We Need You
31/5/2015
I have been receiving a number of emails recently asking how much do I charge for reviews. The answer I give is always the same. I do not charge for reviews, hell I even feel uncomfortable having adverts on the site, certainly adverts that are of a horror nature. The reason for this is as soon as you start bringing money into it you have to begin to question the integrity of the site.
Just look at a recent issue of a genre magazine, their review section had me scratching my head in wonder. i know every review is a subjective point of view but when every review for a major publishing company or film company gets glowing reviews, and those from the lesser known places get on the whole negative reviews you have to wonder what the hell is going on. It's something that i would hate to think anyone thought about this site. However running this site takes a lot of time and effort, from not just me, but also from my amazing team of reviewers, whose help is priceless. It also costs money, at this moment in time if this was a business it would be in administration. I spend more on the site than it makes, from website hosting fees to paying for adverts and stuff like SEO so that all the reviews and articles promoting all the writers, filmakers and general horror folks get the maximum exposure. Now i am not asking for money as that brings me back to the original point. What I am asking is 1. if you like any of the sound of any of the products featured on the site please consider purchasing them through the Amazon associate links that feature on the site. These links give me around about a 7% return on all products brought through the link. 2. Please click the did you find this review helpful link on the Amazon review. This does two things it helps to increase my overall Amazon reviewer ranking, and it also means that my review will be at the top of the review list if it has the best helpful to unhelpful ratio. Wouldn't you love have a review from one of the top independent horror review websites as the first review people see. At the risk of blowing my own trumpet reviews from websites like Ginger Nuts carry a lot more weight than those from any old Tom, Dick or Harry. The reviews all contain a text link highlighting the site, which helps to boost my visibility. 3. Please share the reviews, articles etc. You can find a Facebook and Twitter share function at the bottom of each article, and there are multiple share options on the home page for places like Reddit, Tumbler, Pinintrest etc. Please use these functions every share helps to boost the google rankings for the site and bring in more viewers for reviews of what could possibly be your book. The site has never been about making money it has always been about my love for the genre and with your help we can spread the world to the dirty uninitiated masses. YOU CAN FIND ALL THE REVIEWS ON AMAZON HERE I'M STILL ME BY DAWN ANGRY PUPPY
21/5/2015
I’m Still Me
Anyone who knows me knows that I love anything horror related. Give me a werewolf novel, zombie movie, or an end of the world story, and I’m a happy girl. Over the last year or so, I’ve found a new love – extreme horror. The darker, more disgusting, and more disturbing it is, the better. I want to cringe, I want to feel sick, and I want to be shocked. Does that make me weird? According to some, yes it does. I used to hide the fact that I love a genre associated with monsters and psychopaths, but I’ve learned to embrace it and will talk about it with anyone who will listen, although it’s still an uncomfortable subject for some. Last year, writer/director Greg Francis put out a somewhat-overlooked horror film called Poker Night. Starring Ron Perlman and Giancarlo Esposito, as well as relative newcomer Beau Mirchoff in the role of the protagonist, the film earned only 44% positive reviews at Rotten Tomatoes. It didn't perform any better with audiences, either. Even so, it certainly had a specific appeal to those who enjoy a dark, scary film with a hint of absurdity. In short, not a great movie, but maybe one to check out if you just love the genre. Oddly enough, one of the disappointing aspects of Poker Night is that it had little to do with actual poker. With so many millions of people around the world obsessed with the popular card game, it was easy to expect the film would incorporate some gripping card playing scenes in the midst of its quest to scare. Unfortunately, while poker was involved, the title was more meant to describe a gathering of colleagues than any intrigue particularly related to the game. But still, it got us thinking.... What if a brand-new horror film did take advantage of the world's obsession with poker, and with gambling in general, to produce a film with a chance to reach a new, wide audience? Here are three ideas for such films we'd love to see made: "The River" In Texas Hold'em poker, there are various community cards dealt over the course of the game. Poker News describes the fifth and final of these cards (aka "The River") as being dealt face-up, leading to a final betting round before "The Showdown," when players must show their hands. So basically, once you reach "The River," it's all on the line. This makes for a dramatic (if somewhat cheesy) title concept for a horror film built around high-stakes poker. The premise could be simple: perhaps a pair of friends known to want to win at all costs splits up when one turns on the other in a high-stakes tournament. The winner goes on to fame and fortune in poker, with the scorned friend turning to the dark side of basement gambling. He commits crimes to make his money until he finally ends up in a game against his old friend, in disguise. On "The River," he's already put all his money on the line—so he bets that the winner takes the loser's life, revealing his true identity. OK, it's a rough sketch, and you'd need to sprinkle a lot of genuine horror in along the way to make it intriguing. But when you consider it as a horrific version of Rounders, it's easy to see how it may attract a major audience! "Never Land On Red" Although it doesn't quite inspire the crazy following that Texas Hold'em does, roulette is still an extraordinarily popular casino game, both online and in real casinos. Ideally, a film concerning roulette would be set in Europe, because as Intercasino describes here in its explanations of the different kinds of roulette, the European brand offers the closest to 50/50 odds (between the player and the "house"). As written on the site, "Unlike American Roulette, European Roulette gives the players slightly better odds." This is because European Roulette wheels have only one "0" in addition to the 18 red and 18 black landing spots (which also include 18 even and 18 odd numbers). The idea, though, is that a serial killing low-end casino thief uses roulette wheels as a judgment during his crimes—like a more sinister version of iconic Batman villain Two-Face's tendency to flip a coin to decide the fate of others. Dealers, hostages, etc. get executed by the killer every time a ball lands on red (which has some obvious but likely effective blood symbolism attached to it). Perhaps, in the end, the tables could be turned and the killer could be presented with the same situation. There could even be an ambiguous, teasing ending as the wheel spins and the ball slows down.... Initially this sounds like a silly premise, but it may actually be one of the more effective casino-themed horror films that could be made, as long as we're talking about the games remaining part of the action. "Blackjack" This film idea would be an adaptation, or at least a spin on an existing character. According to Comic Vine, there is a Black Jack comic character (from Archie Comics, of all sources). He's a police detective who earns the nickname of "Black Jack" after using a Jack of Spades card to cut a slit in drying concrete and allow himself to breathe after being walled up in a dark room. Really, it's a great name and a pretty dull character. The idea of using a literal black jack to escape captivity is a nice starting point, but this could really work in a horror capacity if the character that emerges from a walled up room ends up on a bloody, lawless quest for vengeance. Maybe he could even leave the Jack of Spades on his victims in a Joker-ish fashion. Ideally, there'd be some actual card playing involved, so as to avoid the trap Poker Night fell into (as in, not involving the game in a way that really has to do with the plot). But this could be a good start! DEAD BY DAWN (2015) A REVIEW BY STEWART HORNDead by Dawn 2015
This is my first time at Dead by Dawn, even though it’s one of the UK’s best known and longest running horror festivals, and happens less than fifty miles from where I live. There are reasons: the timing doesn’t fit well with my day job, so I have to miss some of the films, and Edinburgh is one of the most expensive places in the world to find digs, so up to now I didn’t think it was worth my while. But this year I took the plunge. I missed a few things but saw plenty. There was one film on Thursday night that I quite fancied (Tusk) but it would have added around £80 to the cost of the weekend and I decided it wasn’t worth it for one film. |
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