77s - You Don't Scare Me

Full disclosure - adding this song from the 77s' 1984 album All Fall Down was an eleventh-hour switcheroo. In truth, I don't recall ever hearing of the 77s before last night, when this song played over the closing credits of Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill and Joe Hill's Black Phone 2. 

F*#king track made an impression, to say the least.

I drove home on the 24 with both windows down, around 11:00 PM, blaring this track, and it felt GOOD. About as good as blasting "Rock You Like A Hurricane" felt leaving my first theatrical viewing of Ti West's Maxxxine* last July. Something about an awesome, swanky rock song pumping out the windows into the night air.

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I know that song's not actually in Maxxxine, but it fit the mood of the moment just fine.

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31 Days of Halloween:

There's a lot of trepidation surrounding Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill's Black Phone 2. The trailer looks fantastic, but A) like all goddamn Bluhouse trailers, it shows too much, and B) how do you follow that first film? 

I've been a fan of these two since Sinister. I stand by that one, regardless of that unneeded final scene. The atmosphere is so... heightened. I don't know that the film scares me, but I know it scares the characters. That's something I'm not sure I've ever put into words before, but it's accurate. The success of that first Black Phone film - what these two did with Joe Hill's wonderful but curt short story, it just seemed impossible to follow through on. Not the case. 

As annoyed as I've become seeing this trailer before every movie for the last month or two, somehow, it doesn't actually give that much away. That said, I'm posting this here for posterity's sake; if you haven't seen the film yet, don't watch it. The less you see, the better. Why? Because Black Phone 2 is visually and sonically STUNNING.

That should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed Derrickson's career. The two standout additions here are the use of grainy, 16mm film stock that signifies an altered state of awareness and Atticus Derrickson's score.

Both the 16mm technique and Atticus Derrickson carry over from the duo's "Dream Killer" in V/H/S/85. I'm not the biggest fan of that particular franchise; however, seeing that segment on the big screen two years ago is something I reflect on quite a bit. The visual textures Derrickson creates, and the way they're accentuated by the score (and a cameo by Throbbing Gristles' Hamburger Lady) make such a strong sense impression... It's unlike most cinematic things. Same too with Black Phone 2. I'm not saying it's the best thing since The Shining, but this style is unlike anything else I've seen. There's a nostalgic element, but I think that's the atmosphere, not the actual technique. 

Either way, if you dug the first one, Black Phone 2 is well worth your time.

1) Incident On and Off a Mountain Road///The Funhouse (theatrical viewing)

2) Tales From the Crypt Ssn 1 Ep 4, "Dig That Cat... He's Real Gone"///Cabin in the Woods

3) Satanic Hispanics

4) Creature From the Black Lagoon 3D///Lucky McKee's May

5) The Strangers

6) [REC]

7) The Autopsy - GDT Cabinet of Curiosities///[REC]2

8) Where the Devil Roams

9) The Roost

10) Good Boy/The Viewing - GDT Cabinet of Curiosities

11) Blood Moon (aka Wolf Girl)/All Hallows' Eve (The Last Drive-In Helloween)

12) The Shining/The Simpsons Ssn 6 Treehouse of Horror V

13) Stream (2024)

14) Creepshow (1982; theatrical viewing)

15) They Live in the Grey/John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness (theatrical viewing)

16) The Black Phone 2

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Playlist:

Bauhaus - The Sky's Gone Out

Miranda Sex Garden - Fairytales of Slavery

Type O Negative - World Coming Down

Odonis Odonis - Eponymous (pre-release singles)

Perturbator - Age of Aquarius

Dream Division - Beyond the Mirror's Image

Dream Division - The Devil Rides Out

Goblin - Phenomenon OST (Wax Work Edition)

Ghost - Infestissumam

Deth Crux - Mutant Flesh

Cursed Moon - Rite of Darkness

Gylt - I Will Commit A Holy Crime: Tandem

Bauhaus - Burning From the Inside

77s - All Fall Down

Beastmilk - Climax

Throbbing Gristle - Hamburger Lady (single)

Throbbing Gristle - Slut Bait (Live at the I.C.A. London single)

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Card:

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

And Grimm's Kickstarter for The Eldritch Lace Tarot deck is now live! You can go check it out and support it HERE.

• Nine of Swords

• VII: The Chariot

• Eight of Wands

Anxiety, Willpower and Action. Meaning, I have to do something about the anxiety currently haunting me. That's pretty vague, but I don't have a lot of gumption in me at the moment, so leaving this here to possibly decode later. 

To Answer The Black Phone, You Must Walk On Guilded Splinters

A couple of years ago, Mr. Brown turned me onto Gris-Gris, one of the darker Dr. John albums, and it's become a staple of my annual Halloween listening. Check out the album closer, "I Walk on Guilded Splinters" creates a creepy A.F. atmosphere.

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Watch:

Last night was my second night at Santa Monica's Aero Theatre for Beyondfest 2021, where we saw Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill's new film The Black Phone.

Based on a Joe Hill short story from his debut anthology 20th Century Ghosts, Derrickson and Cargill's adaptation is fantastic. It lengths the fairly concise short story without weakening it. In fact, the flick is so strong that, re-reading the story this morning, I'd have to say it's the perfect kind of adaptation that takes nothing away from the story, but stands strong on its own.

In typical Beyondfest fashion, after the credits rolled and the lights came up, we were treated to an hour+ discussion where Mike Flanagan came out and spoke to Cargill and Derrickson about their creative approached to the film, what Joe Hill and his family thought of the adaptation of his story, ("Joe called us and said, ""Yeah, dad liked it.""), and all kinds of other great stuff.

31 Films of Halloween:

1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)

2) The Mutilator

3) Demons 

4) Vortex

5) Possession

6) The Black Phone

7) Slumber Party Massacre

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Playlist:

Mastodon - Teardrinker (pre-release single)

Sam Hain - November Coming Fire

The High Confessions - Turning Lead Into Gold with the High Confessions

16 - Dream Squasher

My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - Confessions of a Knife

John Carpenter - Lost Themes III: Alive After Death

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

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Card:

The cards are re-iterating what they told me yesterday because the event in question is later today. Just keep telling myself, "One and done. One and done."

Isolation: Day 174 Cowboy Bebop OST on Vinyl!

I've been meaning to post about this all week! I'm in the middle of a re-watch of the Cowboy Bebop, and on a lark - and because lately, Saturday nights after midnight I tend to go buzzed record shopping online - I looked up the constantly out of print soundtrack for Bebop and found there is a new pressing up for pre-order RIGHT BLOODY NOW!!!

I ordered mine from the evil empire HERE, but if you have another source, there may be an alternative. All that really matters is I will finally own this one. The music Composer Yoko Kanno and Seat Belts did for this series is among my most favorite music in the world. I can't wait!

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Reading: 

I have fallen in love with Mirka Andolfo's comic Mercy. Look at these covers!

Art is not usually the factor that pulls me into a new book, but it convinced me to pick up the first issue of this one a few months back. Well, more than a few. I let the rest slide, but recently made it back into Atomic Basement Comics - I'm lucky enough to have two comic shops I love near me, it's just the Bug is literally walking distance from my crib, so my pull at Atomic sat lonesome since this whole Pandemic began. Anyway, I picked up my stash and there they were - four more issues of Mercy. It's not just the art - this one is a sly, period piece horror story that reminds me more than a little of Mike Mignola and Troy Nixey's Jenny Finn or even Joe Hill/Laura Marks/Kelley Jones' recent book Daphne Byrne. Polite society in what I think is late 1800s Washington state, with a tentacled monster(s) preying on lords, ladies, and orphans alike! Can't recommend this one enough.

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Playlist: 

Earth - Primitive and Deadly

Rezz - Mass Manipulation

Sam Ewing - The Shed OST

Windhand/Satan's Satyrs - Split

Wolves in the Throne Room - Two Hunters

Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit

Me and That Man - New Man, New Songs, Same Shit, Vol. 1

Tennis System - Technicolor Blind

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Card: 

 

Persistent, eh? Persistent creativity perhaps? While it's true my creative impulse has lately been curbed by persistent back pain, I had a good little session on Shadow Play Book Two this past Wednesday, enough to get me stoked for the possibility of a deep-dive on this upcoming holiday weekend that begins, well, today!

 

See you, Space Cowboy...

JARV IS - House Music All Night Long

Apparently Jarvis Cocker is now JARV IS, and the new album Beyond the Pale is out May 1st on Rough Trade. Pre-Order HERE.

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NCBD was a huge one yesterday, simply because I picked up a handful of new titles I'd decided to add to my pull over at The Atomic Basement. The split that occurred between my Drinking w/ Comics co-host Mike and The Comic Bug co-owner Jun - both great guys - left me in a bit of a funk. The Bug is literally walking distance from my crib, and Jun is a friend of mine. So while I of course want to support Mike's new venture, I didn't want to do it at Jun's expense. Thus, I've added a handful of titles to my monthly pull and pretty much set an even balance at both stores. Here's what I grabbed at The Atomic Basement this week:

I'm reminded of Black Monday Murders, and hope that this undertaking isn't taking place instead of a continuation of that book. Regardless, insanely vast opening to what seems like it might be a small story in a massive world.

No idea where this is going, but it's as creepy as it is gorgeous.

I'm not sure how long these Joe Hill books are running, but so far, I'm really digging Daphne Byrne, so I figured I'd give Low Low Woods a chance as well.

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Two episodes into Alex Garland's new Hulu/FX series Devs and it's already established itself as a powerhouse; something that could totally change the Medium. AND - it's weekly, so it gives me some much-needed Event Viewing for the next few weeks, hopefully to get us right up to that next season of Joe Bob's Last Drive-In, although to my knowledge they haven't confirmed a date for that one's return.



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Devs put me in the mood for some more techy fiction, so I finally made it back around to Black Mirror and watched Black Museum. My favorite of the few episodes I've watched since Netflix brought this show back. Directed by Colm McCarthy, whose indie horror flick Outcast I wrote about here last year - and which I LOVED and is now on Prime so watch it! - Black Museum sets up something I would like to see return - Rolo Haynes' titular roadside attraction, the Black Museum. There are at least a couple dozen stories that could spin out of this, and Douglas Hodge's portrayal of Haynes was a sheer joy to watch, so hopefully this will recur at some point.




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Playlist:

Man Man - Beached (Single)
Fen - Dustwalker
The Thirsty Crows - Hangman's Noose
Ghosts of Glaciers - The Greatest Burden
The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium
Myrkur - M
Beth Gibbons/Henry Gorecki - Symphony No. 3
Neon Kross - Darkness Falls

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Card

The positive break-up of structures and limitations.

2019: May 30th - 3 Days Until NOS4A2 Premieres!

I just realized that AMC's adaptation of Joe Hill's NOS4A2 premieres this Sunday. How the hell did I miss this trailer!?! I can't wait for the show, as the book is probably my favorite Joe Hill novel. Well... Heart-Shaped Box might be neck-and-neck with it, but they're both exceptional, outside-the-box horror fiction.

Of course, this comes at a super busy watch-time, as K and I are still working our way through Ozark; on Season 2 now and it's really getting dark. Literally. I noticed last night that, where Season 1 was had a very blue pallet, Season 2 is shot extremely dark; almost darker than anything I've seen in this level of show. Not a complaint though, because it works! It's a tonal accompaniment to the characters' descent into their maelstrom that reminds me of Paul Schrader's Autofocus, which begins very pastel and slowly grows into darker and darker hues as Bob Crane's descent into addiction. Boy does it work. And Friday I'll be signing up for the DCU app for the duration of Swamp Thing. Also on the slate for that subscription window is a binge on Doom Patrol. And now we're adding NOS4A2! This might be the very definition of First World Problems, not having enough time to watch all the things I've been looking forward to, but that's what I come here to talk about; I'll leave politics and the rapid decline of civilization for limited real-world encounters, because I'm pretty fucking sick of seeing it discussed online!

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New episode of The Horror Vision is up! Topics of discussion include but are not limited to Mike Mendez's The Convent, Emma Tammi's The Wind, Pledge, The Nest and Valencourt Books' Paperbacks from Hell subscription service, the newest installment of Mortal Combat, and a whole lot more!

Apple
Spotify
Google Play

Or just catch us on our website, The Horror Vision.com

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Watchlist from the last few days has been Ozark Season 2, David Cronenberg's Rabid, and actually, last weekend I had a viewing of Cronenberg's Videodrome, one of my all-time favorite films.

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Playlist from 5/28:

Earth - Full Upon Her Burning Lips
Earth - Primitive and Deadly
Wasted Theory - Warlords of the New Electric
Wasted Theory - Defenders of the Riff
The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust
Primus - Frizzle Fry

Playlist from 5/29:

PJ Harvey - Uh Huh Her
Natural Snow Buildings - Night Coercion into the Company of Witches
Numenorean - Adore
Anthrax - Persistence of Time

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No card today.

2019: February 26th - New FOALS

I'm digging the Beachhouse/Smiths feel here. Foals is a band my interest has pinioned back and forth on. Their new album, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1, is out March 8th and can be pre-ordered HERE, with Part 2 following in Autumn. Pretty cool release idea.

The teaser for the AMC adaptation series of Joe Hill's BRILLIANT novel NOS4A2 dropped yesterday. It's not much, but it certainly has me excited, especially after seeing Zachary Quinto in Charlie Manx, III make-up:

I cannot say enough good things about the novel. After having read Hill's Heart-Shaped Box and Horns and loved them both, when my friend Becky handed me an advanced reader copy of NOS4A2 back in early 2013, I expected I'd dig it, but  what I didn't expect was how different the tone and style would be from Hill's other books. In retrospect, I should have already reached the conclusion that Hill is such an accomplished writer he is able to change these integral elements of his voice and completely reinvent himself from book to book. Where Heart-Shaped Box was a tight, atmospheric horror novel that worked gloriously inside the tone of the mass market paperbacks of the 90s, Horns felt stylistically similar to a Chuck Palahniuk novel. NOS4A2 was the first of Hill's books where I felt the influence of his father, Stephen King. It was also the first where the two writers began to mingle their worlds a bit, and while in 2019 I'm pretty exhausted of 'shared universes,' I still say King/Hill's methods hold up. They intertwined their worlds just the right amount so as to leave you smiling at the possibilities, but without being overly ostentatious about it.

Here's that teaser:



Playlist from 2/25:

Firewater - The Ponzi Scheme
Firewater - The Man on the Burning Tightrope
Beck - Mutations
Ghost - Opus Eponymous
The Devil's Blood - III Tabula Rasa or Death and the Seven Pillars

Card of the day:

Second time in how many days I received this one? Hmm... Looking deeper into it, I'm wondering if this has to do with the somewhat shadowy side of this card. Prince of Cups is the Intelligence that navigates passion, and passion includes Art. It has been in my head of late that I often fall into a pattern of neglecting the ones I love while caught inside these worlds I'm building in my head. Perhaps it's time to find a flash of non-Artistic inspiration and do something unexpected for someone I love?

Finally! Joe Hill's HORNS Has a Trailer

Get More: 

Movie Trailers, Celebrity News

Horns was the first book by Joe Hill I read, back when I worked for the book store and stumbled into an advanced reader copy. It was great and it led me to read his first novel, Heart Shaped Box which was even better. Since then I routinely keep up with everything the mad does. Just based on the source material alone this movie should be fantastic, and although I don't always love what director Alexander Aja does, he has a lot of talent.

Joe Hill's Taking Us to Christmasland!!!

image courtesy of geek news empty-v

Back in the spring I reviewed Hill's newest novel NOS4A2 on Joup. Now in this week's edition of Thee Comic Column I review the first issue of the sinisterly awesome Wraith: Welcome to Christmasland - the book that will expand on the extremely expansion-worthy mythos Hill so expertly sets up in the novel.

Wanna Know What the World Looks Like Through Google Glasses?

Thanks to Joe Hill for Tweeting this.

Joe Hill's NOS4A2

I received a nice advance copy of Joe Hill's NOS4A2 today. I am VERY much looking forward to reading it, as Hill's Heart-Shaped Box is one of my favorite books of recent years (and Horns is pretty damn awesome too! Can't wait for that movie starring Daniel Radcliffe). I'll be posting opinions on the book soon enough, however I also have my brand new copy of Peter V. Brett's The Daylight War - purchased in stunning hardcover the day of release (today) from my favorite local bookstore The Book Frog. Mr. Brett's stuff became DOR or 'Day of Release' level for me after the other two books in the series (which I speak about here) blew me the F--k away!!! But of course now I have an especially tricky conundrum - which to read first?

Choices, choices choices...