EDITOR’S NOTE: Indie Comics Creator Gary Scott Beatty returns with another guest column on video horror. Thanks for the posts, Gary. You definitely have an appetite for the good stuff. Now, I’m hungry, too! . . . . . .
by Gary Scott Beatty
I like to recover from the stress of running a Kickstarter with a little horror. My recommendations: have a look at my strange horror at http://strangehorror.com/ (see link above), then check out my horror notes below from all over the inter-webs.
DARLING. Patience! "Darling" (2015) is a quirky, intelligently filmed horror movie with style, but you have to settle in for an hour, 18 minutes. This is not your typical slasher / slice-em-up / scare a minute horror flick.
Director/Writer (always a good sign) Mickey Keating (Carnage Park) decided to make a moody film you have to put together in your head. Misdirection abounds.
Kudos to newcomer Lauren Ashley Carter for her emotional range, since her character is 90 percent of the screen time. Great soundtrack (if you can call it that!) from Giona Ostinelli. Recommended for those who like something different! Now on Amazon Prime Video.
DRACULA. One great thing about illustrating comics: I enjoyed this great Dracula dramatization on audio from the BBC while I worked. Listen here for free at the Internet Archive: http://archive.org/details/Dracula05Of07/Dracula+.+01+of+07.mp3
THRILLER. I recently watched an outstanding Thriller episode, "The Innocent Bystanders." Directed by John English ("Drums of Fu Manchu") and written by Robert Hardy Andrews ("Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror"), it has a Universal horror movie feel. It's from 1962, in glorious black and white.
Actor George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke) is so in character as the Igor-like henchman I almost didn't recognize him. It is a simple plot, wonderfully presented, with grave robbers.
I've come to rediscover this anthology series hosted by Boris Karloff, with its tales of crime, mystery, and gothic horror. Because, like its predecessor "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," stories are adapted from written works, I often see writers' names I recognize, like Robert Bloch and August Derleth.
Season Two, Episode 28. Thriller is available all over streaming services.
BATES MOTEL. I really enjoyed the last season of "Bates Motel." Clever how it's written -- we already know how this ends, even people who never saw the "Psycho" movie know, it's that ingrained into our culture.
The Vera Farmiga / Freddie Highmore dual role is brilliant acting. Not blood and gore, but it's interesting how the various directors built tension. You know they're playing with your emotions when you find yourself feeling sorry for a psychotic murderer.
All five seasons of Bates Motel are on Netflix.
ROANOKE. Haters just love to hate. I get it, some people didn't care for Season Six of "American Horror Story." Me, I seek out things that are different.
Why were so many people warning me away from "Roanoke?" I have to say it's frikk’en brilliant, a perfect mashup of the haunted house, slasher and hand-held genres. Even as just a dark comedy it works.
So it's different -- great! I'm bored with seeing the same, tired horror motifs presented in the same, tired ways. The "through the media" presentation worked for me. And it's truly terrifying. Thumbs up!
Seven seasons of "American Horror Story" are now on Netflix. They are all different. I think they are all frightening, clever, and worth a watch.
In glorious service to our Aazurn overlords, enjoy your horror!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Gary Scott Beatty is a writer and illustrator. His "Gods of Aazurn" Kickstarter, with creepy, cosmic horror comics, is now at http://strangehorror.com/. (see link above). His "Number One," with "Adventures of Aaron" artist Aaron Warner, was named one of the best indie comics of 2014 (Shawn Perry, Bleeding Cool News). Several of his books are offered through Caliber Comics. Gary is happy to live in a world with access to '70s B-movies and classic horror comics. He resides in Michigan with a beautiful wife and a questionable past.
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