A RUN-DOWN OF THE BEST & WORST HORROR OF 2012

Another horror year has drawn to an end. Safe to say that 2012 was a solid year for horror television. Not only did The Walking Dead offer us its best season so far - True Blood was, as usual, a delight to watch. I also stumbled upon the haunted mansion on Upper East portraited in 666 Park Avenue, which sadly ended abruptly when ABC pulled the plug and cancelled the show. Although giving the creators time to tweak the last episode it, didn't offer as much closure as it left behind unanswered questions.

American Horror Story: Asylum has this past season been the most disturbing and unnerving freak show I've ever seen. It successfully manipulates the mental elements in horror that so cunningly touches us in the most awkward and uncomfortable ways.

As for the horror movies of this past years there have been som treasures and some stinkers. A few have surely surprised us by pushing the genre boundaries and taken a new approach to storytelling. These following ten movies are my personal favorites from 2012.

10. CITADEL
Citadel brings you to dilapidated council flats and crumbling social highrises in a dirty British suburb, a dystopia called Edenstown. After the gruesome opening where Tommy Cowley's (Aneurin Barnard) wife is silently attacked by a gang of hooded children who stab a syringe in her highly pregnant belly, Tommy's left with their nine month old daughter and a severe agoraphobia. Convinced that the hooded gang is out to kidnap his daughter Tommy turns to the local vigilante priest (James Cosmo) who reveals to Tommy that the children aren't the result of a greater malaise - they're plainly a disease unto themselves and must therefor be extincted. And you're dying to know; are these unloved children from broken homes or creatures far more sinister than that? Together with the priest, and his blind son, Tommy sets out on a final battle to save his daughter. And his sanity.

9. EXCISION
AnnaLynne McCord does the convincing role of the disturbed and delusional high-school student Pauline, who daydreams of her future career in medicine and obssesses over her surgery-skills. While struggling with being an outcast in school and living up to the demands of her controlling mother (Traci Lords), Pauline plots how to lose her virginity and to save her younger sister from the effects of her cystic fibrosis. AnnaLynne McCord's gaunted sebhorrea face and awkward boyish appearances make for the perfect illustration of a flesh-obsessed fanatic who takes her visceral fantasies and self-diagnosed mind too far when planning the ultimate move to impress her mother.

8. THE PACT
When a young woman (Caity Lotz) returns to her childhood home after her mother passes away, she senses a mysterious presences disturbing the house peace. Unidentified noises and things that go bump in the night keep her awake, objects start moving and a picture of an unknown woman posing next to her mother in her younger years keeps falling to the floor. What starts out as a low-budget chiller turns terrifying with a shocker ending, turning the usual haunted house to an omnious cover-up that shows how far a person is willing to go to protect a loved one. Although not a pact per se, The Pact still shows that not all pieces need to fit together to make a surprising revelation, leaving you confused and creeped-out.

7. DARK SHADOWS
Yet another horror comedy from the master of modern fairytales Tim Burton, Dark Shadows is based on the gothic soap opera produced for television between 1966 and 1971. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp), has everything a man during the 18th century could wish for; a wealthy fortune and appealing looks. But when breaking the heart of the town-beauty Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green) he's doomed to a fate worse than death as Angelique, who is a powerful witch, turns him into a vampire and buries him alive. Two centuries later Barnabas is unearthed and returns to his ancestral home, now inhabited by his dysfunctional descendants, amongst them the head of the household Mrs. Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer) and the family doctor, Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter).

6. THE TALL MAN 
The small town of Cold Rock, WA, is struggling with economic hardships and growing class differences as the prospect for the town's recidents is slowly diminishing when the mine that has been the main source of employment is shut down. In the midst of battling poverty and lack of resources, the adults in Cold Rock are one by one experiencing yet another heartbreaking tragedy; the children keep disappearing from their playgrounds, their schools and even from inside their homes. Rumours surrounding the circumstances of the disappearances are widely spread; some believe it's a local child molester. Some say it's the Devil himself. Some talk about the town's own urban legend figure; The Tall Man - a mysterious man abducting children into the woods, after which they're never seen again. When the town nurse Julia Denning's (Jessica Biel) son goes missing the chase builds up in an intricate and inscrutable pattern, where The Tall Man's mysterious role decreases and the hidden role of nurse Denning slowly increases. The Tall Man is a heart-wrenching, shocking thriller that never fails to turn corners.

5. HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET
What feels like a 70's remake during the first 30 minutes, yet another high school-slasher during the next 15 minutes and a total "What the hell is this movie really about?" halfway through its running time; House at the End of the Street suddenly jerks into high-gear and presents a whole new side of the usual protective big brother.

Newly divorced Sarah (Elisbeth Shue) and her daughter Elissa (Jennifer Lawrence) move to a woodsy, rural town to get a fresh start from their hectic life back in Chicago, when learning that their neighboring house has been the home to a grisly double murder. Years earlier the supposedly brain-damaged daughter killed her parents in their bed and disappeared, leaving her brother Ryan (Max Thieriot) as the sole survivor, who bizarringly decides to stay in the murder-house. It's not long before the gentle, sad-eyed Ryan picks up Elissa in his car during a rainstorm on her way home from a party, and delivers her safely to her mother. Yes, the oldest trick of all times; making the audience side with the underdog. The teen melodrama aside, this is still more angst than chills until its final act delivers a suprisingly good twist that although not answering all questions, still leaves you satisfied. And yeah, I also have a girl-crush on Jennifer Lawrence.

4. THE WOMAN IN BLACK
The young lawyer Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) travels to the marshy east coast of Britian to handle the paperwork of Eel Marsh mansion's recently passed owner. Still mourning the loss of his wife during childbirth, Kipps is faced with little welcome and no smiles in the little village of Crythin Gifford. Finding himself literally stranded at Eel Marsh when the island that the house is resting on is surrounded by the incoming tide from the nearby ocean, Kipps is suddenly confronted with the sinister and the supernatural. The apparition of a wraith in a black mourning dress catches his attention and the poltergeist acitivity that follows "The Woman in Black" is far too hair raising for the audience to not appreciate this as a more than qualified remake, and far too interesting for Kipps to leave uninvestigated.

3. THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
The Cabin in the Woods is a simple idea executed into a whole different story. It positions itself amongst all previous slasher movies, all character clichés and genre zones just to deconstruct these very components into what can only be described as a wickedly entertaining caricatur and a brutal genre exercise. The rythm of the movie skilfully maneuvers its audience between stereotype assortments and commited actors, from scares to laughs, from hoarder basements to social science labs á la 'DHARMA in space', from hilbilly zombies to canned Silent Hill monsters, from haunted old cabin to futuristic force fields á la The Hunger Games in a surprising transition. The Cabin in the Woods is a ritual sacrifice that'll require a lot more than just the blood of a virgin; it'll need its movie audience too. Because this is a playground for a completely new set of horror chess. A total game-changer.

2. V/H/S

V/H/S is basically divided into six different sequences, opening with a group of sleazy criminals filming their en route of harassment which includes attacking women and acting like complete jerk-offs. For those who've read some of my previous posts you might be aware of the fact that I loath any sexual brutality or female opressing behaviour. Which made the first couple of minutes of V/H/S intolerable to me. Luckily the storyline changes direction as the gang breaks into a house to steel an important VHS tape. Who ordered this job or why is never explained (or I just missed that part) but wandering around the house leads them to different tv-monitors and recording devices, from which each of the five found-footage stories play out for the audience. Containing dusturbing nasties, each hand-held horror story has you on the suspense delivering unique turns and surprises; with shaky camera work, partly doubtful acting and seemingly incomprehensive plots and storylines. But despite its low-budget effects and low-rent feel it flashes some very sinister images and has some disturbed visual tricks up its sleeve. Truth be told - this is one of the scariest and disturbing movies I've seen for quite some time.

1. SINISTER
Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) is a true crime writer who, with the plan of writing his next book, moves his family (his wife Tracy, his 12-year old son Trevor and younger daughter Ashley) into a new house in Long Island, where the previous family was hung from a tree in the backyard. All but one. Their youngest daughter, Stephanie, is still missing. With the purpose of solving the murders and find the missing girl, Ellison sets up his ordinary office with a cardboard box wall of clues and evidence and starts the material hunt for his new bestseller. With the help of the Sheriff's deputy and a local occult professor, Ellison starts to piece together a gruesome murder puzzle. A puzzle which effects the entire family. Ellison's son starts having his night terrors again, his daughter Ashley starts painting images taken from the 8mm films on her bedroom walls and Ellison himself leaves his wife on the verge of a nervous breakdown watching him fall into pieces due to his obsession battling his paranoia.

Other mentionable additions to the stack of 2012's worth-watching
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Prometheus, The Possession, Lovely Molly

The total dissapointments of the year
The Apparition, Grave Encounters 2, The Loved Ones, The Devil Inside, Cassadaga

Yet to be watched
Paranormal Activity 4
Mostly anticipated for 2013
Carrie, The Lords of Salem, World War Z, Evil Dead, IT, The Host, Horns, I, Frankenstein, Warm Bodies, Dracula 3D, Haunt, Insidious Chapter 2

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

THE DRAGGING DEAD: A SLOW BURN OF ALPHA MANHOOD & MORAL/ETHICS

Truth be told, I'm starting to get a bit disappointed in AMC's The Walking Dead. So yeah, they've been on the ranch for an entire season now, even though they're not wanted there. They talk about filling their tanks and heading up state, instead they go into town and stir up some walkers. They talk about rearranging the hierarchy and setting some ground rules, but instead they revert into the classical trap of gender roles -  the hunting men and the stay-at-home moms. Enough already. It's a slow burn and as of now, I'd much rather watch The River or AMC's Hell on Wheels instead of this dragging show.

The major character's death in last night's episode (I haven't seen it yet) must make a damn good turn for the show, or otherwise I'm gonna lose interest. Perhaps for good.

UPDATE 3/7/2012: 
So, a quick update this Wednesday morning. The last episode was wicked! I hadn't expected much based on this season's previous slow drama, but S02E11 Judge, Jury, Executioner did deliver! Not only were we faced with a major character loss at the end of the episode, but the road leading up to the gruesome (and remarkably sad) death scene was so strongly influenced by the personal journey and psychological hurdle of Carl. The change in his character, from an innocent child to that of an executioner, was so potent, both in the eye-to-eye-with-a-walker experience in the woods, to the moment of Randall's execution in the barn, where his determined little voice said: "Do it, dad".

Back to balancing between being solid and slow burning? Or are they heating it up for the last two up-coming episodes? Time will tell...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S FROM THE WALKING DEAD

It came, I saw... it conquered.

Continuing the midseason premiere of AMC's The Walking Dead with S02E08 Nebraska was full on perfection! It'll be full-throttle action these coming episodes!

And for those celebrating Valentine's Day tomorrow, Skybound is offering cute The Walking Dead-designed gift cards for emailing, sharing on social networks, or downloading the printable file.

TOPLIST TUESDAY: BEST AND WORST VIEWED OF 2011

It's safe to say that 2011 was the year of television. Apart from being glued to Game of Thrones, The Big Bang Theory, Glee, Sons of Anarchy and Pan Am (yep, it's a nerd thing and an amazing trip down history lane for us within the aviation industry), my constant followers CSI, Criminal Minds and Bones, my less obsessive past-time activities like Gossip Girl, Revenge, Pretty Little Liars, Grimm, New Girl, The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle, I got to rumble in my three absolute favorite horror shows; True Blood, American Horror Story and The Walking Dead.

TOP 3 HORROR SHOWS OF 2011

3. THE WALKING DEAD
Picking up the pace, AMC's The Walking Dead returned (according to the comic book reading zombie lover I live with) to its roots during the second season, which was notable even to me who haven't read the comic books. Finally moving on from Atlanta the group experienced a member going missing and several being badly wounded during their encountering with both new zombie herds but also another group of survivors. Finally bringing in some raw meat and some character drama in between zombie hunting, The Walking Dead is shaping up for its coming season.

2. TRUE BLOOD
As always, the summer season of HBO's True Blood brings vampire sexy back! Being the vamp lover in this household I'm always rooting for some sassy and mouth watering vampire-human-werewolf-drama. And True Blood never disappoints!

1. AMERICAN HORROR STORY
Completely knocking me off my feet FX's American Horror Story deserves a first place for its remarkable and surprising first season. I had read about it, I had waited for it, I had been anxious for it to start and it completely tickled my fancy! Talk about opening Pandora's box!

What wasn't as amazing in 2011 was the horror movie industry's poor releases. A few good views and even more bad ones were added to my repertoire.

BEST VIEWS IN 2011

10. BAG OF BONES
Based on the 1998 novel by Stephen King, Bag of Bones is a two-part TV miniseries adaption. Although I truly can't feel serious about Pierce Brosnan since his soft and humble appearance in Mamma Mia!, I was surprised at how well he did the part of the best-selling NY author who suddenly looses his wife in a traffic accident. Returning to their summer cabin he soon learns the truth about himself, and the history of the town in a spooky manor. A bit slow at times, as the first of the two parts is a strong atmosphere builder and the second part delivers a rather predictable end, it's definitely worth watching. And even though it resembles Secret Window, the movie adaption of the King's 1990 novel Secret Window, Secret Garden it still holds its own.

9. GRAVE ENCOUNTERS
Having written a previous post on this movie, I'll just state that this is a movie that could have opened into anything it wanted; still it lacks that intrigue and imagination that could have made it completely terrifying. Instead of giving the viewer a genuine experience, this movie gives you rehearsed dialogue and not natural enough performances to make you believe in a ghost hunting show turning real. I had my hopes up for this movie, so I was a bit disappointed at the turn of events, especially the ending. All in all, it's a pretty good movie, though.

8. SCRE4M
What could be a better trip down the adolescent memory lane than a fourth movie in the Scream-installment? Entertaining and twisted. As usual.

7. THE WARD
Definitely not John Carpenter's best, but I still liked the 80's Girl, Interrupted style to it.

6. YELLOW BRICK ROAD
YellowBrickRoad delivers the absolute right atmosphere and leaves room for the viewers imagination to roam free over the subtle but chilling elements; such as the behavior of the group members that develops into disturbing violence. Or the music which plays a vital role in the atmosphere, being somewhat the element that manipulates the story and the reason why the environment of the woods is so dangerous.

5. FRIGHT NIGHT
Although I don't approve of the beige module housing and Las Vegas suburbian life style of Jerry Dandrige in this 2011's remake, I totally adore Colin Farrell as a sociopath vampire-beast. Hunkyliscious!

4. THE THING

There were a few scenes that were strikingly resembling sequences from the 1982 movie (like the human/alien group testing scene and the dog in the kennel, etc.), but for me these contributed more to the a prequel, although déjà vu, kind of feeling than being rip-offs. Most of all the 2011 movie is true to the basic premise; being absurdly sticky and icky. Apart from the computerized monster and digital effects this is a really good movie where the ending scenes intertwine with the opening scene of the 1982 movie in a really smooth and effectual way.

3. TROLLJEGEREN (TROLL HUNTER)
Yet another in the row of Norwegian horror movies. I liked this simply because I could watch it in its original language without disturbing subtitles, and because it's nice to have a break from the somewhat monotone American movies.

2. THE INNKEEPERS

Sara Paxton does the amazing and quirky role of Claire, on of the front desk employees, who decides to reveal the Yankee Pedlar Inn's haunted past during their last weekend of being open. Playing out very similar to one of Ti West's previous movies, The House of the Devil, The Innkeepers sets the atmosphere right from the first scene and develops into a frightening escape from the hotel's past guests.

1. INSIDIOUS
With probably the sickest dance scene ever, Insidious brings a whole new meaning to the word creepy.
Coming from James Wan and Leigh Whannell who previously kicked off the Saw franchise, this movie brings a different scare to the screen. With effective and spine-tingling scares, Insidious sticks to the traditional 'haunted house' genre of horror and mixes it up with both astral projection, demonic possession and other elements that would have come off as goofy, were it not for for the intelligent dialogues and serious tone of the film, and serves up some really good scares.

WORST VIEWS IN 2011

10. PRIEST
Can Paul Bettany play anything other than a religious albino monk? Freaky!

9. THE RITE
Anthony Hopkins, when it comes to over-analyzed thrillers - I think it's time to leave your acting carrier behind?

 8. DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK

Haunted houses can be a bit 'been there, done that' theme. They're even worse when they have child actors AND Katie Holmes. (insert heavy sigh here)

7. DREAM HOUSE
Double on the Brits playing the American dream, only this one turns out to be a little different than expected. Soon after moving into their seemingly idyllic new home, the family learns of a brutal crime committed against former residents of the house. Basically a far-fetched Shutter Island twist gone boring.

6. 11-11-11
I couldn't even bring myself to watch more than a couple of minutes.

5. DYLAN DOG: DEAD OF NIGHT

Just disappointing, as humorous horror will never be my thing. Ever.

4. THE ROOMMATE
Horrible fatal attraction movie starring Leighton Meester, who I'll never be able to see as any other than the prominent Blair Waldorf. She holds the queen throne when it comes to the CW fan club, but for the horror audience? I think not.

3. RED RIDING HOOD
Who on earth took the amazing tale of Red Riding Hood, the wonderful music by Karin Dreijer Andersson and the hotness that is Shiloh Fernandez and turned into some corny wannaba-medieval chic flick? Well, none other than the eminent Catherine Hardwick who forever destroyed the visual stimuli that is a vampire.

2. SEASON OF THE WITCH

Seriously... no. First, I can't stand when they manipulate history into fitting the standards of a Hollywood movie. Secondly, I can't stand Ron Perlman's greedy face since his domestic abuse issues in the fourth season of Sons of Anarchy, and I haven't liked Nicholas Cage since... well, never.

1. RED STATE

I can't even begin to describe who COMPLETELY WORTHLESS this movie was. Sorry. It wasn't horror. It wasn't even some Southern church club gone bad. It was just useless.

MOVIES FROM 2011 I HAVEN'T SEEN YET
Paranormal Activity 3, The Awakening, The Whispering Dead, The Yellow Wallpaper, Mørke sjeler (from 2010), La casa muda


ANTICIPATED IN 2012

DUNDERLAND 

I'm so rooting for my neighboring country Norway in the battle of 'foreign movies'!

THE WOMAN IN BLACK
Yes, Harry Potter, bring us a remake worth watching!

THE RAVEN

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS

HALLOWEEN TOP 10: HORROR FRAGMENTS THAT HAVE AFFECTED MY PAST AND FUTURE

Long have I loved horror movies and many have the elements been that somewhat have altered my view upon life and disabled me in some aspects of it. I'm referring to elements that have put such a mark on my childhood and youth that I, still on this day, have a hard time looking past the frightened memories from my earlier years.

#10 - Pandemics
After watching endless of hours of zombie movies topped up with the most recent pandemics like Rec, Quarantine and The Walking Dead, I'm convinced that these stories have some real life influence. After watching History Channel's Zombies: A Living History I'm even more convinced that 1) zombie-like states have existed within humans through out history, and 2) if the cause for this state will spread, it will do so through some pandemic. And every time I hear reports on some new H5N1 or SARS I'm convinced it's the start of some Armageddon/Ragnarök pandemic.

The Walking Dead (2010)

#9 - Camping
My undying love for 80's horror brought me to Friday the 13th at a very young age. Followed up by Campfire Tales, Cabin Fever and most recently The Ruins and Eden Lake, the brutal consequences of going camping or hiking are rather evident. Combined with the old story about a couple of young people who got brutally stabbed do death whilst camping in the same woods as where I was born, these movies haven't really contributed to the safe and comfortable feeling of camping. My love for the outdoors and my obsession with sleeping in tents or whatever hut is available (yes, I was a girl scout for many years) still take the overhand, and mostly I can enjoy camping even though it wouldn't surprise me if some lunatic showed up in the middle of the night and attacked our tents.

Friday the 13th (2010)

#8 - The woods
The house where I was born is surrounded by thick, tall beech trees that during fall have a striking resemblances to the woods in The Blair Witch Project. This movie has probably had the strongest influence on me. I've been interested in the paranormal since I was in Junior High and the unexplainable has always fascinated me, making ghost stories and mocumentaries the most intriguing movie and book material. Although I haven't lived in that house, or those woods, since I was very young, I've still gone there several times a year with my family, and during October to February the place has always led my mind back to the great impact that The Blair Witch Project had on me.

To make matters worse, my other family home (in which I grew up and moved away from 4 years ago) was also surrounded by thick woods of pine trees. And as you might've guessed already I'm a huge fan of Twin Peaks and have been since I watched the show for the first time when I was 14. Being 14 years old, struggling with my own social life and inner troubles, I was very emotionally affected by Twin Peaks. Given the strong but subtle importance of the woods in the show, and its underlying importance in life, the story that it held in the show became somewhat present in my everyday life as well.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

#7 - Off-beaten tracks
Every damn time I'm out driving I'm worried about running out of gas, making a wrong turn, stopping at the wrong gas station or offending some outback douche while I'm asking for directions, just to end up in some sequence from Deliverance (I actually don't understand why my parents let me watch that movie at all), The Hitcher, Wrong Turn or The Hills Have Eyes. This was my first fear when I was on my road trip through the Pacific Northwest, US and BC, Canada last fall. Driving alone for five days. Taking shortcuts through the mountains in Washington State so I wouldn't get caught in the snowstorm (or the Twin Peaks woods) before I'd reach the border. I was sure there were gonna be some banjo playing inbred kid just waiting for me to make the wrong turn. Luckily my driving skills are exceptional!

Deliverance (1972)

#6 - Children
Although my biological clock is turning and churning and tolling I have a hard time forgetting the mass psychoses that was Children of the Corn, the hamstring slashing Gage in Pet Sematary, Antichrist personified in The Omen or becoming mysteriously pregnant as in Rosemary's Baby. The list could be made long. What if my kid turns into Samara or an Esther psychopath?

Pet Sematary (1989)

#5 - Motels
My conviction that some motel managers run their business for other than money making purposes made me a bit skeptic during my road trip in the States and Canada last year. I tried out carefully at a hostel in Seattle the first night, but after being stalked by a drug addicted South American guy all night (who later that night fled over the Canadian border since his Visa expired that same day) I realized that crowded places might not be the best option after all. Since my budget didn't allow me any 5-star suites I swallowed my fear and spent two nights at different motels in Squamish and Nanaimo, BC. These sound like very harmless small towns which they in fact were. But stopping in the middle of the night after driving for hours and checking in to a motel alone with three unknown men in the reception claiming that no room is available but the one right above the reception when you know that the parking lot in front is not nearly half full... is kinda unsettling. After watching Psycho and Hostel I knew I would never set my foot in a motel. But now I have. And all by myself.

Psycho (1960)

#4 - Space
Probably nothing is as scary as the uncomprehending. Never ending space? Distant planets? The serious risk of getting lost and never be able to come back? Disgusting creatures as in Alien? Writhing tentacles as in The Faculty? Nuff said. 

Alien (1979)

#3 - Empty school hallways and locker rooms
Basically every teen slasher has a sequence taking place either in empty hallways, dark locker rooms or bathrooms in school. Scream has Mr. Hambry's death scene in his school office. Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master has Sheila's classroom death and the 2010 remake A Nightmare on Elm Street has Kris' nightmare sequence in both class room and hallways. Cherry Falls has Jody's chase in the school corridor and the library. Carrie has the bully scene in the locker room.

When I went to school for the last two years I was always a bit nervous staying after hours. And now at work I have to move through a huge locker room to get to my locker. And the lights can't be turned on manually, instead they automatically turn themselves on with a motion sensor that reacts painfully slow.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

#2 - Clowns
The headline speaks for itself. Not only have I been terrified of clowns ever since I can remember, but being a Stephen King fan since early years didn't really help my case when I insisted I'd watch It. Such a terrible mistake. Not even today, as an (in most cases) grown adult, can I face a clown or even see one at a far distance without having this gut wrenching horror gripping my insides, making my palms sweat and my brain cells FREAK OUT. This fear has stretched so far that it also goes for people wearing masks or being disguised in general. I have a hard time even when my boyfriend wants to run around in his Autobot-mask (yeah, he's turning 30 soon and is a die hard fan of Transformers). 

It (1990)

 #1 - Haunted Houses
Combining my fear for masked people in general with the fact that all people are born with two fears in life - one of them being frightened of sudden noises or movement, results in my most awkward fear of Haunted Houses. And I'm not talking about being a little spooked; I'm talking about panic attack-hyper ventilation-type of fear. This is however something that's grown on me during the years, as I can't remember being this afraid when I was a child.

When I visited The Haunted House at the local amusement park in Stockholm last summer I completely freaked out. Simply because people wearing masks or other forms of disguises make me so uncomfortable that I can't function properly. I panicked, hyper-ventilated and screamed so much that not only did I get the condescending looks from a freakin' 10-year old, but I made the British personnel who were working the house as ghosts for the season, stop their haunting routine and come check that I didn't need medical attention.

The same thing happened at The London Dungeon. Not only is it scary itself since the torture chamber, Sweeney Todd's barber shop, Mary Jane Kelly's bedroom and all other parts of the dungeon is in fact reenactments and replicas of actual historical places and events. But its simple ghouls and haunted settings are enough to utterly terrify me from all my sense.

House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

HALLOWEEN TOP 10: GIRLS WITH ATTITUDE

Here's one for the mean girls and the girls with attitude in horror!

#10 - Andrea blames Dale for taking away her choice to die in The Walking Dead (S02E01, 2011)

#9 - Girl on girl drama when Debbies kills Tara and Sookie shoots Debbie in True Blood (S04E12, 2011)

#8 - Psycho Jill Roberts mutilates herself in Scre4m (2011)

#7 - The Queen, Sophie-Ann LeQlerc, lashes out at Eric Northman in True Blood (S03E01, 2010)

#6 - Eun-joo, the evil stepmother in A Tale of Two Sisters/Janghwa, Hongryeon (2003)

#5 - Aunt Mei's fetus stuffed dumpling cooking in Gaau Ji/Dumplings (2004)

#4 - Mandy kills Chloe in All the Boys Love Many Lane (2006)

#3 - Lynda gets pissed at ghost Bob and then stabbed to death in Halloween (1978)

#2 - Needy confronts Jennifer in Jennifer's Body (2010)

#1 - Norma, Sue and the others pour pig's blood over Carrie during the infamous 'prom scene' from Carrie (1976)

STUFF THAT MAKE ME EAT MY OWN WORDS

OK, so remember how I said that I love The Walking Dead being all people oriented and suspenseful? Well, there's a limit to that. And it ends way before 6 episodes. Come one! What the hell is going on!? How many times is Rick gonna put on the responsible Sheriff's hat and be this emotional robot that I've come to find slightly irritating? It doesn't matter that he confesses his fear to the C.D.C Doctor, because he can't even cry about it for more than 5 seconds and Dr. Weirdo won't live to tell about it. Why does Shane keep on being the douche bag assface towards Lori, and why is she being the stereotype woman; flick with her actions and double sided with her emotions? It's time for the others to step up to the game and it's time to let some flesh eating zombies into the eye of the storm.

But wait, someone decided to make TS-16 the season finale. Really? Who makes a season 6 episodes short and decides to release the coming season during 2011 (TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN!!) Fearfest?