Unravel Childhood Angst & Mysteries from Beyond the Grave with Paper Ghost Stories: Third Eye Open

 By Melissa Bostaph (twitch.tv/mother_chaos)

From its unique artistic design to its simplistic mechanics, Paper Ghost Stories: Third Eye Open is an indie horror game unlike anything I have ever played. It is a story-driven narrative adventure about a young girl named Ting as she navigates her life in a small Malaysian suburb. Ting’s journey begins when her family moves to a new neighborhood where she sees another little girl looking lost and confused. After a short conversation, Ting and the strange girl, Xiu, begin a rather unusual friendship. You see, Xiu is a ghost, and it seems only Ting is able to see her.

REVIEW: In Lovecraft Country, Not All Monsters Have Tentacles

As soon as a project emblazons the name Lovecraft across it's marketing, there is a mixed reaction among the lifelong horror fans who know what baggage comes with it. Some simply celebrate the work that's seeped into the dark corners of our minds, filling those shadowy spaces with roiling tentacles, clawed hands that seem once human, and glimmering black eyes that shine in clusters like bubbles floating atop a puddle of water. Others are quick to point out the author's blatant racism, which, understandably, ruins any and all work the man did in his lifetime. HBO's Lovecraft Country swims deep and unflinchingly into these murky waters, delivering monstrous entities with a thousand eyes and teeth that leave no man recognizable, and on that same page, puts the viewer on the receiving end of a 1950's world designed to treat black folks as less than human. All at once, a "sundown town" means a region where black men and women can be rightfully hung after dark and a place where, deep in the forests, you may hear a branch snap far above you and a low growl build with anticipation before an unspeakable terror claims your life.

2017 Holiday Geekbook: Marvel: Spider-Man 1000 Dot-To-Dot Book

Marvel: Spider-Man 1000 Dot-To-Dot Book reviewed by Evelynn Faith Moon

I was pretty pumped to be given this book to play with, like all good comic book geeks I would LOVE to be as gifted as the artists I read on the page, so a dot to dot book seems like one avenue to fulfil my fantasy of creating a Marvel masterpiece. I am a big fan of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and Thomas Pavitte is known for creating a dot to dot version of the Mona Lisa, which is no small feat. I was excited to dive in and see what he did with some familiar faces.

I feel like an idiot now that I’m looking at the cover again it literally says “Spider Man 1000”, so that should have been my first clue as to how many dots I was in store for.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 Marches To Their Own Beat

Gaze upon me, geeks. I am the guy they drew those cartoons about. After seeing the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, I was perplexed as to why the entire planet was going insane for it. I didn't hate it..I just didn't like it very much. It's not like I wanted to take the joy away from those that did love it or be king of the obnoxious peoples by asking them to explain to me what parts were "good". I just had issues with the film, and for once, my life-long-love of Marvel Comics was not forcing any pre-conceived notions about what the movie was supposed to be, as I'd not really read anything with any of the characters in it. My gripes were few, but echoed throughout the film:

In Pac-Man 256, The Glitch Bites Back!

It’s a new twist on Pac-Man on your iOS or android device. Eat the dots, avoid the ghosts unless you have a power pellet, you know the drill. However, this time the glitch from the 256^th board of the Pac-Man arcade game (that made beating level 256 impossible) is back, slowly eating away the maze as you head up and up. How far can you go? How long can you last? How much can you score? How relevant can Pac-Man be in 2015?

Mobile phone games are all the rage these days, and many claim to offer all kinds of fun for the low low price of free, but very few games actually deliver on that promise. One game that delivered very nicely was last year’s Crossy Road. A fun take on Frogger, turning it into an endless scroller in an isometric, pixels turned into boxes kind of thing.

Poltergeist (2015) Movie Reviewed

When Eric Bowen is laid off, the Bowen family are forced to look for a new home. What initially appears to be the best option in their price range, is in fact a home haunted by a large number of malevolent entities. These ghosts have their eyes on the youngest daughter Madison, and when she is kidnapped and taken to their domain, the Bowen's son Griffin is forced to face his numerous fears to help bring her back.

Just to get it out of the way: The Poltergeist remake is not one of small group of movies better than the original. It doesn’t seem like saying much to me, but people need to hear it before any discussion of this movie can begin.

One thing you’ll learn about me as I review movies is that I have nothing against remakes in principle. When I hear a movie is being remade, I don’t ask ‘why?’ but instead I ask ‘who?’. It shouldn’t be a shock to anyone that, like most Hollywood pictures, remakes are green-lit by the studio with the express intention of making money. You can be equally as cynical about the latest superhero movie, Nicholas Sparks adaptation, female starring comedy vehicle and found footage project.

Fantasia 2013 Mini Reviews Part 3: Thanatomorphose, Rewind This, OXV & More

It's the last round of Fantasia mini reviews from Emilie Noetzel before we start filtering in some more full length reviews. Dive in and read up on films you'll want to keep a running list of and seek out when they start showing up in theaters or on DVD!

Thanatomorphose

From the provided description, Thanatomorphose “is a French word meaning the visible signs of an organism’s decomposition caused by death.” The lead character in this movie has a simple life in a simple apartment with a douchebag boyfriend who does not treat her right. As her relationship seems to be getting worse, her body starts decomposing. The story is certainly a metaphor for something, but the level of gross that is brought on by the decomposing body of the lead while she tries to survive it takes all attention away from any meaning you may hope to pull forth. The effects are amazingly good and absolutely disgusting. I have seen more than my share of gross out movies and this one has surpassed them all. It is flat out wretched, so much so that the story falls behind this and does not get the focus it deserves. So, if you think you can take the vomit inducing effects and peel away those putrid layers to get to the story beneath, or even easier, want those effects alone, go for it.  All of weaker nature should avoid.

Fantasia 2013: Mini Reviews Part 1: Big Ass Spider, Helter Skelter, Big Bad Wolves, Saving General Yang & More

Amid the flurry of San Diego Comic-Con and just before the oncoming storm of Disney's D23 Expo, there was the film festival gem of the north we call Fantasia. How do we cover all these events? Well, if you are a regular reader, you know the answer is ...slowly. Guy's gotta make a buck in between all this geekiness!! The better answer (but not as funny) is, with a lot of help from some excellent people. Emilie Noetzel went straight from the floor at SDCC over to the streets of Canada to take in as many excellent films as she possibly could and give us the heads up on what we should be demanding get a wide release and what we should just slowly slide away from and pretend never happened...as is sometimes the case. Dive in!

Fantasia 2013: Frankenstein's Army Review

The idea is a familiar one, especially to those who have been attending conventions for over 10 years. The Nazis were a sadistic group of madmen and murderers, dabbling with the occult and exploring every mythological avenue to achieve their end game. Enter a group of Russian soldiers being filmed to inspire the populace (found footage WW2 movie!!), sent to back up a squad in a nearby skirmish. When they arrive, the bodies are plentiful, but the Russian troops are nowhere to be found. As the crew explores the town, they tread where they clearly should not…and activate machines they obviously should have kept their damn hands off of! In typical horror movie fashion, one turn of a crank and flick of a switch sets things in motion and the fun begins!!! It is hard for me to put into words the sheer level of awesome put up there on the screen. Metal goliaths with pincer claws. Stilt walking, gas masked creatures with drills where their face should be. It’s as if a sadistic 12 year old was told to take industrial tools and attach them to zombies in a series of crayon drawings..and that kid sat there until every variation was exhausted. Inspiring!

Silent Hill Revelation 3D Interviews & Review

Tis the season for spooky..which means I am working overtime for Dread Central these days! I didn't want you to think I was avoiding you..it's just that daddy has another family in LA and they demand his attention from time to time. I wonder if there's a little Golden Book for that?

I stayed up into the wee hours to crank out my Silent Hill Revelation 3D interviews and a review that sums up my major disappointment in a flurry of curse words, Bay Watch comparisons and a nod to Hellboy 2. Having loved the first movie so much, writing this review felt a bit like slaying a horde of demons that had taken residence in my brain. I just can't understand how people that claim to love the first film could make something so completely bad. It boggles the mind.

At any rate, I know a lot of you are Silent Hill fans too, so be sure to READ THE INTERVIEWS (or Part 1 of the interview series where I talk to Director Michael J. Bassett), then DIVE INTO THE REVIEW..in that order, for maximum enjoyment. It also lays out the order of my experience, so you could see how my excitement was pumped up by the director and cast....annnnd then smashed upon the rocks below later that evening. Enjoy!

UPDATE: Read all my Silent Hill Revelation interviews, up now on Dread Central!
Part 2 with Adelaide Clemens
Part 3 with Kit Harington

Quick Note: I'll be leading a Q&A with Larry Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid at a screening of I Sell the Dead tonight in Rahway, NJ, so come join us!

The New 52 : Week 2 Mini Reviews!

We've got 11 reviews posted to Heidi MacDonald's THE BEAT! The roundup includes..

Action Comics
Animal Man
Batgirl
Batwing
Detective Comics
Hawk and Dove
Justice League International
Men of War
O.M.A.C.
Stormwatch
Swamp Thing

As Heidi points out, I'm no hardcore comic reader and I'd all but deserted DC Comics when Nightwing became Batman and they made Green Arrow a killer, so you might list me as one of those lost readers DC wants to win back. 11 books later and I'm shocked to holy hell. The new 52 ranges in style from gritty and blood soaked to balls out ridiculous fun! They even found new ways to tell old stories we never thought could be reinvented. THIS is the experiment we've been waiting for and I seriously hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. At any rate CLICK THIS LINK and dive right in!

If you'd like to see more detailed reviews of the books like we did for Batgirl, Animal Man and Justice League International, give a shout and be loud!