Author Archives: Jim

Hammer Chillers

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The latest creation from Hammer will be creeping to life next month, and this time they’re leaving the visuals to us.

Hammer has prepared 6 downloadable audio dramas that will be released weekly from June 7 to July 19.  After that date the whole set will be available.  Each 30 minute story is just under $5, or $23 for a subscription.

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Writers for the first series include some of the biggest names working in horror today: Stephen Volk (Ghostwatch, The Awakening), Mark Morris (Toady, Vampire Circus), Stephen Gallagher (Chimera, The Eleventh Hour), Christopher Fowler (The Bryant and May Mysteries), Paul Magrs (The Brenda and Effie Mysteries, Doctor Who) and comedian Robin Ince (Radio 4’s The Infinite Monkey Cage). [via hammerchillers.com]

More information at the website: HammerChillers.com

It sounds good, but will I part with $5 for each of them?  I mean, there is always this if I need something to listen to…

One to Watch: The Awakening (2011)

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Forever on the lookout for decent horror films on Netflix, and usually woefully disappointed, I was happy to discover this old-fashioned ghost story from among the found footage rubbish and countless bad zombie movies.

The Awakening, released in 2011, is set just after the bloodbath that was World War I.  At the time spiritualism was both gaining popularity, and attracting con-artists out to fleece those looking for a final contact from a loved one, or proof of existence after death. Similar to Houdini’s efforts, the heroine of this film is out to expose that fakery, though her disbelief in the supernatural appears somewhat fragile at times.

Florence Cathcart, our hoax-and-ghost buster, is called to a boarding school to investigate sightings of a child’s ghost, and whether or not it is related to the recent death of a student there.

Here’s a look at the trailer:

There were a couple of good scares in this one, though if you were raised watching the  Saw movies they might be wasted on you.  Overall, it’s more ambiance and atmosphere than in your face horror, but I enjoyed it.  Unlike this insightful Netflix reviewer…

awakeningreview

Like, totally.

Really, it is worth a watch.  Here’s the Netflix link.

The Doped Peddler

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I don’t have much to say about the Lance Armstrong Artificiallystrong nonsense.  I just wanted to use that headline.  I’m sure the web is lousy with similar titles followed up by angrily worded articles on his betrayal of both his fans and the sport of cycling.

I care not of these things.

Our hero approaches sound barrier.

Our hero approaches sound barrier.

But, can you imagine how pissed the poor guys who came in second place must be?  They have the right to be angry.

King on the Kindle: 11/22/63 Price Drop

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11-22-63I almost bought Stephen King’s book 11/22/63 (which  I was convinced was really the number of pages with funny punctuation) a few times for the Kindle, but at its then $14.99 price tag there was no way I could justify it to myself.  I’m glad I waited.

I just noticed the Kindle price at $3.99.  That’s far less than many of his older titles, and well within most peoples, mine included, ebook pricing comfort zone.

 

Here’s the link

 

In The Queue: New Horror on Netflix

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Netflix streaming is great for the price, but finding movies you want to watch can be a time-consuming activity unto itself.  For this reason, I watch the RSS feed of new releases pretty closely in the hopes something interesting has been added.  Now, as a public service to my fine Oddments readers, I bring you…

New additions to Netflix that have made my instant queue.

Since it’s October 1, and the beginning of the always fun Halloween season, I was happy to see some horror flicks that might be worth a look.

Click the movie title to visit that films Netflix page.

The Devil’s Hand (1962)

Voodoo dolls, cults, and a coven of devil worshipers.  What could go…oh, never mind.

Slither (2006)

For those who like a little comedy mixed in with their horror.  Nathan Fillion and Elizabeth Banks star.

Apartment 143 (2011)

Parapsychologists investigate a family and their home in apartment 143.  Looks reminiscent of Paranormal Activity (hopefully a bit more exciting).

The Innkeepers (2011)

I was happy to see this one on the list as I almost bought it.  Haunted house (or inn) stories are always fun – hoping this one doesn’t disappoint.

That’s it for this batch.  Here’s to a better offering of horror films this October!

Ground Zero: Population Five

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Five Air Force officer volunteers, and one cameraman who didn’t volunteer, stand 10,000 feet below the test firing of a nuclear air-to-air missile in July of 1957.  The purpose of the film was to show how “safe” it was on the ground.

For more info, check this NPR article out.

Oh, and never volunteer.

Roswell: 65 Years And Still A Mystery

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Roswell UFO Was Not Of This Earth And There Were ET Cadavers: Ex-CIA Agent Says.

Right.  Another headline that hints to answers, another article that shows no proof.  To summarize, the CIA agent who worked for 10 years as the “first official liaison to the entertainment and publication industries,”  walks into the Historical Intelligence Collection and peruses through a box marked Roswell.  The contents, which he refuses to identify, convince him that aliens crashed in the New Mexico desert.

Why did the ex-CIA agent come out with this information?  The same reason all these guys come out with “information.”  I knew the reason before I found it.  Then, I found it.

Brandon is currently promoting his book, “The Cryptos Conundrum,” a science fiction story about the history of Earth, contact with extraterrestrials and imagined cataclysmic events on our planet.

There’s always a book.

The man is certainly entitled to his opinions, and to use his super-secret spy guy past as a tool to sell books, but sadly there is no information here.  In the end, his credentials add nothing to the veracity of a story which offers no proof.