My Thoughts on World War Z

So my Mother in law came to visit, and had my wife and I watch "World War Z". When I had first heard about the movie, some three plus years ago, I was excited. I never read the book, but the idea of a big budget Zombie movie excited me. Once the trailers came out I was less than amused with what I was seeing. It looked like super fast zombies with super human strength,  that all worked together, which would show intelligence.  Not cool in my book.
After the movie came out I heard from many people (most whose judgement I don't trust when it comes to movies) that it was a great zombie movie. That was it for me, I wasn't going to waste my time on another Hollywood failure.
Which brings us to last night, where I broke down and rented the movie.
My thoughts on the movie are as follows:
1. The movie definitely has great entertainment value. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time.
2. With that, the film stars Brad Pitt. He is a great actor and I haven't seen a film with Brad Pitt that I didn't like.
3. Are they really Zombies? This is a question for debate. While the catatonic state they are in until they hear sound says yes, very little of any of their other behavior links them to zombies. Are they consuming human flesh to survive? No. They bite people purely to spread the "virus" or "plague".
4.Jerusalem just happens to build a wall based on a communication heard from India? They could stop a war to build a giant wall? (Which, SPOILER ALERT, didn't work)
5.This is something in the plot that I'm not sure if I like or not. SPOILER ALERT: In order to defeat the "zombies" one must "camouflage" themselves with a major sickness. If you're sick, the "zombies" ignore you, making it easy to sneak up on them and kill them. Problem solved and humanity lives on.
Maybe that's my problem with the film, humanity wins. In every other zombie film, the message is no hope for humanity (exclude horror comedy "Shaun of the Dead", and "Fido"), and they took that away from us. Zombies are meant to be a total destruction force that we cannot escape, so to see a serious zombie film deny that and change it, well, it doesn't sit right with me.
What did you guys think about the movie?

ZombieNation - Fast vs. Slow

There has been a debate when it comes to zombies, which is better fast or slow?

For me I'm torn between the two, while I side more with the slow zombies. But every now and then who doesn't like a fast zombie?

The genre was started with slow moving zombies, which makes sense because zombies are reanimated corpses.  They don't have the muscles needed to move at a high rate of speed due to decomposition. While they are easy to get away from (unless there is a huge horde of them), there is always the fear that eventually they will catch up with you and usually more will have joined in the hunt along the way. This leads to a horde that could be in the hundreds,  spelling doom for you and whoever is with you. Not to mention what are you running into by running away from a zombie problem?

Fast zombies are in fact just that: fast. So fast that they could probably out run an Olympic sprinter. This means without transportation,  you have to bunker down and try to defend a location. Problem with that is, just like slow zombies, that zombies will swarm and create hordes making impossible to fight them off. If you can survive the zombies, another mounting problem is supplies and sanitation.
Everybody poops and pees. So you're stuck and I doubt the water department is still up and running. The only solution is to be able to dump it outside. The supplies are limited and will run out. Stuck here and surrounded means that is all there is to live. Even if you could sneak out to scavenge,  these super fast zombies would have you before you could yell help.
Both have their own element of horror, it really just depends on what you like and which you find scarier.

Halloween is Near...

There is an undeniable feeling in the air today. First the knowledge that tomorrow is the first day of October. Second, you can actually feel the beginning of Fall in the air!
Halloween is near, and the closer it gets, the more excitement mounts. See for a horror freak like me, Halloween is a special time of year. It's the one time a year it is perfectly acceptable to dress up and scare people, which is honestly quite fun.
The excitement of getting the decorations out and turning the house into something out of a deep dark dream is exciting and comforting. The unacceptable becomes acceptable decor, and I love every minute of it!
So now we begin the official count down to a major holiday, 31 days to go!

"A glimpse into the world proves that horror is nothing other than reality."
- Alfred Hitchcock

Support Grassroots Horror

In the past ten years we have seen a flood of horror films hit the theaters, and for one reason or another, only a handful ended up being worth watching. For some reason Hollywood seems to like to make a great beginning and middle of a movie, only to limp across the finish line in a way that ruins the entire experience. It seems to be a continuing occurrence in the horror genre. Along with that we have to sit through terrible remakes of iconic films. Now, I'm not saying all the remakes are bad, but most of them are terrible. Oh, and who thought it was a good idea to let Rob Zombie make movies?
Independent Horror has been a great alternative to big Hollywood films, as they seem to deliver where Hollywood just can't.  But beware, not all independent films are created equally.  I've sat through many a film that looked like someone's high school senior project. Those are hours of my life that I'll never get back. But it's worth it because sitting through bad films I have found a lot of great horror films by watching trailers. And when you're in the video store reading the backs of DVD cases, the description may sound good, but the film falls flat. It's a process of trial and error.
Which brings me to the point of this post. The Horror community needs to support grassroots film makers. These people has a dream and a passion for the genre, and the could very well help to usher in a new era in horror films. But how does one support grassroots horror? Glad you asked!
In the days of social media and tablets and smartphones supporting things and causes has never been easier. Thanks to a great little app called Popcorn Horror, you can watch and support grassroots horror no matter where you are! This app allows aspiring film makers to post their short films and allow anyone who has the app to view them. Not only that, but there is a place for comments on the films and forums where you can join others and talk about all things horror. Now I will warn you that not everything on there is good, but in the past year or so, I have seen a lot of great short films on this app. It's worth a shot, so check it out and help support the horror community!

This is Just the Beginning

    I was a normal child, just like most. I played with action figures, ran around my neighbor, and rode bikes with my friends far beyond where we were supposed to go. I had normal fears that most children have, like the fear of what lurks in the night, the fear of snakes, and of course the fear of spiders.
    As I grew older into my teens, my interests seem to change a bit. Girls were definitely in the picture, but I found a love for the paranormal (thanks largely to my parents), and a love for horror movies. The paranormal excited me, while driving a fear of the unknown deep inside me. That lead me to study the paranormal (ghost, possession, aliens, and UFOs) in depth. As for my love of horror movies, I guess that was lying in wait for most of my life waiting to surface at just the right time.
This blog will be dedicated to all things horror and the paranormal.
Welcome, for this is just the beginning.