It comes earlier and earlier every year.
The orange and black displays pop up in stores, the spicy lagers hit the shelves of the wine and spirit shops, and Jack O Lanterns appear in windows and on doorsteps all over local townships. I have no problem with this ghoulish holiday making an early appearance. It doesn't seem to be as intrusive as the Chistmas holiday is when it is crammed up into our psyche holes beginning as early as September.
I have no problem with Halloween poking its head through the curtain as early as late August. Halloween is the time of year when the realms of reality are closest to the netherworld. It's when true magic whafts it way throughought the air, disguising itself with the scents of spices and leaves. It is when creativity and imagination take a macabre turn filling our eyes with wonderfull oddities.
I try as hard as I can to envelope myself into the season every year. But, as I grow older I find it harder and harder to achieve that goal. Being single, middle aged and on a budget tends to put a few roadblocks in the merriment that I used to freely have several years back.
The economy isn't what it used to be. The greed machine has made sure the cost of living has risen to a ridiculous rate while a good amount of us no longer get "cost of living raises", or in some cases, yearly raises. So going to a whole slew of Haunted Attractions and Halloween activities has to be cut down considerably.
There was a time when getting a group of single folks to join me on an excursion to a local haunt was pretty easy. Now most folks are married with kids and trying to wrangle sitters and organize time frames with busy lifestyles are usually some major motivational killers.
Fear not, loyal followers (of which there are probably three of you) I'm not quite throwing in the towel yet. I still find ways to enjoy the season. Last year I started a new tradition in visiting a very beautiful and historic cemetery located in my hometown. I did a fun little post about it and just yesterday made the pilgrimage to wander amongst the wonderfully gothic stonework. It may seem an odd enjoyment within a timeframe in my life when there are currently many reminders of human mortality that have taken place recently, but I find sollace and peace in the macabre sometimes.
Another yearly tradition I take part in is filling my video rental queue full of horror movies. I've already viewed a few of them and feel that there are a couple that I would like to let you all know about and spread the good word on. So here are a couple of reviews....
Cabin in the Woods - I can't say it enough, Joss Whedon is a geek god. His writing has always been character driven and beyond clever. His venture into the horror genre is no different in this "not as typical as you may think" scare-fest. It certainly starts out as though it may be mundane. A group of model looking young adults go on a weekend trip out to a cabin in the woods to party. But, there is far more to this cabin than meets the eye. Without giving too much away (there are some pretty awesome plots twists!) I'll say this about the film. It has an awful lot that us horror fans love about horror movies. It has physcho-killer zombies, creepy atmosphere, tons of guts and blood and something far more sinister behind all of the deadly shenanigans. I didn't really know what to expect going into the film with what was seemingly another motif of a bunch of good looking kids getting needlessly slaughtered. But, I should have known that with Saint Joss at the writing helm, all would be well. He certainly puts all of the pieces together and by the end of the film I realized that he wove an epic tale of Lovecraftian horror. Definitely check this one out!
American Mary - Don't go into this macabre tale expecting ghosts or psychotics with axes or even demons from hell lurking about. This dark tale of woe is a completely different kind of horror that features the exploration into the depth of human corruption. How far down the twisted rabbit hole does a bright, young, attractive med student go to seek revenge and power within the underworlds of crime and the subculture of body modification. Disturbingly bloody, while at the same time, a very smart and refreshing story is being told. Sexy, smart and fiendish is what the wonderful Soska twins dish up. This movie was the natural step from their smaller independent foray into blood, guts and dark humor that was Dead Hooker in a Trunk. They're already full bore into directing a horror film for the folks at WWE. I really can't wait to see what the dark little minds of the Twisted Twins can come up with after this.
That's it for the movie reviews. If I see some other good stuff, I'll let you all know.
Well, our first little trip into the dark season isn't quite over as of yet. Last year I started to post walkthroughs of some pretty spectacular haunted attractions from YouTube. I have quite a dosey for you this time. Being a headbanger, I was thrilled to hear that Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights have put together a haunt based on the band Black Sabbath! And now here's a little peek inside the minds of the first Heavy Metal band to ever exist.
Another yearly tradition I take part in is filling my video rental queue full of horror movies. I've already viewed a few of them and feel that there are a couple that I would like to let you all know about and spread the good word on. So here are a couple of reviews....
Cabin in the Woods - I can't say it enough, Joss Whedon is a geek god. His writing has always been character driven and beyond clever. His venture into the horror genre is no different in this "not as typical as you may think" scare-fest. It certainly starts out as though it may be mundane. A group of model looking young adults go on a weekend trip out to a cabin in the woods to party. But, there is far more to this cabin than meets the eye. Without giving too much away (there are some pretty awesome plots twists!) I'll say this about the film. It has an awful lot that us horror fans love about horror movies. It has physcho-killer zombies, creepy atmosphere, tons of guts and blood and something far more sinister behind all of the deadly shenanigans. I didn't really know what to expect going into the film with what was seemingly another motif of a bunch of good looking kids getting needlessly slaughtered. But, I should have known that with Saint Joss at the writing helm, all would be well. He certainly puts all of the pieces together and by the end of the film I realized that he wove an epic tale of Lovecraftian horror. Definitely check this one out!
American Mary - Don't go into this macabre tale expecting ghosts or psychotics with axes or even demons from hell lurking about. This dark tale of woe is a completely different kind of horror that features the exploration into the depth of human corruption. How far down the twisted rabbit hole does a bright, young, attractive med student go to seek revenge and power within the underworlds of crime and the subculture of body modification. Disturbingly bloody, while at the same time, a very smart and refreshing story is being told. Sexy, smart and fiendish is what the wonderful Soska twins dish up. This movie was the natural step from their smaller independent foray into blood, guts and dark humor that was Dead Hooker in a Trunk. They're already full bore into directing a horror film for the folks at WWE. I really can't wait to see what the dark little minds of the Twisted Twins can come up with after this.
That's it for the movie reviews. If I see some other good stuff, I'll let you all know.
Well, our first little trip into the dark season isn't quite over as of yet. Last year I started to post walkthroughs of some pretty spectacular haunted attractions from YouTube. I have quite a dosey for you this time. Being a headbanger, I was thrilled to hear that Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights have put together a haunt based on the band Black Sabbath! And now here's a little peek inside the minds of the first Heavy Metal band to ever exist.
Hope you enjoyed your trip down the path of The Devil's 3rd!
Hopefully it should prove to be a delightfully dark Halloween season around here in my blog. I may have a couple of Haunt reviews for you next week. So keep tuned.
Until next time, stay vertical!
Zangz.
Hopefully it should prove to be a delightfully dark Halloween season around here in my blog. I may have a couple of Haunt reviews for you next week. So keep tuned.
Until next time, stay vertical!
Zangz.
