Stephen King & Joe Hill IN THE TALL GRASS Book Review

I’ve become quite disappointed with Stephen King’s more recent writings, but seeing as though he had co-written IN THE TALL GRASS with his son Joe Hill I thought perhaps Joe could bring something new to the table. I’ve never read anything by King’s son but even if he has only half the talent his father did early in his career then I thought it would be worth looking into.

Unfortunately IN THE TALL GRASS was yet another disappointing short story much like the eBook exclusive MILE 81 last year. And speaking of MILE 81 there are a few similarities between it and this new story. In fact this new story feels very much like a mash up of MILE 81 and something like THE SHINING, which is peculiar because MILE 81 even felt like a mash up of other King stories. Is he losing his touch? Running out of ideas? Maybe, or maybe he’s been filling in time with mediocre shorts like this while working on his SHINING sequel DR SLEEP. Either way I was not very impressed by IN THE TALL GRASS.

The story follows brother and sister Cal and Becky who are on a sightseeing road trip through Kansas when all of a sudden they hear a cry for help from the side of the road. They pull over and scan the area seeing only a few old buildings and a church, and across the road a huge field of tall green grass. The cry for help comes from the tall grass. Cal and Becky pull into the church parking lot and failing to notice that all of the other cars there have visibly been sitting immobile for days or even weeks, they make their way towards the tall grass. After making their way into the six foot high grass Cal and Beck get separated as they search for the owner of the pleading voice. Why is the grass so tall? Why does the voice seem to be moving around? And why can Cal and Becky hear each other but not seem to find each other no matter how hard they try? Will they ever escape the tall grass?

Thankfully IN THE TALL GRASS is relatively short at only around 48 pages or so, because if it were any longer I probably would have given up on it. It’s interesting enough to begin with and is written well but once you realize that it’s starting to sound all so familiar it suddenly becomes a lot less interesting and the ending is quite simply a letdown. Another notable aspect of the story is the inclusion of quite a bit of descriptive gore, and I’m sure in the past I’ve heard King himself admit that going for the gross-out factor is pretty much the last resort in horror fiction which I don’t find particularly reassuring. In fact the best part about this story is that it comes with sneak previews of King’s new novel DR SLEEP and his son’s new novel NOS4R2. I downloaded this short story on my phone and it was quite cheap so I’m not too bummed about wasting my money but nevertheless I expected a lot more from the legendary Stephen King and son. If you’re a King completionist then this will be a must-read but otherwise if you’ve read most of his other short stories you won’t find anything new here.

Retro Review: X-COM: TERROR FROM THE DEEP (PC)

Out of all of the X-COM games I’ve played, TERROR FROM THE DEEP has always been my firm favorite (although I haven’t played the latest ENEMY UNKNOWN yet so that may soon change) and I have fond childhood memories of it. I remember waking up extra early in the morning on weekends just so I could go boot up our old dinosaur of a computer and get a couple of hours of TERROR in before my parents woke up. With the latest game just having been released and the fact that I’ve just recently started playing TERROR again, I thought it was about time for a review.

For those that don’t know, the X-COM games are turn based strategy games in which you lead a team of special forces tasked with protecting the Earth against invading alien forces. The levels are grid based and involve a lot of strategy and planning and the game can be quite difficult even on the easiest setting.

The first thing you need to do when playing TFTD is to choose a location for your underwater base. Once this is done you can then enter your base and start setting everything up for the upcoming alien interceptions. This involves constructing extra general stores, laboratories, living quarters, upgrading sonar arrays, selling any surplus weapons and equipment, recruiting extra scientists, Aquanauts and technicians, fitting out your submarines, managing your funds, researching and manufacturing new technology and an assload of other elements. You can even begin construction on another base on the other side of the world if you want. Invariably you will locate your first alien craft before you’re fully prepared at which time you will need to send in one of your offensive flying submarines to intercept and take down the enemy craft. Once successful you can then send in your transport submarine to take your team down to the ocean floor so that they can eliminate any surviving aliens and also retrieve any useful equipment. Once you reach the crash location you can equip your Aquanauts before landing. Finding the aliens and their craft can be rather hit or miss and sometimes you will see one as soon as you open your submarine door and other times you will need to scout around for 5 or 10 minutes before encountering any hostiles. It’s at this point in the game that you will need to employ some tactics. Should you send in a couple of vulnerable Aquanauts to scout and enter the downed alien ship? Or should you just send in your heavier yet bulkier Coelacanth for a frontal assault? Do you send somebody inside the ship to get close up and personal with the aliens? Or should you just throw grenades at the risk of damaging the valuable alien artifacts?

At first your puny human weapons are not really too impressive so I’ve always relied heavily on the mobile Coelacanth Cannon to do most of the work although it can’t fit in the tight spaces like Aquanauts can. Eventually you will eliminate the surviving aliens and the mission ends. The mission is graded depending upon how many aliens you kill, how many you capture alive, how much alien technology and artifacts you recover and of course how many Aquanauts you lose in the process.This mission grading is very important because if you fail too many missions you will lose key funding from certain countries and if this continues it will soon be game over. On the other hand if you are successful enough certain countries will actually increase their funding.

Returning to base after a successful mission lets you explore more of the game’s elements. New alien weapons and technology can be researched and manufactured and then used by your Aquanauts. Once again strategy comes into this as you decide whether to research Aqua Plastics to create tougher armor for you Aquanauts or whether to research Sonic weapons so that your troops can fight fire with fire. Once you’re equipped with alien weapons the game becomes even more enjoyable as you can exchange your crappy human technology for Sonic Cannons, Shock Bomb Launchers, Sonic Pulser grenades and more.
Apart from the submerged alien craft missions you will also discover missions on land. This adds even more strategy as you need to navigate multi-story buildings and protect innocent civilians. But it doesn’t stop there because even your underwater base can be attacked and as you progress further through the game you will encounter underwater alien colonies which can be extremely tough. New species of aliens will be discovered and soon you will find yourself fighting the relatively easy Aquatoids, Gill Men, Deep Ones and the more difficult species like Tasoths or those sinister floating brains and giant jellyfish creatures.

TERROR FROM THE DEEP can get very complicated and very difficult and unless you’re really good at micromanaging you will probably have a hard time. I could never be bothered having to deal with multiple bases at the same time and as a consequence I’ve never successfully completed the game. To complete the game you will need to employ a lot of patience, priorities, strategy and organization and eventually you will be juggling multiple bases and multiple squads all the while making sure that you keep everything stocked up, replace dead Aquanauts, replace destroyed submarines, keep up with research and manufacture and of course keep your international funding up. While the game has aged a lot and graphics wise it looks pretty awful I still find it to be really fucking fun and if you are willing to put in the time and effort TERROR FROM THE DEEP can be a really enjoyable strategy game. Maybe nostalgia is making me see this game through rose colored glasses, but I still think it is an awesome damn game and just as fun as I ever remember.

Now Showing: MANIAC COP Trilogy

I personally think that the MANIAC COP trilogy is one of horror's best franchises and officer Matt Cordell is definitely one of the more overlooked and under-appreciated slasher villains. Also it doesn't follow the usual horror trilogy formula of good, bad, terrible; in fact I would say that the first two movies are great and even the third with its kind of ridiculous voodoo love plot is pretty damn good. And of course it's responsible for one of the best taglines of all time; "You have the right to remain silent... forever!"
With plenty of b-movie talent including Bruce Campbell, Tom Atkins, and Laurene Landon MANIAC COP and its sequels are great fun and if you haven't seen them well then I think it's about time you do so. All three are available free and in full below.


MANIAC COP: "Innocent people are being brutally murdered on the streets of New York by a uniformed police officer. As the death toll rises and City Hall attempts a cover-up, Frank McCrae heads the investigation. A young cop, Jack Forrest, finds himself under arrest as the chief suspect, having been the victim of a set-up by the real killer and a mysterious woman phone-caller. Forrest, his girlfriend Theresa, and McCrae set out to solve the puzzle before the Maniac Cop can strike again"

MANIAC COP 2: "Officer Matt Cordell, the undead cop, returns from the grave. Again. This time he is after the criminals who murdered him in the prison, and he is not doing that because he wants to forgive them..."

MANIAC COP 3: BADGE OF SILENCE: "A female cop is gunned down and wrongly accused of using excessive force in a hostage rescue attempt. Maniac cop returns from the dead once more to seek revenge, destroying everything and anyone that stands in his way"

First Official Clip For TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D

The word meh pretty much sums up my feelings about yet another TEXAS CHAINSAW movie, but that doesn't change the fact that this latest one is on the way. However if you're looking forward to some more Leatherface action then make sure you check out this first official clip below.

Synopsis: ”Twenty years ago, the town of Newt, Texas exacted vengeance on the Sawyer family for their role in assisting and concealing murders committed by the chainsaw-wielding maniac Jeb Sawyer, aka “Leatherface.” The entire family was presume killed when Burt Hartman led the townspeople to burn down their farm house, but the Sawyer infant survived and was secretly taken away by two of the vigilante townies, Gavin and Arlene, and raised their daughter Heather. It’s not until she’s in her twenties that Heather learns that she’s adopted.

A lawyer for her grandmother tracks her down with word she’s been left an inheritance. Angry at her parents for lying to her, she sets out for Texas on a road trip with her boyfriend Ryan, friends Nikki and Kenny, and Darryl, a hitchhiker they pick up on the way”

THE DEVIL'S CARNIVAL (2012) Review

Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman

Starring: Sean Patrick Flanery, Jessica Lowndes, Terrance Zdunich, Briana Evigan

After seeing Bousman and Zdunich's last collaboration REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA I had a general idea of what to expect from THE DEVIL'S CARNIVAL but other than both being a similar type of rock musical they are in fact quite different.

THE DEVIL'S CARNIVAL follows three people who are sent to hell after perishing in circumstances which mirror their personal sins. John (Flanery) commits suicide due to his grief over the death of his son, Tamara (Lowndes) is killed by her abusive boyfriend due to her misplaced trust (I would debate whether that is really a sin or not but whatever) and Ms Merrywood (Evigan) is shot by police after being caught stealing. Each of these characters are taken through the carnival and tested by an array of peculiar characters. Tamara deals with The Scorpion, Ms Merrywood with the Twin & Hobo Clown and John eventually faces Lucifer (Zdunich) himself. Their stories are told by Lucifer through the use of Aesop's traditional fables.

Personally I'm not much for musicals but it's easy to see that fans of REPO! will most likely love this movie. The singing and dancing is almost non stop and the film is a visual smorgasbord. The carnival characters as you might expect are very colorful and the costumes and make-up are all very detailed and well crafted.
Although there is nothing special about the cinematography and I found the sound mixing to be not that great, the film's relatively short running time (around 55 minutes) and the ever shifting story makes sure that you don't have too much time to dwell on its flaws.

I found the performances to be quite mixed but there are a few standouts including Terrance Zdunich's portrayal of the enigmatic Lucifer. Unfortunately fans of Nivek Ogre and Bill Mosely will be disappointed that they both have relatively small roles in the film but I have been told that these characters will be further developed in the next installation in what is to become a series.

As much as I disliked REPO! I was surprised to find this film to be a lot more enjoyable despite its similarities. The carnival setting is a great backdrop and a perfect excuse for some of the weird and wonderful characters who inhabit it. And the odd way in which Hell is portrayed strangely as a kind of almost moralistic place with its 666 rules is an interesting idea too. THE DEVIL'S CARNIVAL isn't exactly my cup of tea but it is an enjoyable film and it will be interesting to see what its follow ups can produce.
I know it's a musical but I still think it could do with a little less singing and dancing though.