This is the last practice commission that I did and it was for my sister. She requested a portrait of her and her entire family (pets included!).
-MJ
-MJ
An interview with Adam Harum of Transolar Galactica.
They achieved their Kickstarter goal, and now the world gets more of their award winning sci-fi comedy!
Friday, November 28, 2014
Friday, November 21, 2014
Monday, November 10, 2014
Sunday, November 2, 2014
My Top 10 Horror Films
I know, I know. Halloween was LAST week. But A) My articles come out on the first of the month and B) Who cares? Scary movies are great all year round. So let's dig into this.
I love horror movies. Ever since I watched my first horror film as a kid(It was “Child's Play” and to make matters worse, I had one of those buddy dolls in my closet at the time), I've been enthralled with them. There's something so thrilling about watching a film that inspires true terror in you that it causes you to think about it in the darkness of your bed. As a filmmaker, it's a difficult feat to accomplish and one that depends on the individual viewer. But if it is achieved, it stays with that person and lingers in their psyche. And I love it.
I've watched my fair share of horror films, some good, some terrible. I wouldn't call myself a horror film connoisseur, but I do pride myself on having seen some truly horrifying films.
So here at A Bit of Geek, I'd like to present to you my own personal list of the top scary films.
*I preface the list with the claim that this list is subjective to my personal opinion. If you do not find these films scary, that's fine. But I do and I think they merit praise.
So without further delay, I present
MY TOP 10 HORROR FILMS
You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn't heard of this movie. It was a big hit in its time and is arguably the predecessor of the “Found Footage” horror genre of movies.
And while I will openly admit the movie doesn't have a satisfying payoff, the build up is still terrifying to watch. From the fearful frustration of the filmmakers as they wander through the woods to the subtle torture by the Blair Witch, it's a fright to watch unfold. You can almost feel the fear of these filmmakers. Definitely worth a viewing(even if you can cut out the last 10 minutes of the film)
The Scariest Scene of the Movie:
At this point in the film, the filmmakers have been lost for some time and been harassed by the Blair Witch each night. So they decided to make their tent and try to sleep out the night, hoping for peace....
There are some things that are inherently scary to us as human beings: clowns, spiders, the dark, Beliebers and, of course, puppets. It's hard to say why we have such a fear of puppets. Maybe it's their lifeless eyes or the fact that they can't tell a lie, but something about them unnerves us.
Which is exactly the kind of fear that Dead Silence drives into us as viewers. It starts as a simple ghost story: a barren old woman crafted puppets in lieu of children but when some children went missing, the townsfolk blamed her and killed her. Now her spirit lingers as vengeful ghost story the people tell their children. It's a simple concept that I feel the film pulls off wonderfully, if only because of the grim creep factor of the woman and her puppets. Don't watch this one in the dark.
The Scariest Scene of the Movie:
During a recounting of the legend of the woman, one of the townsfolk recalls an incident when he was a boy. His father was the mortician and had worked on the woman's body. But when the boy went to see the body at night, he accidentally knocks the coffin over....
Now don't get me wrong: I'm not saying this remake was better than the original series. As a huge fan of the originals, I can say they are a marvel to watch and a testament to the horror genre. But it's not the scariest of the series. The remake is.
Sure, the first Evil Dead was purely a horror film. But while it was great, the effects had a tendency to break the immersion of the film. Milk-blood and claymation just doesn't quite make the cut.
But the remake upped the production value and brought the feel of the first film to a better quality.
The grisly scenes of gore looked authentic but never over-saturated the horror of the film. It was, in my opinion, perfectly balanced between the two. One of the best remakes I've ever seen and I'm glad they did the original series justice.
The Scariest Scene in the Movie:
By this point, the evil book(Necronomicon in the originals, “Naturon Demonto” in this one) has been read and the evil is creeping into the cabin-dwellers. After being barfed on by a possessed friend, one of the girls goes to clean herself up in the bathroom. But there's more than cleanliness waiting for her there....
I really love this movie, not only for its dark and gruesome horror, but also for its premise. The story goes that in the distant future, an experimental spaceship(named “Event Horizon”) designed to warp space vanished on its test flight. Now, seven years later, it reappears with only the haunting message of a distress signal. So a research team is sent to investigate, slowly learning that the Event Horizon did indeed warp space....with a small detour into Hell. Now the ship has a dark will of its own as the crew try to escape the horrors of Hell in space. Brilliant concept, in my opinion.
The Scariest Scene of the Movie:
When the Event Horizon sent its distress signal, a lot of the video was garbled and not a lot could be made out. But when the research team finally unscrambles the video, they suddenly wish that they had left it garbled.....(Warning: the video is not for the squeamish)
(Side note: Laurence Fishburne's line at the end? Perfect response.)
I'll admit, this movie is a bit of a nostalgia pick. When I first watched this movie, I was a teenager and my friends and I gathered around to watch it in the dark. But even today, this movie still holds some terror for me. It tells the story of two siblings, Darry and Trish, as they make their way cross-country to their mom's house for break. But on the way, they catch the notice of a grim figure who they quickly learn is anything but human. It stalks them as they unravel its dark handiwork from sewing people onto walls to cutting out whole parts of body parts. And it never stops. Not until it has one of them...
The Scariest Scene of the Movie:
The scariest part to me comes near the beginning of the movie. On the road, Darry and Trish had nearly got ran over by a large truck with the vanity plate “BEATINGU”(Which you learn later on stands for something else..). They siblings continue on the road until they see a house on the left. And BEATINGU....
When I first went into The Conjuring, I'll admit I was a little skeptical. It was made by the James Wan, the director of the Insidious movies and like Insidious, even starred Patrick Wilson as the lead. And while the Insidious movies were fine in their own right, I went into The Conjuring thinking it was just going to be an Insidious-clone. But I was wrong. It actually had a compelling story about two paranormal investigators as they looking into a family's haunting. It quickly begins to escalate and soon, all hell breaks loose(so to speak). It exceeded my expectations and left me feeling satisfied as a horror lover.
The Scariest Scene of the Movie:
Funnily enough, the scariest scene of the movie for me didn't have actually have anything to do with the main story. It was the opening sequence, where the investigators are looking into a demon-possessed doll named Annabelle. And yes, it was just a setup for the spinoff movie, but the scene was actually a great little horror story within a bigger horror story. It started off the movie on a good note and kept that level of quality all throughout the film.
I was hesitant to add this film to the list because a lot of times, it's almost a comedic film. But it left me with a such a sense of disturbance and terror at the mere premise of it that it merited a rank on my list.
It's a classic alien-in-the-hometown story: an alien crashes near a home town, terrorizes it and then the heroes of the film have to figure out a way to kill the creature. Simple stuff, right?
Wrong. Slither takes that premise and runs wild with it, making the alien create such nauseating horrors that they will haunt your mind even after you're done filming. Things like worms infesting your brain, mutations that force you to eat until you explode or giving your body to become part of a hive-mind of human body mass. It disturbed me, but not in a gruesome way, which is how it should be. Would definitely recommend this movie(And it's got Nathan Fillion in it!)
The Scariest Scene of the Movie:
The scariest part for me was what the alien does to some of the townsfolk: implanting a special slug that forces them to eat and eat. One of main characters, who had survived until the end of the film, meets this fate and begins to eat people against his will. Eventually, he is mercy killed but the thought of this fate haunts me even today.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a clip of this, so instead, here's a clip of a bloated-infected woman bursting at the seams!
I really liked this film. I know a lot of you have probably already seen it and have your own opinions on the movie, but I for one really liked it(the first one, at least). For those not aware, the story follows a young couple as they video tape their experience of being haunted from what they at first assume to be a ghost(but later learn it is a demon...muhahaha!). What I really enjoyed about this film was the natural progression of the terror and how the escalation felt natural. In the beginning, there's not much. A few doors that open on their own or sounds coming from other areas of the house. But then it intensifies, eventually leaving the young couple crippled in terror. And while the ending had as much satisfaction as any other Found Footage movie, I felt like as a stand alone movie, Paranormal Activity was excellent. One of my favorites.
Scariest Scene in the Movie:
It's near the end of the film, when the demon has become overly aggressive in its hauntings. The demon enters the bedroom and, seeing Katie's overhanging foot, decides to have a little fun. I remember being the film, watching this scene, and knowing that that's when the shit really hit the fan. Best scene, in my opinion.
This movie is one of my all-time favorite horror films. It took an old film's concept(scientist accidentally crosses himself with a fly) and brought it to a gruesome and repulsive level. With better production value and a more modern take, this version brings real terror as you watch the gradual change from man to fly-man hybrid. Not to mention Jeff Goldblum's performance was beyond superb. And the effects? Breathtaking. I myself am more of a practical effects kind of guy and this movie nails it on the head. Watching Goldblum's devolution into the fly-man is grisly and fascinating at the same time. Definitely worth watching if you love horror films.
The Scariest Scene of the Movie:
I know I am doing the movie a discredit by showing you this, but really the best(and scariest) part of the film is the ending, when you finally see the full transformation of the Brindle-Fly. Not only this, but his twisted plan is appaling and terrifying to consider and poor Geena Davis is helpless to fight it. Really fantastic. But if you want to watch the movie, skip this scene for right now because the build up makes this scene all the more powerful.
To those whom know me, this comes as no surprise that my all-time favorite horror film is John Carpenter's “The Thing.” The movie is such a brilliant film in so many ways that I can only scratch the surface in this review. To those not familiar, the movie focuses on an American research station in Antarctica as they come under attack by a shape shifting alien. It's a being that can perfectly replicate an organism as the researchers soon learn when some of their own are replicated. From then, the movie is all about the paranoia of the researchers as they abandon their trust of one another and try to survive the deceptions of the Thing. Not only is this compelling storytelling at first impression, but the effects are fantastic, even for an 80's film. When the Thing is caught on occasion, it transforms into a form to fight off its attackers, assuming whatever shape it deems necessary. And it's disturbing.
I've seen this film nearly a hundred times and it still enthralls me. If you can only see one film from this list, make it John Carpenter's “The Thing.”
Scariest Scene from the Movie:
One of the best scenes in the film comes after the Thing has already imitated some of the researchers. While in a squabble amongst themselves, one of the researchers has a heart attack. So they pull him into one of the rooms and the doctor attempts to restart his heart with a defibrillator....
So that's my list, ABOGers! I hope you enjoyed it and make a point to go out and give these films a try.
If you have thoughts on the movies listed or want to add some favorites of your own, leave a comment below or say so on our Facebook page.
Until next time,
Tom
I love horror movies. Ever since I watched my first horror film as a kid(It was “Child's Play” and to make matters worse, I had one of those buddy dolls in my closet at the time), I've been enthralled with them. There's something so thrilling about watching a film that inspires true terror in you that it causes you to think about it in the darkness of your bed. As a filmmaker, it's a difficult feat to accomplish and one that depends on the individual viewer. But if it is achieved, it stays with that person and lingers in their psyche. And I love it.
I've watched my fair share of horror films, some good, some terrible. I wouldn't call myself a horror film connoisseur, but I do pride myself on having seen some truly horrifying films.
So here at A Bit of Geek, I'd like to present to you my own personal list of the top scary films.
*I preface the list with the claim that this list is subjective to my personal opinion. If you do not find these films scary, that's fine. But I do and I think they merit praise.
So without further delay, I present
MY TOP 10 HORROR FILMS
10. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn't heard of this movie. It was a big hit in its time and is arguably the predecessor of the “Found Footage” horror genre of movies.
And while I will openly admit the movie doesn't have a satisfying payoff, the build up is still terrifying to watch. From the fearful frustration of the filmmakers as they wander through the woods to the subtle torture by the Blair Witch, it's a fright to watch unfold. You can almost feel the fear of these filmmakers. Definitely worth a viewing(even if you can cut out the last 10 minutes of the film)
The Scariest Scene of the Movie:
At this point in the film, the filmmakers have been lost for some time and been harassed by the Blair Witch each night. So they decided to make their tent and try to sleep out the night, hoping for peace....
9. Dead Silence (2007)
There are some things that are inherently scary to us as human beings: clowns, spiders, the dark, Beliebers and, of course, puppets. It's hard to say why we have such a fear of puppets. Maybe it's their lifeless eyes or the fact that they can't tell a lie, but something about them unnerves us.
Which is exactly the kind of fear that Dead Silence drives into us as viewers. It starts as a simple ghost story: a barren old woman crafted puppets in lieu of children but when some children went missing, the townsfolk blamed her and killed her. Now her spirit lingers as vengeful ghost story the people tell their children. It's a simple concept that I feel the film pulls off wonderfully, if only because of the grim creep factor of the woman and her puppets. Don't watch this one in the dark.
The Scariest Scene of the Movie:
During a recounting of the legend of the woman, one of the townsfolk recalls an incident when he was a boy. His father was the mortician and had worked on the woman's body. But when the boy went to see the body at night, he accidentally knocks the coffin over....
8. Evil Dead (2013)
Now don't get me wrong: I'm not saying this remake was better than the original series. As a huge fan of the originals, I can say they are a marvel to watch and a testament to the horror genre. But it's not the scariest of the series. The remake is.
Sure, the first Evil Dead was purely a horror film. But while it was great, the effects had a tendency to break the immersion of the film. Milk-blood and claymation just doesn't quite make the cut.
But the remake upped the production value and brought the feel of the first film to a better quality.
The grisly scenes of gore looked authentic but never over-saturated the horror of the film. It was, in my opinion, perfectly balanced between the two. One of the best remakes I've ever seen and I'm glad they did the original series justice.
The Scariest Scene in the Movie:
By this point, the evil book(Necronomicon in the originals, “Naturon Demonto” in this one) has been read and the evil is creeping into the cabin-dwellers. After being barfed on by a possessed friend, one of the girls goes to clean herself up in the bathroom. But there's more than cleanliness waiting for her there....
7. Event Horizon (1997)
I really love this movie, not only for its dark and gruesome horror, but also for its premise. The story goes that in the distant future, an experimental spaceship(named “Event Horizon”) designed to warp space vanished on its test flight. Now, seven years later, it reappears with only the haunting message of a distress signal. So a research team is sent to investigate, slowly learning that the Event Horizon did indeed warp space....with a small detour into Hell. Now the ship has a dark will of its own as the crew try to escape the horrors of Hell in space. Brilliant concept, in my opinion.
The Scariest Scene of the Movie:
When the Event Horizon sent its distress signal, a lot of the video was garbled and not a lot could be made out. But when the research team finally unscrambles the video, they suddenly wish that they had left it garbled.....(Warning: the video is not for the squeamish)
(Side note: Laurence Fishburne's line at the end? Perfect response.)
6. Jeepers Creepers (2001)
I'll admit, this movie is a bit of a nostalgia pick. When I first watched this movie, I was a teenager and my friends and I gathered around to watch it in the dark. But even today, this movie still holds some terror for me. It tells the story of two siblings, Darry and Trish, as they make their way cross-country to their mom's house for break. But on the way, they catch the notice of a grim figure who they quickly learn is anything but human. It stalks them as they unravel its dark handiwork from sewing people onto walls to cutting out whole parts of body parts. And it never stops. Not until it has one of them...
The Scariest Scene of the Movie:
The scariest part to me comes near the beginning of the movie. On the road, Darry and Trish had nearly got ran over by a large truck with the vanity plate “BEATINGU”(Which you learn later on stands for something else..). They siblings continue on the road until they see a house on the left. And BEATINGU....
5. The Conjuring (2013)
When I first went into The Conjuring, I'll admit I was a little skeptical. It was made by the James Wan, the director of the Insidious movies and like Insidious, even starred Patrick Wilson as the lead. And while the Insidious movies were fine in their own right, I went into The Conjuring thinking it was just going to be an Insidious-clone. But I was wrong. It actually had a compelling story about two paranormal investigators as they looking into a family's haunting. It quickly begins to escalate and soon, all hell breaks loose(so to speak). It exceeded my expectations and left me feeling satisfied as a horror lover.
The Scariest Scene of the Movie:
Funnily enough, the scariest scene of the movie for me didn't have actually have anything to do with the main story. It was the opening sequence, where the investigators are looking into a demon-possessed doll named Annabelle. And yes, it was just a setup for the spinoff movie, but the scene was actually a great little horror story within a bigger horror story. It started off the movie on a good note and kept that level of quality all throughout the film.
4. Slither (2006)
I was hesitant to add this film to the list because a lot of times, it's almost a comedic film. But it left me with a such a sense of disturbance and terror at the mere premise of it that it merited a rank on my list.
It's a classic alien-in-the-hometown story: an alien crashes near a home town, terrorizes it and then the heroes of the film have to figure out a way to kill the creature. Simple stuff, right?
Wrong. Slither takes that premise and runs wild with it, making the alien create such nauseating horrors that they will haunt your mind even after you're done filming. Things like worms infesting your brain, mutations that force you to eat until you explode or giving your body to become part of a hive-mind of human body mass. It disturbed me, but not in a gruesome way, which is how it should be. Would definitely recommend this movie(And it's got Nathan Fillion in it!)
The Scariest Scene of the Movie:
The scariest part for me was what the alien does to some of the townsfolk: implanting a special slug that forces them to eat and eat. One of main characters, who had survived until the end of the film, meets this fate and begins to eat people against his will. Eventually, he is mercy killed but the thought of this fate haunts me even today.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a clip of this, so instead, here's a clip of a bloated-infected woman bursting at the seams!
3. Paranormal Activity (2007)
I really liked this film. I know a lot of you have probably already seen it and have your own opinions on the movie, but I for one really liked it(the first one, at least). For those not aware, the story follows a young couple as they video tape their experience of being haunted from what they at first assume to be a ghost(but later learn it is a demon...muhahaha!). What I really enjoyed about this film was the natural progression of the terror and how the escalation felt natural. In the beginning, there's not much. A few doors that open on their own or sounds coming from other areas of the house. But then it intensifies, eventually leaving the young couple crippled in terror. And while the ending had as much satisfaction as any other Found Footage movie, I felt like as a stand alone movie, Paranormal Activity was excellent. One of my favorites.
Scariest Scene in the Movie:
It's near the end of the film, when the demon has become overly aggressive in its hauntings. The demon enters the bedroom and, seeing Katie's overhanging foot, decides to have a little fun. I remember being the film, watching this scene, and knowing that that's when the shit really hit the fan. Best scene, in my opinion.
2. The Fly (1986)
This movie is one of my all-time favorite horror films. It took an old film's concept(scientist accidentally crosses himself with a fly) and brought it to a gruesome and repulsive level. With better production value and a more modern take, this version brings real terror as you watch the gradual change from man to fly-man hybrid. Not to mention Jeff Goldblum's performance was beyond superb. And the effects? Breathtaking. I myself am more of a practical effects kind of guy and this movie nails it on the head. Watching Goldblum's devolution into the fly-man is grisly and fascinating at the same time. Definitely worth watching if you love horror films.
The Scariest Scene of the Movie:
I know I am doing the movie a discredit by showing you this, but really the best(and scariest) part of the film is the ending, when you finally see the full transformation of the Brindle-Fly. Not only this, but his twisted plan is appaling and terrifying to consider and poor Geena Davis is helpless to fight it. Really fantastic. But if you want to watch the movie, skip this scene for right now because the build up makes this scene all the more powerful.
1. The Thing (1982)
To those whom know me, this comes as no surprise that my all-time favorite horror film is John Carpenter's “The Thing.” The movie is such a brilliant film in so many ways that I can only scratch the surface in this review. To those not familiar, the movie focuses on an American research station in Antarctica as they come under attack by a shape shifting alien. It's a being that can perfectly replicate an organism as the researchers soon learn when some of their own are replicated. From then, the movie is all about the paranoia of the researchers as they abandon their trust of one another and try to survive the deceptions of the Thing. Not only is this compelling storytelling at first impression, but the effects are fantastic, even for an 80's film. When the Thing is caught on occasion, it transforms into a form to fight off its attackers, assuming whatever shape it deems necessary. And it's disturbing.
I've seen this film nearly a hundred times and it still enthralls me. If you can only see one film from this list, make it John Carpenter's “The Thing.”
Scariest Scene from the Movie:
One of the best scenes in the film comes after the Thing has already imitated some of the researchers. While in a squabble amongst themselves, one of the researchers has a heart attack. So they pull him into one of the rooms and the doctor attempts to restart his heart with a defibrillator....
So that's my list, ABOGers! I hope you enjoyed it and make a point to go out and give these films a try.
If you have thoughts on the movies listed or want to add some favorites of your own, leave a comment below or say so on our Facebook page.
Until next time,
Tom
