It Comes Down To This

Today is essentially the last ‘free’ day before things get crazy for me. Friday and Saturday, the 28th and 29th of October 2011, are the two culminating days of a journey that began over ten years ago with a dream and which began in earnest in February.
Good or bad, awesome or horrible, in three days everything will be over.
It’s crazy to imagine.
It’s crazy to think that this thing that I have thought about to the point of obsession for these many years is about to finally arrive and will be over before I realize it.

Wow.

And this thing has had its own awful life, this Flint Horror Convention. I have loved and hated it at the same time, I have felt more connected to a project than I ever have but have gone through times where I questioned the logic of what we were trying to do. And it was always ‘we’. I knew from the outset I couldn’t do this alone. It was too big and for me, this wasn’t about ME. My writing, my art, that’s about ME. That’s the stuff that I am fully in control of, this convention is not. Yet this is one of the most important things I have ever been involved in. Important not just to me but because we want to lay the groundwork for other conventions and events to come to Flint. We want to let the world know that Flint isn’t dead, that it’s fighting, that we’re all fighting to make this a better place
And will a horror convention make Flint safer, wealthier, better off?
No.
But it will add to the culture here and can give someone reason to visit, to return, and maybe want to become more involved in this area. What I hope we are is hope to all the students, young people, and regular old people who are here anyway that you don’t always have to travel hours away and don’t have to spend lots of money attend these sorts of events.

My hope is that this gives birth to hope.

And it has been pretty amazing, the response we’ve had from people. It’s amazing how many people have been waiting for something like this to come to the area. It’s crazy that no one else tried to do it.

When this whole thing is done with I’ll tell more of the story of how we got to where we are because it’s interesting, in retrospect, but man, when it was happening it was hell.

I can’t say I know how this will all turn out, how we’ll fare, and if people will come, but I hope, and in hope there’s solace and comfort. And in hope there is life. Whatever happens, I know we all worked our asses off to make sure that this came together and that it could be the best thing we were able to put together.

I owe more thanks to so many people that stuck with me, that believed in me and this dream, and I hope this event pays off for all of us and makes them all feel their faith was not misplaced.

http://www.flinthorrorcon.com
- c

Just A Little Old Thing

So after grinding my teeth after first hearing that some mad fool was going to remake one my all time favorite movies THE THING I was pushed by sheer curiosity to go see the film. What had first been said to be a remake was in fact a prequel to the seminal Carpenter film, something not necessarily needed but nonetheless intriguing.

For those who may not have seen the movie or who are forgetful, in THE THING two characters from the American base head over to see what happened to a neighboring Norwegian science base after two of the ‘Swedes’ (as Mac calls them) cause some chaos at the American base. What the two find at the Norwegian base is a massacre and a destroyed camp…and a thing. This prequel is the story of that other camp.

Interesting, no?

Now a lot of the horror nerds out there are up in arms that someone DARED to make a prequel to this hallowed classic…despite the fact that Carpenter’s was a remake of another revered classic and both are adaptations of a short story. So, I mean, this is one of my fave movies we’re talking here but cripes, get over it.
It’s a movie.
The days when I was shocked and outraged at Hollywood, or moviemakers in general, for their lack of new ideas are long gone. Make a good movie and I am with you. Life is too darn short to freak out over stuff like that. I mean, it’s part of the fun of being a nerd, and I am all in for that sort of banter, but sometimes ya just gotta get over it.

So is THE THING -2011 any good?
Yeah, it is, actually.
It’s not the same movie as the original, and while it has similar beats to it and goes to pains to tie into the Carpenter film but it is its own beast. The biggest complaints I had were that there’s something that happens that isn’t really explained or referenced afterwards (cut perhaps), and some of the monster effects are really CGI-looking. And I am not upset that they used CGI. They didn’t do it in the original because the tech wasn’t there then. It’s probably simpler and less money to do CGI than physical effects now. Do I prefer physical effects? HECK YEAH! They just don’t do them a lot these days and I have seen a LOT of bad physical effects in my day too so they are not the be all end all that the old schoolers like to tell you. Much like the ’80′s were not this safe haven for great horror. Puhhhhhhhhlease!

THE THING – 2011 is not a great film but it’s a fun, solid film and offers a lot of good surprises. There are some faults for sure but overall I liked the heck out of it. And ya know what, it was just what I needed right now – a solid monster movie, and on that end, it delivers.

7.5 out of 10
(original is a 9, so ya know)

It Is The Time For Darkness

In the night it watches you.
It knows what you dream.
It knows what you want.
It knows what you fear.

The Darkness knows you.
It is time you learned a little about it.

Learn.

 

The Coffin – review

   Something American films have never gotten right when it comes to modern ghost stories is the sense of dread that the rest of the world, especially in Asia, have nailed even in the worst of their films. There is something that perhaps we have lost in American culture, the reverence and fear of the dead isn’t as strong here so we don’t fear spirits as much until they become violent towards us or our loved ones. But it is the knowledge the dead have of what lies beyond the veil of life that scares those in the other regions of the world, that, and that when the dead return, they don’t usually care to return to the darkness alone.

   The Coffin tells the story of two strangers who come across a ritual done in Thailand where the living go through a burial ceremony to rid themselves of bad karma and they decide to go through the ceremony. What they find after the ritual is that they feel free, free of past worries and sorrows and in the case of the woman, free of Cancer. As happy as they are to be seeing life through new eyes though, they find that the horrors they faced within the coffin, during the ritual, are hanging with them and are becoming more horrifying by the day. It is only when their loved ones begin to suffer that the two begin investigating what is happening and the true nature of the ghosts they are seeing comes to life. It seems that if you rid yourself of bad karma you are merely passing it to the closest person to you. Now these two strangers must discover how to satisfy the things haunting them before they rip their lives and everyone in them apart.

   A very subtle, very slow film, this plays well with the classic Asian ghost stories of recent years. The story isn’t quite as strong, and the scares are not quite as intense as other films but this is a solid tale that offers a lot of terror. There is a lot said here, a lot about coming to terms with your place in life, with death, and with life itself, and these only add to the film and give the viewer something to ponder when the movie is long over. Not a perfect picture, with some lulls in the pace, but a good movie and perfect for fans of subtle ghost stories.

7 out of 10