The Final Fear-filled Phantasm from Richard Sala

2022 is coming to an end, as is Terror Titan's year-long celebration of the works of the great Richard Sala. We're here with a few of Richard's phantasms, getting ready to party our way into the new year, and we toast and thank you for joining us!

Fear-filled Phantasms by Richard Sala

Richard Sala is back with Christmas Among the Creatures. 

In this drawing, he gives us a look at some of Santa's Helpers that are rarely seen, because they're not as pretty as ones we feature over at the Shades of Gray blog.

Ouija Board Wednesday: Ouija 2

Ouija 2 (2022)
Starring: Juliett Rojas and Eteri Coast
Director: Alex Magana
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Two sisters (Coast and Rojas) receive a mysterious package containing a Ouija board. They decide to try to reach out to the spirits... with a dire outcome.

 "Ouija 2" is predictable but well executed and creepy. It's well-staged, well-paced, and stars a pair of talented child actors. It may not be one of Magana's best films, but he's working with confining material and trodding well-covered ground in a very traditional way... and he delivers what viewers should expect.

Fear-filled Phantasms by Richard Sala

 In the Spirit of the Season, we bring you "Krampus vs. Santa's Helpers"!

And if Krampus wins, then last Christmas will have been the last Christmas!

Tuneful Tuesday with Valentino Khan

What if Junji Ito (the guy behind these works, some of which inspired these films) created a music video? Well, it would probably be something like this:

Ouija Board Wednesday: Weeji

We're going to keep the short films coming until the next 31 Nights of Halloween come around. Stop by the second Wednesday of each month between now and October 2023 for some bone-chilling fun with demons and spirit boards!

Weeji (2017)

Starring: Matthew Scott Montgomery, Abbie Cobb, Emily James, Wes Aderhold, and Hayley Ogas

Director: Allisyn Snyder

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Four detail-obsessed friends (Alderhold, Cobb, James, and Mongomery) find themselves confronted by a demon (Ogas) who grows sick of their shit.

Making a good horror movie is hard. Making a good comedy is harder. Making a good horror comedy... well, that takes a lot of talent and top-notch work from writers, directors, actors, and pretty much everyone involved with a production. As such, good horror comedies are few and far between, and they are especially rare when it comes to short films. 

But, luckily for us, "Weeji" is a good horror comedy that may even be great. Click below, sit back, and enjoy!

The perfect song for this Tuneful Tuesday

 

We're bringing in the Day of the Dead (and an early start to the Holiday Season) with style... thanks for Lindsey Stirling and Friends!

Danses Macabre on Halloween!

The big day is here--Halloween 2022! We're going to be celebrating it with several posts both here at and our sister blog Shades of Gray. A running theme will be versions of the spooky classic "Danse Macabre", as we bring you thrilling interpretations of that great piece of music, along with exciting visuals.

If you just want to keep up with the music at Shades of Gray, click here. A post with a different version to of Danse Macabre will show up every few hours between now and when darkness falls across the land and Halloween begins in earnest!

Meanwhile, you'll also find tidbits of terror set on Halloween here, along with more versions of "Danse Macabre" sprinkled in every few hours. So join us here or at Shades of Gray whenever you need to recharge between preparing for party guests, or the waves of trick-or-treaters.

And so, here's the Tempus Quartet with an excellent rock-tinged version of "Danse Macabre" and a really cool performance video, featuring ballerina Elisa Montiel standing in for the dancing spirits.

Trying something new for Halloween!

 In September, the operator of Terror Titans decided to put his YouTube Channel to use. All he does over there is talk to the camera, so it's kinda-sorta like an audio/visual version of this blog.

On October 31, he's going to engage in the ambitious notion of uploading a video every hour, on the hour, that will see him reading a horror-themed poem, by the likes of Robert E. Howard, H.P Lovecraft, Emily Dickinson, and others!

Will he be successful? Time will tell... but the first one will go up at Midnight tonight. Join us at this link if you feel so inclined! See poems read by a guy with a face for radio and a voice for silent movies!

31 Nights of Halloween: Alone

All it takes is a minute to provide viewers with top-notch horror entertainment... as tonight's offering proves beyond a shadow of a doubt. (It can also be a cautionary tale; it's dangerous to be alone at night, this close to Halloween... because you may not actually be alone!)

Alone (2020)

Starring: Anonymous Actress

Director: Shane P. Liao

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

The only complaint I have with this film--which is not related to the excellence on the screen--is the lack of credits. Yes, it's only one minute long, but there's a bit of black at the very end where at the very least the main actress' name could have been provided. I like giving credit where credit is due... but it feels odd to say this film stars "The Sushi", because that's all the information I have from the video's YouTube description.)

31 Nights of Halloween: The Do-Gooder

The Do-Gooder (2022)
Starring: Jennifer Buckley, Xhaania Wright, William Sibley, Azaa Sharavnyam
Director: Alexander Henderson

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Two teenagers (Buckley and Wright) get drawn into an increasingly mysterious situation after witnessing a menacing old man (Sibley) abusing a young woman (Sharavnvam)

I'm at the point in my life where it's not easy for filmmakers to surprise me. I've watched hundreds upon hundreds of horror films and thrillers, and it's rare that I come across a twist I haven't seen before, or even a combination of twists.

"The Do-Gooder", though, kept me guessing until the end. The various pieces of the plot were familiar, but it became increasingly evident that they were either arranged in a very unusual way, or they were not the familiar elements I took them to be. By the time the final fade took place, I was generally happy with what had just unfolded... and I even found myself hoping there would be a sequel.

The film was not without its flaws, though. Many scenes are a little underlit, I would have liked to see some three-shots here and there, and the script is a bit flabby at points, but the strong and unexpected ending makes up for whatever technical weaknesses I feel like griping about. In the final analysis, watching "The Do-Gooder" is time well spent.

Fear-filled Phantasms by Richard Sala

 It's The Nightmare Before Halloween!

31 Nights of Halloween: I Saw It

I Saw It (2022)
Starring: Soha Sayied

Director: Michael Little

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Sometimes, a shifting shadow is just a trick of the light. Sometimes, a shifting shadow is something deadly. A woman (Sayied) will learn that her life depends on knowing one from the other.

"I Saw It" is a straight-forward little chiller, featuring that rarest of horror movie characters: One that isn't an idiot. The film further benefits from effective lighting, nice use of soundtrack music and sound, and great camerawork. The creature effects are also very nice.

This short film is also a perfect PSA for this time of year. We should all be aware that with the lengthening shadows come a higher instance of Shadow People breaking through to our world. We should all be on our guard, so we can avoid becoming victims!