Mystery

Over @ Theme Thursday this week: Mystery

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Wanted to write a mystery, but that didn't pan out. So instead, here is some thoughts on  Murder, She Wrote, my favorite mystery show, and Jessica Fletcher, my favorite detective.



Why do I like Jessica? Well, she is a widowed, retired English teacher who has found a new career as a mystery novelist. She is a homespun type who cares about her friends and family, and even about the strangers she encounters, those who either end up the victims of foul play or the wrongly accused perpetrators of said crimes. Jessica isn't about to let justice fall by the wayside. She will dig until she unearths the true culprit, whether that endears her to the others involved or not. She stands by what is right, whether it is popular or not. Good trait to have. Angela Lansbury created a character beloved by millions.



I also like the small town setting of most of the episodes. Cabot Cove, Maine seems like a great place to live. That is, if you can overlook the unusually high murder rate for such a small place. The characters who helped make up this community included Seth Hazlitt, Jessica's long-time friend and the town doctor. He is always there for her, through good and bad, whether Jessica has listened to his advice or not. And he also makes a good sounding board for some of her ideas and plans.



Also a great character is Sheriff Mort Metzger. He took over the role of the town police chief once Amos Tupper left. Amos always struck me as a bit on the dim side, and I don't think actor Tom Bosely cared to play a character so lacking in his own detective skills. Mort was a more competent sheriff, even if he occasionally needed some help from Mrs. Fletcher.



Another recurring character was Jessica's nephew, Grady Fletcher. He was the nephew of Jessica's late husband, Frank, and the couple had taken him in when he was younger, acting as sort of surrogate parents for him. They never had kids of their own, so Grady was as close as they got. Jessica was always proud of Grady, and supportive, even when he made some less than well-thought-out life decisions. And she was always there to bail him out of the homicidal issues he found himself embroiled in, one of the down-sides to being the nephew of Jessica Fletcher, I suppose.



The setup of the show was usually pretty simple. Jessica would meet a bunch of people, or be around a group of friends, and one of the group would somehow be alienating or down-right pissing off others. Soon enough, the hated one would be dead and it would be up to Jessica to root out the true murderer. In the later seasons, the actual murder would take place so late in the show that the solving of the crime was rushed into the final act or two. I always thought the show fared better when the murder happened earlier, and Jessica had more time to engage in snooping about and digging out the skeletons everyone thought were well hidden.



Also, the later seasons had Jessica rent a second home, an apartment in New York City. This was a bit out of place for the small-town feeling the show was known for, and it was just too different from the little show people had grown to love. But, by that time, the show had been on almost a decade and like anything, had begun to run its course. After twelve seasons of solving murders from one end of the globe to the other, Jessica faded away into the TV Land sunset.



Or did she? Since the show's end, there have been four made-for-TV movies, bringing Jessica back for little trips around the world to do what she does best. These movies followed the usual format, but gave Jessica a little more time to play around, with the two-hour time frame. There hasn't been another movie in quite a few years, so we may have actually seen the last of JB Fletcher, at least played by the great Angela Lansbury.



However, there is one more outlet for those looking for more Murder, She Wrote mysteries. A series of novels, written by 'Jessica Fletcher' and author Donald Bain, bring the character to even more places and into more murders for you to enjoy. Currently, there are almost 36 books in the series, with one scheduled for release next year. I have read a few and have enjoyed each one, the characters and settings kept true to how they were portrayed on television.



Clearly, Jessica isn't done solving cases yet.

In The Mirror...

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Chapter One

The room filled with the bright light as it did every morning. Catherine stirred, not wanting to face yet another day here, in this room, in this place. Eventually, she threw back the white comforter and white sheets and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

Sitting slowly, she looked down at her white, lace nightgown. Not her choice, but nothing here was her choice. Sliding her feet into the white slippers on the floor, she stood and looked at the ivory clock on the painted white mantel over the fireplace. Early, as usual. But it didn’t matter. Time stood still here.

Slowly walking to the long window, framed with white linen curtains, she tried once more to see the outside world. Only a blinding whiteness lay beyond the glass. Daytime was complete white, nighttime endless black. Always the same, always the same.

She pulled the white curtains closed over the window as if to block out the white beyond and turned away. Her eyes slowly scanned the room, as she had done a thousand times before. An ornate and old bed, painted white and dressed in white. A chair, upholstered in white. A white table, with a white lamp. The mantel was white, a bookcase was white, the floor, the ceiling, the walls: all white, white, white.

Only four things in the room broke the endless emptiness the monochromatic color scheme offered. One were the words in the novels on the bookcase. While the books themselves where bound in white, with white pages, the words were black. She could read, at least.

Second, she still had her fair complexion and soft, chestnut hair. She would look at her hand sometimes for hours, savoring the break from utter whiteness and wondering how long it would be before she too faded away.

Third, while the fireplace featured a white painted wooden frame around whitewashed bricks, the flames were bright hues of orange, yellow and red. The colors were welcome, as was the heat, but they did nothing to alleviate the desolation and loneliness she felt. She was always cold.

Night brought the opposite of the white. Blackness filled every space until all she could see was the fire. The room would seem endless then, a void where nothing mattered. She had nightmares of disappearing into the darkness, of losing herself and never finding her way back.

But then morning would come again, and the brightness would replace the darkness. Again. Opposites, yet both left her feeling empty, alone, scared.

She walked away from the mantle and toward the full size antique mirror that stood in the corner of the room, the last thing to give color to her small world. The mirror itself was painted white, the frame ornate and intricately detailed, with strange, carved faces of what she had at first thought were cherubs. Over time, she had seen the demonic visages for what they really were. More gargoyles than cupids.

Gazing into the mirror, she didn’t see her reflection looking back. Instead, she saw him and the world beyond. She knew the man’s name was Rafael. She knew other things about him she wished she didn’t. She also knew he was in the real world, the world of color and life, and that she was trapped here, in this strange, drab copy. Her prison.

He sat dressed in a black suit, on the bed that mirrored the one here, but with maroon and gold linens. On the opposite side of the looking glass in the antique frame, Rafael watched her and smiled at her, his crooked, sad smile. Then he stood and walked away, to the door in his room that was the one thing missing in her room. She had no exit, no escape.

Catherine watched him go out the door and shut it behind him. As he did, the room she saw in the antique frame shimmered and vanished, the glass once more solid white. Crossing her arms over her chest, she turned away from the mirror. She was alone again. Nothing but the endless white, at least until the endless black replaced it.

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This week's Theme Thursday topic is "Mirror".

I decided to use the first chapter of the novel I wrote back during the NaNoWriMo of 2008.

For more Theme Thursday ---> Mirror

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She Felt Impressions - Zelda Rubinstein

Was going to skip Theme Thursday this week, as I had nothing for either "Felt" or "Impression", the two themes chosen for this week.

Then came news of the death of actress Zelda Rubinstein.

As spiritual medium Tangina Barrons in 1982's Poltergeist (and its two sequels), she certainly felt many ghostly impressions.



I have to quote Steve, at the great Heart in a Jar blog:

"Her appearance in the original 1982 film must rank as one of the most unexpected casting coups de theatre ever, as no one in those summertime audiences expected a psychic investigator to be diminutive, maternal, with an inimitable voice like a marshmallow dipped in honey - that could jacket itself in stainless steel when the powers of Hell came knocking. In fact, her very presence struck me at first as being dramatically unnecessary; after all, wasn't Oscar winner Beatrice Straight there to serve that role? But with a handful of lines, and in a matter of seconds, Rubinstein became the compassionate heart of the film and the franchise."


Poltergeist clip

Zelda was also an early, open activist in the fight against AIDS/HIV.

L.I.M. Ms. Rubinstein. You will be missed.

Wonderful Wonderblog has a nice write up, and a longer clip.

Zelda @ IMDb

Theme Thursday ---> Felt & Impression

Theme Thursday - Bread

The topic chosen for this week's Theme Thursday is 'Bread'. Not as easy a topic as I thought, but here goes.



A bread that was a common sight on the kitchen counter when I was growing up was massa, otherwise known as massa sovada or Portugese sweet bread.



Standing: My father's mother; my father; my mother's mother.
Sitting: My mother holding baby me.

My family ancestry is mainly Portugese, and massa was just one of the many traditional foods we ate growing up. My family didn't make it at home, rather we bought it from local Portugese bakers.



I remember my grandmother coming over to our house on the weekend, a fresh loaf of massa bread for us. She loved to enjoy it with a hot cup of coffee. My favorite way to eat it was warm, but not toasted, with butter just melting on top.

Wish I had a piece now!

Theme Thursday - Surface

The topic for this week's Theme Thursday is Surface.

I have had a case of writer's blahk for about a month, and nothing creative came to me for this theme.

So I decided to do something different and change the entire look, or 'surface', of my blog. A stretch, I know, but work with me people!

I had been thinking of making some blog changes for awhile and one of the issues I wanted to deal with was the dark/black background. I did like it, but I had noticed that when I read posts on my blog, or other black background blogs, my eyes saw after images of the white text. So, I wanted to change that.

And with that, I went ahead and uploaded an entire new layout. I hopefully have worked out all the kinks and I hope you like it.

If you want your site listed in one of my blog rolls to the right here, just let me know. Always open to reciprocal linking.

Okay, thanks for indulging my stretch of a post here. I promise to try and be more creative next week. Here is a pic to go with the theme. Look at the art on the surface of these cups of coffee!



Click for more Theme Thursday ---> Surface

Theme Thursday - History

The History of the Universe in 200 Words or Less

Quantum fluctuation. Inflation. Expansion. Strong nuclear interaction. Particle-antiparticle annihilation. Deuterium and helium production. Density perturbations. Recombination. Blackbody radiation. Local contraction. Cluster formation. Reionization? Violent relaxation. Virialization. Biased galaxy formation? Turbulent fragmentation. Contraction. Ionization. Compression. Opaque hydrogen. Massive star formation. Deuterium ignition. Hydrogen fusion. Hydrogen depletion. Core contraction. Envelope expansion. Helium fusion. Carbon, oxygen, and silicon fusion. Iron production. Implosion. Supernova explosion. Metals injection. Star formation. Supernova explosions. Star formation. Condensation. Planetesimal accretion. Planetary differentiation. Crust solidification. Volatile gas expulsion. Water condensation. Water dissociation. Ozone production. Ultraviolet absorption. Photosynthetic unicellular organisms. Oxidation. Mutation. Natural selection and evolution. Respiration. Cell differentiation. Sexual reproduction. Fossilization. Land exploration. Dinosaur extinction. Mammal expansion. Glaciation. Homo sapiens manifestation. Animal domestication. Food surplus production. Civilization! Innovation. Exploration. Religion. Warring nations. Empire creation and destruction. Exploration. Colonization. Taxation without representation. Revolution. Constitution. Election. Expansion. Industrialization. Rebellion. Emancipation Proclamation. Invention. Mass production. Urbanization. Immigration. World conflagration. League of Nations. Suffrage extension. Depression. World conflagration. Fission explosions. United Nations. Space exploration. Assassinations. Lunar excursions. Resignation. Computerization. World Trade Organization. Terrorism. Internet expansion. Reunification. Dissolution. World-Wide Web creation. Composition. Extrapolation?

Copyright 1996-1997 by Eric Schulman.

Original post here.

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Sorry for the 'cut and paste' post. Had nothing original for the theme and having a cough/cold didn't help with thinking creatively.

I am sure there are much better takes on the theme at the site:

Theme Thursday ---> History

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Snow

Theme Thursday posted "Snow" as the topic this week.

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Snow may bring to mind the onset of winter,

Tiring hours of scraping and shoveling.

Or a Christmas wonderland of white,

Exciting days spent sledding and skiing.

To me, snow recalls a late December afternoon,

Magical moments with my baby girl, snowflakes swirling.



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My daughter was born four days before Christmas.

That night, as I held her in my arms, I looked out the window and saw snow falling.

My nickname for her was born in that moment.

She is so much older now, a young woman I am constantly amazed by and proud of.

But she will always be my little Snowflake.



Love you!

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For more Theme Thursday, click here ---> Snow

And Happy Birthday, Ravyn!

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Theme Thursday - Friend

Theme Thursday posted "Friend" as the topic this week.

I thought it would be a great opportunity to shine the spotlight on some of the people I have met online, people who have become more than just a weird name or a funny avatar. People who have become true friends.



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Ravyn (@ Ravyn's World)

I was going to limit this list to just friends, but I couldn't do it. I had to start with the one person, above all others, who has become not only my best friend but also my love - my wife, Ravyn.

We met way back in 1994, when this online world was still so new. We bonded as friends before we ever met, and fell in love when we did. We have been through so much since then, including raising all of our amazing children together.

We are coming up on 15 years since that first, 'real-life' meeting, and I wouldn't change one thing about any of it. She has shown me not only that there are good, caring, loving people in the world, but that I deserve all that for myself, as well. I only hope I have done the same for her.

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Jeff (JeffScape @ Irreverent Irrelevance)

I have known Jeff the longest, in terms of online friends (well, 2nd longest, if you count my Ravyn). We met a long time ago in a comic book chat or forum, I can't recall now.

Our mutual love for, and frustration with, the comic book world was a basis for a friendship that has withstood distance, overcome differences (me = settled family man/him = nomadic soldier) and grown with a shared passion for writing.

Jeff is as loyal and honest (and frustrating) as you can ask for in a friend, and even if he doesn't like to get all mushy about, I am thankful to know him.

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Cal (@ Cal's Canadian Cave of Coolness)

I met Cal after stumbling across his blog a year ago. I was shocked and amused to find someone posting some many photos, links and anecdotes that I loved and identified with.

Over this past year, I have come to also know Cal as a great guy with a big heart, an eye for the beautifully strange and unusual and a prolific love for blogging that keeps me inspired.

Cal is also always vigilant in the war against the cephalopods, and we will be thanking him for it one day!

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Steve (Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein @ Monkey Muck & Dr. Monkey's Retro Blog)

I met Dr. Monkey earlier this year, we had a crossing interest in different blogs, and I soon came to appreciate the strange mix of content he offers daily.

His blogs can be a source of wonderful inanity, with posts featuring creative replacement dialogue mixed with cheesy photos or vintage pics. And the next day it can be a heartfelt post about something dear to him, or a rant about something that just inflames his sense of what is right.

Dr. Monkey is a man who has learned to love and enjoy life while still holding accountable those who need a good kick in the rear. Thanks for saying what some of us find hard to articulate, Doc!

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Hector (Curious George @ tvandcelluloid)

I met Hector about a year ago, on a forum for the show we both have a deep-seated love for, "Friday the 13th: The Series". It is a show that has an enduring appeal that goes much deeper than the 80s look it sports.

Hector and I agree on so many points regarding the show, it is amazing sometimes. But I was also taken by the good nature, laid back attitude and generosity that is just who he is.

He has had quite a roller coaster year, but he has maintained quite a positive outlook and a sense of humor about it all. I applaud him for always being able to look on the bright side, and wish him tons of luck in the new chapter he has just begun!

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Laura (@ The Aquaman Website and Bloggity-Blog-Blog-Blog)

Laura is another old friend, er... I mean long-time friend! We met when I surfed on over to her amazing, comprehensive site for all things Aquaman. I was as astounded by the work she put into the site as I was by the fact that there was another fan so fanatical about the King of the Seas. Back then, it seemed like we were few and far between.

I have known Laura throughout the ups and downs of our hero, and he has had plenty of those, but also through the ups and downs of normal life. She hasn't always had an easy voyage herself, but she keeps on keeping on, and I am always rooting for her.

I also owe the creation of this blog to her. Back in the Fall of '08, when she posted about one of her Blog-anniversaries, I was inspired to start this one myself. So, thanks Laura!

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I could go on and on, really. I have met so many great people here.

Jason Soto (@ Invasion of the B Movies), who shares a love for films that don't always deserve it, and those that deserve more attention than they get.

wiec? (@ when is evil cool?), who is not only quite prolific in his blogging, but also shares a passion for the pop culture world and horror flicks that makes me feel less alone in my weird tastes.

Otin (@ Wizard of Otin), a man with a talent for writing that is always surprising and engrossing. His twisted tales always entertain.

Brian Miller (@ WaystationOne), a man who has a love and appreciation for family and friends that is constantly expressed in great prose and poetry.

Mr. Beautiful (@ The Leroy Lockhorn Appreciation Society), who has a shared love for the wacky and weird comic The Lockhorns. There must be something wrong with both of us.

Gilligan (@ retrospace), a blogger who has an eye and heart for the cheesy, out-dated and always wonderful stuff from our pop culture past. He is an archivist of our groovy memories.

Rob (@ The Aquaman Shrine & namtab.com), a man who continues to amaze and inspire with the sheer amount he is able to accomplish each and every day. I wish I had half his energy.

Jon (@ Random Acts of Geekery, Saturday Morning Superstars, Dracula's Crypt of Collectibles and many more!), who entertains every day with his multitude of blogs, and inspires with his wonderful family.

George (@ Macabre Drive-In Theater), who spotlights the odd and obscure in the horror world we both love.

Carl (@ I Like Horror Movies), who has his finger on the pulse of the horror flicks, both old and new, good and bad, that I connect with.

Johnny (@ Freddy in Space & Win Free Horror Shit!), who has such a love for the horror world that he goes above and beyond to share it with the rest of us. Thank you for all your work and passion, man!

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If I missed anyone, it was not intentional. Like I said, I could go on and on.

Thank you all for making life entertaining, exciting, funny, strange and unusual.

I hope to always be your friend.

Joe

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For more Theme Thursday, click here ---> Family

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Late

For the man and his wife life is going according to plan. At least, as much as they could plan how life went.

Their oldest child is 25 now, with a good head on his shoulders. He is married to a wonderful woman, moving up the ladder at work and moving into the first home he has to pay the mortgage on.

Their middle child is almost 14, smart, beautiful, funny and infinitely caring. High school is next on her already busy agenda.

Their youngest child is 11 (and a half, don't forget), bright, athletic, with a wacky sense of humor and an empathy for others beyond his years.

Their parents are proud of them all. And also content with their decision to stop at three children.

Unexpectedly, the wife announces to the husband she is late.

How could this be, they wonder. They had long ago taken permanent precautions. This plan was written in pen, not pencil. No erasing. No editing.

Patience, they counsel each other. A fluke. We will wait and see.

The wife doesn't think it is possible anyway, and doesn't want to think about it.

Her husband is surprised to find his mind wandering. The kids are so much older now, they don't need him, at least not in the way little kids need a parent. Independence is what we teach them to strive for, but once they are on that path, we see them walking further and further ahead. And they no longer hold our hands for guidance or safety.

A week passes. Still late.

The wife assumes it is the onset of menopause, not an unplanned pregnancy. We will wait and see, no cause for alarm. She doesn't really want to start all over again, so late in the game. They should be having grandchildren, not more children.

Her husband remembers the good times from the past. Little hands eager to grasp and explore. Little minds eager to learn and expand. Times spent teaching them to speak and walk, not to hush up and sit still. He warms to the thought of a little one. Just one more.

Another week passes. Still late. A test is taken. Negative.

The wife is relieved, of course it is negative. No way it could happen. That time has passed.

Her husband is torn. Part of him is relieved. No more colicky babies, no more teething, no piles of dirty diapers. That time has passed.

No more little ones holding tight to Daddy.

That time has passed.

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Click here for other Theme Thursday posts ---> LATE

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Theme Thursday - Telephone

When a Stranger Calls (1979)

[Charles Durning; Carol Kane; Colleen Dewhurst; Tony Beckley; Ron O'Neal]

Plot: A petrified baby-sitter, a relentlessly ringing telephone and whispered threats set the stage for this suspense-packed, hair-raising chiller. A string of menacing phone calls unnerves baby-sitter Jill, until a compulsive shamus enters the scene to nab the caller -- a deranged killer. Fast-forward seven years … the homicidal maniac returns to ruthlessly torment Jill, who's now a wife and mother herself.

This movie is often remembered for the opening, where the babysitter is terrorized by the menacing phone calls from a stranger. These scenes are intense and hit home, at the time, for lots of young girls and women who had fears of something similar happening for real. And Kane was well cast as a nervous, scared teenage babysitter. Her big eyes can act all by themselves!

It is definitely 'of its time', due to the changes with telephones in the past 30 years. Back then, a line like "the calls are coming from inside the house" was damn scary stuff! Now, not so much.

The middle section of the film is not as well remembered and is really pretty sluggish. Dewhurst, Durning and Beckley are great actors, but the whole thing is just slow and almost boring. Yet it does do its part in showing just how dememented the stranger is, instead of making him a one dimensional killer.

The film picks up once more at the end, seven years later, with the babysitter a mother now herself. I was freaked out the first time I saw it. Good way to end a horror flick!

The film had a sequel, "When a Stranger Calls Back", a 1993 made-for-TV movie. Kane and Durning are back in their roles, this time helping another woman who is going through a somewhat similar experience. Not as great as the original, but it has its own positives, as well.

The original film itself was remade in 2006 as "When a Stranger Calls". This film dumps the slow moving middle section of the original, instead having the entire film focus on babysitter Jill and her night of terror. It was not well received. And, as I said, "the calls coming from inside the house" doesn't have the same scare value when everyone and their stalker uncle has a cell phone!

Here is the trailer for the original film:



I still have a hard time grasping the fact that the movie just celebrated its 30th anniversary!

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Have you checked the children?

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For more Theme Thursday posts, click here ---> Telephone

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Theme Thursday - Castle

Wanted to write something for this week's Theme Thursday, which is "Castle"

However, I am taking part in the NaNoWriMo again this year, and have been trying to keep my word count up. Still behind, but doing okay.

Here are some pics, at least.

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This is from our 2005 vacation to York Beach, Maine.
Me and my two youngest, having fun building castles in the sand.



A better pic of the kids.
Amazing to me how much older they look today, four short years later.



The castles that came from our time in the sand.
Fun memories.

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I remember the end of one vacation there, sitting in the sand with the castles done, the prospect of heading home and leaving the beach behind for a year looming.

My kids were sad that their creations would be lost forever. I told them not to think of it that way. Think of the the castles as being dissolved back into the sand, patiently waiting for next year. When we returned, we could pull them back up, rebuilding them to stand in the sun once more.

It helped them smile and feel a little better, before the waves came and erased their artwork from the beach.

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For more Theme Thursday posts, click here ---> Castle

For my page at the NaNoWriMo site, click here ---> Wings1295

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Theme Thursday - Halloween

'Halloween' is on tap for this week's Theme Thursday

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So many ways I could take this theme, but I am going with John Carpenter and Debra Hill's classic "Halloween"



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In case you haven't seen it before (although why I can't imagine), here is a quick plot synopsis:

On Halloween night in 1963, a young Michael Myers brutally stabs his sister to death. 15 years later, Myers escapes from the sanitarium and makes his way back to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois. Another Halloween night arrives, Myers sets his sights on a teenage girl and her friends.

The terror is unleashed once more.


Young Michael

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My love for this film began, I suppose, the first time I saw it. I was 7 when it premiered, too young to see it then. But when I finally did watch it, I was probably only 11 or 12. I had known about the movie for awhile, and had a sense that it was something really scary, something that was just not good for someone so young. But I had to see it. Once I finally did, it scared the heebie-jeebies out of me. And I was hooked.

Carpenter and Hill created a film that embodies that uneasiness and fear of the unknown, the unexplainable. Michael Myers didn't have a reason for what he did. And he wasn't to be reasoned with. He just was, and he just did.



Sure, the film has a few bumps, but they are minor technical/acting issues, the film itself is a masterpiece of suspense and scares. The 'shape', lurking behind bushes and unseen peering in windows, is a spine-chilling thing. The boogeyman made real, our nightmares walking in the shadows.

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I have seen this movie over and over again since that first time. And I have never tired of it. It strikes a cord in the young, anxious, scared kid in me. After viewing it, I still get the eerie feeling of fear, of unease. And each time I hear the iconic music, that simple yet creepy instrumental tune, I get goosebumps. Those are signs of good stuff, indeed.

Halloween Theme


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One of the things to remember when watching this film is that it was made with no thought of a sequel, of a continuation of the story. Here, Michael wasn't Laurie's brother. She was just the girl he fixated on upon his return to Haddonfield. Halloween morning, when she walked up to his old home to place the key under the mat, he saw her and decided she was 'the one'. Simple, scary and nothing more to it than that.



The addition to the plot of Laurie being Michael's little sister was added in the sequel, and a scene of a young Laurie visiting Michael in an instituion was filmed to be added into the edited-for-TV version of the first film, not only to add some run time, but to make the revelation of their relationship less out-of-the-blue in the sequel.



I think Michael is scarier without this 'motivation'. Just a 'shape' bent on destruction and death. But, we also wouldn't have the ongoing story of Michael vs Laurie in some of the sequels without it.

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Original Movie Trailer


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I have no love for Rob Zombie's Halloween remake, as I have said before. He took the simple, unexplainable (with no need for explanation) Michael Myers and gave him a backstory and childhood that turned him into just another abused and misunderstood kid who went off-the-rails. Nothing creepy about that. Just sad.

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If you are looking for a good, scary, Halloween flick to watch, without much blood or gore, but with tons of suspsense and chills, look no further.

Halloween is the film for you. I will be watching, scared as always.

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I will end with some pics & quotes from the film:

after Michael escapes:
Dr. Terence Wynn: Now, for God's sake, he can't even drive a car!
Dr. Sam Loomis: He was doing very well last night! Maybe someone around here gave him lessons!

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Sheriff Leigh Brackett: It's Halloween, everyone's entitled to one good scare.

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Dr. Sam Loomis: I met him, fifteen years ago. I was told there was nothing left. No reason, no conscience, no understanding; even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil.

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Tommy: Laurie, what's the boogeyman?
Laurie: There's no such thing.

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later...
Laurie: It *was* the boogeyman.
Dr. Sam Loomis: As a matter of fact, it was.

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Halloween... The Night HE Came Home!

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Halloween Month - Theme Thursday: TRAFFIC

Theme Thursday topic this week: Traffic.

To tie that into Halloween Month, I am going to talk about some horror flicks that involve 'traffic' in some way.

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Final Destination 2 (2003)

[Ali Larter; A.J. Cook; Michael Landes; David Paetkau; James Kirk; Lynda Boyd; Keegan Connor Tracy]



The first sequel to "Final Destination" again features a teen who has a premonition of a major disaster that kills many, including her and her friends. She is able to stop a few from dying, but once more, death will not give up so easily.

In the first film, a plane crash was the disaster. Here, a highway pile-up is the catalyst. And it is quite an incredible scene.

Below is the crash scene from the film.
WARNING: This is graphic and NOT for everyone.
You HAVE been warned.



Very well orchestrated, filmed and edited. Hard to watch, even though I have seen it a few times.

The rest of the film isn't horrible, but it isn't Academy Award level stuff, either. That said, it is a good enough film for what it is.

New York Magazine cited the highway pile-up scene as the greatest car crash in movie history, calling it "the new gold standard for car-related chaos in cinema". Director Quentin Tarantino has been quoted as saying that the opening scene was "a magnificent car action piece". And the highway pile up was nominated for "Best Action Sequence" at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards.

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A few other traffic-related horror/thriller flicks:

Duel (1971)



This is the great flick, directed by Steven Spielberg, in which Dennis Weaver portrays a businessman who runs afoul of a tractor-trailer driver, who then proceeds to chase him through the desert highways. An intense film, this one freaked me out as a kid.

Spielberg shot this film in 13 days, creating an amazing film in such a short amount of time!

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The Hitcher (1986)



Another road flick that scared the crap out of me, this one is about a young guy who manages to elude a nutcase hitchhiker. But soon enough, the hitchhiker has framed the dude for his crimes and has made his life hell. And it gets worse! Rutger Hauer played one scary creep in this film, and I bet he put a lot of drivers off from picking up wayward travelers!

This was followed by a sequel in 2003, "The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting" and remade in 2007 as "The Hitcher".

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Joy Ride (2001)



Three young people on a road trip from Colorado to New Jersey talk to a trucker on their CB radio, then must escape when he turns out to be a psychotic killer. Not bad for what it is, it takes a cue from "Duel", keeping the crazed killer nearly hidden for most of the flick.

Has spawned a sequel, "Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead" from 2008.

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Know of any others? Let me know in the comments!

Click for more Theme Thursday takes on Traffic

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Also, today marks my One Year Blog Anniversary!

This year has gone by FAST! Thank you to all who have commented here or inspired me with their own great blogs.

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Theme Thursday/Halloween Month - Climate Change

Theme Thursday was quite a challenge to work into Halloween Month:

Climate Change

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Day of the Animals (1977)

The plot: A battle for survival begins as hikers encounter a chemically imbalanced forest. The depletion of the Earth's ozone layer causes animals above the altitude of 5000 feet to run amok, which is very unfortunate for a group of hikers who get dropped off up there by helicopter just before the quarantine is announced.



The film reunited the director, producer and a couple of stars of the previous hit "Grizzly".

Some of the stars in this flick include Christopher George, Leslie Nielsen, Lynda Day George, Richard Jaeckel, Michael Ansara, Ruth Roman, Paul Mantee and Andrew Stevens.

Trivia: Susan Backlinie, the first victim to die in "Day of the Animals", was also Chrissie, the young swimmer who was the first victim to die at the beginning of "Jaws". She spoofed her "Jaws" death in Spielberg's "1941", encountering a submarine instead of a shark.

A big THANK YOU to Senski from Heart in a Jar for the suggestion of this film.

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A short trailer:


Longer TV & Radio spots:


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A lot of the other films I looked into for this theme were more along the lines of "regular animals or insects irradiated by science into mutant creatures". Not so much "climate change".

Click for a Wikipedia list of these "natural horror films".

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For deeper takes on Climate Change, go over to Theme Thursday.

Click for info on Blog Action Day '09

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Halloween Month: Collection

This week's Theme Thursday is "Collection".

To tie this into Halloween Month, I am presenting pics of the items in my "Horror Collection"

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To start with, here is my collection of horror films (and some books). Lots of slasher stuff here, with some odds and ends and oldies mixed in.

The 3 seasons of Friday the 13th: The Series on DVD are a highlight for me.

Also happy to have the novelizations of Halloween II & III. Have Friday the 13th: Part II in book form, but apparently have misplaced it. Doh!

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I have a bunch of t-shirts, but this is the coolest. Actually, it is part of a Jason costume. The mask isn't that great, but the jersey is sweet.

And no, that is not me. Stole that pic from the Net.

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These are two pics of one long shelf in our living room display cabinet. Included here are Movie Maniacs Jason Voorhees & Michael Myers; Jason & Michael bobbleheads; Jason & Freddy Kreuger Matchbox vehicles; and Jason, Freddy & Leatherface Mez-Its

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This is a shelf in a different room, with light-up collectible houses. Each comes with two versions of the film's villain.



The Elm Street haunt of Freddy Kreuger. One of the Krueger figures has a furnace.



Camp Crystal Lake cabin. One of the Jason figures is holding a severed head.



Leatherface's family home.

Next to this house is a Friday the 13th glass I got at Newbury Comics earlier this year. Sweet!

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A few odds and ends, including: A Friday the 13th/Nightmare on Elm Street Trivia game; Crystal Lake Memories - The Complete History of Friday the 13th; Legacy of Blood - A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies; A Friday the 13th deck of cards; and my new set of 4 Monster PSA stickers from artist Rob Kelly!

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Some more collectibles, including: The Friday the 13th 3D Movie Poster (very cool!); Friday the 13th Lunch box; 18" NECA Jason figure with weapons; Cinema of Fear 14" plush Jason; 13" plush Jason; plastic Jason goblet; Movie Maniacs Halloween set (Michael Myers & Dr. Loomis); Movie Maniacs Freddy vs Jason set (with flame dock and 3 changeable Freddy heads); Friday the 13th set (sack-head Jason and Mrs. Voorhees, with Mrs. Voorhees altar and severed head).

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Michael Myers with a body and Judith's grave statue. Didn't realize this was a 'rare' item.

His mask here always seemed 'off', to me. Still better than the versions used in some sequels!

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This is an 18" tall, motion-activated Michael Myers figure. When activated, it plays the "Halloween" theme. Pretty creepy!

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And this is the gem of my collection: A limited edition (1 of 1,250) 1/4 scale Jason Voorhees. He is heavy, stands about 21" tall and is pretty damn creepy.

I think the best thing is that I won this dude! He retailed for over $200 new. Zoinks!

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The coolest thing about my collection? Almost all of these items were given to me as gifts, either from my very generous (and understanding) wife or from family and friends.

I am one lucky horror fan!

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Click for more Theme Thursday 'Collections'.

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Theme Thursday/Halloween Month - FLIGHT

The theme chosen for this week was "Flight", and I decided to tie it into the start of Halloween Month!

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Final Destination (2000)

[Devon Sawa; Ali Larter; Kerr Smith; Kristen Cloke; Seann William Scott]

The movie kicks off with Alex, a high school student, about to embark on a trip to Paris with other students and teachers. Alex has a premonition of a horrific plane crash killing them all.



At first, he shrugs it off as a dream. But soon, little coincidences freak him out. A scuffle ensues and he, along with six others, wind up off the plane. From the terminal, the group watches as the plane takes off and explodes.



Needless to say, the group is shocked by the loss of their friends and classmates, and by their own near-death experience.

When his best friend Tod, also one of the survivors, dies, Alex and the others are faced with the prospect that Death isn't going to let them get away so easily.

Can they stop Death from straightening out the 'natural order' that Alex interrupted?



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This is one of those horror films people either like or hate. I like it. It is different and attempts more than just a masked killer stalking helpless victims. Here, the killer is Death itself, unseen and, quite possibly, unstoppable.

The death scenes are interesting, done in a Rube Goldberg sort of way. The actors are okay, even if some of the characters are stereotypical of high school kids.

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Some trivia: The script was originally written as a proposed episode for The X-Files.

More trivia: Most characters in the film are named (or partially named) after directors or stars from older black and white horror movies, including Lon Chaney; director George Waggner; "Dracula" director Tod Browning; F.W. Murnau, director of the "first" Dracula film Nosferatu; Max Schreck also starred in "Nosferatu"; Val Lewton produced several famous horror movies; Robert Wiene directed Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari and even the great Alfred Hitchcock.

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The first two sequels are okay, in their own ways. I love the incredible highway accident in Final Destination 2, amazingly executed and filmed. Quentin Tarantino was quoted as saying that the opening scene was "a magnificent car action piece".

And the roller coaster crash in Final Destination 3 is something every teenager in line for a ride has joked (and worried) about.

Part 4, the recently released The Final Destination, was a little less thrilling to me, even if the 3D was amazing.

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For more Theme Thursday variations on FLIGHT, click here.

This is also the kick-off to Halloween Month, as I am taking part in the Countdown to Halloween:



Hope you enjoy it & check out the Countdown to Halloween site for more blogs filled with Halloween goodness!

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