Shirley Jackson is a legend in the literary world. She's also considered a classic horror and mystery novelist, predating modern masters like Stephen King and Ruth Ware. But how well does her work hold up? Here's my review.

    Lets start with the premise. Mary Katherine Blackwood (Merricat) lives with her sister Constance and their ailing Uncle Julian. Constance hasn't left the house in six years traveling no farther than the garden on the estate. Merricat only goes into town once a week for supplies and deals with the hostility from the townsfolk. Years ago everyone in the Blackwood family died by poisoning except Merricat, Constance, and Julian and the three live their sheltered existence until one day their cousin Charles shows up and everything changes. 

    I hated everyone. No I'm not just being dramatic. There were no characters I could even pretend to like. The towns people were awful  in the now stereotypical way of "old timey ignorant folk who hate anything different or spooky." The uncle was senile so he gets a bit of a break but his character just got old by the end of the book. He's like that person you know who only has one story to tell and tells it over and over and over again. Constance had something like anxiety with a side of agoraphobia so she kind of gets a pass except when it comes to Merricat where she's the pure definition of enabler. Charles was an ahole and has a lot of nerve just showing up and trying to take over and that leaves us with Merricat. The most annoying, airheaded, foolish, character I've ever read. Any one of her aspects could have made for an interesting character but everything combined was just too over the top. Her use of "sympathetic magic" could have been cute but instead it was annoying. Oh no! The hat I nailed to a tree fell off, now we're no longer safe! I better burry some silver forks in the garden if we're going to make it through! I think if I had read this when I was younger I would have liked it more. I think I would have found Merricat to be quirky and cute but adult me just sees her as a brat who is never called on her crap. 

    I'll be honest, I would probably have DNFd this book if it wasn't so short and it would count towards the Halloween readathon my wife and I were doing. This wasn't a bad story at all. In fact I liked certain parts of it. The main downside was that I didn't have a single character I liked that kept me coming back for more. The mystery was the only thing that kept me opening the book again and again and even then I was pretty sure I knew what had happened. I was right, but there was always the chance that all the signs I picked up on were just red herrings, which would have been very exciting. But alas, it wasn't.

    The next paragraph has some spoilers so I'll give you a chance to skip it just in case you're worried about spoilers for a book published 57 years ago. Just scroll passed the second gif.

The story was also pointless. Even though a lot of stuff happens, the characters wind up right where they started. The towns people were kinder, but mainly out of fear. The two sisters just live in the now dilapidated house where Merricat continues to live as a spoiled brat. She killed her whole family because she was acting like a child and was sent to her room without dinner. God only knows what would have happened if they were the type of family that spanks their kids. Merricat is a psychopath and a murderer and she never gets what she deserves. In fact, she gets her dream come true. Just her and her sister, alone. So the story had no point and Merricat is awful. The end.

    I can see this being a very interesting book back in 1962 when it was published but now it only survives on the name of Shirley Jackson. She's known for The Haunting of Hill House which has spawned various movie retellings and this sits as her second best known work, maybe third if you count The Lottery. But it just doesn't hold up. It's not bad, but this should only be read by people who are huge fans of 60's gothic fiction fans. This book has nothing going for it and I really wished I liked it. I had been wanting to watch the movie with Taissa Farmiga, Alexandra Daddario, Crispin Glover, and Sebastian Stan, but now I'll only watch it if my wife wants to.

We Have Always Lived In The Castle gets a 4.5 out of 11

 1. What is your favorite scary movie?

That's a really tough one. I have a lot I watch quite a bit. I think The Conjuring is my favorite because it was the first movie to actually scare me in my adult life. Most horror movies scared me as a kid. But as an adult I could go back and watch anything that scared me as a kid, and be perfectly fine. The Conjuring was the first one that scared me in a long, long while.

2. What is the 1st horror movie you ever remember watching?

My earliest horror memory was one day when I was but a child and my mother thought I might like the movie Alien, the sci-fi horror film from 1979 starring Sigourney Weaver. I loved it. It didn't scare me, but it was 

3. What type of horror films are your favorite?

Seeing as The Conjuring is my favorite horror film, it may seem obvious that my favorite type of horror film is paranormal. That can encompass ghosts or demons. I find those the scariest because I believe ghosts exist. I've had a few paranormal experiences and I almost copied my wife and wrote a blog about it but I decided against it. Instead, I'll share Anne's with you, which you can find here.

4. What type of horror film do you not like?

Revenge style films based on rape. There are many reasons to not like a movie like that. The first and most obvious is that it's a horrid topic and a traumatic event is being used for shock value. Also, it's lazy writing. It's like killing a character when it doesn't serve the plot somehow. It's used to get a cheap emotional response. So not only can it be potentially triggering, not only is it a awful topic, but it's just plain lazy. 

5. What movie has given you nightmares?

The 1986 version of Invaders from Mars. Scared the hell out of me. The idea that all these people were getting taken over by Martian invaders and no one could tell was what really scared me. Especially the end of the movie when David wakes up and finds out it's all a dream and then sees the alien ship land just like he did when he was dreaming. THAT scared me. 

6. What is the last movie that actually scared you?

Annabelle Creation scared me. Best of all, it did it without a ton of jump scares. The first Annabelle movie was one of the weakest in the Conjuringverse but they really brought it back with the good sequels.

7. Who is your favorite horror movie villain, why?

Michael Myers. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. He's the most bad ass. He keeps coming back and he's not some dream monster like Freddy or some undead killing machine like Jason. He's a real dude in a mask and even though it may be far fetched, the ways they kill him are survivable.

8. Who is the worst horror movie villain, why?

I almost said The Babadook or The Entity (It Follows) but those weren't bad villains, their movies were just awful. I also almost said Chucky because come on! He's a doll. Kick him in the face and get the hell out of the house! It wasn't until my wife reminded me that we saw a film called The Bye Bye Man from 2017 that I had my answer. She was the real one with the answer, I'm just copying her homework.

The Bye Bye Man didn't actually do anything and he wasn't scary. Look at those jackets hanging on the wall. Guess who's going to show up there? The Bye Bye Man! Not only is the name stupid, but The Bye Bye Man doesn't really hurt you. He just makes you go crazy until you kill yourself and sometimes take others with you. 

9. Worst horror movie you've ever seen?

If I wanted to tease my wife I'd say Treehouse, a film from 2014 that was bad in so many ways, but the title of "the worst" should take more into account. So instead of some straight to DVD d-list horror, I'm going to name a popular one that didn't deserve the hype.

The Babadook was an awful film. I know, I know. I get what the film was trying to be about. It was trying to be about a mother dealing with an autistic child while working with dementia patients and how it all affects her mental state and how her mental state affects her child. But that's not what was promised by the trailer AND the kids mental illness was really just used for uncomfortable outbursts to add to the mother's depression. Couple that with the horrid ending and you get the worst film I've ever seen. I know the film was supposed to stand for more, but that doesn't make it good.

10. Favorite horror movie series

I kind of already answered this one so I'll just reiterate and say The Conjuringverse. Not only does my favorite horror film belong to the franchise, but there was only one movie out of the six (so far) that I didn't like. And it's not like I hated The Nun. I've seen worse horror films. But overall The Conjuringverse was the best. 

11. Which horror film do you think is underrated?

This was probably the hardest question of the bunch. So many movies that used to be made fun of or hated because they were bad or cheesy are no loved by film nerds because more and more people are realizing that you can like films that aren't "good." 

My answer is House on Haunted Hill from 1999 with the stacked cast of Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter, Peter Gallagher, and Chris Kattan. It was a critically panned movie, but remember that critics are movie hating jerks. This was a fun 90's horror that was over-the-top and tryhard at times, but it was enjoyable. It was also hated because it was a remake of a Vincent Price film from 1959, but we can love both!

12. What scenes have grossed you out the most?

Anne just made me watch a film called Would You Rather and there's a scene where a dude has to cut his eye with a razor blade. That was super SUPER hard to watch.

13. If horror movies were real, would you rather be in a zombie apocalypse, an alien abduction, or a haunted house?

Easy! Haunted house! Zombie apocalypse would just mess up the whole world. Alien abduction you have the worry about how to get back home if they take you back to their planet. But with a haunted house you have many ways of making it out alive. First and probably easiest, you can leave. If it's a localized hunting the ghosts won't follow you. If it's demons or something a church and an exorcism sounds right up your alley. Either way it's a lot more promising than either of the other two options.

 Yay! We're still going strong. It's time for the next five movies I've watched this Halloween season. There's a fun mix so you may just find your next spooky watch.

Cursed

This is a film from way back in 2005 starring Christina Ricci, Jessie Eisenberg, Milo Ventimiglia, Joshua Jackson, Judy Greer, Portia de Rossi, and Shannon Elizabeth. It's about a pair of siblings who get cursed by a werewolf and have to figure out what to do to avoid becoming werewolves themselves.

This was a truly fun movie. Werewolf films are fun but not nearly as popular as zombies or vampires, so it's always nice to find a new one. It's especially nice if it's a good movie. This film here may seem like a 90's cheesey horror holdout, but it's really a fun and cleaver film that wasn't entirely predictable. 

This isn't a perfect film, but it's good enough to be entertaining and stands the test of time. There's nothing hugely problematic or cringey that would keep me from rewatching it so this will now go on my yearly rewatch list. The few times they use CG is obviously outdated but practical effects are used to which keep this from being hard to watch.

Cursed gets an 8 out of 11

The Forest

A woman goes into Japan's Suicide Forest to find her missing twin sister and confronts a supernatural terror (Premise from IMDB) This stars Natalie Dormer from Game of Thrones.

I had been wanting to watch this one for a while. Since I'm half Japanese, I'm quite interested with anything having to do with Japan. Asians don't get a lot of love in Hollywood in general so I'm jump at the chance to see anything with Asian representation (unless it's an awful remake of an Asian film). But for one reason or another I never got around to this one but this year I finally did.

And it was okay. It was just okay. I didn't hate it, but I also didn't particularly enjoy it. The acting was fine, the plot was okay, but it never quite clicked. The characters were a big let down in this film as Sarah was the biggest idiot ever and everything bad that happened in the forest was her fault. I won't say to much so I don't spoil it, but when you go somewhere and experts are telling you not to do something and you go and do it anyway, you fully deserve your fate.

There were also too many jump scares and dream sequences. It was hard to feel any fear when you knew the jump was coming because they were setting you up for it, and also some of the scares had no effect because they ended up being dreams and thus the fear didn't carry over into reality. 

This isn't a bad film, like I said. This was just a mediocre at best film. The Japanese Suicide Forest still has a lot of potential that someone else can try and work with later.

The Forest gets a 5 out of 11

Don't Knock Twice

A mother desperate to reconnect with her troubled daughter becomes embroiled in the urban legend of a demonic witch after her daughter knocks on the witches door, incurring  her wrath.

I had no idea what to expect from this film. I had never heard of it. But my wife wanted me to watch it and she knows my tastes pretty well. What I eneded up watching was an interesting B list horror movie. It has an interesting plot with a little bit of mystery thrown in. Though I could see what the red herring was, I didn't see the ending coming and that served as a nice surprise. 

This movie had good characters who didn't make stupid decisions, which is always good to see in modern horror. The acting was good, better than you'd expect from a non-artsy indie horror. This stars Katee Sackhoff who is no stranger to horror and Lucy Boynton who has been in more well received movies than I had realized (and she was good in them too). So this film has a good plot with a twinge of mystery, good characters, and good actors playing said characters. So all in all, this is a fine horror that I wouldn't mind adding to my yearly rewatch list. 

Don't Knock Twice gets an 8.5 out of 11 

Hubie Halloween

Despite his devotion to his hometown of Salem (and its Halloween celebration), Hubie Dubois is a figure of mockery for kids and adults alike. But this year, something is going bump in the night, and it's up to Hubie to save Halloween. (Premise from IMDB). This stars a lot of people so to keep this short I'll just mention Adam Sandler.

TLDR for my longer review:

The best thing about Hubie Halloween is the strong seasonal atmosphere of the film. Just like Hocus Pocus or Trick 'r Treat, this is a great film if you're really wanting something full of the Halloween spirit. As for the plot? It's mediocre at best. It has promise but is just not very good. Also, is Adam Sandler's Waterboy style voice still okay? Isn't he doing an impression of someone with a mental illness or birth defect? 

Hubie Halloween gets a 5 out of 11

Would You Rather

Desperate to help her ailing brother, a young woman unknowingly agrees to compete in a deadly game of "Would You Rather," hosted by a sadistic aristocrat. (Premise from IMDB). This stars Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect), Jonny Coyne (Alcatraz), John Heard (Home Alone), Eddie Steeples (My Name Is Earl), Logan Miller (Love, Simon), Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham), and porn star Sasha Grey.

Have you ever wondered what kind of movie someone would make if they just kind of watched Saw once and thought they got the general idea then tried to remake it with an evil Rich Uncle Pennybags as the villain? You'd get Would You Rather! Yay!

This film had a lot of promise. It was an interesting idea that felt like it never got fleshed out. It feels like the script was going through rewrites and they just ran out of time and submitted something half finished. There's a gem of an idea hidden somewhere in the mess that was presented. The cast wasn't bad except for Sasha Grey who felt like a dollar store Megan Fox. 

Would You Rather gets a 4 out of 11

Hello friends! It's time for another Tag, this time it's the Hallotober tag. I was tagged by my wonderful wife RootingBranches so don't forget to go show her some love and check out her answers for this tag. The rules are as follows:

1. Thank the person who tagged you and link to their post
2. Put the rules at the beginning or after the introduction
3. Answer the 13 questions
4. Tag 13 people to do the tag
5. Delete question 13, add a new number one question to your own
6. You are free to use the tag image somewhere in the post.

1) You're attending a fancy smancy Halloween party. Money is no issue, what costume do you choose?

I'd be one of the Ghostbusters complete with a proton pack replica. That's always been my dream costume. 

2) What’s your favorite thing about October?

I love the fact that once October starts, the prepping for Halloween starts. You see themed candies on sale in the store, you see horror movies becoming more popular, and it's now okay to start decorating. I like the fact that it starts to get colder and you can go on nice long walks with a cup of coffee. 

 3) Are you a big celebrator of Halloween?

Not as much as some, but a lot more than most. Thanks to my wife, the level of decorating done in the house has skyrocketed, but we also get more Halloween themed treats and start to primarily watch horror movies. The closer it gets to Halloween, the more themed TV shows like the Brooklyn Nine Nine heist episodes, 

4) What’s your favorite horror movie?

This one is very hard. My answer is very fluid as it always changes. I can tell you some of my favorites though! Thirteen Ghosts is a classic that is going back on my yearly rewatch list this year. The new Halloween and Halloween H2O are must watches for me. 

5) Would you rather a cozy night in watching horrors or a big night out in a costume?

Younger me would have said a big night out, but now that I'm an old old man  (37) I like a night in. I wouldn't be opposed to going out, but not spending the whole night out. At most, go out and have a few drinks then go home and watch movies and eat candy.

6) Which has been your most favorite costume to date?

I was never much for costumes because as I kid I was fixated on masks and my parents would buy me one, but that would be my whole costume budget so I'd just be in a t-shirt, jeans, and a mask. It wasn't until my adult years that I realized masks aren't all they're cracked up to be so I think my favorite costume was when I did an 11th Doctor (from Doctor Who) cosplay for an anime convention and used that again for Halloween.

7) Bobbing for apples or pin the hat on the witch?

Seeing as I have never heard of "pin the hat on the witch" I'd have to say bobbing for apples. I can guess that it's a "pin the tail on the donkey." Either way, bobbing for apples seems like more of an event. Though seeing as my wife is allergic to apples, it doesn't seem fair to play that without her.

8) How do you celebrate Halloween?

Movies, Food, Snacks. If someone I know is having a low-key party I may stop by, but usually I like to stay home and watch anything that gets me in the Halloween spirit. 

9) What’s your least favorite horror?

Anything Rob Zombie. I like his music but his movies are a bit much. It goes extreme for the sake of being extreme and that doesn't make it good or clever. The Nun also sucked. I love the Conjuringverse but The Nun sucked.

10) Do you have a favorite trick or treating memory?

Here's the thing. I have a terrible memory. Truly awful. I don't remember a lot of my childhood. But I DO have a favorite trick or treating memory. I was but a wee lad and my dad was chaperoning my friends and I for the night. We walked up to a house that had all the telltale signs of being open for business. The lights were on and there were decorations so it means open for business. So we walked up to the house and knocked... and nothing happened. We knocked again but that's when I noticed the scarecrow that was placed in a chair by the door. I noticed that between the glove and the shirt sleeve there was skin and hair. So I was about to point it out when the guy leaned forward and said "do you want some candy?" He scared the crap out of the group I was with but I was fine!

11) What’s your favorite thing about Halloween?

I love the mood. I love the ambiance of the season. I love watching scary movies back to back to back with junk food that I'd never allow myself so much of any other time of the year.

12) Scary costume or Silly costume?

It really depends. I think this is more of a mood decision. I've never really done a scary costume, opting more for a nerdy cosplay, but if I had a good idea, I'd totally go scary.

13) What’s your favorite Halloween candy?

Easy. The Reese's Pumpkin. There's more peanut butter in the pumpkin than a standard peanut butter cup. I also like the Resse's Ghosts since it's white chocolate which is a nice change.

Quick note about the questions. It seems most people have been deleting question 13 then adding their new question for 13, but the rules say "delete question 13 and add a new number one question." So, in true D&D fashion, I'm going with the rules as written and adding my question at the top.

My Questions

1) In the spirit of Freddy vs Jason, what is your dream horror villain match up?
2) You're attending a fancy smancy Halloween party. Money is no issue, what costume do you choose?
3) What’s your favorite thing about October?
4) Are you a big celebrator of Halloween?
5) What’s your favorite horror movie?
6) Would you rather a cozy night in watching horrors or a big night out in a costume?
7) Which has been your most favorite costume to date?
8) Bobbing for apples or pin the hat on the witch?
9) How do you celebrate Halloween?
10) What’s your least favorite horror?
11) Do you have a favorite trick or treating memory?
12) What’s your favorite thing about Halloween?
13) Scary costume or Silly costume?

When it comes to tagging people, I must admit that I don't know a lot of bloggers yet as I need to be more active in the community. That, and my wife and I know a lot of the same people so she steals all of my friends. So, instead, I tag you, my dear reader! If you are a blogger and have yet to be tagged, consider yourself tagged by me. 

 Anne and I have decided to watch at least one movie each day in October to at least get 31 flicks in this season. Early on in the month is when we branch out a bit more and watch new movies or movies that may be "scary" but not doesn't really put us in the holiday mood. We like to watch the same old reliable movies. So what have we watched so far? Here are the first five.

The Visit (2015)

This is a film by M. Night Shyamalan about two siblings who are sent to stay with their estranged grandparents who they have never met. During their vacation they become increasingly frightened by their grandparents disturbing behavior. 

Being a Shyamalan movie you know there's going to be a twist but I must admit that I saw this one coming right away. If I ever do guess the twist of his movies it's usually near the end, but this one I guessed in the first quarter of the film.

It still wasn't bad though. It was creepy and the documentary style way the movie was filmed suited it quite well. The main two kids were good, which isn't easy for a non-kids film with children main characters. 

So The Visit was enjoyable but ultimately predictable which could hamper any reewatchability. It wasn't bad at all but it lacked that special thing to put it anywhere on my yearly rewatch list.

The Visit gets a 7 out of 11

Child's Play 2019

I already wrote a review for this movie which you may, or may not, have seen. If you haven't read it and would like to, you can find it here. But if you want the very short cliff notes version, here it is.

This is a great example of a movie that was doomed from the start. It has a good cast but that did little to save it. The fact that Chucky was a rogue AI instead of being possessed by the soul of a serial killer took away a lot of the inherent evil from the doll and, in fact, made Chucky the sympathetic character. 

Child's Play (2019) gets a 4 out of 11

The Bye Bye Man

Wow, where to start. Maybe with the premise and then I'll talk about my disappointment? Sure. Here we go:

Three friends move into a rundown house and stumble upon a name that, once said, will haunt you until you die. Don't think it, don't say it, don't talk about The Bye Bye Man. 

This had so much potential. It could have been really cool, but it makes one too many mistakes. The first is the characters are idiots AND the woman who plays Sasha was horrible. It's like someone took a real person and sucked their soul out and still made them act in a movie. She's as uninspired and boring as Elle Fanning and Jennifer Lawrence but without the fame. The other actors were just okay and not enough to save a poorly thought out film.

The Bye Bye Man never felt like a villain. All he does is make you start to see things so either you kill yourself or you start killing others. He could be replaced by a new street drug and the movie wouldn't change. His appearances were never scary and he felt like a half hearted Candyman rip off that was written to be PG-13. 

The movie wasn't scary it wasn't thrilling, it was boring and had a ton of wasted potential. 

The Bye Bye Man gets a 4 out of 11

Halloween 2

Yes, this is an old film and it's the first rewatch this season. We always rewatch quite a few Halloween films but this one is usually left behind. We watch Halloween 1 and the reboot, we watch 4 and 5 because they're the Jaimie movies. We watch 3 because it's rediculous and funny, but 2 gets left behind. We even make a point to watch H20 because it's my wife's favorite one.

If you're not familiar, Halloween 2 takes place right after the first one and has Michael Myers hunting for Laurie Strode as she's laid up in a hospital. this is the film where we learn that Michael is Laurie's brother. This is also the first film cut out in the new cannon by the 2018 reboot, which was still a really weird choice.

It's not as good as the first, but it does help make Michael a slasher legend as it ups his body count by 10. The best thing about Halloween 2 is that it's not the Rob Zombie version. Rob Zombie is highly overrated.

Halloween 2 gets a 7.5 out of 11

The Boy

An American nanny is shocked that her new English family's boy is actually a life-sized doll. After she violates a list of strict rules, disturbing events make her believe that the doll is really alive. (Premise from IMDB)

I had wanted to watch this one for a while but never got around to it. Thanks to the wonders of streaming services, I got to watch this and was pleasantly surprised. Though the film is 4 years old, I will avoid spoilers which means that this will be a short wrap up.

This movie impressed me because it was quite creepy, had good characters, AND it even surprised me with the direction it took. I like it when a horror movie can surprise me and do so in an interesting way. After the ending of this book I'm still surprised they did a sequel, but it may be worth checking out.

The Boy gets an 8 out of 11.