Tag: Horror

Netflix’s Movie “Spectral” is More than Meets the Eye

spectral

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

*Mild Spoiler Alert

The producers behind Netflix’s Spectral must be fans of H.P. Lovecraft and players of Pagan Publishing’s Delta Green RPG. This horror based role playing game takes concepts from this seminal author’s works and places them in a military setting, where covert operations are the. are of the game. In this game world, agents (who were once FBI, ATF, CDC or DEA) deal with threats from within and afar. The cosmic terrors that come to plague humanity are different in the film, and when dealing with the paranormal — ghosts especially — just how can you shoot one down? Bullets do jack.

The special effects are really cool in bringing to life these wraiths. The animators have them jump about like Power Rangers and vaguely move in humanoid fashion.

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Ouija: Origin of Evil is a Better Treat for Fans of this Franchise

The game is hardly over with the prequel Ouija: Origin of Evil. A few more tales can be spelled out but just how long interest remains depends on the desire of players wanting to toy with fate.

ouija_two_xxlg-jpegThe game is hardly over with the prequel Ouija: Origin of Evil. A few more tales can be spelled out but just how long interest remains depends on the desire of players wanting to toy with fate.

This latest movie is better than the first (I reviewed it here) mostly because of the setting. The late 60’s was a time where plenty of geopolitical terrors were lurking about. The aspects of historical rife made it so; the ongoing Vietnam War was on the minds of some politicians, the Berlin Crisis of 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 began the year. The end of this decade was rife with uncertainty as the future looked grim.

People were looking for answers; some turned to spirit contact for messages in what the future may hold. Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser) offered her skills as a medium (when she really had none) to give solace to those concerned about the world at large. Most of her clients wanted council because of the passing of a loved one. However, most of her séances were faked. The deception is known by her daughters Doris (effectively played with creepy finesse by Lulu Wilson), the youngest, and Paulina “Lina” (Annalise Basso), the eldest as they sometimes help mom out. However, when the Hasbro game is introduced and Alice decides to use it in her own game of deception, the supernatural forces lurking in her home are awakened!

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[Victoria, BC] Evil Acres is now Fear on the Pier. So What’s the Story?

banner-fear_on_the_pier-640x360Oct 13 to 31, 2016
Evenings from 6:30pm till 11

Ogden Point
Pier A – 203 Dallas Road
Victoria, British Columbia

Admission: $13
(or $12 w/ non-perishable food item donation)

Monsters Haunted House, the fine purveyors of spooky attractions for Saanich, BC, changed their operation from haunted barns to … one big warehouse for this year’s All Hallows Eve spooktacular. I miss the Evil Acres name. It had meaning for those who have lived in this municipality for most of their life; to witness the transition from farmland to modern housing is scary in itself. Some folks gave up the simpler life for modern conveniences. I watched my neighbourhood change from hothouses and farmland to nothing but homes for as far as the eye can see. To fondly recall those days brings nostalgia. Perhaps nestled in those large fields of grass is a corpse of a lost pet (or part of a human body) and the imagination can have some asking if a wild animal is on the loose.

The gorgeous back story crafted in this company’s previous show made going through an abandoned-looking home all the more chilling. All those murders and bloodbaths could have happened. Nobody could have guessed until local sheriffs and hospice arrived at the abode to investigate and offer relief.

This company’s latest attraction, Fear on the Pier, feels like a work in progress. There is no story to know of before going to this spectacle. Folks are entering a modern warehouse storing a decrepit warehouse which is sealed in black. Did a bunch of octopi expel ink here? Or could mighty Cthulhu have put his tendrils all over it, thus causing it to crumble into claustrophobic nothingness?

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Ed’s Top 10 Picks of the 2016 Vancouver International Film Festival

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By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

The 2016 Vancouver International Film Festival starts today and their selection of animated films and nerdy delights is fantastic! From a few television spotlights to films, this year’s event is of particular interest to me because the industry is paying attention to the coming thing  — virtual reality. From an industry exchange and VR pass to a discussion on how it affects storytelling in a cinematic medium, I am interested. This new technology to immerse audiences into a virtual world is challenging, and just how storytellers and filmmakers can use the medium certainly needs to be discussed. Does the story work like a choose-your-own-adventure book or is the narrative just that much more difficult to curtail? If the viewer is in total control, they can navigate anywhere. This industry panel will certainly explore it all for much of the day.

With a unique catalog of horror and animation films, I just wonder if I can see it all? or will I have to limit what my budget can allow? At least I have this top ten list of what I has my eye in this year’s programme:

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Charles Band on the Remastering of The Lurking Fear & Upcoming Full Moon Titles

charlesbandFilmmaker Charles Band listenins to his fans, and in response, he is re-releasing his catalogue of old classics from his Empire/Full Moon days onto Blu-ray. The trend has been going on for a while now, starting with Doctor MordridCharles Band, and this producer will keep it going. C. Courtney Joyner’s The Lurking Fear, inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, is now available (released Jun 15, 2016).

Band kept the original 35mm prints of many of the films he’s either produced or directed. In what he gets done, there’s hardly ever any pixelation. Of course, there will be the usual dust and scratches, and to get all that fixed takes time. No Photoshop plug-in can do the job. Like a film projectionist, each frame has to be analysed and colour corrected for the best image possible. He notes that it’s really expensive to go back to the original negative in order to make an high-definition (HD) master, but unless you have fantastic technical talent who truly appreciates the work — to bring the product back to its original lustre — the thought of putting it out to HD for those collectors is a gamble.

“The key ingredient to any of these transfers is to have an excellent colorist,” noted Band. “We have a guy who has been doing most of our work for the last 4-5 years. When he’s busy, I wait because he’s the only guy I trust.”

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A Guide to The Enfield Poltergeist’s Influence on The Conjuring 2 & Beyond

Conjuring_2* Spoiler Alert

James Wan’s The Conjuring 2 is very loosely based on the real-life Enfield Poltergeist incident and I believe Wan depends on the tropes (established in his previous works, especially Insidious, and other filmmakers, namely Tobe Hooper / Steven Spielberg’s Poltergeist and Richard Donner’s The Omen), far too much. The setting, plot and set pieces felt too familiar and this storyteller rarely deviates from it. As effective as he is in mastering what’s tried and true, I really hoped he would try new ideas out with this sequel.

The story is accurate in terms of revealing that the activity started when the girls started playing with an Ouija board. When you start communicating with ghosts with this device, they will want to talk back. Unless the proper precautions and sign-offs are used, they will stay until heard! The production team probably only went as far as looking at the Wikipedia entry on this case to add to the tale. While Wan’s production team said they talked to all the people involved in the case, not every incident was used or made important in this film.

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