Know How to Hit that Pokies Jackpot

​No matter what you call them, pokies are usually the first thing people go for, whether at a land-based venue, pub or one of the best NZ online casinos. 

Some punters just like to spin the reels to see if they strike a lucky streak, while others like to use a strategy. What links both together is the excitement that they might hit the jackpot, so knowing how the jackpots work is a massive step to choosing the most suitable online pokies to play. 

With so many online pokies, deciding which will suit their taste and style can be confusing, especially for new players. Below are a few tips and ideas to make that choice more straightforward and, hopefully, more rewarding. 

• Many punters love to play progressive jackpot pokies that offer life-changing jackpot prizes. Progressives work by adding a small percentage from each bet made to the pot. Considering that most online casinos are open 24/7 and many progressive pokies are supplied by sites from a linked network, it becomes apparent how quickly the jackpot can grow and how big it can get. When playing progressive jackpot pokies, you need to be aware that you should be the maximum amount to be in with a chance of winning the biggest jackpots. Lower-staked spins will get the same multiplier as larger stakes, but the payout will not be as significant. 
• Some pokies boast many paylines, fancy bonuses and other ways to win. These games are a ton of fun to play, but the odds of winning are lower than if you were to play more straightforward pokies. Of course, the wins on the more straightforward pokies will be less generous.
• A great tip for deciding which pokies games you will enjoy playing is to test the games for free. Online casino sites offer pokies with free spins (demo mode)  when you sign up with the site. Of course, you won’t win any real cash if you hit a lucky streak, but it is a great way to find your way about the game.
• One of the most important things to remember when playing any casino game, including online pokies, is not to chase your losses. Creating a budget for yourself and not going over it can help, as can deciding what amount you are willing to lose when playing progressive pokies where you will be staking the maximum amount each spin. You should never play with money you cannot afford to lose, and as long as you keep in mind that you are playing primarily for entertainment and fun, then you are good to go. 
• Finally, know when to stop. This tip might sound silly, but it is a golden rule for any situation, whether you are visiting a brick-and-mortar casino or are online. If you cannot stop playing, you might develop a bad habit. Always take breaks, and do not spend your agreed budget in one sitting. 

The best advice anyone can have is to have fun and play around with different pokies games until you find which game and strategy work for you. There is no real “right” or “wrong” way to play pokies, and at the end of the day, if you can end playing with a smile on your face (especially if Lady Luck) has been kind, then you have used the game as it was intended.




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​After two successful runnings in 2020 and 2021, the UK Ghost Story Festival will be back for a third time over the weekend of 16th-19th February in ‘the UK’s most haunted city’ of Derby. At its new venue of the Museum of Making, the Festival will be presenting fifty events over four in-person days of the event. With a mix of interviews, talks, readings, panels, workshops and performances, there’s bound to be something for both readers and writers of supernatural fiction.

Taking part in the 2023 event will be Michelle Paver (author of Dark Matter, Thin Air and Wakenhyrst), Laura Purcell (The Whispering Muse, The Shape of Darkness, Bone China), Camilla Bruce (All the Blood We Share, The Witch in the Well), Dan Schreiber (No Such Thing as a Fish podcast, The Theory of Everything Else), Emma Stonex (The Lamplighters), Stephen Volk (Ghostwatch, Afterlife) and many more. To see the full list of speakers, visit https://www.ukghoststoryfestival.co.uk/speakers

Derby’s Museum of Making is located close to Derby’s Market Place, ideally placed for the town centre, and the Festival has arranged a hotel deal with the Leonardo Hotel Derby (formerly Jurys Inn) for anyone travelling from outside Derby and looking to stay over for the event. For more information on the accommodation deal, visit https://www.ukghoststoryfestival.co.uk/hotel-deal

Event co-ordinator Alex Davis said: ‘I’m delighted to be working with an exciting new venue for 2023, not to mention some absolutely phenomenal talent in the world of ghost stories. The schedule is packed with all sorts of informative and entertaining sessions, and I can’t wait to get stuck in to the event!’

Tickets are available for individual festival events, as well as full event passes, weekend passes and day passes for the Saturday of the festival.

For more information on the UK Ghost Story Festival, visit https://www.ukghoststoryfestival.co.uk/home

To book tickets for the event, including our online preview night, visit
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/ukghoststoryfestival

Find us on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/events/1211119869444098

Find us on Twitter at @ghoststoryfest

Find us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ghoststoryfestival/

2022 has been such a gift for fans of the horror genre. It is not just the quantity or even quality of the films that impresses me, so much as the vast range of stories that have been told. This has been a rare year where there is a little something for everyone. As for me, I feel almost overwhelmed at the massive amount of amazing films I’ve seen. It is an honor to be featured on this website that has meant so much to me and the indie horror community, but I am especially grateful to be curating a Top 20 list in a year where I had to fight and argue with myself to get it down to just 20.


‘Top’ is a word that is open to interpretation. For me, and for the list that I am about to present to you, it falls somewhere in between “favorite” and “best.” Some of these, especially as you work your way to my Number 1 slot, are pieces of art that I believe speak for themselves critically. Others, especially near the bottom, are movies whose messiness I can forgive simply because they succeeded in making me feel something, whether that be fear or delight. I have done my best to provide context with each title as to what put it above the others.


Believe me, there were others. 20 seems like a lot of horror movies for one year, but it pales in comparison to the number of amazing titles that have been released over the last twelve months. With all that said, I am so excited to share my pick for the Top 20 Horror Movies of 2022.


20. The Watcher


This was the hardest spot to pick. I had about twelve movies left that I felt needed to go on this list and only one slot remaining. One thing all my other selections had in common was that I was not sure where they fell into the genre. The Watcher stood out because while it may be an agonizingly slow burn, there is no doubt that this is a horror film. The tension here is rivaled only by sympathy for the protagonist in a world where her every concern is called into question.


19. Terrifier 2


On the exact opposite side of that spectrum, we have Terrifier 2. This film lacks any semblance of subtlety. It is gory, self-indulgent, and absolutely over the top. The critic in me hesitated to include this on my list, but to leave it off would be to deny the unbridled joy that watching it brings me. Embracing the gory and eccentric roots of the slasher genre, this is a wild ride. Art the Clown’s success at the box office was a win for indie horror and it’s not hard to see how he got there. Terrifier 2 brought fantastic character design, creative kills, and the sort of practical effects that can only be achieved in a labor of love.


18. Nanny


Of all the movies on this list, Nanny may be the hardest to classify. The plot is driven by the amazing cast, and the unease builds from multiple sources. There are supernatural and psychological aspects that are escalated by the isolation faced by the movie’s protagonist. Though the film lacked many outright scares, there is a lingering sense of dread that comes with the story. Often it is the things we don’t know that have a way of haunting us.


17. Mad God


Though Mad God made its festival debut in 2021, the US release came in June of this year. It is an unflinchingly brutal look at what it takes to survive in a world of monsters. Though the experimental narration style leaves much open to interpretation by the audience, the cruelties are hard to watch all the same. The stop-motion animation style is rendered with such attention to detail, and is strangely beautiful to watch in spite of all its horrors.


16. Hellraiser


2022’s Hellraiser is a masterclass in remakes. While it takes thematic inspiration from Clive Barker’s original story, the source material has been reshaped to give us something new and fresh. Everything about this movie makes it feel less like competition to the original, and more like a companion piece. It works beautifully as a stand-alone film, giving us a taste into the reimagined world without rehashing the pieces that have become overfamiliar throughout the long chain of quality diminished sequels. There was something here for fans and critics of the franchise alike.


15. Satan’s Slaves: Communion


Everything that I loved about Satan’s Slaves was present in this sequel. It kept the core cast, added onto the mythology, and kept the same haunting vibes in its new, claustrophobic setting. The tension was ramped up, the stakes felt higher, and the imagery is unforgettable. Even with the abundance of jump scares, which would usually turn me off to a movie, the visuals were strong enough to keep me feeling uneasy in the best way.


14. Deadstream


Horror comedy is at its best when it the scares still keep pace with the laughs. This brilliant satire strikes a great balance in this regard. The discomfort of the situation continues to ramp up to absurd levels that only a desperate content creator would invite into their lives. While the movie plays best to those familiar with live-streaming culture, there is something so human about the plot that it could play to anyone.


13. The Sadness.


Speaking of humans, we often make the scariest monsters. That concept is pushed to its absolute limits in this Taiwanese horror film. Though it was another one finished in 2021, 2022 saw its US release when it came to Shudder with an advisory warning. Terrifier 2 may have been the bloodiest movie to hit American theaters this year, but it did not hold a candle to The Sadness in terms of gore or violence. If you think your stomach is strong enough to handle the utter depravity of this film, then you are in for a treat. Where many extreme horror films conform entirely to the gross out method, The Sadness offers a human story that is truly terrifying underneath the blood and guts.


12. Scream


As a strong testament to the competition of this list, this January started with me declaring that Scream may well be my movie of the year. While that ended up to not be the case, this was the first hurdle that every subsequent choice had to crawl its way over. Hellraiser set a new high bar for remakes, but Scream set a new standard for the “requels.” As the movie itself will tell you, it has everything; a new core cast, a few legacy characters, and a Ghostface unafraid to raise the stakes with their brutality.


11. Resurrection


This one lingers just outside my Top 10, but it may well be the only movie on this entire list that I don’t think I’ll be watching again any time soon. Though it starts off as a slow burn, this movie was unafraid to get dark and personal. There are topics touched on too dark to be shown on screen, and they are approached in such a matter of fact, haunting way. Though Resurrection has its “exaggerated” moments and a strange premise, the psychological component serves to make it feel like one of the realest horrors.


10. The Black Phone


Would you believe I was actually disappointed with this movie when I saw it the first time? As a fan of the short story, I felt let down by the way the tale was expanded. It didn’t highlight the psychological aspect that had drawn me in, so much as created a new supernatural element that I hadn’t asked for. The rewatch, however, got me. While it was not the movie I had hoped it would be, it’s hard to argue that it excels at what it is, which is a spine chilling ghost story where not even the children are safe.


9. Hellbender


It’s hard to even describe this film, which came to the US this February. While there are many recognizable aspects in this familial, isolation horror, they are woven together in a way that feels fresh. It is led by two strong characters who are unafraid to surprise the audience. I also loved the LGBTQ+ themes, which were strong without ever becoming the primary focus, or detracting from the horror.


8. Pearl


I was concerned about Pearl. As a prequel that is also the middle part of a trilogy born from what easily could have been a stand-alone film, this had every chance to make me regret its existence. In a wonderful turn of events, it crept right up onto my list of favorites. Though I can see the argument that it didn’t need to be made, I’m very grateful that it was made. Pearl offers great insight into one of the genre’s most complex characters, while also managing to ask more questions than it answers. It was a great addition to the story, and to this year’s horror roster.


7. Speak No Evil


This one nearly flew under my radar. I didn’t see much promotion for it and many critics never seemed to pick it up. Fortunately, I stumbled across a couple of my friends discussing on social media how this movie traumatized them, and I knew I had to check it out. This is a title that is almost too uncomfortable to be considered a slow burn. Whether or not you’re able to sleep after watching it seems to hinge on whether or not you’ve had children, but it’s an unforgettable experience even to us non-parents in the audience.


6. Incantation


This was the rare horror film that lived up to the hype surrounding it. It is a Taiwanese found footage film that knows just how to play its audience. Right from the beginning, you have empathy for the characters that only continues to build as we watch their struggle unfold. The visuals were horrifying, and the audience feels almost implicated by the time the credits roll.


5. Fresh


This is the sort of movie that, in another year, easily could have been my top pick. It has a little bit of everything; an amazing protagonist, body horror, levity, and a healthy dose of blood. There are even a couple of really terrible puns. Though the premise requires a high suspension of disbelief, the film takes its time with the set up and gets you invested in the characters to help you along. All in all, it was very satisfying.


4. Glorious


Cosmic horror is amazing, but it can be difficult to get right. This title perfectly balances its immediate threat with existential dread and perfect comedic timing. There was nothing about this movie that wasn’t perfectly executed.


3. A Wounded Fawn


I had all but entirely finalized this list of 20 movies when this one dropped on Shudder and threw everything into question. This giallo-inspired film is captivating from the moment it starts and kept me guessing through to the very end. It is surreal, and beautiful, and explores all the best and worst of humanity as though it were a mere afterthought.


2. Barbarian


This is probably the most divisive movie on my list. It seems to be one that audiences love or hate. Either way, I think you have to applaud the chances that it took, and for me every single one of its risks paid off in the best way. There was social commentary, the subversion of some hated tropes, edge-of-the-seat tension, and laugh-out-loud funny moments. If you have not seen this one, you should absolutely get on that.


1. X


Ti West cracks into my top 10 once again.


Anyone that knows me or has talked to me since March of this year is not going to be surprised by this top pick. I saw it in theater opening day, and went back to see it about a dozen times after that. I listen to the soundtrack every day at work. It has very possibly unseated the 10-year reigning champion for the title of my favorite film of all time.


It feels like a movie that was made for me. The French inspiration in the editing combined with the perfect throwback to the 70’s grindhouse film hits all my horror sweet spots. It even has my favorite underutilized trope of “dancer who snaps.”


Even putting some of my own biases aside, I believe X to be worthy of the slot. The subtle foreshadowing and well-rounded characters give the title endless re-watchability. There are laughs. There are tears. There is the perfect amount of gore, even as the true horror of the film comes from a deeper, emotional place. It features stunning performances from Jenna Ortega and Mia Goth, two absolute queens of the genre. It encompasses everything that I loved about the horror of 2022, and I have never been so certain of a pick.

You wake up and find yourself in a horror franchise, what franchise would you prefer to wake up in and why?

I would prefer to wake up in the Scream movie franchise.  I already know everything that happens so all I would have to do is be vigilant.



You find yourself as the “Final One”  which monster / villain would you most like to go up against ands why do you think you would survive?

I would love to go up against the werewolf.  I think I could survive because all I have to do is wait for the night to end.  I just need to find a place high enough to hide or a bunker.  I could do it.



And which creature would you least like to go up against?

An enormous spider because I don’t like big bugs.


You find yourself in Scooby Doo, which character are you, and who would most like to have as the other members of Mystery Inc?

I would be the villain.  I love this show so much, but I would want the Addams family to be the other members of Mystery Inc OR I would want it to be the old mystery inc crew and then try to stop them or force them to become evil.  I could be pulling the strings in the back and make the plot twists better.


Pinhead pops round for an evening of fun, what are you pains and pleasures?

Maybe go to a fair and play a pop the balloon game so they don’t feel out of place.




The Wishmaster gives you three wishes

1.  You can wish to write in any franchise
2. You can wipe on franchise from the minds of everyone
3. You can date your horror crush

What do you chose?
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I would like to choose the first option.  I would love to write in the Star Wars franchise during the prequel era.  I think Corusant would be an amazing setting to base any number of stories in and I think it.

Nia is caught in the crosshairs of an unraveling family. When she is left with her Aunt Matilda, some creatures from the swamp's watery depths are curious . . . much too curious. Now Nia must figure out what is going on.

Perhaps a somewhat obvious subject for this entry, and certainly one that's been commented on, analysed and dissected to the Nth degree. But, when it comes to horror soundtracks, some subjects are impossible to ignore. 


Whilst the latter instalments in the Alien franchise would take it down a more action-horror route, the original Alien remains one of the most consummate 


exercises in quiet, claustrophobic tension and existential dread ever created in cinema. 


And nowhere is that more apparent than in the film's score. 


Whereas many film soundtracks require context in order to appreciate, the quiet, chilling frames and escalating, discordant wails of Alien exercise a fascination all their own. The sublime use of vast and aching silences, punctuated by chillingly isolated frames of coldly distant notes in the film's opening sequences establish a sense of cosmic dread; communicating without a word or moment of exposition one of the film's most abiding themes: 


Lovecraftian, cosmic insignificance. 


Out amongst the stars, in the vast and hideously empty darkness, humanity itself is anomalous flotsam, a scrap of nothing with delusions of poetry. Whilst the physical threat posed by the eponymous xenomorph is significant, the greater horror of Alien is existential: The cast of characters are, from the outset, established as beyond expendable. Within the horrific, capitalist class-structures in which they operate, selling their labour to a faceless corporation whose influence is at least as profound and horrific as any Lovecraftian deity, in the environment of outer-space itself; the vast, crumbling, industrial mining-ship they operate, the strange and unknown  worlds they are obliged to explore. Everything in the film, from the visuals to the score, to the scraps of discussion we overhear almost as interlopers and voyeurs, is designed to convey the utter irrelevance of these over-ambutious apes, and their hubris in daring to walk amongst stars they aren't meant to know, and that are, at best, coldly indifferent to them. 


The score communicates this quality through startling economy and minimalism; when silence serves, silence reigns, and is often as chilling, shocking and disturbing as any musical cue. When the latter is required, the score is economical to the point of brutalism, sparing in a way that allows the natural sounds of the environment do much of its work (even in moments of utter terror, such as when we spy something descend from the rafters behind a character in the foreground, isolated, singular notes of discord or suspense are utilised, which have the effect of emphasising the industrial rumblings, hissings, clangs and bangs of the perpetually-in-disrepair Nostramo). 


One of the most powerful examples of bizarre, haunting visuals complemented by minimalist musical strains comes when the crew descend to the surface of the uninhabited world designated LV-426: 


Having discovered a downed alien craft whose design, in classic H.R. Giger style, simultaneously resembles an immense, bio-mechanical phallus and a pair of splayed women's legs, the crew discover what may or may not be the ship's cockpit, where a gigantic, fossilised alien form sits fused with its command throne. The image is so strange, so unsettling, it has the effect of making the audience collectively gasp; a reaction helped along by minimal musical rattlings that sound almost tribal, like bone-drums being played around the camp-fires of some other-worldly jungle. 


Later, following moments of the most extreme and distressing body-horror, with a murderous, bio-mechanical nightmare loose on the ship, Tom Skerrit's Captain Dallas descends into a series of vents and tunnels, armed with a flamethrower to dispatch the creature. In what is one of the most iconically fraught sequences in this or any film, the rest of the crew track both Dallas and the monster by use of motion sensors that beep and blip more urgently the closer the pair come to one another. The electronic beeps and blips of the device themselves are terrifying beyond belief, but when complemented by a score so subtle as to be almost subliminal, the scene becomes an exercise in escalating dread unlike any other. 

Then, there's the manner in which the score escalates and elaborates as the situation aboard the Nostramo decays. This single factor, this unknowable, alien, animal thing, destabilises one of humanity's most profound accomplishments; a ship that can traverse the stars themselves. All it takes to utterly desolate this marker of humanity's accomplishment is that one molecular element of chaos. 


And the score reflects exactly this: 


Transitioning from the minimalist isolationism of previous chapters, the score slowly accrues and accrues, culminating in Lieutenant Ripley's blind chase through the Nostramo, where discord wails and screams and clashes with the klaxons and hisses and tormented engine sounds of the ship itself. 


Then, a lull; a moment of false peace, in which it seems she's escaped, only for the xenomorph to be present inside the escape pod with her, the musical discord that marks its revelation matched perfectly to the sinuous, serpentine motions of the beast itself. 


And, ultimately, when all is done, the beast blasted out of the airlock, Lieutenant Ripley retreated into the same hyper-sleep from which she arose at the film's beginning, a slow, serene, but faintly uncertain, distressing credits sequence across the emptiness of space, the score quietly insisting that waking existence is the nightmare, and that Ripley, in the precious years in which she drifts, dreaming, is perhaps the fortunate one. ​

THIRTEEN FOR HALLOWEEN THIRTEEN HORROR SOUNDTRACKS: THE MIST
​THIRTEEN FOR HALLOWEEN 2022:  THE LAST BROADCAST
THIRTEEN FOR HALLOWEEN 2022: THE LEGACY OF KAIN: SOUL REAVER
​THIRTEEN FOR HALLOWEEN: AMERICAN MCGEE'S ALICE
​THIRTEEN FOR HALLOWEEN: THIRTEEN HORROR SOUNDTRACKS - SHADOW MAN

Halloween has just packed its bags and left. That doesn’t mean that we can’t spend long cold winter nights watching horror movies, right? One thing that horror movies usually excel at is getting that blood pumping, there’s a cold of living crisis affecting the world at the minute so forget about putting the central heating on and just watch horror movies – the blood pressure will provide all the warmth you could ever require.

Speak No Evil was suggested to me by an author friend. He promised it would scare the living shit out of me and that the ending was like nothing he’d ever seen before. It’s a a Danish domestic horror from writer and director, Christian Tafdrup. It’s a story about a family who becomes acquainted with some new friends whilst abroad. They hit it off and they have a son the same age as their daughter. It’s all a bit too perfect so when they’re invited to come to stay with them, they finally decide why not? What could possibly go wrong?

It really batters home the idea that confrontation is a dish most people don’t wish to eat from. It’s uncomfortable, tastes bitter, and can change the dynamics of relationships beyond repair. British culture is entombed in the idea that we must always be polite. What’s a bit of confrontation if it keeps you and your family safe?


SYNOPSIS

On a vacation in Toscana, a Danish family instantly becomes friends with a Dutch family. Months later, the Danish couple receives an unexpected invitation. It doesn't take long before the joy of reunion is replaced with misunderstandings.


Never speak to strangers isn’t that what every child is taught growing up? It’s a real shame that adults in horror movies fail to remember that early lesson. Bjorn and his wife, Louise meet new friends in Tuscany, they hit it off and they decide to take their invitation to stay with them. They bring their daughter, Agnes so that she can play with their son, Abel. He is unable to communicate verbally due to a congenital condition in which he was born without a tongue. They travel to the Netherlands to the remote home in the woods. The atmosphere and the musical score are leading you down a deserted path with nothing at the end but watching eyes and suspicious behaviour.

Their hosts, Patrick and Karin initially seem like friendly, amiable hosts. It’s just the little things that have Bjorn and Louise puzzled and concerned. Patrick pushes Louise to eat meat, knowing full well she’s a vegetarian, the way he pulls Abel off the slide to let Agnes have a shot. It’s not the actions of a loving father or a good host. He pushes through the couple’s boundaries with no consideration for their feelings.

So here I am going to address the first thing that kind of boiled my piss. Patrick and Karin took the couple out for dinner and drinks. Sounds like a nice thing to do for your guests that have never experienced the country’s cuisine, right? The first major red flag for me was the fact that they’d organised a babysitter for their child without consulting them. I think I’d have most definitely put my foot down at that. They didn’t know who this person was, or what their experience with children was like, they knew nothing about him and yet acquiesced. The cherry on top was when Patrick drove them home – drunk. NOPE, nope and nope.

So eventually the mother, Louise decides it’s time to leave after discovering her daughter in bed with the couple. It’s a step too far for her – I mean really it was a step too far at the first step when discovering how they speak to their son…but I guess I digress. They pack up their stuff and leave but they need to return as Agnes has discovered that she’s left her toy rabbit behind. I’m all for being attached to stuff but at this point, I was nearly shouting at the tv ‘and fucking turn back – tell her you’ll buy the biggest stuffed rabbit in the world. Do not go back!’ of course, they went back.

The third act of the story is really where it takes off. The music, the creepy sense of dread, and the discovery made by Bjorn eviscerates the view that this was a kindly invitation extended between two couples. The ending left me feeling numb and angry at the parents especially their refusal to spot and act upon red flags.

Although played to a different tune, Patrick and Karin are intelligent serial killers. They develop unique ways of luring in their victims, but they like to play with their psyche first, making them question reality before it’s too late to act upon it. A game of cat and mouse. Little Abel was the hook. Without the child, their actions would be more detectable but with Abel, they just appeared like a family that has its struggles, like all of us. Abel was their smokescreen and the ultimate destruction of Bjorn and his family.

One line that truly foreshadows the future is ‘That’s very heroic of you.’ Spoke by Patrick when referring to Bjorn coming back for his daughter’s rabbit – that should have been a signifier of what was to come. Why would returning for a rabbit be heroic? So many undertones to the constant conflict with Bjorn between heroism and cowardice. Politeness and the unwillingness to be confrontational about some of their host’s actions play a central role. When he finally stands up for what he believes in, it’s much too late, any boundaries they’d had previously have been well and truly trampled.

Hi there, I’m Yvonne. Book Reviewer/ General all-round Nerd
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Well, what can i say about me? I’m a 32 year old married woman and mum to 3 crazy boys, aged 12,5 and 3. My eldest has a genetic condition that causes a visual impairment so as you can imagine life can be very chaotic and provides many challenges along the way but I would 100% never change any of them. They fulfil my life beyond measure.
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I Adore Books – I adore shouting about books! I’m a reviewer of all genres, whether that be Epic Fantasy, Gothic Horror, a historical romance or a race-to-the-end thriller. I will read them all.