Salem’s Lot by Stephen King Review

The year was 1975 and I was not even a zygote yet. I wasn’t a fathomable idea in the human mind, and therefore this book came out far before I was born. That’s not a bad thing, as I would learn about this book in 1988, when I was merely a child (5 years old). I didn’t read the book then, instead opting for other reading materials, mainly paperback books from the local library about ghouls and ghosts and goblins. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I read this one, and as far as a fantasy horror novel, it most certainly is an interesting one, especially since the characters have a little bit of a resemblance to the author himself, and notably so. Salem’s Lot by Stephen King is a different kind of vampire tale, one that teenage girls wouldn’t really scream about, and that’s probably why this best seller continues to gain sales and republishing time and time again.

The story is essentially a look at community and the relationship it has when outsiders come into a close knit area. Centering in Maine (of course), we meet an author that is going to be writing about a haunting, but ends up having to deal with more than meets the eye when he has to battle vampires that are taking over the area. The course of the novel finds Ben Mears and his wife fighting off the villains, and eventually taking out the head vampire in this modern Dracula inspired work.

Synopsis aside, Stephen King has stated many times that this was and is his favorite book. In fact, one Playboy article mentioned that he wanted to move forward with a sequel, and of course the movie rights were sold and we have two of those these days. Salem’s Lot is not too long, it has some filler, but overall has a great amount of action, and some terror laden moments leading up to a climax that you’d expect from vampire horror film today. Even though this is literature, you find yourself watching it all play out in your head, and that’s something that I’ve always admired about King’s story telling.

Sure, it’s not the most scholarly of books, but it has enough gusto to make me enjoy it and recommend it. You owe it to yourself to pick up this one, it’s well worth your time. Even if you just get the audio version of it, it’s far better than you probably remember. Pick it up by clicking below:

The Jaded Horror Movie Fan

Every get jaded on horror?

The same things happen a lot, the same decisions made and we’re supposed to just dig in. I am not a fanatic, I’m just one man with opinions on the genre that I grew up with it. My parents allowed me to start watching horror when I was a child and would often times leave me at home alone and to this day I find the genre to be quite interesting. There are a lot of complexities that are pointed out within the confines of this type of cinema, but there are moments when even the best horror movie doesn’t really hit home.

I’ve been struggling to find a connection with the movies that I’ve seen in recent years, and more often than not find myself falling asleep instead of paying attention. That doesn’t bode well for readers of this site that have been with me longer than my marriage lasted. I’m in a new relationship and things are going well, and with that comes a new set of responsibilities and ideas. I have been fortunate enough to be pushed a little to watch and review horror movies that I have mustered enough of an opinion to write about in recent weeks, but things are going to change yet again.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be adding more content as I have a new found love for horror movies that transcends understanding. Instead of negativity, I’ve found some positive things to denote in a lot of the movies that I have seen recently. Heck, Sinister was a slow moving opus, but you know what? It was creative and it had some good moments. With that in mind, I will be updating the site with all new content sooner than later. Just stay with me, as I move things around and get rid of the annoying background image that messes up my phone whenever I visit my own website.

3 Scary Movies That Will Keep You Guessing

When it comes to scary movies, you probably assume cheese or at jump scares. While that is a great proponent of many classics, that is not always the case when trying to find the best of the genre. When looking for the best, you will have to look a bit below the surface, and find horrific happenings in some of the more interesting of ideas. The following list will have you second guessing the genre of horror and will get you thinking about possibly watching again, for the first time. The list contains 3 scary movies that will keep you guessing until the very end.



Audition

What’s so crazy about a man that wants to meet a woman for the purpose of dating? At first glance this film is quite tame, until you start to get a closer look at what really is going on. There are several clues sewn throughout the film that will have you guessing, but not everything is fully explained. You will even get a second guess in the end, and you will be wrapped up exactly where Takashi Miike wants you to be. This film is one of the creepier movies you will find. There are moments of brutal terror that relies heavily on only the sound design, which is something you will not necessarily understand the first time you see it.



Frailty

What if God told you to kill the evil ones? Well, that premise is taken into some strange moments with this film. This is one of the gems that you will have to see to believe as there are some super natural elements, slasher, and horror themes that will definitely have you second guessing until the last moments. Is it real? Is it fake? What is really going on with this small town man and his two boys? Is it the devil? What is going on?! Frailty rocks hard and will send sheer horror up your spin.



Seven

David Fincher does something right, and it still has people guessing. Two detective have to solve a string of cases that are deeply rooted in the deadly sins of the Bible. Turn after turn the two get closer to solving the case until they figure it all out, but the villain is the one with the last laugh as he plays one hell of a trick on the police. If you were to make this a Batman film, it would beat out all incarnations of the character, because it is tightly wound and horrific all in the same.

For those that have seen all 3 of the preceding movies, you know exactly what it’s like to venture forth into movies that will keep you guessing, and for those that haven’t seen them, rent or buy these today, they will definitely be worth your time.

Sinister Review

There are a lot of movies that come out with the same premise as others, and this one seemed to have a similar idea going for it, although, it tried to make something new out of the trend of found footage horror movies. It’s with that in mind that we start to realize that the genre is not going anywhere, and while I may not love it, it is here to stay, much like the idea of torturous films after the “Saw” series came and went. With that in mind, enjoy the review of Sinister.

I wanted to see this movie when it came out initially, but as always, I wasn’t able to go for a variety of reasons. I tend not to have any money, and since no one that reads this site helps me out financially, it just isn’t possible for me to get entertained and write at the same time. It’s one or the other, and neither one pays. It’s that sort of reality that drives this movie, as we meet our hero, a struggling writer that moves into the house where a whole family is killed on a quest to write the best true crime book that he can. As he starts to connect the pieces of what really happened in the home, a manifestation starts to appear.

Much like other found footage movies, this one relies heavily on the premise that there was something supernatural on the other side of the film that caused the problems. In the end we get to see this demon of sorts and well, it’s highly predictable and laughable the way it ended. I didn’t like the way it turned out as it was a long and tedious romp through boredom to get to the final answer and to really understand what was going on.

Premise and boredom aside, Sinister does bring to light some very unique elements into the horror genre. There is the found footage thing, but the acting, and the urgency of the characters involved made you think twice about simply throwing in the towel for other entertainment choices. I found myself not only caring for the main characters but also wanting them to survive without a scratch. You know that wasn’t going to happen, and when you get the reveal, you feel a bit uneasy.

Overall, Sinister is an ok horror movie. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, unless they are diehard collectors. If you want to get it, it’s available on Blu Ray and other formats. Check it out, buy it on amazon and help a brotha out.