Monster Scholar

A long time  ago I covered disturbing twilight merchandise , but I knew it was only a matter of time until someone walked into an ink shop and asked for a tat of the Cullen family crest. It's just so gangsta. Here is just a sampling of some of the most terribly awesome Twilight tattoos. Going for realism, this person got a tat of Robert Pattinson's signature. It's never a good idea to have the word "stupid" etched on your skin for life. Some Twilight tats are just poorly executed. I recognize the chess piece and the ribbon, but is that a puzzle piece in the back?  This Twilight mom wears her fandom on her sleeve...uh I mean back. Her grandkids must be so proud.  The Cullen crest as a tramp stamp. I have no words. I am just praying that this guy's name is Cullen.  Umm I don't think that's Robert Pattinson. With that hairdo he looks more like Cameron Diaz from There's Something about Mary. Or he could be one of the Hardy Boys.  Edward'

Earlier tonight, I had the chance to get cozy with Mikita Brottman’s essay “Mondo Horror: Carnivalizing the Taboo” in Prince’s anthology The Horror Film . In it, Brottman discusses the place of mondo films like the well-known Death Faces, which show scenes of real life horror—grainy footage of assassinations, bloody crime scenes, horrific accidents and other material deemed too disturbing for television—accompanied by documentary style narration. These films are definitely on the fringes of the horror film industry and have always intrigued me as a fan of the genre. It was this interest in the reality of the mondo film that drew me to the horror documentary S&MAN or Sandman that documents filmmaker J.T. Petty’s search for a real snuff film. J.T. Petty takes us along for the ride as he shoots a documentary for HDNET. When his idea to interview a Peeping Tom from his old neighborhood flops, he takes the question of voyeurism and turns to the underground horror film industry as he

It’s been awhile since I felt like giving a film a standing ovation, but the mastery of a film like Black Swan makes me want to do just that. Black Swan just hits so many of the right notes. A solid story, some genuinely creepy scares and a forceful finale give this behind the scenes revision of the ballet classic Swan Lake some serious bite. Black Swan stars Natalie Portman as a fresh-faced ballerina who is chosen to play the Swan Queen in her company’s winter production of Swan Lake. Though Nina is a natural as the innocent and guileless Swan Queen, she discovers she must also play her nemesis, the seductive and cunning Black Swan who seduces the Swan Queen’s prince and drives her to suicide. The film is the story of Nina’s terrifying journey to embody both roles. Black Swan has been called a psychosexual thriller for good reason and the film’s sexual tension goes hand in hand with Nina’s creative tension. Under her mother’s strict eye, she works hard to be the perfect dancer he

 Cabin Fever 2 (2009)  Cabin Fever (2002)  Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)  Bloody Moon (1981)  Comtesse Noire (?) Meat Grinder (2009)

I found this and had to share. Bad horror films: The gift that keeps on giving.

I had to resist the urge to name this post Snore-ian Gray or Bore-ian Gray, but this film, by any other name, would be as bad. With agonizingly slow pacing, poor dialogue and an utter lack of tension Dorian Gray falls far short of its literary and filmic predecessors. Dorian Gray is the story of a young man who has is portrait taken by artist Basil Howard. Under the influence of Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian comes to embrace the “art for art’s sake” aesthetic lifestyle that preaches sensation over morality. When confronted with his beautiful portrait he wishes that he will remain always beautiful while his portrait bears the brunt of time and sin. In Oscar Wilde’s version, Dorian indulges in a life of hidden debauchery causing his portrait to age and decay until Basil discovers Dorian’s secret and Dorian murders him. It ends with a cataclysmic showdown between Dorian and his painted soul. In this film, Ben Barnes strikes a less than compelling caricature of the eternally beautiful you