Supernatural, 11/5/09

I think these Trickster episodes are some of my favorites. Remember the tall tales one? And of course “Mystery Spot” for sure. Vive le Trickster! (Okay, so I don't do French.)

* OMG for the dorky opening sitcom credits. Dyin’ here.

* The GREY’S ANATOMY spoof? I cannot wait until Dean and Sam become Doctors McUberHorndog and McAnalRetentive.

* I am already begging to Dean or Sam as the Incredible Hulk. Which TV program would you like to see in this eppie tonight? I’m putting my votes in for BAYWATCH and GLEE right now.

* I love how they have the GREY’S hallmarks down, like repeating words and phrases over and over again. You’re afraid. You’re afraid to operate again. And you’re afraid to love.” (One real-GREY’s example that comes to mind is when Lexie visited McSteamy and asked him to make lurv to her. “Teach me.” “Teach me.” “Teach me.” Oh, that was so barfy.). And the playful, fluffy estrogen music. And the ghost. Gah, the ghost.

* Dean’s reaction to Dr. Shepherd…er, Dr. Sexy. BoyCrush.

* Nutcracker! The sad thing is that I can totally imagine this game on a Japanese show.

* This is the season for Sam getting nailed in the nads, isn’t it?

* I am rolling. The genital herpes ad? Brillllllliant.

* Spot on CSI/procedurals, with the dramatic taking off of sunglasses, catchphrases, and even a Kojak lollypop. There’s probably a certain “no-talent douchebag” who’s squirming if he’s watching Sam and Dean imitate him.

* No way. KNIGHTRIDER is the best of all. I bow to the Kripke.

* I love how they tied this seemingly stand-alone episode into the mythology, just as they’ve done a couple of times this season. Everything’s coming together in this last season…. : (

Isn’t it funny how the “stay tuned” tag shows the much younger Sam and Dean? Such babies!

I can’t wait to see the Con Sams and Deans next week… See you then, too!

BLOODLANDS, book two

As some of you know, I've got a second series going for Ace, and it's a post-apocalyptic urban fantasy western with some noirish elements (coming some time in 2011). I don't have clearance on the titles yet, but I called the first book BLOODLANDS. This second one that I'm working on right now has a Work In Progress title of [NO] SPILL BLOOD. (Yes, it's a take on the old Oingo Boingo song....) I'm not sure about the third title yet, but I wanted to call it BLOOD BOUND, which is the title of a Patricia Briggs book. Dang.

Anyway, I'm plugging away on book 2, and things are going very smoothly. Almost too smoothly, and that bugs my neurotic-writer within. You know how it is--there are no big plot holes to untangle yet, so, of course, something must be wrong and I'm just not seeing it.

But I'm having a lot of fun. I call the first book "a paranormal SHANE meets MAD MAX," but this second one is reminding me of a paranormal/post-apocalyptic cross between STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. It's SW:ANH because I've got a couple of characters on a Luke/Obi-Wan type journey-mission to a place that could be the Death Star if you really wanted it to be. And it's ESB because characters have branched off from each other for a time.

What's even more fun is that I put something into this book for any Vampire Babylon fans who venture with me into the Bloodlands. There's no way I'm going to tell you what I'm talking about (Tease!!!), but anyone who's read even a single book will figure out this "easter egg." I just hope it makes it into the final draft, but I'm not sure why it wouldn't....

So I'm on chapter 10. Writing it tomorrow. Today I'm revising previous chapters. Fingers crossed that things remain smooth!

Supernatural, 10/29/09

Shall we settle in for our weekly dose of chills and Winchester goodness?

* Remember that episode about the witches in season 3—the one that opens with the woman looking in the mirror and her teeth start falling out? I almost thought that was going to happen here again since I know this one’s about a warlock.

* It’s suit time! I love those boys in their suits. It runs second to shirtless Winchesters.

* Daggonit, Bobby. I seem to recall a time when he almost kicked Dean’s butt for giving up his soul in order to bring back Sam from the dead. I know Bobby’s undergone a change of attitude lately, but it’s surprising to see him be a hypocrite by engaging in this poker game. I guess if Bobby can give in to magical temptation, there’s not much hope for the rest of us. Bummer.

* And Dean is still playing fast and loose with his own life. It’s just more important for him to be a hero for a short time than it is to live a longer life and not be a hero.

* Hah! Chad Everett as old Dean. Perfecto.

* Amused Sam says, “It’s like Grumpy Old Men.” Perfecto, Part II.

* Chad Everett is working it!

* I can’t help noticing that the warlock lives in my dream apartment. If there’s an island in the kitchen, I will fall into fits of ecstasy.

* OMG—the clap. This show tends to kill me.

* Aw, Bobby. The brothers’ relationship is the heart of this show, but Bobby is the soul.

* “Idgit.” Didn’t Bobby say that with all the fondness in the world when young Dean comes pigeon-winging out of the building?

* Another aw with Dean propping Bobby up with a chat. Sometimes I think their relationship is much healthier than Sam and Dean’s.


Happy Halloween, you all! Don’t get into too much mischief.

A Tale of Two Sisters: Halloween Awesomeness, VI

Another Halloween movie with…

A TALE OF TWO SISTERS is another film with subtitles, but I hope this isn’t a roadblock for anyone. It’s a real gem. In fact, it’s like one of those great character studies mired in suffocating Southern gothic horror, except Korean-style. In other words, you’ve got an idyllic, beautiful country setting, an old house with terrible ghosts and secrets, and a very screwed-up, repressed family that allows those ghosts to flourish. Good to know that America doesn’t have a corner on this market.

Things start out in a mental institution where a doctor is questioning a girl about “what happened that day.” Right away, you see that there’s a mystery to be had, and the action settles into the past, when two teen girls arrive at the previously mentioned house. One of the girls, Su-Mi, is clearly not happy with her father. There’s an angry distance that trumps a reluctant fondness she still has for him. It’s very well played in the writing and the acting—in fact, you could say this movie is artistic on every level, so you can feel good about watching your gore and frights this time around.

Next, the girls run into a very chatty, henpecky, obviously evil stepmother. The villain has descended. After that, you get everything from a J-horror inspired ghost (you know—with the dark, messy hair obscuring most of the face, the weird, disjointed way of moving, the animalistic creaky sounds) to some very, very good scares that result from tense build up. There’s lots of talk about “craziness,” and it gets to the point where you start to wonder exactly who is crazy and who isn’t.

Then you go, “A-ha.” That’s because this is a twisty movie, where clues to what’s happening are fed to us bit by awesome bit. Every minute, you put another piece in place, but you’re not always led to the correct answers.

Another thing—A TALE OF TWO SISTERS is gorgeously filmed, with startling usage of reds and blues against the bleakness of that house. Some might say the film is slow going, but I’m telling you that the payoffs are worth the wait.

Oh, and I heard that this film was remade here in the States as THE UNINVITED, so I’m curious to see how Hollywood flubbed it up.

If you love stories that mess with your mind, this definitely for you….

Library Talk Tonight!

Hey, guys,
Just a reminder that I'll be at the Paseo Verde Library tonight at 7pm to chat and sign books. I believe you have to sign up for this, so for registration and info, you can click here!

Mr. Tony Lee on the MTV blog

Guys, Mr. Tony Lee, author of the fabulous HARKER (which I crowed about over a month ago...maybe two?) blogged at the MTV splash page. He writes about vampires...and mentions little old me!!!

Click here to read it....

Book Giveaway at Lynda Hilburn's Blog....

If you guys drop by Lynda Hilburn's blog today, you can leave a comment on my guest entry and that'll give you a chance of winning signed copies of mass market versions of NIGHT RISING and MIDNIGHT REIGN. Also, since it's Halloween time, I blogged about creepy--"legend tripping." To find out exactly how that phrase applies to my life, go here!

Additionally, for those of you around the Las Vegas area, I'll be at the Paseo Verde Library in Henderson on Wednesday night at 7pm. Robyn Carr hosts an author chat every once in a while, and I'm the featured guest this time around. It'd be great if you could come! You can go here for information and to register.

[*REC]: Halloween Awesomeness, V

Another entry in my Halloween movie mini-marathon:

I knew that [*REC] was the template for QUARANTINE, which is a remake of this movie, and I’d been meaning to watch the former because it’s supposed to be superior to the latter. Then a review appeared on one of my favorite Web sites, so I stepped it up and popped it into the DVD machine.

[*REC] is a Spanish movie, so it’s got subtitles, which I didn’t really notice after the first few minutes. It’s also a BLAIR WITCH/PARANORMAL ACTIVITY “found footage” style film, with a cable show hostess filming for a twee program about what people do during late night-shift jobs. On this night, she’s at a firehouse, and the first twenty minutes or so show her and her cameraman going about their business, interviewing firemen about what they do, etc.

Then an alarm goes off, and she takes to the streets with two firemen to a call where someone is supposedly stuck inside an apartment building. No biggie, right? But when they get there, the police are present, too. Someone called them because they heard screaming. Oh, oh.

Now, it’s important to note that you realize this hostess has got some ambition, so she and her cameraman decide to keep the film running as they go upstairs to help this screaming old lady. The hostess thinks this footage will get higher ratings than usual, so she and camera guy forge right ahead, even though the police keep telling her to shut the darn camera off. When it turns out this old lady has some huge issues, biting one of the policemen in a majorly grotesque manner (eeeeek!), it’s all on tape.

Lucky us! And, as all hell breaks loose in that apartment complex, I totally bought into how they kept the camera rolling and didn’t just put the thing away in favor of running: suddenly the cops quarantine the people inside for seemingly no good reason. The tenants, of course, get feisty, saying, “Let us out!” and “You have no right to do this to us!” And viola—the TV hostess has an even bigger story, so she’s not about to have it go undocumented.

Then there’s a boring part, where the hostess interviews about a million people, some with information that’ll soon play out. Some who’re just kind of there and making you think, “Get to more gore already.” Then…

Ah, then [*REC] turns into a scary mo’fo. It’s one of those hand-over-face experiences for the last twenty minutes or so, as we’re led upstairs to an apartment that’s supposed to serve as shelter for our survivors. There’s no way I’m telling you what happens next, but it’s some damn good horror.

Worth a rental for the last twenty minutes alone, if not for a pretty good time in general….

Next up? I don’t know yet, but I’m eying THREE EXTREMES….

The Prowler: Halloween Awesomeness, IV

I’m doing pretty well with this mini-marathon stuff!

Last night, it was all about



THE PROWLER is an 80s slasher flick that, somehow, I’d never seen before. It was fun to discover this fact. Equally cool was that Tom Savini, master of horror makeup, was on staff. I didn’t realize this while I was actually watching the flick, but I kept thinking how great the effects were, even though the story pretty much stunk.

Yup, this is not a very good movie. But even bad horror movies can be good sometimes because I’ll forgive it if it has some decent atmosphere.

This didn’t.

However, there’s something inevitably comfortable about a formulaic 80s slasher movie. You get a prologue with a set up kill. Then you move to the present time, where you get your basic innocent final girl to use as a placeholder for your own viewing experience. You get your usual man in the mask, lurking around and offing people for some screwed up reason. You get dumbasses getting ready for a party, then booze, boobs, bad acting, and blood. Lather, rinse, repeat. You know what’s coming and you anticipate every bit of it in these older slasher movies, and you eat it up, just like me. You know it.

THE PROWLER really knows this formula, which also includes introducing a horny-soon-to-be victim, dispatching him or her creatively, and planting the body in such a way that it offers maximum scares to the heroine when she stumbles upon it. The flick additionally has a vibe reminiscent of the original PROM NIGHT, which is one of my favorite slasher movies, though THE PROWLER never remotely approaches the grandly weird pathos of that awesome train wreck. The film even has FRIDAY THE 13th type string music but without the screeching PSYCHO homage and cheh-cheh-cheh-hah-hah-hah. (Okay, I know that’s not what’s on the soundtrack, but I keep forgetting what it’s really saying. I think I heard that it’s actually ki-ii-ill-her-her-her, which is what Mrs. Vorhees keeps saying when she’s chasing around the final girl in the first movie. Not sure though.)

Besides mindless, formulaic comfort, there are really merely three reasons to watch THE PROWLER:

1. The special effects that I mentioned. There’s one near the end that made me go “Ewwwwooooo” in a great horror way.

2. The poofy, blow-dried hair and high, too-tight running shorts that people wore in the 80s. There’s even a guy who evoked thoughts of a Q-Tip in me. He was supposed to be the hot hero. You’ve got to tune in just to be enthralled by his girly hair.

3. The sight of guys dancing to 80s music. Truthfully, this was really the most horrific thing about THE PROWLER, but then again, if I wanted to gape at something similar, I could’ve just watched VALLEY GIRL and had way more laughs. VALLEY GIRL is one of the five best teen romances ever, and it gets bonus points because everyone runs around with their Izod shirt collars up. There’s also a guy named Skip whose hair rivals the audacity of THE PROWLER Q-Tip man's locks. Double feature time, you all!

I get to watch [REC] soon, and I hear it’s really good. I’ll be back with that next time!