#it's giving dracula makes it to the 1980s | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

alexhwriting · 5 months

Text

Vampire: The Masquerade and its place in vampire movie culture

This is a short essay I wrote for a survey class of Vampire films that I'm currently enrolled in with Dr. Shaviro at Wayne State. I enjoyed doing a dive into the book and some related films.

Vampire: The Masquerade: A Critical Analysis

“Enter freely and of your own free will” is the epigraph that starts the very first page of material for the 5th edition of World of Darkness’ Vampire: The Masquerade Table Top Role-Playing Game (TTRPG), referring itself back to that most famous of vampire fictions, Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel (Hite et al 33). The game that the book describes involves a group of players creating a character from one of several “clans,” or subtypes, of vampires in an exploration of the horror of losing one’s humanity in a contemporary world of darkness, which is described as, “like our world . . . [yet] a world with secrets, deep wells of darkness – and you can stumble into them if you follow the clues” (Hite et al. 33). Narrating the action falls to one of the players who assumes the role of Storyteller, who will perform the non-player characters (NPCs) and explain the challenges and outcomes of the player’s choices. As indicated by the epigraph, the game owes its themes and even core concept to the lineage of games that came before the publishing of its first edition in 1991. Unlike other vampire media though, which delves into more abstract questions of morality and addiction, Vampire: The Masquerade puts the player in the driver’s seat of the moral challenges vampirism offers its hosts.

Though “game” is included in the genre title, TTRPG, gives the impression of something being “won” by the end of the experience. Instead, Vampire: The Masquerade would be more properly described as a collaborative storytelling experience, or even small-scale theater. This is because, much like in vampire movies themselves, there are no real winners in the end. According to game designer Mark Rein-Hagen, though he avoided Anne Rice books while designing the game, the effect that her books have had on the vampire subgenre has brought her touch to the World of Darkness setting. As we see in the despairing lines of Louis nearing the end of Interview with a Vampire (1994), the vampire’s story is always enticing yet always full of tragedy and loss. This is something that Vampire: The Masquerade excels at communicating to its players.

When turning to the page of the massive Vampire tome marked “Character creation, a particular line jumps out, as it reiterates the frequent themes that vampire fiction takes as its own, “Vampireis a game about playing a fascinating monster: an anti-hero, an addict, a parasite with a soul about to plunge into darkness or rise towards the light” (Hite 134). The subsequent basis on which the game instructs the player to build their character is on relationships with other people, be those other player-characters, vampires, humans, or other things throughout the world (Hite 134). Between the kind of “fascinating monster” that the player takes the role of as well as the characters they have connections to, we see Vampire harkening back to older vampire stories. Most obviously, so obvious its almost cliché to mention, is the correlation this has with Dracula: a character who has immense wealth and power, both politically and supernaturally, yet still relies on the humans and thralls around him to bring him from Transylvania to England. Lars Konzack notes in his article, “Mark Rein•Hagen’s Foundational Influence on 21st Century Vampiric Media,” that during an interview with Vampire’s designer, Rein-Hagen, he said that the 1980s vampire movies played a large role in shaping the game as well (119). Specifically citing The Hunger (1983) as one of the influences makes for another ripe example of the ways that other people give the vampiric figure its meaning in both the game as well as in vampire media. We see in The Hunger that the vampires Miriam and John are reliant on the humans around them both for literal sustenance but also entertainment, as in the couple’s relationship with Alice, their music tutee, and John approaching Sarah to help with his rapid aging.

It is through the vampire’s engagement with other people that it receives its meaning. This is exemplified through the Convictions and Touchstones system of morality that Vampire gives its players. For each conviction, typically an “always/never” statement of action, the vampire character has a touchstone, a non-vampire in the game world, to remind them of their conviction (Hite 146). This kind of checking in with human characters when the vampire starts losing control can be seen repeated in the film the Addiction (1995), where the main character Kathy is often found returning to speak with one of her classmates that she refuses to feed on until their very last encounter. In Martin (1977) this trope shows itself as well, with the titular character frequently calling in to the radio station to share the feelings that weigh on him as he experiences limited life in his suburban environment. Finally, in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), though it comes out after the first edition of Vampire (1991), a similar relationship can be seen between Dracula and Mina that advances the plot of the entire film that’s centered around Dracula’s romantic pursuits. These struggles are all made possible, or at least more difficult, by the constant craving for blood that motivates the vampire’s actions.

Through these Touchstones, Convictions, and World of Darkness, players are able to get in the drivers’ seat of their very own vampire and feel what it would be like to live out that power fantasy, or destructive tragedy, that these creatures embody. Vampire: The Masquerade uses these familiar references to movies and popular vampire culture to make the game familiar in concept even with the variety of play and play styles that are inherent in a story told by a storyteller with their table of gaming friends.

Works Cited

Hite, Kenneth, et al. Vampire: The Masquerade. Renegade Game Studios, 2022.

Konzack, Lars. “Mark Rein•Hagen’s Foundational Influence on 21st Century Vampiric Media.” Academic Quarter, vol. 11, 2015, pp. 115–128.

Rein-Hagen, Mark. “I Am Mark Rein•Hagen, World Creator and Game Designer. AskmeAnything.” Reddit, 25 July 2014, www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2boyia/i_am_mark_reinhagen_world_creator_and_game/.

#vampire #vampire the masquerade #ttrpg #ttrpg community #film #horror #horror movies #vampire movies #class essay #grad research #grad student #graduate school #dracula

14 notes · View notes

bookgeekgrrl · 7 months

Text

My media this week (1-7 Oct 2023)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🙂 Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer's Guide to the Universe (Phil Plait, author & narrator) - The Bad Astronomer paints pictures of what the sky would look like standing on the surface of other planets, asteroids, etc.

😊 Initiation (Sex Wizards #1) (Alethea Faust) - erotic BDSM fantasy - actually a bit more plot & worldbuilding than I was expecting tbh, entertaining

😞 Miss Aldridge Regrets (Canary Club Mystery #1) (Louise Hare, author; Georgina Campbell, narrator) - This isn't a mystery the MC investigates, it's a mystery that happens TO her. She was tediously passive, seeming really rather naïve & foolish (esp given her age and life experience) and entirely in denial about pretty much everything that happens to her (since she's being actively framed for murder). However, the very short interval chapters from the killer's perspective did hook my interest and left me genuinely curious about the mystery. At about 44% I jumped to the end to see how the mystery resolved. I'm counting it as read since I did read over 50% of it.

😍 A Most Agreeable Murder (Julia Seales, author; Fiona Hampton, narrator) - comical pastiche/parody mashup of: Jane Austen (specifically), regency-set/gothic novels (in general) & Agatha Christie/country house mysteries - funny & entertaining, deftly done. Very Nightmare Abbey vibes in the absolute best way. I enjoyed all the caricature characters but 'overlooked tedious (but secretly a [redacted]) sister' Mary was my fave, absolute gothic queen

💖💖 +94K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

I'm dating the least inquisitive man in Ottawa (GlitterCity) - Rachel Reid's Game Changers: Troy Barrett/Harris Drover (but really mostly gen), 4K - cute, really nailed the character voices

Tinder Is the Night (rohkeutta) - MCU: stucky, 6K - hilarious, forever fave [reread]

Stay (fandomfluffandfuck) - MCU: stucky, 31K - silver fox/old guard Dom Steve subbing for newbie Dom Bucky - great character voices, hot af sex!

bitten hand guides best (frankoceansmoonriver) - The Witcher: Geraskier, 33K - lovely little fic with werewolf!Jaskier & witcher Geralt

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Make Some Noise - s2, e1

Dirty Laundry - s3, e2

Only Murders In The Building - s3, e10

Deadloch - s1, e1-8

Our Flag Means Death - s2, e1-3

D20: Burrow's End - "The Red Warren" (s20, e1)

D20: Adventuring Party - "Stoatal Recall" (s15, e1)

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Re: Dracula - October 1: Not My Own Master In The Matter

Welcome to Night Vale #235 - Book Club

What Next: TBD - Inside Crypto's House of Cards

Re: Dracula - October 2: Play for the Stake of Human Souls

⭐ The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Searching for Squids with Dr. Sarah McAnulty

Ed Zitron's 15 Minutes In Hell - Episode 9 - David Roth

Re: Dracula - October 3: The Holiest Love

Into It - Tech Bros Laid the Foundation, but Women Built Social Media

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Enchanted Woods

Switched on Pop - In Defense of Crunk

Re: Dracula - October 4: It Is Like Death

Vibe Check - Freedom, Cut Me Loose!

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Baobab Fare

⭐ Shedunnit - Agatha and Plum

Twenty Thousand Hertz+ - Wilhelm Scream Remix

⭐ Song Exploder - Alvvays "Archie, Marry Me"

Re: Dracula - October 5: Baptism of Blood

Today, Explained - Caste away

Re: Dracula - October 6: My Affairs of Earth

Dear Prudence - My Girlfriend Is Always Late! Help!

Endless Thread - Find A Grave: Social Media Icon

Into It - Are Bed Bugs and Katy Perry Out for Blood?

Today, Explained - Who shot ya, Tupac?

Switched on Pop - Metro Boomin Wants Some More

ICYMI - Stop Snitching on Main

⭐ One Year - 1955: The Hiroshima Maidens

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Troubadours From the Tribe

Alternative Radio • 2000s

Foundations of Metal

Rob Zombie Radio • 2000s • Familiar

Metal Radio • 1980s

Manowar Radio

"Give It Away" [RHCP] Radio • Familiar

Stand And Deliver: The Very Best of Adam & The Ants {1999}

10 notes · View notes

jellogram · 2 years

Text

Cool Examples of Art Forms You Might Think Are Boring

Here's a handful of remarkable works of art forms with a reputation for being boring, stuffy, or inaccessible. These are pieces that I think give a decent introduction to the art form, showcase some interesting benefits of it, and/or that might appeal to people who have previously shrugged or turned up their nose at the genre. I was disinterested in these genres until I was blessed with enough college elective credits to delve deeper into them so here are some curated selections, almost all of them are on YouTube and the opera and ballet clips are mostly under 5 minutes. Have a look around, check out whatever sounds interesting, and feel free to link to more examples.

Silent Films

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: German expressionist horror from 1920. Very stylistically driven and massively influential. The sets alone are worth the watching, and it's essential viewing for any horror fan.

Nosferatu: Another classic horror film, very on-season for Dracula Daily readers. This and the Caligari version above are both updated to have English captions built in.

Le Voyage dans la Lune: Short film from 1902 by Georges Méliès. Méliès is widely known for being arguably the first special effects artist, and this is pretty well agreed upon as the first sci fi movie. If the first part bores you, at least check out the moon set.

The Adventures of Prince Achmed: This 1926 film is the oldest surviving feature length animated film (65 minutes) and it's absolutely stunning. It's created with silhouetted paper cut outs and took three years to make. Vimeo.

Metropolis: This one might be too long for silent film novices at 2.5 hours, but it needs at least a mention. Most lists have this film as their number one silent movie and it's not for no reason.

The Passion of Joan of Arc: This film is mostly known for its groundbreaking use of close-ups and facial expressions. I can't find a good quality version with English subtitles (let me know if you have one) so here's a short clip to show off those camera angles.

Opera

L'incoronazione di Poppea: If you want to get more into opera, why not start with a clip from an opera by the man usually credited with inventing opera. Beautiful piece of music that demonstrates the early days of the art form and a great example of a countertenor (male soprano). The singers also do an excellent job portraying how weird and messed up this relationship actually is.

Salome: To fulfill your "woman covered in blood" needs.

Sellars' Don Giovanni: A 1990 version of Mozart's 1787 masterpiece set in the 1980s in Harlem. A neat take on my personal favorite opera. The rest of the opera is available in segments on Youtube.

Cinderella: A campy 1981 version of a very catchy melody from Rossini.

Wozzeck: I have never seen a version of this that wasn't batshit insane and that's how it should be. This is a later opera from the 1920s that is meant to be atonal and bizarre. It's avant-garde, a little disturbing, and very expressionist. This is a clip from a 2016 version.

The Magic Flute Animation: More Mozart! The first three videos in this playlist are from an animated (and heavily shortened) English version of the Magic Flute. A great way to experience the story and some of the music without watching a whole opera.

The Night Queen Aria: which is from the Magic Flute. If you've only heard one aria, it's probably this one. This is, in my opinion, the best version.

Ballet

Alice in Wonderland: A clip of the tap-based Mad Tea Party scene, featuring great costumes. This performance has a lot of really neat scenes, and I'd also recommend the Middle Eastern-inspired Caterpillar scene (I mean just look at this man move).

Swan Lake coda: These two can fly. A great clip of a famous coda that demonstrates just how superhuman these dancers need to be.

Mr. Jeremy Fisher: This is the frog ballet that you've definitely seen gifs of on tumblr. I can't find the whole thing, but here's a 5 minute clip that also shows off that beautiful set.

Frankenstein: I never knew I needed this but I love it. This clip is more acting than dancing, so here's another that shows off some ballet skills.

Don Quixote: I just love the joy in this scene, and those floaty skirts are amazing. Also someone gets slapped by a fish.

Edward Scissorhands: Another interesting adaption choice. Watch the way they have to dance so that the scissors never touch her skin, that is highly unnatural for a duet and must have been very difficult to choreograph.

If there's another art form you think people should give a second look, let me know!

#this took crazy long to collect lol #I found so much good stuff once I started digging I could make five more of these #films #film history #movies #horror #opera #music #ballet #dance #performance #art #culture #royal opera house #metropolitan opera #silent films #dracula

65 notes · View notes

thedepartmentofdiscoveries · 1 year

Text

Jiang-Shi from the 1985 Hong Kong Action Comedy "Mr. Vampire" directed by Ricky Lau.

"If you meet a vampire, don't breathe." This is the sage advice that Master Kau, the Taoist priest played by Lam Ching-ying, gives to his bumbling apprentices, Man-choi (Ricky Hui) and Chau-sang (Chin Siu-ho), in the 1985 Hong Kong action comedy "Mr. Vampire."

Forget everything you know about bloodsuckers; the undead specimens in "Mr. Vampire" are breath-suckers. They have a very deliberate way of hopping with their arms stretched out in front of them, legs also stiff and straight from rigor mortis. In Chinese, these zombie-like revenants are known as the jiangshi; in Japanese, it's kyonshi, while in English, they're sometimes referred to as "Chinese hopping vampires."

Stirred up by the disinterment of a parent who was buried with bad feng shui, the jiangshi of "Mr. Vampire" are a comedic answer to the unsettled ghosts of subsequent Asian horror films like "Ringu" and "The Eye." They're the reanimated corpses of people who died "with grievances or stress," suffocating to death yet holding one last breath in their throat, which enables them to come back and prolong their existence by sinking their sharp blue nails into humans and sucking the breath out of them.

At a certain point, the tropes of Western vampire films lose their power and become cliches we've all seen done to death on celluloid. If you enjoyed the Asian zom-com flavor of "One Cut of the Dead" and are looking for something a little more off the beaten film path, "Mr. Vampire" draws from Chinese folklore to offer a fresh, hilarious take on vampires, one that jumpstarted a whole franchise and jiangshi genre, complete with four sequels and an 8-bit Nintendo video game ("Reigen Doushi," which became "Phantom Fighter" in the U.S.)

Directed by Ricky Lau, "Mr. Vampire" found a way to uproot the undead from European folklore and Eurocentric cinema and make them work within the context of Eastern religions and Asian cultures. How do you make bloodsuckers scary and/or funny for audiences with a background in reincarnation traditions, ancestor worship, and hungry ghosts? For a Buddhist or Taoist, death and rebirth (or "undeath") would be part of a natural cycle, and for a Shintoist, a vampire might elicit sympathy as a tragic figure, trapped between worlds like the spirit of a family member who couldn't find their way back down the lantern river to heaven.

This goes back to Richard Matheson's idea of vampires not fearing crosses if they weren't Christian in life. Drawing from legends known and recognized by other names across East Asia, "Mr. Vampire" and its jiangshi enjoyed further regional popularity outside Hong Kong. Taiwan quickly followed suit with its own kid-friendly hopping vampire film "Hello Dracula," and Japan embraced both movies, making "Mr. Vampire" board games and televising "Hello Dracula" as a popular miniseries, "Yugen Doshi Kyonshizu."

In his essay, "Enter the Dracula: The Silent Screams and Cultural Crossroads of Japanese and Hong Kong Cinema" (collected in the book "Dracula, Vampires, and Other Undead Forms," edited by Caroline Joan Picart and John Edgar Browning), Wayne Stein wrote of how kids in Asia "found themselves with a new likeness to imitate by copying the hopping movements of these zany vampires," the jiangshi. I can confirm that my own spouse and her classmates were among those kids. To them, the hopping vampires of the 1980s were as much fun to emulate as the dancing zombies of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" music video.

To appreciate the full significance of "Mr. Vampire" and its unprecedented local popularity as a homegrown Asian vampire movie, it's helpful to understand that it was not the first eastward voyage of the Demeter, so to speak. An early attempt at combining vampires with martial arts came in 1974 with "The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires," which marked Peter Cushing's final outing as a vampire hunter (and now, guest lecturer in China) Van Helsing in Hammer Horror's Dracula series. The film was an international co-production between Hammer and Hong Kong's biggest production company, Shaw Brothers Studio, which was ready to capitalize on the kung fu success of the late Bruce Lee, whose posthumous hit, "Enter the Dragon," had overtaken theaters the year before.

"The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires" proved to be a financial failure, perhaps in part because — beneath the foreign-market masquerade — its inner workings were still Western and imperialist. At the time, Hong Kong was a crown colony, and the film's opening scene sees Kah (Chan Shen), the Chinese "High Priest of the 7 Golden Vampires," kneel before the very British Dracula (John Forbes-Robertson), asking for his help back home. Dracula tells his "minion" that he doesn't roll like that; he then proceeds to spell out in no uncertain terms how he plans to appropriate Kah's culture. "I need your vile image," he says. "I will take on your mantle, your appearance."

Before the title card comes up, Dracula turns Chinese, using Kah as his host body, cackling at how "beneath the image, the immortal power of Count Dracula" still lurks. "The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires" wore the cape of a Hong Kong vampire film, but "Mr. Vampire" tossed the cape in favor of authentic Chinese burial clothes.

"Mr. Vampire" imparts useful skills for what to do when you're beset by hopping vampires. Forget holy water; you need sticky rice to deal with these things. Just make sure local merchants aren't cheating you by mixing in long-grain rice with the sticky rice. That will render it less effective in preventing the "vampirification" of friends who are wounded and poisoned in the acrobatic scuffle with hopping vampires.

One surefire method of stopping a hopping vampire is to pin a Taoist talisman to its forehead. They can even be controlled and sicced on other vampires this way. Be careful not to sneeze, as this could blow the talisman off, and then you'll be s*** out of luck, as the French say.

If you yourself begin turning into a stiff-legged hopping vampire, keep active! Dance it out the way you would if you suspected you had restless leg syndrome but had never been officially diagnosed.

Mirrors, as we see in "Mr. Vampire," do repel the jiangshi, more forcefully than their Western counterparts even, so you've got that going for you, at least, if you've been weaned on the rules of Western vampire films. It is possible to plug up the nostrils of hopping vampires so they lose the scent of your breathing.

A separate peril of places in the countryside overrun by hopping vampires is the possibility of ghosts with the face of "Pauline" Wong Siu-fung enchanting you and leaving you with "love bites." As vampire attacks mount, the last resort is to try warding them off with raw poultry, saying, "Big brother, eat the chicken!" Good luck, and remember the most important rule of vampire hunting: just have fun with it.

Read More: https://www.slashfilm.com/976576/year-of-the-vampire-hold-your-breath-for-the-hopping-undead-in-mr-vampire/

16 notes · View notes

monstershearts · 2 years

Note

👄 (from Elliot to Dracula; Mxrvelouscreations)

Smooch my muses | @mxrvelouscreations

By now, Vlad was more than used to kissing people he didn’t know, be it just for fun at some party he didn’t really want to be at, or for the purposes of luring in prey. This case was more of the former, something he’d gotten roped into while trying to blend in with the local college crowd. He was bored. Keg parties were always incredibly boring nowadays; they’d lost their novelty for him sometime in the 1980’s. When one of the humans, Elliot if memory served, finally approached him, Vlad’s mood improved greatly. He smirked, prying into the young man’s mind just to see what might be going on up there. Attraction hidden behind fear and an overwhelming shyness. Vlad could work with that.

“I was wondering when you might make a move,” he flirted, keeping up the façade of a cocky American college student. “We’ve sort of been dancing around each other all night. I almost thought I’d have to try and pry you away from the main party in order to see if the attraction was mutual. Although that can still be arranged if you want to have some real fun.” To prove his point and give Elliot a taste of what he’d be in for, Vlad leaned up and planted a kiss on the man’s lips. “What do you say?”

#🩸 renegade in survival mode 🩸 v; modern #🩸 the blood is the life 🩸 c; dracula #mxrvelouscreations #yes he’s absolutely going for another degree I just need to figure out which one lol

4 notes · View notes

frankendykes-monster · 1 year

Text

Halloween 2022 Countdown Ranked

59. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)

58. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1995)

57. Curse of The Swamp Creature (1968)

56. Monster From The Ocean Floor (1954)

55. Billy the Kid versus Dracula (1966)

54. Teenage Cave Man (1958)

53. Lost Continent (1951)

52. Attack of The Killer B-Movies (1995)

51. Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)

50. Jesse James meets Frankenstein’s Daughter (1966)

49. Full Moon High (1981)

48. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)

47. The Werewolf of Washington (1973)

46. The Invisible Man’s Revenge (1944)

45. The Invisible Woman (1940)

44. Anthropophagous (1980)

43. The Slime People (1963)

42. Casper’s Halloween Special (1979)

41. The Crawling Hand (1963)

40. Scream (2022)

39. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

38. Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990)

37. Invisible Agent (1942)

36. The Descent (2005)

35. Eegah (1962)

34. Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)

33. The Midnight Hour (1985)

32. Ringu (1998)

31. Halloween is Grinch Night (1977)

30. Attack of The Giant Leeches (1959)

29. Monster Mash (2000)

28. Bloodz vs. Wolvez (2006)

27. The Man From Planet X (1951)

26. Child’s Play 3 (1991)

25. Hansel and Gretel (1983)

24. Cat-Women of The Moon (1953)

23. Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971)

22. The She-Creature (1956)

21. The Terror (1963)

20. The Exorcist (1973)

19. The Navy vs. The Night Monsters (1966)

18. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

17. The Halloween That Almost Wasn’t (1979)

16. Hobgoblins (1988)

15. Die, Monster, Die! (1965)

14. The Abomination (1986)

13. The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)

12. Lake Mungo (2008)

11. Day of The Animals (1977)

10. Atom Age Vampire (1960)

9. The Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters (1972)

8. Night of The Blood Beast (1958)

7. Child’s Play 2 (1990)

6. The Crawling Eye (1958)

5. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

4. The Old Dark House (1932)

3. Child’s Play (1988)

2. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)

1. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

God this was such a bottom-heavy marathon compared to last year, alright let’s get this shitshow started. I can’t believe I willingly put myself through some of this.

The 1950′s-1960′s science fiction extravaganza: Curse of The Swamp Creature is, I think, one of those TV remakes of 1950′s films starring monsters designed by Paul Blaisdell. This is one where I thought “okay should I give it credit for making me laugh in the first 30 seconds and then not once for the entire rest of the runtime?” The answer was no. Monster From The Ocean Floor is a dreary slog of a film, one of those cheap shits that only features the titular monster for all of 30 seconds while people just aimlessly do nothing for the entire runtime. Teenage Cave Man I only watched because the monster suit from this film was reused in Night of The Blood Beast, and otherwise it’s Ayn Rand wet dream of the freethinking teenager being magically smarter than everyone else on top of the offense of being a caveman movie with no dinosaurs. God, speaking of which, Lost Continent is another Lost World ripoff that’s decades behind the curve and who’s only saving grace is stop motion dinosaurs which magically improve any movie they star in. The Slime People is an oddity because the monster suits and concept are star studded but it just, I guess, doesn’t have the money to see through actually showing us slime people emerge from underground and completely take over Los Angeles. Weird and disappointing. The Crawling Hand has one of the best trailers for any monster movie I’ve seen complete with a slowed down version of “Surfin’ Bird” but aside from some humorous spouts of bad acting and the 100% out-of-nowhere gag ending, it’s nothing remarkable. Admittedly there has been a couple films about disembodied hands killing people and I can’t find the concept scary no matter what, sue me. Attack of The Giant Leeches is in decent/mid-tier territory, boosted by reusing music from Night of The Blood Beast (Roger Corman lives up to his cheap reputation) and genuinely gruesome scenes of the leeches’ human victims still being alive after progressively blood feedings, it mostly loses me for just not doing anything remarkable with its finale. The Man From Planet X is working with a pretty stock script but is boosted by how atmospheric its directing is, every shot is just littered with shadows or fog. Cat-Women of The Moon is definitely one of the more humorous genre outings I’ve seen of this type, living up to its title 100% other than I guess having long nails and sharp eyeliner making you a “cat” woman I guess. The She-Creature isn’t the best Paul Blaisdell monster movie I’ve seen but that’s expected given his work crops up in some really interesting ones, this one being a murder mystery involving both hypnosis and prehistoric evolutionary links somehow. The Navy vs. The Night Monsters is like a better version of The Thing From Another World what with an indeterminate number of US army guys having to deal with a monster(s) at their fort and their progressively more extreme methods of having to deal with it. Atom Age Vampire is one of the funniest films I’ve seen in a *while*, an Italian knockoff of Eyes Without A Face that hits all the same plot points just far more crudely and with a manster (man-monster) thrown in to boot. Watch the English edit for full effect. Night of The Blood Beast is one I was excited to revisit and it did not disappoint, being one of the definitive genre precursors to Alien (1979) and just an all-around shock to the senses in general with how isolated the cast can be and what they have to be put up against. The star of the show is The Crawling Eye however, a genuinely insane film that actually got under my skin with this viewing with the sound design, effects work, and some really gorey moments like flesh being desolved or multiple decapitations. As far as alien invasion films of the 1950′s go, this is definitely up there.

We have a pair of oddity western-horror mashups between, uh, actual people and fictional characters with Billy the Kid versus Dracula and Jesse James meets Frankenstein’s Daughter. Only thing of note with the former is that John Carradine reprises the role of Dracula after playing the character in House of Frankenstein (1944) and House of Dracula (1945). Carradine was one of the most prolific actors in the history of the medium so it’s not surprising to see him crop up here and there without expecting him, but suffice to say he brings nothing to the role and just blends in with the rest of the drab film. Jesse James meets Frankenstein’s Daughter gets extra points solely for featuring the creation of an awkward and haphazard Frankenstein monster, which is generally the only reason to seek out random odds-and-ends Frankenstein movies.

Full Moon High is another Larry Cohen film that looks good on paper but I don’t really find myself enjoying at all. As a comedy there are a decent number of funny lines (”I’m not one of those types to believe in vampires and werewolves and virgins, I’ve never seen any of those.“) but it almost forgets it’s a werewolf movie for a lot of the runtime as the main plot involves how being a werewolf prevents you from aging and blah blah blah I can’t be bothered to care when you present something I didn’t come here to see (1950′s football player returns to his school in the 1980′s to find it littered with violence and drug use). The Werewolf of Washington is similarly dreary experience that only exists to present lackluster post-Watergate political satire.

Oh how the mighty have fallen; I made an attempt at finishing out The Invisible Man series but couldn’t even bring myself to watch the dedicated Abbott/Costello film. Truly the worst Universal sequels barring whatever happened with The Mummy. The Invisible Woman and Invisible Agent are a full-on comedy and action-adventure film respectively, so in some way I feel cheated for how they’re consistently lumped in with the rest of the series as a whole, which are to say, horror (beyond not doing anything that hadn’t been shown to us in the first two installments). The Invisible Man’s Revenge makes an attempt at trying to get the series back on track but all it does is make me realize I could just be watching the first two films.

Anthropophagous has been one I’ve been curious about for years, mostly because the poster is a really gristly shot of a guy eating human entrails, and while I *guess* that does feature in this film it’s just another slog to get through with no interesting characters, locations, or plot beats to string you along. Avoid.

Scream 5 exists for no reason other than to drop the entire series’ GPA. It’s the entry wherein the genre commentary overshadows everything else to the detriment of this being the first Scream film where I can’t be bothered to care about any of the returning characters. I wrote extensively about this one in my Letterboxd review so I’m only going to touch on some finer points here. Scream (1996) is allowed to reference I Spit On Your Grave (1978) because the former is better, this one is not allowed to make snide remarks about The Witch (2015), I’m not having it. If you’re desperate for a creative shot to the arm that is a grand return after an 11 year absence, just watch Scream 4 (2011).

The Descent was borderline funny to me in the sense that my reaction to so much of what the characters are put through is “shit I would just die, what else is there to do?” I mentally tuned out when the film switched from “being trapped in a claustrophobic cave system with no sense of direction” to “being hunted by underground monsters.” I usually scoff and roll my eyes at “oh my god it’s scarier because it could actually happen” but this is rare case where, yeah, being trapped underground with no way out is more terrifying before you add monsters to the mix.

Alright, brief “worst of the worst” roundup: Eegah, in spite of being one of the most notable MST3K punching bags, is not *that* bad. It peters out by the finale but there are enough funny moments and actually good stuff (Eegah talking to the corpses of family members in a proto Texas Chainsaw scene) to string you along for the better part of an hour. The Terror is a fascinating film for me, made solely because Roger Corman finished The Raven (1963) two days early and still had access to Boris Karloff. What we get is a bizarre and haphazard jumbling of horror cliches in a story that is almost bursting at the seams over how overwritten it is, but the making of this one is so interesting to me personally that I can’t bring myself to dislike it, even if Jack Nicholson never was good at “charismatic leading man” type thing before he settled on crazy motherfuckers. Hobgoblins was one I was surprised over how hilarious it was, another convoluted mess you can’t help but laugh at. The hobgoblins hypnotize people to let them live out their greatest fantasies albeit with some horrific twist, giving us some golden scene like a guy going to makeout point with an imaginary woman so the hobgoblins can push the car over the edge. Lordy lordy lordy.

1970′s role call: Dracula vs. Frankenstein continues the trend of awkward and frustrating messes, this one originally being an unrelated horror film that later had the two characters thrown in mid-production. What ensues is an unusually violent at times boring at others movie that I can’t help but derive at least some ironic enjoyment from. The untimely tragedy of this film is that this was the last role for Lon Chaney Jr. Bela Lugosi got stuck with Ed Wood, Karloff with Corman, and Chaney Jr. with Al Adamson. Chaney Jr. could have been a great actor if it wasn’t for the horror typecasting and seeing play just another bumbling grunt in this is almost painful. See also: somehow this film is also the final role for J. Carrol Naish, who played Daniel in House of Frankenstein (1944). Odd. Let’s Scare Jessica to Death just blends in to the larger genre trends of leaning more towards provocative material what with explicit concerns of mental illness in our protagonist and questions of reality around her, but aside from the soundtrack this one has already completely left my memory. The Exorcist isn’t *quite* the most overrated horror film out there, but it does surprise me that is one of the ones that escaped into the mainstream; it’s mostly middling for the first hour of its runtime before becoming a decent enough demon story. I will say I can’t for the life of me find the devil scary in this, “your mother sucks cocks in hell!” will always be funny to me, they’re like a Freddy/Chucky joke dispensing precursor. The Town That Dreaded Sundown, hoo boy, had this one had a more consistent tone dodging the comedy relief, it could have been an all-time great from this decade with an entire town plunged into despair over unsuccessful efforts to apprehend an anonymous serial killer. This one goes all out when it comes to the more suspenseful moments, making the gags all the more frustrating. Day of The Animals narrowly edges out being just another part of the glut of killer animal films in the wake of Jaws (1975), by just having everything out to kill people. In spite of its inherent ridiculousness I can’t not say it’s better produced and more oppressively intimidating than it has any right to be, almost reminds me of a version of the environment itself is trying to kill you a la backrooms.

Ringu kind of sets in that the late-1990′s-early-2000′s period of J-horror just isn’t for me compared to the likes of films we saw in the 1960′s and 1970′s. They tend to bleed together in my mind and Ringu is disappointing in that way. I will say I was surprised that we get a satisfactory explanation for the origin of the tape and that only the final scene exhibits the famous “crawling out of the television” moment, which somehow became the most memorable thing from this one.

Bloodz vs. Wolvez I’m going to defend on the basis that this could have been a genuinely solid effort, what with the concept of bougie black vampires trying to integrate into human (read: white) society but working class black werewolves are stuck in poverty and this class disparity is the driver of the conflict between the two groups. What holds this back, and of all the films I watched for this season, this one pains me the most to say it’s only average, is the fact that this may be one of the lowest budget films I have ever seen. Everything is restrained by the fact that this must have been over consecutive weekends on $100. Holding out for a remake that does this one justice.

Brief 1930′s aside: I’ve never seen any adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde prior to this year so any amount of expectation or set ideas on what should be done with the story escape me. Suffice to say this is an impressive one overall, with a lot of POV shots and split screen effects that I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a prior film. The 1931 film is another slow to start but when it gets going it unfolds into one of the most explosive finales to any 1930′s horror film (though admittedly I’m not sure what separates Mr. Hyde in this from your average London man but what have you). Oh yes, The Old Dark House. This is the ultimate “minimalist” horror film, using the absolute bare essentials it can to craft an uneasy atmosphere that dominates everything else. No supernatural phenomena, no body count, just extreme thunderstorms trapping everyone inside one dark house and them being forced to make it out with their minds intact. “This is an unlucky house, two of my children, died when they were 20, eh-he-he...” “Laughter and sin! Laughter and sin! This too will rot!”

Die, Monster, Die! is the rare pre-1980′s Lovecraft adaptation, very loosely taking from The Colour From Outer Space, and comes together thanks to starring roles by Karloff and Nick Adams along with going into some unusual territory concerning mutations that befit the subject matter. Slow to start but strong finish.

The Abomination is another one of those pushing-for-the-edge 1980′s obscurities that mostly exists to up the gore to previously unseen levels, and I can’t say it wasn’t successful, with practically an entire house being converted into an eldritch monstrosity that eats people piece by piece. It’s frankly disgusting at times but if you’re on the search for more of these have at it.

Out of all the bizarre mishmash that is the group of films that I decided to watch this year, Lake Mungo is the biggest outlier to the group. I’m not sure if I’d classify it as horror, it’s a piece of weird fiction that seems to escape genre. Unlike, it seems, pretty much everyone else, this one doesn’t really scare me at all, but I can’t help but be fascinated as the narrative ebbs back and forth in an emotional cacophony that leads to gut punches. I’m not entirely sure what to make of it, it could have gone anywhere in the ranking and I wouldn’t be wholly satisfied with its position, but I guess that’s why you can’t truly assign a number value to art.

I made an effort to try and make it through as many actual Halloween specials as I could this year in between the feature lengths. Attack of The Killer B-Movies sees Elvira and a bunch of teenage schmucks watch several low-tier 1950′s science fiction films that have been colorized, cut for time, and with new soundtracks, with MST3K gags strewn in between. It somehow makes these films worse, which is a monumental accomplishment in cases like with Monster From Green Hell (1957). Avoid unless you and some pals have to see everything Elvira. I’m not familiar with anything related to Casper prior to the 1995 film and the seemingly deluge of material featuring the character for the following decade, and Casper’s Halloween Special didn’t do anything to convince me to rectify that, blah. The Midnight Hour is one I was disappointed to return to, not nearly as insane as I recall it being. Functionally a proto-Hocus Pocus (1993) wherein a witch returns from the dead to curse an entire town, The Midnight Hour wants to be a zombie film, a party film, a romance, and about two other things but doesn’t meet the manic energy required to pull it off. An absolute must see is the musical number riffing on “Thriller” in the middle of this one, “Get Dead.” “I’m dead, you’re dying, everyone should try and get dead!” Halloween is Grinch Night is a fascinating watch just being an unyielding onslaught of color and sound that doesn’t know what a quiet moment is, the oft mentioned “weird” Grinch scene makes perfect sense in context however, not sure what everyone was on about with that. Monster Mash is an adorable enough fist-shaking, involving Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and The Wolf Man being forced to assert that they’re still scary in spite of being sell-outs in a world of slashers. Best part is one of the monsters they’re up against is Freddy D. Spaghetti, who wears a pasta strainer in place of a hockey mask, love that dude. Hansel and Gretel is a retelling of the story by Tim Burton, and it makes for perfect background material at a party for its ambiance coming from the fact there are only like five characters existing on solid monochrome sets that have virtually no decorations. I’ve never cared for the story itself but the presentation here is hypnotizing. The Halloween That Almost Wasn’t is another cute and inoffensive one, with Dracula forced to call all the world’s monsters together to have a witch doing her scaring duties lest the holiday be cancelled all together. Ends on a disco party because it’s the 1970′s, fuck you. Nothing however can beat The Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters, a reprise/semi-sequel to Mad Monster Party? (1967), which I watched for last year’s countdown, and one that perfectly rights the wrongs of that misfire. The light plot concerns Dr. Frankenstein making a bride for the Monster and calling in the rest of the major terrors to come to the wedding, and it’s almost entirely a springboard for gags. The difference between this and Mad Monster Party? is that this is actually funny, whether it be the reining-in of some obvious Halloween gags (ha-ha the monsters want to eat roast black widows) or there being two human characters to counterbalance the monsters, one absolutely terrified of them and one who’s a major Universal fanboy. Just when you think the film is ending it turns 90 degrees into another direction with 10 more jokes on the way. “Oh I’ve made a terrible mistake, the bride is alternating current, and the groom is direct current!”

There isn't much going on in The Blair Witch Project so I can't comment on much, suffice to say this one has still got it, marketing campaign or no marketing campaign. Slowly becomes more and more claustrophobic until you get to that final shot of standing in the corner. It having been spoiled for me years prior doesn't at all change how effective it is in context.

Time constraints prohibited me from watching every Child’s Play film but I enjoyed my time with the first three entries. If anything surprised me about the first film it’s that it is a genuinely scary experience, the only one where Chucky is intimidating. The people saying that they could just drop kick him? Yeah, Chucky will fucking kill you. This is what A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) wishes it was. Child’s Play 2 does its services as a not-quite-as-good horror sequel but it’s strong continuity with the first and upping the stakes and scope make it a worthwhile watch. Child’s Play 3 is decent enough but can grow tiring over how much it forgets it’s a Child’s Play sequel and not a Full Metal Jacket (1987) parody. Too much of the run time is eaten up by shit that is inconsequential and yeah, not too bad compared to a LOT of slasher sequels but I can see where people are coming from when they say this is the weakest entry in the series.

If your body horror film doesn’t make me feel like the person having their flesh twisted, you failed. Industrial music. Stop motion editing. Semi-undead mechanical sex. Tetsuo: The Iron Man commands it all. If you turn your head for five seconds while watching this you will have missed the equivalency of a Lord of The Rings prequel’s volume of information and even then a lot of this indecipherable on every level. The beauty of practical effects is a lot of the time I genuinely couldn’t tell you how the effect is done, and Tetsuo does that seemingly every 10 minutes. I’ve come and gone with this film but make no mistake, everyone needs to see this. It will change you.

Alright, final stretch. There is no series in the history of film that has a wider gap in quality between entries as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Watching the majority of the series this year also ran the gamut of how good or how bad a movie in general can be. I did not rewatch 2 because I figured it would get better on a rewatch (I don’t care for it) and I didn’t bother with Leatherface (2017) because come on just look at it. Let’s begin: Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III is relatively inoffensive, I’d say I prefer it to 2. It’s ostensibly a mainstream studio remake of the first film and while there are great scenes found within, it’s major drawback is that I can’t “buy” any of it. At no point do I believe these people are a group of mass murderers, they’re actors playing mass murderers. This is an issue plaguing the majority of the series but more money doesn’t mean you can effectively capture that feel. The Next Generation is the first of several abominations I had to sit through, featuring what might be the worst set of performances I’ve seen in any film. This is the one that reveals that the Sawyers are secretly working for the Illuminati as part of a massive fear spreading campaign and has an ending that resembles a Nirvana music video more than anything and makes me question everything that led up to committing to watching this, the less said the better. The 2003 remake is Leatherface, again, though it benefits from being the second entry in the series aside from the first to have some consistent aesthetic going. Can still be easily skipped. The Beginning is the first entry that devolves into pure torture porn, and doesn’t take any advantage of the fact that these characters can’t survive at the end, opting for just repeating bare slasher essentials except for killing off the final girl. Texas Chainsaw 3D opens with a montage of footage from the first film then hard pivots into a plot about the Swayers being murdered in mass by a vigilante mob and “the Sawyers didn’t deserve this!” No mention of the killing and cannibalism I guess as Leatherface, despite collecting a body count in this film alone, is turned into the good guy. “Do your thing cuz!” Just when you think things can’t get any worse, we are presented with Texas Chainsaw Massacre, no “The,” the new low bar for the series, if not the genre and maybe film as a whole. Make no mistake that this is easily one of the worst films I have ever seen, involving gen-Z gentrifiers trying to buy up a small town to make into an upscale getaway, but Leatherface is there and blah blah blah you could have called this film anything else and you know what would have happened? It would still be as bad but I wouldn’t have had to watch it, no one would have noticed it, no one would have to be as angry or anything because the only thing this has going for it is the connection to the first film. It’s like if the Star Wars prequels weren’t called “Star Wars” they’d be as easily forgotten as Jupiter Ascending (2015) or Valerian and The City of a Thousand Planets (2017), where no one would have batted an eye, called them shit in a single breath and then easily forgotten about them without a second thought. Fuck this movie, fuck it for being another stain on the legacy of the original, fuck everyone that says “I just want to see stupid teenagers get killed,” fuck any defense of this.

Only thing that came of having to sit through these was another opportunity to rewatch the 1974 film. As soon as I had settled on this being up for viewing, the #1 spot was sealed. If someone were to say that this is the greatest horror film ever made, I don’t think I’d agree but at the same time I wouldn’t be able to put up a counter argument. I said a few days ago that I define horror as a genre by its presentation of violence, and this is a perfect example. The opening text crawl lets us know that even if this was a singular event, the resulting trauma and open wounds will be carried forever. The soundtrack itself is oppressive, camera shutters and industrial machinery in the place of actual music at times, the opening credits burned by footage of solar flares, the entire environment taking place in the blazing Texas sun with dried up water beds and radiators and dilapidated buildings. It’s one of the ultimate descents into hell that have ever been presented by any film, horror or not. Innocent people unknowingly walking to their doom, the discovery of seemingly endless amounts of human and animal remains and never putting the pieces together until it’s too late, the final survivor being forced to see how the meat we eat is made. “I just don’t take no pleasure in killing.” It’s been nearly 10 years since I first saw The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, this is one of the rare films that absolutely changed me, and while no subsequent viewing will have that same impact, I can’t not love it to the upmost extent that I can love any movie.

#long post #body horror

4 notes · View notes

crash-channel · 2 years

Text

The lesson I want you to learn is it doesn't matter what you look like, or that's what Rob Zombie's hoping for at least?

The year is 1964 and everyone's television was taking them down to 1313 Mockingbird lane for the first time to meet a wholesome new friendly family. The Munsters, although this wasn't your typical family; be it Herman Munster played by the late great Fred Gwynne who some may recognize as the judge in my cousin Vinny (1992) or as Jud in Stephen Kings Pet Sematary (1989). Yvonne De Carlo as Lily Munster who also started in the Ten Commandments (1956). Al Lewis as grandpa Munster who was in used cars (1980) Rock 'n' Roll highschool forever (1991) and yes Ramones: raw (2004) because Al Lewis knew how to party. Also featuring Pat Priest as Marilyn and Butch Patrick as Eddie. It was simple really, a normal family like any other except the father was a Frankenstein monster, the wife was a vampire and grandpa was Dracula, the son was a Wolfman leaving Marilyn (the niece) a human to be the ugly duckling of the family so to speak. It would have wholesome family moral values discussed in episodes with occasional cheesy gags throughout the show. The show was moderately successful with 2 seasons, 2 movies, a mini cartoon movie, a reboot movie and today this.

When Rob Zombie took this opportunity I wasn't sure how I felt. Sure he's a fan and he'll treat it with care as everyone around me said; but I didn't feel that way especially when the first thing I heard was his casting. Now first I'm not trashing on the acting abilities of any actors here I enjoy the movies each of them do and their parts. The thing is directors typically cast the part by who's the best fit and actor for the role. Try outs are held and they go through processes. Yes sometimes they pick their friends for certain parts but he seems to do that a lot. His first choices were his wife of course, and his friends that have been in other movies of his. Another thing is he does a great job at directing and cinematography in my opinion but he needs others to help if not take over the script writing. We all enjoyed the white trash bits in devil's rejects because it fits in that movie, but once he did Halloween and added in his white trash touch, it just ruined it. That's an article for another day so let's move on to the new trailer.

Rob Zombie's newest movie, a love story, the first he's done. Has dropped and it's a reboot of a classic, one of my all time favorites, The Munsters. Being hailed by the internet as one of the worst trailers ever released I've watched it several times now. To begin I will say when the teaser dropped, the black and white remake of the opening of the original. I was excited and had some mixed feelings. The characters looked pretty decent although grandpa had some extra liberties taken making him seem off, which was fine. For the most part everything seemed ok I gave it the benefit of the doubt. Then the new trailer hit and like most of the viewing audiences watching it I was very concerned as a fan what was done to the property I so dearly loved. The money put into making this movie does not reflect on the trailer and it looks like a "made for TV" cheap knock off movie done in a hurry. The voice of Herman is awful and he doesn't fully look the part in every aspect but it hits worse when that voice pierces your ears. The effects and lighting looks horrendous. Although the color looks fun and unique it shows it would be better in black and white. Now it still looks somewhat cute and fun in a way if this were not to be a big budget movie that was a reboot of a beloved classic I would be on board totally.

That being said after watching it a few times I've come to my final conclusions to give the movie a chance and here's my words of hope. In the trailer Grandpa makes Herman who later meets Lily and falls in love. My belief is that bc Herman was just made a.k. born he's going through a form of puberty and that's why his voice is not low and weird. Also this may be a way to keep the story at bay, by not revealing everything in the trailer. I think this is a flashback of how Lily and Herman met and married and moved to 1313 Mockingbird Lane. That the rest of the movie looks good and it's going to be a different all great film but the memory is hooky because it's a memory. That's theory and I'm hoping it'll go in that direction.

4 notes · View notes

tentacledtherapist · 24 days

Note

Lisa,

It's funny, despite living in New England all my life I don't think I could ever tire of it. The town I grew up in has a church from the 1780s. One of the many places George Washington stayed is nearby. I grew up in graveyards and old buildings and sinking my arms as deep as they could in the Weird and the Old and the Dark. It makes me unbelievably happy. (It helps that I run warm too, it makes a world of difference to be in a cooler area!) It is funny that we have Wild West Towns and you have Winter Villages when the weather is so opposite. It has a weird cognitive dissonance I think, that makes it humorous. A very dry fake snow covered place at 90 degrees while we have a Fake Desert covered in Real Snow. Why are humans like this I wonder, besides the novelty of what we Don't Have? Like a Medieval Times despite not ever having a european medieval period in America.

I recently watched Bones and All, and while I'm not sure about how well it measured up to the book, I absolutely ADORED it. The metaphor is not lost on me and there is something so jarring and so good about it. I actually do recommend the film, I think I know which actor you speak of and despite not liking them much either their work was really good in this film in particular. I loved making it a bit more of a 1980s period piece to give everything this distance from our current world, and also the narrative the movie is trying to pull opposed to the book. It makes the story make a bit more sense as a movie, in its own way? I'm not someone turned away by cannibalism, so it's not such a weird conept to me. I don't think I'd play a reluctant cannibal character if I was.

I'm so glad we are on the same page about these sorts of stories! Its like getting back to the roots of many of these horror genres, how they turn back into these stories with metaphors about humanity. Dracula and Frankenstein, Carmilla, they're more about people than they are about monsters to me. I'm fairly certain there's roots in Oscar Wilde's famous trials in Dracula, about the fear of male intimacy, since Bram Stoker has been more recently well known for being potentially queer, and Dracula was also inspired partially by Carmilla, itself a horrific lesbian romance. And even beyond that, the strange, the foreign, the twisted humanity, what we see in ourselves reflected from others. Then Frankenstein has its own whole host of human fears laced in it. Parenthood, homosexuality, theology, science. Human connection, our greatest fear and our greatest salvation.

I could write essays about horror, I really could.

- Your Creature

P.s.: I wish you luck with your project! Maybe order from them online? I hate when things are out of stock.

creature,

ordering things online is my Least Favorite way to order things but. i had to and now i must Await My Packidge. agony

i think we’re both talking about timothee chanalet i have no idea how to spell his name— at least i was— there’s nothing wrong with him! i just don’t… care for anything he’s really been in? it’s just never really clicked for me, i guess. but!!! if you endorse the movie, i’ll give it a shot! you haven’t led me astray with media suggestions yet! :D

as for the oddly out of place landmarks: isn’t it human nature to want what we can’t have? there’s a reason we have the turn of phrase “the grass isn’t always greener on the other side”

i would love to read your essays, if you ever decide to write any. you have such… amazing thoughts about this stuff? about horror and the nature of humanity and about love and the inhuman and just… all of it. i’ve genuinely loved reading your thoughts in our letters. i’m so sure i’ve said it before, but just in case: it’s so nice to hear your thoughts on stuff. i missed hearing from you, adam. both while i was away and also. like. lifetime kinning stuff. i keep going back to read things you’ve written me because they’re just so good. you have such a way with describing the things you’re interested in an the things you’re passionate about? i’m going a little overboard, i think, but,,,

suffice it to say: if you ever decide to write an essay and you need a proofreader? i’m your gal

the horrors of each era reflect our society’s fears during that era, but there’s something to be said about the inherent, timeless, and unshakeable fears about humanity and the Other (tm tm tm). those fears, those insecurities about the self? they never go away. i think that’s why we as a society love stories about them so much

- Your Lisa

0 notes

hogmilked · 11 months

Note

orchid, mahonia, chia, edelweiss, papyrus? :0

HI BESTIEEEE sorry this took all day i was at work and then tumblr didn’t save any of my very long reply that i’d already made

orchid -> what's a song you consider to be perfect?

oh fuck this is tough there’s a ton. i would say right now this live version of miami 2017 by billy joel, the original studio version is pretty perfect but the power behind these live vocals is just unmatched

i would also give bonus points to 4 Leaf Clover by Ravyn Lanae, Kalopsia by Queens of the Stone Age, My Sister by Angel Olsen, and My Baby’s Taking Me Home by Sparks. bonus mention to Face to Face by Daft Punk which i don’t think is a perfect song but is one of the coolest pieces of music i’ve ever heard. there’s some great videos breaking down the samples that song uses, a couple of which haven’t even been found yet

mahonia -> what place, thing, activity inspires you most and how do you express yourself when it does?

honestly i don’t know. seeing live music helps me wanna make music but honestly i feel the most motivated to make things when they come out of just raw high emotion. like right now i’m dealing with a traumatic situation and i’m not doing super well but i also really wanna get all that shit just like out so im more motivated than ever to make something out of it. it’s a bit bleak but true, a lot of the stuff i’ve been proudest of has come out of the urge to vent outweighing the fear of not making “good” art. not to say i shouldn’t get help or i’ll lose my ability to make things i’m proud of, but i’m the most inspired when i have overwhelming emotions i feel the need to turn into something productive

chia -> what's an inside joke you have with someone else?

DRACULA CHRISTMAS DRACULA CHRISTMAS DRACULA CHRISTMAS

edelweiss -> how'd you think of your url/ username? what's it associated with to you?

someone asked me about this in a reply this morning lol, it was a dumb joke at work. we were talking about different livestock milks outside of goats and cows and thought the phrase “hog milk” was so fucking funny but that was taken so it became hogmilked which is infinitely more harrowing

papyrus -> if you put your 'on repeat' playlist on shuffle, what's the first song that comes up? what do you like about it / associate it with?

i can’t find an on repeat playlist on tidal which is what i use, but i have been coping with the aforementioned traumatic experience with two specific albums so i’ll recommend a song off that

i talk a ton about suede these days but their debut album (along with …Like Clockwork by Queens of the Stone Age) has been my comfort albums the last couple days and a good portion of what i’ve been listening to. i love the whole album but this is my favorite song off it by far. i’ve said it many times before but everyone, especially those who like 90s alt and britpop, should listen to suede’s self titled debut. perfect album imo

[ask game]

#mothman answers #one day i’ll learn to be less verbose

0 notes

motownfiction · 2 years

Text

sketchbook

In the first half of the eighth grade, Lucy was shuffled into an art class at school. She’d originally been selected to write for the school newsletter, but the class conflicted with her French, which she refused to give up (or, as she said to Principal Davies, “Je refuse de quitter mon cours de français.”). After her public failure to cut a paper snowflake four years earlier, being forced to take an art class was her worst nightmare. In the end, it turned out to be not so bad: She got to sit next to Sam, and with Ms. LaRue’s permission, they sat there and listened to The Beatles. Two and a half years later, whenever she hears “Dear Prudence,” she thinks about Sam and his love for oil pastels. She’s also kept her required sketchbook.

To this day, Lucy’s not really sure why she kept the sketchbook. When she was fourteen, she said it would be a metaphor for her struggles. Now, at sixteen, whenever she opens it, she just sees a bunch of really ugly attempts at drawings. And now that she’s dating Will, that’s exactly what he sees, too.

He’s up in her room on a Friday night at the end of April. Lucy’s still a little surprised her parents let him up there, but they don’t worry about Will (“He’s a nerd,” her mother whispers to her father, and she’s not wrong.). Within seconds, Will is looking through her bookshelf, trying to measure his own intelligence against the books Lucy owns.

“Read that, read that, heard of that,” he says, tracing his index finger along the old spines. “Read that, never heard of that, read that … what’s this?”

Lucy watches as Will pulls something odd from the shelf. But it’s not a book like Dracula or North and South. It’s a sketchbook. Her eighth-grade sketchbook.

Her heart leaps into her throat, and she makes a mad dash to steal the book away.

“Don’t look in there!” she says.

“Why?” Will asks. “Did you draw pictures of me or something?”

“No, of course not. Will, just …”

But before she can finish her plea, Will has already opened the sketchbook. And before she can protest again, he’s already made his judgment.

“Whoa,” he says, flipping through the pages. “These are … Callaghan, do you even know what a pencil is supposed to do? Besides solve math problems.”

Lucy snatches the book away from Will and holds it close to her chest. She frowns.

“I have trouble with my fine motor skills,” she says. “You know that. Anything from tying my shoes to drawing a picture, I … I need a minute.”

“Yeah, but … I don’t think I ever saw evidence like this before.”

“Evidence of what?”

“That you’re not good at everything.”

Lucy drops the sketchbook to the ground and marches toward the door. Will is faster. He rushes in front of her and barricades the door with the sweetest eyes Lucy has ever seen. It’s a good thing she didn’t really want to leave the room, anyway.

“Whoa, whoa, wait,” he says, voice gentle as ever. “I didn’t mean that as an insult.”

“How was I supposed to take it, then?” Lucy asks. “As a compliment?”

“No, that’s not … look, you know I think you’re amazing.”

Lucy fights hard not to blush. Even if Will is her boyfriend, she can’t let it slip that she’s in love with him.

“But when you … look, if you can’t draw, then it’s like … it’s like you’re a real human,” Will says. “Like you’re not perfect.”

Lucy makes a face.

“Am I not supposed to be perfect?” she asks.

Will smiles at her like she’s pretty close to perfect, anyway.

“I think you know that,” he says. “Perfect isn’t fun.”

Lucy smiles, a little too shy than she wants to be. She grabs Will around the waist and kisses him, almost embarrassed to do so. He looks embarrassed, too. Sweet.

“Those drawings, however,” Will says, and Lucy smacks him across the chest.

“I’ll keep them around,” she says. “Just for you.”

And to this day, that sketchbook from the fall of 1980 is right there, in the middle of Lucy and Will’s bookshelf.

#drabble #writeblr #ch: lucy callaghan #ch: will o'connor #ship: c'est la vie say the old folks #year: 1980 #year: 1983 #year: 2022

0 notes

dead-weird · 2 years

Text

Horror Movie Genres

❤️‍🔥

BASE FEARS

Psychological Horror

Horror that plays with your mind. “His House” - 2020 “10 Cloverfield Lane” - 2016 “Cube” - 1997 “Silence of the Lambs” - 1991

Home Invasion

Where you’re most vulnerable.

“Us” - 2019 “Don’t Breathe” - 2016 “Hush” – 2016 “The Purge” – 2013 Creepy Kid Horror I wasn’t sure where to put this section, but feel it goes with base fears in the sense that it deeply disturbs us when a child is presented as evil. “The Omen” - 1976 “Orphan” - 2009 “Village of the Damned” - 1960 “Who Can Kill a Child?” - 1976

Pregnancy/Baby Horror Take it from anyone who can become pregnant – nightmares about giving birth are horribly common.

“Rosemary’s Baby” - 1968 ”Mother” - 2017 ”Swallow” - 2019 ”Prevenge” - 2016 Aquatic Horror (Survival) Oxygen is running low. Will you make it? “Sanctum” - 2011 “47 Meters Down” - 2017 “The Deep House” - 2021 “12 Feet Deep” - 2017

BLOODY

Revenge Horror

The perpetrators of an injustice getting their dues.

“May” - 2002 “I Spit on Your Grave” - 2010 “American Mary” - 2012 “Ma” - 2019

Slasher

Surrounding a killer stalking and murdering a group of people.

“Halloween” - 1978 “A Nightmare on Elm Street” - 1984 “Friday the 13th” – 1980 “Fear Street Part One 1994” – 2021

Giallo

Heavily-stylised Italian suspense/horror movies that feature scenes of shocking gore (and one film heavily inspired by it.)

“Suspiria” – 1977 “A Lizard in Woman’s Skin” - 1971 “Deep Red” – 1975 “Last Night in Soho” - 2021

Gore

What it says on the tin. Gore was very big in the ‘00s.

“Martyrs” - 2008 “Saw” - 2004 “Hostel” - 2005 “Audition” – 1999

Exploitation Horror (or Grindhouse)

Often cheaply made, seen as trashy by some, uses sensationalist violence to draw in an audience.

“House of Whipcord” - 1974 “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” - 1974 “Frightmare” - 1974 “Death Proof” - 2007

Body Horror

A horrific change of the body be that through mutation, disfiguration, or any other disturbing transformation. Different to gore due to the existential dread that comes with losing yourself.

“A Cure For Wellness” - 2016 “Titane” - 2021 “Uzumaki”- 2000 “Black Swan” - 2010

Melt Movies

A specific type of body horror that includes the melting of flesh and bone.

“The Blob” - 1988 “The Evil Dead” - 1981 “Gremlins” – 1984 “The Beyond” – 1981

Cannibal Horror

Horror surrounding the consumption of human flesh.

“Raw�� - 2016 “Green Inferno” - 2013 “Cannibal Holocuast” - 1980 “The Hills Have Eyes” - 1977

FOLK

Folk Horror Surrounding the darker side of “folk” - anything anti-modern and regionalised. Includes cults, lore, and sometimes ancient magic. “In the Earth” - 2021 “Blood on Satan’s Claw” - 1971 “The Lighthouse” - 2019 “A Field in England” - 2013

Witch-Based Folk Horror “The Blair Witch Project” - 1999 “The VVitch” - 2015 “Suspiria” - 2018 “Gretel and Hansel” - 2020

Cult-Based Folk Horror

“The Ritual” - 2017 “Midsommar” - 2019 “Wicker Man” - 1973 “Kill List” - 2011

GOTHIC

Vampire Horror The bloodsucking undead. “Let the Right One In” - 2008 “30 Days of Night” - 2007 “Thirst” - 2009 “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” – 2014

Werewolf

Woof. “Ginger Snaps” - 2000 “An American Werewolf in London” - 1981 “Wer” - 2013 “The Howling” - 1981

Gothic Horror

Gothic themes such as vampires, old manors, and dreary weather. “Crimson Peak” - 2015 “The Others” - 2001 “Dracula” – 1958 “The Whip and the Body” - 1963

Supernatural

Unexplainable phenomena. Can include ghosts, but doesn’t have to. “The Exorcist” - 1973 “It Follows” - 2014 “The Omen” - 1976 “The Babadook” – 2014

Ghost/Spirit Horror This one does have to have ghosts. “Poltergeist” - 1982 “Veronica” - 2017 “The Conjuring” - 2013 “The Woman in Black” - 2012

Haunted House

The spirit is either attached to house, or it has it’s own supernatural qualities.

“The Amityville Horror” – 1979 “The Grudge” – 2004 “1408” - 2007 “The Haunting” - 1963

MONSTER

Classic Monster Movie

A frightening imaginary creature. These monsters have been resurrected and parodied so many times, they live rent free in the pop culture subconscious.

“Frankenstein” - 1931 “Dracula” - 1958 “The Mummy” - 1999 “The Invisible Man” - 2020

Neo-Monster Movie

A more modern take on the monster.

“IT” – 2018 “Slender Man” – 2018 “The Babadook - 2014 “The Village” - 2004

Giant Monster A huge destructive creature that usually wreaks. “Godzilla” - 1954 “Cloverfield” - 2008 “King Kong” - 2005 “Trollhunter” - 2010

Classic Zombie The Dead are rising. “Night of the Living Dead” - 1968 “Dawn of the Dead” - 1978 “Little Monsters” - 2019 “Warm Bodies” - 2013

Virus Zombie Remember when everyone was really into the idea of a zombie apocalypse?

“28 Days Later” - 2002 “Planet Terror” – 2007 “World War Z” - 2013 “Train to Busan” - 2016

Creature Features

I count this as anything with an animal threatening your life, to differentiate it from a monster movie.

“Crawl” - 2019 “Jaws” - 1975 “The Birds” - 1963 “Lake Placid” - 1999

SCIENCE-FICTION

Sci-Fi Horror “Event Horizon” - 1997 “Alien” - 1979 “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” – 1978 “The Dead Zone” – 1983

Machine-Horror

From Cyberpunk gone wrong to exploring the cold horror of machines. “Videodrome” – 1983 “Upgrade” - 2018 “Christine” - 1983 “Ringu” - 1998

Aliens They don’t come in peace. “Alien” – 1979 “Sputnik” - 2020 “Life” - 2017 “Signs” - 2002

Cosmic Horror Unexplainable, horrific. “The Endless” - 2017 “The Thing” - 1982 “Annihilation” - 2018 “In the Mouth of Madness” - 1994

Aquatic Horror (Sci-Fi)

The deep sea reminding us of outer space... but closer. “The Abyss” - 1989 “Underwater” - 2020 “Sea Fever” - 2019 “Sphere” - 1998

THE OTHERS

Found Footage But where was it found? “Grave Encounters” - 2011 “The Blair Witch Project” - 1999 “REC” – 2007 “Unfriended” - 2014

Allegorical

A film which has a story on the surface, but is a metaphor for a deeper meaning.

“Hereditary” - 2018 “The Platform” - 2019 “District 9” - 2009 “They Live” - 1988

Indie Usually made for a lower budget, independently from a large studio. “The Void” - 2016 “Creep” - 2014 “V/H/S” - 2012 “Resolution” – 2012

Comedy Horror

I feel better already.

“Jennifer’s Body” - 2009 “Shaun of the Dead” - 2004 “The Love Witch” - 2016 “Evil Dead II” - 1987

175 notes · View notes

bl00dsuckingbradybunch · 2 years

Text

The boys and a witch from Hogwarts would include...

Requested by @fallenforfictionalcharacters : Hi, i love your writing about TLB!! If it’s not a bother, can I order something with the lost boys and a witch reader from Hogwarts? She stopping by in Santa Carla with her house elf, not knowing much about the human world. How would they react?

A/n: I would like to preface this with the fact that I am not supportive of JKR whatsoever. also, sorry this took me so long.

Warning(s): some vague violence, cursing, mentions of drug use.

-> okay, since it’s the late 1980s, let’s say that you have just graduated from hogwarts and are desperate to get away from the wizarding world. after all, a war has just ended. everyone was struggling to pick up the pieces and you couldn’t handle it anymore.

-> something draws you to santa carla. maybe it’s the boardwalk, or maybe it’s the lack of macusa interaction despite the considerable deaths— either way, you pack up your whole life (and your house elf) and go there.

-> with your magic, it’s easy enough to get around at first. though, without money, you quickly start struggling.

-> “we’re going to have to find food somehow…”

-> it was just a statement, but your house elf might’ve taken it differently.

-> paul is the first one to see the elf, and boy is he surprised. he stumbles upon it because he hears it sorting through trash and muttering to itself and it doesn’t smell right, and then he’s kind of just standing there like 👁👁 because what.the.fuck.

-> at first he thinks he’s super high, but then the other boys see it too.

-> “what is that thing?” “wait, you guys can see it too!?”

-> dwayne suggests that they follow it, and david contemplates telling max first for at most ten seconds before he decides they should.

-> your house elf leads them right back to you because it’s never experienced vampires and doesn’t know what to look out for. they silently observe you for a bit because they have no idea how to approach you but that doesn’t even matter because you react rather violently anyway.

-> “oh, yeah, that’s a real intimidating stick you’ve got there, doll.”

-> david eats his words when you hit him with a bat bogey hex though <3

-> after the chaos (and after you’ve undone your hex) you finally start to figure out what’s going on.

-> “wait, you aren’t macusa?” “no!?” “what the hell is a macusa?”

-> you’d never met a vampire before, only having learned about them in your defense against the dark arts class and they didn’t exactly fit the dracula-esque profile your textbooks laid out. they had no idea that there were supernatural creatures or really anything paranormal outside of vampires.

-> paul, no longer terrified and now consumed by a childish curiosity, invites you to come live with them in the nest— you’re living in a tent, even if it was expanded inside, and “supernatural solidarity and all that.”

-> david hates that idea :)

-> still, after a conference with max, you move in.

-> you and your house elf get a little corner in the nest, kind of like star’s, and you have all sorts of room for your stuff.

-> slowly, but surely, you fall into a routine with the boys.

-> you help them snag prey on the beach and ward the next protectively, they leave you alone for most of the day.

-> and, for a while, it’s pretty sweet.

-> they’re nice enough— well, most of them are anyway.

-> paul drinks in every fact about your world that you give him and marko likes to be the one to show you firsts— your first time watching television, your first time listening to muggle music, etc etc— and dwayne finds your books n stuff fascinating. he will read your potion book and ask you what the hell every other thing is.

-> it’s david you have problems with.

-> whether it’s because he’s guarded or because he’s still mad at you for making bats fly out of his nose, you’re not sure, but he doesn’t like to spend time with you like the other boys did.

-> while the other three eventually went from lingering on the sidelines to sitting next to you on the couch, he never did. he’s always kept his distance, watching you with this unreadable expression on his face.

-> at first you think he’s studying you, kind of the same way you studied them for the first few weeks you were there, but then something happened.

-> you’d been doing the usual “lure some surf dudes down to the secluded part of the beach so the boys could feed on them” when one of the victims grabbed you, totally throwing you off.

-> before you could even get your hand on your wand, he was dead.

-> “nobody touches our witch.”

-> now, you always knew that there was something more…intimate… about the boys’ relationship with each other, but you never asked.

-> it was part of your agreement.

-> which is why you don't really know how to react when this situation acts as a catalyst and they invite you into their… whatever it is.

-> “we’ve never met a babe like you. nobody else would get it.”

-> you agree, thinking that they’re gorgeous and oddly endearing and that your dynamic would only really change in a few ways.

-> and you were right.

-> they’re less likely to leave you alone, now

-> occasionally, david will just sit in his wheelchair and make you sit in his lap because he’s a little baby.

-> they’ll probably get you crystals and other things associated with muggle witches, which i find adorable.

-> try to teach them stuff and it always winds up literally blowing up in their faces.

-> they take you flying at night sometimes and get really amused by the way you freak the fuck out.

-> “i thought you knew how to fly.” “clinging to you and riding a broom are two different things!” “wait witches actually fly on brooms?”

-> mention quidditch? good luck getting any person to understand it, let alone marko or paul.

-> idk if there’s a way to make them go into sunlight, but you’re literally made of magic. you’ll probably figure it out.

-> you left behind you a world that didn’t understand you to walk into a world you didn’t completely understand, but you were better off for it.

#the lost boys 1987 #the lost boys #lost boys #tlb #tlb 1987 #the lost boys x reader #the lost boys fanfiction #david the lost boys x reader #david the lost boys imagine #david tlb #dwayne the lost boys imagine #dwayne tlb #marco the lost boys x reader #marco the lost boys imagine #marco tlb #paul the lost boys x reader #paul the lost boys imagine #paul tlb #the lost boys headcanon

262 notes · View notes

perpetual-stories · 3 years

Text

A Complete Guide To Different Points of Views

happy Friday everyone! Is doing well, I know I’m trying to do better a bit every day.

it’s hard but I think I am doing better...

What Is Narrative Point of View?

Point of view is the “eye” or narrative voice through which you tell a story

you must decide who is telling the story, and to whom they are telling it

Three Types of Point of View

There are three primary types of point of view:

First person point of view. In first person point of view, one of the characters is narrating the story. This is generally revealed by the “I” sentence construction and relies on first person pronouns. (“I went to work.”) The reader assumes that this character is closely related to the story’s action—either a main character or someone close to the protagonist. First person narrative can provide intimacy and a deeper look into a character’s mind, but it is also limited by the perceptive abilities of the character. They are confined to report only what they would realistically know about the story, and they are further confined by their own perspective. Nick Carraway of The Great Gatsby (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ishmael of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (1851) are two of the most well-known first person narrators in literature and great examples of this point of view

Second person point of view. Second person point of view is structured around the “you” pronoun, and is less common in novel-length work. (“You thought you could do it.”) Second person can allow you to draw your reader into the story and make them feel like they’re part of the action because the narrator is speaking directly to them. Writing in second person for any great length is a challenge, and will stretch your writing skills. Lorrie Moore is well-known for her innovative use of second person narration in her short story collection Self-Help (1985). Second person point of view is sometimes referred to as second person POV.

Third person point of view. The author is narrating a story about the characters and refers to them with the third person pronouns “he/she.” (“He was hungry.”) This point of view is subdivided into third person omniscient and third person limited. Third person point of view is sometimes referred to as third person POV.

What Is the Difference Between Third Person Omniscient and Third Person Limited?

omniscient narrator knows everything about the story and its characters

This third person narrator can enter anyone’s mind, move freely through time, and give the reader their own opinions and observations as well as those of the characters

think of the omniscient narrator as having a god’s-eye-view of the characters. (“He had been infected with the virus, but he didn’t know it yet.”)

third person limited point of view (often called a “close third”) is when an author sticks closely to one character but remains in third person

This style gives you the ability to be inside a character’s thoughts, feelings, and sensations, which can give readers a deeper experience of character and scene. (“As she watched him leave, she was afraid he’d never come back.”)

How to Choose the Right Point of View in 4 Easy Steps

Try different points of view. The only way to decide the best point of view strategy for your novel is to try different ones. Likely, you’ll know the right one for your story because the writing will begin to move more quickly, and you’ll feel momentum. First person allows you to create intimacy by granting the reader access to your character’s internal monologue. Second person is often made as a stylistic choice; it is a powerful yet potentially overwhelming narrative device that can evoke feelings of confusion or claustrophobia. Third person narrative is a more flexible choice than first or second person. It allows you to switch between characters’ points of view. You can even zoom in and out from complete omniscience to limited or “close” third point of view.

Once you pick a point of view, establish it right away. Whichever narration style you use, it’s important to establish your point of view quickly. Always let the reader know which character’s perspective you’re following in any given scene. If you’re using third person, you should use the character’s name early in the section. Even a simple statement like “Robert felt tired” is enough to convey this information. While you’re in a point of view, stick to it. For example, if you’re narrating from your hero character’s perspective and, in the middle of a scene, you suddenly switch to the point of view of a different character, the disruption will jar your reader out of the story.

Be aware of limitations. Point of view is an essential tool in character development. You’re describing the world through their eyes and letting the reader know what they think and feel. You’ll need to be aware at all times what your characters’ limitations are. Review your writing frequently to scan for mistakes you might have made in giving a character information or opinions they wouldn’t normally have.

Change it up. You don’t have to be tied to one point of view throughout your novel; some novels move from first to third or first to second. But it’s important to note that when you establish point of view, you are creating another type of contract with the reader: that you will adhere to that point of view for the course of the scene. It’s all right to have different subplots told from different points of view throughout your novel, but you should treat each point of view as an individual section or chapter.

Four Ways to Use Point of View

Create suspense. When a reader knows more than the character, as in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897), and your reader waits for the character to learn what they already know. This tension will keep your reader on the edge of their seat.

Create an unreliable narrator. When a first person narrator knows more than the reader but withholds information from the reader on purpose, in order to manipulate them. Gone Girl (2012) by Gillian Flynn and Rebecca (1938) by Daphne du Maurier are brilliant examples of unreliable narrators.

Create comedic irony. When a first person narrator knows so much less than both the reader and the other characters that it creates comedy. In this strategy, the reader is laughing at the narrator, rather than with him or her. Examples include Gulliver in Gulliver’s Travels (1726) by Jonathan Swift, in which a plain-spoken narrator tells whoppers with a straight face, and A Confederacy of Dunces (1980) by John Kennedy Toole, in which the narrator complains about the ineptitude of other characters, when he is clearly the most inept character of all. An omniscient narrator can also satirize all a story’s characters, as Voltaire does in Candide (1759).

Create tragic irony. The characters know less than the reader. Narrative irony also involves foreshadowing, when the omniscient narrator leaves hints for the reader about something that will happen in the future. When a tragic event has been foreshadowed, but the characters don’t see it coming, a sense of irony is created. You can also create tragic irony in first person point of view, but you have to walk the fine line of having your narrator foreshadow while remaining truly ignorant of what’s going to happen.

There you have it everyone! Please like, comment and reblog if you find this helpful!

Tag me on Instagram at perpetualstories if you share it there!

Follow me on tumblr and Instagram for more writing and grammar tips and more!

#writing #writing advice #writing tips #original writing #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #writersconnection #writersofig #writersofinstagram #writings

259 notes · View notes