The annual Halloween celebration here at Terror Titans got brought to a screeching halt by the horror show that is real life. So, instead we're going to be sharing some of the stuff we had INTENDED to post during the second half of October in 2024 on a sporadic basis throughout the coming year... starting now!
We're starting things with a surpringly good cover by the Melodika Brothers. It's not surprising that they once again have delivered something clever and well-conceived... no, what's surprising is how effective Ricky Martin's famous party anthem "Living La Vida Loca" translates into the horror genre! I mean, it's been there the whole time, but I've just never noticed!
And the video--which tells the tale of a ghost hunt--is excellent!
"The Silent Watcher" (sadly one of the many great early films that have been lost) tells of four sorority sisters, the handyman they all lust after, and the maid from the sorority house, who are working through the night to get an old house ready for a big party the next evening. Unfortunately, a killer is in the house with them, so they might not live to see the morning...
Some film historians identify "The Silent Watcher" (1925), starring Bessie Love and Douglas Fairbanks, as the first slasher film. It's surprisingly gory for its time. In fact, it is SO gory that it was only shown in three theaters in California, two showings each, before all copies were seized by the authorities and production company Gleaming Edge was hit with so many fines it went out of business.
Although it was widely condemned in the press (while being unseen by most), critics also praised stars Bessie Love and Douglas Fairbanks for performances that ran the gamut from funny to "heart-stoppingly terrifying", and generally spoke favorably of the last-minute, shocking revelation of the killer's identity.
So... what do you think? Is this a truthful post? Or is it trickery in the spirit of Halloween?
Oingo Boingo was another favorite band of my youth, with "Just Another Day" ranking among my most beloved song by them. Not only is it a cool and creepy song, but it inspired a number of my favorite creations for my personal roleplaying game campaigns.
If you are unfamiliar with the song, check it out. If you are familiar with the song, check it out again. It's bound to make you feel the Spirit of Halloween lurking in the closest shadow!
Coming to YOUR favorite television network, just in time for Halloween -- a groundbreaking film trilogy starring Annabelle Crean, Will Ferrell, and the voice of Patrick Warburton: REHABILITATING REAPER'S REPUTATION!
When the Grim Reaper (voiced by Patrick Warburton) gets tired of the negativity surrounding him and his essential role in the cosmos, he hires marketing firm McManus & Trent to change humanity's perception of him. Ad executives Teagan (Annabelle Crean) and Darrin (Will Ferrell) find themselves navigating uncharted PR territory and unknown dangers in both this world and the next, as they go about REHABILITING REAPER'S REPUTATION!
(From the Creator of CROWNBREAKER and WHO LET THE DOGG OUT?, and Co-Scripter of RESIDENT EVIL 7: ALICE IN WONDERLAND! A Noshuchthing Production.)
I love music videos from the 1980s and early 1990s, because so many of them were mini-movies. The video for "Night Boat" in one such item. Plus, it's all mysterious and spooky, with young men wait for the arrival of a woman none of them have seen before on an isolated boat dock.
It's a great little nugget to help spur the Halloween Spirit in your vicinity.
Coming Soon to All Streaming Platforms and Quality Movie Theaters -- from the star and director of the classic Resident Evil, Milla Jovovich and Paul W. S. Anderson...
On Friday, October 4, 2024, Lyric Noel released "All Hallows Eve Volume 1", a Halloween-themed EP, on pretty much any streaming platform you care to mention (like here at Amazon Music). If you like hard rock, I think you'll like it... and I think everyone will love Noel's powerful voice and will be impressed by her range.
Check out the music video for "Cry Little Sister" below to get a taste of the EP (and Noel in general) has to offer. She and her band are so talented that I even liked the growly "death metal" parts of the song. And I usually HATE such Cookie Monster homages almost anywhere they are found. (Until this point, only Psychostick had done "growly" without causing me to snarl.)
Wendy had told her parents that a fantastic flying creature had appeared at her window, saying it would take her to Never-Never Land. It said they could come to if they wanted. They laughed at her. So, the next night when the creature reappeared again, Wendy went with it alone.
It's been a few years since we last checked in with filmmaker David Fershtadt, but we noticed that he just released a new short film so now seemed like the perfect time. His supernatural domestic troubles are continuing... much to his detriment but for our entertainment.
We hope you enjoy this mini trip into mysterious moodiness as much as we did!
This week, in the Screening Room, we're showing a psychological horror film that was made in 1973, but not released until 1978. It could be good... it could be bad. As these words are being typed, we have not seen it yet! If you are seeing this post soon enough, join us and we'll find out about this film together!
"Die Sister, Die!" will premiere in the Screening Room at 4:00pm (1600) Pacific Time. Click to watch the film today, tomorrow, or whenever you happen by. And please let us know whether you liked it or not, either with a comment here or on the film itself.
Die Sister, Die! (1978)
Starring: Jack Ging, Edith Atwater, Antoinette Bower, Kent Smith, and Rita Conde
This first short film of this year's 31 Nights of Halloween celebration is a treat! Or maybe a trick? Or maybe both? Watch it and see for yourself... and let us know what you thought of it!
A favorite new toy in these parts is OpenArt-ai. We have spent countless hours having the computer create all sorts of useful and/or weird illustrations for us. Some of the more hilarious ones have come completely out of left field and had almost nothing to do with the "prompt" that was written to describe the illo we wanted.
But as we were playing, a thought began to form. Maybe we should put together some art packets for the NUELOW Games Stock Art Collection series? Or maybe put together little RPG source books/adventures based on the storylines that the many pictures we've made. Time will tell.
In the meantime, here are a few samples of the sort of stuff that will be in the hypothetcal collection "She Chose the Werewolf".
Even our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ loves Halloween. Be sure to visit him for God-sized candy corn when you're out trick-or-treating on the Big Night!
One of the greatest mysteries in the history of music is why "Dead Man's Party" by Oingo Boingo never became popular enough to make it to Top 100 Charts in the United States. It's one of my favorite songs, bar none, and it's also one of the best tunes by that legendary Danny Elfman-led band.
"Dead Man's Party" is also a perfect bit of music to get you in a Halloweenish mood, so it's an ideal tune to restore life to Terror Titans for this year's 31 Nights of Halloween extravaganza!
Do you love this song as much as I do? Do you NOT like it at all? Let me know with a comment below!
Lyvia's House (2023) Starring: Tara Nchol Caldwell, Joshua Malekos, Ann Marie Gideon, Andrew Diego, Danielle Octavien, Deborah Tucker, and Pete Davis
Director: Niko Volonakis
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
After being swept off her feet by the handsome and romantic Johnny (Malekos), Tara (Caldwell) moves with him to a small, isolated town and the large mansion he owns there. As Tara learns more about the town and the former owner of the house, she comes to realize that a serial killer who is supposed to have died years ago is once again becoming active... and that she and Johnny might be in his sights.
"Lyvia's House" is a film that I found it difficult to assign a rating to. There were many things about it that I loved, and almost as many things about it that I disliked. In the end, though, I feel like the good outweighs the bad in this modern-day horror thriller with strong gothic romance overtones, making it a solid Six on my 0-10 scale. I also think that it's worth your time to check out if you enjoy slow-boil mystery stories with heaps of gothic flavoring.
In the good column, is the fact that "Lyvia's House" is a gorgeous and expertly executed film. On a visual level, every scene is perfectly framed and lighting is used effectively to deepen suspense, mystery, and horror. Although the story is slow in unfolding, the visuals are so well done that the viewer is still drawn in and is focused on following Tara's dangerous path along with her.
In fact, I can't even level my oft-made complaint about scenes being underlit here, because the job done by the crew was perfect in pretty much every way--perhaps it helped that the director was also a camera operator and the cinematographer also served as the gaffer. This is the first feature length production that Cody Martin worked as cinematographer on, and he did such an amazing job that I hope he has a brilliant career ahead of him.
Speaking of contributors to this film for whom this is a first, "Lyvia's House" marks the feature film debut of Tara Nichol Caldwell. Actually, it marks her professional acting debut, period, but you wouldn't know it from the great performance she gives. She is the lead actor in this film however you want to define that, and I hope I'll have a chance to see her in other films. (One of the signs of her great skill is that she has some truly terrible, borderline unintentionally funny lines, but her delivery and physical performance makes them work.)
Unfortunately, I can't give that sort of praise to Caldwell's co-star, Joshua Malekos. He gives a performance that is almost completely flat and monotone. Sometimes, it felt to me like he was just reading lines with the expectation that a voice actor would come in and an actual performance would be delivered during post-production. I suspect that he was going to something in between charming and mysterious, but it ended up just seeming empty. Even as the film enters into its riveting third act--where secrets are exposed, masks slip, and the film goes into full gothic horror mode--Malekos is something of a dead spot.
Even with Malekos's lackluster performance, I liked many other aspects of this film so much that I might have given it a Seven... if not for certain weaknesses in the script. I've already touched upon some of the dialogue being laughably bad, but even worse are the pointless scenes involving phone calls with Tara's best friend that serve little purpose other than to break the mounting suspense as the story unfolds. Even worse are the moments when characters fail to comment to things that are painfully obvious and SHOULD be something they'd remark upon (or at least worry about).
The most glaring of these is when Tara sees the self-portrait painted by Lyvia, the former owner of Johnny's house. Lyvia looks so much like Tara that it looks like Tara might have sat for the portrait. It's something that she (or SOMEONE) should have commented on; if Tara didn't notice that she could be Lyvia's twin sister, certainly someone in the village would have and made some comment.
I could go on and get increasingly nitpicky, but, as I said above, the good outweighs the bad in "Lydia's House". Despite its flaws, it is an engaging film that will add value to your Amazon Prime and/or Hulu subscriptions when it debuts on those and other platforms on October 1, 2024. (It's a pretty good way to kick off the creepy Halloween Season, I feel!)
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