLL! Help me choose my next anime topic!

I hope everyone had a lovely Valentines day and weekend. My Valentines day was good! I got some nice messages and valentines cards. I never got any sort of attention on Valentines day before unless it was a joke or someone felt sorry for me. My past valentines days have consisted of guys sending me flowers as a joke pretending to be secret admirers. (I didn't fall for it and I indeed did catch them laughing about it. Haha joke's on them, I found it hilarious that they spent money on me just for a prank), people asking me out as a joke and friends feeling sorry for me. So it was nice that some people truly cared this year. And you know who you are <3. ^_^

What did you all do for Valentines day? I spent the day being kind to myself. I had a horror marathon, I baked myself a cake. I bought myself a few things and made my favorite dinner. Then watched Sailor Moon and Toonami. It was a good year in my book!

So since I haven't posted anything horror in a while, here is my top list of horror heroines. Nothing makes me happier than an intelligent and badass female in a horror movie kicking ass and taking names. I'm sure I forgot someone in this list (watch me think of someone else after this is posted) but here are my picks:

1. Heather Langenkamp as Nancy in Nightmare on Elm Street

Nancy is an awesome character. She is intelligent, not just a stupid piece of eye candy. She tries hard to find a solution to her problems herself. She takes charge when it comes to taking down Freddy and she succeeds. She also doesn't plead or beg for mercy like most girls her character's age would. She spends the movie frighting instead of succumbing to the fear.

2. Neve Cambell as Sidney Prescott in Scream

I love the scream franchise and Sidney is no exception. She's also intelligent and thinks things through. She's not there just for a sex scene. Throughout the Scream movies we see her become tougher in a way. She starts to defend herself more and fight against whoever is trying to kill her. Even though she has been through the  terrible scenario many times, she doesn't let it get her down or really control her life. She keeps living and uses her experiences to help others.

3. Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode in Halloween

I'm sure I've discussed Laurie here before. Laurie is intelligent as well, she is pretty conservative and thinks things through more than her friends. She is very logical. When Michael comes after her, she doesn't just trip and plead for her life. Instead she takes control, doing what she can to keep Tommy and Lindsey safe. She does what she can to defend herself and fiercely fights to live. Although it makes me sad that she let the entire experience control her life (though I don't blame her) as seen in H20, she is still a badass and does everything in her power to protect her son and fight against Michael Myers.

4. Katharine Isabel as Mary Mason in American Mary

Katharine Isabel is one of my favorite horror actresses. She does such a great job in the genre without being annoying or a stupid character. I personally have seen her in Ginger Snaps, Freddy Vs Jason and American Mary.

My favorite character of hers is Mary Mason. Mary is an aspiring med student who is drugged and raped by her professor. Instead of letting the fear and sadness consume her, she gets her beautifully violent revenge on him. She lets the incident shape her life in a positive way, as a result she finds a passion for underground body modification surgeries. Though her ending wasn't so happy. I love that she's an extremely intelligent character and didn't let the piece of shit that raped her get away with it.

5. Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in Alien

Ripley is badass! I have only seen the first Alien but I have been assured that she's just as awesome in the others. She was the only survivor when an Alien came  aboard of the space shuttle she was on and killed all of her fellow astronauts. Instead of wallowing in fear she hunted the alien to kill it before it killed her. She didn't let it get the better of her and she dominated the fucker! She is tough and aggressive, which I love that about her.

This list was tough to decide, let's face it most female characters in horror movies annoy me and I root for the villain to chop them into pieces. But each of these women are fantastic and make me actually root for them. Who are your favorite horror heroines? Comment and let me know!

Hope everyone has a spooktacular day!

Xoxo

Moon prism power makeup

My top 5 horror movies!!!

Hello my dears! I hope you all made it through the blizzard safe and sound. The storm was kind of a joke where I live. It veered more east than predicted and we only got 6 inches of snow plus wind. But I am very happy that it wasn't worse and I got to keep my power (and my beloved, wifi.  *In Gollum voice* My precious.). 

Today I'm going to talk about one of my most favorite subjects: my favorite horror movies!! Warning, this is a long one! But that can't really be helped, I am a fangirl at heart and gushing about the things I love is just what I do. Ready for a peak inside of my twisted, horror obsessed mind? 

1. A Nightmare on Elm Street 

This movie is about a young girl named Nancy who starts seeing Freddy Krueger, a man with a green and red striped sweater, a fedora and knife fingers who is out for blood. He seems like just a nightmare, but soon Nancy begins to realize he isn't just in her mind. He begins killing her friends in their dreams and they actually die (in beautifully gruesome manners). Nancy must find a way to defeat him before Freddy gets her too.

For those that think Freddy is obsessed with Christmas, he's not. Wes Craven (one of my favorite horror directors/creators. Also creator of Nightmare on Elm Street) has said that his sweater is red and green because those are the two colors hardest for the human eye to see. I could probably do an entire post just on tidbits about this movie. For those curious, check out the fantastic documentary (4 beautiful hours long) Never Sleep Again. It should still be on Netflix, I am overdue for a re-watch.

Nightmare on Elm Street is my favorite horror movie of all time. I love Freddy Krueger with a passion, he's my all time favorite horror villain. He is such an iconic, badass character. He's sharp witted and a smartass. He comes out with the best lines! My favorite comes from Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors where he says "Welcome to primetime, bitch!" when about to kill Jennifer.

[For those of you reading from the mobile site, the video above may not show. You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgR9krQRHeA ]

 Robert Englund is a wonderful human being. What's so unique about this movie is it isn't a typical slasher. It took some imagination. I love that you can't escape Freddy even in your dreams. It has some really cool scenes, one of my all time favorite horror scenes is in it. It's the scene when Freddy kills Glen (Johnny Depp's character) and a gigantic gush of blood flows/pours up from the bed to the ceiling. It's so beautiful! I also love the scene where Tina was killed.

[For mobile readers, you can see the above video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-frM2Lf8KE]

2. Trick R Treat  

 

If you're a horror fan and love the holiday Halloween, check out this movie. It is an anthology film: featuring five different stories that all connect in one way or another. I will say what I can without giving away too many spoilers. The stories include a married couple that blows out a jack o'lantern before midnight, a young woman looking for the right date to bring to a Halloween party, a high school principal who isn't as good natured as he seems, some young (asshole) teens that play a mean joke on an innocent girl...only to have it go wrong and an old man that lives alone.

The entire movie takes place on Halloween night. A little burlap sack rag doll creature is seen throughout the film with his trademark bitten lollipop. His name is Sam, he is the spirit of Halloween and he sort of takes revenge on those that don't respect the spirit of Halloween. This movie has pretty much everything: ghosts/zombies, werewolves, a little bit of vampire action and serial killers. There are some awesome kills. SPOILER ALER for those who haven't seen the movie: my favorite scene is when Laurie turns into a werewolf and Marilyn Manson's "Sweet Dreams" plays. I love the look of the scene and the music fits it perfectly. It also cracks me up when Anna Paquin (Actress that plays Laurie) says "It's my first time". This is the perfect Halloween horror movie, I always have to watch this movie on Halloween.

There is a Trick R Treat 2 in the works, but there hasn't been any confirmed new news on the project since 2012 (as far as I know). Trick R Treat came out in 2007.

3. House of 1000 corpses

This movie is brutal, definitely not for the easily grossed out. It's a horror lover's dream. It is one of those movies for hardcore horror fans, if you're a casual fan you will probably be terrified.

This movie is about a group of friends; two young couples taking a road trip to write about obscure roadside attractions. They meet a foul mouthed clown named Captain Spaulding, who runs "Captain Spaulding's Museum of Monsters and Madmen" which includes a strange combination of a gas station, fried chicken and a serial killer ride. Captain Spaulding tells them the legend of Dr. Satan and they go off in search of the tree he was hanged from. This quest is short lived, as their car breaks down and a hitchhiker they pick up named Baby brings them to her house. There they meet the Firefly family: an eccentric family of murderers. The family attacks them and all must try to survive and find a way out of the house. The house is filled with dead bodies, so it truly is the house of 1000 corpses.

[For those of you reading from the mobile site, the video above may not show. You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiVcuRmU5e0]

This is a Rob Zombie movie, I am a huge fan of his horror films. It's an homage to 70s horror movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes. It is actually set in the 70s. I love how gruesome and violent this movie is. At one point, one of the guys is killed and then his body is sewn into a mermaid taxidermy. I love Captain Spaulding, he's hilarious and of course a murderous clown. His character is pure gold. I love Sheri Moon Zombie, she is Rob's wife who plays Baby. She's in all of his movies and she's actually from my state of Connecticut. My dad actually met both Sheri and Rob once, I was SO pissed that he didn't get me an autograph.

I'm (for the record) not called Heather Zombie because of my love for Rob Zombie, it's a nickname I got in high school for being really into horror movies and always doing creepy makeup...also because I was (and still can be) a pretty spooky chick. I was known at one point for being the creepy chick with the crazy makeup that always wore a vampire fang necklace and a necklace that looked like zombie hands.

I sadly need to get a new copy of this movie, my old copy is scratched all to shit.

4. Halloween

Next to Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers is my baby <3.

I consider both the original John Carpenter's Halloween as well as Rob Zombie's remake here. But I can agree that the original is way, way better.

The original, 1978 Halloween is about Michael Myers, an indestructible man escaping from a mental hospital to go on a killing spree in his hometown of Haddonfield. He was put in a mental hospital after he murdered his older sister as a child on Halloween night. Though we don't learn until the 2nd Halloween movie what his true motive is (SPOILER ALERT: he wants to kill his little sister who was just a baby when he murdered his older sister. The baby was placed for adoption after the suicide of his grief stricken mother. His baby sister is actually Laurie Strode.)

Amidst his rampage, Myers begins to stalk a girl named Laurie Strode and her friends Annie and Lynda. Later that night while Laurie is babysitting Tommy (as well as Lindsey because Annie wanted to spend some alone time with her boyfriend). She later discovers her friends dead (Annie is killed, about to see her boyfriend for some alone time. Lynda is killed along with her boyfriend after having sex.) - and their killer Michael Myers. Haven't you kids learned yet? In horror movies sex = DEAD!

Laurie must fight to survive and keep the children safe. It's a race against time to see if Dr. Loomis, who was in charge of Michael and spends the entire film trying to track him down - can get to Michael before Michael can kill Laurie.

What I love about this movie is first of all, it is a classic! One of the first definitive slashers. It is beautifully done without the cheap scares we see today and the suspense is slowly built. I very much appreciate that Laurie was made to be an intelligent and level headed girl. Jamie Lee Curtis does a fantastic job portraying Laurie. She is one of the most notable scream queens and is just plain badass in this role! I love how indestructible Michael is and how mysterious he is. When I started seriously getting into horror in my early teens, this was the first older classic that I watched.

Rob Zombie's version of the movie is a little different. We see more about Michael Myers' past, rather than most of the film focusing on Laurie. We see what caused him to snap. It is a lot gorier (yay!!). We see the legendary night where Michael kills his sister...then her boyfriend....and his step dad both of the latter not in the original. We also see Mrs. Myers commit suicide. It's made pretty apparent that Laurie and Michael are related. I love this movie and I think it was a fantastic remake (which we don't see much of!) Though it isn't perfect.

The actress that plays Laurie, Scout Taylor Compton (though I like her in other films) is fucking annoying. Oh my god. Hearing her scream made me want to stab myself in the ears with a sharp pointy object. Even worse when she won't shut the fuck up screaming and whining. She is nowhere near as badass as Jamie Lee Curtis was. Sadly she gets even more whiny and annoying in the sequel. At the end, I found myself rooting for Michael to kill her. Though...I do tend to root for the villain in horror films.

5. The Conjuring

I normally don't consider horror movies so recent as favorites. Most of them these days are shit. I tend to favor the classics. But THIS movie was an exception. 

The Conjuring is about  the Perron family in the 1970s who have just moved into a new home, an old farm house. They begin to realize that they aren't alone and something fairly nasty begins to terrorize them. They request the help of famous paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. They discover something more sinister is haunting the family and they have to try to stop it.

This movie is based on a true story, though of course embellished for Hollywood as all of these "based on a true story" movies are. None of the more drastic hauntings such as the levitation happened.

Being the lover of paranormal research as well as having numerous experiences (go ahead skeptics, call my crazy) I am a big fan of the Warrens. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson did a fantastic job portraying them. I like how they showed what their lives are also like outside of their jobs. I loved the little cameo by Lorraine Warren herself, she can be seen sitting in the audience in the scene where Ed and Lorraine are giving a lecture. Unfortunately, for some reason youtube or blogger will not let me embed the video of her cameo here (fuckers), so to view it you will have to go to this link: http://youtu.be/HO3WkiTU_D0

This was an exciting movie and not your typical haunted house movie. It has some great scares and the acting was really good. The soundtrack is fantastic and really adds to the atmosphere. And how could I forget the beloved doll Annabelle? Who actually happens to be a Raggedy Anne doll in real life.

Because who would be scared of little old Raggedy? There is a prequel to The Conjuring called Annabelle featuring the infamous doll. There is also a sequel to The Conjuring in the works.


Honorable mentions:

The Scream Franchise 

I pretty much grew up on the Scream movies. I can remember being a little kid watching them with my aunt. The first one is a classic and they really went outside of the box,  not really taking its self too seriously in a way exposing all of the horror cliches and shaking things up. Though ghost face never scared me (movies don't scare me at all), the boys in my neighborhood chasing me down the  street with the ghost face mask sure as hell did! There is a scream TV series being developed for MTV....I'm afraid to see how this turns out.

The Chucky/Child's Play Franchise 

I love Chucky!! Not only does he have some great kills but he's hilarious! I especially love Bride of Chucky when Tiffany comes into the picture. Seed of Chucky...well I don't know what to even say about that. It was a weird ass movie that's for sure. I love the balance that the Child's Play and Chucky films have between comedy and horror. I actually do love the most recent in the franchise, Curse of Chucky. It really brought the franchise back to its horror roots which it desperately needed after Seed.

Evil Dead (Remake) 

I wouldn't call it my favorite horror film, but I do really like it.  It deserves an honorable mention for the gore alone. I'm a big gore lover (only reason I like the Saw movies). I LOVE the gore in it. I mean it's badass! A girl saws off her own arm, spurting blood everywhere and at the end blood pours from the sky. I do like this better than the original to be honest.

Every single time I watch this scene, I just laugh and cheer.

[Here's the link for my mobile readers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfwty7rM_3I]

Thanks for reading and bearing with my fangirl comments! What are your favorite horror movies? I will of course be doing some more horror related posts in the future. What would you all like to see? I have a few horror related ideas already, but if anyone has suggestions I'm open to them!

Please comment (you don't need an account), tweet me (@lipstickxzombie) or shoot me an email (kawaiizombieblog@gmail.com) letting me know! I love seeing all of your comments and suggestions. I am glad to (within reason) give you dear readers some of the content you want to read. Hope you all have a lovely day!

Xoxo
Stay creepy

January Lust List : DVDs

Hi everyone! As you remember (because I wouldn't shut up about it) I had a poll on one of my last posts to help me choose the next topic. Thank you so much to the two people that voted, you're awesome ^_^!! As requested, I am writing today about the 12 (with two bonuses) movies and shows on my wishlist that I am lusting over this month. I say DVD because I'm behind the times and still don't own a Bluray player (I know, so sad ;__;) This is in no particular order.

1. Hellsing Ultimate Vols 9 and 10 Bluray & DVD combo pack

I already own Hellsing Ultimate volumes 1-8, but the price of 9 and 10 has been too steep for me to justify getting just yet. I want this set so much to complete my collection. It had two of the most badass episodes of the series. Note: Amazon has stopped selling this themselves because of an apparent problem with the stock. The price has skyrocketed. I hope it'll be back and cheaper soon!!

2. The Purge 2, Purge: Anarchy

I loved the first Purge movie and I've been dying to see this one. I have heard that it's everything the first movie should have been. It was towards the top of my Christmas list, but I never got it.

3. Annabelle

I am a big fan of the Warrens. I absolutely loved The Conjuring so of course I had to check this out. I actually just watched it last night and I loved it! It wasn't as good as The Conjuring was but pretty damn close! I can't wait until The Conjuring 2 comes out, as of right now it isn't scheduled to be released until next year. 

4. Maleficent

I saw this in the theater and loved it. Maleficent has always been one of my favorite Disney villains. Angelina Jolie was SO fierce and badass in this movie and I love that Disney didn't make it well, a typical Disney movie.

5. Adventure Time season 4

Adventure Time is one of my many favorite shows. I don't own any of the seasons and would actually love to own them all. I chose season 4 for this list because Netflix doesn't have it and it contains of my favorite episodes: Fionna and Cake. I LOVE the Fionna and Cake episodes. I wish Cartoon Network would make us a spinoff or at least give us more than one of their episodes a year.

6. Descendants of Darkness vols 1 and 4

Also known as Yami no Matsuei. It is a lesser known anime series that I discovered while I was in middle school. My best friend and I were obsessed with this show, she owned volume 4 so we would have marathons of both of our collections whenever we had sleepovers. It's about an organization that handles the processing of souls after death. The main character Tsuzuki Asato and then his partner Hisoka Kurosaki are shinigami that work for the judgement division of the organization, having to get the dead people and bring them to trial for judgement of how they lived their lives. Tsuzuki and Hisoka are often mixed up in an investigation of some mystery that they have to solve. The show deals heavily with the occult, my favorite story arc being the Devil's Song episodes. It introduced me to my favorite classical piece, The Devil's Trill by Giuseppe Tartini.

It is gory, creepy and has some yaoi (I LOVE my yaoi!). I own volumes 2 and 3, but not 1 and 4. This  show is out of print and you can only buy the DVDs used now, for years I have been hunting for them and I just recently found them on amazon. I need to complete my collection.

7. Into The Woods

I saw this movie with one of my friends this past week and it was fantastic. I love musicals and of course I was bound to love it since it IS based on a sondheim (the composer to one of my favorite movies, Sweeney Todd) play. Although the plot was rushed (in their defense, they were cramming a possibly 3-4 hour play into a 2 hour movie) it was great and the music was great. Plus it had Meryl Streep. Meryl was fierce. Meryl is queen. Though this is still in theaters, it is up for pre-order and releases in March.

8. The Addams Family (1960s) vol 1.

I love the original black and white Addams Family TV show from the 1960s. Carolyn Jones as Morticia Addams is queen!! It is one of the very few things I can stand in black and white. I would love to own any volume of this show, but volume 1 is what's on my amazon wish list.

9. Chrono Crusade: Complete Series 

This is another beloved anime I discovered in middle school. I was obsessed with this as well. My summary of this may not be so great, as it has been so long since I've been able to watch this show. It is about the Madgalene order, an organization that destroys demons. The main characters are a nun named Rosette Christopher and her sidekick (who happens to be a demon) Chrono. Throughout the series they are hunting for Rosette's missing brother Joshua, fighting demons and discovering dark secrets along the way.

It is a great lesser known series. I normally dislike shows about nuns or anything religious but Rosette is a badass nun! I love the whole demon aspect of the show and how the nuns shoot them like crazy with their guns. I love that Rosette isn't a typical nun. Her and Chrono are like the black sheep.  I definitely recommend checking this out, especially if you liked Trinity Blood.

10. Modern Family: any season!

I love Modern Family! It is one of my favorite shows, I sadly don't own any of it but I want all of it. It is what I like to call one of my happy shows: a show that just comforts me and that I can watch over and over. I watch reruns of the show all the time and have seen some episodes probably 20+ times. I just love it so much!


11. Game of Thrones season 4

Game of Thrones is my favorite show (since True Blood is over and though I love it, went downhill as the seasons went on. The last season was bullshit). I own seasons 1-3 and need to own this one. Plus this season has the purple wedding, which was an oh so beautiful thing. 

12. The Fault In Our Stars

I haven't seen this yet, but I read the book. The book was so fantastic that I read the entire thing in a day. This book made me cry harder than any other book. I really want to see the movie and see how it compares.

Bonuses:

Sailor Moon season 1 part 2

I have this pre-ordered already so it technically can't be part of this list, but I am lusting over it SO much! I already own part 1. Part 2 contains my favorite episode (the episode where Mamoru discovers Usagi is Sailor Moon and Usagi learns she's princess Serenity), I'm really excited to see how it is uncut and with the new dub. It comes out February 10, I should have it in my possession on release day. Just a few more weeks!!! Would anyone like me to review the set when I get it? Or even review set 1? I also can't wait until Sailor Moon R is released, I am DYING to own it uncut. 

Black Butler: Book of Circus

This hasn't even been dubbed or announced in the US yet, so it doesn't truly count. But I loved this series so much! Black Butler is one of my favorites and they really did this justice with the manga. It was one of my favorite manga arcs and it was just great to see animated.

So that's it! Thank you for reading this post, I hope you enjoyed this. Any fans of any of the shows/movies above? If you would like any other lust lists or have any topic suggestions let me know in a comment or you can even tweet me! I should mention that you don't need to make an account to comment and you can do it anonymously. Hope you're all having a lovely evening (or day if you're reading this during the day) <3

Xoxo
Moon prism power makeup!