Tuesday, November 8, 2011

TOPLIST TUESDAY: 3 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH AMERICAN HORROR STORY

Let me start by saying that I've become somewhat obsessed with American Horror Story. Now that this year's True Blood sexiness is over, the first season of Game of Thrones with the overwhelmingly hot Khal Drogo is over, The Vampire Diaries has become too repetitive and hormonal, The Secret Circle lacks hormonal outrages, Glee is too PC, Grimm is just in the line-up, The Walking Dead is somewhat picking up its pace but still haven't gotten quite there yet and my yearly Twin Peaks-marathon is finalized, I really needed something this fall to trigger my senses and satiate my need for the sexiness of horror.

And American Horror Story definitely has!



I loved it from the first minutes in the pilot and I'll probably love all 13 episodes. It's all a bit over-the-top, but that's obviously what you get when you let Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuck (co-creators of Glee) go bananas! You need to have a thing for stylized cliches, a fondness of B-horror, a humorous approach to cinematic homages, a special love reserved for Twin Peaks aesthetics and no PC ethics to dig this. Well, since I'm raised in probably the world's most liberal country (Sweden) outside any politic, religious or other traditional condemnation and have a life long love affair with all things horror related, it's in my nature to love this! So here are three reasons why you should watch American Horror Story.

OBS! THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS! 

#1. The underlying mystery of the 'murder house'
Fueled by the use of adorable 30's to 50's songs during perverted and gory scenes, the underlying mystery of American Horror Story is accompanied by a series of juicy jingles and mood setting tunes. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm a huge advocate for using the effect of music as a mood setter. With hints dropping everywhere, the storyline changes with each episode's flashback to previous house owners' life stories and brutal deaths. New and interesting characters are introduced as the timeline and history of the house is laid out piece by piece. It also becomes more and more evident that the next door neighbor Constance is pulling the strings, having the Harmon family at her mercy. The question is how and why. Each episode development also leaves me wondering which character will turn out to be dead despite their full on staging.

#2. The cinematic homages
Homage paying or rip-offs? Without being shy about its influences, American Horror Story acknowledges and blazes through every horror movie reference that they could possibly come up with in a bloody blur. A horror nerd fan base for a show like this a given, although I bet half of them think American Horror Story might be knocking out one too many references, as they get piled up in each episode. I, however, think it's a ballsy move and I love all the hat tipping. Some references are full on homages where as others are more subconscious absorptions by personal reference. Here are a number of my personal favorites:


The shapeshifting, ghostly seductress: The Shining 
The home invasion: The Strangers

Creepy twins: The Shining

Mentally unstable mother trying to up-bring an even more unstable daughter: Carrie

Whichever party being ghosts: The Others
Abortion clinic doctor sewing together his dead baby with animal body parts: The Human Centipide  
The housekeeper with too much inside information: The Others
Father turned mad by potential haunted house: The Amityville Horror
A potential supernatural rape resulting in pregnancy: Rosemary's Baby


 And last but not least - taking an adorable song (or a nursery rhyme) and pervert it in a horror sequence: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Insidious... amongst others.

  
#3. The characters
Going on its sixth episode American Horror Story has finally let horror mythology take a back seat to the characters.

The creepy next door neighbor
Straddling the genre line between drama and horror extremely well, Jessica Lange plays the role of next door neighbor Constance; who makes Ipecac cupcakes, has a cleptomaniac behavior going on when it comes to silverware and refers to her daughter as the not so PC term 'mongoloid'. This aggressively sassy woman, who had to put her acting dreams on the hold to give birth to previously mentioned mongoloid daughter, has a define cruel streak that is evident in her history of killing the housekeeper (Moira) after finding out she had an affair with her husband. Constance also seems to be pulling the strings of the haunting drama with her growing number of ghost accquaintances.  



The mongoloid girl next door
First seen in the pilot episode as the little girl back in the 70's who warns the twin brothers Troy and Brian ("You're going to die in there") when they're vandalizing the 'murder house', the next door neighbor girl Adelaide plays a short but impressive role in the first four episodes. Born with Downs syndrome she (in a Carrie-Margaret kind of relationship) has been resented by Constance since birth; a condition that makes me love her character. The resentment from her mother's side is so strong that Addie undergoes less ethical methods of up-bringing. Her (lack of) intelligence is also constantly undermined as her mother even sees her as a threat towards her (alarmingly) younger lovers. 

The future high school massacre kid
Being Ben Harmon's first patient in LA, Tate Langdon reveals his dreams of going on a killing spree at his high school, constantly speaking in a provocative way in order to upset Ben. Your average revolting teenager gone pervert, sort of. Masturbating to keep his high school massacre thoughts at bay, Tate starts secretly visiting Ben's daughter Violet in her bedroom at night. Having some dark evil friend hidden in the Harmon's basement and being the (bastard?) son of Constance, Tate would have his share of PTSD-syndromes. And it turns out that his dreams are based on his subconscious memories of him already having gone on a murder spree at his old high school in the 90's (Bowling for Columbine, much?). Current ghost-Tate doesn't seem to be aware of this fact, though. And despite his verbal perverseness he's unable to perform sexually with Violet. If this is due to him being a ghost or his unstable mental health in general; we don't know yet. 

The teenaged, self-harming daughter  
The typical teenager; resenting her parents because her father is a liar and her mother is weak. Add being a cutter to the equation, and we've heard the story before. But the petulant side of Violet Harmon was over shadowed by her strong will and courage during 'Home Invasion' (S01E02) and she's the only one who's actually willing to stay in the house as she sees it as a place of triumph, where she and her mother survived the attackers. Even though she's a bit annoying and immature for her age, I would have to agree that Violet grows with each new episode, much due to her emotionally struggling the fact that her boyfriend is a ghost.  



The all-time horny father
Ben Harmon; the all American dad, the handsome therapist, the uninterested father, the douche bag husband. The list can be made long. After Vivien had a miscarriage, Ben couldn't accept the fact that she was no longer interested in sex, and being horny as he was, he decided to have an affair with Hayden. The event of Vivien walking in on the two of them is what led the family to move to LA, making their relationship strained in the start of the series. The new house immediately starts to play tricks with Ben. It makes him sleepwalk and perform violent actions which he forgets about due to constant black outs. It makes him see the housekeeper Moira as her young 80's seductive self instead of the 60 year old woman she portrays herself as in front of the rest of the living. Topping that off with Ben walking in on her as she's masturbating with her legs sprawling in the air. Poor guy. As if that wasn't enough, he gets stalked by a pregnant Hayden who claims he's the love of her life and he really can't seem to get his hormones under control, as he lashes out and kills Hayden in a rage. 

The dependent and rock solid mother
It's still taking some personal adjustment to see Connie Britton in any other role than Tammy Taylor in Friday Night Lights. However, she does a fantastic job as the betrayed but strong mother of Vivien Harmon. Vivien has developed a strange biological tie with the house (like all pregnant women on the Island in LOST) after having sex with the rubber man (which she thought was her all-time horny husband being S&M playful) and becoming pregnant. With a fast growing baby in her belly, Vivien puts all her awakened time and energy into trying to sell the house after falling out of love with it due to not only the home invasion, but some very persistent ghost visits.


The scorned ex-mistress
Following Ben to LA and stalking him in his home, Hayden can't seem to get over the thought of Ben having another family apart from her and the pre-born baby that he left her with and which she never had aborted. Killed by Larry in a rage after terrorizing Ben in his home and pissing off Larry, Hayden's body is buried underneath the gazebo in the garden. It doesn't take long for Hayden to return, making Vivien believe she's still alive and Ben to believe that she faked her death in a conspiracy with Larry.


The stalking psycho
Larry seems to be the only actual living person who knows the secrets and evil of the house. Being the previous torment victim of the house's mental games, Larry burned his wife and daughters to death and became left behind covered in second degree burns. Having been recently released from a mental institution, Larry claims he has inoperable brain cancer and not much long to live. In an attempt to be either a pain in the ass or actually trying to help Ben to become free of the house's power, Larry starts terrorizing Ben, taking advantage of Ben's dire situation. After having killed Hayden with a shovel, Larry starts to blackmail Ben to pay him off or he'll tell the cops about Hayden's body being buried in the back yard.

The seducing housekeeper
Being one of the ghosts of the house, housekeeper Moira, was shot in the eye and killed by Constance during the 80's after Constance caught Moira and her husband Hugo having what she believed was an affair. When the Harmons move in to the house, Moira shows up on their doorstep revealing herself as an old woman to Vivien, asking to be taken on as their maid. While Vivien sees the older version of Moira, Ben sees the young seductive version that is stuck in a seducing-her-employer-loop. One thumb up for young Moira constantly trying to seduce Ben and two thumbs up for Violet walking in on the old version of Moira straddling her dad.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

LOVE.LUST.PAIN BY SWEDISH BAND NALE

Although not so horror related, Swedish band NALE is well worth notice for their debut video 'Love.Lust.Pain' that without a doubt would make an awesome soundtrack to some sexy horror movie scene. Not only are they sexy, rocking and make damn good music, I also live together with the bass playing Asian dude in the Transformers t-shirt. <3

Friday, November 4, 2011

FEASTY FRIDAY: 4 X SEXY POSTERS

American Horror Story Season 1, 2011
Although they remind a bit of the simplicity theme used by HBO for True Blood promotion, they've still got their own little twist of bizarre sexiness.

 




Fright Night, 2011
Skipping the overall remake which usually incorporates a poster cloning gone bad, this poster series has a modern kind of tv-series version of Zombieland-feeling to it. Despite that the layer and color editing has somewhat gone over the top, I really like them. Plus, Colin Farrell is HOT! YUM!





True Blood
Yes, I'm a Truebie! And as always, HBO brings vampire sexy back with their inventive and imaginative season premiere posters.





The Vampire Diaries
Usually taking the gothic approach a little too serious and making it awkwardly modern and hormone raging, this seasons Halloween inspired poster series is really sexy!




Monday, October 31, 2011

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN & SAMHAIN EVERYONE! 

It's 10 PM here and I'm gonna stuff my face with these cupcakes and watch my Halloween-must-see-movie; the classic Halloween from 1978.

HALLOWEEN TOP 10: CELEBRATIVE COSTUMES

Halloween 2009
Okay, so I'm not celebrating Halloween in the sense of dressing up this year. Mostly because it's not that big of a holiday here in Sweden. And secondly, I'm working all weekend and next week so I haven't had time to set up a party, and have apparently very boring friends who are free from work but haven't bothered to arrange anything remotely festive. So this year's Hallow's eve I'll spend baking scary but tasteful cupcakes, eating good food and watch even better horror movies with my boyfriend.


I've actually only dressed up three times before for Halloween. The first time was for a really big Halloween party in church during high school (FYI; the reason why I was hanging in church for a couple of years was because I lived outside of town and the church arranged a hell lot better after school activities than the youth club in school did) when I went as Magenta in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I had long, flaming red hair back then and used to dress in not so appropriate clothing for someone my age, so Magenta seemed like the perfect choice. Safe to say I didn't have to go buy anything for the dress up; all garments used were already part of my closet, erhm.... Well, well.

Halloween 2008
The second time was a couple of years ago for a friend's combined Halloween- and birthday party to which I went as a character from And Then There Were None (1945), based on one of my favourite books by Agatha Christie And Then There Were None/Ten Little Niggers. I was so proud over the 30's headband that I'd sewn by hand, the dotted dress, the black gloves and the boa.... and no one knew who I was supposed to be, haha!

The third time was two years ago when I went to a friends house for a party. She had recently moved back to Sweden from the States and brought her American boyfriend with her, so the two of them throwing a Halloween party wasn't such a big surprise. I went as a high school girl zombie which was very much appreciated later that evening when we went out to a night club. Last year I went to a Halloween party in the outskirts of Portland, OR, which I unfortunately didn't have time to get a costume for. I, however, pointed out that I was dressed as a European (in the literal sense) and was immediately excused.

If I would have gone to a party this year, here's a list of 10 fabulous incarnations I would have chosen between.

#10 - One-legged Cherry Darling
If this was somehow possible to pull off, Cherry Darling's one legged appearance in Planet Terror would be an awesome Halloween costume. However, this would be a long shot, since the sported post-accident fake leg is exclusively a computer-generated props, the real life fake leg wouldn't nearly be as fierce and ass-kicking as this M-16 rifle.








 

#9 - The Halloween pumpkin mask
If I hadn't had such a huge fear for masks in general and people wearing masks in particular I would definitely go for the scary approach, no doubt about it. Apart from the insanely disturbed female mask (with which I would probably scare myself to death with) in Curtains (1983), the pumpkin head from Halloween III: Season of the Witch would be a challenge to take on. The movie itself is not one of my favorites in the Halloween installment as it lacks the most vital character; Michael Myers. But the pumpkin head would be great fun to try to make.



#8 - Tina's body in a plastic bag
Not only has Tina probably the best death scene in the Terror on Elm Street installment as her dream self gets stabbed in a dark alley whilst her physical body in slashed and thrashing back and forth in front of the eyes of her boyfriend Rod, in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Although, another fantastic scene with Tina is when she appears in Nancy's dream at school, standing on the hallway covered in a plastic bag.

No explanation needed really. This would make an awesome, but sweaty, costume.


#7 - Frankenstein's Bride
Who wouldn't want to dress up as the fabulous and perhaps strongest and most impressive woman of horror; the bride of Frankenstein? Although the bride's appearance in Bride of Frankenstein always will be too short according to me, the impression that the birth of the monster's mate made was even bigger.

Not only is this of the most iconic women of horror, the physical details of her character would make a perfect Halloween costume; the electric black-and-white hair, the distinct makeup around her eyes and lips as well as the scars surrounding her face.




#6 - The transformation of Babyvamp Jessica
Sure, Sookie Stackhouse in a waitress' uniform would probably would surely get some attention, with well-tanned bare legs and a blonde ponytail bobbing on top of my head. But.... naaah. If I would go for cute, I would go for a hell lot of cuter as in the petulant, emotional and a bit immature Babyvamp Jessica. It would be fun to be Jessica during, or right after, her transformation; still dressed in her church dress, her hair all tangled and clothes all dusty and dirty from being underground for a couple of days (or nights?).



#5 - A pre-death Mary Jane Kelly
Who doesn't love the Victorian era with all its bustiers,  figure glass proportion creating corsets and unbreakable crinolines? Well, maybe not wearing them for real, but the look of them. And who wouldn't wanna be wooed by a deadly sexy Johnny Depp in From Hell (2001)? I would probably go for the full on dress and not just the underwear garments since my tattoo covered arms aren't exactly an example of the Victorian era.

Although this might come off as a rather unimaginative option, it's one of the few that could actually satiate my obsession with the Edwardian and Victorian era, unless I would go as a pre-version of Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice and Zombies which planned film adaption, as you all know, hasn't been produced yet.


 #4 - The pie baking Mrs. Lovett
Speaking of the Victorian era... I know the character of Mrs. Lovett from the film adaption Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) has become very popular during the last few years and her costume can be rented at most costume shop. I, however, like a challenge and would love to sit down and sew together the fabulous incarnation of the cannibal meat pie maker.

I love Helena Bonham Carter and would love to dress up as either Bellatrix LeStrange from the Harry Potter film series or the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland (2010). But since the character should (at least according to me and in this specific list) be taken from a horror related movie, I would go for her portrait of Mrs. Lovett. And yes, the pies would make excellent accessories.


#3 - A blood soaked Carrie
I would probably not be let into any bars or night clubs but I would make a hell of an entrance at a party!

Making a very gory appearance without much effort (other than spending too much money on fake blood) is an easy and safe bet for a Halloween costume. Perhaps not the most inventive for the evening, however, Carrie entered the prom stage a long time ago and the idea of portraying her has probably slipped every 80's or 90's born kid's mind but would still make a strong impression since everyone knows the story about the dumped-on, telekinetic loner whose late-blooming menstrual cycle and sexual maturation react disturbingly with her fundamentalist mother's psychological chastity belt.


#2 - The zombie (double rainbow) version of Brittany
I love Glee, love old 20's and 30's hairdos and fur accessories and I love fierce looking female zombies! I could definitely go as the zombie version of Brittany from S02E11 'The Sue Sylvester Shuffle', or as she calls it herself; a zombie double rainbow.

I'm somewhat fed up with slutty dressed zombie women dragging themselves around on numerous Zombie Walks. Sensuality and sassiness can however be achieved in so many other ways; the growing femininity of the 20's and 30's when corsets and crinolines were thrown aside and the strength in the raising female independence and productiveness was displayed in the more practical and tidy wear. The night time glamor was still intact, with budding rounded busts and waistline curves. The hair was softer and prettier as hair perms improved (in Brittany's case, probably not so much) and foreheads which had been hidden by cloche hats were now revealed. The sensuality and strength of women were in general revealed by the change in women's fashion.


#1 - Baby Firefly in PJ's
My all time favorite woman of horror! Although I love her in her slutty summer dresses and boots, her cheerleader outfit or her being psychotically dressed up for her stage performance with 'I wanna be loved by you', I prefer her in her PJ-looks in House of 1000 Corpses.

Not too extravagant, which means no big budget or time effort needed to pull this costume off. Already having the blonde hair, the blue eyes and the school teacher glasses, I would only need a pair of flowered leggings, some socks and an old tank top.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

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)