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Friday, November 13, 2026

Settle Down City is 2026


From their 2006 masterpiece Settle Down City. I found this album in a pile of my Ex's CD promotional advances one stoned afternoon circa 2007 and slowly latched onto it. Nothing sounds like this record. Or, at the time nothing did, at least. 

Young Widows recently remastered and re-released the twentieth anniversary of this, and it's available on their Bandcamp HERE.




Watch:

Tuesday night K and I paid extra to sit in the RPX theatre at our local Regal and see Godzilla Minus Zero.


I've been pretty coy about posting a trailer here. I kind of just pretended this flick wasn't coming down the pipes. I'm not the world's biggest Godzilla fan, more because of lack of experience than any prejudice. Minus One was the first Godzilla film I ever saw and it blew me away. Then Shin Godzilla hit the theatres on re-release last year and I saw it three times. Now this.

I did not like Minus Zero quite as much as I did Minus One; I think this has a lot to do with how unencumbered with franchise or genre that the first film was, or at least appeared to me - based more on an  angle of weaving in real history. Minus Zero takes the first film and, by continuing it, automatically becomes a franchise. Still, the FX here are incredible, and the story no less heart-rending/warming. This is brilliant filmmaking, and I look forward to the next. 




Read:

A few months back on Drinking with Comics, Mike and I were going through the October solicitations for our top five picks and I came across this:


At the time, I knew nothing about Goutanabe; I still don't really know much, but seeing the impressive HC format and Lovecraft's classic story, I was intrigued. 

A few months after, I was talking to Grimm and he put Goutanabe on my radar by way of a recommendation for his manga adaptations of HPL's work. This was all very new to me, but looking at the interiors on a couple of those books, I was blown away. Also, when Grimm recommends artists, I always pay attention.

This dropped two Wednesdays ago and I brought it home this week. Man oh man! This is gorgeous. 





It's been a while since I read The Dunwich Horror, although it does seem to be the Lovecraft story everything leads me back to again and again. I believe I read this one about three years ago when we did a book-to-film comparison on The Horror Vision (Listen HERE), and I believe I read it a year or two before that, after seeing Richard Stanley's Colour Out of Space and hearing his plans to tackle Dunwich after. Through all this interaction, it's become a favorite - definitely one of HPL's better long-form stories, and one where the ending very much delivers. I'm only a little way into reading Gautanabe's version, but so far, the visuals match the original prose and atmosphere perfectly. 




Playlist:

Portishead - Third
Opeth - Still Life
Shellac - To All Trains
Shellac - Excellent Italian Greyhound
Turquoise Moon - The Sunset City
M83 - I Sent You A Letter
M83 - Fantasy
Opeth - My Arms Your Hearse
Godflesh - Decay
Floating - Firewatching (pre-release singles; thanks, Tommy!)
Opeth - Morningrise
Ministry - The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste




Card:

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


• Three of Wands
• 17: The Star
• 12: The Hanged Man

Here's my Friday the 13th pull, eh?

Having the foresight to spot change and not let it break you.

Apropos. I met with a Nutritionist yesterday. This person has worked with my sister for years and helped her conquer multiple health issues the regular US health don't care system would have just tossed her prescriptions for. I'm hoping this will be the same with me - my early stages of Fatty Liver persist and there are probably other things going on in the realm of my insulin tolerance and triglycerides. Changes are coming - it doesn't look like I'll have to stop drinking beer entirely again for any length of time like the three-and-a-half months I just did, but there's definitely room for improvement. I'm waiting on a lab order so she can get my blood workup (my "GP" actually was not alarmed at my triglyceride level and did not test my insulin, go figure. Same GP gave me the wrong colonoscopy results a few months before), then I can begin. In the interim, I've gone down to a Friday/Saturday drinking allotment, with one beer on Monday for DWC. I haven't been drinking every day since starting up again on October 13th, but I figured it would be good to get down a baseline schedule. 

Wednesday, November 11, 2026

RIP Richard Lloyd


One of the most undersung guitarists ever.
 


NCBD:

Interesting mix of titles this week. Let's go:


New Horror one-shot from Garth Ennis and John McCrea? SOLD! I feel like there's a kind of "bugs-in-the-mouth" Horror trope or maybe even sub genre out there, and it grosses me right the f*ck out. As it should be!


Ah! So now Megatron is in the tank form. Mike and I predicted (and hoped) it was way too early to turn him into Galvatron, so this explains everything. Proceed with blowing our minds yet again, Mr. Kirkman. You are oh so good at it!


Our year-end dose of Horror masquerading as Sword and Sandal pulp. Love The Savage Sword of Conan for so many reason - the black & white being chief among them - and it's become an institution in my life. Not every book I like does. 


The cover says it all. 

I feel like this book went bi-monthly at some point. I'm not sure, I just want more. Loving this because, I have ZERO idea where it's going. Can't ask for anything more than that.




Listen:

Last post, I wrote about Larry Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid's podcast Tales From Beyond the Pale. That wasn't the only Horror podcast I listened to on my recent trip to Dayton. We also dove into the first three episodes of Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill and Ethan Hawke's Midnight Radio. 

 
This one is spectacular, folks. Hawke plays a late night talk show host on a show about the strange and unexplainable in our world. Think Art Bell and Coast to Coast. Except darker. 

There's a "topic of the week" approach inherent in the episode titles - The Phantom Cosmonauts; Night Tripping; Operation Wandering Soul - but all of this is slowly laying the groundwork for a fascinating over-arching plot. What that is yet, I can't quite guess. I see it coming in with some ideas and events that serve as through-lines to the episodes, but we're not there yet. Regardless, K and I are both chomping at the bit for the next episode, which I believe drops Thursday. 




Playlist:

Van Halen - 1984
The Police - Outlandos D'Amour
Television - Marquee Moon
Soundgarden - SOMMS
Shellac - To All Trains
Opeth - Still Life
NΩX - T.S./Testimonium XII - Somniatoris Damnati (single)
Deafheaven - At Work In The Fields Of The Bomb EP
Steve Moore - Jimmy and Stiggs OST
Steve Moore - Christmas Bloody Christmas OST
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - From Her to Eternity
Young Widows - Settle Down City
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Henry's Dream
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Good Son
Jacszek - KWIATY
Burial - Untrue




Card:

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


• Eight of Swords
• Nine of Wands
• Three of Swords

Only perseverance will pull me through. It's been a rough year, and hopefully some of that ends after I have surgery next week and they get this goddamn kidney stone out of me. 

Monday, November 9, 2026

Pale Crickets


I was actually pretty disappointed to realize I don't really care for the new and supposedly final Ministry album. I kind of wish they'd gone out with HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES, which is a masterpiece, in my opinion. Still, Ministry rules and this song has been stuck in my head for days now.




Listen:

I didn't know about Larry Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid's Tales from Beyond the Pale podcast until recently while watching the special features on one of my Fessenden or McQuaid Blu-rays. 


While driving back from Dayton yesterday, K and I listened to the first two episodes, directed by McQuaid and Fessenden respectively, and were pretty blown away. Essentially a variation on the serialized radio Horror that would make any EC comics fan feel warm and fuzzy, this was a really great surprise to find out about. We hit the final episode right at dusk as we were taking side roads back from Kentucky, and it was perfect. 




Read:

I finished Stephen King and Peter Straub's The Talisman about a week or so ago. I can't say I was more fond of it this time than last time I read it. This book just goes on and on. So much so, I felt I needed a breather before jumping into my first time through Black House. So I picked up two books I've been meaning to read for years - Jarett Kabek's Motor Spirit: The Long Hunt for the Zodiac and its companion book, How to Find the Zodiac. I blew through the first book in a fews days and am starting the second now.






Playlist:

Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician
Ministry - HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES
Ministry - Hate to Go
Butthole Surfers - piouhgd    
Young Widows - Settle Down City
Chat Pile - Who Love the Sun
Chat Pile - Cool World
Ramones - Road to Ruin
Hussalonia - Home Taping is Killing Me
Passenger Peru - Eponymous
Midnight Radio Podcast - Episodes 1: Phantom Cosmonauts
Midnight Radio Podcast - Episodes 2: Night Tripping
Midnight Radio Podcast - Episodes 3: Operation Wandering Souls Pt. 1
Tales from Beyond the Pale Podcast - Episode 1: Reappraisal (Glenn McQuaid)
Tales from Beyond the Pale Podcast - Episode 2: In the Wind (Larry Fessenden)




Card:

Ace of Disks:

Upcoming breakthrough on Earthly concerns. Hopefully that's my kidney stones, which I'm waiting to have surgery scheduled for the removal. Good fucking riddance!

Friday, November 6, 2026

The Sword - Live on KEXP


I've been meaning to get around to this KEXP live performance from The Sword for a few weeks now. Placing it here so I finally remember.




Watch:

My friend Dennis first showed me seminal backwoods slasher Just Before Dawn back in the early 00s. This was pre-Blu-Ray, and I never would have guessed at the time that I'd have next to no opportunities to watch it again. 


Criminally out of print for some time, Bloody Disgusting gave us the good news this week that one of the Producers finally won back the rights in court and a restoration edition is in the works.  




Playlist:

Boards of Canada - Inferno
Anthrax - Cursum Perficio
Gnaw Their Tongues - All the Dread Magnificence of Perversity
Shadowlands - 001
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult - Eponymous
Blackbraid - III
Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II Dialogue with the Stars




Card:

One card from the Thoth today:


Things about to change. 

Wednesday, November 4, 2026

The Ocean - Milk of My Dreams


Getting back to this new album from The Ocean, Solaris, I was shocked to find the penultimate track is a collaboration with the legendary Tangerine Dream! This album really goes to some deep, far out places, and nowhere is that more apparent than on this track.




NCBD:


The AI insanity continues. I'm telling you - I LOVE this book, but there are so many disturbing similarities to the dildos that populate "Amerigun" and our own timeline here in this country that every issues scares the shit out of me just as much as it puts a smile on my face. 


I had completely forgotten about Ordained, but here we are with the fourth and final (?) issue!


After taking a break from Fraction and Jimenez's Batman for the duration of the "Bad Seeds" crossover, I'm not 100% certain I am jumping back on board with this new issue. But we'll see. Now that this whole Kingpin... I mean, Vandal Savage storyline is over, hopefully we can get back to some of the awesome storylines Fraction planted in the first year of the book, before editorial no doubt rammed a crossover event down everyone's throat.


Fuck yeah! Hammerfist issue three is here and this cover says it all! HELL PARTY!!!


Still on the fence with M.A.S.K., but I'm hanging on for those Micronauts!




Watch:

After missing it at not one but two Beyondfests in the last twelve months, I finally saw Tom Stern's The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt documentary on the Butthole Surfers. Man, this one was every bit as wonderful as I had anticipated!


The mix of archival footage, present-day interviews and animation/puppetry made for a deeply original feeling; closest thing I've seen to this was that Shane McGowan doc a couple years ago. 

It was cool to see a lot of the stories confirmed; the tales my friends and I knew from back before internet proliferation, when people passed on stories about bands like this via word-of-mouth. Also interesting to see the Surfers - who I never really knew much about outside their music - as people. Also, some genuinely tear-jerking moments. Fantastic film.




Playlist:

Nun Gun - Mondo Decay
Algiers - Eponymous
QOTSA - Perfecth
Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Godflesh - Decay
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Shapes of Midnight
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult - Confessions of a Knife
Genital Shame - Wellness Plan
Ministry - Hate To Go: Take Out Or Delivery
Portishead - Third
Opeth - Blackwater Park
The Ocean - Solaris
Anthrax - Cursum Perficio




Card:

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



• Queen of Cups
• 13: Death
• King of Cups

Subconscious change is required for mastery. 

I'm feeling embers beneath my feet; a change is coming, in how I approach myself. It might be something I don't want to deal with, but chances are, I'm going to have to.

Monday, November 2, 2026

New Music from Nabihah Iqbal!


After "chasing Halloween" for thirty-one days, I am waaay behind on new music, and I wanted to start with the Nabihah Iqbal's latest single, which I'm  hoping this heralds a new album is on the horizon.




31 Days of Halloween:

Another 31 Days of Halloween wrapped up and what a blast! I LOVE doing this every year, and making the effort to fit some never-before-seen stuff in - as well as some long overdue rewatches (Trigger Man, The Warriors, Dreamscape) - really livened things up this year.

1) George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead
2) V/H/S/ playlist (Amateur Night; Safe Haven; Slumber Party Alien Abduction; Bone Storm; Dreamkill)
3) The Warriors
4) Big Trouble in Little China
5) Dreamscape
6) Infirmary*
7) Beware Boiúna*
8) Milk & Serial
9) Pumpkinhead
10) Deathgasm (The Last Drive-In Presentation)
11) Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings*
12) Carrie (Mike Flanagan)*/ John Carpenter's The Thing
13) The Roost / Return of the Living Dead III*
14) Trigger Man
15) Evil Dead Burn
16) Pulse*/ Lord of Tears*
17) Impetigore*/ Sator
18) My Soul To Take*/ The Serpent and the Rainbow
19) Terrifier
20) Evil Dead 2013/ All Hallows Eve
21) Crystal Lake*/ Friday the 13th
22) All Hallow's Eve 2*/ A Nightmare on Elm Street
23) The Last Drive-In Halloween House Party: John Carpenter's Body Bags/ WNUF Halloween Special*
24) The Cycle*/ The Howling
25) Dark and the Wicked/ Pet Sematary/ November
26) Cobweb/ Simpsons Treehouse of Horror VII and VIII 
27) The Ninth Heart*/ Flatliners/ Suspiria
28) City of the Dead/ Treehouse of Horror VIX
29) The Rocky Horror Picture Show/ The Convent/ Lords of Salem
30) Earth vs. The Spider (The Last Drive-In presentation)/ Basket Case* (The Last Drive-In Presentation)
31) X-Files: Humbug/ Halloween/ Night of the Demons/ Trick 'r Treat/ Night of the Living Dead

One of those first-time viewings was Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case, which I'd dismissed for years when I was younger and then just never got around to. Turns out I really dug it; I had no idea of the plot specifics, so the fact that it takes place amidst the misfits of late 70s/early 80s 42nd street was a nice surprise. 

As soon as it was over, I had the urge to dig into the old "Humbug" episode of The X-Files. I've talked about this in these pages previously, but I was never a huge X-Files guy; a few years ago Mr. Brown gave me a list of the best standalone episodes of the series, and K and worked through that list and very much enjoyed it. This was on that list, was in fact probably our favorite. 




Watch:

I'm also really behind on trailers - although there haven't been a lot that moved a needle with me. I'd heard this title several times over the last couple weeks but not read or seen anything about it. 


I only had to make thirty-six seconds into this trailer before I turned it off and added The River to my "looking forward to" list for early next year. Now, since it's a Blumhouse flick, there is a very real possibility that, during subsequent theatre trips over the intervening two and a half months until the film's release, I will see this trailer so many times that I will lose all interest. For now, though, I'm in.




Playlist:

The Butthole Surfers - Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac
The Cramps - Songs the Lord Taught Us
John Carpenter w/ Alan Howarth - Halloween III: The Season of the Witch OST
Carter Burwell - Blood Simple OST
Opeth - A Dirge for November (single)
Nun Gun - Mondo Decay
Secret Chiefs 3 Traditionalists - La Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomimi




Card:

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


• Queen of Cups
• Four of Cups
• Nine of Swords

Emotional intelligence. Something missed. And here's something - looking around online at different interpretations of the Nine of Swords, here's something I'd not seen the card associated with "3:00 AM Dread." Interestingly enough, I've had a touch of that lately. So the cards appear to be telling me the existential dread keeping me awake is because I'm not quite as smart as I think I am - I missed something. 

The Final Cut - U.F.O.T.M


From their 1993 album Consumed, a favorite from start to finish for more years than not, at this point. The opening samples from Flatliners always get me. 




31 Days of Halloween:

1) George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead
2) V/H/S/ playlist (Amateur Night; Safe Haven; Slumber Party Alien Abduction; Bone Storm; Dreamkill)
3) The Warriors
4) Big Trouble in Little China
5) Dreamscape
6) Infirmary*
7) Beware Boiúna*
8) Milk & Serial
9) Pumpkinhead
10) Deathgasm (The Last Drive-In Presentation)
11) Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings*
12) Carrie (Mike Flanagan)*/ John Carpenter's The Thing
13) The Roost / Return of the Living Dead III*
14) Trigger Man
15) Evil Dead Burn
16) Pulse*/ Lord of Tears*
17) Impetigore*/ Sator
18) My Soul To Take*/ The Serpent and the Rainbow
19) Terrifier
20) Evil Dead 2013/ All Hallows Eve
21) Crystal Lake*/ Friday the 13th
22) All Hallow's Eve 2*/ A Nightmare on Elm Street
23) The Last Drive-In Halloween House Party: John Carpenter's Body Bags/ WNUF Halloween Special*
24) The Cycle*/ The Howling
25) Dark and the Wicked/ Pet Sematary/ November
26) Cobweb/ Simpsons Treehouse of Horror VII and VIII 
27) The Ninth Heart*/ Flatliners/ Suspiria
28) City of the Dead/ Treehouse of Horror VIX
29) The Rocky Horror Picture Show/ The Convent/ Lords of Salem

Every time I watch Rob Zombie's Lords of Salem, I'm struck by how sad it is, how beautiful it is, and how absolutely, gloriously blasphemous it is. I like most of Zombie's films to one degree or another, but this film is beyond anything else he's ever done. 


We also watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and it's funny that I never realized Patricia Quinn is in both films. That's another thing I've always dug about Zombie's films - how he casts his heroes. 




Playlist:

John Carpenter w/ Alan Howarth - Halloween III: The Season of the Witch OST
Goblin - Phenomena OST
My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult - Confessions of a Knife
My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult  - Eponymous
Jeff Grace - House of the Devil OST
Danzig - Danzig II
Ritual Howls - Virtue Falters
Beach Creeper - In Surf Of
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Shapes of Midnight
The Final Cut - Consumed
Ministry - The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste
Dreamkid - Daggers




Card:

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


• 21: The World
• 20: Judgement
• Five of Wands

Faced with stagnation, pivot into what comes next.

I read this twofold. First, that my annual Halloween celebration is nearly over and once it is, I'll pivot back into work mode on the book (been slow and feeling a little frustrating, as I've mentioned here recently). Also, I think I need to skip ahead of the scene I'm stuck on and work on the scene after in order to free myself of the block.

Wednesday, October 28, 2026

New Music from Dead Man's Bones!


So excited to have these guys back. No pre-order for a full album yet, but I'll be watching for that like a hawk.


31 Days of Halloween:

1) George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead
2) V/H/S/ playlist (Amateur Night; Safe Haven; Slumber Party Alien Abduction; Bone Storm; Dreamkill)
3) The Warriors
4) Big Trouble in Little China
5) Dreamscape
6) Infirmary*
7) Beware Boiúna*
8) Milk & Serial
9) Pumpkinhead
10) Deathgasm (The Last Drive-In Presentation)
11) Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings*
12) Carrie (Mike Flanagan)*/ John Carpenter's The Thing
13) The Roost / Return of the Living Dead III*
14) Trigger Man
15) Evil Dead Burn
16) Pulse*/ Lord of Tears*
17) Impetigore*/ Sator
18) My Soul To Take*/ The Serpent and the Rainbow
19) Terrifier
20) Evil Dead 2013/ All Hallows Eve
21) Crystal Lake*/ Friday the 13th
22) All Hallow's Eve 2*/ A Nightmare on Elm Street
23) The Last Drive-In Halloween House Party: John Carpenter's Body Bags/ WNUF Halloween Special*
24) The Cycle*/ The Howling
25) Dark and the Wicked/ Pet Sematary/ November
26) Cobweb/ Simpsons Treehouse of Horror VII and VIII 
27) The Ninth Heart*/ Flatliners/ Suspiria

From Juraj Herz's The Ninth Heart, which I watched for the first time yesterday. This is included in Severin's All the Haunts Be Ours Vol. II set, and I'd yet to watch it. The first two acts are okay, but they do not prepare you for the absolute grandeur of the third. This is the intro to that, but what comes after, even, is just jaw dropping.


I've only watched a handful in this set so far, but I'm back in that Folk Horror mindset, so I'll be posting more about the other films in the weeks ahead.


* Indicated first-time viewing



NCBD:

Nice quiet week for Halloween. Here we go:


As I predicted, I like Void Rivals so much more as a book about a handful of folks wandering through the galaxy.


Thought that was bloody John Constantine on the cover for a minute! Still enjoying Ram V's old school Vertigo "spies and Magick" book, interested to see where it's going.


So good to have this book back, and the newsprint on the first issue was spectacular. Not sure if that's the plan going forward, but I'm into it if it is.




Playlist:

Dead Man's Bones - Lost in the Night (single)
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Shapes of Midnight
Black Sabbath - Technical Ecstasy
John Carpenter w/ Alan Howarth - Halloween III: The Season of the Witch OST
Ain Soph - Rituals
Bauhaus - Burning From the Inside
Jim Williams - Possessor OST
Bauhaus - Volume One: 1979-1983
Samhain - Unholy Passion
Samhain - November Coming Fire
Deth Crux - Mutant Flesh
Ritual Howls - Virtue Falters
Fvnerals - Let the Earth Be Silent
Chelsea Wolfe and Tyler Bates - X OST




Card:

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


• Ace of Cups
• 09: The Hermit
• 20: Judgement

Confidence comes from isolation in a flashpoint - I'm currently stuck on a scene in Shadow Play II and I think this is telling me I need to spend some concentrated time alone with this. I've not been writing as much lately because I'm still experiencing pain in my back and urinary tract from the kidney stones - will they ever fucking pass?! - so all my recent sessions have been "thin." 

I need to change that.

Monday, October 26, 2026

Dave Stewart & The Spiritual Cowboys - Party Town


I first heard Dave Stewart and the Spiritual Cowboys' song "Party Town" back when I saw Flatliners in the theatre, circa 1990. I've loved this song since, but it took me forever to introduce it into my rotation.




31 Days of Halloween:

We watched Jordan Downey's The Cycle this past Saturday. Fantastic film! 


I had some small issues with the interpersonal dialogue at times, but overall, this is an expertly film, made on a studio scale - look at the production values! - and it features a gnarly, throw-back practical monster. Can't recommend this one enough - just hit Shudder.

Also, as I'm focusing on integrating as many first-time watches into this Halloween viewing season, I've begun marking all first-time viewings with *.

1) George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead
2) V/H/S/ playlist (Amateur Night; Safe Haven; Slumber Party Alien Abduction; Bone Storm; Dreamkill)
3) The Warriors
4) Big Trouble in Little China
5) Dreamscape
6) Infirmary*
7) Beware Boiúna*
8) Milk & Serial
9) Pumpkinhead
10) Deathgasm (The Last Drive-In Presentation)
11) Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings*
12) Carrie (Mike Flanagan)*/ John Carpenter's The Thing
13) The Roost / Return of the Living Dead III*
14) Trigger Man
15) Evil Dead Burn
16) Pulse*/ Lord of Tears*
17) Impetigore*/ Sator
18) My Soul To Take*/ The Serpent and the Rainbow
19) Terrifier
20) Evil Dead 2013/ All Hallows Eve
21) Crystal Lake*/ Friday the 13th
22) All Hallow's Eve 2*/ A Nightmare on Elm Street
23) The Last Drive-In Halloween House Party: John Carpenter's Body Bags/ WNUF Halloween Special*
24) The Cycle*/ The Howling
25) Dark and the Wicked/ Pet Sematary/ November

..

The trailer for Jeremy Saulnier's new film, Slayground popped up and apparently it is a Horror flick! Saulnier making a straight Horror flick? Oh man...


Only issue here is, this hits theaters January 29th! So wish this was landing in time for Halloween. I am very excited for this. I love all of Saulnier's films... well, except Murder Party, which I tried several times years ago and couldn't get into. I'll have to give that another go at some point. Everything since, however, has been fantastic.
 


Read:

I neglected to mention here that I finished reading the revised Gunslinger a few weeks ago and immediately picked up King's first collaboration with Peter Straub - The Talisman - for a reread. This is all part of my planned Dark Tower/Territories deep-dive. After The Talisman, I'll read the sequel Black House for the first time, then roll right into the just-published Other Worlds Than These.


I'm halfway through and this one is a tough read for me. I walked away from my first experience with it - oh, say about fifteen years ago - not really a fan. There are parts of it I really, like, and other parts that leave me cold. I'm coming to realize as I reread this now, that those parts often have to do with the absolutely brutal child abuse in this one. This is like the anti-Goonies; The Talisman takes the idea of a young kid on mystical adventure that was so popular after its publication and shows what a scenario like that might really look like. Between The Oatley Tap and Sunshine House, there's a lot of really challenging stuff in here. That's great, though. I think the last time I read this, I didn't quite understand what I was getting in to. I'm not saying The Talisman is going to suddenly enter my top five King novels by the end of this read, but I'm definitely appreciating it a lot more this time through. 




Playlist:

Marilyn Manson - One Assassination Under God Chapter 2
Walter Rizzati - The House by the Cemetery OST
Dead Man's Bones - Eponymous
The Damned - Night of a Thousand Vampires
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - The Night Creeper
Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen
Danzig - Black Aria
Danzig - Black Aria II
Portishead - Third
Tones On Tail - Everything!




Card:

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


• Two of Pentacles
• Eight of Swords
• Ace of Cups

Adaptable approach made difficult by an emotional bombshell. 

Hmm. No idea how to interpret this at the moment. That said, I see the Two of Pentacles a lot when I work with Grimm's Hand of Doom deck, and that makes me think there's definitely something about the card that 'sticks.' It may be constant change - I think I'm fairly good at that, even though my routine has definitely solidified since arriving in TN four years ago. 

Friday, October 23, 2026

Gris Gris


From Dr. John's 1968 album Gris Gris - Mr. Brown turned me onto this a handful of years back and it's become part of my regular October rotation.
 


31 Days of Halloween:

A couple nights ago I rewatched All Hallows' Eve. This one is pretty freakin' grimy - even moreso than the first Terrifier flick - but I was in the mood. After, I found myself wondering about the sequel. I finally watched that yesterday, and I have to say, not what I was expecting at all.


There's a definite jump in budget here. The Art-wave of money clearly brought in some extra dough and the Producers put it to pretty good use. Also, gone is that grimy vibe; All Hallows' Eve 2 is way more in line with something like Tales of Halloween than its predecessor. Not everything works, but I'll tell you, I watched a few of the shorts herein and then had to come back to it the next day. In that time, I started reading the book I talk about in the "Read" section below, and then it hit me - thematically, this has way more in common with the EC Comics paradigm than it does any modern anthology. And that really endeared this one to me. Not sure I'd watch it again outside of maybe showing it to a friend, but I enjoyed my time with it for sure, and I didn't feel like I needed a shower after it ended, like I do with the first All Hallows'.

1) George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead
2) V/H/S/ playlist (Amateur Night; Safe Haven; Slumber Party Alien Abduction; Bone Storm; Dreamkill)
3) The Warriors
4) Big Trouble in Little China
5) Dreamscape
6) Infirmary*
7) Beware Boiúna*
8) Milk & Serial*
9) Pumpkinhead
10) Deathgasm (The Last Drive-In Presentation)
11) Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings*
12) Carrie (Mike Flanagan)*/ John Carpenter's The Thing
13) The Roost / Return of the Living Dead III*
14) Trigger Man
15) Evil Dead Burn
16) Pulse*/ Lord of Tears*
17) Impetigore*/ Sator
18) My Soul To Take*/ The Serpent and the Rainbow
19) Terrifier
20) Evil Dead 2013/ All Hallows Eve
21) Crystal Lake*/ Friday the 13th
22) All Hallow's Eve 2*/ A Nightmare on Elm Street

Also, K and I put paid to Crystal Lake. 


The Horror Vision's review will land on Monday, but in short, this divided me completely down the middle. I don't want or need anything this offers (other than Linda Cardellini on screen), but part of me also acknowledged that this was bound to happen, and as far as explaining the monster - something I don't think you should ever do - while I'll always prefer the elegance of Adam Marcus just dropping the Necronomicon in Jason Goes to Hell and letting us interpret that how we may, this show's "science" actually wasn't a bad way to go.




Read:

This past week on NCBD, I picked up this new DC's Finest Horror Collection:


This is an early 550 page tome filled with reprints of select issues from books like House of Mystery, House of Secrets, The Witching Hour, Unexpected, all published between 1970 - 1971. To say the EC paradigm is at play is an understatement. Featuring work by Lein Wein, Bernie Wrightson, Alex Toth, George Kashdan and Jerry Grandenetti (to only name a few), this is a slice of Horror history. And as a fan of Sandman, it's nice to finally read some of the framework Gaiman used as the spine for that series; Cain, Able and an earlier version of the Kindly Ones are on full display in their spectral glory. 




Playlist:

Boards of Canada - Inferno
John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter & Daniel Davies - Cathedral
Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats - Shapes of Midnight
Ritual Howls - Ruin
Revolting Cocks - Beers, Steers + Queers
Misfits - Collection 2
The Damned - Evil Spirits
Marilyn Manson - One Assassination Under God Chapter 2
Dance With the Dead - Malombra
Matthew Pusti - Onslaught OST
Beastmilk - Climax
Big Black - Lungs
Goblin - Phenomena OST
Walter Rizzati - The House by the Cemetery OST
Dr. John - Gris Gris
Gnaw Their Tongues - All the Dread Magnificence of Perversity
Nabihah Iqbal - Heaven Can Wait (single)




Card:

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


• 03: The Empress
• Ace of Wands
• Page of Cups

Okay, this is startlingly similar to Monday's pull, so let's think on this a moment:


• Eight of Cups
• Page of Wands
• 03: The Empress

I'm not nearly skilled enough to eke out an interpretation here, so I had to consult the google. 

First, it struck me there may be some significance in moving from the Eight of Cups to the Page of Cups. If anyone knows any texts out there that might discuss these kinds of inter-card leaps, please let me know. Apparently, moving from an Eight to a Page in Cups indicates leaving mastery behind for fresh, uninitiated vigor. Applied to the suit of Cups - Emotions - that tells me I have to get around or 'over' myself on something I'm doing, probably with my writing. 

What am I emotionally attached to here that I cannot let go?

The recurrence of the Empress suggests I'm ignoring something I know, or something my subconscious is trying to tell me. The move from Page of Wands to Ace of Wands says the time for experimentation has lapsed and I need to lean into my talent or 'foundational gift.' 

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Grimly Fiendish



Before Mr. Brown gifted me a CD copy of The Damned's 2022 live album, Night of A Thousand Vampires, I would have told you my list of great live albums was limited to three: The Who: Live at Leeds, Slayer: Live Undead, Slayer: Decade of Aggression, and Ozzy Osbourne: Tribute. Now there's five, because The Damned's two-disc live show recorded at the London Palladium on October 28, 2019 is stellar. I mean, start to finish, this is a total banger in every sense of the word, and it earned an immediate place in my October regular rotation. Here's a favorite, among a double album chocked with favorites.




31 Days of Halloween:

1) George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead
2) V/H/S/ playlist (Amateur Night; Safe Haven; Slumber Party Alien Abduction; Bone Storm; Dreamkill)
3) The Warriors
4) Big Trouble in Little China
5) Dreamscape
6) Infirmary
7) Beware Boiúna
8) Milk & Serial
9) Pumpkinhead
10) Deathgasm (The Last Drive-In Presentation)
11) Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings
12) Carrie (Mike Flanagan)/ John Carpenter's The Thing
13) The Roost / Return of the Living Dead III
14) Trigger Man
15) Evil Dead Burn
16) Pulse/ Lord of Tears
17) Impetigore/ Sator
18) My Soul To Take/ The Serpent and the Rainbow
19) Terrifier
20) Evil Dead 2013/ All Hallows Eve

Larry Fessenden's version of the classic, Universal monsters comes to a head in the new film Trauma Or, Monsters All, due out November 4th. Here's the trailer:


I am looong over due for a rewatch of both Depraved, which I haven't seen since it was in the theatre back in 2019 and Black Out, which came out VOD in 2024 and which, although watching, I remember next to nothing about. Fessenden's seminal NY vampire film Habit, which I know quite well. Still, the prospect of all these characters meeting in the new film - I expected Depraved's Adamand Blackout's Charley to meet, as they did briefly in Blackout's after credit scene, but I did not expect Habit's Sam to enter the mix. So cool! To think, Fessenden has basically been building to this for his entire career! So cool.

Trauma Or, All Monsters gets a limited theatrical rollout, so I may end up having to hit the Belcourt for a screening.




NCBD:

Trim week, but some goodies in the box for sure:


I don't know if I'll be fortunate enough to snare one of these "C" covers, but I'm going to try. Regardless, loving Sean Murphy's new dystopian series.


Oh man, the cover! I feel so much for this Abe Lincoln robot. If Destruction Be Our Lot continues to head up my top comics of 2026 list; the places this is goes are fantastic, and judging by this image, we're getting out of the "Robot World" and into what's above ground. I'm rooting for you, Abe!


I've always said that Spider-Man has the most Halloween-esque rogues gallery, so how can I pass this up? I'm still not sure about this "Treat" villain that's essentially a female Hobgoblin - Ol' Hobby being my favorite Spider-villain of all time - but I see pumpkin bombs and I fork over da cash, capiche?


Not gonna lie - I hate this cover. It's the color scheme. Still, this book has been cooking and a recent leak - if it's true - says some major things are en route, so my complaints are skin deep at most. 




Playlist:

The Damned - Night of a Thousand Vampires
Godflesh - Decay
Type O Negative - Origin of the Feces
Ritual Howls - Into the Water
The Final Cut - Consumed
Ain Soph - Rituals
Miranda Sex Garden - Suspiria
Miranda Sex Garden - Fairytales of Slavery
Bauhaus - The Sky's Gone Out




Card:

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


• Four of Cups
• Ten of Pentacles
• Five of Swords

Contemplating stability is the first step to stability.

Wow. Loud and clear.

Monday, October 19, 2026

New Music From Deafheaven!!!


Deafheaven dropped a new EP a week or so ago, and it's brutal A.F. I'm posting this "film" that accompanies the opening track, "Hunter," but I haven't watched it yet. Regardless, love that we got this!  The POWER in this track, in George's voice and the overall mix - it's just awesome. 

You can order a copy of At Work In The Fields Of The Bomb directly from the band HERE.




31 Days of Halloween:

One of the flicks I watched over the weekend was Joko Anwar's 2019 Impetigore. I could have sworn I'd watched this before, back when it first hit Shudder during or shortly before the pandemic. I absolutely watched the opening, which is one of the best openings in Horror of the last decade. No previous Letterboxd entry, though, and I did not remember the overall plot, so I guess I started it and never went back. Regardless, this is a fantastic flick, and it represents everything I have come to love about Indonesian Horror over the last half dozen years or so. The darkness of a steaming jungle lit only by torches and the claustrophobia of such a wide open space. The brutality, and, of course, the insane ritualistic mechanics of the haunting/possession or, in this case, curse.

 

Despite not being a Slasher, elements of this hearken back to Peter Carter's Rituals, The Final Terror and Just Before Dawn for me. The Folk Horror elements are strong, but do not constitute the point of the film. For that, read about the impetus that inspired Graham and I think it adds an entirely new level of respect to the final product. 


I followed Impetigore with one I had seen and loved before, and Jordan Graham's Sator 100% holds up. This is the definite of a slow burn; the horrific elements steep, and while they do, we're treated to some of the most breathtaking nature cinematography in recent years.

1) George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead
2) V/H/S/ playlist (Amateur Night; Safe Haven; Slumber Party Alien Abduction; Bone Storm; Dreamkill)
3) The Warriors
4) Big Trouble in Little China
5) Dreamscape
6) Infirmary
7) Beware Boiúna
8) Milk & Serial
9) Pumpkinhead
10) Deathgasm (The Last Drive-In Presentation)
11) Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings
12) Carrie (Mike Flanagan)/ John Carpenter's The Thing
13) The Roost / Return of the Living Dead III
14) Trigger Man
15) Evil Dead Burn
16) Pulse/ Lord of Tears
17) Impetigore/ Sator
18) My Soul To Take/ The Serpent and the Rainbow

Sunday night Kirsten asked about a Wes Craven movie neither of us had ever seen, so we rented My Soul to Take on Prime. 



Despite some atmospheric shots peppered throughout the film, this one was a stinker. You can literally feel Craven chasing his next big hit, modifying previously used formulas to the degree that this feels like a mismatched amalgamation of several of his previous films. Because this was so bad, I had to follow it with my favorite Craven film, and one that reminds me how great he could be, 1988's The Serpent and the Rainbow. Here's an old tv spot from its original theatrical run:



I've known this film for most of its life, first seeing it on WGN channel nine's weeknight movie at 7:00 PM back circa 1989 or 1990. I love it, and it always strikes me as containing some of the most horrific images I've ever seen. 




Play:

I was minding my business this past Friday when I saw an article on Fangoria that mentioned this new game Directed by Andrés Borghi, whose team handled the FX in Demián Rugna’s When Evil Lurks. The game, Tenebris Somnia, has live action cut scenes. I really didn't need to hear anything more.

 

I've not played as much as I would have liked over the weekend, but I played enough to look forward to more. The game play is taking a bit getting used to, but it's in my wheelhouse as far as styles go, and I'm not much of a gamer, so that should in no way be considered a judgement on the game itself. So far, it's doing what it promised and providing an intriguing Horror premise (alternate dimensions?). The cut scenes have been cool - nothing crazy yet, but again, I'm still early on in the game play. I'll report back when I advance further.




Playlist:

Miranda Sex Garden - Fairytales of Slavery
Goblin - Suspiria OST
The Damned - Night of 1000 Vampires
Big Black - Lungs
Type O Negative - Dead Again
NIN - Further Down the Spiral
Bauhaus - In the Flat Field
Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar
Lustmord & Dave Lombardo - The Pulse of Atoms
Deafheaven - At Work In The Field Of The Bomb EP
Genital Shame - Wellness Plan (pre-release singles)
Fvnerals - Let the Earth be Silent




Card:

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


• Eight of Cups
• Page of Wands
• 03: The Empress

Let curiosity counter writer's block, but rapid prototype things - don't be afraid to entertain new ideas and walk away from them quickly if they don't work.

Great advice. As I write this, I have a whole new angle on the third act of Shadow Play 2 in mind, but it's a stretch and I'm not sure it will work. Time to find out.

Friday, October 16, 2026

Black Pyramid - The Crypt on the Borderlands


Isn't this just the coolest name for a track? Sounds like Bernie Wrightson adapting William Hope Hodgson. 

From Black Pyramid's 2024 opus The Paths of Time Are Vast, which you can order over at Totem Cat Records HERE. It's been a minute since I've talked about these guys. Felt like the right time. Not only is this record a sonic mallet, but it has one of my favorite sleeve designs in years. 


Can't wait to hear what these guys do next.




31 Days of Halloween:

1) George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead
2) V/H/S/ playlist (Amateur Night; Safe Haven; Slumber Party Alien Abduction; Bone Storm; Dreamkill)
3) The Warriors
4) Big Trouble in Little China
5) Dreamscape
6) Infirmary
7) Beware Boiúna
8) Milk & Serial
9) Pumpkinhead
10) Deathgasm (The Last Drive-In Presentation)
11) Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings
12) Carrie (Mike Flanagan)/ John Carpenter's The Thing
13) The Roost / Return of the Living Dead III
14) Trigger Man
15) Evil Dead Burn




Watch:

Despite what I consider a HUGE misstep in Season Three, the trailer for Yellowjackets' final season just dropped and I'm excited for the show to reach its conclusion. Here's the trailer. 


I am very happy this is wrapping up with this season. I'd originally heard five seasons, but I think they're smart to end it now. I'm not sure if the issue I had at the end of Season Three will tank the rest of the show for me - I'm really hoping not - but I can say, if we don't get some resolution to the major mysteries, I'll be pissed. I love ambiguity if it's earned, but in the case of a show like this, leaving the eyeless guy or some of the other threads dangling will feel cheap. 




Playlist:

John Carpenter w/ Alan Howarth - Halloween III: Season of the Witch OST
Godflesh - Purge
Boy Harsher - Get Mean
Genital Shame - Wellness Plan (pre-release singles)
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Shapes of Midnight
The Sword - Age of Winters
Black Pyramid - The Paths of Time are Vast
Miranda Sex Garden - Carnival of Souls




Card:

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


Financial motivation in the form of disappointment.

• Knight of Pentacles
• Knight of Swords
• Five of Cups