Month: April 2014

Z-View: “Insidious”

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The Pitch: ”Hey, let’s make a really scary haunted house, possessed kid movie without the gore!

“Let’s do it!”

The Tagline:  “It’s not the house that’s haunted!”

The Overview:   *** Beware –  spoilers are found below ***

Renai and Josh Lambert recently moved into a new home with their three young children. Strange noises and happenings begin to occur and their son, Dalton falls into a coma. Doctors at the hospital can find no reason for the coma. Months later Dalton (still in a coma) is moved back home.  When the supernatural events begin to intensify Renai and Josh move the family to a new house.

Almost immediately the strange happenings begin in the new home.  A psychic team is called in and it becomes clear that the house isn’t haunted… Dalton is!

The Good

  • Leigh [Saw] Whannell has created a story that puts a twist on the classic haunted house tale.  There are plenty of creepy moments and a few great scares!
  • Director James [Saw] Wan knows how to scare an audience!
  • Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, and Barbara Hershey do an excellent job as a normal family trying to figure out what is going on.
  • The fact that the family doesn’t wait too long before moving from what they perceive to be a haunted house.
  • There is just the right touch of comedy when the two paranormal researchers show up in the second half of the movie.
  • The ending!

The Bad:

  • How you’d feel moving away from a haunted house only to have the supernatural events continue to intensify in your new home.
  • The second half of the movie isn’t as scary, but is still a lot of fun!

The Ugly:

  • Traveling to the other side.
  • How you sound when you scream out loud at some of the scary parts.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Upgunned by David J. Schow / Z-View

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Upgunned by David J. Schow

Jacket design and illustration Tim Bradstreet

Elias McCabe is having one hell of a night:  He gets kidnapped at gunpoint by a professional hit man and is forced to shoot blackmail photos of a prominent politician.  Things go wrong with the shoot… very wrong.  When the night is over, Elias is scared to death … and ten thousand dollars richer.

If he keeps his mouth shut.

But he doesn’t — and now the hit man has targeted him for payback.

As a desperate amateur in the games of death, Elias is up against a seasoned pro.  As his entire life slides into the abyss, he has to stay alive by inventing new ways, moment-by-moment, to avoid, misdirect, and finally confront his ever-more-determined murderer as corpses and collateral damage stack up coast-to-coast in their wake.

The Good

  • Upgunned sucks you in from the first sentence and never let’s up.
  • The lead characters:  Initially I was having a tough time deciding whether I was pulling for Elias [the photographer forced to become an accessory to blackmail and murder] or Chambers [the hitman “forced” to kill everyone involved in the blackmail gone bad including his partners].
  • The supporting characters, especially “Cap” Weatherwax and the freaks at Salon [midgets, a spidergirl, a crocman, and others.]
  • Schow does his research — you’ll learn a lot about guns, Hollywood movie-making and more, but never at the expense of the action.
  • Tim Bradstreet’s jacket design and illustration and yes, that is Thomas Jane on the cover!
  • Ken Mitchrooney [a comic book buddy from way back] is thanked in the Acknowledgements.

The Bad:

  • Chambers – I was pulling for the hitman despite him killing so many people until he did something even worse.
  • What happens to Chambers that prevents him from killing Elias straight away.

The Ugly:

  • What happens to Chambers’ partners.
  • Walking in a dark room with your eyes wide open.

Upgunned is for mature audiences due to excessive violence and sexual situations. 

Rating: 3 out of 5

10 Serial Killers That are Still on the Run

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Listverse posted a piece called 10 More Evil Serial Killers That are Still on the Run.

I thought the Vending Machine Killer was creepy…

At least 10 people were killed by the strange series of murders… The killer poisoned dozens of bottles of juice and soda and hid them in vending machines… dispensing chute(s). When someone bought a drink they would end up with two bottles and accept the unexpected drink as a stroke of luck. After a few mouthfuls, nausea would set in. After a day or two, breathing would stop. On top of the 10 dead, at least 35 people were poisoned but survived. Media coverage of the crimes was accused of inspiring copycats, one of whom left poisoned milk in schools…

Then I read about the Daytona Beach Killer.  An uncaught serial killer in my hometown trumps an uncaught serial killer anywhere else.

Jonathan Maberry and his Action/Horror Novels

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If you’re not a fan of Jonathan Maberry, it just means you haven’t read any of his action/horror novels.

The Big Thrill has a nice interview with Jonathan Maberry.  My guess is if you’re already a Maberry fan, you’ll really enjoy it.  If you’re not a fan, there’s a good chance that once you read the interview, you will be.

Raw Fury: The Art of Mike Zeck

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Mike Zeck is the subject of a retrospective at the Cartoon Museum in San Francisco that will run from April 10th to August 14th!

This exhibition features the most comprehensive collection of the fan-favorite artist’s most iconic artwork ever assembled, including The Punisher, G.I. Joe, The Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars, and Captain America. A full-color exhibition catalog will be published in conjunction with the exhibition, featuring more than 50 pieces of original artwork, an introduction by exhibition curator Charles Costas, and commentary from Zeck himself.

Z-View: Dead Body Road #4

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Dead Body Road is a six issue mini-series published by Image.

Writer: Justin Jordan

Penciler / Inker: Matteo Scalera

Colorist: Moreno Dinisio

Gage has taken one of his wife’s murderers captive in the back of his van. In pursuit is a fleet of bikers and other murderous ********.  Are you ready for an interrogation at 100 MPH?!

 

Dead Body Road #4  Last month I said “Great writing, great art and a crime/revenge story that moves.”  This was never more true than in this issue!  Justin Jordan and Matteo Scalera continue to be a team to watch.

The Good

  • Justin Jordan and Matteo Scalera continue to impress.  How do you create a comic book issue that consists entirely of a car chase [Ok. A van being chased by a motorcycle gang] without it becoming boring or repetitive?  Read this issue and you’ll know.
  • This is the first comic I want to read each time it comes out.
  • “Is he snoring?”

The Bad:

  • Some people are going to be put off by the violence and profanity.
  • Last month I asked: “Quint.  Is anyone badder?”  This month we learn the answer.

The Ugly:

  • There is a large panel that truly gross but appropriate to the story.

Dead Body Road #4  is a comic for mature audiences due to violence and language.  If you’re a fan of crime/revenge stories then this is for you.  

Rating: 5 out of 5