Evil Retribution

Well, here's the trailer for the newest installment of the Resident Evil franchise. This is what, number 5? 6? Well, I've watched the first four now, and while getting sillier with each new movie, I've enjoyed it more and more. Resident Evil: Retribution 3D seems to be a return to the mythology's roots, including some characters from the first opus. I don't think no one really expects much from this, so let's hope it'll be so bad it becomes good. Check it out below.

Red Riding Hood Revisited

After the zombies in I'll See You In My Dreams, Portuguese metal band Moonspell return to horror with this "Lycanthrope," the new video for their latest CD. Check it out below. I'm sure I will be back to the Moonspell theme soon enough.

Morning Upper

Some women with PMS...

Take your kids to vomit

I just love this kind of stuff. Just take a good look at the above poster of the film Mark of the Devil. Rated "V" for extreme violence, so gruesome everyone is expected to vomit during the session. So far so good, sounds like a flick I'd love to watch. But what's that? "All ages admitted"??? Whoa. How's that for incongruity? Cute.

Pets are for life

After too many years I finally managed to read Stephen King's Pet Sematary, the story about a family that first loses their pet cat, and then their younger son, both hit by trucks on a busy road.

("Honey, did you put the cat out? It fuckin smells in here!")

I had watched Mary Lambert's movie many years ago, when it premiered, in 1989, but, as always, watching the movie and reading the original story is never the same thing. On top of that, more than 20 years between each experience make a very big difference. I am a fahter now, and that fact made King's narrative a whole lot more powerful. I cannot even begin to imagine what it would be like to lose a son, the extremes a parent would go to try and get him back, but Stephen King was very near that feeling, for this was somewhat based on a true story, up till the moment whan he rescued his own son from being ran over by a truck. Feelings apart, Pet Sematary is a very powerful book, where King uses his mastery as a storyteller to keep us turning pages all through the night. Too bad the ending is very weak, although it was typical of King during this 80s and 90s period, when it looked like the author suddenly thought the book was way too big and it was time to finish it. That gave us some Deus ex machina endings, like the present book's, and most notably the one in Needful Things, where literally something comes out of the sky...

("Praise the Lord, I did it again, another shitty ending!")

But nevermind the ending. It's a great read, one of King's best books.
On another note, I wouldn't be myself if I didn't bring you some strange thing for your viewing pleasure. While I was searching for the cover of the book, I came across this demented piece of Claymation based on Pet Sematary. Aptly called Postman Pat's Pet Sematary, it's a gory and very funny short, that will keep you entertained for two odd minutes. Mind the gore and the language, for it's very NSFW. Enjoy :)

Cthulhu Master

On the 75th anniversary of H. P. Lovecraft's passing (a week ago, I know, but it's never too late), I leave you a link for a text by the famous author Ramsey Campbell about the master of horror. Like I said before, why try to pay homage to someone when better words have already been written?

Morning Upper

Shitload of dementia

Right. The above movie poster is a parody, as I'm sure you've noticed. No matter how demented you may consider a good zombie romp, master Romero never got to those extremes. Now, what if I told you that someone else got to those shitty extremes, pun very much intended? Hailing from good old Japan comes Zombie Ass - Toilet of the Dead, a big pile of (literally) steamy excrements, gore and unlimited laughs. Directed by Noboru Iguchi, it premiered in Fantastic Film Fest festival, in Texas, USA, in 2011. From the looks of the trailer it's a tongue very firmly in cheek incursion in the zombie lore, guaranteed to make us sick with laughter. Why don't you go check the official website, full of information about the film, the cast, and the crew, and with a fun game of smack the shitty zombie. Too bad it's in Japanese, but what the heck, you'll have fun. Further down you can watch the trailer. Once again, too bad it's in Japanese, not only because of the language, but also because of the censorship. Keep your eyes out for the DVD edition.

How to perk up your LEGO(r)

If you are into model building and LEGO, and want some good ideas about how to customize your minifigures and/or models, The Brothers Brick are currently posting a series of tips on how to do it at home. This link will lead you to the first post on the series. Be warned though, if you're a purist, you may be in for some shocking sights.

(image: Light Tent Test, by JasBrick)

Morning Upper

Fevereiro - Mês Horrível

E não é só por estar "um frio do cu da Sibéria", como diriam os Gato Fedorento.
O mundo cultural não gira apenas em torno de Lisboa e Porto, e prova disso é a iniciativa da Casa da Cultura - Bedeteca de Beja "Fevereiro - Mês Horrível."
A partir de hoje, 1 de fevereiro, até ao final do mês terá lugar em Beja uma série de atividades em torno do terror, mais centradas na BD, como seria de esperar, mas também com incursões no cinema, por exemplo. Podem visitar aqui a página do FaceBook da iniciativa, com a programação detalhada. Se puderem, não faltem.

Bats in the Belfry

Ora vamos a mais uma curta.
Bats in the Belfry foi a vencedora do Prémio MOTELx - Melhor Curta de Terror Portuguesa da edição de 2010 do MOTELx, Festival de Cinema de Terror de Lisboa.
Realizada, escrita e animada por João Alves, esta magnífica peça de animação narra a história de Deadeye Jack, que chega a uma pequena igreja em busca de sacos de dinheiro para gastar em jogo e miúdas. O problema é que lá dentro, nem tudo é celestial.
Com uma animação primorosa e uma história simples, mas cativante, Bats in the Belfry mostra que não é preciso ser um profissional para fazer grandes obras de cinema.
Destaque para o final, delicioso.

Bats in the Belfry from João Alves on Vimeo.

Coisas e coisas

Lembram-se de The Thing - Veio do Outro Mundo (1982), de John Carpenter? Gostaram?

Se sim, imagino que vão gostar deste conto de Peter Watts, intitulado "The Things." Trata-se do ponto de vista da "coisa" que surge na estação norueguesa e que é levada, inadvertidamente, para a estação americana na Antártida. Todos os que viram o filme sabem o desenlace, mas Watts consegue criar um enredo que nos prende e faz com que sintamos alguma compreensão para com a criatura. Mais não digo, mas talvez as coisas não sejam como parecem à primeira vista. Vão ler este excelente conto, disponível gratuitamente aqui.