Zach Cregger's Resident Evil

 

From their 2023 album Disharmonium: Nahab, which I'm really still trying to make sense of three years after release.

Both Disharmonium albums function a bit like hallucinogenic substances to me; I put them on when I need to shake up my Euclidean-trained brain chemistry and see around the corners I've outlined my life with. With the recent announcement of a new BAN release coming this winter, I was hoping for the third part in this series. Not sure that's what we're getting, but regardless, the news sent me back to these for a while. 
 

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Watch:

Friday night, I hit the Regal for Zach Cregger's Resident Evil. Saturday night I went back with K for a second viewing (preceded by a second viewing of Hope, which has moved into my #2 spot for the year). 

After two viewings of Resident Evil, I'll start by stating this up front - I have zero interest in this as a R.E. movie; my excitement is entirely for a new Cregger film. So how was it?

Zach Cregger has such a unique, consistent style. There must be so much of his personality in his films, because those definitely serve as a through line. 

Zach Cregger has such a unique, consistent style. There must be so much of his personality in his films, because those definitely serve as a through line. I read recently that he removed all the jokes he originally had in the script for this, however, there are still so many "exhale" moments. A lot of it is a relatability that  Austin Abrams brings to the film. The entire ordeal flows a bit like a video game; there is an escalating series of "problem solving" situations Abrams' character must overcome as he treks deeper into the countryside surrounding the ground zero of Raccoon City, and he does it swearing and mumbling and flinching all the way. His Bryan is a slacker with an important decision in the background of this one terrible night, and although that B-story is waaaay in the background, it helps guide him through one terrifying event after the other, until he reaches the "final level" and shit really gets F'ked up.

As always, my suggestions is to see this one in the theatre. I'll definitely be having a second viewing before the week is out.

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Playlist:

Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST

Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium: Undreamable Abysses

Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium: Nahab

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Shapes at Midnight

Anthrax - Curium Perficio

Blut Aus Nord - Triunity

Blut Aus Nord - What Once Was... Liber I

Sleep - Hemispheres

Ministry - Singularity (single)

Blut Aus Nord - Ethereal Horizons

Type O Negative - Life Is Killing Me

Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest

Perturbator - Lustful Sacraments

Final Light - Eponymous

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Ace of Wands

• Nine of Swords

• Eight of Cups

A breakthrough of Will short-circuited (or perhaps jumpstarted by?) a disaster of intellect. A misunderstanding that will emotionally transform a scene from average (or less than) to something powerful.

A direct reference to the section of Shadow Play Book 2 that I'm currently working on. I've taken a divergent path with two of the characters, completely inspired by Stephen Kings' Dark Tower books, and it's been a difficult road. A lot of it is not quite working yet, so this just tells me I'll have to fail big to get the breakthrough I'm looking for. 

New Music from Godflesh!!!

 

The new album Decay is out next Friday!!! Pre-order your copy HERE.

 

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First trailer for one of my most anticipated films of the year - Takashi Miike's Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo. 

Probably about a year out of high school I saw the first, Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant for the first time and was enamored with it the same way I was enamored with a lot of that 80s/early 90s crime cinema. Except, Bad Lieutenant had a considerably more "What the actual fuck?" factor I never could pin down until a rewatch about twenty years ago: there's no plot. I mean, I guess you can say the Nun or Keitel's gambling debt serves as something of a plot, but really those are background threads. The main film is just a diary of debauchery and I love it.

When I saw Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant: Ports of Call, I was once again blown away. This is back in the 00s when probably 70% of what Nick Cage did constituted hard passes for me, but Herzog drew me in and he did not disappoint. Neither did Cage, whose performance is frenetic, funny, and at times, heartfelt. "That was my favorite crack pipe." Need I say more?

I'm not a huge Takashi Miike fan; frankly, I'm afraid of many of his films. But what I've seen I've dug and this just seems like the best idea. Or, at least as good an idea as NWR doing Maniac Cop. 

What a glorious age of cinema we live in, even as the proprietors of the business perpetually attempt to destroy it.

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Playlist:

Windhand - Eternal Return

Black Sabbath - Sabotage

Black Sabbath - Vol. 4

Chat Pile - Who Loves the Sun

Hangman's Chair - Saddiction

Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST

Goatsnake - Black Age Blues

The Devil's Blood - The Thousandfold Epicenter

High on Fire - Cometh the Storm

Blut Aus Nord - The Mystical Beast of Rebellion

The Afghan Whigs - Soft Control

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Ace of Cups

• King of Swords

• XVI: The Tower

A breakthrough of intellect will topple outdated ideas I have about something close to me and open a new path. 

I'm doing a pretty deep rethink on a certain aspect of the Shadow Play sequel, and I believe this is a direct reference to making more progress with that.

Young Widows - Decayed

From the recently released, DECAYED: Ten Years of Cities, Wounds, Lightness, and Pain, a compilation of rare tracks, B-sides, split releases with various artists, and stand-alone singles from across Young Widows' career. You can pick this up at their Bandcamp, HERE.

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NCBD:

A nice, short week:

Always a good day at the shop when I bring home a new Savage Sword. 

Red Roots is one of the sleepers of the year. Loving this book. As far as the solicitations I've seen, next issue is the last, but I'm hoping that's just a season break.

Zartan. We can always use more Zartan! I'm telling you. Him, Scrap Iron and Copperhead. Give me a sitcom with the three of them running a damn bar in the everglades and I'd be one happy MF.

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Watch:

Rewatched Panos Cosmatos' Mandy last night. Just because.

I've posted this trailer here before, but what the hell. This film never ceases to amaze me.

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Playlist:

John Carpenter & Alan Howarth - Big Trouble in Little China OST

The Cramps - Gravest Gravy

The Cramps - RockinnReelininAucklandNewZealandXXX 

Roughly Enforcing Nostalgia - Front Door Doxologies

Marilyn Manson - One Assassination Under God Chapter 2

The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium

Young Widows - DECAYED: Ten Years of Cities, Wounds, Lightness, and Pain

Boards of Canada - Inferno

Matthew Pusti - Onslaught OST

Blut Aus Nord - Ethereal Horizons

Blut Aus Nord/Aevangelist - Codex Obscura Nomina

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Card:

Still on the Thoth deck. Here's another single card pull:

Overindulgence. A direct answer to a question I have been asking myself all day about replacing beer with cookies.

Chat Pile/Haden Pedigo - A Tear For Lucas

From the Chat Pile/Hayden Pedigo 2025 collaboration album, In the Earth Again. I spun this a few times when it first came out, but my head was in a different place then. Yesterday, still suffering from back pain, I took a little bit an a gummy and drew a bath so hot I couldn't even sit down in it at first. When I was finally able to relax, I listened to the entire album and it HIT me. Fantastic record - would have been in my top three had I been in the right headspace at the time. This, the final track, brought me to tears. You can pick this up from The Flenser or either artist's Bandcamp, either HERE or HERE. 

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Watch:

It's been too long since I sat down and enjoyed The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension, but I remedied that last night.

A singular movie experience if ever there was one. There's a reason this film has a cult following. The premise and character are amazing - A brain surgeon, physicist rock star samurai who breaks the 8th dimension and sets free a cabal of aliens trapped inside negative space in New Jersey since 1938! It sounds ridiculous and it is, but the cast is amazing and really make this something you just have to see. Peter Weller, Jeff Goldblum, Clancy Brown, Ellen Barkin, Vincent Schiavelli, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Hedaya, John Lithgow and Jonathan Banks... the list goes on. Truly one of the most unique and baffling films of the 80s.

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Playlist:

Windhand - Eternal Return

Sumerlands - Dreamkiller

Zombi - Direct Inject

Blut Aus Nord - Ethereal Horizons

Black Braid - Celestial Womb EP

High on Fire - Electric Messiah

Dance with the Dead - Malombra

John Carpenter & Alan Howarth - Big Trouble in Little China OST

Boards of Canada - Inferno

Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!

John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter & Daniel Davies - Cathedral

Arab Strap - Half-Told Tales

Marilyn Manson - One Assassination Under God Chapter 2

Chat Pile - Who Loves the Sun

Chat Pile & Hayden Pedigo - In the Earth Again

Chat Pile - God's Country

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Card:

One from the Thoth deck:

This week, some of the usual strategies may need to be moved around a bit. 

There is Hope! New Music from Arab Strap!!!

 

My favorite track (so far) from Arab Strap's just-released ninth studio album Half-Told Tales. This one snuck up on me, so I haven't really had a chance to give it a proper listen, but this first time through? God DAMN! This could be a contender. 

You can order this from Arab Strap HERE.

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Last night I sat down in my local big box theatre and was treated to one of the best theatrical experiences of the year. I'm talking about Na Hong-jin's new film Hope. I'm posting a trailer here, but I'd advise you just forego this and go see Hope on the big screen it is a BANGER!

When I posted about this previously, I mentioned that the "Quiet Place" vibes the trailer gave me were probably specifically achieved for the trailer, i.e. what better way to roll out a Korean monster movie in the theatre than by alluding to something that did well and could be somewhat comparable. I dig the two A Quiet Place films I've seen quite a bit, but this is definitely not that. Hope is its own thing, and I absolutely  loved it. So much fun!  

This entire film is about momentum; once it starts, it really goes hard, with only a few "lulls" in the fast-paced action. There's next to no exposition thrown at you, and the ending comes out of nowhere. This has already made it into my top five of the year, and I'm hoping I can go back and see it one more time before it leaves the big screen.

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A double watch today, before I get too far away from last weekend's viewing experiment to properly mention it.

A few months back, I wrote about how many Warner Brothers DVDs from 2008-2010 were manufactured substandard materials and had all largely gone bad. I also wrote about how I'd discovered via online discussion threads about this travesty that there exists and email whereby you can contact the company and they will replace your discs.

That turned out to be bullshit. 

I'm rather attached to the packaging for the Blade Runner five-disc box set that Mr. Brown gave me circa 2011, so I ended up tracking down the set on Blu-Ray from eBay and swapping the BR discs into the DVD packaging. Next up, had to take a test toast, and I figured what better excuse to finally sit down over the course of a couple of days and watch all major versions of the film for comparison's sake. 

I was extremely surprised by the results.

First, the Theatrical Cut: This ended up being an aborted attempt at watching the film the way I saw it first, way back as a little kid. Even back in the 90s when new versions sans voice over were surfacing, I defended (not preferred) this original cut simply out of nostalgia and, in hindsight, because the narration was probably the first time I was introduced to that particular Noir trope which does work well on occasion (of all the dames in all the offices, she walks into mine). 

Watching this now - or perhaps more accurately attempting to watch this - I just couldn’t do it. There are a bunch of hinky moments in Ford’s performance I see now that I was either previously blind to or just didn’t want to admit - this film’s iconic footprint allows it to hold itself up by the bootstraps in A LOT of respects - and the narration, which at times feels forced, tired, half-arsed and downright goofy, only accentuates that. So I turned this off, waited a day and starter back in on the Director’s Cut. Something about this viewing or the Director’s Cut felt off. Part of it was I started it after waking up in the middle of the night, made it to JF’s intro and fell back asleep. Finished later that day, and it felt unfamiliar and a little hokey. Especially some of Ford’s mannerisms. Interruptions are never good for watching film, but the answer would reveal itself upon my subsequent viewing of the Final Cut, which is definitely my preferred version.

Director's Cut: This viewing or the Director’s Cut felt off. Part of it was due to the fact that I started the viewing after waking up in the middle of the night. I made it to about where William Sanderson's JF shows up and welcomes Darryl Hannah's Pris into his apartment* and then fell back asleep. I finished the viewing later that day, but something about staring it in the middle made it feel overall unfamiliar and a little hokey. Especially some of Ford’s mannerisms. Interruptions are never good for watching film, but the answer would reveal itself upon my subsequent viewing of the Final Cut, which is definitely my preferred version. (* Where's his other brother Darryl?).

Final Cut: This has been the version of the film I've watched in the last twenty-five years or so, so maybe it's just deep-rooted familiarity, but THIS feels right. I mean, compared to some folks' fandom with this film, I've probably only seen it six or seven times in my life, and probably four of five of those were either Theatrical or Director's cuts, but this Final Cut feels so cohesive, and one of the big factors I landed on for that in thinking about it is the color grading. It's perfect!

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Playlist:

John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter & Daniel Davies - Cathedral

Sumerlands - Dreamkiller

Windhand - Eternal Return

Boards of Canada - Inferno

Yerusalem - The Sublime

Fear - Live... For the Record

Blut Aus Nord - 777 Sect(s)

Blut Aus Nord - 777 The Desanctification

Blut Aus Nord - 777 Cosmosphy

Arab Strap - Half-Told Tales

The Jesus Lizard - Liar

The Damage Manual - Special Edition

Dance with the Dead - Malombra

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Eldritch Lace Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Page of Wands

• Seven of Pentacles

• Page of Pentacles

Baggage. Frugal.

I have a ghost, or a demon, or a virus. I don't feel like I spend an exorbitant amount of my money on the amazing but admittedly frivolous things that I populate my space with - music, movies, books, comics, plastic, etc. I spend more than I probably should from time to time, but I've looked at the numbers and it just doesn't add up, the fact that I have such a hard time saving money. So, for this pull, I did something I almost never do. I held an exact question in my mind when I shuffled and chose. And I'd say the result is pretty on the nose. In the grimoire, I actually have "A difficult period in material life" as the entry for the Seven of Pentacles. I have "Baggage" among the qualifiers for the Page of Wands, and I have "Frugal" for the Page of Pentacles. Plus, two of the three cards are Pentacles, i.e. disks, i.e. material concerns. 

So what does this tell me, other than this is an uphill climb? 

New Music from Chat Pile!!!

Thanks to a big tip-off from Mr. Brown, I realized that Oklahoma City's Chat Pile dropped a new album this past Friday. I was really hot on their first album, God's Country, back in 2022, then the band kind of fell off my radar. This new one puts them back on in a BIG way; I'd have to say, this is the band I'd vote most likely to take up the mantle currently occupied by Godflesh in my life. With the penultimate Godflesh record arriving in just a few weeks, and the final one coming next year, I have a feeling Chat Pile is more than likely going to enter my regular rotation and stay there.

You can order the new Chat Pile record, Who Loves the Sun, HERE.

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NCBD:

A nice mix of the IP stuff and original series this week. 

This is homework from my DwC cohost Shin. Apparently this fascimile is the book where the Joker went from being the Cesar Romero version to a more psychopathic, modern version. 

The grand finale of the Event Horizon sequel! I've really enjoyed this book, considerably more than the prequel, but it will be cool in a few months to have the final series in this triptych begin and pave the way for an eventual full read-through centered around the film

Underwater action is always appreciated in the GIJOE universe, and this cover has me excited for it!

Odin took a little hiatus but is back. There's so much I love about this book, and dead nazis is only the start! Whatever nether realm these characters have found themselves in is creepy as hell, and this issue's cover is freaking me out just looking at it!

I've been waiting for this penultimate issue of Chris Condon, Andrew Enrich and Charlie Adlard's Of the Earth of a month and hot damn I cannot wait to dig in!

Thundercracker as part of Superion. Robert Kirkman continues to do all kinds of awesome new stuff with these characters. 

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I saw Fall 2: Deadpoint this past Monday. This is the sequel to 2024's Fall, which I did not see. Honestly, I initially assumed I would skip this, too, until I saw the trailer on last month's Dread  Broadcast (watch our reaction HERE) and realized, my lack of gusto for this might be a defense mechanism. I mean, supernatural Horror is essentially comfort food at this point, but this? Absolutely terrifying.

The film on the big screen, at least, is just as terrifying and tense as I'd thought it might be. This is going to open a new line of thinking for me: rethink the Horror I dismiss. Next up will be October's adaptation of Daniel Kraus' Whale Fall, which also was an initial dismissal, but subsequently makes me feel really uncomfortable.

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Playlist:

Alabama Shakes - I Must Be Dreaming

Marilyn Manson - One Assassination Under God Chapter 2

Carpenter Brut - Leather Temple

Chat Pile - Who Loves the Sun

Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST

Jim Williams - Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched OST

Roughly Enforcing Nostalgia - Front Door Doxologies

Fear - Live... For the Record

Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine - Enhanced Methods of Questioning

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Bound Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Knight of Cups

• Ace of Wands

• Knight of Pentacles

Follow the heart, as it will lead to breakthroughs that. Just don't be afraid to work for it (or through it, if there's pain involved).

I'm not really sure what this is trying to say, but I have an idea it might not be for me at all. 

Erykah Badu & The Alchemist - Witch Doctor

Take about stumbling across something you never expected. Skulking around on Bandcamp last Friday, I found this track from Erykah Badu & The Alchemist's album Before the World Blows Up. I was instantly hooked. I backed off a bit after an initial full listen to the overall album - I'm sorry, but it's pretty hard to take anyone seriously when they're still dropping N-bombs, especially on a modern soul record. There are a few other unfortunate instances of hip hop tropes that gum up the album's flow for me, but overall, this is pretty freakin' solid. 

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By sheer chance, I read about Glenn McQuaid's new film, The Restoration at Grayson Manor in one of the most recent issues of Fangoria magazine shortly before ordering McQuaid's 2008 film I Sell the Dead during a recent Vinegar Syndrome sale, not realizing the latter was by the same filmmaker at all. I'd seen I Sell the Dead back when it first came out on video in the through-the-mail Netflix days, had thought about it now and again, and was excited to see it get a new transfer and release via VS's Glass Eye Pix/IFC partner labels. 

The Fangoria article definitely put Grayson Manor on my radar, and now I'm happy to see the possibility of a wide theatrical release. Full disclosure - I only watched about twenty-five seconds of the trailer but that's all I needed. There's something about the overall style here, combined with McQuaid's humor and the idea of "hand horror" in an Irish country manor that all combines to make me think this is going to be a great one.

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Playlist:

Young Widows - Decayed: Ten Years of Cities, Wounds, Lightness and Pain

Godflesh - In All Languages

Matthew Pusti - Onslaught OST

Erykah Badu & The Alchemist - Before TheWorld Blows 

Godflesh - New Flesh In Dub Vol. 1

Godflesh - Post Self

Chat Pile - Who Loves The Sun

The Cramps - Gravest Gravy

Gnarls Barkley - Atlanta

The Cramps - RockinnReelininAucklandNewZealandXXX 

Isaac Hayes - The Isaac Hayes Movement

Miles Davis - Ascender pour l'échafaud

Chat Pile - God's Country

Lustmord & Dave Lombardo - Paleomagnetic Resonance (pre-release single)

Purest Form - Resistance EP

Godflesh - A World Lit Only By Fire

Dance with the Dead - Malombra

Ghost - Skeleta

The Jesus Lizard - Down

Carpenter Brut - Leather Temple

Pino Donaggio - Her Private Hell OST

Black Pyramid - The Paths of Time are Vast

Iggy and The Stooges - Raw Power (1973 David Bowie Mix)

Chelsea Wolfe- She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She

Alabama Shakes - I Must Be Dreaming

Orville Peck - Bronco

Steely Dan - Aja

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Card:

Back to my trusty old Thoth deck this morning:

• 7 of Disks - Failure

• Ace of Cups

• 3 of Cups: Abundance

I need to change something proven. It will cause an upset that will feel like a failure at first, but will eventually lead to a breakthrough that will make my heart soar.

It's never a great thing to see a card like the 7 of Disks at first, but context always softens it. In The Book of Thoth, Crowley briefly breaks this card down as a warning as to what happens when all work stops. Dreams can die here. Thus, it takes emotion and will to keep the thread going and make something out of the nothing that sloth offers as a reprieve to working.

I love the obvious writing ones, that come directly after a session I can relate them back to.