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.'
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