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Tim McGuire (301 KP) rated Hell Fest (2018) in Movies
Oct 7, 2019
276. Hell Fest. Low budget horror, on the big screen, I love it! So this one involves a horror theme park, teenagers, and a masked killer, perfection! So, yep it follows a group of teens to this years Hell Fest, and they are targeted by a masked killer, the tough part about it is, going up to the security at a horror theme park, and telling them that a masked man is scaring them. So this killer's M.O. seems to target people who aren't scared of the attractions offered by the park, so he kindly gives them a scare to remember for the rest of their short lives. The main actress who has the pleasure of being stalked, Amy Forsyth, I swear is the doppelganger of, Christina Robinson, Astor of Dexter fame. You be the judge! So yea, a blood bath in an amusement park, during the Halloween season, go see it, its a fun flick. The Candyman, Tony Todd even makes an appearance! And I loved the ending scene so, so much... Filmbufftim on FB
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2165 KP) rated Fatal Fudge Swirl in Books
Jun 29, 2023
The Bride’s a Corpse
Ice cream shop manager Riley Rhodes has been asked to create an ice cream cake for the upcoming wedding of Diantha Collins, the head of a prominent family in Penniman, Connecticut. However, the morning of the wedding, Diantha is found dead in her bed. Something about the scene seems off to Riley. Can she figure out how Diantha died?
The how done it in this book is a strong element of the plot, and I loved the creative murder method. Of course, Riley also has to figure out the who and why, and those also kept me guessing until the end. The suspects are all strong, and the series regulars are a lot of fun as always. A storyline involving a movie being filmed in town leads to a sub-plot with some great laughs. Meanwhile, the Halloween setting is used well for the mystery. Add in a couple of hot fudge recipes at the end, and you have a winner. Grab a dish of your favorite ice cream and enjoy this book today.
The how done it in this book is a strong element of the plot, and I loved the creative murder method. Of course, Riley also has to figure out the who and why, and those also kept me guessing until the end. The suspects are all strong, and the series regulars are a lot of fun as always. A storyline involving a movie being filmed in town leads to a sub-plot with some great laughs. Meanwhile, the Halloween setting is used well for the mystery. Add in a couple of hot fudge recipes at the end, and you have a winner. Grab a dish of your favorite ice cream and enjoy this book today.
Hazel (1853 KP) rated 13 Days of Midnight in Books
Dec 17, 2018
<i>This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Thirteen Days of Midnight</i> is the slightly lighthearted, young adult novel by Leo Hunt set in contemporary Northeast England. Luke Manchett is an average sixteen-year-old boy who mostly cares about his reputation as a member of the school rugby team, and attracting the attention of his crush, Holiday Simmon. However, his life drastically changes on discovering that his absent, psychic exorcist, of a father has died.
Luke is not affected by the actual death, as he barely knew his father; it is the things he inherits as the only named beneficiary of his father’s will that twist his life upside down. It turns out that Horatio Manchett was not a television phony but actually a powerful necromancer. The biggest shock of all is that Luke is now the owner of a collection of eight sinister ghosts who want him dead. With Halloween fast approaching, when the souls’ powers will be at their strongest, Luke with the help of mysterious school friend, Elza Moss, and an ancient book they cannot read, must find a way to release the ghosts without causing harm to anyone else.
<i>Thirteen Days of Midnight </i>is not scary in the way some readers may expect paranormal novels to be. Although it contains ghosts and death threats it is not written in a way meant to terrify, rather to entertain. Luke and Elza’s lack of knowledge and experience with a large number of spirits helps the reader relate to the story, as it is with great doubt that any other teenager would have known exactly what to do. Luke’s dog, Ham, also adds a bit of humour to the book.
There were a few typical aspects to the story, which made it less original. A paranormal novel based at Halloween seems a fairly obvious choice of setting, and popular boy developing a friendship (and possibly more) with an unpopular girl seems rather mainstream in regards to current young adult books.
Some paranormal/horror novels can be a bit over the top and occasionally confusing, therefore it was a surprise to discover how good Thirteen Days of Midnight is. The main characters are likable, the narrative flows well and it is overall entertaining to read. It is definitely a recommendable book.
Thirteen Days of Midnight</i> is the slightly lighthearted, young adult novel by Leo Hunt set in contemporary Northeast England. Luke Manchett is an average sixteen-year-old boy who mostly cares about his reputation as a member of the school rugby team, and attracting the attention of his crush, Holiday Simmon. However, his life drastically changes on discovering that his absent, psychic exorcist, of a father has died.
Luke is not affected by the actual death, as he barely knew his father; it is the things he inherits as the only named beneficiary of his father’s will that twist his life upside down. It turns out that Horatio Manchett was not a television phony but actually a powerful necromancer. The biggest shock of all is that Luke is now the owner of a collection of eight sinister ghosts who want him dead. With Halloween fast approaching, when the souls’ powers will be at their strongest, Luke with the help of mysterious school friend, Elza Moss, and an ancient book they cannot read, must find a way to release the ghosts without causing harm to anyone else.
<i>Thirteen Days of Midnight </i>is not scary in the way some readers may expect paranormal novels to be. Although it contains ghosts and death threats it is not written in a way meant to terrify, rather to entertain. Luke and Elza’s lack of knowledge and experience with a large number of spirits helps the reader relate to the story, as it is with great doubt that any other teenager would have known exactly what to do. Luke’s dog, Ham, also adds a bit of humour to the book.
There were a few typical aspects to the story, which made it less original. A paranormal novel based at Halloween seems a fairly obvious choice of setting, and popular boy developing a friendship (and possibly more) with an unpopular girl seems rather mainstream in regards to current young adult books.
Some paranormal/horror novels can be a bit over the top and occasionally confusing, therefore it was a surprise to discover how good Thirteen Days of Midnight is. The main characters are likable, the narrative flows well and it is overall entertaining to read. It is definitely a recommendable book.
Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) rated Spawn (1997) in Movies
Mar 16, 2020
Where you're going, every day is Halloween.
Spawn is a 1997 anti-hero film based on the comic book character of the same name. the film stars Michael Jai White in the title role, and is one of the first films to feature an African American actor portraying a major comic book superhero.
Al Simmons is a mercenary who, after accepting a mission is double-crossed and assassinated on the orders of Jason Wynn. After selling his soul to Malebolgia, Al soon returns to Earth as a demon, a hell spawn with a raging thirst for vengeance.
After being reborn, Spawn has little time to understand his new being and must act fast all whist learning new abilities along the way.
Though not as dark as it's comic book counterpart and a little more humorous, Spawn is a nice addition to a pre MCU world, which would have been amazing to see this version of him team up with the likes of Wesley snipes Blade and future hero's like tobey Maguires Spiderman & Nicholas cages Ghost Rider.
Visually entertaining & always a personal favourite.
Love the CGI Cape.
Al Simmons is a mercenary who, after accepting a mission is double-crossed and assassinated on the orders of Jason Wynn. After selling his soul to Malebolgia, Al soon returns to Earth as a demon, a hell spawn with a raging thirst for vengeance.
After being reborn, Spawn has little time to understand his new being and must act fast all whist learning new abilities along the way.
Though not as dark as it's comic book counterpart and a little more humorous, Spawn is a nice addition to a pre MCU world, which would have been amazing to see this version of him team up with the likes of Wesley snipes Blade and future hero's like tobey Maguires Spiderman & Nicholas cages Ghost Rider.
Visually entertaining & always a personal favourite.
Love the CGI Cape.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Halloween (1978) in Movies
Oct 30, 2020
John Carpenter's landmark horror movie; not the first slasher movie, but pretty much the textbook example of the genre. A homicidal maniac (and, just possibly, vessel of pure evil) breaks out of an institution and returns to his home town, where he murdered his sister at the age of six. Obsessive doctor Donald Pleasence is in hot pursuit, but Jamie Lee Curtis (in her debut) is about to find that babysitting really deserves danger money...
Always interesting to watch these classic horror films back on the big screen: as usual, there was a lot of nervous sniggering at some of the technical shortcomings of a low-budget production (plus Halloween has been so extensively ripped off and parodied it's the kind of film you feel you've seen before, even if you haven't). However, there were yelps and screams in the appropriate places as the film got going: Carpenter handles the jump scares with consummate technical skill, but it works as well as it does because of the atmosphere he creates, helped mainly by Pleasance. A film that really sets out to do only one thing, and for the most part achieves that brilliantly.
Always interesting to watch these classic horror films back on the big screen: as usual, there was a lot of nervous sniggering at some of the technical shortcomings of a low-budget production (plus Halloween has been so extensively ripped off and parodied it's the kind of film you feel you've seen before, even if you haven't). However, there were yelps and screams in the appropriate places as the film got going: Carpenter handles the jump scares with consummate technical skill, but it works as well as it does because of the atmosphere he creates, helped mainly by Pleasance. A film that really sets out to do only one thing, and for the most part achieves that brilliantly.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Big Trouble in Little China (1986) in Movies
Feb 10, 2021
Jack Burton's Big Trouble in Little China
Big Trouble in Little China- is a excellent fantasy martial arts action-comedy film.
The plot: The film tells the story of Jack Burton, who helps his friend Wang Chi rescue Wang's green-eyed fiancée from bandits in San Francisco's Chinatown. They go into the mysterious underworld beneath Chinatown, where they face an ancient sorcerer named David Lo Pan, who requires a woman with green eyes to marry him in order to release him from a centuries-old curse.
To compete with rival production The Golden Child’s casting of box office draw Eddie Murphy, Carpenter wanted a big star of his own and both Clint Eastwood and Jack Nicholson were considered but were busy.
The studio felt Kurt Russell was an up-and-coming star. Russell was initially not interested because he felt there were "a number of different ways to approach Jack, but I didn't know if there was a way that would be interesting enough for this movie.
You wouldnt think that the director of "Halloween", "The Fog" and "The Thing" would director this but he did
Its a excellent film.
The plot: The film tells the story of Jack Burton, who helps his friend Wang Chi rescue Wang's green-eyed fiancée from bandits in San Francisco's Chinatown. They go into the mysterious underworld beneath Chinatown, where they face an ancient sorcerer named David Lo Pan, who requires a woman with green eyes to marry him in order to release him from a centuries-old curse.
To compete with rival production The Golden Child’s casting of box office draw Eddie Murphy, Carpenter wanted a big star of his own and both Clint Eastwood and Jack Nicholson were considered but were busy.
The studio felt Kurt Russell was an up-and-coming star. Russell was initially not interested because he felt there were "a number of different ways to approach Jack, but I didn't know if there was a way that would be interesting enough for this movie.
You wouldnt think that the director of "Halloween", "The Fog" and "The Thing" would director this but he did
Its a excellent film.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Maniac Cop (1988) in Movies
Sep 25, 2020
Maniac Cop - one of the many 80s slashers that came about after the success of the original Halloween a decade before, and one that is actually pretty solid.
For a start, it has a decent cast including the always reliable Tom Atkins, a post Evil Dead II Bruce Campbell, final girl Laurene Landon, and even a small role for Robert Roundtree of Shaft fame.
It was written by B-movie legend Larry Cohen and directed by genre veteran William Lustig - all in all a pretty strong cast and crew, who all managed to turn this would be low budget trashy horror into a cult classic.
The Maniac Cop himself, played by Robert Z'Dar, cuts an imposing figure. The choice not to show his face for the majority of the run time lends him a creepy edge. He also has an uncomfortably massive chin... Throw in a load of blood flying about the place, some unsettling music score, and a pretty fun car chase near the climax, and it's easy to see why Maniac Cop is pretty beloved by horror fans.
80s horror is just the best.
For a start, it has a decent cast including the always reliable Tom Atkins, a post Evil Dead II Bruce Campbell, final girl Laurene Landon, and even a small role for Robert Roundtree of Shaft fame.
It was written by B-movie legend Larry Cohen and directed by genre veteran William Lustig - all in all a pretty strong cast and crew, who all managed to turn this would be low budget trashy horror into a cult classic.
The Maniac Cop himself, played by Robert Z'Dar, cuts an imposing figure. The choice not to show his face for the majority of the run time lends him a creepy edge. He also has an uncomfortably massive chin... Throw in a load of blood flying about the place, some unsettling music score, and a pretty fun car chase near the climax, and it's easy to see why Maniac Cop is pretty beloved by horror fans.
80s horror is just the best.
Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) rated The Haunting of Hill House in TV
Oct 15, 2020
Characters (1 more)
Story
Netflix's: a haunted Mansion
I was roped into watching this by my partner, but I wasn't disappointed.
NETFLIX as usual has given us a great horror story just in time for Halloween, haunting of hill house is a diamond in the dark that follows a group of distant siblings who are troubled and haunted by their childhood.
A brilliant offering with some very strong "the shining" vibes that were very welcome.
Dark, intense and deep with common issues.
After the death of one of their own, the siblings are forced to reach out and come face to face with each other....and their estranged father.
With storys of past, present & future dangerously entwined and nightmares clawing their way back in, time, trust & understanding may be their only means of surviving.
Although some parts seemed to drag a little, it more than made up for it with sub plot explaining and some great cliffhangers.
The show is an adaption of the Shirley Jackson novel of the same name from 1959.
It is definitely something I will watch again and something I'd like to see more of.
NETFLIX as usual has given us a great horror story just in time for Halloween, haunting of hill house is a diamond in the dark that follows a group of distant siblings who are troubled and haunted by their childhood.
A brilliant offering with some very strong "the shining" vibes that were very welcome.
Dark, intense and deep with common issues.
After the death of one of their own, the siblings are forced to reach out and come face to face with each other....and their estranged father.
With storys of past, present & future dangerously entwined and nightmares clawing their way back in, time, trust & understanding may be their only means of surviving.
Although some parts seemed to drag a little, it more than made up for it with sub plot explaining and some great cliffhangers.
The show is an adaption of the Shirley Jackson novel of the same name from 1959.
It is definitely something I will watch again and something I'd like to see more of.
Dean (6925 KP) rated Hawaii Five-0 in TV
Jun 29, 2019
Cool locations (2 more)
Cast chemistry
Plenty of action
Great long running TV series
I've watched this show since the beginning, just finishing the 9th series at present. I really enjoy it. The beautiful locations of Hawaii, including the Hilton Hotel which helps sponsor the show, is a great setting. There is always plenty of action, car chases, shootouts and fights. The cast chemistry and the good stories make the show though. The cast are well known, especially those from Hawaii based Lost. Always with some comedy elements as well. Individual episodes are generally of a high standard but the story running through the series are very good. It's a shame a lot of the cast quit over equal pay for series 8 onwards. The new cast members are doing OK. I love the Halloween themed episodes each year, often like a mini horror film! I didn't see the original series but it also pays tribute with some episodes which is a nice touch. It even has an occasional cross over with NCIS: LA. Overall 9 series long and going strong. Check it out if you haven't been watching.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2165 KP) rated Hallowed Out in Books
Aug 17, 2022
Haunted Tour Ends in Mystery
Julia Snowden has gotten roped into an effort to bring some tourists to town during October via a haunted homes tour. One of the stops is Gus’s restaurant where a rumrunner was killed by gangsters during Prohibition. An actor has been brought in to help with the reenactment, but the night of the first tour, he is shot when the lights go out. Who did it?
It truly is wonderful to revisit the characters, no matter how briefly it might be. The plot is strong, and the characters we meet along the way are just as strong. I didn’t see the twists of the mystery coming, and the ending caught me by surprise. There is a delightful sub-plot as well that kept me grinning. And there’s a recipe or two at the end.
NOTE: This story is a novella, roughly 100 pages, and was originally part of the novella collection Haunted House Murder. If you have that book, there is no need to buy this ebook. If you haven’t read the story, now is the time to sit back and enjoy this Halloween trip to Maine.
It truly is wonderful to revisit the characters, no matter how briefly it might be. The plot is strong, and the characters we meet along the way are just as strong. I didn’t see the twists of the mystery coming, and the ending caught me by surprise. There is a delightful sub-plot as well that kept me grinning. And there’s a recipe or two at the end.
NOTE: This story is a novella, roughly 100 pages, and was originally part of the novella collection Haunted House Murder. If you have that book, there is no need to buy this ebook. If you haven’t read the story, now is the time to sit back and enjoy this Halloween trip to Maine.