A Tarot Reading for 2021 - Revealing the Spread, Cards 1 and 2

This is the third in my series of posts about my New Year's 2021 Tarot reading.  Post one where I talk about my choice of deck is here, and post two where I discuss the spread is here.  

So onward!  Let's start with looking at the cards as a whole, just to get a feel for the connections and overall themes.  Then I'll 'flip' the first two.  Here's what's in my spread:

1.  Death.
2.  Five of Swords
3.  Ace of Swords
4.  Five of Wands
5.  Eight of Wands
6.  Tower
7.  Sun
8.  Magician
9.  Page of Cups
10.  Ace of Cups
11.  Four of Coins

Looking at the suits, it’s interesting to see how they are so cleanly split.  Swords (challenges, intellect, thoughts) appear early, referring the background like my inner self and the conflict.  Then the framing forces of the past and present are Wands (career, projects, inspiration).  The intangibles of 2021 are represented by Cups (emotions, relationships, creativity).  Only at the very end do we find Coins/Pentacles (money, resources) showing the tangibles of real-world outcomes.  Four of the eleven cards are Major Arcana, and two are Aces, which is pretty cool as indicators of key themes/aspects of my relationship to 2021.

I've placed the first two cards off to the side, although they are usually dealt to lay across the middle of the center card in the spread.  These two cards form the essence of me and my relationship to 2021, both my role(s) and my true inner self within that context.

1.  Death - Significator.  Okay, so I’m a romanto-techno-weirdo-goth person and thus the Tarot Death card has never been one I’ve viewed negatively.  This card represents change, and I see a lot of positive aspects in that.  We certainly need some change after 2020.  The character in the card wears a mask, already so appropriate for 2020/2021 but in addition, this mask is a plague doctor’s mask.  Creepy appropriate.  It is intended as protection.  The white rose is an homage to Death.  My interpretation is that I see myself as someone trying to stay safe, but also trying to help and to honor others who were not so lucky.  I also think it bodes for my role in 2021 being different from 2020 in some way that may be specifically virus related.

2.  Five of Swords - Me.  This card depicts the winner of a hard-fought battle.  But while the character in the card has indeed won, the victory may have been Pyrrhic.  As my inner self I see this card as a question - what have I gained and what have I lost in 2020?  I have to take my lessons learned forward with me into 2021 or this victory (my continued health and prosperity) will have been at a high price, indeed.  My inner self is one who is glad for victory, but cognizant of costs and compromises.  This is appropriate as Swords as it frames my challenges and thoughts of myself and my place.

Next post, I'll talk about the five middle cards that form the cross.

Image Credits:  Pix by me of my stuff.

A Tarot Reading for 2021 - Choosing a Spread

This is the second in my series of posts about my New Year's 2021 Tarot reading.  The first post where I talk about my choice of deck is here.  

So with deck in hand, I had to choose a spread.  Since I wanted to "get a read' on my place in the whole year of 2021, I figured a big, complex spread was the way to go.  I picked the Celtic Cross Spread and included a 'significator' card for a total of eleven cards.  The Celtic Cross is often dealt to look like this:

Celtic Cross spread, from the guide to
The Gilded Tarot

 

Each card is related to the question or situation of interest in some specific way.  The 'definitions' for each card follow here - again this is largely the description provided in the guide to The Gilded Tarot.

1.  Significator. How I feel about 2021 and/or my role in 2021.  This is generally considered an optional card, only added if, as in my case here, I wanted additional info/complexity in my reading.
2.  Me (The Querent).  My relationship to 2021.  This is the “inner me” or the “true me” that has some bearing on issues and situations in 2021.
3.  Crossing.  The major conflict(s) or challenges in 2021 for me.
4.  Foundation.  The basis of 2021, key themes or ideas I will encounter.
5.  Past.  My past issue(s) that will influence 2021.
6.  Present.  Current force(s) shaping my 2021.
7.  Future.  Forces that will affect the nature of and/or the outcome of my 2021.
8.  Myself.  My self-image, which may or may not reflect card #2.  How I see myself approaching/living/being in 2021.
9.  Environment.  How others will view/see me in 2021.
10.  Hopes and Fears.  What I most hope or most fear for 2021.
11.  Outcome.  Probable outcomes for 2021; what will be the nature of 2021 for me, assuming nothing changes from the moment of the reading.

The Celtic Cross spread isn't about predicting or changing the future, it is instead a way to gain insight into a past and present situation, and what outcome(s) might arise.  Whenever you use Tarot cards, it's important to focus on some specific question or situation, since the cards have lots of meanings based entirely on context.  As I noted in my first post, this is all about psychology.  What do I hope the cards will suggest?  What do I *not* want to see?  In what way do they confirm or conflict with my previous ideas?

I of course was looking for insight into 2021 - including, what were the key issues in my 2020 that will influence 2021, what would be the major themes for me this year, what strengths I could access, and what weaknesses I had that would need support.

So I shuffled the cards, thinking about my questions, and then handed the deck to my spouse, who dealt the cards face down.  After that, he turned them over one by one and we pondered the significance ...

Nuff for now; next post to see the cards I drew!

Image Credits:  My pic of the inside of my guide to The Gilded Tarot by Barbara Moore (illustrator for the cards is Ciro Marchetti.)

A Tarot Reading for 2021 - Choosing A Deck

As part of our New Year's revelry, I asked my spouse to help me with a Tarot reading for 2021.  He obliged, and so I have my (pretty awesome) reading for 2021 to share over the next several posts.

Given that I'm a scientist, I'm sure it's no surprise that I do not view Tarot as supernatural.  Rather I view it as a engaging and creative means to uncover some of my own psychology.  Tarot works best for me when I look at a card and consider the implications that I easily accept, and then those I immediately resist.  Also during this time of pandemic, I find myself gravitating to tactile activities that are not computer based.  There's a sort of need for texture, color, and the sound of shuffling cards.  It's very grounding and comforting in a time when so much of the physical world, and the physicality of other people, has been out of reach.

For my 2021 reading I chose my Tarot Grand Luxe deck.  It's my go-to deck for when I want lots of detail, but don't want to work too hard to find the messages.  One of this deck's best aspects is that, unlike SO many other Tarot decks, it includes people with a wide range of skin tones and facial features.  It's a dynamic, vibrant deck that's full of life.  Now if I could only find a deck with a wide range of genders and body types, too, I'd be pretty darn happy ...

Tarot Grand Luxe.  Stunning art, detailed images, diversity,
high-quality card stock and labels that are easy for the eye.

This is a gorgeously illustrated Tarot with largely standard themes.  Because the themes and symbols are standard, it makes interpreting the messages more straightforward than some of my more unorthodox decks.  What do I mean by standard themes?  Let's take a look at a comparison of four of my favorite tarot decks.  I've taken the Six of Coins/Pentacles and the Hermit card from each deck.  Check out the image, with helpful arrows and labels!  :) 

The first deck is the Rider Waite Smith Tarot deck, a variant of the very first decks used for divination published in the early 1900s.  The second deck is the one I've chosen for 2021, Tarot Grande Lux.  As you can see, the first two decks have similar imagery and symbols for both cards.  The Hermit is an old dude with a long white beard, usually carrying a lantern or such and maybe a cane or staff.  The setting is a path or journey.  For the Six of Coins, there is a scale and someone weighing out gold.  It's easy to say, yep, that's a scale and it's being balanced, or that's a lantern and he's looking for something.  I.e. you can get a quick read on the general idea of what you are looking at in the card.

But decks can be a great deal more unorthodox, with imagery and symbols used in new ways, or that are not immediately recognizable.  The last two decks show a progression from weird to weirder.  Revelations Tarot is pretty cool because the cards can be read as they fall, either right-side up or upside down.  I don't usually bother with 'inverted' or 'reversed' readings - if I pull a card and it is upside down, I flip it.  Many people prefer to leave the card inverted, and then interpret the meaning in some way that is reversed to the original meaning of the card.  Revelations Tarot makes that super easy - it's almost like there are two whole decks here, since each card has a top and a bottom image.  However, these images are highly stylized, and combine symbols in unusual ways.  Deviant Moon Tarot is one of my more weird decks, and is perfect when I'm in that headspace.  The images here look nothing like the Rider Waite Smith Tarot, and the moon and tone of the art is vastly different.  So when I'm in a mood for the strange, I'll choose a deck more like this.

Nuff for now, more later.

Image Credits:  All pix are taken by me of my own Tarot decks, except I have cut in the pictures of the RWS Hermit and six of coins into my image from Wikimedia Commons.

Halloween Movies of Choice 2020: Movies 8 to 10 - Rewatching Early Stephen King

Modern horror is in many ways "King's Monster."  King dug up the pieces of the genre, stitched them together, added lightning, and a gloriously gruesome entity emerged.  Given this, it's always baffled me that I was never a big fan of King's works.  I'm a writer and aficionado of all sorts of strange stuff, so why is it that most of King's writings and their adaptations never struck a cord with me?  I decided I'd take my October 2020 movie party to re-watch a few of his early flicks, and consider my impressions more deeply.

Okay, I'm not utterly without certain King favorites.  King has written a gigantic number of novels and stories, and some of these I have definitely come to like such as those that have seeped into movies via anthologies (Creepshow 2), or via other genres than direct horror (Stand By Me, Danse Macabre.)  Creepshow 2 in particular has King starring in a solo performance that I have always loved.  I'll post about that later ...

So let's take a look at three of these early King-novels-as-movie adaptations: The Shining (which I remember not liking at all) Salem's Lot (which I remember liking a little) and The Dead Zone (which was the only King movie of the time that I remember liking a whole lot).  Now that I've just re-watched them, maybe insight shall be gained.

SPOILERS OF ALL KINDS!  Total SPOILAGE!  But seriously, I think anyone interested in this post is gonna be pretty familiar with these already.

Movie 8 - The Shining 1980

This is of course the story of a caretaker, his spouse, and his son who winter over alone at a resort.  Wendy hopes for the family to reconnect, while Jack hopes to find writing inspiration.  We have no idea what Danny wants.  The one sentence plot is that Jack is possessed by evil spirits from the house, tries to kill his family, and ends up freezing to death in the hedge maze outside as his wife and child flee to safety. 

Things I liked:  Upon re-watching, I enjoyed the filming itself much more.  The long shots, camera angles, colors, and lighting are all highly effective, making the inside of the resort feel more like a hospital than a plush hotel.  Duvall is believable as a woman who is unable to leave her abusive husband, exhibiting well-known behaviors such as defending him in conversation by saying his breaking his son's arm was an understandable accident.

The character of Dick, who also has the Shine, is particularly likeable as the only person who attempts to actually bond with Danny.  Last, a ragingly possessed Nicholson on a rampage with an axe is some of the most alarming scenery-chewing you will ever see.

Things I didn't like:  Why cast Jack Nicholson in this role?  The actor had already developed a reputation for playing twitchy characters (as in the 1970 Five Easy Pieces famous 'chicken salad sandwich scene' and the entire movie of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.)  We are also told early on that Jack is prone to outbursts of temper and has battered both his wife and son.  Listening to him whine to the bartender is painfully pathetic.  Unlike in King's novel, the movie-Jack does not have a late moment of understanding and regret; he is wholly unsympathetic.  One look at Nicholson and the question isn't "will" he try to kill you, but "when."

There is absolutely no chemistry in this family.  They all act like complete strangers to one another.  Danny has no personality, and the addition of the invisible friend "Tony" does not serve any purpose.  "Redrum" spoken over and over devolves into babble, and writing a word backwards to be seen in a mirror is a old prank predating this movie.  Duvall screams so often I wasn't even hearing it anymore.  Dick, the only interesting character, spends half the movie both realizing there is a problem and then getting back to the hotel, only to be killed immediately upon arrival.

Overall, this thing is an awesome-looking mess.  I can see why King didn't like it, as this is not the story he wrote.  Although I don't feel any connection between the people in book, either, and am not compelled by King's recurring theme of places being evil and attracting evil.  The movie has no ... charm maybe?  No cleverness?  Except for Nicholson's ad-libbed "Here's Johnny" line, the movie takes itself too seriously, allowing for no shifts in tone that might enhance the viewers' sense of perspective on the story.

Movie 9 - Salem's Lot 1979

I love a vampire flick, and it was interesting to revisit how the TV mini-series of Salem's Lot worked with the old gothic tropes, as well as with Stoker's conception of Dracula.  This is of course the story of Ben who returns to his childhood hometown to write about a creepy house there, which unbeknownst to anyone now hides a vampire.  The townspeople are eventually converted into vampires, including Ben's girlfriend, before Ben and local teen Mark can stake Master Vampire Barlow through the heart and burn the whole place down.

What I liked:  Even now the vampire eyes are a very good effect.  Some of the townsfolk are sympathetic, and the girlfriend Susan is intelligent and self-possessed.  The floating vampire boys tapping on the windows are still a creepy sight.  Watching the people get picked off one by one is also chilling as they leave cars abandoned in the streets and tricycles overturned in their yards.  There is actual interpersonal chemistry between the school teacher Jason, Ben, and his girlfriend's father Bill (who seems relieved his daughter didn't pick a loser for a change.)

PLUS this film can claim one of my favorite scary scenes of all time - while Ben is driving a stake into Barlow's heart, his undead minions are slowly but surely crawling across the floor towards Matt, who is oblivious.  There are no jump scares and nothing is hidden, it's all right in front of you and the tension is fantastic.

What I disliked:  Why did they put "Hutch" (who still looks and acts like a police detective) in a Jeep if he doesn't know how to close a Jeep door?  He tries to slam it in almost every scene, and once even goes back and slams it again.  It's some of the only humor in the film and it's clearly not intended.  I'm assuming Hutch kept forgetting this wasn't his and Starsky's beat-up Torino.

Susan, who is otherwise portrayed as intelligent, goes to the Marsden house for absolutely no reason when she's supposed to be getting her mother to safety.  She must have inherited this from her father, who for absolutely no reason walks upstairs without Hutch and of course gets waxed.  The pushing-four-hours of running time is filled with people driving places and going in and out of doors and setting up conversations.  I cut out almost 25 minutes just by making people walk fast.  

The music that plays over most of the "action" seems to have been composed by the ghost of Wagner.  And as usual for horror movies, there's too much pointless non-horror-related-violence; such as one dude who thinks it's okay to beat his wife for infidelity, and Hutch who physically throws Mark on the ground and into furniture whenever Mark doesn't do what Hutch says.  The choppy editing and continuity gaffs make the production appear almost B-movie level.

But overall, this is an interesting and occasionally even fun vampire flick with some trope-defining moments.  If you use a bit of fast forward you can avoid the slow spots and much of the irritating music, getting to the scenes with actual character interactions and some good vampire freaky-ness.  There is in fact a dash of charm to be found, as we feel some of the director's (and no doubt King's) affection for this dysfunctional small town and its increasingly undead populace.  We encounter good, bad, and a lot of in-between in the humans of this town, and it puts the utterly inhuman elements of vampiric evil in stark relief.

Movie 10 - The Dead Zone 1983

Johnny Smith wakes up from a five year coma and finds out his girlfriend has married, has a child, and that he now has developed psychic powers.  He saves some people from terrible fates, solves crimes, and eventually stops nuclear Armageddon by ending the prospects of a narcissistic presidential hopeful, although at the cost of his own (Johnny's) life.

What I liked:  This movie has aged well, and I love it as much as I ever have.  It conveys a constant, thrumming dread - the sense that something has been touched that is too intense for any human to bear for long, with consequences that cannot be predicted. The film contains complex and believable relationships, genuine warmth, nuanced characters, and some good performances.  

Christopher Walken is, as usual, fantastic in every way.  He carries this movie, totally selling how his experience changes him, his feelings of isolation, and his motivations for his choices.  Even Walken's physical performance is a standout, as over the course of the film he recovers his mobility even as he is slowly drained by his powers.  The way Johnny's visions are shown is not high-tech, but the sort of "flashback" mechanism works well.  By the end of the film we can feel Johnny's exhaustion as he tries to hang on to this world that has felt so alien to him since the moment he awoke.  Oh, and Martin Sheen is also a lot of fun as the smarmy candidate for senate - holding up a baby as a shield so he doesn't get shot.  The very bottom of the moral barrel.

What I didn't like:  I never liked the ending.  It is believable, but I feel that Johnny's journey is unfinished.  The vignettes in the movie give a smattering look at his powers, his choices, and the changes he undergoes, but I still feel that there was much more to explore with this premise, and especially with Walken's performance.  This leads me to how much I didn't like the doctor's idea that he shouldn't talk to his long lost mother because "it wasn't meant to be."  I find this fatalist attitude to be entirely self-defeating, and it undermines the subtlety of the premise.  I can understand him saying, "I can't open that door and be sure I'll survive.  It was hard to lose my mother, and I feel I can't take that emotional risk."  But saying "it wasn't meant to be" is a real chicken-out move.  Should the nurse not have heeded Johnny's warning and left her daughter to die?  Is this a whole "monkey's paw" situation?  This gives the impression that Johnny's powers are simply evil, rather than a chaotic but creative force that can be used for good.

Overall, there is so much warmth, humanity, and yes, charm in this film that we can't help but like the characters and find ourselves rooting for (or against) them.  There is genuine laughter and humor, which works very well to sharpen the edge of the frightening, mysterious, and violent moments, giving them extra punch.

In conclusion of my lengthy post here, it seems pretty clear what I think is missing from some of these stories and films - humor to provide perspective, warmth to contrast the horror, and charm to allow us to engage emotionally with the characters and their world.  I can see why it is I identify with the work of people like Tim Burton, who use more of these elements, rather than King, who is apt to give us something deeply horrific from page one and not let up.  Obviously most horror lovers want that sort of thing, since King is, well, the King of Horror.  But there are also folx like me whose appetites lie more towards the quirky, inky, ironic, and endearingly freakish realm of the genre.

Image Credits: King's pic from his amazon author page.  DVD covers for all three movies.  Other images still shots from movies or promo pix.

Halloween Movies of Choice 2020: Movies 4 to 7 - Vampires!

Vampire time!

It's October 13 and I've only posted reviews of three of the movies I've watched so far, so it's time for some catch up posts.  Let's dive in with the best possible subject: vampires!

For me, vampires are the pinnacle of gothic glory.  In my last series of posts in 2017, I reviewed the movies: What We Do in the Shadows (my current favorite to start Halloween season), Nosferatu, Fright Night (the old one), and Let Me In (American version).  These are solid vampire flicks, and well worth a watch depending on what you are seeking, such as dark humor, film noir, 80's creepy camp, or maybe something truly disturbing.  I have a massive backlog of vampire movies to watch, so I'm glad to have this excuse to do that and then wallow in their gory glory.

SPOILERS!  LOTS!  (No really)

4.    Let the Right One In - 2008

If you are looking for "I want to be deeply rattled by a vampire movie" then this will probably do the trick.

As I mentioned above, in my first series in 2017, I reviewed the American remake of this movie (Let Me In - 2010).  It was one of the most disturbing vampire movies I'd ever seen.  I decided to revisit the story through the lens of the original film.  The remake is basically the same movie, but there are enough differences that comparing them reveals more depth to this depraved tale.

Both of these movies deliver a wallop of vampire horror that will leave you reeling.  Certainly the movies ask the viewer, "What makes a monster?" both in terms of how people become monsters, and how we define that word.  In spite of the American version being more outwardly violent, this original film is more emotionally brutal and unforgiving, showing the hideous truth of vampirism with an unflinching gaze. 

Oskar is a twelve year old boy whose life is rife with neglect and abuse, particularly from constant bullying at school.  On one hand, he seems sensitive, mild, and good-natured.  On the other, we see evidence that the cycle of bullying is already in motion, as Oskar, who is obsessed stories of murders, acts out pretend revenge with a knife.  In the remake, the same boy (Owen) does not appear so antisocial.

The vampire child Eli has a generally androgynous aspect, but wears dresses and appears to everyone to be a human girl.  She is cold to her henchman Hakan, ordering him about as she fixates on her growing interest in Oskar.  The remake shows the vampire (Abby) to have more apparent compassion for her henchman Thomas, although we cannot know if some or all of this is feigned.  The remake has removed other creepy content including a hoard of cats attacking a newly made vampire, and that same vampire intentionally allowing themselves to be set on fire by sunlight.

So while the remake shows us a vampire slowly exploiting the vulnerability of an isolated boy, the original shows us a vampire encouraging and exploiting a boy's already extant antisocial behavior.  Either way, each film ends with the disturbing certainty that history has repeated itself, and the vampire has once again successfully ensnared a human to become their murdering henchman.  So don't be fooled by reviews describing this movie as "sweet" or "romantic" or other total nonsense.  Eli is a merciless killer who dismembers children.  No amount of potential affection (and it's never clear if there actually is any) that Eli has for Oskar can outweigh her leading him into lifelong bloody servitude.  Overall, I prefer this original to the remake.  It handles greater emotional brutality with more subtlety, and the actress playing Eli is simply sensational in the role.  Definitely a must see for vampire fans, especially those looking for something new under the "sun."

5.    Queen of the Damned - 2002

If you are looking for "I want a vampire movie with cool music that's not otherwise demanding" this one fills the bill.

In spite of my vampire addiction, I've never been an Anne Rice fan.  I tried several times to read some of the novels and stories in her vampire universe, but I've found them kind of boring.  The characters are all so unrelatable that I never cared what what happened to them.  Lestat, the main vampire of most of the stories, is particularly useless.  He is utterly unsympathetic, and as I tried to read the stories I kept hoping he'd get immolated at some point.  Then realized he was going to be a main, continuing character; I lost interest.

So why did I bother with "Queen of the Damned?"  The soundtrack.  I found the soundtrack years back and added a bunch of songs from it to my gritty Halloween playlist.  I finally decided I'd just watch this movie and see if it had any redeeming qualities in addition to the music.

Well, there are a few, but not enough.  Lestat continues to be a literal pain in the neck.  The actor portraying him does a great job, and has the voice, the look, and the arrogance down pat.  It's just that the character itself is a classic depiction of spoiled white royalty; he's a whiny, privileged, mopey baby in a man's body and ... yuck.  But even more of a pain is the bait-and-switch of the promotional images.  The promos show the "Queen of the Damned," a black woman vampire, who is front and center with Lestat behind her.  She looks awesome and very not your typical vampire and I hoped she'd give Lestat the what-for.

Nope.  Instead this movie is sort of about Lestat deciding that mortal life is precious from an I-can-destroy-humans-whenever-I-want-to-and-isn't-that-beautiful view.  It does not make him more palatable.  The glorious Queen only shows up near the end of the movie.  She's looking for Lestat to take him as her King; a kind of consort-slave-trophy to enjoy as she dominates humans and vampires alike.  The actress is terrifyingly perfect, lithe, and lethal.  At a glance you know this thing is not human and only sees you as furniture, at best.  Once you see her, you realize she's the only real vampire in the flick.  

Sadly, at the end she's ganged up on and destroyed by wishy-washy vampires who prefer the skulking-in-shadows lifestyle.  This scene is appalling from a social-justice/feminist perspective - as it is mostly white men and women (vampires) destroying a black woman (vampire.)  No.  Just no.  The apex of all vampiric power has quickened as female, black, confident, carnal - and of course white patriarchy is like "we can't have that, can we?" and down she goes.  Any real vampire would worship her.  Our take-away is that these vampires are still human enough to identify more with their prey than this glorious Queen of wretched evil.  Bah.

I still suggest the movie if only for the one scene where she literally tears the heart out of another vampire and eats it.  She does not look angry or happy as she kills him - that would be too human.  Instead, she's entertained, and perhaps mildly pleased with herself.  But neither he nor the twenty other vampires she kills in that scene are worth a second thought to her.  She does not, as they say, even break a sweat.  The other reason to watch is in fact the soundtrack, which is indeed quite fine.  Otherwise, this movie does not work as either camp, or dark humor, or real scares, or an exploration of mortality, or parody, or an examination of the nature of humanity, or really anything at all ...

6.    Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter - 2012

If you "want a campy, action-movie-style vampire flick with cool effects" then this is one to check out.

I had a great time watching this movie in spite of its many problems.  I'll start with what I liked.  The special effects are pretty good, and the vampires look totally gruesome.  The scenes of the Gettysburg battlefield aren't realistic, but are impressive anyway.  Having Lincoln as an action hero with a classic tragic backstory puts you right into the comic-book plot of the film.  The training montage is over-the-top axe-wielding fun.  There are all kinds of fantastic moments where the bad guys get pwned with improbable, cheer-inducing magnificence.  The women in the film such as Harriett Tubman and Mary Todd are shown as intelligent, bold, and resourceful.  The surprise ending to the climax is actually quite satisfying, and I think for once I won't spoil it.

There was stuff in the movie that was both good and bad, in the sense that having it there both added and detracted at the same time.  The movie posits what might happen if vampires lived in slavery-era America.  The vampires see slavery as a means to obtain lots of disposable people, and they create empires in the south filled with slaves and the vampires that feed off of them.  That is plausible given the setup, but very problematic because it tempts us to dismiss the great evils of slavery as a product of demons, rather than of very real people in the real world acting demonically.  The movie takes an appropriately ethical stance in that it is certainly anti-slavery, but by conflating the evils of vampirism with the evils of slavery, it serves to potentially diminish the contributions of people like Tubman.  I mean, I love a good parody, but this movie can't decide if it's campy, vamp-killing fun or a serious commentary on the blood-sucking nature of slavery.

This leads us to the problems.  First, as noted above, the tone is totally inconsistent.  Is this a farce or a pointed take on civil-war America?  To be both, which is possible, one would need to apply a more nuanced hand than is given to this film.  I was getting whiplash trying to figure out what sort of roller-coaster I'd boarded.  The special effects as noted are cool overall, but the CGI stuff is overdone and not well blended.  The pace is slow then fast then slow then break-neck; the ride on this thing is uncomfortably unpredictable.

It's not unsurprising that I feel compelled to compare this movie to its parody, the 2012 "Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies."  I reviewed that one in 2017.  That is a movie that knows exactly what it is trying to do and hits the bullseye.  Plus the Abe actor is utter perfection.  If you are looking for camp-parody-dark-humor-fun and don't mind trading vampires for zombies, then go there.  If you want a bigger budget, slicker production, and a race-to-the-finish climax, then this vampire flick is where you want to be.  In spite of the issues, it's a great addition to the genre.

7.    A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night - 2014

If your mood is "I want a vampire film that feels brand new and yet timeless, that engages the brain and the emotions, that is dreadful without being overly gory" then give this one a try. 

Actually, it does not matter what mood you are in, you should give this a try because it is nearly flawless.

This film is so visually captivating that I probably should just post a pile of images here, rather than any words.  That would be consistent with the bare-bones dialog.  Everything is spoken in Persian, and the English subtitles rarely wrap to more than one line on the screen.  It's all in black and white, and every single shot is a tiny masterpiece.  This film is described by many as a vampire/ spaghetti-western, as it includes elements like violence, irony, anti-hero(es), a rough-and-tumble setting, deceit, lack of social order/stability, terror, and many of the visual cues and trappings of both of those genres.  

That categorization doesn't tell you anything, though.  And before I tell you anything I probably should watch it at least ten more times so I can figure out some of what the symbolism and imagery is trying to convey.  I mean, the cat for example.  The cat is a critical character in this film, even as it appears only a few times, but those times are pivotal.  Oh yeah, the cat is not mistreated and survives just fine, so you can feel free to watch this movie and see the humans get drained without worry.  

The setting is a fictional Iran, with a town so bleak it's called "Bad City."  A place where there is an open channel filled with bodies that never decay, and no one gives it a second glance as they walk by.  The strong prey on the helpless amid a town of squalor surrounded by desolation and oil rigs pumping endlessly up and down like vampires draining the ground of life.

The pace is slow, sometimes even literally slow-motion.  I can't usually sit still for tense scenes where I can't predict what might happen, but I was mesmerized.  This is a terrible beauty that comments on wealth, class, status, materialism, family, duty, revenge, feminism, power, age, desire, patriarchy, ambition, need, and most of the rest of life and death, too.  Just having the titular character skateboarding down a street with her open chador flowing out behind her like bat's wings is enough commentary to fill an entire book.

My favorite scene, although it's super hard to choose, is the one where our "heroes" meet by the power plant for a "date."  They've already spent the night together, but he has no idea who she is or if she's interested in him beyond that one-night-stand.  He's enthralled with her, and presents her with a pair of diamond earrings that he stole.  He notes her ears are not pierced, and says it's too bad she can't wear them.  She wordlessly (she almost never speaks) hands him a safety pin.  Surprised and also rather weirded-out, he does the job and she puts the earrings in.  You do not see her without them after that.  It's bizarre, tense, and feels utterly vulnerable.  It strikes me that this is their real "sex" scene.  This is the moment of consummation in their relationship.  

I could obviously go on and on about this vampire-art-noir creation, but it really would be better if you just watched it and enjoyed this refreshing and transformative take on the vampire genre.

Image Credits:  Wampire from publicdomainpictures.net.  Let Me In cd cover, promo pic, and movie still. Queen of the Damned dvd cover, movie still, and gif shot from ihorror.com.  Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter dvd cover, gif shot from horrorpix.com, and movie still.  A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night dvd cover and stills from the film.

Halloween Movies of Choice 2020 - Movies 1-3 Creepy Good Surprises

So 2020 is turning out to be a year fraught with it's own kind of horror, and for those of us with a creepy mindset, one of the best ways to take a break from real horrors is to engage with fake ones. In 2017 I did a blog series of 31 Halloween movies in 31 days, and I think the time is right for another round.

The first post of my 2017 movies is here - so if you need even more ideas, go check out that and the posts that follow it.

So here we go!

Movies 1-3 - Creepy Good Surprises!

My theme for these first three movies is merely that they were much better than I had thought they'd be.  Nothing like a "pleasant" surprise.

Note: As always spoilers abound! Watch before reading!

1.    Sucker Punch - 2011

I originally avoided this movie because I heard there was a subplot related to trauma and mental illness, along with a setting in a sort of '50s insane asylum.  As someone with mental disability and PTSD, I didn't want to be dragged through another ableist slog of a horror film.  But I finally decided to give it a chance, and wow, I'm glad I did.  This movie is a wonderfully bizarre blend of film noir, period piece, steampunk, horror, action, weird, sci-fi, fantasy, manga, thriller, and pretty more.  The special effects, soundtrack, and much of the acting are gritty and great.

Our heroine "Babydoll" sees her father in law murder both her mother and sister, and then he frames Babydoll for these crimes and packs her off to a private institution that still practices lobotomies as a form of "treatment."  We, and Babydoll, overhear him bribe a slimy orderly to see to it that Babydoll is lobotomized almost immediately.  She seems to retreat into a complex fantasy world with multiple levels, imagining that she is working to free herself and other inmates from a human sex-trafficking brothel.

I'm not sure why this movie didn't make a bigger splash, because it seems have a lot to offer.  Perhaps it has to do with the various ways in which 'sucker punch' can be interpreted; maybe it's realizing that the 'fantasy' Babydoll conjures is actually playing out in the 'real' world; or maybe it's the way in which the team members die; or maybe it's the ultimate confirmation that even Babydoll does not escape her fate.  

The movie is also disjointed, moving through three levels of perceived reality.  Perhaps it's too triggering for some.  Certainly, I found Babydoll's situation to be agonizing, but I was able to finish the film because it depicts people taking control of their fate in even hopeless circumstances.  In the end, I was captivated by the total weirdness of it all, the honestly gruesome plot, and the fantastic action worlds of the meta-fantasy filled with mechs and monsters.  Sucker Punch is perfectly appropriate Halloween fare, and worth a watch (or rewatch) this season.


2.    Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - 2016

Why, oh why, did this film not get all the super kudos?  Yes, the plot is obtuse and sometimes impenetrable, but the filming is amazing, the costumes are perfect, and every single actor has completely bought in and gives their all.  Are the reviewers not genre-savvy?  I see all sorts of criticisms out there about the predictability and lack of surprises and do the reviewers not realize this is a parody and it uses well-known tropes as part of the vehicle for that parody?  Sigh. 

Anyway, I loved this thing.  It's ridiculous and beautiful.  If you are not captivated by the scene where Elizabeth and her future husband resort to hand to hand combat as a result of a failed marriage proposal, then I don't know what you want from a movie.  I was doubly sold when a friend who has a squeamish tummy couldn't even make it through the beginning exposition with the paper-pop ups.  She saw all the paper-depicted-gore and turned green.  Then she vetoed the movie on the grounds that it looked disgusting.  Which it is.  It's a zombie movie, right?

This is a seriously excellent zombie flick with dedicated performances.  Some of the landscape scenes are simply haunting.  The fight scenes in gowns are wonderful.  Oh, and the riffs on Austin's work are spot on, and often word for word from the book.  This romp is well worth your time for Halloween.  Enjoy the zombie glory and don't worry too much about the point and you'll have plenty of fun.

3.      Vampyr - 1932

  

I generally enjoy old black and white horror films, the earlier the better.  Film was precious enough and novel enough in the first decade of the 1900's that it was often used for projects of some importance or cultural significance.  By the 1930s, things were already changing, and it was more common to find film used for "less vital" topics that the producers did not imagine would be of interest a hundred years later.

The movie Nosferatu 1922, which I reviewed in my last series here, has consistently captivated those of us who love the vampire genre.  I had not heard similar praise for Vampyr, and given the later 1932 date I thought maybe it just wasn't up to snuff.  So I put off watching it.  That was a mistake since this is an absolute gem, with tons of disturbing imagery and a deliciously foreboding tone.

Our hero stumbles upon a family cursed by a vampire.  As the lord of the house is killed to keep him quiet, our hero reads the old man's journal and uncovers the nature of the curse.  The younger daughter of the lord assists him in his searches for the prime vampire, who must be destroyed to free her sister before the sister becomes a vampire, herself.

Along the way is all the great, creepy scenes, and a really very disturbing end for the village doctor, who was in league with the vampire.  I'll mention that only once before have I seen someone offed in this manner, and I thought it was horrifically original.  Nope, here it is all the way back in 1932.

This aged beauty of a film is worth the watch, even with the grainy, blurry texture of the remaining prints.  Definitely put it on your watch list for the season.

Image Credits:  Sucker Punch I own this CD case and also from https://www.awn.com/vfxworld/stitching-together-sucker-punch . PPZ CD case and then studio promo image.  Evil Dead II movie case and action shot from http://www.bookofthedead.ws/website/evil_dead_2_props.html.  CD case for Vampyr images from screen shots.

Halloween Movies of Choice: Movies 23-25

Ruben's Medusa

It's time for a massive monster mash!  Here are a few films filled with monsters that are good to break out during the Halloween season.  None are horror per se (in fact these are really fantasy and sci-fi) but each is filled with bizarre creatures, and there are even a few genuinely scary moments here and there.  So if you weren't over-saturated with monsters from The Cabin in the Woods, this is the place to be.

As always, many SPOILERS here.

23.  Clash of the Titans (1981)

My love of 80's speculative films and my love of stop motion animation converge here in one seriously campy romp through the mythological past.  Enter Perseus, son of Zeus, who gets embroiled in a plot to save the city of Joppa and its fair princess from the anger of the monstrous Calibos and his mother, the goddess Thetis.  The plot isn't terribly important, nor does it bear particular resemblance to myth (after all we encounter a mechanical golden owl made by Hephaestus, indeed we have to put up with the freaking thing through half the movie) but there are plenty of monsters and such to be had.  (Note that I haven't seen the remake of this film, which is fine since I can't imagine it could be this much goofy fun.)

We begin with Calibos himself, who was cursed by Zeus for hunting down his sacred winged horses, leaving only Pegasus.  Then there's the giant vulture that carries Andromeda's spirit about the swamp, the Stigian Witches who share one eye between them as they cook someone in their bubbling caldron, and a two headed dog nominally guarding the gorgon Medusa.  Medusa is of course a monster mix on her own, as she has writhing snakes for hair.  After Perseus nabs her head, there are some giant scorpions to defeat (along with Calibos) and then they have to take care of the Kraken itself.  Not bad for a monster mix. 

It isn't even a little scary (although the scenes with Medusa have a reasonable creep factor), but the animation is great fun, and the monsters have some fine personality.  So put this movie in your Halloween rotation as a good creature feature!

24.  Heavy Metal  (1981)

Now you are wondering what I'm really up to.  But seriously, I count 1981's Heavy Metal as both a monster movie and horror, at that.  Have you seen it recently?  If you can get past the sophomoric, juvenile need for busty babes in every scene, there is some truly creepy creature weirdness to be had in this film.  Not to mention the animation is fascinating and the soundtrack is actually pretty rocking.

The plot here is exceptionally loose.  A framing device was used to tie together mini-stories that otherwise have no relationship to one another.  The only commonality is the malevolent green orb known as the Loc-Nar.  This orb narrates its past conquests to a terrified girl, and each of these becomes a vignette in the film.  Having already melted her astronaut father to mush, the orb recounts stories such as how it converted plane-loads of soldiers into zombies, created war on several planets, and influenced people to act in malicious and evil ways.  Most stories are populated with a variety of monsters and weird alien creatures that keep things interesting even when the plot flags. 

It is the utter unknown that makes this movie so unsettling, as you can't even guess what's going to happen next, and it's usually something violent or otherwise unpleasant.  Animation lets you do pretty much anything you want, and in this case it runs wild.  So break out this old flick and see if its weird worlds and creepy creatures are what you need for a bit of Halloweeny viewing.

25.  Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King (2003)

Of course the Lord of the Rings trilogy is filled with fantastic monsters of all kinds, as well as some moments of true horror.  I wanted to pick one film in particular, not just point to the whole series, but this is indeed tough.  Still, this third and last installment seems to have tipped the balance on terrifying creatures.

So the first film has goblins, a cave troll, and then a demon known as a Balrog.  This in addition to the usual orcs, the quasi-monster Gollum, and then of course the terrifying Nazgul that are in all the films.  But the third movie has a few extra special monster encounters.  We start by learning Gollum's story - a once normal hobbit-ish person who was corrupted and cursed by the Ring to murder his only friend.  Then we end the film with Gollum's demise, a twisted moment of glee before the flames of Mount Doom take him as well as the Ring.  In the meantime, Aragorn has to obtain the help of the Dead Men of Dunharrow, ghost-skeletons of men who betrayed Aragon's ancestor Isildur, and who have been haunting the countryside for centuries.  Then there is an up close battle with the Witch-King, leader of the Nazgul, whom Eowyn finally dispatches. 

Finally, and what really makes the most monstery list for me, is the encounter that Frodo and Sam have with the giant spider Shelob.  This is a freakish and terrifying sequence, where Frodo finds himself lost in the webs, and only survives because loyal Sam shows up at just the right moment.  It's all quite gruesome and gross, which makes it perfect for a Halloween creature feature.  So depending on the amount of time you have for seasonal movie viewing (the extended versions of the trilogy add up to like 13 hours of film) put one or all of these fine monster movies on your list.

Image Credits: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rubens_Medusa.jpeg https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/clash_of_the_titans/pictures/#&gid=1&pid=n-241117  https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_lord_of_the_rings_the_return_of_the_king/pictures/#&gid=1&pid=h-6597

Keep On Writing!

Sharpen up those quills
and get writing!

It can be hard to write when the world is pulling you in so many directions.  Many people feel their writing just isn't important in the larger scheme of things.  Especially for people who write fiction, their writing may seem so trivial to them, so much like it has no authentic connection to the outside.  And writing can be such a solitary endeavor, anyway, it can be difficult to see how it contributes to making a better world in the long run. 

"Write like it matters and it will." - Libba Bray
"If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write." - Martin Luther
"If a nation loses its storytellers, it loses its childhood." - Peter Handke

I've been struggling with some of these thoughts myself.  After all, most of my writing will probably never get published, and will never garner a big audience if it does.  And really, what good is my beloved sci-fi novel in the face of all the ills of the world?  What good are my little horror poems, flung out into the cosmos like darts at a dragon?  Even that essay I wrote about grad school, the one that I thought was oh, so crafty and writerly, what has it changed? 

"Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises." - Anne Lamott
 "Don't judge it.  Just write it.  Don't judge it.  It's not for you to judge it." - Philip Roth
"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."
- Cyril Connolly

Well, it's changed me, for one.  Like now, when the world seems so very chaotic, I write and I find a place of focus and determination.  When I was my most depressed, I started my sci-fi series that means so much to me.  It may never get published, but it is a lifeline for me even (especially) now.  And even in the context of genre, I find myself writing about what matters to me - the nature of relationships, sacrifice, love, abuse, war, understanding, and more.  Not trivial issues by any means, as it turns out.

"I write for the same reason I breathe." - Isaac Asimov
"I admire anyone who has the guts to write anything at all." -  EB White
"Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now." - Earnest Hemingway

I want to encourage everyone to write, in whatever way works for them.  Get out those empty journals sitting on the shelf and start filling them up with quotes or whatever moves you.  Blog about your progress on your memoir, and then go write some more of that memoir.  Jot your poems down while commuting or drinking the morning's caffeinated beverage.  Scribble song lyrics in the margins of your class notes.  Fill your lunch breaks with introspective essays.  And if you are like me, huddle up with your computer in bed and pound out that fiction novel that you are just, oh, so close to finishing.  It may change more than you think.  There is no way to know - but certainly if we write nothing, then nothing will be the change we get.

Image Credit:  Sharpening Quill Pen.  Wikimedia Commons.  CC 4.0

A Haunting Time at HallowRead!

Reading poetry at the vineyard
on a windy autumn day.

I spent my weekend at the writerly and readerly genre book convention "HallowRead" - it was simply a great time, and I thought I'd share some of the highlights.

I wanted to attend the con first and foremost because I wanted to meet other genre writers in the local area.  Even though I've been in Maryland for more than ten years, I still haven't met many other writers.  I was hoping I'd come away with a few new contacts for writerly advice and friendship.  I also was hoping to learn and have fun!

My tarot spread - apparently I'm gathering
my resources for a change my friends already
know is coming.  Hmm.

I flew back into the area after attending a conference for work on the west coast - my red eye flight didn't let me attend the first two workshops on Friday, but I did make it to the next three, held at the Decoy Museum in Havre de Grace - a lovely location right on the water.  The first workshop I attended was Vonnie Winslow Crist talking about writing short fiction - pitfalls to avoid and guidelines to follow.  Then C.J. Ellisson shared her organizational techniques for working on multiple writing projects at the same time.  This included scheduling not just the writing itself, but things like research time, promotion milestones, and release dates.  We ended the workshops with Chris Stewart talking to us about grants and marketplaces.  This was particularly useful to me, as I was not really aware of all the opportunities for art and writing grants in the general Maryland area.

We got to wrap up Friday with a ghost tour.  I'd never been on one before, and I enjoyed crunching through the leaves on dark streets, hearing about hauntings.  But the best was the final stop.  We spent an hour in an antique shop having our tarot read, and listening for ghosts on the upper floor.  Very atmospheric and not just a little bit creepy!

The Fanged, Furry, and Fabulous Panel!
Glad to be a part.

Saturday was filled with panels and book signings.  From 9am to almost 3pm we had panels on a plethora of subjects from how to write ghost stories, to the nature of magic in fiction, to creatures and monsters.  If you are a fan of paranormal romance you would have loved it - many of the writers on hand were active in that genre and were giving away teasers and even whole books!  I was very happy to be on the Fanged, Furry, and Fabulous panel representing horror poetry.  I was one of the few poets present, and was really pleased to have the chance to provide that perspective.  In the afternoon, the authors with books headed to the new Havre de Grace library to sign and sell.  I stopped by and spent my book budget, coming away with some new reads.

The last of the group hanging out at
the vineyard on Sunday.

Sunday was such a pleasure, as we wrapped up the event at the Mont Felix Winery for "Read Between the Vines."  Those writers in attendance, including myself, all had the chance to read a bit of their work while tasting wines from the winery.  It was fun and relaxing, and I particularly enjoyed the warm mulled pumpkin wine they were bringing around!  I was so surprised and pleased at the reception my poetry received!  People really seemed to enjoy it, and it has solidified my resolve to get a chapbook out as soon as I can.

It was a fine weekend, and I encourage any lovers of fantasy, horror, or sci-fi to come out next year and join in the fun!  Many thanks to Rachel Rawlings, who organized the event!

Image Credits:  My pix of the panel, and the tarot, Rachel's pix of me reading and the group.

Research for Fiction Writing - The Pheasant

A pheasant before all that
hunting and prepping business.

I am always amused by where I end up when doing research for my fiction writing.  You know how it goes - you want to write a few sentences about some topic or other, and the next thing you know you've spent five hours on the internet learning all about it so those sentences are at least somewhat informed.

Before writing the scene I just finished, I had no interest in learning about how to hunt and then prep a pheasant for consumption.  And then one of my characters in this scene decided to hunt and prep a pheasant for consumption.  Again, you know how it goes ...

I really knew nothing about it at all.  I imagined I'd just have my character saunter off, shoot a pheasant (bow and arrow, we are talking fantasy here) then roast and eat said pheasant.  Then I got to thinking ... what about all those old-timey movies and paintings showing pheasants and rabbits and such hanging from the ceiling?  What's the deal there?  And what about the game Skyrim?  Can't walk thirty paces without running into rabbits and pheasants hanging from metal contraptions or even fallen on the floor.

Pheasant and rabbit hung
from ceiling - as one does.

My character was out camping, so he really didn't have the time to hang a pheasant from the back of his horse for a day or a month or whatever.  And then I'd assume when he finally ate it, it would probably taste a lot like the back of his horse.  Maybe this pheasant idea would not work out after all.  But characters, as you know, can be persistent.

So off to the wonderful world of the internet.  I'm a bit squeamish, so this was not easy research.  I did find out that yes, one basically saunters off and just shoots a pheasant.  Takes time, know-how, skill, and the rest that you'd expect, but no magic there (which is funny, again since I am writing a bit of fantasy at the moment).  Ok.  Only have to watch for shots that tear the gut open and might contaminate the meat.  Lovely.  So my character happens to be an excellent shot ... And of course with a shotgun there is actual bits of metal in your bird to avoid, but again, I'm in a bow-and-arrow situation.

So, we assume bird-in-hand, literally.  Now what?  Well, as it turns out, that whole hanging thing is really just for birds that are other than very young ones.  The young ones are tender enough without hanging.  BUT of course, most birds in the wild are not very young just statistically speaking.  Most are middle aged, and some are rather old.  So hanging a pheasant was sort of required to ensure it was tender.

Let me be more specific.  Hanging a pheasant.  Some sites recommended three to seven days.  Of just hanging at cool, not cold, temperatures.  Not hot at all, because that would be gross, but not actually wintertime sort of stuff, either.  So you just go ahead and hang the pheasant from it's head, not upside down.  And let it ... sit ... there.   For days.   Or more.  Some sites suggest that in ye olden dayes, people would allow the pheasant to hang until it was so ... rotted ... it dropped.  And then you knew the meat would be tender.  Seriously.

I think I'll chalk this up to my naivete.  Chalk up the fact that this had never occurred to me.  All the press and advertising around food is about how it should be fresh.  So very fresh.  Well, apparently you do not want old pheasant meat to be fresh.  Apparently you can eat it rather ... not so fresh.

Whatever.  I had what I needed for my character.  In the end, yes, he just sauntered out and shot a pheasant.  Because, aha!  It just so happened to be a young pheasant.  No need for it to hang from the back of the horse until it fell apart.  Yea!

Still.  There is the preparation to consider.  And so I read more about plucking pheasants when they are cold and hot and wet and dry and warm and whatever to really keep me satisfied for some time.  I'll not put the specifics down.  But I know a heck of a lot about plucking pheasants now. (Yes there is a naughty little song about this, let's not go there.)

And as with most of this fiction-style research, it isn't really going to be terribly useful now that the scene is written.

Image Credits:  Pheasant.  Used under Creative Commons 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons, author Lukasz Lukasik.  Hanging Hare and Pheasant, 1798, Swiss National Library, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons.