Top 5 Halloween Movies

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

This is my favorite time of year and it has nothing to do with the candy I’ll take from my children’s trick or treat bags.  I love the comfortable temperatures, the beautiful, crisp colors and the mysticism in the cool refreshing air.  As the veil between the land of living and the dead thins there is a sense of wonder encompassing us all. The closer we get the more alive I feel. Of course, this could also be because my favorite movies are repeat every day. And today I’m going to count my top five.

Number 5: Nightmare on Elm Street.

This freakish movie scared the bejesus out of me when I was a kid. Though not as humorous as later films, there is enough snark to break the tension long enough to watch until the next gruesome death. This was also my introduction to the gorgeous Johnny Depp. Long before 21 Jump Street this heartthrob made a mess out of his bedroom when he became a geyser of blood. As a young feminist I admired Heather Langenkamp’s performance of Nancy Thompson. I wasn’t the only one. She reprised the role three times and then played herself in New Nightmare. But what would the movie, or the series, be without Robert Englund. Thanks to him Freddy Krueger will always have a place in my horrified heart.

 

Number 4: Resident Evil

I love the video games. Love Milla Jovovich. This is more action packed than horror. But I add it because of the zombies. This prequel to the games sets the stage for everything perfectly. Director, Paul W.S. Anderson also wrote this thrilling ride with a Through the Looking Glass mentality. Though this is hard to catch without knowing that nifty detail before you hit play. Thanks to a little memory loss the viewer doesn’t even find out the main character’s name until the credits. One would think this hinders the viewing experience, but not for me. Between the kickass moves and the heart pounding soundtrack this thriller pumps me up.  Best way to sum up my love for this film can be done in two words, and those who love the series, too, can agree: Fucking dogs!

 

Number 3: Lost Boys

Let me start off with yum. Just thinking about this and The Doors: Strange pops into my head. This is more than likely where my love of the undead, deep brooding men and Keifer Sutherland began. I wore out the VHS tape. Joel Schumacher mixed this films woe-is-me attitude with the right amount of wit, thanks to brotherly bonds, and a touch of romance. Whereas Resident Evil was surmised in two words this one needs three (say with me): Death by stereo. Nuff said.

 

Number 2: Hocus Pocus

Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy bring out the kid in me. This not scary but gleefully hilarious film sets my whole family alight with the trick or treat spirit. For the Tews household Hocus Pocus is for Halloween what the claymation version of Rudolph is for Christmas. It’s a must. Or is it amuk amuk, amuk!?!

Number 1: Poltergeist

The first time I watched this movie I was four or five years old. I never questioned why my parents let me watch it. The thought never crossed my mind that it would be bad for me. But to properly set-up how wrong this was for me I must first tell you about my ultimate fear. I’m deathly terrified of clowns. If I close my eyes and think back to my oldest memory I see a clown painting hanging in my nursery. A flash of lightening illuminates its twisted smile and wicked thoughts. I have yet to read Stephen King’s It. Nor will I ever read It. One thing to watch the movie, scratching my arm and whispering, “I’m just a sweet transvestite” over and over again. (For those of you who don’t understand why that helped, Pennywise was played by Tim Curry. He was also in The Rocky Horror Picture Show as Dr. Frank-en-Furter, a.k.a. a sweet transvestite scientist.)

Now imagine me as a kindergartener, curled in my mother’s lap, watching a little blonde girl speak with ghosts through the static on the television. I’m calm, relaxed even, when glowing revenant whisps reach for the bed. I giggle when the chairs stack. Then comes that possessed clown doll. It snatches the little boy from his bed and drags him below. Bless my mother’s heart she tried to cover my eyes every time that monstrous entity appeared on the screen, but usually seconds too late.

In the end it made me stronger. When I was about eight the whole family went to the circus. I laughed at the flying trapeze, awed at the lion tamer and punched a clown in the stomach. That is why Poltergeist is number one. It reminds me that fear only has as much power over you as any other emotion.

What are your favorite Halloween movies? Please let me know what they are and why. I hope we can get one heck of a discussion on this topic.

Have a fun and safe Halloween!

Birth of a Vixen Excerpt: Bloody Highway

Retaking control of my body was normally a good thing. The moment I opened my eyes to a sea of green leather, entrapping me, I realized this was the exception to the rule. Jazz's beanbag had landed on my head. I threw it off.

The table and benches were bolted to what used to be the floor and was now the ceiling. Garbage was everywhere, broken glass, papers galore and busted blood bags saturated the cabin. The side door handle dug into my back. My head ached. The damage must have woken me up. I scanned over the rest of me. The dress was torn and covered in blood. Four fresh scars were on my chest and I realized some of the blood was mine.

The last thing I remembered was the meeting. I was used to bad things happening when Thais was in control, but I never came back to a mess this horrific. What the hell happened?

I searched for someone to answer my questions. I hoped we had time for questions to be answered, and weren’t still in serious danger. Jazz limped in wolf form over the debris scattered over the broken sink cupboards. She dragged Guillermo by his shirt collar to me. I doubted they would be of much help.

An exasperated groan came from beside me. Kaelanna lay sprawled across the front passenger seat. She moved in slow, achy movements and plopped onto the armrest.

Jared's body drooped lifeless in his chair. His arms were entangled in the steering wheel. His head rested peacefully against the horn. Well, peacefully if not for the fatal gunshot wound to the head. Blood dripped from his broken sunglass’ frame. The back of his head was blown out. The dark cavern in his head had a faint glisten to it from the streetlight like rotten meat soaked in melted rubies.

I grabbed the back of the passenger’s seat beside Kaelanna's leg and used the seat to haul myself up. I stood, shaky, unsure of how my body felt until I moved. "Kaelanna, you okay? What happened?"

"Yeah, I will be." She stretched her neck. Then she noticed her captain lying on the cupboard. "Guillermo?"

I crawled over the trash to Jazz and Guillermo. Jazz pawed the cupboard door next to him. His face was damaged during the collision. Bruises darkened his left eye. "He's out cold."

Outside two motorcycles circled the accident. The only sound louder than their motorcycles was their laughter. Their cries of victory echoed throughout the cabin.

"Come out, come out wherever you are." I recognized Brutus’ voice.

"What are we going to do?" I turned to Kaelanna for guidance.

Her hair tie had fallen loose, which left her wild fiery curls in a disheveled mess littered with broken glass. Various cuts and scrapes ran along her cheeks and nose slowly healed. She attempted to stand but slipped on the beanbag. Kaelanna caught herself on the counter's edge. Her gun, still in hand, clanked against the counter. I was proud of myself for not jumping at the loud unexpected clang.

"Move." She shoved me out of her way. I inched back against the passenger seat. Kaelanna grabbed Guillermo under the arms and pulled him closer to her. She untucked his bloodstained shirt to reveal three gunshot wounds in his stomach and one in his right shoulder. With the shirt gone the suction the shirt had made against the wounds ceased, blood escaped his pale abdomen. The wound began to heal.

"He'll live." Her body sagged a little from the sudden loss of tension.

"Okay, Thais, here's the game plan." She pulled out the gun cartridge, and checked her ammo.

“I’m Angela.”

“Shit." She slumped her head on to the counter. I heard her count to ten and watched her regain her composer. She spoke through gritted teeth, “Okay, Angela, I need you to crawl back there and get the bag o' guns. We’re gonna have to fight our way out. There are only two of them left so I should be able to handle this without any more problems. After you get me the guns I’m going to pop out of the emergency hatch and fire. Jazz, that is when I need you to pick up Guillermo and carry him to safety. Angela, you’re going to follow them. Try not to draw any attention to yourself. Only fire if they get past me. Do not come back for me. Whatever you see or hear just keep running."

I nodded while I visualized the plan in my head. She caught my shoulder and stopped me in mid-crawl to the back. "I need you to stay calm and focused. I can't spare a second for you to retreat to your happy place and let Thais do this. I, we, need you to stay with us. We don’t have the time for it. Got it?"

"I'll do my best. What happened?"

She shook her head. Her eyes lacked their brilliant shine. “Brutus is just a prick. Other than that, I have no clue who sent him after us. But I’m betting it had something to with Thais. The vamp we questioned seemed pretty damn spooked by her.”

“This is all my fault.” A large weight tightened my chest. I swore if it wasn’t one thing I did wrong it was another. This time I had no control over any of it.

“Don’t start. I could easily say it was my fault for triggering you or changing the way you look. Guillermo could say it was his fault for not forgoing the contract and getting the fuck out of here. In the end," she checked the ammunition in her gun, then snapped the clip back into place and cocked it, "it's everybody else’s fault, but yours."

I couldn't say anything. What could I say? It was the first rational and honest thing Kaelanna ever said to me. In that moment she taught me the meaning of bravery. She put up a good front, came up with a strategy plan, but under all that she was scared. Her feelings didn’t matter. She knew that and kept going. I vowed that, if Kaelanna didn’t finish him off, someday Brutus would get what he deserved. Whether it was my fault or not it was the least I could do for them risking their lives because of my alter ego.

I crawled to the back to retrieve the weapon’s bag. Perched on the last cupboard, so as to not step on the bag or the broken bed, I dug through to find it.

"Excuse me puppies." I wiggled my foot at the dogs and shoed them away from the debris. The two mastiffs climbed free. The remains collapsed and filled the void their large bodies left behind. "Dang it."

I tossed parts of the pile aside one item at a time. My search took me closer to the broken windowpane. I was so focused in what I was doing that I paid little attention to the world around me. I found the bag in the far corner. "I found it."

Only after I shouted to Kaelanna did I realize the error of my ways. The motorcycles were quiet. There was no laughter. Only that stinging tension of being watched rang in my ears. That sixth sense that most people got when they were about to be killed warned me of the inevitable danger that lurked behind me. I turned as if gravity fought against me. Brutus stood there staring down at me.

"I've got some candy for you little girl." The air around him screamed with his malicious desire. He grabbed me by my hair and yanked me from the wreckage before I could react.

Shadow Faith series: The Vampire

Every story involving supernatural creatures has its own mythos. The Shadow Faith series is no different. In this post I will break down their anatomy, bloodlines and what it takes to kill the blood thirsty monsters.

Let us start with how one becomes a vampire. This is fairly similar to most mythos. A vampire drinks most of the blood from a human. Once they are knocking on Heaven’s door the vampire, now referred to as a sire, slices up a vein and feeds the mortal their blood. The immortal blood mutates the human body, killing it only to make a stronger, faster vessel. Every vampire fan knows the creation steps, but what none can fully answer, not even the undead themselves, is do they retain their soul? Or is there something else empowering their blood, a darker essence? When some hold onto their humanity with all their might while others embrace the newfound darkness who can say?

Physically speaking the changes a vampire undergoes is an enlightening experience. As aforementioned above they become stronger and faster, but there other heightened attributes. Their vision is sharper than the most dominant feline. Canines are jealous of their senses of hearing and smell. Mind you, their senses are not as powerful as a werewolf’s, but still impressive.

Vampires are some of the most beautiful beings on the planet and the most hideous. Depending on the bloodline or House their features morph to draw in prey or entice fear. Most Houses the effects are minimal. However, if one descends from the Cemalian House they would be drop dead gorgeous. Yet a vampire hailing from the Gancheru House will have mass deformities. Think of the old school Nosferatu movie without the elf ears. Well, a few might have elf ears. It’s a crapshoot.

When it comes to Houses, or bloodlines, I’m only going to go over only a few of them now. Wouldn’t want to spoil any surprises. The most important House to know is the heroine’s. Angela Vista is a member of the Vadimas House. Due to their ability to manipulate emotions they are few and far between. The younger vampires are scary powerful, but their manipulations need a subtle hand. With the right touch and at the right moment they can make their victims fall head of heels in love or hate anyone they want them to despise. This fact is why many of this bloodline does not live long. Unless they are unusually gifted their immortal light is snuffed out quick. To survive a Vadimasian will latch on to a powerful ally. Should they live to full potential elder vampires are able to insight mass hysteria to blind loyalty to suicidal ideations. The downside is not being able to trust what is real. Does a significant other truly care or is it a manufactured love? One never really knows how someone will act when they feel a certain way.

Other Houses include the Artyoms, the plastic surgeons of the vampire world. They mold flesh, hair and bones better than any Hollywood makeup artist and without the tools. The Ravana House make shadows tangible. Those with more control can use shadows as portals and transport to where they want to go. The Maartens are the strongest of the vampire Houses. If a Gancheru can bench-press a sedan the Maartens can lift a semi-truck. They are the definitive badasses. Though there are many others the last ones I will talk about in this post are the Viveks. The Vivek House is a magical bloodline. Witches and wizards with vampire blood coursing through their veins. No one outside of the House fully knows what they are capable of accomplishing. In truth neither do they. When you have an eternity to study and make up new spells there is no telling what a pagan vampire can conjure up.

What some of you have been waiting for, how do you kill one of the little buggers? I am a firm believer that if you do enough damage to anything it will be go boom. So the list goes as follows:

Beheadings: check

Flame thrower: very possibly

Chopped in half: good luck and yes

Riddled with bullets so fast they couldn’t heal: why not

Run over by an RV: If the head and heart goes squish, then check

Holy items (aka crosses, holy water, blessed objects): only if the person wielding the weapon has faith. Not in their abilities. Not in their actions. But like a Joan of Arc level of faith.

Wooden stake through the heart: No. I love the saying ashes to ashes, dust to dust. When my vampires are staked they return to Mother Earth. Like the blood that pumps through their veins when wood enters their hearts the tree takes root and petrifies the undead. Skin becomes bark. Lungs change into hollow knots. Hair to leaves. So forth and so on. The process is reversible, but it takes a lot to return to normal.

I hope you enjoy this little Shadow Faith series FYI. Birth of a Vixen is due to hit Amazon in November/early December. Unfortunately, my recent illness pushed back the release date. But I promise it will be out before winter comes.