HORROR: The October To-Do List

- by Ninja Ross, 2 October 2013

It’s that time of year again, folks! I am pleased to force another month of horror down your throat, just so you can have a nice, bloody Halloween! And I’m going to kick things off by telling YOU what you should be doing all month. No, you don’t get to pick your own horror. Sit down, shut up and pay attention.

JOHN DIES AT THE END

If you’ve been paying attention (if you haven’t, I’ll sock ya!) you may know that one of my favourite books of all time is John Dies at the End.

Click to horror-size it.

Written by David Wong (known best for his work at Cracked.com) manages to blend horror and comedy like nobody else. One minute you’re laughing like an idiot, the next you’re disgusted and a little bit scared.

The two main characters, David and John, take a drug called Soy Sauce that gives them some pretty strange powers. They’re forced into a huge conspiracy involving alternate dimensions, strange meat monsters and... Seriously, read the book. I can’t even begin to describe the crazy.

The comedy takes up the majority of this book but when the horror shows up; it is well written, showing that Wong has a grasp on both genres.

SILENT HILL

Oh, which one, you ask? All of them. Come on, it’s good for you! Exercises the heart! But I definitely advise playing the first three games. Give Downfall a shot, too; it’s not incredible but it’s a good game.

But the first three are where the psychological scares are. If this doesn’t make your October a terrifying month, you’re broken inside and need serious help.

Word?

It might also be a good idea to check the film out. It’s not the best thing you’re ever going to see and, as adaptations go, it’s pretty poor but it’s not terrible. It’s well acted, for the most part, and it’s decently creepy in the right places. And Pyramid Head doesn’t look half bad.

Additional TM reading: Silent Hill Visitor's Guide


SINISTER

Ethan Hawke stars as a writer who takes his family to live in a murder house. A house where entire families have been murdered just for living there. WHY is he taking his family to live in a house where families are drowned, burned alive, hanged from trees and so on? Because reasons!

Ethan Hawke is a poor husband and father.

It really is a fantastic film, though. The scares are actually pretty predictable in places but the atmosphere created by fantastic acting, decent writing and spectacular directing makes you jump even if you see it coming.

You’ll find yourself dreading every cliché in this film (in a good way) rather than laughing at it. Because that dark attic he’s climbing into? You know exactly what’s coming. But you will jump.


HORNS

Joe Hill, in my opinion, is a better writer than his father, Stephen King. He gets to the point a lot faster and his pacing is much better. And Horns is a perfect example of his ability to write great horror and drama.

The book follows a man who is accused of raping and killing his girlfriend. While cleared of the charges, he lives life with that weight on his shoulders. He moves in with a girl he doesn’t love, he avoids family get-togethers and he drinks too much. Then he grows horns.

These horns force those around him to confess their sins. While this power is pretty disturbing to him to begin with, he soon uses it to try and find out who DID kill the love of his life.

This book is well worth reading; the characters are interesting and the plot is fantastic. While not very horrifying, it’s still full of horror themes. And if you enjoy this, I definitely advise checking out Hill’s Locke and Key!

DAYBREAKERS

When was the last time you really cared about vampires? Been a while, hasn’t it? We’ve been stuck with things like Twilight for a long time... But Daybreakers features vampires that are fun and dangerous. Vampires that have taken over the world and are using humans for cattle.

The story follows a vampire scientist after he discovers that vampires are mutating into horrifying bat-like creatures that attack anything in sight. And there ya go! Vampires are fun again!

Thank you, Mr. Dafoe.

It’s a very fun film with a lot of action and Willem Dafoe (that alone should sell it to you). It’s nice to see vampires be fun monsters again. Sparkly perverts just isn’t fun.


HACK/SLASH

Hack/Slash, the comic created by Tim Seeley, gives the classic horror slashers a nemesis of their own. Cassie Hack, survivor of The Lunch Lady slasher, travels across America with her sidekick, Vlad, killing every slasher they can find, trying to make sure they stay dead.

This is a fun book that takes a look at the classic horror clichés and shakes them up a bit. It’s what happens AFTER the slasher film, when the good, wholesome virgin girl survives and has to carry on with her life. Rather than sit and wait for the sequel, she inserts herself into other people’s horror movies.

It’s fun! It’s sexy! It’s silly! And the characters have fantastic personalities, which stops the book from looking like a cheap parody.

Plus, Suicide Girls are in it and artist Skottie Young is a reoccurring character; what’s not to love about that?!?

Hack/Slash

Additional TM reading: TM Interview (TMI) with Jenny Frison, who did cover art for "Hack/Slash"


EVIL DEAD (REMAKE)

You all know what Evil Dead is about, right? Bunch of teens go to a cabin, read from a clearly evil book and then things go horribly wrong. It’s a classic! Well, the last two are... The fist movie kind of sucked.

But this remake takes elements from the first two and throws up a decent, blood filled horror movie. It suffers from some pretty old clichés (don’t read from a book bound in skin, people) but, as horror movies go, it’s pretty effective.

It’s not as messy as some people have claimed but man, that’s a messy final scene, I tell you what. The whole movie is worth watching just for that.


ZOMBIE!

ZOMBIE! is a multimedia project started by Eric Weiss, which includes comic strips and music. As cool as the strips are, it’s the music I’m recommending to you right now. Of course, do check the strips out... AFTER you do as I tell you...

The sound is kind of Smashing Pumpkins meets Dead Kennedys. It’s horror punk, complete with songs about zombies and graveyards! It’s perfect for listening to this month, to keep that horror spirit alive when you’re nowhere near the many fantastic things I am forcing you to experience this month.

And here is a song! Meet Me in the Graveyard.

SCP-CONTAINMENT BREACH

Oh, Doctor Who’s Weeping Angels were creepy, were they? Scared you, did they? Hmmm... I guess you’ve never heard of the game SCP-Containment Breach. This puts those Weeping Angels (as creepy and effective as they are) to shame.

It’s a pretty simple set up; you play a test subject who has to take it in turns with other test subjects to constantly watch this big... doll thing. Take your eye off it for a second and it will kill you. Of course, things go wrong and you’re forced to try and escape the facility and stay ahead of the monster.

That would be the doll thing. You will learn to be terrified of it.

One of the things that makes this game interesting is that you have to control your blinking. You have a meter that tells you when you’re going to be forced to blink but, by using space bar, you can blink manually, refilling the meter. So, some tactics are involved when trying to survive this game.

Did I also mention the game is FREE?!? Yeah! This is good because now you have money to spend on new pants.


AMERICAN HORROR STORY

I was late to the party on this one. I had seen the majority of the first season not long after it came out and, while I thought it was enjoyable, didn’t bother to continue. But I was recently assured that the second season is incredible. These people were not wrong.

Set in a church run mental institution in the 1960s, season two follows a handful of characters each put there unfairly.

The most interesting thing about this season is that it puts a heck of a lot of stuff in there and does so without making the show feel over done. You’ve got aliens, a slasher, the devil and a mad scientist and his monsters. It’s interesting to see how these elements work around each other. It’s some darn clever writing, I’ll tell you that.

Of course, I also suggest watching season one. It’s in no way linked to season two (but they do use a lot of the same actors) but it is an enjoyable haunted house horror.


And there ya go, you lovely people, you! This’ll get you started for the month! And... Sure, I suppose you can pick a few of your own... I guess. But please let us know below what you’d add to the list!

Tagged: books, comics, movies & TV, music, video games.

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