Categories
Debaser TV

The Purge (Season 2)

As I’ve written in the past (last year’s Halloween marathon included quite a bit of Purge releases), I quite like this series, and so I was excited at the prospect of a second season of the TV show. Only one episode has aired so far, but I already like the premise, which proposes that we spend the season looking at the year leading up to the next Purge (and the fallout from a Purge that has just ended). At least that’s what it looks like we’re going to get.

Categories
Debaser Film

Midsommar

I loved Hereditary — it was part of my Halloween marathon last year — and this follow-up from director Ari Aster is just as interesting, if so incredibly different a kind of movie. It’s definitely not scary in the traditional sense, but features some incredibly shocking scenes. And it’s a very slow burn, but one I found myself completed sucked into. It’s definitely not for everyone, and I can see how someone could not really like it, but I quite enjoyed my time with it, and was mesmerized from pretty much start to finish.

Categories
Debaser TV

Costume Quest

I really loved Double Fine’s two Costume Quest games, and when an animated series based on those games was announced, I was pretty excited to check it out. When the first season did come out, I remember checking on Prime Video here in Canada and not finding it, and then forgot to check again later. With the recent release of a second season, that prompted me to check again, and I found that both were now available. I’ve only watched the first episode, but it feels just like what I’d want from a Costume Quest animated series: fun characters, a great cartoony aesthetic, and nods to the game. During my Halloween marathon, it makes for a nice comedic break from all of the horror I’m watching.

Categories
Debaser TV

Twilight Zone (2019)

I started watching the Jordan Peele-produced reboot of the series when it was airing earlier this year, but hadn’t gotten around to watching the last three episodes, which I finally did now — a good time to watch them, as part of my Halloween marathon. I quite liked this series, and I’m hoping they do more (it sounds like it was indeed renewed). As with any anthology series, I can’t say that I enjoyed every episode evenly, but overall I had a really good time watching it, and felt like there were way more hits than misses. I also enjoyed the super meta final episode of the season (even though the middle part dragged on a bit). So far, when it comes to horror and suspense, Jordan Peele can do no wrong for me.

Categories
Debaser TV

American Horror Story: 1984

As I did last year — see my round-up post — I’ve decide to devote a good part of my media viewings in October to horror (or horror-tinged thrillers), since I had so much fun last time. So yesterday, on October 1, I kicked things off with the current season of American Horror Story, this year subtitled 1984. I haven’t watched the series since the second season, but it was the 80s setting and theme that made me want to come back. I’ve only watched the first episode, but so far, it’s deliciously horrific in that fun cheesy 80s way that I’ve become so familiar with due to all my 80s movie marathons I’ve been doing in recent years (I’m currently in the middle of a 1989 marathon). I’m definitely looking forward to watching more episodes of this.

Categories
Debaser

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

This past year saw me re-watching a lot of Halloween movies, including the original (released in 1978) and the third one (and also the new one that came out this year, which I enjoyed immensely). Jumping into the 4th is a bit strange since this follows the events of the second one (the 3rd was a spinoff of sorts), and so it refers to things that we didn’t actually learn in the first one (like the family links with Michael, that have been erased with the new film). It was still a fun ride though, and as much as the third one is sorta neat in how weird it is, it’s good to be back in the world of Michael Myers.

Categories
Film TV

Thrillin’ and Chillin’ in October

Over the past month I did something a bit different from the recent movie marathons I’ve been doing. Instead of focusing on a year or a particular creator, I did an all-out horror fest, mixing movies with TV series (I didn’t necessarily watch all of the episodes yet, but I did for most of them). With 27 titles, it made for the most intense October viewing experience I’ve probably ever had, and it was fun too — I can definitely see myself doing this again next year.

Below, a list of all the horror content I took in throughout the month — you can also find all the posts under the “October 2018” category.

  1. 1922
  2. Apostle
  3. Ash vs Evil Dead (Season 2)
  4. Bone Tomahawk
  5. Castlevania (Season 2)
  6. Channel Zero (Season 3)
  7. Down a Dark Hall
  8. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
  9. Ghoul
  10. Halloween III: Season of the Witch
  11. Hereditary
  12. Hold the Dark
  13. Into the Dark: The Body
  14. It Comes at Night
  15. Malevolent
  16. Oculus
  17. Pride & Prejudice & Zombies
  18. Summer of ’84
  19. Terrifier
  20. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
  21. The Endless
  22. The First Purge
  23. The Haunting of Hill House
  24. The Purge (TV series)
  25. The Purge: Election Year
  26. The Ritual
  27. Winchester
Categories
Debaser

Halloween (1978)

After saying goodbye to 1968, I kicked off a run of 1978 movies last night with the original Halloween film. The absolute star of this movie is the fantastic soundtrack by Carpenter — that iconic theme is just as good now as it ever was, and its use really does make it feel like it’s an integral part of the Meyers character. As for the rest of the film, sure, there’s a lot of silliness (why does she keep dropping that damn knife after using it), and the audio dubbing is at times atrocious, but it was pretty fun to watch, and I’m glad I’ve gotten this refresher ahead of the release of the new Halloween film this year, that’s a direct sequel to this (with Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role, as well as the actor who played the original Michael Meyers). I really hope the same audio cues show up as well.

Categories
Art

Baby Halloween Frappuccino

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Just in time for Halloween — and yes, in certain parts of Tokyo, parents do organize trick-or-treat outings in some neighborhoods — a fun little illustration by Tokyo-based illustrator Fern Choonet. Found via Canvas.

Categories
Nightlife Photography

Halloween in Shibuya

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Halloween being a big deal in Japan is a new-ish thing, and it’s been growing over the past few years. Pictured, costumed revellers out and about in downtown Shibuya this weekend. Found via this tweet.