Halloween Movies!

I picked up so scary movies to watch over this last week for the Helluva Halloween Challenge! Some were intense, some were a bit funny, and some were just dumb.

1. Dial M For Murder (1954): A man plans to have his wife murdered after learning of her affair, but things don't go according to plan...This was a fun mystery about how to get the husband for attempted murder! Great!

2. Cape Fear (1962): An ex-convict seeks out the man who put him in prison for eight years to seek revenge...This one has Gregory Peck in it and I just love him. This was an excellent scary, suspenseful movie! I was nervous til the very end!

3. Drag Me to Hell (2009): Don't mess with Gypsy ladies! Christine refuses to extend an old ladies mortgage payments and becomes cursed! Soon an evil spirit begins stalking her for three days until she will be finally dragged to Hell! This one was just fun, not terribly scary, but a bit funny and in a few spots suspenseful!

4. Dark Water (2005): A mother and her daughter move into an apartment and soon they are haunted by a little girl who died in the complex. I did not like this movie at all. It wasn't that scary and the storyline was just dumb. Don't recommend it to anyone.

5. What Lies Beneath (2000): After a woman's daughter heads to college she begins to be haunted by a spirit. She decides to find out why she's being haunted/who is this spirit? Michelle Pfeifer and Harrison Ford are excellent in this...it's truly creepy and suspenseful!

6. Night of the Living Dead (1968): The Zombie Apocalypse is upon us! It's like War of the Worlds, but with zombies! A really fun movie!

7. 1408 (2007): John Cusack plays a writer who defuncts haunted places and so when he gets a postcard about the room 1408 in a New York hotel he accepts the challenge...can he get out alive? I loved this movie! It was creepy and suspenseful all in one! Based on a short story by Stephen King...he's always spooky and scary!

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

ONE LINE REVIEW: Great concept, though a bit on the confusing side.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book. We have a teen girl who, with her dad, hunts the supernatural. But soon her dad's a zombie and she's left to fend for herself against the Big Baddies out there. She meets up with a partial werewolf and a half vampire who are trying to keep her safe from the super evil vampire Sergej who wants her dead because she's "special."

Like I said and interesting concept, but I just didn't like the book's writing style. Some parts were a bit confusing...I didn't understand what was happening until a bit later in some parts and there are some words that are just kind of odd...like we have Musak instead of music and wulf instead of wolf and no explanation why it was different. Not a big deal, just a bit confusing.

But since I find the concept so intriguing I'm still interested in the next book in the series; I just hope it's a bit more understandable.

Language: It also has quite a few f-bombs, just a heads up.

Fun Quotes:"The smell of apple pies didn't quite fill the house, but it was there, a thread under everything else. It was kind of hard to take Christophe seriously when he smelled like baked goods. I wondered if other djampjir smelled like Hostess Twinkies and sniggered to myself."

Part of the Helluva Halloween and R.I.P challenges.

Book Review: Evernight by Claudia Gray

Evernight, published June 8, 2008

Summary: Bianca's parents are moving out to Evernight, a boarding school, to teach. But Bianca is comfortable where she is and has no desire to change schools so the night before school starts she decides to runaway that is until she meets Lucas, a handsome fellow classmate. And soon their secrets are set to tear their love asunder.

Review: I just loved this book. I really thought the story was going to go one way and then it went another! I was really surprised and I loved that about this book. I also really enjoyed her twist on vampires...you'll have to read to find out! I also found her writing style fabulous...showed us what was going on instead of coming out and blatantly saying it; she just let it flow like the reader was already supposed to know what was going on! It was fast-paced and fun!

I just received the second book in the series Stargazer and am so excited!

Here are some quotes I found exceptional:

"The silence between us stretched out, but it wasn't awkward. Sometimes there are people you can be quiet with, and you never feel the need to fill the gap with meaningless chit-chat. I'd only become that close to a couple people in my hometown, and I'd always thought it took years. Lucas and I were already there. "

"You're alive, Bianca. You still can't appreciate what it means, to be alive. It's better than being a vampire - better than anything else in the world. I remember a little of what being alive was like, and if I could touch that again, even for a day, it would be worth anything in the world. Even dying again, forever. All the centuries I've known and all the marvels I've seen don't compare to being alive."

"Thunder rumbled. My heart beat faster. I turned away from Evernight for the last time and looked back at the flower as it trembled upon its branch. A single petal was torn away by the wind. Pushing my hands through the thorns, I felt lashes of pain across my skin, but I kept going determined. But when my fingertip touched the flower, it instantly darkened, withering and drying as each petal turned black. "

Part of the Helluva Halloween and R.I.P. Challenges

Movie Review: Count Dracula

Count Dracula (1977 BBC)

Director: Philip Saville

Summary: Based on the book Dracula by Bram Stoker Jonathon Harker heads to Romania to help a Count Dracula with his preparations to move to London. Soon he is held captive while the Count makes his way to England to ensnare Harker's fiancee and her sister. It's up to Dr. Van Helsing to figure out how kill Count Dracula and save Harker's fiancee!

Review: I was actually pleasantly surprised by this adaptation! It was creepy in all the right places and Dracula was pretty 'oogie.' I recently played the computer game Dracula that was also based on the novel by Bram Stoker so I was able to follow along pretty well. This definitely portrayed the sensual/sexual side to vampires; I can see why many would choose to become vamps! It was filmed in 1977 so it does have a bit of cheese factor to it, but overall I thought it was done pretty well. I'm not much up for a lot horrific gore so I was glad that they kept it down to a minimum. A very enjoyable movie for the Halloween season!

Part of the Helluva Halloween Challenge.

Book Review: Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange

Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange (Aug. 1, 2009)

Summary:

Mr. Darcy, Vampyre starts where Pride and Prejudice ends and introduces a dark family curse so perfectly that the result is a delightfully thrilling, spine-chilling, breathtaking read. A dark, poignant and visionary continuation of Austen's beloved story, this tale is full of danger, darkness and immortal love.

Review:

This was a light and fun adaptation of what happens after Pride and Prejudice. Why is Darcy so brooding and miserable all the time? Well, now we know...he's a vampire! Well, there's not a lot of vampire action, and she didn't quite portray Lizzy the way I imagined her in the original Pride and Prejudice, but it was still a fun twist and well worth at least one read.

Part of the Everything Austen Challenge, Helluva Halloween and R.I.P. Challenges.

Movie Review: Disturbia

Release Date: April 17, 2007

Director: D.J. Caruso

It's sort of a modern retelling of Hitchcock's Rear Window with Jimmy Stewart. Teenage Kale loses his father in a car accident and blames himself, he thus starts acting out in school and ends up punching his Spanish teacher in the nose. The judge puts him on house arrest for three months during the summer. Well, if you're cooped up you're going to go a little loopy. So he starts spying on the neighbors with his high-tech gear with his best friend and his the new girl from next door. Soon they suspect their other neighbor to be a serial killer and are trying to find the proof. But what happens when their neighbor finds out they know??

I loved this movie. Fun suspense and story. Enough things to make you jump out of your seat, which is great. If you enjoy a good suspense movie try this one out!

Interesting Trivia:

The film's translation in Russia is "Paranoia."

Disturbia was filmed on location in the cities of Whittier, California and Pasadena, California. The homes of Kale and Mr. Turner, which were supposed to be next door to each other, were actually located in two different cities.

Memorable Quotes:

Ronnie: Oh my god, you've made the tower of Twinkie! Is that in a stalker's handbook somewhere?

Kale: So now you got the whole jock and bimbo population showing up? That will be fun. I just didn't think you'd conform so fast.


This goes toward the Helluva Halloween and All Hallow's Eve Challenge.

Book Review: Never Slow Dance With a Zombie by E. Van Lowe

Back of Book Summary:

Principal Taft's 3 Simple Rules for Surviving a Zombie Uprising:

Rule #1: While in the halls, walk slowly and wear a vacant expression on your face. Zombies won't attack other zombies.

Rule #2: Never travel alone. Move in packs. Follow the crowd. Zombies detest blatant displays of individuality.

Rule #3: If a zombie should attack, do not run. Instead, throw raw steak at to him. Zombies love raw meat. This display of kindness will go a long way.

On the night of her middle school graduation, Margot Jean Johnson wrote a high school manifesto detailing her goals for what she was sure would be a most excellent high school career. She and her best friend, Sybil, would be popular and, most important, have boyfriends. Three years later, they haven't accomplished a thing!

Then Margot and Sybil arrive at school one day to find that most of the student body has been turned into flesh-eating zombies. When kooky Principal Taft asks the girls to coexist with the zombies until the end of the semester, they realize that this is the perfect opportunity to live out their high school dreams. All they have to do is stay alive....

My Review:

I really loved this book, especially after coming off of Zombie Blondes, which I didn't like, to this one was wonderful! I really enjoy satires, books that go over the top to make their point. This book did not disappoint. We have Sybil and Margot who discover that all most all of their classmates have been turned into zombies. What does Margot want to do? She wants to be the most popular girl in school (though, she is the only one not undead!). While Sybil just wants to get the zombies to "declique" from their cliques! As Margot strives to rule the school and stay safe from the zombies her and Sybil slowly grow apart. Can they keep their friendship, cure their classmates, discover the culprit, and survive high school? These are the themes I experienced in high school. How to hold onto the good friends I've got and not worry about what the popular kids say, etc. How to make a difference in school? How do I survive? Granted, I never had to fight off zombies and live among them, but don't we all have a bit of zombie in us?

This is part of the Helluva Halloween Challenge and R.I.P. Challenge.

Book Review: Look For Me By Moonlight by Mary Downing Hahn

Look For Me By Moonlight by Mary Downing Hahn (1995)

Summary from back cover:

In a remote Maine inn, where Cynda is supposed to be reconnecting with her father and his new family, she is also falling in love for the first time. But this isn't a typical teenage romance. The object of her affection, Vincent Morthanos, is older and worldly, with pale, aristocratic good looks. And he has a secret—a secret that could destroy Cynda's family, unless she can free herself from love's deadly embrace.

My Review: I've been on a YA fiction kick and especially paranormal with Halloween around the corner along with a few related challenges, so when I saw this at the library it looked really fun and interesting, so seductive. It really wasn't.

Cynda comes to live with her dad, stepmom, and half-brother up in cold Maine and the inn that her father and stepmother own and run. But it's haunted! Maybe I'm too used to vampires trying to be good like Angel from Buffy, Edward from Twilight, and now we have the Vampire Diaries. But when the mysterious stranger shows up, I as the reader, knew he was evil! Why couldn't Cynda? Or the rest of the family? The little boy knew, the cat, and even the next-door neighbor! So I'm reading about all her goo-ga's over Vincent and it's pretty sickening. I knew what was coming and I couldn't stop it. I really wanted to be bamboozled like Cynda and her parents, and be shocked at the end that he was bad to the bone! But it wasn't to be...

It was a really fast read, but predictable and the characters were just a bit too annoying for my taste.

This read goes toward my R.I.P. Challenge and Helluva Halloween Challenge.

Helluva Halloween Challenge

Misty at Book Rat is hosting a Halloween Challenge to kick off the Fall season and as a countdown to one of my favorite holidays Halloween! Check out her website for more info. You can do anything Halloween-themed! I don't even know what I'll be doing yet!