Horror Genre: Impact on Life

I have answered the questions about my favourite genres by adding something with the word “horror”. If you have been reading my blog, you might already know that I was always attracted to the genre of horror. It is also the genre which had the most impact on my life. Here are the results of the horror influence on my life, and it is why I need to watch more and more horror movies to keep recharging the impact!

I was very much not immune to fear during my childhood and the early days of reading horror. But that was only for a very short time period, as things changed, and horror was not really about bringing fear anymore. It was not about being scared. The whole thing became the reflection of entertainment. It changed my love for fairy-tales into a world of dark fantasy, and my life became different; unlike being the same as that of other kids.

Horror helped me to understand another important thing in life, which can be considered as the biggest impact that it has made on me. It made me realize that horror is just part of life. This dark side which forms an inevitable factor in human society, has to be embraced to accept that horror is real, and after that horror movies have been the path to knowing more of the truth in my case. Ghosts are real in one form or the other, and so is horror – I realized that with my relationship with horror genre.

Another realization came with the horror impact in the form of the thoughts about the presence of evil. I came to the acceptance that evil is part of our lives, and only by an extra dose of goodness that this evil can be kept away from our lives. The inherent evil in humans will come out at one moment or the other, and it is by understanding the nature of horror which has been created by evil or occuring naturally, can we be equipped enough to fight the battles.

There are horror movies which have told us that quick death is only an escape from pain and misery, as the world has too much of horror for a common person. Pain and suffering are just parts of the horror which are unleashed on us. The basic nature of the world itself is horror, as we look at those wars, terrorism and natural calamities. Easy death is rather a lucky thing, and considering the nature of the world around, death or the closeness to it can come in the form of horror and suffering.

Horror’s impact has also made me believe that ghosts are rather better. Humans are worse, and if we are to be killed, it is is better to have it done by the hands of some ghosts which are just tormented souls looking for revenge most of the time. Ghosts are not known to attack others of their own kind too, but it is not the case of humans. They have more evil inside, which is boosted by the materialistic world, and this means more horror from humans than the ghosts.

I also provide you with some time to think about it. There are many genres from which you can choose your favourite. But is there a genre which is as close to life than horror? Can any other genre make that kind of an impact on life staying close to reality? I have found these genres like romance and science fiction as two big lies, both of these never really happening to the common man. But horror is everywhere – you will see something belonging to this genre everywhere, because it is that close to human nature; it is why you feel the impact better with horror.

***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Pages of the movies, The Cabin in the Woods and Your’e Next.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

TeNy

Official Prayer Time

Vampire Owl: My dear vampire brethren, lets take this opportunity to spend some time in prayer. We know that you are attacked by the evil forces from both outside and inside, and there is the need for prayer to get rid of them. Even as we are basically immortal, we are going to be under the same law according to which God has created humans, angels and devils. So, each of you rise and say this prayer which will be helpful in feeling the truth of life, and it is also helpful to those who are not here with us. The credit for this particular edition goes to the Vampire Bat.

“Thank you God for waking us on this day. It is a beautiful day. Life still seems to have no meaning, but there is a lot of time for finding the existence of that meaning; as much as you allow it. So bless us on this day by getting rid of those relatives who have become the shadow of worthlessness on us. It might be a difficult task because they pretend to pray a lot, and while doing the same, they end up as actually giving some prayers. But as you can see into their hearts, it will be quite easy for you to come up with a decision; you know their souls and the darkness in them. We are also seeing through the murkiness.

I hope that you will start by putting some effulgence in the minds of those uncles who are always boasting about their children. We have always been friends with these people because they were our cousin-brothers and cousin-sisters. But the relationship has been going awry and might reach a state of pitiable disaster unless something is done about the ridiculous talk done by these uncles. There is so much boasting of their own children and the degradation of the others going on around that it will only bring a radical animosity among the cousins. After all, there is a limit to everything.

We also love the fact that our cousins have come up with good achievements, whether it is about getting a job with a high salary, buying some new asset, having a respectable position in the society or marrying an incredibly rich person. It is always good to have friends and relatives at high places, and we are only proud of them. But the problem comes when these uncles who make the vain father figure, comes to attack us for not having what their children got. By degrading us and praising their sons and daughters, they create that cloud of acrimony which stays and only gets worse as time passes.

The advice that they provide is even more unendurable, as it is absolutely clear that they know nothing about us or what we have studied. With their pathetic knowledge of the world except for the little well in which they live with their tailless amphibian kind of contacts, they come to our homes to provide their nonsense. As we are not against good advice and positive opinions, we sometimes get fooled and end up agreeing to it, and the result is that our situation gets further worse. We just can’t help it and we really needs to be saved from them and their pathetic advice which they force upon us.

It is from these shameless people that we need to be saved, O Lord. It is from this situation that we need redemption, unless it is indirectly a part of our absolution. We haven’t known these in the form of concomitant worries in the path of our life, dear Lord. So, please save us from the iniquitous environment that surrounds us, for it devours any kind of effervescence that we are struggling to keep for ourselves. We are unable to keep ourselves away from the perpetual trepidation that surrounds us and refuses to let us go. We need to escape, but we don’t want to run away.

We are not asking for too much, O Lord. Just make sure that these uncles stay with their lovely children. Take them to their sweet, innocent off-springs for at least one week a month or three months an year. It will be better if you take them and keep these people there for their sweet little eternity. If their children are so awesome, the parents should also be with them and show us the example of a perfect family. Without doing that, staying away from them and the children rarely coming home, they have no right to criticize those sons who stay with their parents and a family taking care of each other. Isn’t this the deadly sin of envy, my Lord? Save us from these deadly sinners”.

***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Page of the movie, Hotel Transylvania.

TeNy

Queens of Horror

I consider horror as the most genuine genre among them all. I would say that horror is more closer to life than anything else, as what life has in store for most of the people is just horror. There is some kind of horror awaiting us in every corner, and sometimes it has a lesser effect or sometimes it just misses us. Evil always finds us because if you search for evil in the common man, you will find enough of it to sell it in the black market. It is where the world stands now, and so this horror genre, which is the reflection the trust concerning the universe, needs to have more and more attention.

The first thing that we remember about the horror movies are the antagonists, and with the slasher-horror, we have those lovely villains waiting to take the heads of the other characters – may be they will play football with it; who knows? But people who get less attention in the same are the main characters, and some actresses have been part of horror movies for very long – they have been there for very long, but people don’t notice them because they are all looking at the villain and how he kills the ever-running people. So, lets take a look at five of the Queens of Horror.

Katharine Isabelle :: She is known mostly for her role in Ginger Snaps and its sequels. Still, her most noticed performance in a single movie might be as Mary Mason in American Mary; I am not a big fan of that movie, but she was very good in that. She was there in 13 Eerie and Torment, and came up with a very funny and interesting role in See No Evil 2 as she surprisingly provided great humour in that movie – Kane would be proud of that one. I would consider her best performance as Margot Verger in the television series Hannibal – she becomes another one of the strangest and the most complicated characters as the lady comes late into the series and grabs a lot of attention. At certain points, I felt that she was the best reason for me to watch that series!

Danielle Harris :: Among the scream queens who are still there, Danielle Harris is a person who has been there for a very long time. She started her career with two horror movies of a big franchise, with Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers and was also part of the two newer movies of the franchise, making it four Halloween movies in her list. She took over from Tamara Feldman for two movies of the Hatchet franchise, and was also a part of the movies Urban Legend and Stake Land. She also acted in two horror sequels, See No Evil 2 and ChromeSkull: Laid to Rest 2 making her a part of four of the biggest serial killer movies with Michael Myers, Jacob Goodnight, ChromeSkull and Victor Crowley.

Amber Heard :: Well, she is that kind of a person who seems to be custom made for horror-thriller flicks, and I have approved the same long ago. She has been my first preference in a horror movie among the younger actresses. If you have watched All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, you will know that people will just die around her, no matter whichever way you look at the situation. It is where you need to watch her first. It was her first big horror movie, and she made a grand impact with it as Mandy Lane. She was nice in the ordinary movie And Soon the Darkness, and very good in two other interesting horror movies The Stepfather and The Ward. Drive Angry, despite being more action had those horror elements along with Amber Heard.

Odette Juliette Annable :: I first noticed her in the movie, The Unborn which has a demon waiting to cross over to this world through her. I was watching the movie and I thought that she was Megan Fox. Well, they do look alike unless you have watched them both a lot in different movies; even their birthdays are closer – I would say that Odette surely looks more original, and has surely got better acting skills. If you back in the timeline, she actually had a little role in Kindergarten Cop and also played a small role in Transformers with Megan Fox. She joined the other queen of horror, Amber Heard in And Soon the Darkness and was also there in Cloverfield. My favourite work from her would be The Unborn, no matter what the critics have to say.

Briana Evigan :: Despite being known more among the common audience for Step Up 2: The Streets and the return in Step Up: All In, I have known Briana Evigan more for a number of horror movies. She was part of the thrilling horror movie Mother’s Day with Jaime King and was also part of The Devil’s Carnival and Stash House. She was one of the main characters of the horror-slasher flick, Sorority Row. She fights for life against a tiger throughout Burning Bright, and manages to come out alive – she is one of the only four characters in this movie, and gives a stunning performance. In Mine Games, she gets caught in a loop of horror which never ends. She will back for the sequel to The Devil’s Carnival, called Alleluia! and remains one of the most charming scream queens ever.

***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Pages of these titles.

TeNy

Your Cabin in the Woods

Horror is forever; just like the vampires. There are only a few full horror movies which can claim to have 91% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes, and in the last three movies, no entertaining horror movie has managed to gain that. Do mark that I don’t consider the overrated flick, The Babadook as entertaining – I am still to figure out what brought the better ratings for that one, and I will write about it when I do find out the truth behind the same. Even The Conjuring did fall short, and so it is a great achievement that one movie has made among the usual ones.

The name of this movie can be guessed from the title itself – it is The Cabin in the Woods which did excellent with the critics and good at the box-office, but still remains a rather unknown title in South Asia. Well, it never really released here, and may be it could have got a theatre after the release of The Conjuring, after which all those horror movies started releasing one after the other, none really making the same impact with the audience. The Cabin in the Woods just came a little early, and the big horror fan teams were not active at that time.

The Cabin in the Woods is not just horror, as it is also a slasher. Another thing that it manages to be is to become a satire on the movies which can be classified more into the category of torture porn than anything else. It can also be considered as a horror comedy which makes fun of the use of violence, nudity, torture and sadism in those movies which uses them for no reason instead of integrating them or working them as necessary part of the flicks. The Cabin in the Woods doesn’t add them as stupid fun, but uses them effectively to mock a few other flicks which have brought the genre down.

There are horror movies which have used all the elements in the right manner, and while making use of those which never did along with becoming the satire, The Cabin in the Woods actually becomes that horror movie which is never to be missed. It also knows where to use the elements and when to stop. Even its bloodiest moments are controlled, and never going beyond a certain limit. The dumb movies like Kingsman: The Secret Service which tried some of the similar things and miserably failed becoming the true nonsense, which was strangely appreciated, can actually learn from this movie.

Kingsman: The Secret Service was a bloody stereotype which should have been blown right out of the theatre, as it is kilometres away from being funny or interesting. It couldn’t go on to become a satire and glorified all the possible stupidity. Meanwhile, The Cabin in the Woods manages to become every good thing that this year’s spy movie couldn’t. The people without the ability to think differently will still consider this one as just another horror movie. It should happen with a lot of people, and so a warning has to be issued related to the same.

This movie uses the idea of the “deserted cabin” which has been successfully used in many other horror movies. The movies which used it successfully include the Evil Dead franchise, and Cabin Fever has it in the name itself; I Spit on Your Grave and Wrong Turn had their own cabins, and here, we use the perfect example of the same, and at the same time making fun of the whole setting. This one has college students at an abandoned cabin, and a number of horror cliches are unleashed on them leaving them with no option but to fight them off watched by unknown people.

Dana Polk (Kristen Connolly), Holden McCrea (Jesse Williams), Marty Mikalski (Fran Kranz), Jules Louden (Anna Hutchison), and Curt Vaughan (Chris Hemsworth) are the five people left for the fate this time. The performances are really good, and they themselves make fun of the stereotypes used in horror movies. There is also a final twist in the end, and the movie itself becomes a reflection of how horror movies are made, or a thought about what would happen if reality shows were made based on horror rather than the repeated things that are shown on television. This is fun, and it works on brilliant idea, that of more than one existence – as a horror, comedy, satire, slasher, thriller and also that of a separate existence in the mind of a horror lover and inside a possible reality show.

***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Page of The Cabin in the Woods.

TeNy

Quote Challenge 3: Stoker

“It is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain.”
― Dracula (Bram Stoker)

I have my classic vampire love shared between three major vampire texts, which are among the first few of its kind. John William Polidori’s The Vampyre, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The last one was the first one I read as expected, and remains the best known vampire novel of all time, giving Count Dracula that cult status that others didn’t manage to achieve. I read the first copy of Dracula in Malayalam, and it was another reason why it felt good for me when I was a child.

You won’t get the other two works in most of the other languages here, and nobody can identify a vampire better than Count Dracula. How many people know Lord Ruthven or Countess Mircalla? Well, among the people I know from here, none so far. Yes, everybody knows Dracula. Even someone who has no literacy knows Dracula. Yes, they might have different version of him for knowing in detail, but they know him anyway. So, Dracula being such a big name, it only becomes a need for me to remember a few of the quotes from the work featuring the legendary vampire.

Christopher Lee playing the Count (photo from wiki)

Coming back to the quote, where does the fault lie? What all does science want to explain these days? There is the case of logical thinking. It has lead to people asking me too many “why”s. When I wanted to take Humanities group for Plus Two, they were like who studies history and why? I gave up to that question at that time because I thought that they knew better. This idea about science being better than everything else was injected into me like a virus; I was brainwashed and I was ready to fall into that bottomless pit which had absolutely nothing for me.

When I wanted to study literature, they were like, why read so many books of fiction? I had fallen into that trap too many times, and this time, I just didn’t tell them when I joined the course. It was my escape from that question about someone doing what he or she loved the most. Nowadays, I often wonder why that question exists, as another case of using “why”. The scientific answer to life after tenth was the Science Group and the Engineering degree. They needed explanations for me studying what I liked – how logical.

Bran Castle, commonly known as the Dracula Castle (photo from wiki)

Science asks for proof for too many things, for the existence of God, spirits, soul and may be even for Simona the Kitty being a cool cat. Among all these, the last one might be the more difficult one as I have to prove it all by myself. These are the days when people are judged by their skills to boast and ride on their vanity than their goodness – now that is logical, isn’t it? Emotions are less significant, as logic is all that matters. There are things that need logic, but that doesn’t apply to everything.

Into the past, we wander into those times when taking a degree was the thing to do. With the modernity, came science and it took over the minds of the people who were so attached to materialism and they took the creativity straight out of the hearts of their children. They forced the poets, the novelists, the historians and many others to pursue science. They thought and taught their children that science will be the answer to all their problems. In the process, they never tried to see through the little eyes and took away the true skills of their children.

The procedure still continues as if there is no end. They think that there is nothing to do with the arts degree. I have heard from many people that intelligent people don’t go for arts and humanities or languages. I would like these people to join and make sure that the intelligence is shared with us. Why don’t these people just make a visit and provide us with a long lesson on our stupidity of not studying science? Well, I don’t think that they have anything new to say, because I have heard most of it in my life.

I have been nominated by Kiran, at https://drkiranacharya.wordpress.com/2015/06/19/day-three-quote-challenge, for the three day quote challenge. Thanks for the tag 🙂

Rules for the challenge:

• Post one of your favourite quotes (different quote on each day) on three days. The quote can be from your favourite book, author, or your own.
• Nominate three bloggers to challenge them.
• Thank the blogger, who nominated you.

For my day three, I nominate my blogger friends:

Harsha (https://allresourceupdates.wordpress.com)

Clementia (http://dclementia.blogspot.in)

Anita (http://icecandy16blog.wordpress.com)

And this ends the challenge.

TeNy

Horror Maketh a Vampire

Beware the Ides of May! Yes, by the half of May, a dangerous season having a wide variety of exams begin. So if anybody is planning to get married or having the idea of going to the other world during the later half of this summer month, I suggest you delay the same or manage it without any vampire presence. If you are having programs during that month, I would consider that you are intentionally avoiding me. So, plan your events carefully. In honour of the horror of May, I share six horror movies here just because I can 😛

Orphan (2009): Like a deadly evil plan coming together, Orphan manages to be a very impressive psychological horror thriller. Our child here, Esther is more than what meets the eye, but the couple who adopts her only realizes the same much later or rather too late. There is no supernatural here, and the adopted Esther is no child of the Devil, but you will soon realize that a demon child might be less dangerous. Isabelle Fuhrman is amazing as the kid, and the current good news is that she will be back for Cell, another horror movie. Well, some children are like this child in this movie, and there is no need for any explanation for that.

The Unborn (2009): Have you ever witnessed a Jewish exorcism for a change? Have you heard about the dybbuk which is the Jewish spirit which comes back from the dead? Well, this is something new, even though it does follow the usual cliches at a number of points. Here is some free Jewish mythology and along with the same, you have Odette Juliette Yustman whom I almost thought was Megan Fox; a sin which I won’t pardon myself, but that was some time ago. The movie does hold on to its scares, and it is always good to see Odette in a horror movie; she is a lot like Amber Heard – another suitable Lady Horror.

Drag Me to Hell (2009): In Drag Me to Hell, Alison Lohman becomes the cutest leading lady in the history of horror movies who is needed by people from hell and demons are eagerly waiting for the opportunity to drag her down to the other world. The movie deals with her frantic efforts to escape the fate that awaits her as a curse begins to work terror in her life after being attacked by a gypsy woman. Drag Me to Hell has so many interesting moments, and the opinions from the critics show that if you look at the ratings at Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, you are going to watch this without second thoughts.

The House of the Devil (2009): Along with setting itself apart with a nice dosage of nostalgia which brings back those older horror movies to us, The House of the Devil has managed to be a winner with the critics. Our protagonist takes up a babysitting job in a house quite far away from the rest, and manages to be in trouble. But this one surely stands apart in the way the scares are delivered, and the homage to horror movies of the much earlier ages also works like a blessing for The House of the Devil. This is more than just a haunted house slasher horror, and Jocelin Donahue is like this perfect choice for this role.

Mirrors (2008): When another South Korean horror movies is remade, you have your doubts, but this one has managed to come up with a life of its own, with interesting changes being made even when the basic idea remains the same. Mirrors is your movie to remember each and every time you look at the mirror in your room. Wait for that moment when your mirror image is not you, and then wait to be killed by your other self from the mirror world. You don’t always need a mirror though, any reflection is enough. I do wish that Amy Smart was there for more time though. You have to love the ending of the movie – it leaves us with more thoughts.

The Uninvited (2009): Here is another horror flick nicely remade from a South Korean movie, and we know that is going to be good from the interesting beginnings itself; then there is the twist coming, and you have to be ready for the final big turn. Emily Browning, Elizabeth Banks and Arielle Kebbel completes the best of a nice cast, and this the movie in which you have to like Emily cent percent. This is the psychological horror thriller that you need rather than what you want. You have to love with when a horror remake comes good, and here I have given you two with the Korean originals.

***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Pages of two of the horror movies mentioned here (Orphan and Mirrors). I am actually surprised that when I made a random list, it had four out of five movies released in 2009 :O

TeNy

Still Looking for Thrones

*You might started watching this series a lot earlier and came up with certain points about the same, but this is new to me. Unlike what some people might think, this is not a review or an analysis of the television programme. ***I have recently managed to watch the series Game of Thrones, thanks to my cousin brother – I have been looking for this one for a very long time after being having so much of recommendations. Yes, I came across this one too late, as I couldn’t trust my internet connection enough to get it to me early enough. Now with the fifth season coming up, I am happy to have watched all the fourty episodes from the four seasons in four days, and it is the fastest for me ever – ten hours each day for a season. You can argue that the fact that I am jobless has contributed more than anything else to watch them continuously and to write this strange and long post, I am not going to deny that.

As I watched Game of Thrones, I didn’t feel that it happened in another world, and this battle or civil war between the many noble houses for the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms is not so different from our present situation, and is close enough to our political parties and their games to come to power. Yes, there might be more similarities to the world’s known past with those kings, queens and their wars which were written somewhere in the history books from the viewpoint of the victorious people, hiding their own brutal massacres and genocides along with showing the enemy as the evil ones. Even nowadays, there is too much focus on who is the enemy, and we are not allowed to find it out by ourselves with ideas forced on us – surprisingly, even the educated falls prey to the same.

As people are forced to read the history that has been re-written so many times, we still have newer version of history forced upon us by different political parties. Some of them come up with new and improved opinions about historical figures with the strong belief that they are not going to come back from the dead to give an opinion, and the people who voted for them are just some idiots just because they elected these representatives. What they do there is to behead the dead again, just like the kings of Westeros have been son much interested in such executions. Some of them even flay the dead with their brutal words only to spread hatred against other communities and to keep their Iron Throne. Yes, they still indirectly say “off with their heads”.

It has always been about power. Do we need to believe that any of those so called great kings who forced the historians to write their own histories were better than the others who valiantly defended their kingdoms and lost with pride only to be called the barbarians? Do we need to feel for the kings who glorify their deeds and hide their actions of evil just because they can? Some of them were actually so evil that their deeds automatically became parts of the brutal history. Still, those who hold the power always had the special abilities to hide their evil in the present as well as to a future generation, and so will some of our politicians and celebrities who look down up-on the common man.

Even in sports, it is just the same. We have seen someone like Sreesanth being caught in the match-fixing scam, but the bigger names always escape. If you need to escape from being corrupt, be at the top – it is like a well-known lesson, and all those little birds know enough about it as they try to rise from the bottom. Even in the case of all the corruption cases, are we foolish enough to think that the biggest names even come close to being exposed? The mathematics of the crores that we see related to the corruption may not be even a moderately big amount at all. The powerful ones have another viewpoint and they are also looked upon with another set of alien eyes. We never really come close to it.

No matter in which field you thrive, choose to be at the top of them all, and it is the best way to be the evil. Being rich and powerful along with having powerful allies is always important for someone who wants to take advantage of others. Like those common people who had no idea why the kings fought their wars and like those soldiers who just murdered random people because the kings said, we the people of this generation also listen to the words of all politicians who fight their own Game of Thrones. Even with those who pretend to hate each other when we see them on the media, are they actually fighting a war against each other or having unholy alliances here and there just to gain their motives? And those religious heads who supports divisions has no relation to any religion at all.

There are all kinds of weapons in this world, and the nuclear ones are not the strongest of them. What hurts humanity the most is the division created by the men in power, for appeasing different communities, religions and castes along with creating a kind of reservation along the lines of the nobility just with another name, and teaching people to hate others in the name of nationalism which often takes the form of racism. We can always expect more reservations to come based on the vote banks – and the General category are the slaves in this case; asking for a fair and equal treatment when caught in the Game of Throne is impossible. The result is that hatred, racism and cateism becomes equal to patriotism and religious identity, and just like noble houses fighting each other, the force people to turn against one another, and negative effect of the same goes directly to the lives of the people. In the end, it is only the undead, or the death itself which can save us.

***The people in power sings their songs of fire and ice, and it is up-to the common man to realize that it is all part of a game and there is absolutely no service to the society which is intended in politics; if so, the common man would have been living better lives and the politicians a lot like any other person with their bank balance. The bloody aim is to gain that throne which has been corroding due to the dirty effect of that evil which has been bestowed up on it and has inspired a chemical reaction directly from the perpetual depths of inferno. Still, there is nothing like sitting on that throne, or rather the thrones. You listen to them and you become part of that big game of thrones which has no place for emotions except for when they play with your emotions. ***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Page of the Game of Thrones series.

TeNy

Checking Event Horizon

In November 2014, most of us were busy watching Interstellar, and showering praises on the movie like no other. Yes, I have given the movie a very positive opinion too, but what that it brought me was a return to the past, to another movie which I watched years ago. It was not Pandorum, even though it had the protagonists going to populate another planet a long way away from Earth. It was Event Horizon, one of my favourite science fiction horror movies of all times, and undoubtedly the best of space horror.

Released in 1997, I would like to believe that this movie was far ahead of the audience (and also the confused critics) of that time, and that should be the major reason why it wasn’t a hit or could go on to become a much talked about movie at that time despite its interesting ideas. It is in my long list of favourite space movies along with Pandorum which I mentioned earlier. This movie is also supposed to have inspired the video game series Dead Space, up-to an extent, and that is one of the most impressive scary atmospheres ever in a video game based on space.

Event Horizon: There is more to the spaceship that you can find with your naked eyes.

With the last game of that franchise released in 2013 as Dead Space 3, what we should have is a sequel to Event Horizon. Why I am highly in support of the same is because of its idea – it is the story of a spaceship known as Event Horizon which possessed a special, experimental gravity drive in its core. The special ability was that it could generate an artificial black hole and use its extreme gravitational power to bring two points in space-time together, highly decreasing the time taken for the ship to travel through great distances.

The result of the journey of this ship is that it doesn’t just go where it was intended to go. It travels to more than just one star. It travels to another dimension, something of pure, unadulterated chaos belonging to spiritual and physical annihilation of the worst kind. There is the message given “liberate tuteme ex inferis” (save yourself from hell), but this journey to another dimension which can be equated with inferno or hell means only one thing – death and destruction; that brings another Faustian situation here – something not limited to personal devastation.

Pandorum is not far behind in this idea and the horror of deep space. As I had watched Event Horizon as well as Pandorum, Interstellar had a much lesser effect on me. A number of ideas were already there with me, along with the different worlds of the game, Mass Effect. The existence of the humanoids go back to my thoughts about Prometheus, and for me, Interstellar was more of a combination of all these movies and games with the addition of a few unnecessary things, but still enjoyable as the space movie.

Pandorum: As Earth finishes its time, you have to travel to another planet, but how easy is it?

The idea of how wormholes work, the existence of other advanced humanoids in the outer space, the exploration of other worlds, the astronaut who lose the mind after staying alone in hostile atmosphere for too long, the arriving end of our planet, the properties of another planet or world – none of this is new to me, and therefore considering Interstellar as one of its kind (as I have found on some forums) is lame. Interstellar has something or the other common with the lesser successful movies and video games, and therefore the innovation needed was so less.

As Event Horizon is a masterpiece in space horror, Interstellar has managed to be the same in something else; it is like a pure science lesson which is less applicable to everyone – the skill is in adding a lot of unnecessary science classes to the work and making it less interesting for the common man. Before you watch Interstellar, you need to watch Event Horizon, Pandorum and Prometheus, plus play the two video games, Mass Effect and Dead Space. Thus you can have some Interstellar before having that flick, or rather end up watching a highly indirect prequel to it.

***The images used on this blog post are screenshots from the movies Event Horizon and Pandorum.

TeNy

Of Knights and Wizards

[The story so far: The wizards join in the grand tower to make sure that the sons and daughters choose nothing other than the Dwarven engineering or the Elven healing. The Wizard of Wind takes another step towards the same as he receives the book “Guide to Destroying the Hopes of Others” and advice from the Dwarven Eldar which he takes to The Wizard of Life. For previous episodes, check https://theteacerebration.wordpress.com/2014/11/22/the-wizards-choice/ and https://theteacerebration.wordpress.com/2014/12/15/choice-of-eternal-dislike/ *The images used in this blog post are screenshots from my time spent in the games, Oblivion and Overlord.]

“Rise, Knight of the Void” said the Wizard of Life as he raised the sword and presented the Wizard of Wind with knighthood. “You are such a gentleman” he said.

The Wizard of Wind had not only returned with the book and advice. He had also captured the Orb of Negativity. It was not really a capture to be exact. He had threatened a little wizard who had created one as part of his assignment for the School of Wizardry, and forced the kid to give it up. He also used his old age to his advantage, as he always did. The book and orb were going to work so fine for them. They could just unleash the negativity with the orb as it could collect as much as possible through a connection to the spirit world.

About the newly acquired title, it was something that had evaded the Wizard of Wind for a very long time. He never practiced what he said, but can we really blame him, as he had almost no idea about all those things he talked about? But he wanted to show everyone that he was so awesome and knew everything. For the same, he had chosen to fill all the voids with meaninglessness, and this doing was actually a positive thing for the wizards.

The Wizard of Wind wanted to keep the hammer instead of the sword to hit random people.

The Wizard of Wind nicely managed what seemed to be an eternal void, as he made it certain that he had that quality. He used to fill all the voids in his life and make it seem awesome, but at the same time make the lives of others seem bad. If he said something, it was knowledge and if someone else said the same, it was ignorance. If his son said a lie, it was smartness, but if someone else said that, it was blasphemy. If his son loved someone, it was because he was too good, but otherwise, it was a dirty thing to do, and the culprit should be quickly married to some random person.

“I am deeply honoured by this title. I would like to thank my uncle’s wife’s cousin brother’s neighbour’s only son who has been an encouragement for me as he was always there listening to my wonderful ideas” said the Wizard of Wind.

“Yes, you are supposed to be honoured, as I am the one giving it. But isn’t that guy dead?” asked the Wizard of Life.

“Yes, that should be why he listens without saying even one word to me. Now, you can advice me whats next. What would that be?” asked the Wizard of Wind.

“You should visit the place. Then you can start advising him. Come when he is not spending time with the hobbits. Just visit when he is studying at home. Destroy his momentum. You are very good at that” advised the Orb of Negativity which had made a connection to the world of evil spirits.

“But I am busy tomorrow. I have to tell twenty five people about the greatness of me and my family along with degrading a few others. Otherwise I will be very unhappy. After all, the wind is blowing in the right direction these days, and this Wizard of the Wind doesn’t have a job”.

“You are the Wizard of Wind. Just use your wind power to spread the tales. Also add the copyright details with special thanks to the spirits from the Ninth Circle of Hell” said the voice from the orb.

The Wizard of Wind had absolutely no idea what kind of terrible evil he was turning into.

“Oh God. I am so much more interested in money these days. I can’t even bear to see these people who don’t earn enough money. I need to destroy his hopes as soon as possible because his happiness will give me blood pressure. Why would he be happy? I mean, I have so much money and I am unhappy, always hoping to make more money” said the Wizard of Wind to himself.

“I don’t know about that, but all non-Engineers and non-Healers shall suffer. By the way, when you come back, do buy some crocodiles for our magic pond. It looks like Mountain Dew without Salman Khan” said the Wizard of Life.

The Wizard of Wind went home with happiness like never before. He had made things possible, those which he thought was not anywhere near happening. He felt that he had grown wings, and those dark wings of maleficence were larger than he thought they were. It had the strength of a Minotaur and the regenerating power of a Hydra. It was also as venomous as the tail of a Manticore. Tough in the skin like the Nemean lion and most of the random Rhinoceros, the two wizards considered themselves so cool that they ended up frozen in the brain by their own magic wands.

[The saga continues…]

TeNy

The Curse of Pimples

There are not many more physically disturbing things than having skin problems. Among them, the problem with pimples is that they become part of the face. The bigger problem is when they get irritating and we end up scratching. I have had my dose of pimples in the past, and even as it has disappeared now, there are times when some of those manage to come up and give some trouble. I have had skin problems, and skin abscesses has been also part of life. So, I know how bad it can be.

The loss of confidence: Pimples surely cause the loss of confidence. It is not something as complicated as the plot of Interstellar and you don’t need an alien creature to come through some wormhole to tell you that. The effect of pimple on confidence is something that can be guessed with ease. Wherever you go, whether for a seminar or presentation, and also for an important interview, the pimples are things that can hold you back, sometimes without even you knowing it.

The effect on looks: Even as I am not that much of a believer in good looks, pimples are surely something that affects how we face the world because we know that there is something bad on our faces after coming across any mirror or recently taken photo. I have usually worried less about it, but it is easy to feel that people surely consider looks as a very significant thing, and they can certainly go to a certain amount of distress concerning this. No wonder the advertisement work more on this factor.

Continuous irritation: Some of them cause continuous irritation. There is that never-ending procedure there which goes on and on. It is more like some terrible Bollywood movies like Besharam, Dhoom 3, Chennai Express and Krrish 3 which irritates and irritates, never really letting us leave from the circle of that feeling. We want to keep scratching, but we have to control ourselves. Sometimes, there is more than just one, and it is more like a huge Barbarian army coming with all their tribes.

The presence of pain: Pimples might be considered something of lesser pain compared to the abscess, but there are times when too contribute to the world of pain in a terrible manner. Sometimes, our nails do the trick and makes it worse. There can be the Lord of Pain, and pimples aren’t close to them, but with the combination that includes irritation, these minions of pain tries to do their best. There can also be acne, as you might be aware of it. The advanced condition can certainly be terrible.

Pimples are not considered as something nice, and you can see that some of the dark sorcerers and the evil witches have some advanced stages of pimples or some kind of similar growths on their face. They are actually overdone, but one can’t simply deny the bad effects on the same, on health. After all, the good skin itself is a sign of good health and it is something that everyone strives to have. On the end of the day, we have to agree that health is wealth.

This blog post is in relation with the contest organized by Garnier Pure Active Neem (Garnier Skin Naturals) in association with indiblogger related to the problems related to pimples that common people face in their daily life. Thanks to Garnier India and Indiblogger for the wonderful opportunity. Please check these websites for further details: http://bit.ly/GPABlogLinkIndiBloggerActivity and http://bit.ly/GarnierPureActiveNeemWebsite

For a direct visit, check: http://www.garnier.in/face-care/beauty/garnier/pure-active/neem-face-wash and http://www.nopimplesnomarks.com/. The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Page of Garnier India at http://www.facebook.com/GarnierIndia.

TeNy

Annabelle’s Own Choice

It is important to be well groomed and nicely shaven, no matter what opportunity we are looking for. It doesn’t mean that it a must, but it is surely a bonus, something that we can’t ignore. There is the advantage of looking better and tidy, and it is impossible to deny it. There might be that important day in your life, which comes to you all of a sudden, and it is the best to shave and be ready for it. Lets take the case of the following story, which includes the famous dolls/toys/action figures (Annabelle, Chucky, Snow Job, Outback and Sentinel Prime).

Swayamvara, that age old practice of choosing one’s own husband from among a goup of suitors, was given to a girl of marriageable age, long ago in Ancient India. It might have disappeared from its own land, but it has managed to thrive in another world, just like Christianity and Buddhism manages to thrive far away from its birthplace, rather than at home. This world is not something that all of you might approve of, but its existence is a reality.

The tears that used to be Annabelle’s blood – romantic stuff 😛

It was Annabelle’s day. The doll had prepared for the big day, as she prepared for the big function, and the most important day of her life. A lot of dolls were to arrive at her place, and most of them were from far away lands, beyond the oceans, and even from beyond the dark woods and the valley of death. A big feast was arranged for the day, and Annabelle had decided that she would surely choose someone this time.

The dolls had arrived much earlier than they were supposed to, and Annabelle slowly made her way in the middle. She stopped for a second, looked to the right, and immediately put the garland on the neck on one doll without spending much time looking at anybody else’s faces. It was so quick that almost everyone was stunned. The music started and the swayamvara was declared finished. The selected person was Chucky!

Chucky and Annabelle: A match made in the spirit world 😀

“I knew she loved me. I knew she loved me” yelled a happy Chucky as he was throwing knives at statues.

“What the hell?” asked Outback, the G.I. Joe. “I am a real American Hero and a Joe. A soldier here, and she chooses the serial killer? What is wrong with her”?

“I am a Sergeant and even I am not chosen, damn it” said Snow Job, his friend and the other Joe who had arrived with lots of hope. “I understand that she is also possessed, but a serial killer is too low for anyone”.

“Even my robotic self was not chosen. I am evil too. Why was I not chosen? We could have taken over the world, my dear Annabelle. I had even made a plan with the Great Vampire Owl about the same. Three time winner of the best robotic beard and I still lose here” said a disappointed Sentinel Prime.

“I win, I win” screamed Chucky as he cut the head of two statues there.

“The Shining” Chucky – he knows what you are cooking 😀

“Seriously, this is the best groom you could get?” asked Outback.

“At least, tell us why” said Snow Job.

“Why not? See how well-groomed Chucky is. He is clean shaven and see how well his face looks. He is so cute right after the shave” explained Annabelle.

“Somebody get me a transformer razor” screamed Sentinel Prime as he ran outside.

Moral of the story: Always choose to shave, worry not about the rest.

This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette.

*All pictures used in this blog post are from the official Chucky and Annabelle pages on Facebook. I’m tagging some of my blogger friends for the same activity: Ananya, Shabab, Ranjini and Najm. Please don’t forget to mention that you were referred by me in your post.

Here are the themes for your blog post-
Topics for Men:
Opportunities – Stories or instances where you missed out on an opportunity because of a ungroomed look.
Luck or Confidence? Will you leave your fate in the hands of destiny or will you step up and say yes to a well- groomed face to be at your best everyday? #WillYouShave?
Topics for Ladies:
An instance when a stubble came in the way of a man’s chance to make a good impression.
An instance when a well groomed look ensured that they struck gold on an opportunity given to them.

TeNy

Chucky’s Tea Party

*All pictures used in this blog are from the official Chucky and Annabelle pages on Facebook. No dolls were murdered and no spirits defamed during this conversation which happened at the Grand Chucky Tea Party.

“So this is your idea of a grand tea party? There are only two of us” said Annabelle as she stared at the collection of tea pots.

“A few more were supposed to be here. But there was a tragedy” said Chucky as he juggled with the tea cups.

“What happened?” asked a concerned Annabelle.

“It is about Uncle Dracula. He is going through a stage of depression. The whole team is there at the hospital” said Chucky.

“What? How come nobody told me? What happened to him?” screamed Annabelle.

“It happened on this Halloween. He was trying to scare a family, but that didn’t turn out as he wanted. It is actually quite ridiculous. The people who knew about it were asked not to talk about it” said Chucky looking up.

“Can you please try not to look on the ceiling fan in a dramatic way while telling sad stories? After all, you are supposed to be a serial killer” said Annabelle was she stared at him.

Chucky and Annabelle: A doll match made in the spirit world 😀

“Yes, but this is rather scary stuff. Uncle Dracula was living as a paying guest with a family somewhere in India after he got tired of the Eastern European climate. He was hoping that he could scare the people in that house on this Halloween and leave for a new place”.

“I would think that he managed to haunt the house enough to inspire a movie. He is good at that. It is him and his minions that disguise themselves as ghosts and haunt houses regularly” remarked Annabelle.

“The family consisted of the old man and his wife, their son and his wife, and their two little children, a boy and a girl. The son was a doctor and his wife an engineer. The old couple had spent almost all their family inheritance and savings just to make his son a doctor, and then to marry him off to the daughter of one of the richest families of the land, or rather the family offered to buy the guy with such a large amount of money that the son immediately accepted. The son was well-educated, but wasn’t taught about how to be a good guy”.

“Dowry? Buying the groom? It still happens among the humans? In this century?” asked a shocked Annabelle.

“Yes, it does. The marriage lead to the domination of the new woman at the house who despised the old couple and began to create problems with them. Everyday, she created a new problem and kept telling her husband to send them to the old age home. He was blinded by her money and beauty and couldn’t resist much. This Halloween was the day on which he was sending them to the old age home”.

“The Shining” Chucky – he knows exactly what you are cooking 😀

“Evil humans. Can’t they at least learn from how well we care for our own, especially the old and weaker spirits? Shameless people. We will beat them up when they become spirits, but I wonder if they do have a soul” added Annabelle.

“It was the day of Halloween, and Uncle Dracula jumped upon them with all his glory, and couldn’t stand the tears of the old couple and how they were treated by even their grandchildren on the day were to be packed off to the old age home. Uncle saw the devil in them; it was like seeing Mephistopheles on a bad horn and hair day, and he fainted. He was taken to the Dead Man’s Vampire Infirmary where the Vampire Bat and the Vampire Owl has gone to make sure that he is fine; they should have reached by now. The rest are on their way to see him from different parts of the world. He should be okay; Igor is a well-trained doctor, and he has Victor Frankenstein’s notes to aid him”.

“These humans are demonic creatures aren’t they? It is difficult to watch even what they do to their own. And they make movies on us an portray us as evil, just because we are dolls and have souls. I hope he doesn’t read newspapers daily, its further injurious to the soul” said a frightened Annabelle.

“And then they will ask for the freedom to be such idiots. The only thing that the new generation will fight for is not according to the priority – they claim to stand and try to achieve stupid things, but is it what society needs the most? For the same, they will get rid of their values and integrity. They are selling their souls to the devil with such ease, aren’t they? Parents land at old age homes, and children are abandoned enough to create a worse next generation. Do you know that the humans are coming back to this house today?” asked Chucky.

“What? Then why did you plan this program here? Are you out of your little doll mind? asked a tensed Annabelle.

“I don’t know. Nobody is coming, and I thought it would be romantic to have tea with you alone in a house haunted by humans. It was to be an adventure for the life time” explained Chucky.

The tears that used to be Annabelle’s blood – cute romantic stuff 😛

“Seriously? No wonder humans make dumb movies on you” remarked Annabelle who walked out.

“Humans, the scourge of Earth” added Chucky while running after Annabelle.

“You know nothing, Chucky” Annabelle was screaming.

“Who am I? Jon Snow?” Chucky wondered while running.

*Meanwhile, the Vampire Cat delivered the message that Uncle Dracula is alright and is drinking Blood Shake with tablets while having potato chips. The Vampire Bat and the Vampire Owl have gone to the multiplex.

TeNy

Story of a Purge

There is something about the new generation people. They are angry, not just plain angry, but so angry that they need to go serial killer on their own people, even their friends and relatives. In that case, what is the chance of the common man whom they witness on the streets? Beware, people; the angry young men can take you on, and be careful when dealing with these people. You don’t know what they are capable of with the anger and frustration which have been going through them.

Some time ago, I had read something about a group of young men abusing and beating up an older man just because they found his vehicle ahead of their “super” automobile. This can’t be considered much different from what the cricket fans have been doing to Maria Sharapova, and yet this is also a case of disrespect to the elders which is the result of “spare the rod and spoil the child”, and the parents also suffer from a child who is not rightly disciplined, and it is such a shame.

This is where the movie The Purge comes to the picture. The angry young men need to purge their emotions and earlier they had chosen Sharapova for the same. A higher option is surely the life of crime and this movie talks about the need for a bigger purge, which means that people won’t have to abuse someone at frequent intervals, like Keralites have been doing with Renjini Haridas, Sreesanth, Prithviraj Sukumaran and Aashiq Abu. It is a shame that it has become so difficult to control negative emotions, and the need for such a purge is rather disgusting.

The purgers demanding their right to purge or abuse & kill (screenshot from the movie)

Coming back to the movie, it has a period of twelve hours every year set as the time for the purge in which every crime goes. All things become legal, and some people will have the resources to defend while the others will just have to become the victims. The number of purgers will be a lot more than expected, and even your best friends or relatives can kill you. It is a terrible situation, and all this hatred and abuse which is going on in the Facebook pages is actually a kind of purge, a harbinger of something worse.

The Purge has lots of elements which should terrorize people, with the absence of any feeling of remorse or regret among the purgers, the blood and gore, as well as the declaration that these criminals are good, educated youth. That should bring a question about the point of education as we have seen what kind of words a group of literate people use on Facebook, but that would be another story. Here, the purge is about the absence of a heart and a soul.

The Purge has a terrible thing at its centre. The idea of such a purge itself is horrifying, but in the end, this movie is a violent movie with a message against all kinds of violence and has a stance for equality and kindness among all. We all have the tendency towards violence and it can’t be ignored. But the problem is that people only care about violence happening towards their own, or those who are kind of like their own. Otherwise, these people seems to find it okay, and it is impossible for them to realize that it happens both ways.

Yes, the purgers are the educated youth (screenshot from the movie)

The tendency for violence will only increase among the upcoming generation as they are introduced to the world of blood and gore at such an early age. They are not disciplined and live the way they want to. Therefore, it is natural to get abused just because some young person rams the car into yours and start abusing you even as it is clearly their fault. You can’t argue with them, as they don’t listen to the voice of reason, and the new tendency is to completely avoid the word of God.

TeNy.