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Ready or Not: Movie Review

8/27/2019

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I recently saw the movie, Ready or Not and I have to say, it was well done. It lived up to all my expectations from the trailer. The synopsis reads: A bride’s wedding night takes a sinister turn when her eccentric new in-laws force her to take part in a terrifying game. Actress, Samara Weaving plays the main character, Grace. She’s marrying Alex Le Domas who is a member of the Le Domas family which is a rich family who made their living making games dating all the way back to the Civil War. However, it’s much more than just simply making it big with games. The legend says, that one of the Domas ancestors struck a deal with the devil to make it rich. However, to keep their end of the bargain, every new member of the Domas family has to pull a card from this mysterious magic box and play the game the card says. Apparently, most of the time the games are benign like Chess or Old Maid (WTF is Old Maid [inside joke from the movie]). But, if the new family member pulls the Hide & Seek card, then that means they’ll be hiding from the family and if found, will be sacrificed for the devil. The catch is that if the family can’t make the sacrifice by dawn, then the family will all die.

It’s a loose storyline; however, a movie like this doesn’t need a lot of depth. The characters carry this story along anyway. First of all, we have Grace. You find out that she came from the foster system and didn’t have a lot growing up. She’s totally in love with Alex and wants to make a good impression with his family even though she’s convinced that they hate her and think she’s a money-grabbing whore (her words). Grace is pretty funny and very resilient. After the initial shock of what’s going on wears off, she pulls on some serious inner strength and becomes that kick-ass protagonist we all want.

Second, we have her newly acquired husband, Alex. Alex we find out has somewhat left the Domas clan and his mother wants desperately for him to come back into the fold. At the beginning of the movie, Grace and the mother have a chat that could have been heartwarming if you didn’t know what was about to go down. She basically begs Grace to help bring Alex back into the family.

Next, we have Alex’s brother, Daniel. He’s alcoholic and quite disillusioned with the whole family. However, he remains loyal (somewhat) to what they are doing. Daniel is a funny character and portrays a wounded, broken shell-of-a-man well.
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There are a lot of other characters in this tale, most of them are somewhat throw-away, but a few stick out. There is drugged out sister that is hilarious, an in-law brother that is equally funny, but I think the best is the Aunt. She plays this dour, old woman who is hell-bent (see what I did there) on maintaining the status quo with the devil. The crazy thing is, they give her this massive ax that looks comical with her. I mean, how the hell is she supposed to swing that thing, it probably weighs 1/3rd of her body weight!
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Throughout the entire movie, you are left questioning whether or not the devil is real, or if the family has all just accepted the legend as fact. We get to see what lengths people will go to in order to survive (both by Grace and the rest of the Domas family as the clock continues to tick).

Overall, this movie was awesome. There are gruesome death scenes; comedic relief (full disclosure, it’s very dark comedy…but come on, you should expect that seeing how this is a story about a family ritualistically hunting down another human), and lots of blood.

Also, the filmmaker did a great job with tension and anticipation. There is a scene (I’ll detail it later in the spoiler section) that had me squirming. You fully know what is going to happen, but it’s in that knowledge that the scene works so well.

I give this movie 4.5/5 dead bodies. If you like campy, funny, horror movies, then go check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.
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Now, on to the spoiler section.
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Okay, still here? Cool. Throughout the whole movie, Alex is trying to save Grace. He didn’t want to bring her back and do the wedding there, but he was afraid of the potential curse. At one point in the movie, Alex is talking with his mother on why he left, stating that he realized slitting a goat’s throat in the name of Satan wasn’t a normal thing to do, but that he was starting to feel normal about it. His mother makes a comment at that point that if given the choice between family and a woman he met 18 months ago, he’ll choose family. At that point I kind of figured he would turn Darkside and I was right, even though it was the last moment he decided to turn against Grace.

We ultimately find out that the deal with the devil was real all along. Because they fail to sacrifice Grace by dawn. However, it’s super funny what happens. Because the sun comes up and the Domas family tries to hide from the sun’s light like they are vampires, but nothing happens. Then they all look at one another with an expression of, “Oh shit, we are just psychopaths and this wasn’t real, but we need to do something about her (Grace).” Then, as the Aunt lifts her ax to try and kill Grace, she explodes. Then, one by one all the Domas family explodes in a bloody mess. Kind of funny actually.

As for that tense moment…holy shit! So at one point in the movie, Grace gets shot in the hand and it puts a big honking hole in her palm. She then proceeds to fall down into this pit of dead goats and bodies. Because…yeah, we need a dead body pit. She tries to climb out, but obviously her hand is all fucked up. We then cut to a shot of the edge of the pit, where we see nail sticking out of the wood. You can put two and two together on that one…
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Not much for spoilers here. Go see this movie! 
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In Dreams We Rot by Betty Rocksteady: Book Review

8/21/2019

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I just finished this collection of short stories by Betty Rocksteady and I have to say I’m impressed. Most of the stories contained within have been previously published in other anthologies with a few brand new ones for her fans. Many of the stories are very short and quick reads, however, a lot of them stuck with me for long after I was finished reading them. Rocksteady has an uncanny ability to weave a tale that is equal parts ambiguous (in a good way), visceral, and disturbing. A lot of her tales hint at things ancient and deadly and part of a bigger mythos all her own.

Rocksteady is described as an author of cat mythos, cosmic sex, and bizarro fiction and after reading this collection, it’s not hard to see how she came by those descriptors. I got a big kick out of her tales involving cat mythos. My favorite was near the beginning titled, “Tiny Bones Beneath Their Feet” about an enormous colony of cats and a mysterious path of bones leading away from the house.

Some of the stories were downright disturbing. I found “Postpartum” particularly chilling about a single mother dealing with postpartum depression. She soon finds some purpose in taxidermy and that purpose begins to overtake her very being. Rocksteady’s voice blends real-world horrors such as depression, anxiety, loneliness, and the awkward with frightening horrors. The horror she pulls from is mainly cosmic, speaking to creatures and beings that are unknowable and make you feel very insignificant. Her horrors creep (and sometimes wriggle or crawl) in and take over your sense of self until there is nothing left. Some of my favorite reads in this collection that really tapped into the cosmic horror were: “Elephants That Aren’t” about an artist who starts drawing strange creatures but doesn’t have any recollection of doing so; “The Language of Mud” about a spot in the grass that makes people disappear; “The Taste of Sand on Your Lips” which is a small collection of 55, 55-word stories that are bizarrely interconnected and tell a tale that could possibly make you go mad.

If you like strange, well-written horror, then you need to check out, In Dreams We Rot as you won’t be disappointed. Rocksteady’s voice is unique and she is elevating horror fiction with her words. Her collection has made me reevaluate my own writing and challenged me to make my future stories even better.

Well done.
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You can pre-order In Dreams We Rot here:
In Dreams We Rot
​Also, if you want to see my earlier interview with Rocksteady, you can check it out here:
The Awesome Interview
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Betty Rocksteady: Author of Cat Mythos and Cosmic Sex

8/13/2019

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Today we meet Betty Rocksteady who writes stories about cat mythos, bizarro, and cosmic sex! What more could you ask for? I'm currently reading her collection of shorts, In Dreams We Rot for a review. Once finished, I'll post that as well, but so far I'm really digging it. It's worth grabbing once it comes out. Now onward to the interview!

1)      Who or what inspired you to become an author?
 
I can't pin it down on one particular author so much as just… books, as an object, as an escape, as my main way of learning about the world as a kid. As an introvert growing up in the 80s, writing and art were always a huge part of my life. Surprise though, I didn't start REALLY writing until I turned 30 and realized, oh heck, it's now or never.
 
2)      Tell us a about your upcoming collection, In Dreams We Rot, and what inspired you to write it.
 
In Dreams We Rot is a collection of my best short stories that have been published over the last few years. The bulk of my writing thus far has been short fiction and I've had a lot of pieces published by cool indie publishers that I'm so excited to share with my readers. In Dreams We Rot bleeds with imagery you'll recognize from your nightmares, inspiring the title. I take a lot of writing inspiration from my dreams, and I really dig weaving surrealist themes and creatures into my work.
 
3)      Your writing is categorized as cosmic sex horror and bizarro. What attracted you to those genres?
 
A reader described my novella, The Writhing Skies as cosmic sex horror and it seemed like the perfect description to me! I don't think about genre a whole lot when I'm writing unless it's for a specific call. I mostly just think of my work as the very general "horror." As for bizarro, it's a really wide genre but the whole cult movie/Eraserhead vibe is definitely something that gets me going.
 
4)      Tell a bit about your writing process. Do you have a special space you like to use, or do you have to be in a certain mindset?
 
I'm still trying to figure this out, but no matter what I do, writing rough drafts is always absolute torture! I much prefer brainstorming, and then the editing process. The first draft is just a skeleton that I try to bang out as quick as possible. Lately I've been using a little laptop to type on, but I think I actually focus better when I'm sitting at the desktop computer, so I guess I'll have to keep fine-tuning there. I do usually listen to music while I write, either movie soundtracks, or trip hop playlists on YouTube, or, very often, Aesop Rock's soundtrack for Bushwick.
 
5)      What’s one of the most surprising things you’ve learned in creating your books?
 
Well, my first novella, Arachnophile is about an arachnophobic guy in a world where giant spiders coexist with human. He accidentally falls in lust… or maybe love with a giant spider. So, not only did I discover how to write sex scenes for the first time in the most bizarre way possible, but I discovered that uh, a surprising amount of people will read those sex scenes and see spiders in a way they never expected, at least according to the reviews it's gotten.
 
6)      What’s your next project?
 
Right now I'm working on a kidnapping book about the depths of female friendships and doppelgangers! It's inspired by John Fowles' The Collector and its shaping up to be the best thing I've ever written.
 
7)      Where can people follow you online to keep up with all your updates?
 

I'm all over twitter and Facebook as Betty Rocksteady, and my website is www.bettyrocksteady.com! People should feel super free to reach out and hang out.
 
If you're interested in checking out my work, I have a disturbing cat mythos story available to read free here: https://theoutwardinn.wordpress.com/2019/05/10/the-backwards-path-to-the-limbus-by-betty-rocksteady/
 
In Dreams We Rot is being released October 17, 2019, and you can preorder it here! http://journalstone.com/bookstore/in-dreams-we-rot


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    C.R. Langille writes horror, fantasy, urban-fantasy, dark fantasy, and is considering stepping into the sci-fi realm. He has a grasp of survival techniques, and has been a table-top gamer for over 16 years.

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