House

In addition to Star Wars, 1977 also saw the release of House (Hausu), a Japanese horror film directed by Nobuhiko Ôbayashi.

It's about a group of Japanese girls who spend their vacation time at a friend's aunt's house--not knowing that the aunt is dead, and the house is haunted. 

The girls go barefoot a great deal in this film, making themselves at home in the house despite the weird goings-on.

In spite of several horrific killings, which includes a lot of gore, House manages to be weirdly charming. 

It helps that the chilling moments are offset by over-the-top comedy that boarders on being extremely silly. House is a very weird horror/comedy film with some great BF scenes. 

Halloween Kills (just not now)

A new teaser trailer dropped for Halloween Kills, along with the news that the film's opening has been bumped to next year.

While I'm not happy to see this (I loved the 2018 Halloween film), given the circumstances, it's completely understandable. I'm starting to think that maybe the movie studios/theaters should just write off 2020 and push everything back to next year, just to be on the safe side. Hopefully the situation will have improved when Halloween Kills releases in October 2021.

The Replacement

In the TV series Inside No. 9, Aimee-Ffion Edwards stars as a young woman who's house sitting for a couple in England.

The episode is called "The Harrowing" and Miss Edwards is actually dealing with a cult who want to make her the newest vessel for a demon.

That's why she winds up being barefoot and stripped down to her underwear and tied to a chair in a bedroom.

You might want to brace yourself for the shot of the creepy old guy in a diaper (ugh!), but Miss Edwards is as cute as a button in bondage here. To see the scene go right here.

Underwater

Kristen Stewart stars in Underwater, a an SF/horror film about a group of researchers on the bottom of the ocean who encounter some weird creepy-crawlies. It releases in January of 2020.

I'm looking forward to this. I've long been a fan of underwater films, having seen (and loved) The Abyss, Leviathan, Deep Star Six, Sphere, and Jurassic World (which had a memorable undersea dinosaur). And I've put many underwater scenes and sea monsters in my Ryta The Jungle Girl books, including the latest Ryta book that I'm working on now.

History of the Horror Film

Mark Gatiss is a writer and actor who co-wrote Sherlock (with Benedict Cumberpatch) and the Peter Capaldi seasons of Doctor Who. He played Mycroft, Sherlock's brother on that series.

Starting with this video, he presents a comprehensive history of horror in the movies, beginning with Universal Horror in the first video, moving on to Hammer Horror in the second, and finishing up with The Exorcist/Halloween (Michael Meyers) films in the final show.

It was the perfect series to watch leading up to Halloween. It's enlightening and has plenty of clips of the films it speaks about. It also informed me of horror movies that I've never even heard of (like The Plague of the Zombies). Recommended viewing for this Halloween season.

The (flying?) Nun

OK, so it looks like each of the creeps from the Conjuring films are getting their own films, including the Nun. She was the really creepy specter who haunted Vera Farmiga in The Conjuring 2 (Electric Boogaloo). Now, in her own film, the Nun is haunting Taissa Farmiga.

Is there some reason why the Nun is only going after members of the Farmiga family? Do they owe her money, or something? All will be revealed, I suppose, when this comes out in September. Although I didn't like Annabelle, I really enjoyed the Conjuring movies very much, so I'm willing to give this a shot.

The Strangers Prey At Night

The original The Strangers was released ten years ago this year and starred Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler as a couple who were terrorized by three unknown assailants who wore masks the entire time. The first movie was a fantastic thriller, which managed to get Liv Tyler barefoot for just about its entire running time (which was a nice plus for me).

This sequel...well, um...judging strictly from this trailer...whoa boy...I dunno. Maybe the movie itself will be better than the trailer (which has been known to happen), so I'll keep an open mind.

But it doesn't help that the trailer plays the Tiffany song "I think we're alone now." This instantly reminds me of Weird Al Yankovic's (much better) take on this song, "I Think I'm A Clone Now". You see what I mean? The trailer doesn't exactly evoke chills and thrills. Hopefully the movie will be better. Hopefully.

12 Feet Deep

I swear to God, I seriously thought this was a joke at first. I figured it was a fake "jokey" trailer, like something that would be released by Funny Or Die, or something like that. But, nope, this is an actual scary movie about two women who are trapped when someone rolls the pool cover over them while they're still in the pool.

Speaking of scary movies, I'm now working on the cover for my latest book, which is a horror novel. I'll post this here when it's done. The book itself is done and will be out very soon, now. Keep it here for the latest news.

Spectre

Not the James Bond film, but the TV movie that was shot back in the 1970s. It was a pilot for a possible series that was created by Gene Roddenberry, who gave us some little TV show called Star Trek. Robert Culp and Gig Young play investigators of the occult who encounter some wild goings-on at a mansion in England.

From a woman hanging upside down against a wall, to a full-fledged sacrificial ceremony with another woman as the chosen victim, it doesn't get any more wild and woolly than this. Both bound women are barefoot, as well.

I didn't clip this, but you can get these scenes right here.

Also, while Spectre isn't out on home video (and I wish it was--it would be great to watch around Halloween), you can see the entire film right here:

Crimson Peak trailer

It's been a while since I've seen a good, scary flick. I'm looking forward to this. It opens in theaters on October 16.