Home Blog Page 92

Top 10 Anticipated Horror Movies of 2016

Slickster
-
0
Top 10 Anticipated Horror Movies of 2016

Top 10 Anticipated Horror Movies of 2016


1/24/2017, 09:37a.m.
Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag

 

Horror movies are dime a dozen. They are mass produced because they bring in the big bucks, and for good reason. They are easy to produce and most bring back their profit within the first two weeks of premiering. Many respected actors/actresses and directors/writers began with horror with the “King of the Bs” Roger Corman and “Corman’s Kollege.” With so many coming out every year, though, it’s hard to look back and really appreciate and remember fondly those that stick out from the bottomless bin of Hollywood produce horror flicks.

Rather than simply listing run-out-of-the-mill horror movies due out this year (30, by my count, but I’m positive there’s more), I decided to take a look at the ones that I’m preparing myself for.

*Keep in mind these dates are subject to change. *

10.) The Other Side of the Door, March 11

When a family’s young son is taken away involving a tragic accident, a distressed mother learns of a ritual to bring him back to ONLY say a proper and final goodbye. But when she opens the very same door she is told not to open it because it acts as a gateway from this life to the next, she unleashes a force of unimaginable horror.

Now this movie on paper sounds like any other horror film. Even a bit like Pet Semetary in terms of the mysteries of what lie in the world beyond ours and how far we’ll go for our lost loved ones. Like many movies, there are some questionable acts committed by the characters. And if the door is not to be opened, you’d think there’d be a better lock than just a piece of wood across it. But the one thing that has me excited is the form of ritual she takes a part in. It’s reminiscent of Haitian voodoo that brings me back to Wes Craven’s The Serpent and the Rainbow. It stars Jeremy Sisto (Suburgatory) and Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead).

9.) Before I Wake, April 8

When a family’s young son is taken away involving a tragic accident (sound familiar?) they turn to adoption to fill the void left by the anguished ordeal. The little boy seems nice, innocent enough, and well mannered. But this being a horror flick…all is not what it seems to be.

So far I see a connection between dead little children and their grieving parents. Thankfully, I believe these are the only two on the list. What sets this flick apart though from, let’s say, Orphan (2009), The Omen (1976), Mama (2013), or Case 39 (2009) is that, for once, the child is not at fault here. That is to say, he isn’t malicious, evil, or plain out the son of the devil. No instead here, it would appear as if he is a tortured soul by never wanting to go to sleep (nostalgia alert!) because…wait for it: his dreams come true! And looking to the previews it looks quite beautiful actually. Alluring images with rich vibrant colors fill the darken tone of the atmosphere.

Looks like something taken out of Guillermo del Toro’s playbook. The big question here though, is if his dreams come true and are beautiful… how are his nightmares? It stars Thomas Jane (The Mist), Kate Bosworth (Superman Return), Annabeth Gish (The X-Files).

8.) 31, January 23 (Sundance Premiere later date: TBA)

A group of five carnival workers are kidnapped and forced to survive a violent 12-hour game where the main goal is to outlast a violent gang of clowns.

Rob Zombie returns to the director’s chair to bring us another bat-out-of-hell rumpus of a movie. Out of all his films he’s written and directed, one only really stands out to me – The Devil’s Rejects – and ironically isn’t that much of a horror movie, but nevertheless an amazing sophomoric debut. 31 has the potential to scare hundreds simply by the image plastered all over the poster – a clown. While I have no fear of clowns (cockroaches are my kryptonite), I’m hoping this isn’t a cheap shot of a story to mix in the Saw series with a touch of Killer Klowns From Outer Space, minus the comedy. Either way, we’re promised extreme gratuitous violence with a side of blood. I’m in!

7.) The Bye Bye Man, October 14

In late 1990s Wisconsin area, three college friends are haunted by an entity called The Bye Bye Man.

That’s the synopsis. Right there – up there. And based on the synopsis right there – up there – would you go watch it? Without a single notion of having more information, or a trailer to go by, or production stills to see what it might be about? Well, allow me to expand on it and give you my reasons as to why I’m excited about it. First off, it’s based off a short story entitled “The Bridge to Body Island” from Robert Damon Schneck’s The President’s Vampire, which is absolutely creepy.

The story goes that three friends decide to mess with a Ouija board and encounter quite a few number of spirits. After weeks of speaking to them they become bored until one of the spirits mentions The Bye Bye Man. The story then focuses on explaining the phenomena that follows from a scientific and spiritual sense, but Hollywood will only focus on the spooky tale. Secondly, Doug Jones (from almost everything Guillermo Del Toro has done) is playing the titular character. And finally, the description of the entity is as follows: an almost blind, telepathic, tall man with long hair and albinism disease, which causes a lack of pigmentation in the eyes, hair, and skin. He wears black-painted sunglasses, a wide brimmed hat that covers his face, and a pea-colored coat. With a “sack of gore” where he keeps his victim’s organs, and a side companion made up of tongues and eyeballs named Gloomsinger that whistled to him when he found his next victim? What’s even more terrifying? It’s supposed to be based on a true story and whether it is or isn’t… Yes, please!

6.) Good Tidings, December 25

A homeless veteran must rely on his dark side that he thought was buried and gone when him and his friends are targeted by three psychopaths dressed in Santa Claus outfits.

I enjoy mashups of horror and Christmas movies immensely. Last year we got Krampus, which was surprisingly awesome (IMO) and this one seems like it could surpass expectations. The marketing trailer isn’t great, as it seems like it can be a direct-to-video movie (which it could be for all I know), but the electronic synthesizer has John Carpenter written all over it. The story itself is (1989) Intruder-esque. And the violence, is everything a horror movie is made up to be.

5.) Yoga Hosers, January 24 (Sundance Premiere later date: TBA)

Two teenage, yoga-enthusiast girls team up with monster-hunting legend Guy LaPointe in order to stop a rising ancient evil that threatens their party plans.

If you’ve kept up with any news relating to this movie, you’ll realize that it sounds pretty dumb on and off paper. However, it does have some redeeming qualities. For starters, it is written and directed by Kevin Smith who is an indie God in many eyes, so you either hate him or love him. The last couple of years he’s done films that hadn’t fit his repertoire and that’s A-Okay. This is a comedy/horror at it’s core and it stars Johnny Depp, Haley Joel Osment, Justin Long, Tony Hale, Adam Brody, and Smith and Depp’s own daughters Harley Quinn Smith and Lily Rose Melody Depp, respectively. And seeing Kevin Smith dressed up as a Nazi sausage is all the fun stupidity I need.

4.) Cell, February 26 (Glasgow Film Festival later date:  TBA)

In one beautiful particular day, the world is thrown into a chaotic mess as cell phone signals cause people to turn into mindless killing machines. A New England artist is determined to find his way back home to his son.

Based off the same titled novel by Stephen King, this is a clear nod to Romero’s zombie films. If anyone can write a good horror story, its Mr. King but, unfortunately, most of his adapted work don’t transition well into film. With only a handful I can personally count, this one seems promising as it is reuniting John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson from 1408. A very decent adaptation indeed and with all the zombie craze the world is in at the moment, this one should be one of the better adaptations we can count a part of as well.

3.) Lights Out, July 22

A woman is terrorized by a creature who only appears in darkness.

That’s it. Simple and easy, and sometimes that’s all you need in a horror film. This one comes in the form of an adapted short of the same name from the same person. It’s only a two-and-a-half-minute video up on YouTube but you can definitely see why it garnered all the awards and attention it so rightly deserves. The suspense is palpable, the music is eerie, and the effects are superb. The real challenge here is whether writer/director David F. Samberg can transition the story from two and a half minutes to feature length without losing any aspect of what made this short truly scary. Teresa Palmer (Warm Bodies) stars.

2.) The Witch, February 19

When a family’s young son is taken away (DAMN IT! Almost made it through the list), BUT…perhaps not dead, the family’s daughter is accused of witchcraft and the family is torn apart from the evil forces of possession, witchcraft, and black magic. All this makes more sense when you realize it takes place in the 17th century.

All right, so this movie was completed in 2015 but barely getting its release date this year. And off the bat it reminds me of a little flick titled The Crucible, which I hated because of my high school English class. The witchcraft aspect is as far as it goes with the connection because this movie feels different. Certain images already shown in the trailer might seem as if they’ll be hard to watch in it’s full effect and glory but, hey, isn’t that what horror is? To push our boundaries of safety and comfort?

1. The Conjuring 2, June 10

Ed and Lorraine Warren travel to England to help a single mother and her four children as they are tormented by malicious spirits.

One of the most consistent directors working in the horror field right now is James Wan. He has crafted some of the best haunted house movies based off of PG-13 rating and showed what he could do with an R-rating. With The Conjuring, when asked what he could cut to receive a PG-13 rating, they said nothing. It is just that scary. And now, when offered “life-changing money” to direct the next installment of The Fast and the Furious franchise, he actually turned it down to direct this sequel.

We are treated with blink-or-you’ll-miss-it scenes, tensed-up moments, and horns and strings accompany the music, which is so deliciously horror, and we finally get James Wan’s stamp of direction, so this is a can’t miss.

UFC on Fox Johnson VS. Bader

Slickster
-
0
UFC on Fox Johnson VS. Bader

UFC on Fox Johnson VS. Bader

By Scott Beers @skottbeers
Jan 22, 2016, 7:00pm

 

Anthony Johnson #2 vs. Ryan Bader #4

Presuming Jon Jones fights Daniel Cormier for the title before summer, this fight will likely decide who fights the winner of that for the light heavyweight title. If Bader can implement a grappling heavy game plan he certainly has the advantage, where Johnson will be a nightmare standing. I’m curious to see if Johnson can pace himself while defending takedowns, that’s what he needs to show to prove he has any chance against Jon Jones or even Cormier again. I’m fairly certain it will go one of two ways. Rather Johnson finishes Bader early, or Bader tires Johnson in a decision. I do believe the betting odds should be closer than what is currently a 5-1 favorite in Anthony Johnson.

Pick: Bader Decision (5-1 underdog)

 

Ben Rothwell #7 vs. Josh Barnett #8

Barnett once held the UFC heavyweight championship, and has been fighting professionally for nearly 20 years. It’s impressive to see him still close to the top. Rothwell now riding his first three fight win streak inside the octagon now looks to cement himself as a potential title contender at heavyweight. Rothwell is one of few fighters in this weight class that have to cut weight to make the 265 lb. limit, making him dangerous for anyone. This fight looks similar to the main event, as Ben has all the power and Barnett is the superior grappler. I sense this fight will turn out similar to the main event. Barnett grinds down Rothwell for an upset victory.

Pick: Barnett Decision (underdog)

 

Iuri Alcantara #14 vs. Jimmie Rivera NR

Usually these big Fox cards feature all fights with contenders inside the top ten. Jimmie Rivera is a bit of a prospect as he’s won 17 fights straight. But he’s coming off a split decision victory against an unknown preliminary fighter. It’s rather disappointing to see these feature fights go to waste. I don’t care who wins, and neither should you.

Pick: none

 

Sage Northcutt vs. Bryan Barberena

Super Sage Northcutt makes his return to welterweight after a successful 2-0 stint at lightweight in the UFC. It is currently unclear why he’s moving to 170 lbs, but expect to see him just as ripped. He’s 19 years old still, with two finishes in the UFC. This guy is getting paid nearly $100k per fight simply due to the hype. He’s oddly matched up with guys who have horrible physiques and muscle structure in each fight in the UFC. Perhaps to contrast his freakish ability, which you’ll likely see once again. His late replacement opponent, Bryan Barberena. A rather unknown fighter with a 1-1 UFC record at lightweight. Will Northcutt be shut down early in his career, or will he stampede his way forward by winning his 3rd fight in less than four months? I expect he’ll be fed wounded animals for the next year or two. It’s hard to imagine him being a champion while still pursuing his bachelor’s degree. Northcutt will win, somehow, some way.

Pick: Northcutt (favorite)

Mobile Games That Don’t Make A Go For Your Wallet

Slickster
-
0
Mobile Games That Don’t Make A Go For Your Wallet

Mobile Games That Don’t Make A Go For Your Wallet


Written By: Will Flores
1/23/2016, 9:37a.m.
Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag

 

The gaming environment certainly has expanded platforms these days. In the times of old, if it wasn’t on a home console, you had to go to your local arcade to get your gaming itch scratched. Today, we can say, “NO MORE!” With the help of portable gaming, we can play when and where we please. No, I’m not talking of the Nintendo 3DS or the obscenely-overpriced emulation machine otherwise known as the PlayStation Vita. I’m thinking more along the lines of the ever-growing mechanical appendage attached to our hips and almost always on the business end of our thumbs – mobile phones!

I don’t know about you, but as far as I’ve seen in my travels across the “information superhighway” (That’s still a cool hip term, right? …Guys?) as well as among friends, colleagues, and just passerby, mobile-gaming has a bit of a stigma of being just for casual players. Along with the casual tag, mobile games also have a nasty tendency of giving us titles that look like full games at full value, only to slap you with what I like to call the “green wall.” That point of the game where you are “politely” coerced into making some sort of micro-transaction to either progress or continue playing at your own leisure. That dreaded term, “pay-to-play” or worse… “play-to-win.” *Shudder.* It still sends shivers down my spine.

It’s kind of cheap tactic for developers to goad you into paying for their developmental support. I’m not knocking that they ask for something in return for their work, they very well deserve it. However, don’t give people an incomplete game and expect them to dish out money for the rest of your game. It isn’t cute. Electronic Arts does it, you bet your candy-crushing ass it’s not precious when you try it.

Be that as it may, the fact of the matter stands, mobile-gaming is becoming a competitive platform in the gaming world, and it’s not exactly the easiest thing in the world to sneak a 3DS with you into the bathroom at the office when you need to slack off but keep yourself awake. Take advantage now and check out this list of games that are worth your time and your precious storage space (for those of us still rocking a 16GB iPhone constantly dancing around the 12GB-15.5GB used space) that don’t deliberately hold their hand out like an aggressive hobo on the train ride home.

Minute Quest

Minute questA very simple RPG that requires you to only touch the screen to play. Best part, there’s a bit of a rhythm to movement and once you’ve got it down, you can actually control how fast you attack. That extremely small detail in a simple game such as Minute Quest, when realized and played on, can mean the difference between you mindlessly holding your finger down moving left and right at the mercy of a pseudo-turn-based playstyle and tapping your screen with the right timing and obliterating an otherwise hard boss character! You control the action, you set the pace of battle, and even better, you can customize your look, your weapon, and even a pet that will fight alongside you (granted you’ve grinded up enough gold to afford those)!

Oh! One major factor I like to consider when playing mobile-games is how well they fare with the sound turned on, and off. This game does not disappoint on either front, although, the game is far more enjoyable with the sound turned on (naturally). Though, you can play this in a public setting with the sound off if you’re so inclined.

Sonic Dash
 
Sonic QuestAlong the same vein of Temple Run, this one stood out to me because I am a die-hard Sonic fan, I just don’t like to talk about his later work. Much like we like to not discuss most of Janet Jackson’s later work! No? Not a fan of semi-topical humor? Fine, I’ll stick to reviewing the rest of these games. Anyway, Sonic Dash has your typical “beat the highest score among your friends” gameplay, with each mission you’re given increasing your score multiplier after you finish enough of them. Fun stuff. There’s DLC to play as other characters as well, ranging from Tails, Knuckles, Silver, Shadow, etc. However, they’re only available with the use of the game’s premium currency. Not all is lost though, as these guys serve no in-game bonus/purpose other than you’re running as a different character (essentially, a skin swap), so you don’t have to bust out that wallet to buy them. The game gives you plenty of opportunities to win them for free. I haven’t had a chance to try out Sega’s sequel to this game, but it was definitely fun, and I’m sure they kept the same formula in the later versions. Give it a go! Convince your friends and see who’s better!

Final Fantasy Portal App
 
Final Fantasy Portal AppOkay, so this isn’t exactly a mobile game, per se… It does give you direct access to all your favorite Final Fantasy games available on mobile platforms already. Since those DO cost money, that’s entirely up to you. However, there’s a reason this app made the list. For you see, Square also thought to include a free version of Final Fantasy VIII’s “Triple Triad” card game, with updated card decks, featuring characters and enemies across every final fantasy game. Considering how awesome that card game and how quick each game was, it was great to have it on the go. Sadly, its only drawback is that you need to run the game through the portal, and the portal app requires you to have a network connection in order to run. If you were a fan of the game back in the PlayStation days, you can pick this up and play whenever you’re waiting for friends.

Hook Champ
 
Hook ChampHook Champ was one of the first games I downloaded way back when I first got my hands on an iPod Touch. It was some basic platforming action, and you were given a grappling hook that helped you traverse levels at a faster pace. There was a method to it that was easy to understand, but hard to master. There are DLC characters available that actually change the way you play the game. They each have their own mechanics that challenge you to approach levels in a different way. Of course, they’re completely optional and aren’t needed to complete any of the levels. It’s fun and a great time killer should you be waiting at the doctor’s office after the fourth episode of Divorce Court has just finished.

Slingknight
 
Sling KnightThis little gem was found after playing Minute Quest (see above). Not as grand of an adventure, but it tests your ability to flick your fighter (who can assume many classes) at enemies long before they can kill him. Levels don’t last more than a couple of minutes and you’re almost always unlocking a new class whose playstyle differs from the last. Heck, you can even unlock boss characters and all their seemingly overpowered goodness (don’t worry though, the game won’t make you feel god-like when you play them). Every character class has different strengths, weaknesses, health pools, etc. So if there’s a level you’re having a tough time with, there are many ways to approach it, so get creative. A nifty game to have while waiting for that movie to start, but shut it off when the lights go down!

Hearthstone
 
HearthstoneOh, Blizzard… I keep trying to leave, but you keep pulling me back in! You’ve claimed my college years, now you seek to claim my bathroom time?! Eh, it’s not as bad the rest of their library of titles, though you’ll get hooked, and fast. It’s a trading card game, the premise of which already implies you need to bust out your wallet to expand your card collection. Granted, you are MORE than welcome to do so, that’s your call. However, Hearthstone gives you plenty of opportunities to earn cards and packs for free, you just have to be ready to get your hands a little dirty. You earn gold completing quests, which can range from winning games as “X” class, watching friends play their games and hoping they win, or just plain winning enough games. The list goes on. When you accumulate enough gold, you can either buy individual card packs, or purchase access to the arena where, if you’re good enough, you can win plenty more for the mere cost of an entrance fee. Every month, depending on your rank, you can be awarded individual cards, or multiple packs. You have extra cards that you don’t need, disenchant them, accumulate the currency you gain from that and create that one or two cards you absolutely need in your deck. You’ve got options… FREE options to expand your deck and enjoy the game further. Blizzard did a very good job establishing a “you get what you put in” aesthetic to Hearthstone, and for a free game, you should take advantage of all these opportunities. It’s a hefty download, but you won’t be sorry if you dive right in. Did I mention you can also play this on your PC/Tablet with the same deck? Should I also state that it’s cross-platform?! You’re welcome!

Colopl Rune Story
 
IMG_6852Oh boy… This game… I’ve been itching to talk about this game for a very long time. Advertised on Facebook and made good on its claims, Rune Story is an RPG game that is just so engaging from the start. Fencers, Warriors, Fighters, Mages, Snipers, Lancers, and (as of the time I wrote this article) Dual Wielders. Each have their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as a strength against certain enemies that you can exploit, compounded by elemental weaknesses. Tap to attack, and swipe to roll, remember those two rules and you just may survive the harder levels. This isn’t your standard tap-to-win game. You have to make sure you’re positioned and attack at the best moments to come out of your fights as untouched as possible. You can have a team of up to four characters that you can switch between at any time during a level and lay waste to your foes depending on the situation. My advice – have a character that can heal. The game does a good job of giving you a healer early on. However, you’ll probably want toons that can heal better.

How do you get more characters? By using the game’s premium currency, of course! Now typically, there’s a monetary value attached to this currency, which does exist. Although, you absolutely DO NOT have to even go to that screen at all. Play the game! Do the missions! The game literally rewards you those gems for almost anything! Log in, you get five gems! Finished a new level for the first time? Have a gem! You got five log-in stamps? Here’s 20 gems on us! The situation varies, as do the rewards, but you get my point.

Summoning one new character takes 25 gems. You can summon 11, however, if you can stockpile 250. Now, the biggest supply of gems you can purchase with real money is 780 gems for $99.99. That’s enough to summon 33 new characters. I’ve played this game (in spurts, not binging on it at all, mind you) enough to earn 780 gems, essentially “saving” myself the $100.00 buy. You get what you put in, and this game provides very rewarding means to that end.

There’s multiplayer, a guild system, and a Clash of Clans-esque town system that improves your characters in-game. Don’t worry, there’s no raiding that’ll keep you up at night with anxiety. All the work and effort put into this game by Colopl makes this one of the best mobile games to have on your phone to date. Granted, you need a network connection to play, but that will be the ONLY complaint about this game you’ll hear from me. Download it, and play it wherever you go. This game gives some console and handheld RPG’s a run for their money!

Best Map Routes on Villa – Rainbow Six

Slickster
-
0
Best Map Routes on Villa – Rainbow Six

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Las Vegas 2
Best Map Routes on Villa

This strategy guide assumes you know the basics of the Rainbow Six and FPS mechanics. If you need a refresher or basic starting point check out this article first. Based on the Terrorist Hunt levels, this is a spawn and lure mission. Don’t be afraid to use a loud gun.

Firstly, you may want to equip certain gear to make this much easier on yourself.

Smoke grenades may not be lethal but the extra cover and stealth capability they provide will prove to be a very useful component to your success. C-4 explosives are always a useful item to have on hand, but the incendiary grenades will prove to be just as worthy, if used properly and appropriately. There are a few different ways you can approach the Villa map, this route is the one that I have the most success with regardless of my weapon choice. At the initial spawn point in the detached garage, you will see an attached garage directly across from you. Inside is typically one enemy standing behind a car, although on occasion, he will not spawn. You will want to keep tight right and follow the path out to the side of the garage attached to the mansion.

Rainbow Six map provided by SeaSnipers.net

Now, as tempting as it will be to just run in guns blazing and take him out, do not. Instead, silence your rifle, stick close to the wall, take cover, and go for the head shot. Quick kills are your best friend. After you take care of the enemy in the garage, start heading up the staircase and toss a C-4 on the door and wait for it to be opened by another enemy and then blow the C-4. Typically, anywhere from two to four enemies should be taken out by the explosion, but the coast is not clear yet. Use the ever-handy smoke grenade to create a cloud of safety at the opening where the door once was and turn your thermal goggles on.

You will notice that there is another enemy directly across from you hiding in a dining area. Stay in front of the door in your smoke screen and take him out. Once you got him, go to the right and head around the turn towards the first door on the wall and take cover on either side; it won’t make a difference which side of the door you’re at as long as you are still able to open it and shoot in. Be very careful opening this door, most of the time there is only ever one guy in this little office room, but sometimes he has a companion sitting around the corner waiting to take you out. If you want, toss another smoke in the room; it never hurts to be cautious in this game. Instead of continuing through the room, turn around and go to the next door on the same wall and start heading upstairs. From time to time, there may be an enemy in that stairwell, take care of him and proceed to the top of the stairs where you will come across a set of red double doors.

This is where it starts to get a tad bit obnoxious as the amount of enemies just on the other side of those doors seems to constantly be different. The most I have ever encountered myself was five and I didn’t make it out unscathed, to say the least. Utilize the smoke grenades to create that wonderful smoke screen and take out anybody that happens to be up there with you. Don’t run up the stairs you see when you came through the doors, as an enemy or two may come up behind you and kill you. To the left of the doors is a skylight, head that direction and go to your right where there is a wall space just big enough to provide you with cover, wait a minute or so to be sure that nobody comes towards you, if so, you know the drill.

Now is the time to go up the rooftop stairs and open up that single red door. Again, be cautious of any possible enemies. Refer back to the cover and shoot method, as it’s the best way to ensure your survival. In this area, you will see a small room that stands alone with an arch way and a window, in that little room is a ladder that leads down to the master bathroom. If you would like to, toss a couple C-4s down there and rid yourself of any unwanted guests. Or, you can just go to the doorway on your right hand side and sit at the top of that staircase and stack the enemies up, just make sure that you check the window so you don’t die, since you’ve already made it this far. Just like that, you have now found the easiest and safest route to take while doing the Terrorist Hunt mode on the Villa level in Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Las Vegas 2.

I hope this was helpful to anyone who still happens to play this game. Share your best map hacks and strategies below or Tweet to me @Slickster_Mag.

Check out our other Rainbow Six articles too.

A retrospective look at Romero’s original Dead trilogy

Slickster
-
0
A retrospective look at Romero’s original Dead trilogy

They’re coming to get you Barbra…A retrospective look at Romero’s original Dead trilogy

Written by: Frank Acosta
1/19/2017, 09:37a
Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag

 

We all can relate to having lost someone. So if you will imagine yourself visiting the cemetery to pay respects to a lost loved someone with your brother. The sky is a crisp blue, the birds are singing, and everything in the world (apart from the deceased around you) is just right. In the distance, you see a shambling figure heading in your direction but you think nothing of it. You’re here to pay respects and ignore the bickering petty annoyances your brother is spewing out.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, in the shortness of a breath, you’re looking down at your brother’s corpse. The shambling man has attacked you, and within the state of fighting him off, your brother has slammed his head against a gravestone. Now, if you will, imagine yourself on the set of a low budget independently funded horror film and this is your first scene. Whether you have realized it or not, you have just paved the way for a dramatic change in the horror film. This is George Andrew Romero’s tale of unexpected success with the one movie that has changed the face of an entire genre.

With the upcoming mid-season start of AMC’s The Walking Dead, let’s have a look back at what started the zombie movement. In 1968, The Latent Image turned Image Ten production team all pitched in $600.00 dollars to fund a low-budget horror film. That film they entitled Night of the Flesh Eaters (later changed to Night of the Living Dead), and it was a simple story of a group of survivors held up in a barn as cannibalistic monsters attacked them. Below the surface, however, social commentary on how the state the world was in was injected into almost every frame. Our hero, Ben (Duane Jones), an African American actor who they chose simply because “he was the best actor out of all of us,” became the national symbol of how minorities were being treated in the 1960’s.

Actor Duane Jones defends himself from hordes of zombies in the original George Romero film, Night of The Living Dead.

Our leading lady, Barbra (Judith O’Dea), in her catatonic state was the voice, or void, if you will, of the ignorance people had to the real issues happening at home; the Vietnam War. Our antagonist, Harry Cooper (Karl Hardman), was the inability to cope with fellow strangers in times of peril, thus bringing down their ability to work together. The remaining cast, Harry’s wife, Helen (Marilyn Eastman), and young couple in love, Tom (Keith Wayne) and Judy (Judith Riley), were all more followers than leaders. Harry and Helen’s daughter, Karen (Kyra Schon), for the most part is in a coma after “being bitten by one of those things.” The film showcased some of the most disturbing images ever portrayed on film such as monsters devouring on humans, gratuitous violence, and perhaps shockingly the most, an African American man hitting a woman across the face, AKA “the punch.”

Upon finding a television set, they begin to uncover the reason why these attacks are happening and reciting one of many iconic phrases within this movie, “It has been established that persons who have recently died have been returning to life and committing acts of murder. The unburied dead have been coming back to life and seeking human victims.” As the night goes on, more zombies slowly approach the farmhouse and our survivors’ inability to work together leads to their ultimate downfall with the young couple dying first in an explosion after a gas run falls apart. Ben is trapped outside with the monsters as he fights off a few while trying to gain entrance back into the farmhouse. While Harry has cowardly left him to his own will, Ben forces his way in, re-barricades the door (with Harry’s help) and initiates a fight with him.

Things come to a calm for a while but the storm is only minutes away. The power goes out and the monsters more aggressively begin to pound harder and harder on the windows, finally managing to bring them down. Amidst the battle, Harry gains the only gun and orders his wife to the cellar. Before she can move, Ben wrestles the gun out of Harry’s hands and shoots him point blank in the stomach. He retreats to the basement and dies from his wound.

The monsters, now in full force and bigger in numbers, begin to tear down the boards from windows and doors. Barbra snaps out of it and helps out Ben who is desperately trying to push them back. Helen escapes the clutches of the monsters and heads downstairs to see her daughter feeding on her husband. Shocked, she can only stand in horror as she is stabbed to death with a trowel by her newly-turned daughter. Upstairs, Ben and Barbra try desperately to fight them back but Barbra is left stunned, as is the audience, when her own brother, now turned, is the one who pulls her through the window and into the arms of the cannibals.

Defeated and over run, Ben retreats to the basement. He sees the bodies of the Coopers and slowly they begin to wake up, hungry for flesh. He disposes of them and simply waits as the sounds upstairs leave him, and us, with a sense of despair, loss, and decimation. Morning comes and the noise have ceased, the monsters nowhere to be seen. Cautiously, he returns upstairs and while slowly investigating the scene, is shot straight through the eyes by the sheriff and his pose…mistaking him for one of the undead.

In 1978, George Romero returned to show us the dawn.

Dawn of the Dead can be called a sequel, but most would consider it a stand-alone story set within the same universe. As society breaks down, reporter Francine Parker (Gaylen Ross) and pilot Stephen Andrews (David Emgee) reel in the news of anarchy and chaos within their news station as a doctor and a reporter argue over the epidemic spreading across the nation.

Continue with Dawn of the Dead

Girl of the Week London Cross

Slickster
-
0
Girl of the Week London Cross

Girl of the Week London Cross

1/17/2016, 7:46pm

London Cross Twerking Compilation

Favorite band or musical act: Fetty Wap

Movie that scared you the most: Insidious

Truth or dare? Dare

Tell us about your hobbies or the worst date you ever went on: Hobbies include reading , watching Harry Potter and eating and twerking for my fans.

Follow me on Instagram: Mslondoncross

The Revenant Review

Slickster
-
0
The Revenant Review

The Revenant Review

 

The Revenant is a two-and-a-half-hour endurance test. It’s not escapist. It’s not fun. It is a long, slow, gray-colored movie about a guy who gets mauled by a bear and has to crawl hundreds of miles across a wintery hellscape in order to make it to safety and exact his revenge. If that description sounds like what you want to see, go for it. If not, then you’ve been warned.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Hugh Glass, a real fur-trader who was actually mauled by a bear and crawled for weeks across the unforgiving wilderness. It’s an amazing true story, and an amazing performance from DiCaprio, who very clearly put himself through some hardships of his own in order to give us this dirty, grunting character.

The main antagonist of the film—well, besides nature and that angry mama bear—is a slimy fur trader who leaves DiCaprio for dead. He’s played by an unrecognizable Tom Hardy, who once again delivers a performance that would’ve really benefitted from some subtitles. Like his role of Bane in the last Batman movie, he mumbles and grunts and refuses to enunciate. I considered rewatching the film, just so I could get a better understanding of what he was saying, but I don’t think I have the endurance skills to handle sitting through this one more time… At least not with all the gory bits still fresh in my mind.

From the very first scene, you know that things aren’t going to go well for our hero. While the score pounds our ears with jarring drum beats and noises that could barely be labelled music, the camera flits around without a single cut. We see arrows go through necks, axes slash into flesh, and all sorts of crazy cowboys-and-Indians visual mayhem. There are a few quiet moments between the bloody opening scene and the bloody closing scene, but at no point does the tension ease up with any sort of lightness or relief. The world is a harsh place, and the characters are even harsher. We just have to sit through it and wait (vainly) for the glimmer of something good to happen.

My biggest problem with this film isn’t that it’s long and depressing. I’ve seen plenty of long and depressing films that I’ve actually enjoyed, films that balance all the negative stuff with at least a couple moments of humor or surprise. The Revenant doesn’t do that. In fact, the story doesn’t come to any interesting conclusions about revenge or survival. There’s a difference between a film with a depressing tone, and a film whose only reason for existence is to depress the hell out of people. You won’t walk out of the theater pondering deep thoughts. You’ll walk out of the theater wanting to take a shower.

The Revenant is director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s return to his dour, miserable roots. He’s an amazing director when it comes to visuals (the landscapes in this are breath-taking), and he has a very strong hand when it comes to his actors giving hopeless, cry-faced performances. Watch Biutiful or Babel and you’ll see a flood of A-listers have the absolute worst times of their lives. He also directed last year’s best picture winner, Birdman, which is kooky and enjoyable and ridiculously daring in both style and content. It’s actual fun. Unfortunately, that looks like it’s going to be the outlier to Inarritu’s career, because The Revenant is as depressing and hard-to-watch as Babel, only with an added bear mauling to spice things up.

Honestly, it’s difficult to review a movie like The Revenant.

It’s beautifully made and impossible to look away from. The problem, for me anyway, is that it’s not an experience that I really wanted to have. Of course, movie critics have to judge a film on its own terms. We have to figure out what it’s trying to do, and whether those goals were met. You can’t say When Harry Met Sally is a bad film because it wasn’t scary enough. You can’t say that Ghostbusters is bad because it didn’t make you cry. (The new Ghostbusters will make fans everywhere cry….)Every film has different goals in mind, and a critic has to take that into account. Watching this movie, I knew from the very first scalping that this wasn’t going to be an enjoyable experience. It was going to be grim and gruff and sickening. Well, mission accomplished.

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi Review

Slickster
-
0
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi Review

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi Review

Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag

Michael Bay is an auteur. His movies are instantly recognizable, and everything—the banter, the dizzying quick-cuts, the breakneck pace—are all very much in his style. Watch a double feature of Pearl Harbor and Transformers 2, and you’ll see the same tricks and tics. I’m not saying he’s a good director, just a recognizable one.

With 13 Hours, Bay has taken a real life event—the much-talked-about attack in Libya on September 11, 2012—and molded it into another rah-rah parade of Bayhem. It’s probably the best thing he’s done since the 90s, but that’s mostly because the film didn’t have room for rapping robot aliens.

Based on the non-fiction book by Mitchell Zuckoff, the film follows six veterans who protected the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi from 13 hours worth of attacks. If you’ve ever turned on a 24-hour news network (any of them), you’ve heard about this event. Thankfully, the film is basically apolitical, choosing to focus on the in-the-moment action instead of any sort of finger-pointing. It’s a story about heroics, about brothers-in-arms, and that’s all it’s trying to do.

[The real soldiers who fought the battle are interviewed here.]

Like a lot of bombastic Bay films, the six heroes are brave and strong and cool, and everyone else—the CIA guys, all the government people—are big old idiots who only serve to get in the way of things. I’m not saying that’s not what actually happened back in 2012, but the way the movie plays it, everyone feels a little bit like cardboard cut-outs with the label “pencil-pusher” clearly written on the name tags.

What makes this movie as enjoyable as it is, though, is that the six heroes do get the minimum amount of backstory and personality traits needed to make them three dimensional. There’s too much action in this to make room for character arcs and development, but that’s probably not why people come to a movie like this, anyway.

The action is frenetic and shaky—lots of handheld cameras and drone cameras and quick cuts between the two—but most scenes are easier to decipher than typical Bay films. There is some sense of confusion, however, because all of the main characters are big, buff, and bearded. It can get a little difficult to tell people apart.

All-in-all, this seems like the best possible version of a 21st-century Michael Bay film. It’s exciting without being overwhelming, patriotic without being preachy, and epic without being bloated. (Okay, it does feel a little bloated. But unlike Transformers 4, it doesn’t actually feel thirteen hours long.) Michael Bay has made a Michael Bay movie, and that’s really all you need to know.

Fallout 4: Settlement Build Guide

Slickster
-
0
Fallout 4: Settlement Build Guide

Fallout 4: Settlement Build Guide

Written by: Alex Silvia
1/17/2016, 10:16a
Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag

 

Fallout 4 quickly became one of my favorite games of 2015. As I stepped out of the elevator of Vault 111 and gazed at the beautiful desolation of Boston, I was filled with a sense of awe and nostalgia I haven’t felt in ages. After finishing the game siding with the Railroad and Institute, I have now turned my attention to the Minutemen. Beating the story with the Minutemen is unique because you have to build your way to victory. Settlement building is a huge part of Fallout 4 and can be very complex and daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. This guide is here to help.

Getting Started 

In Fallout 4’s Boston ruins there are 30 unique locations you can settle. Some are easier to establish than others.  Settlements come in many sizes, and many of them lack resources such as food and water. Some settlements require quests to unlock, and some are in high-level areas. When starting out it’s a good idea to stick close to Sanctuary and build in that area of the map.

These 10 settlements can be unlocked early in the game and are good for getting started:

  1. Abernathy Farm
  2. Country Crossing
  3. Gray Garden
  4. Greentop Nursery
  5. Red Rocket Truck Stop
  6. Sanctuary Hills
  7. The Slog
  8. Starlight Drive In
  9. Sunshine Tidings co-op
  10. Tenpines Bluff

When you have a settlement to build on, there are several milestones towards making it fully functional. Food, water, bedding, and defenses need to be covered first. Once the basics are covered, focus on more advanced settlement elements like shops, power, workstations, and supply lines. Making these things keep your settlements running and maintain settler happiness.

Fallout 4 Settlement guide 1

Food

To get food you need crops, and to grow crops you need Farmers. You can only place crops in dirt and there are 6 crops in total. Tato, corn, razorgrain, melon, gourd, and carrot crops produce .5 food each and mutfruit crops produce 1. Once a crop has been planted, a Farmer needs to be assigned to it so it can be grown and harvested. The most important thing to remember when planting crops is that each settler needs 1 food and each Farmer can harvest 6 crops.

Notes: Adhesive is one of the most used crafting ingredients in the game and can be made from vegetable paste. Vegetable paste is made from mutfruit, tatos, corn, and purified water.

Brahmin feed troughs can be used to make fertilizer. Brahmin at a settlement will stick close to the feed trough.

Water

Water may be the most important resource in game because it is an excellent source of income. Water can be retrieved from ground pumps or purifiers. The ground pumps can be used at any settlement and provide 3 water each, regular and industrial purifiers provide 10 and 40 water each but require power and a water source to function. Some settlements like Sanctuary that can handle multiple industrial purifiers can easily produce several hundred waters on a regular basis. Water sells for 20 caps a piece. One way to think of it is 10 industrial purifiers provide 400 water, which is worth 8,000 caps.

Bedding

Settlers need a place to sleep with a roof over their head or they will never stop complaining and your happiness will go down. You can use a pre-made structure or make something even better like a house, apartment building, or inn.  In large settlements like Sanctuary each resident can have a house but in compact settlements like Jamaica Plain a bunkhouse is more suitable.

Defenses

There are two parts to defending a settlement. First, establish a defensive perimeter to force attackers into a well-defended entrance. Second, use turrets, traps, and guard posts to increase your defensive score. The defense score of a settlement needs to be higher than the food and water scores combined, otherwise the settlement will be attacked. For example, a settlement that produces 20 water and 20 food would need a defense score of at least 41.

When it comes to building a defensive perimeter, concrete blocks can clip in to the ground, are stackable with the stairway floorboard, and turrets can be placed on them making them ideal for building walls. Which turrets are used can have a huge impact on how much power is needed. Heavy machine-gun turrets are the best because they require no power and provide good firepower. Powered turrets like the shotgun, laser, and missile turrets are very powerful as well and should not be dismissed.

Fallout 4 settlement guide

Power

There are 4 power generators: small, medium, large, and wind. Small generators produce 3 power and are the best for providing large amounts of power as they provide the most power for the space they take. Medium, large, and wind generators are very bulky and often more impractical to use.

Generators need to be wired to be used and copper is needed to run power lines. Power lines have distance limits that can be overcome with conduits and pylons to extend the wire’s length and build a power grid. Small lights get their power through walls where pylons and conduits are connected to them or by being near a generator.

Workstations

With workstations, players can craft personal gear, chems, food, and power armor. Equipping your settlements with workstations is very useful for crafting and storing power armor, whether it’s to customize equipment or make an armory that Tony Stark would be proud of. Power armor is best stored away from NPCs. Armor left out in the can be stolen by raiders, or settlers might permanently take it in the heat of battle. Do not leave fusion cores in unused armor.

Shops

Shops are the best way to make caps without water purifiers. How much money a shop makes depends on what tier it is and how many settlers can shop there. The more settlers there are, the more caps are made. There are weapons, armor, clothing, trading, medical, and food/drink shops.

Each shop type has 4 tiers. Shop tiers 1-3 can be built with the right perks. Tier 4 shops need to be run by special NPCs that have to be recruited. There are 8 in total that can be found throughout Boston.

Ann Hargraves 

Tailor.

Notes: Found at the WRVR broadcast station.  She doesn’t like her boss.

Doc Anderson 

Doctor.

Notes: Random encounter.  Will not join unless a settlement has a population of 20.

Holt Combes 

Trader.

Notes: Found in Vault 81.  Will not leave unless he is single.

Ron Staples 

Bartender.

Notes: Random encounter.  Will not join unless a settlement has a population of 20.

Rylee 

Trader.

Notes:  Random encounter.

The Scribe 

Armorer.

Notes: Random encounter.  Will not join unless a settlement has a population of 10.

Smiling Larry

Weaponsmith.

Notes: Random encounter.  Will not join unless a settlement has a population of 30.

Vault-Tec Rep

Trader.

Notes: Found in Goodneighbor.  He’s had a rough 200 years.

Supply Line

To establish a supply line, assign a settler to trade with another settlement. Once a supply line is established the connected settlements will share resources and can allow a settlement like Boston Airport, which can’t produce food, to be settled. Trading is best done later in the game as it can be difficult to manage and can get out of hand quickly. Trade routes can be viewed on the pip-boy map.

Player Perks

There are seven perks that affect settlement building: Armorer, Cap Collector, Gun Nut, Hacker, Local Leader, Medic, and Science. Without these perks, especially Science and Local Leader, settlement building is much more limiting and unprofitable.

Armorer

Requires Strength 3.

Notes: Power Armor stations require rank 1.

Cap Collector

Requires Charisma 1.

Notes:  All tier 3 shops except medical require rank 2 of this perk to be built.  At rank 3 shops can upgraded with a 500 cap investment.

Gun Nut

Requires Intelligence 3.

Notes: Machinegun Turrets require rank 1. Shotguns turrets require rank 2. Missile turrets require rank 3.

Hacker

Requires Intelligence 4.

Notes: Terminals require rank 1.

Local Leader

Requires Charisma 6.

Notes: Supply lines require rank 1. Shops and workstations require rank 2.

Medic

Requires Intelligence 2.

Medical shops require rank 1.

Science

Requires Intelligence 6.

Laser turrets, large generators, and industrial water purifiers require rank 1.  Heavy laser turrets require rank 2.

Happiness

Happiness is the hardest thing to manage in any settlement and getting it to 100 is the hardest achievement in the entire game. More importantly however, if your happiness is too low settlers are going to rebel.

Happiness is essentially the settler’s quality of life and is affected by many variables.  The happiest settlements have food, water, defenses, shopkeepers, bedding, lighting, and seating.  They are also happier when you stick around.

Settlers

Settler Population

Recruitment beacons attract settlers. How many settlers a settlement can have is 10 plus the player’s charisma. A player with 6 charisma can have a maximum of 16 settlers while a player with 10 charisma can have 20. Clothing that boosts charisma is included in that calculation. A player with 6 charisma wearing a red dress that gives them +2 charisma can have a maximum of 18 settlers.

Settler Behavior

During the day settlers will wander the settlement and stay close to ground level or do their jobs. They tend to stay away from higher places unless they are forced to. Unassigned settlers produce caps and scrap at the settlement workbench and shops increase how many caps they produce. Early night they will all go to the bar and then go to bed. Without a bar they will go straight to bed. To gather settlers in one place, use the bell.

Finding Synth Spies

The institute will send synth spies to players on their bad side and these spies can incite synth invasions on settlements. To find out if a settler is a synth, get the Awareness perk that requires level 3 perception. Synths naturally have +10 energy resistance that is visible with awareness. Because some settlers may wear energy resistant clothing it’s best to strip them before checking their energy resistance in VATS. Dead synth spies will have synth components in their inventory.

Settler Equipment

Settlers spawn with low level equipment but can be given better armor and weapons to use. Renaming settler equipment is a good way to keep track of them. If a settler is given a gun and a single round of ammunition for that gun they will use it indefinitely. A settler with a minigun and a single 5mm round has all the ammo they need.

Settler Jobs

To assign a settler to a job use the building menu and command them towards their work station or assign them a trade route.

Artilleryman

Artillerymen are stationed at your settlements cannon and operate it at the player’s command. To unlock artillery, The Castle must be cleared and Old Guns, a quest given by Ronnie Shaw must be completed.

Farmer

Farmers will grow and harvest your crops. Each farmer can harvest 6 crops in total and, fully grown, will have between 3 and 6 farmers depending on settlement population and what crops are being grown.

Guard

Guards will stand at their posts and act as lookouts. They do add to the overall defense rating but are often not needed. Whenever a settlement is attacked all the settlers will defend it and not just the guard. Overall, it’s better to have a settler making caps and scrap than doing a turret’s job.

Provisioner

Provisioners work the supply line they are assigned to, and can be seen wandering the commonwealth with a pack Brahmin. They are very easy to lose track of and can be difficult to find. A good way to manage provisioners is by naming a gun or article of clothing after the settlement they’re from.

Scavenger

Scavengers you have assigned to work at scavenging stations produce more scrap than a regular settler.

Shopkeeper

Shopkeepers will run whatever store they are put in charge of and act like any other vendor. As mentioned above, there are several unique NPCs you can recruit to run your stores.

 

Magazine Buildings

There are 5 building types that can be unlocked by reading magazines.

High Tech Lights

Found in Hardware from “Modern Hearth.”

Patio Furniture

Found in the Weston Water Treatment Plant from “Welcome Home.”

Picket Fences

Found in the Beantown Brewery from “The House of Tomorrow…Today!”

Potted Plants

Found in the Combat Zone from “Modern Lawn Care.”

Statues

Found in Saugus Ironworks from “Essential Upgrades.”

 

Read more: Drug addiction in Fallout 4 http://www.slickstermagazine.com/psychojet-fallout-4-drug-addiction/

A Rage Into the Past

Slickster
-
0
A Rage Into the Past

A Rage Into the Past

“Nerd-rage,” or “butt-hurt syndrome,” is a tale as old as time. Up until the last five years, I never really had a name for it, as I’m sure you, the readers, might not have, as well. Let’s focus on the gaming end of this spectrum for this article. It’s an interesting phenomenon that I’ve only recently really thought about. It was always something we acknowledged as it was happening. However, with a sound mind and all of our controllers safely away from anything breakable, let’s compare what it was like to “rage out” before and after online-gaming became a thing.

For referencing purposes, let’s make the PlayStation 2 the middle ground that bridged Local to Online gaming, with the GameCube, the Dreamcast, and all consoles before them pegged onto the “Local” banner, as the Xbox, Wii and everything after will be put under the “Online” Flag.

Before Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and even the Dreamcast-AT&T network (to some extent), we had games that caused us to rage for a select number of reasons. Let’s explore a few, shall we?

Unforgiving difficulty: contrary to the pandering today’s games displayed to their player-base, games back then were difficult, and rightfully so; you needed your games to have a long shelf-life. As such, you didn’t want your players breezing through the game and calling it a day in one sitting. However, this didn’t come without its frustrations. Many a broken controllers have been made at the hands of that one part of the level that required a precision jump, perfect reaction time, or just a relentless amount of endurance and patience to truck through a seemingly endless wave of baddies before the next checkpoint (if the game in mind were so inclined to include such a privilege).

Frustration also came as a result of poor game design. This was a deal-breaker to a game back then, because once a game was a released, you bought it on an “as is” basis. Whatever glitches, hiccups, broken code, and exploits that were present at the end of development and shipped out to stores were there, and they were there forever. One huge luxury we, as gamers, have today with modern games is that all these bumps and bruises that are in a game at launch can be patched as time goes on. Sometimes, these quirks added to a charm in the game, other times… They were abysmal and rendered a game completely unplayable (I’m looking at you, Superman 64).

Then, you have awkward game mechanics and learning curves, which called for a lot of effort on the side of the player. You were either given a jump mechanic, in which case you can change your momentum at will, or you had to commit to the direction and you better hope that leap of faith didn’t cost you a life and a ticket back to the beginning of a level. Suffice to say, having to learn a mechanic, especially ones that stray away from industry standards, can become frustrating and lead many to just huff and puff and blow away their TV sets, with the speed of a major league pitcher gunning for the strikeout with a fast ball.

Online gaming became common place around the time of the Xbox and PlayStation 2 era (Oh, Resident Evil: Outbreak, we miss you so bad), and with it came a whole new level of frustration, anger issues, and pure, unadulterated raw emotions ever to come out the mouths and body of seemingly normal human beings. For starters, most games are now multiplayer, meaning you are subject to opponents/teammates of ALL playstyles. Fun in theory, but mind-numbingly difficult when you lack the coordination and communication to achieve your objective. Alas, it’s what you sign up for when you log on.

Oh, but the buck doesn’t stop there, you also have conflicting personalities and behavior to put up with as a result of developers throwing you all into a map and saying, “Go!” You’ve got your trolls, your solo artists, your AFKers, your wannabes, just name it. The ideal is that everyone understands the objective and will work together to achieve success, pride and prejudice aside. I laugh at that last statement because games like Left 4 Dead, Halo, and other team-based games have shown me that everyone wants to be the “hero” of their session, which will inevitably lead to conflict, and you wouldn’t believe how quickly teamwork and understanding get tossed out the window like the controller of the player who just spent weeks trying to beat Super Ghouls ‘N’ Ghosts for the first time and was just told they have to repeat the whole game again for the real ending.

Although, let’s not get things twisted, this can also happen when you’re grouped with your own crew of ragtag misfit gamers. Even when you have the communication and coordination bit all figured out because you have your posse to back you up, when things start to go south, the rage can (and will) be bridge-burning. Play a game of Smite, or League of Legends, with your friends, get your team to the point when you’re Win-Loss ratio is above 50%, and screw up for 3 games (I’m being generous here), and see how fast that one friend will blow your ear drum out via your headset faster than you can say, “Get good.”

Reasons of old are still prevalent in today’s games, but the addition of the human factor completely overshadows why we are ready to destroy our homes and relationships as a result of being consumed by our emotions. (Want a fun example of what rage can do to you? Google “Silverstein Wins the Internet” and you’ll see how horrible it can be at an extreme.) The way we have dealt with it has remained the same, only today, we have new venues through which to poorly express ourselves. Before online-gaming, we had the luxury of screaming, yelling, destroying, and crying in the sanctity and privacy of our own home. Your parents, roommates, or significant other would check to see what’s wrong, tell you to chill the f**k out, and go about their business. Today though, we have ourselves venues such as hate mail to verbally “assault” other gamers and you can show just how much you can invalidate their gaming prowess by letting them know just how much they got into your head. Social media users has also have their fair share of outbursts as the result of games gone wrong. Go ahead and look on YouTube for gaming meltdowns. I’ve linked one to you earlier in this article, but there are more… oh, so much more! Sadly, this really only adds fuel to the fire, as people can feel they can gain notoriety and infamy by being a turd to other players and showcasing their “exploits” to the world.

Honestly, I’m sure a psych student can tap into this for a dissertation and make a thesis out of the subject. However, I am not a psych student and I would be straying from the topic at hand. I’ll leave you, the readers with this: “butt-hurt syndrome,” “nerd rage,” or whatever you’d like to call it, is bad, incredibly bad, to both the player and the community. It can ruin your real life situation and give you a ton of therapy-rich issues, if left ignored. Do yourself the favor, should you ever feel hot in the face and ready to shot put your controller for the world record in distance – swallow your pride, and walk away. Your wallet, your friends and family, and your heart-rate, will thank you for it. Write down your hate mail into a notebook, and throw it away, get it out of you without giving your source the satisfaction of knowing they got to you.

TL/DR – Validation of your worth as a person is NOT given by a video game, so stop searching for it there.

Other cool articles you’ll enjoy!

Daily Fantasy Sports: Cash Games vs Tournaments and how to slay each

Top ten sexiest gamer girls

How to be manly

Top 10 Hottest NFL Cheerleaders (2019-2020)

Why Las Vegas Sucks

Best foods for the munchies

It’s a Scream, Baby! ( A retroactive look at the franchise )

Snake
-
0
It’s a Scream, Baby! ( A retroactive look at the franchise )

It’s A Scream, Baby!

It’s all hats off to Wes Craven, (and Kevin Williamson but for the sake of the article will will focus on the former), may he rest in peace, for giving us a fun, self-referential horror franchise that has spawned a few sequels and a TV series, Scream. The first movie came out 20 years ago, and it was fun to get a movie that talks about itself, because they talk about the horror genre inside the movie that we are watching. Not to mention that it was the movie that put Drew Barrymore back on the map, even though she gets killed in the first five minutes. The movie begins with a seemingly innocent phone call and it ends up being a deadly game. It’s here that we get the most memorable line of the entire franchise, “What’s your favorite scary movie?” The killer keeps asking her questions until she finally meets her demise.

The rest of the movies centers around Sidney Prescott, played by Neve Campbell.

Sidney is the typical high school girl-next-door. The day after the first killings we meet Gale Weathers, a bitchy reporter, played by Courtney Cox. And a bit later we meet Deputy Dewey Riley, played by David Arquette. These are the three main characters that carry the franchise. As the film goes on, we discover that Sidney’s mother was brutally killed the year before in the same manner of the current murders.

Sidney has a boyfriend, Billy Loomis, played by Skeet Ulrich. We remember him as the asshole that became obsessed by way of a spell in The Craft. Anyway, he is kind of a creeper, always wanting to get in her pants. When Sidney is attacked for the first time she locks herself in her bedroom until the killer is gone and in pops Billy through the window. Totally from A Nightmare On Elm Street, when Johnny Depp comes in through Nancy’s window. She thinks it’s the killer, and has him arrested, only to be called by the killer later at her friend Tatum’s house. Her friend is played by the awesome Rose McGowan.

So, the next day, school is cut short because of the murders and, of course, there is a party. Typical high school students, any excuse to get drunk and get high. Not that I was goody-goody or anything. So they all go to Stu Mocker’s house, who’s played by Matthew Lillard. The final bloodbath is about to commence, and Gale Weathers is there watching and waiting.

As the party breaks down, a few more murders happen and we discover who is behind the Ghostface mask. And of course it’s the boyfriend and the host of the party. As they have Sidney in their grips, she asks them why they killed her mother. Billy has the answer, “She was a slut-bag whore…” Because of that, his mother left town. Psycho mama’s boy. Stu was just a lap dog. She ends up defeating the two with the help of Gale, bringing us to the end of the first movie. But not before there is a flash of the Ghostface, telling us there will be a sequel. And there is…

In the timeline of the movie, it’s a few years later and Sidney has moved away to go to college. The overall formula of the story is the same. It begins at a movie theater with two students going to see a movie of the events that happened in the first movie. The movie is hilariously called “Stab.” These two are played by Omar Epps and Jada Pinkett. You’ve got to have the African-American element in horror movies. They are killed in the theater and then the title appears.

Once we see Sidney, the new cast begins to be introduced.

The murders are all over the news, and lo and behold, Gale is there, ready to get the scoop. Initially she is there to interview Sidney along side Cotton Weary, the man she first thought killed her mother. Pissed off, Sidney punches Gale. Upon hearing about the murders, Dewey arrives to help Sid.

He tells her that killer is probably already in her life. How creepy would that be to think about? After surviving a horrible experience, it starts up again and they are after you. What’s fun about this one is that there is a movie within the movie about the first movie.

As the film goes on, the next murder is of a girl, played by Sarah-Michelle Gellar. Yes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And during this, you can’t help but shout out, “Come on Buffy, kick his ass!” So after her death, Gale sees the names at the police station and realizes that each one has a name from the victims in the first Scream. A copycat? Yes and no. The ultimate goal, of course, is to get Sidney. As the film goes on, the killer goes after Dewey and Gale. Gale manages to escape and poor Dewey is stabbed again and left for dead.

Because of what is happening, Sidney is getting taken to a safe house, only to be attacked once again. The car crashes and Ghostface kills her best friend and dorm roommate. Bringing us back to the campus where the final showdown of this film can take place. She hears music coming from the auditorium, which lures her inside. Looking around, she sees no one. On the stage, her boyfriend, Derek, played by Jerry O’Connell, literally falls from the catwalks tied up to a Sun meant for the play in which Sidney is the star. But before she can untie him, the first killer reveals himself, and kills Derek. It’s her friend Mickey.

Now it’s time for the second killer to be revealed. Gale comes out. And then a reporter we’ve seen throughout, played by Laurie Metcalf. We all know her as Jackie from Roseanne. It’s Mrs. Loomis! “Billy’s Mother,” and as for the question of “why” they are killing, Mickey is just a psychotic, where as Mrs. Loomis just snapped after Billy’s death and sought revenge.

It’s good to see a killer using a classic motive. During the battle, Gale gets shot and Cotton comes in to save the day. Which technically he did, but Sidney and Gale finish the job. Now we think that the story is over. Nobody could be after her now right? Wrong! Which brings us to Scream 3.

Scream 3 came out three years after the second.

In the movie timeline it’s about four or five years after the college murders. Stab 2 has been made and they are on the set of Stab 3, which is actually really cool to see. The setting is the set of Woodsboro, and the houses from the first Scream. It gives you an entire look as to what it is like to be on a real movie set and the magic behind it.

So to get the ball rolling in this one, it starts with a random girl who calls Cotton Weary. Being a horny bastard, he starts talking with her. Then the unthinkable happens, the voice switches to that of the killer looking for Sidney once again. Sidney has been in hiding, which you can’t blame her. Twice, psychos have come after you, I would have moved to a remote island in the middle of the ocean. Not knowing where she is, Ghostface kills Cotton and his girlfriend. We catch up with Gale speaking at a college to future reporters and journalists. After, an inspector approaches, and tells her about the murder of Cotton.

Ghostface left behind an old picture of Sidney’s mother, giving us the inkling that there is a backstory that about to unfold. Gale is now helping the police and not in for her own personal gain, which is a cool transformation for her. She goes to the studio, and discovers Dewey. He survived because the killer stabbed through old scar tissue in the second one. Then the cast of Stab 3 begin to die, next is the dumb blonde, played by Jenny McCarthy. And for some reason, her death cracks me up every time I watch it. After her death, another picture is left behind.

Now the cops are looking for Sidney. Ask and ye shall receive, she walks right in as Dewey is calling. There is so much that Sidney never knew about her mom. The photos left behind are headshots. And the backstory unfolds a little further. Gale looks further into the photos, and finds that she was an actress back in the 70s. Hollywood back then was something else. If girls wanted parts, they had to fuck for it. Which, I wouldn’t be surprised if that still happens.

The director of the now-dead movie has a birthday party at his house, and invites the remaining cast. And, being a horror movie, they get picked off one by one. Ghostface is able to lure Dewey and Gale, because the distorting device copies voices. Once the cast is dead, the killer calls Sidney using the two as leverage. Being the hero she is, she has to save them.

Time for the showdown.

Sidney is chased into a hidden theater inside the house, and being projected is a video of her mother coming in and out of a cheap motel with Cotton and Billy’s mother. Who the hell is doing this? It’s the director of the movie, and also Sidney’s long lost brother. He is the one that showed this film to Billy and started all of this madness. He was insanely jealous of her because she got fame. Fame she never wanted. All these killers are just crazy. Well now, “hero and villain come face to face.”

Finally, after a pretty cool fight scene, Sidney defeats her bother, and is finally able to move on with her life. The movie ends with Dewey proposing to Gale, which is funny because the David and Courtney had just come back from their honeymoon just before filming. The madness is finally over. Until 11 years later…

It’s been a long 11 years and entire decade of horror movies have been made, and a lot of remakes. At first, I was a little skeptical when I heard of another Scream coming. But then I read that Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette were going to be back to resume their roles. This got me excited. Courtney and David had gotten a divorce, so there are not a lot of scenes with the two of them together.

Stab!

The movie begins with intro scenes to a few of the Stab sequels. At this point, there have been seven Stab movies, but no longer involving Sidney Prescott. There is a hilarious cameo with Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell. We are now back in Sidney’s hometown of Woodsboro. And it’s a new generation of bait for Ghostface. Because it’s been so long, the murders have now become something of a joke in their eyes. Until, once again, murders begin once again. Not because Sidney is in town, but because it’s time for the next generation to have a horror massacre. Only this time, instead of movies being made about it, Ghostface films the killings, thus creating snuff films, to make the killer even more infamous.

After the murders, we are introduced to Sidney’s cousin, Jill, and her friends Kirby and Olivia. Dewey is now the Sheriff, and more of a hardass. Gale has left behind the journalism life and living back with Dewey. Sidney has written kind of a self-help book and is on tour, with Woodsboro being the last stop. She’s moved on, and wants the quiet life back in her town. The police show up a bookstore where Sidney is and find the bloody knife and mask in her trunk. Blood is smeared all over her the books. A total foreshadow that something bad is going to happen to her.

At the police station, Jill, Olivia, and Kirby show up saying they got a phone call from the killer. Asking the famous question “What’s your favorite scary movie?” We go to Jill’s house and meet Sidney’s aunt, Kate, played by the badass Mary McDonnell. Kirby and Jill are watching a movie, and Olivia calls them, and they watch her get killed next door. Sidney runs over to try and save her, and fights off the killer but doesn’t defeat him. It’s way too soon in the movie. But it is cool to see her transformation, in the fact that she refuses to be a victim. She’s a fighter.

Now it’s time to try and find out who the killer is. Because it’s been a decade, the rules of old horror movies aren’t exactly applicable. The killer is more brutal, with a much more sadistic attitude. Ghostface is not just after Sidney, he wants her to suffer through the last remaining members her family, leaving her completely alone, and vulnerable. The town begins to blame Sidney once again. Right, she totally called Ghostface, and said, “Hey, I’m coming back to town! Time to do your thing.”

That night, Gale meets two boys that lead Cinema Club at the high school has some questions, but they want to talk to Sidney. Movies are about her: “She’s the star.” So they go, and ask who they think the killer might be. They mention he’s a Stab fanatic, and there is a marathon of all seven movies. It’s at this point that Sidney realizes that the killer is patterning the kills to that of the original movie.

It’s great how Scream 4 goes back to the original.

It is another sequel, but it follows the rules of a horror remake. Nowadays, anything goes, and nobody is safe in the movies. Heroes get completely fucked up and left for dead, and the villains can win. But because this is Scream, there has to be a hero. The final bloodbath isn’t at a big party like the original, but at a small gathering of friends. Here we have our remaining cast now. Jill, Kirby, the two guys from Cinema Club, and Jill’s ex. We are lead to believe that it’s him, but much to our surprise it’s not. Sidney comes to save the day, only to be thwarted by the killers. There are two. Upon the removal of the mask, she is horrified to see who is behind. JILL. And the other is Charlie, one of the guys from Cinema Club. Jill has been pissed off, because she wants the fame of the tragedy, but doesn’t want to share it. So she kills him, and begins to throw herself around the room fucking herself up. As she falls next to Sidney she gets in the same position in which she lying. It’s kind of like there is a transfer of souls happening.

Then they are taken to the hospital. Dewey tells her that Sidney might just make it. Jill can’t have that. One more final showdown and Jill is ultimately killed. And the movie ends with all the focus on Jill being the survivor. She got her wish, but didn’t get to enjoy it. I believe that’s what they call irony.

Scream 5?

After watching all these films again, I wonder will there be a Scream 5? With the passing of Wes Craven last year and Kevin Williamson busy with other projects, who knows. There have been recent grumblings of Quentin Tarantino, perhaps wanting to have directed the first scream. Now that would be one way to keep the franchise moving forward. With a fresh set of eyes and ideas on it. Tarantino’s name on the poster would sell some tickets in itself to the Tarantino die hards. This would also bring a new group of people to the franchise perhaps, since as he has yet to direct a horror movie.

With all that said and done, I have had blast watching all the Scream films again. Following Sydney’s character arc throughout the series is great.  From victim, to loner, to fighter, she’s a tough chick, and will not go down easily. And the supporting casts in each film are just plain fun. I love Rose McGowan and Mary McDonnell. Wes Craven really got some great talent. I mean come on, Jackie from Roseanne as a psycho killer is just fantastic. Once again, all hats off to Mr. Craven for leaving behind a fun and game changing little franchise.

Heroes of the Storm tips – Sgt. Hammer

Slickster
-
0
Heroes of the Storm tips – Sgt. Hammer

Tips for Sgt. Hammer of Heroes of the Storm

Written by: Jon Quinn
1/15/2015, 08:47
Tweet to: @LeissureOG

 

Introduction

Sgt. Hammer is a bombastic beauty who can lay down some serious firepower. Couple that with her talents that give massive increases to range and you have yourself a suitable sniper. I’m a little disappointed that the tank hero doesn’t hold true to the StarCraft model. The StarCraft RTS gave the tank the disadvantage of dealing splash damage to allies as well as enemies. This indiscriminate carpet bombing had some hilarious effects when used in play. I wouldn’t mind seeing friendly fire on this hero with an increase to damage. It is also worth mentioning that Sgt. Hammer has gotten some criticism for not being part of the story arc in any of the StarCraft games. She is solely a creation of Heroes of the Storm, possibly foreshadowing that Blizzard team working on HotS does not want to stick to their lore created in previous games.

Skills

Spider Mines – Not a great ability. They have a cool down so you really have to anticipate where the enemy is going to be walking. They are easy to walk around and can be targeted by ranged heroes, which causes the mines to explode prematurely.

 

Concussive Blast – Useful if your going to be making a run for it, as it will launch the enemies across the map until they hit a wall.

Siege Mode – The only really important ability in your spell arsenal. You’re going to want to pay special attention to where your place yourself in a fight. The enemy is going to know you’re raining down some serious firepower and they’re also going to know you’re vulnerable to attack because you have relatively low hit points for a tank. They also know you’re an easy target because your rooted to the ground in Siege Mode.

Early Game

Your best bet early game is to try and stay out of the line of fire, as this hero’s range is pretty comparable to every other ranged hero in the game. My advice is to just try to not feed the other team. The Siege Mode is particularly terrible early game, as you barely do enough damage to justify rooting yourself to a specific location. You’re extremely susceptible to getting ganked if you’re soloing a lane. The hero doesn’t allow for mounts, but you can sprint straight out of Siege Mode, which eliminates the half-second stun that brings you out of Siege Mode and puts you back into the mobile tank form. As for your level 1 talents, I would focus on advanced artillery that increases your damage to long-distance enemies by 10%. The hero lends itself to long-range attacks later in the game so getting this ability will make you much more powerful toward the end of the match. You might suspect that the ambush ability that allows you to stealth would be useful, but in team fights later in the game that 100% damage bonus won’t likely do much for you, since you’re probably going to spend most of your time fighting behind the other high hotpoint allies.

Mid Game

Vampiric assault is always a favorite of mine for a mid-game talent, but with this particular hero I wouldn’t recommend it. If you’re getting hit at all you’re “doing it wrong.” You want to be in the back of the pack trying to take advantage of strategic locations, like structures, so you can land massive splash damage from a distance. Instead, I would go for the Maelstrom shells, which increases your basic attack range by 20%.

Slowing Mines would be a good complement to your other abilities for a 7th-level talent. Not for any real strategic advantage, but because the other options are abysmal. Hyper-Cooling Engines are tempting, but if you’re finding that using sprint more often is for you, it might be time to look for other teammates or reconsider your positioning. This hero lends itself to tank-heavy groups. Diablo would be a great companion hero if your in a lane with a friend. Let Diablo take the hits, and sit back and rain fire on the enemy.

The 10th-level talent to choose is definitely the blunt force gun that launches a missile across the battlefield, which does massive damage. This missile can be upgraded later in the game so that it orbits the planet, which is very cool. With one cast you can deal damage to buildings and enemies multiple times, if you place it right. I wouldn’t recommend the napalm strike. One hit with the missile is worth way more damage than two landed casts of the napalm strike, and the damage over time does not scale with higher levels.

The 13th-level talent is definitely situational. If you’re tank heavy, I would recommend going with Giant Killer. You’re adding 1.5% damage that is equivalent to the enemies maximum health. Great for dealing damage quickly. However, if your team isn’t keeping people distracted in front of you and you find yourself getting rushed often, I would check out barricade. It creates a path of blocking debris in front of you for four seconds which is great if you need to make an escape or hold someone off long enough to get a last hit.

Late Game

Graduation Range is a great 16th-level talent. This talent increases your range by 100% after three seconds. This is great for a team fight, when people try to retreat. Up until this point, you constantly have to toggle between tank and Siege Mode. This can be tricky because you’re basically dealing no damage while your replanting yourself in a different location. The hover Siege Mode talent could be useful if the other team is using multiple AoE abilities, but most cast times are too fast for your slow-moving siege tank to get out of the way. Instead, I would use the mount ability to quickly dislodge yourself from the ground so you can get out of the way of larger area of effect abilities.

The level-20 abilities are a lot of fun and are also very situational, but a safe choice is the Nexus Frenzy, which increases your range and also increases attack speed. This haste effect is going to give a major boost to your hero’s damage output.

Questions? Comments? Contact the author on Twitter @LeissureOG. Don’t forget to subscribe for new content daily.

Ash vs. Evil Dead is Evil Dead On Steroids

Snake
-
0
Ash vs. Evil Dead is Evil Dead On Steroids

Ash vs. Evil Dead is Evil Dead on Steroids

 

Throughout both history and fiction there have been countless stories of men causing death and destruction because of their love of a woman. Helen of Troy was apparently so hot that Paris and Menelaus saw fit to fight a bloody war over her attention. Marc Antony was so smitten by Cleopatra that it started a civil war, which ultimately led to numerous deaths and his own suicide. Yet neither of these events could hold a candle to what Bruce Campbell’s character, Ash, would do just to impress a woman. In order to get a little action, Ash inadvertently opens up a portal to Hell.

Thus starts the series that every Evil Dead fan didn’t realize they needed until now. Ash vs. Evil Dead is everything Evil Dead was but pumped full of steroids. Bruce Campbell is asked in an early episode, “Are you gonna live up to who you are?” The answer to that is a resounding hell yes! The over-the-top rivers of blood spray is back. There are more beheadings in the first two episodes than the whole of the French Revolution. Red fluids splatter across people’s faces like they are in a blood-infused Super Soaker fight. Sam Raimi, who has returned to direct a few of the episodes, has clearly been given a much bigger budget than the original films. The extra cash has obviously gone toward the gore department.

A young Sam Raimi.
A young Sam Raimi.

The blood and guts aren’t the only elements returning from the original films. Many of the corny, yet hilarious pre-kill quips are back in full force. Ash has a reasonably witty line before many of his executions. The show perfectly mixes genuinely funny moments with gross-out gore. It is this balancing between humor, camp, and extreme violence that really makes the show what it is. However, a show is nothing without a star. Bruce Campbell, certified American Hero, is back and is as cool as ever.

“How does it feel to be back?” his character, Ash, is asked.

“Groovy” he nonchalantly responds, shotgun slumped over his shoulder. Campbell is somehow able to make the narcissistic, almost idiot-savant Ash still charming.

Yet it’s not just the Bruce Campbell show, the supporting cast is almost as fantastic. Ash’s colleague and eventual Deadite killer Pablo has the perfect amount of innocence and naiveté to balance out Ash’s almost excessive manliness and self-indulgence. Jill Marie Jones brings a fierceness and badass attitude to her character, Detective Fisher. Lucy Lawless is her typically great self. Her characters over the last ten years seem to be simultaneously annoyed and smirking, like she somehow knows better than the rest of us. Her character Ruby does not stray from this working formula. The person who really surprises in this show is Kelly, played by Dana DeLorenzo. She brings a gritty sexiness to the screen that fits in perfectly with the atmosphere of the show. For me, she really stood out as someone who can stand up to the mystique and mighty aura that is Bruce Campbell.

For those who haven’t seen Evil Dead, there is a very brief recap halfway through the first episode, but I highly recommend you watch the films. They are, of course, cult classics for a reason. However, you definitely don’t have to have seen the original Evil Dead films to enjoy the TV series. If you like elements of ‘B’ horror shot with a decent budget and a quality cast, check out Ash vs. the Evil Dead.

If you liked this, please subscribe and share. Thank you!

The Evolution of Chucky

Slickster
-
0
The Evolution of Chucky

The Evolution of Chucky

Let’s start at the beginning. Chucky is the nickname for the infamous serial killer/strangler Charles Lee Ray. We only see him in his human form very briefly. C.L.R is running from the police and chased into a toy store. It is here, that his body is shot and killed. However, in his last moments of life, he begins to chant. That fucking spell has been forever burned into our brains. Not that I am complaining. It is a spell to pass his soul into another being in during his last breaths; the only thing in front of him, the Good Guy doll. Now the journey truly begins.

 

The Evolution of Chucky

What I like about the first movie is that Chucky spends a decent amount of time as a doll, giving the movie that extreme creepiness factor. Even though he is doll, there is something evil behind those blue eyes.

As we know, his main focus is to get out of the doll. Once he comes fully alive, he becomes more and more human. His skin becomes more flesh-toned and he even gets the receding hairline. Don Mancini even said in an interview that they toyed with the idea of giving Chucky five o’clock shadow, but they obviously decided against it. That’s what I love about the original; the more time he spends as a doll, the more human he became. When we get to the sequels, the rules keep changing. Which brings us to Child’s Play 2.

The Evolution of Chucky

Now in this movie, the corporate big wigs obtain the doll, completely burned to a crisp, and he gets rebuilt and brought back by electricity. Very Frankenstein, but it’s made by Universal, so they can do that. The original was made by MGM. Anyway, with a different team, Chucky’s skin is more flesh rubber than plastic. And Chucky goes back and forth into the doll state with no repercussions on how he looks. See? Rules change. His focus is still the same; to get out of the doll. He actually finishes the chant while at the Good Guy doll factory, but he’s been inside the doll too long. But Chucky never looks like a doll turning human in this one. Ultimately his head is blown to shit, and we’re left thinking, “He can’t come back from this!” Which leads us into Child’s Play 3.

 

In my opinion, this is the worst one, but has one of Chucky’s best lines: “Don’t fuck with the Chuck!” It begins where Part 2 ended and we see a claw lifting his body over a vat of melted plastic. His blood mixes into it, and there you go. Now this installment changes the rules yet again. Chucky no longer needs Andy Barclay, the first human he revealed his true self to, because he has a new body and he is now able to find someone new in which to perform the spell. Chucky is pretty much the same in this one as he was in Part 2, just a bit wittier. It ends at a carnival, where he loses half of his face and is shot off a mountain of skulls into an industrial fan. The last thing we see is his little shoe flailing through the air. How the fuck can he come back from this? Well, flash forward seven years. Its 1998 and Chucky is now 10 years old. Thus, we get, Bride of Chucky.

 

Now since we’ve seen Chucky solo for the first three movies, it’s only fitting to give him a love interest and have the rules change once again. Instead of a horror, this one is definitely in the realm of a romantic-comedy. Of course, with a sadistic twist. It’s good for a couple to have a hobby. So it’s this movie in which we are introduced to an old girlfriend named Tiffany, played by Jennifer Tilly. She bribes a cop to steal his remains from an evidence locker, and obviously she kills him.

Tiffany stitches his face and reassembles him from a box of old doll parts. Anyone else read or see Frankenstein?

After she’s done, we get a hero shot of Franken-Chucky. He does look pretty badass if I say so myself. Tiffany brings him back to life with a book, Voodoo for Dummies. Big rule change, now you can perform voodoo without ever needing to practice it. And on top of that, the two now need an amulet, the Heart of Damballa, to perform the chant to get their souls out of the dolls.

This movie is fun not only because of the whole romantic-comedy shtick, but because we get to see another side of the psycho-killer doll. Come on, Chucky has been trapped as a doll for ten years at this point, and he needs to get laid! And of course they fuck right next to a couple that Tiffany kills. And to be fair, the couple did have it coming. Chucky as a “husband,” who would have thought? Well, it gets more fun with Chucky as a father in the next installment. Remember kids, always practice safe sex! At the end of Bride of Chucky, we see Tiffany’s baby being born thus leading us into Seed of Chucky.

Chucky as a family man? Now I’ve seen everything. Well, since Bride of Chucky was a riff on romantic-comedies, this one is a riff on domestic dramas. Now we are introduced to Glen/Glenda, played by Billy Boyd (Pippin, from Lord of the Rings, for those who aren’t good with actors’ names). This movie is kind of a Twilight Zone episode. A movie within a movie. Glen/Glenda finds his parents as actual puppets on a Hollywood set and awakens them with the Heart of Damballa. Chucky is back, and this time, it’s a family outing!

When they meet Glen/Glenda, Chucky has the reaction many unexpected fathers probably have. He faints. Trying to set an example, Tiffany makes the choice for them to stop killing. HA! Like that would ever happen. Chucky wants no part. He’s a killer doll, and it’s this movie that he finally he fully embraces it. After 14 years now, he now takes that fact with pride. “I’m Chucky the killer doll! And I dig it!” are his exact words. And of course, he is killed once again.

Skip ahead nine more years and we get the film that goes back to its original roots, Curse of Chucky!

 

Starring Brad Dourif’s (Chucky) own daughter, Fiona Dourif. Now they don’t explain how Chucky gets brought back, but it doesn’t really matter. All that matters is Chucky is back, and Don Mancini found a way to give us the best of both Chuckys. Cute Chucky, and Franken-Chucky. In this film, we discover a whole backstory of Charles Lee Ray, and a little bit of “why” he does what he does. Now, I guess you could say Chucky is tying up loose ends. Chucky has gone back to his roots, to be scary and a bit witty, with a sadistic attitude. And the true Curse of Chucky is that nobody will believe what has happened no matter how hard you try to tell. So he can just keep on killing.

The ending courtroom scene was actually intended to be the beginning of the second movie with Andy’s mother, with Chucky being used as a piece of evidence.

I love Chucky. I first saw Child’s Play when I was six years old and I thought it was the most fun 88 minutes of my life. Even at 29, the first movie still holds a special place in my heart. Chucky has come such a long way from that one-track minded killer from the first one. He’s experienced hatred for his doll form, new body, and wanting to be a “bro,” husband, and father. It’s so fun to see where Don Mancini will take him. Seed of Chucky is a bit ridiculous, but in a very fun way. They knew it was absurd, but that’s what they were going for. I think that’s why Curse of Chucky needed to be made, to make Chucky scary and bring back the creepiness factor to the franchise. Animatronics have definitely come a long way since 1988, but Chucky is still that robotic little puppet that many of us have come to love. Even though his face is deformed, he is still a fun horror slasher.



Other cool articles you’ll enjoy!

Daily Fantasy Sports: Cash Games vs Tournaments and how to slay each

Top ten sexiest gamer girls

How to be manly

Top 10 Hottest NFL Cheerleaders (2019-2020)

Why Las Vegas Sucks

Best foods for the munchies

1...919293...98Page 92 of 98
© Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv