Creepshow is one of my all-time favorite '80s horror flicks, for a number of reasons. The movie was a love letter to the old EC horror comics. It was the brainchild of Stephen King and George Romero. And as I wrote about last year, it features one of the greatest soundtracks of all time. And the fact that Father's Day is this weekend gives me another great reason to revisit this classic, because the opening tale in this anthology is a little gem named after the holiday itself. https://youtu.be/1bO3gyT3Imc Father's Day features a family of rich, entitled dou[...]
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MidnightSocietyBrian
2 God, I love Twin Peaks. And I love David Lynch. I recently posted on my own blog about what an inspiration Lynch is for me, particularly in how he stays true to his ideas. But for this post I want to focus on something else, because I know that Lynch's work is not for everyone. Some people find the pacing of Twin Peaks agonizing, it's humor cartoonish and it's soap opera presentation off-putting. As a kid who grew up watching General Hospital and Days of Our Lives, I adore it. But even if you don't care for Lynch's style, I still think there is a lot for you to[...]
As I've mentioned here previously, I've been playing through Resident Evil 7, and I'm constantly impressed by the nods to old horror stories and movies this game has. One of my recent sessions involved giant insects, and as someone who really hates bugs, it added a whole extra layer of terror for me. You can watch me freak out here: https://youtu.be/-Ju6y3NIpYk Anyway, those giant insects reminded me of a 1976 movie that scarred me for life--Food of the Gods. Loosely based on an H.G. Wells story, Food of the Gods was about a strange substance that is found bubb[...]
Clive Barker is my favorite modern horror author, and he's had a tremendous influence on my own horror writing. My Parted Veil series is heavily inspired by Barker, in particular by his ability to weave dark fantasy with horror to create worlds that both ignite your imagination and terrify you at the same time. But while I love Barker's longer works like Weaveworld, The Great and Secret Show and Everville, it's his short stories that first made me fall in love with him. And my first introduction to them was the Books of Blood. Like many kids in the '80s, my fir[...]
John Carpenter is my director of all time. Not even just my favorite horror director--my favorite director. The three biggest influences on my writing are Clive Barker, H.P. Lovecraft and John Carpenter, and it's my love for Carpenter that is most easily seen in every story I write. So as a lifelong fan of Carpenter's work, I can truly appreciate what a love letter The Void is to three Carpenter films in particular--Prince of Darkness, The Thing and Assault on Precinct 13. And while the movie does not execute on everything it sets out to do, it's a solid horror[...]
A couple months back I wrote about my first impressions of Resident Evil 7, and how it was a love letter to horror fans. I was grinning ear to ear at the start of my playthough but every so often, the game likes to wipe the smile off of my face by scaring the ever living crap out of me. One of the ways it does that is with Jack Baker, the seemingly unkillable head of the family that is holding you captive. In the following video, the main character Nathan faces off against him in a brutal confrontation reminiscent of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Nathan has to defeat J[...]
I had no idea what to expect when I sat down with the first issue of Underwinter this week, but I'm still thinking about the book days after I read it. It's a hauntingly beautiful horror story that reminds me a lot of Hellraiser with a splash of Eyes Wide Shut thrown in. Underwinter follows the story of a group of four very talented musicians--a string quartet that has seen better days. They get offered a very high-paying gig at a posh estate--if they can follow the rules of the performance. The book opens with one of the characters recounting a nightmare th[...]
I've been playing a lot of co-op horror games lately, and while in some ways it takes a bit of the edge off, in others it adds a whole new layer of horror. 7 Days to Die is a game where you are trying to survive in the zombie apocalypse, but it has a very particular twist--every seven days, a zombie horde attacks you. So, you spend the days in between the hordes gathering supplies and building materials to build a shelter that can withstand the assault. https://youtu.be/WS1j2-2OEdg This element of the game adds a constant sense of tension, as the moment you mak[...]
I LOVE the Friday the 13th Series. It's my favorite horror franchise of all time, and I adore each and every entry into the series (except that 2009 reboot--holy crap that sucked). Friday the 13th is a HUGE influence on The Woodsview Murders series Jolene and I write together (look for those Easter eggs!), as well as my solo horror stories. If I could only watch one horror franchise for the rest of my days, it would be this one. So, since our theme for March here at the Midnight Society is graveyards, I decided to revisit one of my favorite scenes from the Frid[...]
I'm only about three hours into Resident Evil 7, but I am in love with this game. While the series has been inconsistent at best over the past handful of years, this latest installment is the perfect blend of horror, humor and shocking moments that has me smiling from ear to ear every moment I spend with it. https://youtu.be/rxjOFd0YNo0 Switching to first person was a great decision, as it pulls you deeper into the experience, and allows the creators to surprise you in ways that just aren't possible in third person. This creates a level of constant tension that[...]