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!)
Starring: Jonathan Stephens Director: Vincent Dormani Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
A man unknowingly hangs a cursed painting in his home... and lives to regret it.
"Open Casket" is another excellent chiller from Vincent Domani. I could mention a few nitpicks about the film, but the good outweighs the bad so heavily that it would be unfair. The only real complaint I can make against this film is that it manages to maintain a creepy atmosphere and then turns outright horrorific at the climax... but then crashes and burns during the last few seconds. It's almost like Dormani was at a loss for how to end the film, so he went with the easiest no matter how nonsensical.
That aside, I still have to give this film the highest possible praise I can -- I want to know more. I want the backstory of the painting, why it is the way it is, and what happens with Stephens' character. Like I said above, despire my disappointment with tbhe ending, the good far outweighs the bad here.
This is one of the better short films I've come across built around the trope "kids f--- around and find out" with Ouija Boards. It's a slow burn, but the payoff is worth it. In fact, I don't think I've seen a short film of this sub-genre present a more perfect ending. Behind the generic title, awaits an excellent student film! (It's ten years old, so I hope the people involved went onto successful film careers... they certain had talent!)
Ouija Board (2013)
Starring: Mia Vera, Shaun Sutton, and Hannah Halvorson
Dr. Purge may well be the greatest horror movie (or novel, or roleplaying game scenario, or graphic novel) that doesn't exist, but should. Just look at this poster:
That illo is a genuine ex-libris (with some very minor modifications to the featured text) that was commissioned during the early part of the 20th century for the private library of a Hungarian medical doctor who truly was named Purge. From the moment I saw it in the collection at the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest, I felt that there was greatness to be brought froth from this turn-of-the-20th-century drawing.
If someone writes an RPG scenario (or even an outline of one) inspired by that picture and featuring a villain named Dr. Purge--I will release it through NUELOW Games!
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