Wanna read some porn?

I published some short erotica stories a while back. If that intrigues you; if you like tentacle monsters,   funhouse rooms full of johnsons, or general cuckoldry, check THESE BOOKS out.

‘Possession’ and the Fear of Reality Crumbling Beneath Our Feet

Originally published here: https://addictedtohorrormovies.com/2016/07/24/possession-and-the-fear-of-reality-crumbling-beneath-our-feet/

‘Possession’ and the Fear of Reality Crumbling Beneath Our Feet (Review)

When I think about horror movies that resemble bad acid trips, a few pop into mind. Most of which aren’t considered “horror” in the traditional sense of the word. I’m talking Beyond the Black Rainbow, Enter the Void, Suspiria, pretty much anything by Lynch… you get the idea. But the grand wizard of them all in my opinion is 1981’s Possession, a film that I have been watching at least once a month since I saw it for the first time a few years ago. 

That first viewing, whew! Let me tell you something about how fragile our minds are. I was surfing my usual web haunts for something new, something I had never seen before. Something twisted and surreal and, most importantly, scary.

I forget where I heard about Possession, probably Reddit. I was directed to a Youtube link, and there, like the black magic that is this age of iffy ‘intellectual rights,’ was the entire movie—free for anyone to enjoy or suffer through depending on their constitution. I promptly untangled my HDMI cable, rammed it in to my computer port (giggity), and relaxed on the couch with a beer and some reheated pizza. 

Now, I thought that I was going to be getting a nice little movie about Isabelle Adjani getting possessed by some serpent-like entity (judging from the title, the cast, and the cover art), but holy hell was I wrong! One of the great things about going into a movie blind is that you increase the chances of having your mind blown.

The fact that I was a few beers in when I started the movie might have contributed to this, but I was thrown completely off guard within the first five minutes. Sam Neill is in an adversarial mood upon meeting his wife outside of a rundown apartment block that looks eerily like the Ludovico Medical Facility in A Clockwork Orange.

The first thing that threw me was the acting. It was theatrical, over the top, but full of passion. Every. Single. Moment. Was. Intense. As fuck! I had to let some light into my living room by pushing the blackout curtains to the side (I like to keep my hovel as dark as possible when it’s cinema time!). 

Throughout the film, I kept having the nagging suspicion that my mundane reality was an illusion, and that I was living in some sort of bubble that would eventually pop and everyone that I encountered would be as full of verve and spite and life as the characters in Possession were. I know that sounds insane, but I have had the exact same feeling before—during terrible drug experiences.

I have looked upon friends that I have known my entire life and thought that they were aliens out to harvest my mind. I have come to conclusions regarding reality that made me question whether every single memory of mine was a fabrication. 

To me, this is true Cosmic Horror. The stuff that really scares me. Losing my mind and my sense of reality. The thought that everything I know about the world is false, and that reality is hostile. Possession scared the utter crap out of me. Not just because of the tense atmosphere, amazing acting, and splendid creature effects, but because it portrays a world that is just slightly off-kilter; A heightened reality that resemble ours, but with something horrific writhing under the surface. 

I completely doubt that this movie will have the same effect on you; but I can guarantee that it will, at the least, be a very disorienting experience. I don’t want to spoil anything for you, so I suggest finding the movie any way you can.

If you are ready for it…

Rating: 5/5

A Look Back At ‘The Blair Witch Project’ In Preparation for 2016’s ‘Blair Witch’

Originally published here: https://addictedtohorrormovies.com/2016/08/01/a-look-back-at-the-blair-witch-project-in-preparation-for-2016s-blair-witch/

A Look Back At ‘The Blair Witch Project’ In Preparation for 2016’s ‘Blair Witch’

Looking back, the world seemed like a much more innocent place in 1999. Which is, of course, a rose-tinted fallacy. Still, things were much different. Not everybody had the internet, for one thing. Which is why The Blair Witch Project could succeed in fooling much of the populace into believing that the film was real. With a genius ad campaign that took advantage of the infantile World Wide Web, and a believable documentary about the search for the missing college kids, many of us entered the theaters believing that we were about to see literal ‘found footage.’

Since a new addition to the Blair Witch saga is about to be released nationwide, I decided to revisit the original film for the first time in many years. I was delighted and surprised to find that it still holds up as my second favorite found footage film (the top spot goes to a Japanese film from 2005 called Noroi: The Curse). 

The first thing that struck me on this re-watch of TBWP was the refreshingly lackadaisical approach to narrative cohesion. Compared to many current found footage films aimed at short attention spans (leaving few, if any, questions unanswered), the viewer is forced to do a little work if he/she wants to catch everything. There is a shot near the beginning of the film of Mikey pulling in to Heather’s driveway (it is obvious that they have known each other for a while, as Heather jokingly refers to him as, ‘Mr. Punctuality’), followed by a shot of Heather meeting him for the first time outside his mothers house. Despite this chaotic chronology, we get to know the characters surprisingly well on their first day of shooting. Heather is the dominant force, Josh is the wacky stoner, and Mikey is the innocent.

TBWP uses some classic horror film techniques to achieve its power. There is some excellent foreshadowing, such as a crying baby yelling “no no no” when Mommy starts telling a story about the mysterious witch in the woods. One interview subject even spoils the ending of the movie (guy in the yellow hat). Does this detract from the power of the final shot? Not in the least.

TBWP even has memorable minor characters, which you won’t find in many found footage films these days. Even more impressive is the fact that most of them are non-actors. Case in point: Mary Brown. This hauntingly disturbed woman was played by a production assistant.

Many of the things that make TBWP succeed would not work well today. For instance, while cell phones were prevalent in the late 90’s, they were not the all powerful machines they are now. In fact, GPS would have solved all of the trio’s problems in TBWP, so it will be interesting to see how that is handled in the upcoming Blair Witch film. 

Usually, in horror films, we question the actions of the characters because there is usually an obvious way out. Don’t go upstairs, go out the outside, leave the light on, etc. But there is no way out in TBWP. These people are trapped in the middle of the woods without a clue. A headstrong (bordering on annoying, many would say) person like Heather has to be the MC for this film to remain credible. She remains rational for much longer than anyone else in the film, and much longer than many of us would if we were in her shoes. If she wasn’t leading the group aimlessly though the woods with the hope of redemption being right around the next bend, then we wouldn’t have a film.

Something that many people have a problem with when it comes to found footage films is the question of why a character would keep holding a camera while being attacked by some malevolent force. Refreshingly, TBWP has more “turn the camera off” talk than any other found footage film I’ve seen. The guys are constantly berating Heather for filming their terror. And her excuse is as simple as it is sensible. At one point Mike says, “We’re not making a film about us getting lost, were making a film about a witch.”

Heather pauses for a second, then says, “I got a camera…”

Later, Josh expounds on why Heather refuses to stop filming the tragic events. “It’s not quite reality. It’s like a totally filtered reality. It’s like you can pretend everything’s not quite the way it is.” Indeed.

The biggest thing that I took away from watching TBWP for the umpteenth time is this: More directors need to keep their actors in the dark about what is going to happen to them! The actors in TBWP were pretty much stranded in the forest without much food for much of the production. They didn’t know what kinds of tricks the crew were going to pull on them in the middle of the night. The disorienting feeling that the cast feels is contagious, and we, as viewers, feel just as lost and helpless as Heather, Josh, and Mike. Would abandoning your cast in the middle of the woods with barely any food fly these days? Let’s hope so.

Judging from the trailer for the new Blair Witch film, we look to be in for a more dirty, bloody, and loud experience than the original. There are a few reviews out that are quite positive, and I, for one, am very excited. Let’s just hope that the subtlety and nuance of TBWP isn’t completely replaced with tired jump scares and excessive gore. 

Creepy Indie Movie ‘Flytrap’ Will Keep You Guessing

Originally published here: https://addictedtohorrormovies.com/2016/08/31/creepy-indie-movie-flytrap-will-keep-you-guessing-review/

Directed/Written By: Stephen David Brooks

Starring: Jeremy Crutchley, Ina-Alice Kopp, Jonah Blechman

What a surprising little gem this turned out to be! 

I have always subscribed to the notion that one doesn’t need a huge budget and big-name stars in order to make a compelling movie, and Stephen David Brooks and co. have created a smart, scary, moving, and often times hilarious film with meager means. 

This film brings to mind a number of influences, not all of them cinema-related. Think After Hours as written by H.P. Lovecraft and directed by David Lynch. I don’t want to spoil too much of the story (because it is such a good one that you really should go in blind), but it involves a man that unwittingly encounters problem after problem. There are cosmic forces at work here, which we see hints of throughout the movie, but the real terror is in the mundane details of the “American Dream” lifestyle that Flytrap so deftly dismembers. 

That’s right, not only is this indie gem a thrilling ride, it also has some things to say. Throughout the film I detected subtle and not so subtle jabs at gender roles, the vapidness of Hollywood, and the nuclear family. There is more going on beneath the surface than first appears, and I cant wait to give Flytrap another watch. 

Flytrap works because of the tight script, the dedication of the actors to a strange and engrossing premise, and a synchronicity between the camera work and the score. You can tell that Brooks is a craftsman that takes a lot of care when composing each shot, and choosing where to place the creepy piano/string music. The movie also manages to tell a story using a single location as well as the original Saw did. 

The only reason I am deducting a point is due to a somewhat disappointing ending. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t just END (expecting you to “leave the rest to your imagination”, a lazy and hackneyed thing that too many directors like to do these days), but it does leave a few questions unanswered. It just makes me wish that there had been a slightly bigger budget, because I wanted to see more of this world! 

I highly recommend seeing Flytrap when it gets a general release, especially if you are a fan of my two favorite “L’s” – Lynch and Lovecraft.

4/5 Stars