We also get a little bit of back-story (no major spoilers), which if search terms in our daily stats are anything to go by,  is something fans REALLY want more of. Even with the translate tool, I had to spend a couple of hours smoothing and polishing the review, and if the review sounds clumsy and clunky, you should have seen it after it was immediately translated.

Here’s the link if you speak German, or have an app of some kind of translation software better than Google Translate…

Mama › cinetastic.

If you’re short on time, here’s the “review summary”, also translated:

Andres Muschietti’s “Mama” is a successful adaptation of his own short firm. The actors are excellent throughout, the story entertaining, even more so in particular at the end of the movie, so that even a [demanding fan] of horror films will be terrified.

…and here’s the translated review from Cinetastic.de, written by Ronny Dombrowski.

In the current state of the horror genre there are few innovations, which is partly why Scott Derrickson’s recent film Sinster could stand out, with a successful atmosphere with the audience. In a quite similar breach jumps director  Muschietti with his film Mama  and  presents a collaboration with producer Guillermo del Toro with an amazingly effective end result.

Five years ago,  the father of the two sisters, Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and Lilly (Isabelle Nelisse) killed his wife and fled in the middle of a snowstorm with his two daughters in the car, then a short time later the car slid from the road and ended up in  deep ditch. He fled into the woods with his two daughters, and finally the three found an old abandoned house to take shelter in, but the house was not as empty as it looked. Five years later her uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain) are still searching for his nieces and finds them (as if by a wild coincidence) in said house, but both girls have changed radically since they’ve seen them. Lucas and Annabel take the two girls and try to offer  their new home, a new family, but someone completely different comes with Victoria and Lily…

Producer Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy)  has been primarily known over the last twenty years known for his numerous high-quality productions. Together with director Andres Muschietti,  (the movie came from his own short film in 2008), Mama  has not only been adapted for the big screen, but also now supplemented by a few interesting new story twists and characters. Andres wrote the script with his wife Barbara Muschietti  (Just Visiting),  and screenwriter Neil Cross (Luther),  a unique collaboration.

The focus of the story with Victoria and Lilly are two siblings would not be different, although both full five years have been raised by many someone or something they do not  talk about except for the name “Mama.” The fact that Lucas and his rocker girlfriend Annabel had been trying for children is more than communicated clearly, this would be enough without the failing pregnancy test.

Compared to many similar horror films Mama  and its message does not last long behind the scenes; The supernatural force reveals it at the beginning rather quickly, as “Mama” saves the children from their homicidal father. With a kind of maternal instinct that protects the children in the following five years, she feeds and also lives in the house where they were found, but then the children are taken from her to live with Lucas and his girlfriend. The jump-in-your-seat moments are for the most part good, if sometimes predictable, especially when signalled by the appropriate music of composer Fernando Velázquez uses (The Orphanage),   though the rest of score lends the individual scenes atmosphere.

In terms of the look of Mama herself, the special effects team, led by Warren Appleby, was successful in their effort, The effects are unique and frightening. Whether you see Mama from behind, from the corners of your eyes, blurred by Victoria’s glasses, or in the open in the end, especially in the climax of the film, the low-budget effects in ”Mama” are just as high quality and effective as any big budget movies.

Looking at the individual actors a little more closely, there are noticeable differences. Because  Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jo Nesbø‘s Headhunters ) as Lucas has little screen time and thus little opportunity to get himself in the movie, this leaves the movie all the more on the shoulders of Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life) , and her acting is marvelous as we see her character changes from one with an initial dislike of the children, into the person who wants to protect Lilly and Victoria at any price in the world. The real stars of “Mama” are Megan Charpentier (Red Riding Hood – Under the Wolf Moon) and Isabelle Nelisse (whitewash), who play the two children Victoria and Lilly. Their performance, especially their facial expressions, is so intense and convincing that both contribute significantly to the successful atmosphere of the film.

And now that we’ve lost sleep translating that, the flood of Mama reviews should come pouring in any minute now! You’re welcome.

Update: Under “related articles”,  I found a shitty, mean-spirited review by Rex Reed (with a well-earned reputation for being a catty, bitchy hack AND for hating horror movies across the board) from The Observer. He right off the bat expresses his distaste …I’m being too nice. He says all ghost movies are the same, always stupid and never scary, and gets so unnecessarily nasty and petty in the review that I took the link down. I’m not kidding, this review puts down all horror fans, will piss you off and make you want to punch him in the teeth, plus it’s clear he didn’t watch the entire movie. I’m not one of those fans who dislikes critics in general, though I do know a couple who dislike horror movies and thus whose reviews I take with a grain of salt, but I would like to go on record: Rex Reed? Fuck that guy.  If I ever see him in person, I’m throwing a drink in his face (a situation I’m sure he is no stranger to).

Related articles

• Guillermo del Toro Introduces You to the Original Mama (dreadcentral.com)
• Andres Muschietti & Barbara Muschietti Talk MAMA, Expanding the Story from the Original Short Film, Inspiration from Nature and Deleted Scenes (collider.com)
• 4 Clips from MAMA Starring Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (collider.com)
• Guillermo del Toro Shows Off The Horror Short That Inspired MAMA (geektyrant.com)

Either way, look for more (and lots of it) Mama coverage this week, since the movie opens this Friday, January 18th! Though right now, a weekend matinée seems a little better for my nerves than our previous plans to see it opening night (“night” is the key word there).

So! Click the below link to get to the clips at trusty Dread Central:

Mama Loves Clips. You Will Too. Horror Movie, DVD, & Book Reviews, News, Interviews at Dread Central.

*I can’t believe I was so gung-ho about seeing some clips from the movie that I didn’t catch on that the phrase “what’s under the bed” in the title of the first clip was a red flag. “What’s under the bed” + movie that Javier Botet plays the freaky, half-seen creature in = back off if it’s 4AM and the entire family, including the cats, are asleep, idiot!

Why don’t we go backwards? Since there’s no photos of the three short-lived Raspers in Episode 10 (somehow Dr. Nazi killing them all off was sort of depressing…or maybe it was just us thinking, what if he killed them all and we never get to see one again?) Let’s track back…

So, back to “Dark Cousins”. Kit has escaped lock-up!  Grace has made a miraculous recovery (though she has a WAY more miraculous one a couple of episodes later) Plus, it’s daytime! How could this  possibly go wrong? Come on, guys, now is your perfect moment of oppurtun—

(Click on any of the below images to enlarge. The prosthetics look just as amazing.

Finally, let’s not forget our first, HORRIFYING sight of the forest Raspers the night of the “Nor’Easter”, when every escapee, including Lana and Grace (quickly alerted by Kit), sprinted back INTO Briarcliff Manor, immediately deciding you know what? Maybe it’s not so bad in there for now.

Finally, let’s get sentimental and get one last look at the Raspers in the woods from those early Fall AHSA teasers… still just as frightening as the first time we saw them nearly six months ago. Oh, they were pretty fucking scary close-up, too, but this short teaser will be sticking in our minds for a long, long time. Plus it looks like there were about a dozen…

They were right… there’s nothing enchanted about this forest. It wasn’t exactly a picnic for the raspers, either!

Related articles

• American Horror Story Asylum – Want A Longer Look At A Rasper? Check Out Our Horrifying Gallery (Part One Of Two) (horrorboom.com)
• Ten Shocking Things We Learned From American Horror Story Asylum Episode Ten, “The Name Game” (Major Spoilers) (horrorboom.com)
• While We Work On Reviewing/Recapping Episode 10 of American Horror Story Asylum, “The Name Game”, Read Our Insane, NSFW Notes For Comic Relief (Spoilers!) (horrorboom.com)
• Horror Boom’s Most Anticipated Horror Movies of 2013 – American Horror Story Asylum Final Episodes (OK, Technically TV In 2013) (horrorboom.com)
• Ten Really Dark Things We Learned From American Horror Story Episode Seven, “Dark Cousins” (Spoilers!) (horrorboom.com)

As this review says, when non-linear formats work in a film, they really work. This is one of those, and we always love to support indie film.  The review I’m linking to can do way more justice to this indie gem than I currently can. I’ve finally come out of the grip of an off-and-on (mostly on-I couldn’t even crank the volume up as high as I usually do while watching American Horror Story) and need to catch up on some of things I missed out on Tuesday, Wednesday, and most of the day Thursday before I can post my American Horror Story piece for Episode 11.  The movie, which I’ve had on my watch list for months now, is available on Netflix streaming now (if you have HD and your cable service offers the CC service (unless you rent it, which may be better if you have the choice, with the special features) I recommend you use it. The sound quality is fine, but sometimes (and in a couple of key scenes) it’s hard to catch what’s on the other end of a phone conversation.

Also, it’s not for every single mood or horror fan. Nothing spooky or supernatural here, no stalkers/slashers. The reviewer compares is to Requiem For A Dream,  and–WAIT! COME BACK! HEAR ME OUT!  It’s nowhere near as much a brutal gut-punch of a film (leaving you with the emotional equivalent of being kicked down a flight of steps by Darren Aronofsky) but it does make you realize you know, my life could be a hell of a lot worse,  I could be in the wretched life of one of these three main characters. It’s also non-supernatural, more of a dark thriller, and even has an element of a cautionary tale against drug use (never, ever sniff glue, turpentine, paint-thinner, or any other inhalant to get high. It doesn’t matter how bored or desperate you are, it’s not worth it. Even been the least bit tempted? Watch this movie–you’ll know the scene when you see it).  Also, if I can follow the fractured narrative (which never seems contrived or gimmicky) with a headache–not to mention ADD- I doubt the average viewer who has seen a movie before with a non-linear format will have much of a problem.

Read the review, and that should help you decide if you’re in the right state of mind to watch it. I didn’t plan to, but was sucked into the movie within 15 minutes, gave up on waiting till tomorrow to watch it and grabbed a couple Advil, and was riveted, especially by several reveals (that come most often when you switch points of view of the three central characters). Scalene  is worth your time.  Also, Margo Martindale is even more talented than I thought she was… and scarier.

Click Here to read Dread Central’s review of Scalene   (Blu-ray / DVD) | Horror Movie, DVD, & Book Reviews, News, Interviews at Dread Central.

We also recommend reading the comments after the article (there’s a couple haters, but most make good points). This news ROCKS!  You’d be surprised (or maybe you already know) what you can do with a good composite shot.

Not too shabby!

Not a lot of green or black blood so far in the remake…

Related articles

• Exclusive: Co-Writer and Director Matt Mitchell Talks Gangsters, Guns and Zombies (dreadcentral.com)
• Exclusive: Judd Nelson on Bad Kids Go to Hell, Nurse 3D, The Breakfast Club’s Legacy and More (dreadcentral.com)
• Exclusive Interview with the Masterminds Behind The Collection – Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton (dreadcentral.com)
• Exclusive American Horror Story First Look: Frances Conroy Returns as the ‘Ultimate [Spoiler]‘ (horrorboom.com)

Reblogged from Inside TV:

It's been a helluva season for American Horror Story: Asylum's Lana Winters (the excellent Sarah Paulson). But the reporter finally got her vengeance finally escaping the walls of Briarcliff and by killing Dr. Thredson/Bloody Face (equally excellent Zachary Quinto). Meanwhile, her son, played as an adult by Dylan McDermott, had quite the opening scene rendezvous with a prostitute. EW talked to co-creator Ryan Murphy about this shocking moment and the clue to season 3 hidden within this most recent episode.

Read more… 1,585 more words

EW.com: Obviously Dylan is living in his father’s house. Is he using his father’s dungeon?

Ryan Murphy: Yes. You will see that in the next two episodes.

Ooooo!  Do we get to see where he keeps his big stash of CRACK, too?  For some reason, we weren't shocked by the opening scene. Not sure what this says about us, but within 30 seconds of the cleavage-y, expensive prostitute's appearance we knew what her specialty was.  But there's some shockers from Ryan Murphy here... more coming soon!

Lana: I am tough ...but I'm no cookie.

Related articles

• 'American Horror Story': Dylan McDermott talks his 'Asylum' debut and playing Bloody Face -- EXCLUSIVE (horrorboom.com)
• 'American Horror Story': The secret to season 3 is in tonight's episode - EXCLUSIVE (insidetv.ew.com)
• American Horror Story, Ryan Murphy teases season 3 (theartsyfilmblog.com)
• 'American Horror Story': Ryan Murphy on this week's major character deaths and hints about season 3 - EXCLUSIVE (insidetv.ew.com)

1. Our Pepper was framed! In her own words (during a really great monologue that leaves Dr. Arden shaking, his ego shattered): “Dr. Arden, you still see me as microcephalic. No-one takes a pinhead seriously. When my sister’s husband drowned her baby and sliced his ears off, he told everybody that I did it. They tied me up and paraded me in front of a judge. He took one look at the shape of my head and I was locked up for good. That’s how it works with us freaks. We get blamed for everything.”

She’s destroyed you, and now she’s destroyed me.

2. The cold open rockets from good to great as soon as we realize Pepper isn’t scared of Dr. Nazi. In fact, by the time the cold open is over, he’s scared of her.  Ha-ha! How’s that  feel, Hans, you cowardly prick? Our favorite pinhead calmly, evenly informs him that she has been sent back to protect Grace, and lays out how this is going to work. THEN Pepper tells him “the others” (the aliens whose intelligence he was so impressed by in Episode 9) had been watching his “clumsy experiments” and had a good hearty laugh at him and his ‘barbaric practices’ (I wish there was a way– and I doubt that I’m alone her–, that somehow this whole sequence could have lasted twenty minutes). Anyway, after destroying his ego and pride, she laid the situation out for him: “But if something happens to Grace in here, and she is harmed in any way, there won’t be anyone else to blame. They’ll take you, open up your head, and stir your brain with a fork. And when you’re returned, you’ll experience firsthand how they treat us freaks. I’ll take care of Grace. Why don’t you go to your whore nun, have her soothe your deflated ego?”

Though Dr. Nazi lied like a rug when he hastily returned to revive Kit (“There was no visitation,” he said, but didn’t make much eye contact with Kit) and appeared composed, we see in brief flashback that by the end of the above speech, he was left slumped, panting (per the closed captions) and covering his face with shaking hands. Later in the episode, we have confirmation that yes, Dr. Nazi took her very seriously indeed, as that was the end of his experiments (we watched him prove it). Whatever scraps of his ego and hopes that Sister Mary-Demon hadn’t already damaged beyond repair, Pepper grabbed, threw on the floor and stomped on.  Also, the fact that Pepper’s been charged with protecting Grace explains why she was taken when the pattern for the others taken (Alma and Grace) was that they’d recently had sex with Kit, and she didn’t. So glad that turned out to not be a plot-hole.

“You are one. Sick. Twist.” -Kit to Dr. Thredson

3. One source of ours (who only gave us the below one tip, phew) was apparently full of shit, as their tip was:  the dirt that Dr. Arden was using to ‘blackmail’  the Monsignor was that he was a sex addict.  Speaking of “one sick twist,” we learned he was in fact a virgin, and even though he knew he shouldn’t have (vows of purity and all that) and did try to resist, she wore that all down pretty fast. Sister Mary Demon ground all over him and soon he wasn’t as emphatic while telling her, “no… I must not… stop… don’t… stop,” and he started breathing harder when Sister Mary Demon peeled off her habit and revealed that she was wearing the now-notorious red slip. OK, we want to be accurate here but not cross the line into trashy, we’ll do our best. It began when he tried to begin the traditional exorcism (“I cast thee out in the name of...”) but that ended within seconds as Sister Mary Demon shrugged him away and laughed at the joke, telling him, “Good one, father. Wanna hear mine?”  She began a dirty limerick that ended with, “His mighty dick/ was inches thick/He called it Salamander.” When he tried to clumsily continue the exorcism, Sister Mary tossed him across the room onto the bed (without touching him),  and asked salaciously, “How about yours, Father? Is yours …inches thick?”   and wasted no time  crudely seducing him and getting about as verbally graphic as FX could let the writers. The icing on the cake was Dr. Nazi walking in on them JUST as Timothy finally, despite himself (I feel like a pervert just describing this) moaned very loudly as he got off,  but with the worst possible timing for everyone. Everyone, that is, except Sister Mary Demon, who–talk about “one sick twist”– seemed to have planned the timing as she was urging the Monsignor, “Not yet… wait…” RIGHT until Dr. Nazi walked in and saw everything, including the Monsignor’s happy  (or not-so-happy) ending.  Furthermore, it’s going to take poor Monsignor years of therapy (at best) before he doesn’t associate orgasm with suddenly noticing an imposing,  bald elderly man in a doctor’s jacket standing in his line of sight, glaring venomously at him (assuming, after that icky timing, that Father Timothy ever feels like even having sex with himself, let alone another person, for the next decade or so).  I think they even made eye contact. Ugh. If Dr. Nazi had the tiniest grain of a soul, morality, or humanity left in him after Pepper tells him what a joke he really is, anything that was left died (painfully, we can hope) inside him forever at that moment. We learned that because…

4.  Later, after the big dance number in Jude’s head, Dr. Nazi looked really  depressed as  he trudged into the Rasper Zone in the woods for a rare afternoon feeding, pushing the wheelbarrow full of large chunks of raw meat (Sister Mary Demon tagging along beside him). He half-heartedly tossed rasper-chow out, around the edges of their wooded area. All delusions of grandeur, power, and his God-complex were gone; instead his demeanour seemed closer to that of a small boy who had recently been informed his entire family had been killed in a car-wreck and he had to go live in an orphanage.  Then the raspers lurched out for their meal, and Dr. Nazi suddenly produced a gun and began joylessly executing them by shooting them in the back of the head (I counted four dead). When he started picking them off, Sister Mary-Demon looked like she’d gotten a surprise gift even as he announced to her in a lifeless voice that the experiment was over.  When he put the gun to his head, Sister Mary Demon watched with amused interest to see whether he would pull the trigger or not. Fortunately, Dr. Nazi didn’t— Ryan Murphy isn’t going to end such an amazing storyline (and character arcs that were all at once successfully swooping, fun, horrifying, and believable) without one hell of a pay-off  …and did we ever  get one at the episode’s staggering close. Instead he broke into sobs, collapsed to his knees, and asked Sister Mary Demon if she knew how much it had hurt him to lose her. She’s disgusted, tells him he’s pitiful, pushes his clinging arms away as he begs her to have pity, and it was satisfying to see him doing the begging when he’d so enjoyed making women beg him for mercy for nine episodes. He curls up, weeping and broken.

You have no secrets from me.

5.  We learned that Sister Mary’s (truncated) master plan and goal (which Lily Rabe and Ryan Murphy had both promised did indeed exist and would be revealed) included attaching herself to Monsignor (“You are mine now”) and thus rising in the hierarchy of the church …together.  Bishop…cardinal…dare we even say… POPE.  “The desires of the flesh are nothing compared to the rewards of power and ambition,” she tells a grim Monsignor Timothy. “I know you’re weak, but I’m strong enough for both of us.”  Besides the everyday chaos she enjoyed causing, Sister Mary Demon also delighted in the idea of next giving Jude (after the brutal ECT)  a trans-orbital lobotomy for *cough* therapeutic benefits, and to “crack that skull open like a walnut” (because we suppose frying half her brain like an egg wasn’t enough).

“Ravage Me Red …Ravish Me Red…”

6. Speaking of that sad development, we learned Jessica Lange had another heart-wrenching monologue left in her… or rather, they had another written  for her, as I’ll never doubt her acting ability again. They write ‘em for Ms. Lange, she nails them shut. This time she nearly levelled us during her visit with Mother Claudia when it became clear much of her memory and sanity had been destroyed from the abuse heaped on her. (We’ll transcribe it later). This led us to learning. that…

7.  Judy (or as Sister Mary Demon has cruelly designated her, Patient Number G2573) is clinging to the scraps of sanity she has left,especially trying to focus on matching names to faces; thank God one of the memories she retained is that Lana was unfairly locked up (by her), and she must keep trying to explain that Lana does NOT belong in Briarcliff.

“Anyone else have a bone to pick with me?”

8.  In the “really  shitty news department”  we learn that Dr. T/Bloody Face (who has one of the best moments in the episode as he makes his entrance into the common room at Briarcliff to Screaming Jay Hawkins’ “I Put A Spell On You”) has changed his plans. Sister Mary-Demon must have told him that Lana’s DIY abortion didn’t take. His new, somehow more horrible plan, isn’t to kill her, not with the baby inside her–he tells her that as long as that baby is inside her, she’ll stay alive. When Lana asks if he’ll kill her as soon as the baby is born,  Dr. T explains his new plans to make sure she breastfeeds him for at least a year… no wire monkey mother for the son of Bloody Face (or so he thinks). Oh, and because that’s not bad enough, Sister Mary Demon offered him a permanent position at Briarcliff, which he was happy to accept (and yes, he reveals what we all strongly suspected–Sister Mary Demon untied him).  Later, we learn more about his new agenda.  Next goal?  To get the location of the taped confession out of Kit with the help of a straitjacket and some sodium pentothal (AKA truth serum) from Dr. Nazi’s office. Instead he follows the cries of a female in pain –you know he loves that  sound.  This leads him to discover Grace in labor (with Pepper calmly helping, telling Dr. T she’s crowning). This (understandably) catches even him off guard, but he recovers quickly enough to put this new weird discovery into play. He plans to use the son (after he’s told the father is Kit) as a bargaining chip. No need for sodium pentothal yet.  When it came to getting the information on the location of the tape reel, Dr. T. counted on Kit’s “Savior complex,” especially when it comes to women and children, being stronger than his utter hatred for Thredson. Dr. T did accurately analyze Kit at some point, apparently.  Kit  finally caved when Dr. T showed him his baby boy and gave him an ultimatum (we don’t hear the choice he gives Kit; in all fairness, he could have threatened the baby (though I doubt Pepper will let that happen, Kit didn’t know it). Thankfully, we then learned…

9.  Lana was proactive and moved the blanket-wrapped confession reel to a new, undisclosed location, wisely not telling ANYONE where it was, to protect herself and Kit. She wanted to exonerate Kit and uncover Thredson as the real Bloody Face, but while she’d become allies with Kit, she made sure to also cover her ass… and Kit’s. She told Dr. T if he hurt Kit OR her, she’d find a way to get that tape to the police. Dr T. looks furious but also taken by surprise. “You know I can do it, Oliver. I’m goddamned plucky, remember?”  Oh HEYALL yes! That’s more like it!

“Do you know your name?”

10.  The Angel of Death (played by Frances Conroy) didn’t come to Timothy (who had been ‘calling’ her) to give him her kiss of death. We see a flashback to what happened right after episode 9 ended, and it’s nothing so simple. Instead…

Monsignor, up on the cross:  Have you come for me? Why are you here?
Dark Angel:  I came because you have more work to do. The devil is here in Briarcliff, in your favorite young nun. You must cast her out.
M: I am too weak.
D: God will help you.
M: She’ll know.
D: Guard your thoughts. Use your rosary, each bead bears his name.

That part about the rosary didn’t help, but she  sure dd. After Sister Mary Eunice’s innocent soul broke through briefly and begged Monsignor Timothy to be let go, he told her to let him go.  When she does, he gives her a surprisingly firm push up and over the balcony of the third floor, and she falls–released– to her death. We were in so much denial we thought she was going to change back at the last second and bite off the Dark Angel’s nose or suck out her power or something–PSYCH!  Instead, Death is able to take “both of them” to peace: Sister Mary and the Demon that had (formerly) resided in her.

Note: I surprised myself by writing pages of ‘ stray thoughts’ about the episode, a majority of it concerning the twisted ‘love triangle’ and character arcs over the past 10 episodes of Dr. Arden/Gruper/Nazi, the human Sister Mary Eunice, and Sister Mary-Demon that concluded at the end of the episode, then seeing it was turning into a long-winded essay. So here’s the shorter version of my ‘stray thoughts’, later I’ll include a length to the ‘uncensored, uncut’ version (on the 2% chance someone might run out of  pieces written focusing on minute details and metaphors of America Horror Story Asylum to read online).  So here’s the more tidy version. Thanks!

Stray Thoughts:

• First, let’s get the bitching out of the way. Not one, but two characters (Possessed Sister Mary and non-possessed Monseigneur) used the words “epic failure.” Not “epic fail” (because ‘fail’ is NOT A GODDAMNED NOUN OR ADJECTIVE and it would have sent me into an angry frenzy of calling out the writers in public), thank God. The first line that concerned Sister Mary Demon calling Jude’s administration of Briarcliff her “epic failure”,  took me out of the episode for a second. Everything was cruising along fine, with Sister Mary Demon being especially entertaining and evil (more on that later). It takes a LOT to take me out of this show, in fact this is the only time I can recall it happening. Later,  after Sister Mary-Demon violated the Monsigneur’s “purity” when he attempted a pretty low-key exorcism,  he went to talk to a barely-there Judy in the kitchen,  then he called his exorcism attempt “an epic failure”.  STOP THAT! On almost any other show (taking place in the 90s or earlier) two uses of that term would have caused the entire episode to a screech to a halt (and if any other show taking place back then actually used the term “Epic fail,” the entire SERIES would screech to a halt).  However, everything else in this stunner of an epic episode was pure gold, so I’ll overlook it and just bump my episode grade to A-. I can’t give any episode with a hallucinatory song/dance sequence that awesome even a B+.
• Speaking of dialogue, other than what I let slide above, “The Name Game” had some of the best, most chilling, and perfectly delivered dialogue this season. The exchange I never get tired of watching was the one after Dr. Nazi and the Monsignor had agreed on Dr. Thredson handling the cremation personally:

Monsignor, as he prepares to leave the room: As a sign of Sanctity, sometimes God permits the dead body to emit an odor of sweet perfume. It was said that when Saint Theresa De Avila died, the smell of roses lingered in the convent for days.
Dr. Arden: What do you smell now, Monsignor?
Monsignor: Nothing but decay.

It was James Cromwell’s lifeless, yet perfect delivery of his line that gave me a serious chill.

• Still not sure what Dr. Thredson said to Kit to make him disclose where the tapes were hidden. I almost wonder if Kit knew they’d been moved, just not where, but Dr. Thredson had him in a straitjacket (even though for over half of his onscreen time, Kit’s wardrobe seems to consist of shackles, straitjackets, and other restraining devices that so many kinky Evan Peters fans online own up to getting them hot and bothered), and was not being gentle. We cut away before Dr. T. gave what had to be some kind of ultimatum. However, after I re-watched the scene, I saw Pepper (Grace and the baby’s bodyguard),  was in the room, and I don’t think she’d take kindly to Dr. T threatening the baby even verbally. Bugs me a tiny bit, but the “See Spot Jump” payoff was so good, I don’t really care.
• Fans everywhere are going nuts  over the musical number; I thought I’d find that at least 1/3 of cynical viewers would call it a “jump the shark moment,” but only one person online did. It didn’t even make me mad enough to respond; for once I just actually felt bad for all the cool stuff and fun the person would be missing after they vowed to never watch the show ever again.  Jessica Lange did a great job singing, and Lana? That chick knows how to go-go dance!  Oh, and did you catch those shots of the “Dead Mexican” that Sister Mary Demon stabbed in the neck with scissors, then fed to the raspers? She looked all better, dancing away!
• Are we the only ones feeling sort of bummed after all the raspers were unceremoniously executed? OK, Dr. Arden Nazi shot four, maybe he missed a few. Or one. It wasn’t as depressing as many other events that took place in episode ten, but still. Either way, I’m still going to finish that gallery, I’m a woman of my word. I really wanted to see them rip the throat out of a character who DESERVED it.  Maybe we’ll get that…
• If this episode was supposed to contain a “moment” conveying the secret to S3, I’ve got a guess-based on Murphy saying it was not a line, but hinting at a shot or angle, here’s our prediction: watch as Dr. Nazi kills the fourth Rasper. The shooting style completely changes for a moment; we get one of those action-movie. or even a Western, bullet’s-POV-mode as he fires. It really didn’t fit, and we were in the hands of a great director and DP who wouldn’t just whimsically toss in something like that for no real reason. Crime drama? Western? Travelling “Wild West Show” type of carnival where one of the acts people pay to see are a sharpshooter shooting an apple off someone’s head? It’s probably nothing, just a hunch.
• And finally,  Sister Mary Demon was at the top of her game (and entertainment value) right up until that third-floor shove. The writers must have known how much we’d miss Sister Mary, because this week, they fuckin’ went to town.  From the Great! Big! Music Box! unveiling (starting with Screaming Jay Hawkins’ kick-ass “I Put A Spell on You,” I guess all those prudes in the 1950s were right—Rock and Roll really IS ‘The Devil’s Music’!) dedicated especially to Miss Judy Martin… to going through the cells and planting (so to speak) a cucumber in Judy’s room (that looked way too big to have any… never mind).  and calling attention to it in front of the other now-giggling patients (“Take this from the kitchen? Get the idea from Shelley? We can’t have you diddling yourself all night long! …Do you think of Monseigneur Timothy?”)
•  Speaking of diddling, Sister Mary Demon looked borderline orgasmic as she turned up the shock therapy on poor struggling, horrified Jude past 50% and scrambling her brain. For some reason, that act struck me as more evil than stabbing that poor, terrified Mexican inmate (who no-one ever gave a shit about looking for, along with Shelley and Pepper) in the neck with a pair of scissors. This was on a par with dumping poor Shelley in a playground , and with deliberately letting Dr. Thredson loose, then hiring him on when she knew everything he’d done and was going to do. Put that together what she did to Jude in The Name Game are those were her top three most evil, vile acts (I’m not counting some of the things she SAID, just her actions are in the running for the Vile and Evil Top Three).
• I still think Arden is was as much of a monster as Bloody Face, but a tiny part of me felt a kind of grudging respect for the evil old bastard sticking to his guns and taking that shit to the grave with him. I don’t want to get into discussing religion and whether or not there is an afterlife. However, if in the “American Horror Story Asylum Universe” the devil is real (which Arthur had to have figured out around the holidays), then it means Hell is also real. Guess where Dr. Nazi’s soul is going to end up? I loved that the final shot (the whole last couple of minutes were flawless—though I would have liked to hear a little more agonized screaming from that shitbird, but no complaints either) was from a POV inside the crematorium, seeing the steel door slide down and shut out all everything else… except for the flames, which he’ll be burning in for all eternity.
• 

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Speaking of feeling brave, we’re adding new ‘screen grabs’ from the TV spots tomorrow (as well as more links), because we are already  up very late and would like to get some sleep tonight. They’ll show soon. Just need to wait till we wake up and the sun is still up… till then, here’s a couple familiar ones.

If I walked into a deserted cabin and laid eyes on the sight depicted in the below still, I’d just back quietly out of the room, out of the house, briskly go home, and call 911 (even though you should never walk backwards in a horror movie, would YOU turn your back to these feral creatures?

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Reblogged from Inside Movies:

This isn't exactly a breaking newsflash, but we hadn't seen these yet. While we're bummed out that there's no gnarled scabby human face (or what WAS a human face at some point) on it, the inside looks pretty scary. Hope all the characters smoke a bunch of weed like in the original before they play the reel-to-reel recording (if it's set in the 70s-early 80s --if not, read it, I guess) because if they decide to bust out a book like this with very succinct, blunt warnings including  DON’T SAY IT. DON’T WRITE IT. DON’T HEAR IT. DON’T SHARE IT, then I'm going to have serious problems having any sympathy for them.* Not to mention, no-one in it is half as goddamned gorgeous (or funny) as Bruce Campbell was in the originals, so there's no distraction to let a few things slide. OK, where were we? I realize this is a "re-boot", but come on... having a female heroine saw off her "possessed arm"--give us a little more than that. It's not like the old-school Necronomicon looked goofy, it was pretty disturbing, and the Raimi/Tapert team did a really amazing job constructing it with such limited funds (as with all aspects of the series). So let's see more of the inside... *maybe it's because we've seen enough horror movies, but no matter what dose or kind of alcohol and narcotics were in our systems, we'd take one look at that thing and say, "Welp, that just about does it for me," then put it back right where we found it, and go start looking for somewhere else to spend the night that didn't contain a book bound in human flesh and inked in blood in the first place.

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But THAT’S definitely new…

The EW.com article we very recently re-blogged was an in-depth analysis for THIS nasty, wicked, sick new full-length red band trailer. We’re worried this trailer contains ALL the gore in the movie, because we don’t know how they can top plenty of what is seen here. Shit, we don’t know how they’ll even get away with it. What we meant to do was read the EW.com piece, re-blog it, then watch the trailer at the very end of the piece after writing something enthusiastic yet graceful. What we should have done was follow that plan. What we did instead  was get two pages (tops) into the 12-page EW.com piece, then what little willpower and professionalism we began with suddenly went crashing out through the window all at once, as the only thought barging into our brains screamed ENOUGH WAITING, FUCK THAT! WATCH IT NOW! NOW!  and we did so immediately.

Jesus CHRIST, you guys!

I don’t know how this movie is going to get away with an R-Rating, even this red band trailer had us stunned, wincing, and (rarer yet), momentarily speechless.  Just try watching through to the end without wincing and protectively grabbing your mouth/jaw. We still can’t do it! So put down anything you’re eating or drinking* (even water, who knows, you could do a spit-take) and watch this full-length, gruesome, filthy, WONDERFUL trailer below (in HD) now! We won’t spoil the end… until after the jump.

When the first red band “teaser” trailer (with a little more conversation and a little less action) was released and we posted it in Fall 2012, we made a huge-ass collection of screen caps for a slideshow to post later. Then ADD kicked in (maybe that was about the same time they released the first five minutes and the new opening credits for American Horror Story Asylum) and it didn’t happen.

Oh, did we say grabbing our JAW? We forgot to mention our EYE. Actually, not 100% sure I want to know what the story behind this screen grab from the full-length trailer even IS.

Well, we just started taking screen-shots of this one, so look for a nasty slide show coming up (though probably not before the finale of American Horror Story Asylum at the end of January, that’s pretty time-intensive)

“Okay, I am fucking drawing a line in the sand here, DO NOT READ THAT!”

The Evil Dead  opens in April of 2013!

*Especially if it’s warm and red, you’ll know the footage we mean when you see it.

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Reblogged from Inside TV:

Lily Rabe gave a tour-de-force performance this season on American Horror Story: Asylum as Sister Mary Eunice, a simple nun possessed by the devil. Funny and frightening, Mary Eunice sadly said goodbye last night after being thrown off the asylum staircase by Monsignor O'Hara (Joseph Fiennes). EW talked with Rabe, who played original house owner (and infantata mama) Nora in the first season of…

Read more… 870 more words

I think it was perfect in its own crazy way. It was very true to the show. That was a very intense scene to shoot also. That was harder for me than the wires. I would do that any day over going into an incinerator, let me tell you.  -Lily Rabe

Thanks for being patient with the "Ten (insert adjective indicating how awesome, scary, and fucked-up the episode was here)  Things We Learned From American Horror Story Asylum, Episode Ten, 'The Name Game'- Spoiler Alert!" usual post AHSA wrap-up/review/recap. Hope to have it up within the next 24 hours! I was literally up all night (until I conked out around 10AM) writing after the show Wednesday, which might have worked out better if I hadn't been up all night writing the night before as well. Need to stop keeping the sleep cycle of a vampire crack whore,  here. NOT complaining, I had fun, nice to be up all night  and have it actually be voluntary. Gonna repeat this next sentiment in its own post, but we got THREE TIMES more traffic--starting Wednesday AM-- (in the 24-period the episode aired in) than we did on our absolute busiest day of 2012. Horror Boom is still racking up the hits, and I want to thank EVERYONE for their support. Would we have gotten even half that much traffic if American Horror Story Asylum hadn't been back from their holiday break? No! Of course not. Thanks again from both of us. We also think Lily Rabe should at least get an Emmy nod for best supporting actress (along with Jessica Lange winning Best Actress) for her work this season. She nailed it EVERY time. Hope Ryan Murphy casts her in another great role in "Chapter" (AKA Season) Three.

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So since that episode was just the slightest bit dark (other than the choreographed go-go dance and song number to, gee, what was the song again …The Name Game, which was hilarious and sure kept things interesting) with what, two BIG character deaths and something like five Raspers  executed suddenly but efficiently by Dr. Nazi, we could use a giggle. So we took photos of my four pages of notes, and you may notice that my composure slipped just the tiniest bit…

Here’s #1 still starting out by taking notes i s traditional manner:

then it escalates FAST. P2 of notes:

Then I seriously forgot I was supposed to take notes, but did it on autopilot or something…

“Oh no oh no oh no” = Thredson pulling the reel, wrapped in a blanket, from the secret hiding space, “oh YES!” = “I don’t want to ruin it for you, but Spot jumps.”

and finally, when Dr.Nazi says goodbye and closes the door behind them…

How I managed to cheer and write at the same time, I still have no idea!

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Reblogged from Inside TV:

It's getting down to the final episodes of American Horror Story: Asylum so it's not surprising that we're starting to see characters bid adieu. Last night, devil-possessed nun Sister Mary Eunice (Lily Rabe) and former Nazi Dr. Arden (James Cromwell) both bit the dust. Also, within this hour, is a clue to the super-secret season three storyline of American Horror Story…

Read more… 1,180 more words

I still can barely string sentences together, that blew me away so much. So read THIS! More from Horror Boom after our fucking heads are still spinning! You should see my notes, if you want a good laugh. Pretty much a transcription of what I was yelling at the TV (when my jaw wasn't hanging open). Will post those soon, THEN the usual "Ten SHOCKING Things We Learned."

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LAST SPOILER WARNING!

Note from the author/editor prefacing the below interview:  Again, this interview took place the day after his first appearance in American Horror Story: Asylum, which was the day before the shootings in Connecticut, McDermott’s home state. He has posted thoughtful words of support since then on his Twitter and Facebook accounts. But there’s still a bundle of new information, just step right up to the below link!

Click HERE to read the interview, that hit less than an hour ago, on SciFiMania.com!

Now here’s some juicy tidbits to whet your appetite (all from the above-linked article © Erin Willard, the Editor In Chief of SciFiMania).

Darkmedia.com: I was wondering if you worked at all, directly, with Zach Quinto on your characterization of the son [of] “Bloody Face,” or if anything you watched him do prior to the season informed choices that you made as a character?

D. McDermott I kind of just watched him and picked up a few of his mannerisms. There is one scene coming up where we’re in the same room. I guess in the writer’s room, they put up a picture of me and Zach and Sarah to see in I could be their son, when they were casting it. I guess I passed the test, but I think that we do have some similar qualities in our darker features, so I don’t think it’s much of a leap. But I did kind of try to listen to his voice and look at his mannerisms a little bit.

Q. …Can you tell me a little bit about your character and where you hope he ends up at the end of the season?

D. McDermott:   Well, ‘Johnny Thredson,’ obviously he’s a troubled man; so where I hope he goes and where he goes are two different places, but I think he’s got a sole purpose in life and really that is, he feels so scorned by his mother. Everything is about his mother. The reason he’s doing all these horrible things is because he was rejected so harshly by his mother, obviously aborted. His father was a serial killer. His mother aborted him and he still lives. So his whole trajectory in life is really about her.

Yep, this recent SNL sketch is actually discussed in the article! I would have rather seen him than Dermot Mulroney myself…

Eclipse: I actually wanted to ask you, what is the strangest thing that has happened to you on set, or personally, from doing this show.

D. McDermott: Well, I mean if you watched all the episodes, you know that I’ve had to do some strange things clearly, but it was part of the ride when I talked to Ryan [Murphy] about this show. Obviously the cry-bating and walking around naked, and now I’m playing a serial killer; in terms of doing American Horror Story, this is what comes with the dinner. So you just have to be up for it.

Q.  …obviously it’s early yet, but would you see yourself coming back for the third series, if Ryan came up with another big idea for you?

D. McDermott: Yes, I mean I love this show. I just think it’s just really—if I wasn’t on the show, I’d be watching it; so I’m a fan of this show as much as an actor on the show. So whatever—like I said before, I really trust Ryan and he has a great instinct with me. If he asks me to come back on, of course.

Nice ink, Johnny…

Starry Constellation:  I was wondering if there is anything about this particular character that you added to the role that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

D. McDermott: Yes, you’ll see him in, I think in the next episode, I started smoking some crack. [Horror Boom note: Heard a rumor about this but laughed it off. Bloody Face ON CRACK. Like he's not enough of a wild card, hey, let's add a crack habit!]  I don’t think that was in it. I wanted him to be—I needed him to have an outlet for it and then when I started smoking crack, they started putting it into scenes. So that was an important thing that I wanted him to be high because a lot of these guys are high and a lot of people do, obviously, terrible things on drugs. It was important for me to have him to be a drug addict as well.

We guess it could  be worse; Bloody Face Jr. could be on “bath salts” (when you take that poison, you don’t have to even be a homicidal maniac with a notorious serial killer for a dad in order to do completely insane shit like run around stark naked and rip off a total strangers face), though I don’t think crack is exactly a great choice for him.

Yup, you heard it here first:  OK, second:  Bloody Face on Crack!  HOW COOL IS THAT?!

Uh, we mean, drugs are bad,  m’kay? Especially crack. Though maybe smoking a little weed once in a while would keep Bloody Face from hearing voices telling him to hurt/kill women, and he’d just stay at home and watch cartoons.

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“Mamá’s back.”

Usually, the above is a warm, comforting phrase. Mama’s home. Mama is here. Shhhh, my baby, all is well, you’re safe now, Mamá won’t let anyone hurt her babies.   Not in this case; in the context of this short scary-ass film (and the feature-length movie of the same name coming in late January 2013)  it is NOT  good news.
Not at all.

Well, according to Horror Boom’s year-end stats from WordPress, not only did this three-minute short feature get more hits than every other short horror film we featured combined,  it even crept into the top five posts of 2012. So, we were psyched to see a HD version with a brand spankin’ new intro from Guillermo Del Toro. He explains how badly it frightened him and why he saw potential for a full-length movie …that would also scare the hell out of everyone. Since this writer first saw the trailer in Fall of 2012, I’m now able to watch trailers for the feature-length Mama  (opening January 18, 2013) after dark …as long as I’m not feeling jittery in the first place.

Am I brave enough, though, to watch this  short film after dark?  Not really.  No. This second version does have alternate footage, but it’s no less scary for the switch. Daytime, lights on, had to turn the sound down just to give to short film a watch and ensure it was the real thing before we posted this new version. You think something can’t be scary that is only three minutes long, with no blood and gore? Watch this, because you will find yourself mistaken.

Even if the movie is mediocre –which we seriously doubt; as a rule, these Spanish film-makers* know how to inspire nightmares above and beyond that of what most US film-makers are capable of– this short, written and directed by Andy Muschietti, is still actively terrifying. We’re now working up an entire piece on it, since as of this writing it may very well be the most anticipated horror film of Winter/Spring 2013.  Right now, though, we just want to get the film with the new intro up. MUCH more coverage is coming soon, keep your eyeballs out for it right here on Horror Boom.

And you have been warned.

We recommend watching the earlier version here too – the ending is extended and different, and so is the lighting (also, no intro by Del Toro). I assume this is some specially restored, re-mastered version they put together to promote the feature film. They’re both scary as hell. They’re also both written and directed by the same team!  We also strongly encourage you to check out both the first and  the second theatrical trailers (there’s new footage) right on Horror Boom. We aim to please (and scare) our fellow horror fans! Happy New Year.

*if you’ve seen [REC],  [REC] 2 , or  The Orphanage,  then we highly doubt you need much convincing about the previous statement.

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In a little more than a month, Briarcliff Manor, Sister Jude, Lana, Bloody Face, Sister Mary-Demon-Eunice, and the rest of the characters we’ve gotten attached to (in some cases, despite ourselves) will have gone the way of The Harmon family and the “Murder House.”

To avoid our explanation of why we cannot wait turning into an novella-length essay, we went with the traditional Horror Boom form when writing about this show: a ten-item list.

1.  We’ve gotta know whether that baby inside Grace is human, or something horrifying. Given the fact she was 100% dead when her body was “taken”, and Pepper told Dr. Arden she was full term (and we also saw she was ready to pop at any minute… possibly an unfortunate choice of words),  if a 100% normal, human baby is born and Grace’s life is saved, and if all involved get a happy ending, we’ll eat our laptops.

Did the demon in Sister Mary Eunice finally bite off more than it could chew? What if SHE gets pregnant?

2. Sister Jude-arrgh, Judy Martin and Lana Winters are now both on the same side, and they have each been through a living hell (that neither even came close to deserving) and have more or less nothing to lose but their lives, they have potential to be a really entertaining, merciless, and shitbird again?

3. Is Kit dead? Is Dr. Arden going to make it back in time to give him the Pulp-Fiction-style adrenaline shot? As I recall, once he dies, he only has a two to four-minute range before all the oxygen in his brain is depleted, then it’ll be too late to restart Kit and “reverse the effects” of the potassium chloride Dr. Nazi slammed into his heart. How is that  going to happen in time? It took Dr. Nazi a minute or so to get to the room with the returned Grace and Pepper. You think ANY person, let alone the morbidly curious sociopath who is conducting this little experiment (even if you factored out Pepper’s weird return) isn’t going to be thrown off and distracted after going to discover by the sudden appearance out of the blue of a patient whose corpse he saw himself and then being taken away by AN ALIEN, now nine months pregnant after two weeks of her death (tops), touch her full-term stomach , then go, “well, this was interesting, but I need to get back to what I was doing with that patient I don’t give two shits about. Hold that thought, we’ll talk later”?

4. The chance that we could get to see either Oliver Thredson or Dr. Nazi get what they deserve, hell, maybe even both of them (we can dream, can’t we?) At this point, if Dr. Nazi was dragged to death under/behind a bus and it went on for twenty minutes before he stopped screaming for help before his head came off, that wouldn’t be enough. Nope, we want Dr. Arden/Gruper to get she Shelley treatment, as slowly and painfully as possible while everyone in the hospital laughs heartily at and makes fun of his unnaturally tiny endowment.  Don’t let him die in a comfortable bed at the hands of a mercy killer, either, kick him down a flight of stairs, then drop him off in a giant pile of his victims.  And  Thredson/Bloody Face? Seeing him being eaten alive by wolves (seen the movie Frozen?  Then you know the exact horrible death, possibly the most blood-curdling death in the movie, we are referring to) is too good for him that misogynistic psychopath! No, nothing less than seeing Thredson dying at the hands of Lana Winters will make us satisfied enough to say, “OK, I think they just may be even now” Nothing so quick as having his throat “slit nice and easy” and bleeding out, either, they should spread it out over at least the length of time Lana was tortured emotionally, psychologically, and physically at his hands. What, about…pffft… two-three weeks now she’s been in hell? Four? Start the clock at the stomach-turning “aversion-conversion therapy”.  He should get put through what he did to Lana, or in his own personal, scary hell.  I’m all for Lana and Kit grabbing a few tools and a textbook or two and skinning him alive …and Wendy not really being dead (don’t ask how, we’ve accidentally just slipped into wish-fulfillment mode here) and coming back to join in would be the icing on that cake.

We realize the content above might make you think we’re too harsh, or make you remind yourself never to piss us off, but a little birdie came to Horror Boom HQ and told us what [redacted for spoilers] to our favorite characters who have already been through more pain and horror than most people are put through in a lifetime. You’ll be right there with us.

5.  Pepper is doing something horrible to Dr. Arden-Gruper to avenge what he did to Shelley (as Murphy promised in a tweet quite a few weeks back) could quite actually happen.  Hey, she’s ‘come back’ with not only a normal IQ, but a high one. Maybe she’s got the skills to give him exactly what he did to Shelley (and then toss him out in the woods to be ripped into confetti by the pissed-off, hungry raspers he created).

6. Finding out what happened to Ian McShane’s character after he escaped. It’s supposed to be short but sweet.

7.  Discovering the ‘tip of the hat’ (McDermott and Murphy have been hinting around about this ) to Ben Harmon, the character McDermott played in Season one. I can think of at least one that would just BLOW the top of everyone’s head off, but I’m sure it’ll be something different.

8. Seeing whatever happens in these scenes *shown in quick flashes) from the preview for “The Name Game” (Episode ten)  screen-capped below. Man, that red slip is getting a lot of air time this season!

9. The especially weird dream sequence coming up (or psychosis playing out in someone’s head) that Murphy said consists of Sister Judy dressing in a Dusty Springfield-type mid-60s time period outfit, singing “The Name Game.” Who could have guessed that Lana-Banana nickname in the first few episodes was foreshadowing?

10. Seeing Dylan McDermott as Bloody Face Jr more. McDermott (whom I sometimes wonder if Ryan Murphy gets nervous about, since he’s not exactly 007 when it comes to discussing the plot and upcoming developments) said next, his character and the surrounding Bloody Face Jr. storyline) going to delve deeply into his “Mommy issues”.  You know, saying Bloody Face has “Mommy issues” is sorta the equivalent of saying Charles Manson, Tex Watson, and the rest of his Helter Skelter crew were “somewhat off-kilter mentally” and/or had been known to be “involved with mild recreational drug use from time to time”.

And finally, here’s the preview for “The Name Game,”  Episode Ten. Enjoy! If we get more info before the episode airs, you’ll know right after we do. Looks like things are going to get ugly even uglier…

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OK, on to that 2013 projects/movies list!

So, we were chatting with friends and started naming off our top five we were drooling to see. I went to jot them down, and realized there were ten movies we were all hopped up for.  Mrs. Horror Boom here got an actual adrenaline rush just writing the complete list down and seeing all ten at once. OK, if you want to get technical, one item on the list are the final four episodes of a certain TV show (that will air starting January second), but we doubt we’ll get  complaints on that, judging from the fact at least 50% of our traffic come from various American Horror Story Asylum-related searches (especially those tagged with “Pinhead Pepper”).

We couldn’t find a graceful way to include this in the title, but these are all coming out in the first half of 2013. Many will hit before Spring is officially here. After Memorial Day, we’ll probably do a list for the second half. Some of these all of us horror fans have been waiting for over 6 months (and almost a year on Inbred’s U.S. release). The ABCS os Death was supposed to be an early October release, for God’s sake.

There’s no way we’d get the list out in a timely manner if we attempted to rank them in order of excitement, so we decided to go with the release dates- first come, first written about.

Here’s the entire list- we’ll go back and add links to the pieces focusing on each one as they get published. Also, these are in no particular order; we’re having trouble hunting down the release dates on several. Until then, several have previously written pieces with trailers and/or other cool stuff. We’ll take those down when we put up the links to the new spotlight pieces on each one. So let’s get it on!

Most Anticipated Horror Movies of 2013

1. The ABCs of Death
2.  Maniac  re-boot
3.  Chan Wook Park’s  Stoker
4.  Mama
5. Carrie re-boot
6. American Mary
7.  Evil Dead re-boot (Raimi, Tapert, and Campbell approved)
8.  Inbred (US release)
9.  [REC] 4 – Apocalypse
10. “The Name Game”, “Spilt Milk, ” Continuum”,  and “Madness Ends”- AKA, the final four episodes (a little over roughly a mere three more hours) that will bring American Horror Story Asylum roaring through to the finish line of this American Horror Story chapter. 

If you’re looking for air dates, you can peep them here.  I highly doubt that we’re alone when we say we’re not ready to say goodbye yet to this cast of characters, and this story! 

The final four episodes of American Horror Story Asylum are a great jumping off point for our list, and the first of the final four acts (The Name Game) is a matter of days away (January 2nd). So, read on about AHSA’s “final four” coming up next…

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Sometimes, when you see a still of a creature or a monster, it doesn’t look as scary when it’s not in action. This is not the case with the Raspers –the horrible result of bloodcurdling medical experiments performed secretly in American Horror Story Asylum by a former Nazi (who did the same thing in the medical experiment section of concentration camps in WW2)  who was able to escape and change his name from Hans Gruper to Dr. Arthur Arden.

Ahh, you never forget the first time you see a rasper, huh? We were watching Louie, calmly sitting through a commercial break, when the teaser–the first one we’d seen– for American Horror Story Asylum came on. Maybe you saw the below teaser first, too…

Mrs. Horror Boom here has a very distinct memory of thinking and having time to say, “Bet this i– HOOOAH-kay! Knew it” (meaning to say, “hey, I bet this is an American Horror Story Season 2 preview, but that didn’t have it out all the way). All the teasers were creepy and cool, this one (and the one I believe they called “White Rose”, with a twirling white flower bud unfurling its petals to show a screaming, scary woman in a white straightjacket, with a jolting musical cue) frightened me as much as the knee-jerk reaction when I saw anything American Horror Story-related for the upcoming season: Oh, AWESOME!  Even my husband was slightly unsettled. I’d also read a cover story Entertainment Weekly did (I recall almost giving myself a paper cut flipping through the issue at lightning speed to get to the piece, especially when I saw it was an in-depth article with several pages. In the issue, Ryan Murphy was extremely talkative and excited; I remember seeing a photo of Bloody Face in the make-up chair and saying, “Damn!” out loud, then a make-up photo also taken on the set:

Then reading: He may appear harmless, but the not-so-good doctor is behind one of the season’s newest frights: the Raspers. The mutated humans lurk in the forest outside of the institution and are a product of Arden’s diabolical experiments on Briarcliff’s inmates. Also, Arden may or may not be a Nazi.
Murphy elaborated later in the article: “They’re really scary because they’re a mixture of typhus and syphilis and gonorrhea and leprosy.” Yeah, that falls under the category of “really scary” to us, for many reasons. We actually theorized after we read the above but before the Raspers even showed up that their name had something to do with the fact they’d been injected with TB, which makes it difficult to breathe normally, let alone talk. We also had a theory that Dr. Nazi cut out their vocal chords and/or tongues as well as part of his “experimental” process, but we guess that was too mean-spirited even for American Horror story. Removing their teeth would have been a smarter idea, as we’ll see later on…

That sounded cool (and pretty goddamned frightening), and I immediately connected that with image of those inhuman figures zipping through the woods and then vanishing. From the first episode, “Welcome to Briarcliff,” I looked forward to seeing a Rasper …especially when pre-possession Sister Mary Eunice nervously carried to buckets out to the woods. Then came “Nor’easter” on Halloween… and we got our first look. Not much, because Murphy has said he wants to keep the Raspers’ coverage much like the Infantata in Season One of American Horror Story –just flashes. It also looks like during the scenes with the active Raspers, the film was under-cranked (which means it happens much faster on camera; the technique was used heavily during the arena fight scenes in Ridley Scott‘s Gladiator,  especially the fight with the tiger, for example).

In case you wondered what the INSIDE of a Rasper looked like, this may be your only chance (from the excellent episode seven, “Dark Cousins”)

Our theory, not officially confirmed yet, is that the Rasper that crashed the kitchen scene at the end of “Dark Cousins,”  is the one from the photo getting made up. Pretty sure about that one, but the other is that it’s Spivey, the poor jerk-off (har-de-har) that got caught with his pants down in The Origins of Monstrosity (Episode six) and as a result ended up on Dr. Nazi’s experimental laboratory, because Ryan Murphy said we’d see him again, and it’d be memorable. Then again,  we still have to IMDB it and check the actor’s name. Plus Spivey didn’t look too energetic when we saw him before that scene;  he looked both sub-human and miserable. The face sort of bulges out in the same way… anyway, here’s a longer look at Spivey in Episode 6, I assume towards the end of Dr. Nazi’s Rasper-izing treatment. (Warning: these are not a pretty sight; then again, nothing in this gallery is).

Timothy starts to realize what a terrible fucking idea it was to ‘partner up’ with Dr. Nazi… too late.

Whatever you do, don’t watch Sister Mary Eunice bathe herself through a hole in the wall, even is she invites you. ESPECIALLY if she invites you.

In “they didn’t deserve THAT!” mode, let’s check out poor, poor Shelley… that must have been one loooooong make-up session for Chloë Sevigne.

Monsignor Timothy accompanies a suit through the lobby of what looks like a MUCH nicer medical complex. He’s been called to give last rites to a woman. The suit thanks him for his compassion, due to the controversy and all the stuff in the news, he’s the fifth or sixth priest they’ve contacted who didn’t turn them down flat. Timothy smiles benignly as they enter the elevator and replies that all of us our God’s children. When they get to the door of the room, Timothy seems to fail to pick up on the red flags that 1. the suit is avoiding making eye contact with him and 2. after the suit warns him of the patient’s disturbing appearance, he hastily steps away from the door and quickly tells him he’ll be in the hallway if the Monsignor needs him.

That’s odd, what could have shaken the man up so much? Oh well, all of God’s creations are beautiful, and–

I think that some of these shots were made to morbidly mirror early publicity shots, character photos, and trailers (click to zoom… if you really want to. Also the shots of the trailer of Shelley lounging on her cot, you couldn’t see anything really below her knees.  Of course, we didn’t know then what we know now, and didn’t give it a second thought until the end of “Nor’Easter”

She deteriorated at an alarmingly speedy rate, too. Dr. Nazi really applied himself here… and of course, Sister Mary Demon helped out.

Early stages of horrible experiment

Stage One (shown at the beginning of I Am Ann Frank, Part One)

But by the end of that same episode… good Lord.

Then, of course, the ghastly playground scene (which we suppose is Stage 4), where she causes a teacher, a little girl, and an entire class at recess to scream with terror on sight.

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And in her last scene, I’m not sure how Father Timothy recognized her as a female (though I suppose they told him ahead of time), let alone Shelley. Don’t think she would have lasted much longer, she could barely wheeze her breath in and out. Whatever combination of horrible toxins Dr. Nazi injected her with (grrrrr), it worked fast. Fortunately, so did Father Timothy, who performed last rites and a mercy killing.

And she’s gone. Click here to read on to Rasper Gallery, Part Two, for the really hungry males…

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Hi, it’s me.  I’m sorry to bother you, I need to talk to someone.
It’s okay, what’s wrong?
It’s this damn phone call at 3:00 in the morning…

I dare  you to watch this short film at …oh, how long is it, 9 minutes or so? 2:50 AM with the lights off and the sound up. If you watch this full or even half-screen after dark with the volume at a normal-to-high level (especially if you have headphones on) and do NOT jump at least twice, check your pulse. Either someone just snuck up and shot you with a bear tranquilizer dart, or you’re already dead. I needed to re-watch it to get a couple of screen grabs for this piece, and I had to turn the volume off and make the You Tube viewing window as small as I could.  I’m going to be up late tonight doing last-minute stuff to prepare to host our holiday party, and if I catch myself getting drowsy or too cozy before I get all my various tasks done, “3:00 AM” with the sound on will come in very handy. I’m not sure about falling asleep when I’m done with wrapping gifts, though…

Why do they even make these goddamned things? Did any small child in the history of time actually go, “Wheeee!” and laugh when it popped open in their face? Were these designed and manufactured by a group of people who REALLY despised little kids? I have an early childhood memory of one of these (may even have been a Romper Room one) scaring the shit out of me and making me cry, and one of my family members telling the one who showed it to me to knock it off. Gee, I wonder why I have some issues with anxiety on and off throughout adult life …

If you are feeling brave enough to watch this alone in the dark and with the sound on, make sure you’re not sitting on some rickety or spindly chair, or one that wheels around really easily. You might end up on the floor. If the jumps don’t get you (though they probably will), the wound-tight suspense will.

This isn’t gory. This isn’t violent. It’s fucking scary.

Check out “3:00 AM,” written, directed and edited by Lee Matthews, starring Charlotte Armstrong, and produced by Rachael Groom and http://www.imwiththemproductions.com/  below.

This originally played as part of a short film festival, Celluloid Screams. Can you imagine seeing it in a dark theater with the sound cranked? I bet there was a lot of popcorn to sweep up off the floor that night. Maybe some spilled drinks, too. The atmosphere is perfect, they know how to ratchet up tension tighter and tighter until it is almost unbearable, and then they know how to give you nightmares.

Happy Holidays!

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I brought up the ominously titled “And All Through The House…” when I wrote about American Horror Story Asylum’s Christmas Episode, A Very American Horror Story Christmas (OK, that joke has now played out) “Unholy Night”. The scene in the cold open where a little girl finds murderous Ian McShane in their living room six days before Christmas wearing a Santa suit, but isn’t scared of him because she thinks he’s Santa, definitely brought this comic AND this episode in mind.  It’s 22 minutes long (kind of short for a cable drama) and well worth your time… especially the ending, which still creeps me out (a perfect reveal). The TFTC episode is also much closer to the original comic than the version starring Joan Collins that was in the 1970s anthology movie. Check it out below…

Property Of HBO© For entertainment purposes only.   Any problems getting it to play, let us know and we’ll put in the 3-part version. More holiday-themed horror fun to come. Also, more on the comic version to come! You see, THIS Santa loves to SLAY BELLES!

The “featured image’ in the header is  the first page of the comic; so is the artwork below. Johnny Craig preferred the slightly more subtle stories and left the really blood-curdling stuff to “Ghastly” Graham Ingels (whose horrifying depictions sometimes even caused me trouble falling asleep as an adult) or to our personal favorite, Jack Davis (who moved on to the next EC venture, MAD Magazine.)

Now THAT’S how you kick off a story!

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OK, let’s get the following suspicions we had that were confirmed out of the way briefly before we get our serious learn on here . 1. Yes, there is a connection between the aliens showing up and Kit having sex. So far they’ve taken Alma and Grace, and Kit got the tracking device. 2. Lana’s pregnant, alright, and.  3. Dylan McDermott is the son of Bloody Face, Oliver Thredson, and that was him killing pretty much the entire cast of the wrap-around story so far. Which leads us to…

1.  We learned Johnny Thredson’s back-story (which is a lot like many of us predicted …so far). This is coming from Bloody Face Jr. (who will be referred to as “BFJr” when we’re pressed for time), and sociopaths have been known to be pretty good liars (and Ryan Murphy has, too, though only when it’s to throw fans off a scent, not because he’s a sociopath). Here’s what we learned about his back story, broken down, from the cold open… he says, “I wanna stop. I really do..”

• BF Jr. has had ‘impulses’ ever since he was a kid. The way he described what the impulses and how amazing they made him feel when he acted on them, the therapist thought (before he got to the part about skinning a cat) he was talking about compulsive masturbation. I’m no prude, but that’s just sick.
• He started out by skinning a dead cat. Then he realized killing them felt even better.*
• He grew up in foster care. His foster family kicked them out “when they saw the evidence”.
• He got bounced from foster care house to house, until he figured out how to do it without getting caught. He said he hadn’t “harmed” any animals since he was a teenager.
• Then he went to prison for armed robbery, where he learned killing small animals is a precursor to psychopathy. That got him thinking what made him the way he was, and who were his real parents?
• Johnny found out who his real parents where when he started looking it upon the internet that they had “in the joint”.
• After he found out who he was, those impulses got stronger and harder to control, especially certain thoughts. First they told him to retrace his roots.
• Now he’s back in the house where his father lived  (not sure how he afforded such an awesome mid-century modern house, I’m pretty sure he’s living there in, let’s say, a non-traditional way, such as killing the owners and occupants and disposing of their bodies)
• The thoughts and impulses started telling him to hurt women. Not just hurt them, skin them. Like the cats.
• He got frustrated because he ‘made a mess’ when he tried it (as we see a flashback of him trying to skin Theresa in broken-down Briarcliff, and getting pissed because she was screaming, and yelling at her to shut up and stop moving-“This is delicate work!”). He knew he botched the job because he didn’t have the same medical training and skills as his father.
• He wants to stop skinning/killing until he can get into medical school (“If it’s not too late”). He wants to learn to do it as well as his father did. And only then he reveals to the now-terrified therapist that his father was …Bloody Face.

2.  We learned that Sister Mary Demon is dee-lighted  to share the news with Lana that she’s pregnant, and that she is NOT getting rid of the kid via a “Drano Margarita” (you don’t want details). Sister Mary Demon tells Lana she WILL have this baby. “This is an insane asylum. People hump like bunnies here, you’re hardly our first unwed mother. Of course, the babies are  born a little…cuckoo”. Later, when she tells Lana the coat-hanger abortion (gah!) was unsuccessful, Sister Mary Eunice simply glows with nasty glee.

I don’t trust anyone… or anything.

3. Lana Winters has wised up, and turns out to be a very good actress when she needs to be. She tells Sister Mary she must have hallucinated the rape, and when she politely informs Sister Mary Demon that she can’t have this baby, threatening to put her in restraints for nine months if that’s what it took, she played along. Lana has also figured out that Sister Mary Demon is an evil bitch (“You’re worse than Sister Jude… you’re a sadist”), but I don’t think she has any idea—yet— she’s actually demonically possessed. Unfortunately, Sister Mary fucks with her anyway by the end of the episode (more on that later)… but Lana makes VERY effective use of her time until then.

4. We learned Lana really, really  wants to kill Bloody Face. Like, immediately. This is, I think, the second time Kit has had to talk her out of it and remind her if she kills him now,  not only will Kit take the fall, but Dr, Thredson will never take the blame. Though I think if Kit wasn’t involved, odds are even she would have killed him as slowly as possible without getting busted,  then gotten rid of his body effectively,  probably chopping him into 400 pieces, just for sheer payback. Luckily, she now has leverage on him, can get some payback by making him suffer WHILE getting evidence she and Kit need to prove he’s the real Bloody Face, then kill him (that last part doesn’t work out… yet. “I need Thredson to talk”. Lana gets an idea… a great  one.

And I know something else… it’s a boy.

5. We learned how to really hit Bloody Face where it hurts. Go find him where you tied him up in some deep dark catacomb of the basement (where apparently only giving him enough the minimum amount of food and water to keep him alive) prove he got you pregnant, then threaten to get rid of the baby. First let him think you’ll have it, then give the baby away and brought up in foster care, LIKE HIM.

After some begging, she tells him she’s  getting rid of it, and since she’s stuck here, “I’m gonna have to get creative”, and pulls out a sharp, thick wire coat hanger, and takes her panties off.  “This is a mercy killing, Oliver. No child should ever have to grow up knowing his Daddy was Bloody Face.” (check). Oliver gets very desperate and apologetic, very suddenly. “You owe me this, It’s my child too, please.” In a clever twist, she tells him he’s a sociopath (check) and can never be honest with anybody (check). When he says he’ll prove it, she asks him why he killed each of the women, adding up to a very honest confession. Then she reveals Kit’s been out of sight with the suitcase-sized reel-to-reel recorder –the same one he got Kit’s “confession” on, ha-HAH — the whole time!  Oliver goes back into misogynistic blurt-mode again, calls her a bitch, and that he knows it was all an act. Not so. In perhaps the cruelest act she can think of to hurt him (which you’ll get NO complaints from us about), she tells him she was pregnant all right, but she already used the coat-hanger on his “beloved baby …last night” (we see the wince-inducing flashback).  “It started as a trickle…and within an hour, it was just a bloody mess.”

After they do knife count, I’m gonna pocket one. Then I’m going to come back tonight and slit your throat nice and easy. I always wanted to know what it was like inside the mind of a killer. Now I know.

6. Ryan Murphy, and Lily Rabe, have mentioned before that Sister Mary Demon actually has a plan and a goal . Tonight we found out what it was. She tells Timothy that she agrees with what Sister Jude told her- he should  be the pope. Not only that,  she wants to save souls with him, and serve him… alongside him… all the way to the Vatican in Rome. Oh, shit.

I don’t mind telling you …I’m pretty scared.

7. Speaking of Father Timothy, we found out how shitty what he is capable of.  Either Dr. Nazi must have some serious additional dirt on him, or nothing will get in the way of his ambition to eventually become Pope, or some combination of the two. The Monsignor took away everything sister Jude had left—her freedom, her safety, and her title as a nun. They even gave all her possessions, including her clothes, to the poor.  “Now you’re just plain Judy Martin”. (We’re going to have to get used to calling her that). Worse,  he knew what he was doing to her was about the cruelest fate possible. Worst of all, he knew it was a cover-up and she was innocent. Thus, we patiently, hopefully waited through the episode for Leigh to turn on him violently.  We’re sure we don’t need to explain why wretched Sister Jude earned that “Goddamned cigarette” from Lana, if you’ve seen the episode.  He appears to try to feel better about himself by “save” Leigh Emerson’s “soul.” Yep, the convicted, confessed killer of nineteen people (20 if the guy whose face he bit a big chunk off of died). Oh hey, here’s something Timothy  learned the hard way, up next…

Lana:  My God, what did they do to you?
Jude: Nothing I didn’t do to you.

8. If a psychotic killer, and possibly rapist,  who you saw bite a guard’s face off a year ago and knock a guard off a ladder and smash the sharp tree-topping ornament in his face recently, does a complete 180 and proclaims piously that he wants to be forgiven by God and make up for all the damage he caused… well, maybe wait, I don’t know, at least a week or so, before trusting him enough to unlock his shackles and leg irons, be alone with him in a chapel, and perform a baptism in a basin about the size of a hot-tub. Otherwise, you may wake up (after being drowned into unconsciousness) nailed to a cross and wishing you were dead so strongly that the actual Angel of Death hears you …and comes calling.

This is going to hurt.

9. Now that Dr. Nazi has seen it and has scientific evidence (he saw it and  has the claw print he made), he believes Kit about the aliens. “They’re experimenting. Probably refining  some form of eugenics,” he tells Kit after questioning him (not via torture, but in his office over a “friendly” bottle of fine scotch and a smoke) about having sex with Alma—and Grace— before she was taken. Ryan Murphy teased this info as a hint about what the aliens wanted in the first place, and their interest/connection with Kit;  now he’s confirmed it: Eugenics. But of course, being a “man of science”, he wants to attempt to bring the aliens back-by almost  killing him. This is where the completely batshit things that happen in the episode as Ken Tucker teased before it aired really kick into high gear.

This was in the official preview for “The Coat Hanger”, yet nowhere to be found in the episode. We included it because it was so disturbing (it better show up at some point in the next four episodes). See “Stray Thoughts” for more on this.

10. When Kit’s heart stops (so, we suppose a main character did technically die in the episode, though he’ll probably be brought back…we hope), the aliens start putting on their show—the usually ear-splitting noises and flashing, then almost blinding lights. Stunned, Dr. Nazi wan towards the source of a light, and enters a cell/room only to discover PEPPER returned (the aliens took her too, Murphy confirmed, and she came back ”different”),  SPEAKING NORMALLY AND CALMLY,  informing Dr. Nazi that  “The baby’s full term, it won’t be long.” What… the… ffffuu–  Dr. Nazi seems to barely notice Pepper (still a pinhead, but she doesn’t act like one, just looks like one), he’s too busy being blown away by the sight of a now-returned Grace- nude, glowing with life, and very, very pregnant.

Judy: Yeah, things are gonna change around here. (gets up and destroys “Dominique” record with her bare hands)
Lana:  (impressed)  Well… hot damn.

*Now, see THIS is when the therapist should have kept a poker face but quietly excused herself for “just one second”, then as soon as she was out of Johnny’s eyesight, sprinted out of the building and down the street to safety. Don’t wait until he starts talking about how hard it is to skin a woman alive before you start to panic.

Stray Thoughts:

• I guess we could discuss the themes of forgiveness in the episode; who deserves it and who doesn’t, and how being told by someone they’ve forgiven you is not always positive.  Instead, we’d rather talk about the juicier stuff, and leave it at this:  Telling someone that their sins have been forgiven does not always end well for you, either (see Father Timothy). I think the only type of forgiveness that was positive and from the heart (and very satisfying for us to watch) occurred during the scene in the day room with Sister Jude  Judy Martin and Lana Winters. Lana is sitting there looking the most bitter we’ve ever seen her, Sist Judy enters to the strains of Dominique, looking self-conscious at the her former co-worker’s stares and smirks but trying to maintain her dignity. She starts by sitting down at the table with Lana and says she doesn’t expect her to forgive her, but honestly tells her that what she did to her was wrong—and agrees when Lana adds it was criminal.  When Lana admits that she doesn’t trust anyone, or anything, Sister Jude gets up and yanks the needle off the “Dominique” record- VVVVOOOOP!  and many of the inmates react with applause and even some cheers (so did we).
• Did anyone else think that Jude was going to keep a sharp vinyl shard and stab or slice someone who had it coming, like within the next minute or so of the scene, instead of returning to the table with Lana (or at least slip a shard into her pocket)? Well, she might have it stashed away. It could show up later…
• Ian McShane, we’re glad you were back, and we’re sorry to see you escape  (though at least now that the holidays are over, maybe McShane’s character won’t murder or rape anyone else). Hey, maybe he decided to exit via the woods, with the hungry Raspers. You think YOU can bite a face off, Leigh Emerson?? Think you might have met your match, there. Murphy has said that we’ll find out —probably on the finale— what happened to him, or where he went, just for closure. I don’t think McShane will get any more screen time. Sister Jude oops, Jude,  dammit— was terrified to see him approaching her bedside, but kept eye contact and did a fairly good job of not showing her fear, though she couldn’t hide her disgust.
• There were lots of great lines in the episode, and McShane got one of the funniest. He’s being strapped down in an isolation room for some sort of sexual misconduct (that I hope was consensual, but he’s not exactly Don Draper and if a nun was going to say the hell with it and sleep with a patient, there’s a few slightly more appealing choices—not many, but still)  and Sister Jude, hate in her eyes, says to make it tight. “Oh yeah, I like ‘em tight! Just ask Sister Chastity.” Jude snaps that she will deal with Sister Chastity herself and Leigh replies, “You might wanna start by giving her a new name!” She slaps his face, but you can tell he thought it was worth it.
• We’re really  concerned that the only evidence (and the only copy) of Dr. Thredson/Bloody Face’s confession is hidden away in the hydrotherapy room. We just hope to God that both Kit and Lana were in on the hiding place. Then again, if Sister Mary Demon has her way, they’re probably both fucked on many levels.
• We were positive–from the moment the still photos were released– that the cigarette Dr. Nazi gave to Kit was going to be laced with Sativa (so he’d hallucinate and Dr. Nazi would work it into some evil plan)- because his little greenhouse isn’t just a hobby. You can’t just go into store and buy Belladonna /Deadly Nightshade, either, even back in the 60s. If you have no idea what Sativa is, you can read about it here (and on a ton of other BLTC type websites out there, probably).
• Is Sister Mary forcing Lana to have her baby because she knows what a monster the baby is going to become, or just out of sheer spite because she knows how evil it is to make a gay woman who was raped by a serial killer (who also killed her lover) and got pregnant from the rape have to live with it in her body for nine months and then go through childbirth to have it? We’re guessing a bit of both.
• I don’t know how much time was supposed to have passed, I’m assuming a few days or so, but Leigh sure healed quickly after Sister Jude jammed that sharp metal letter opener into his neck. He appeared none the worse for wear, other than a gauze bandage wrapped around his neck. Maybe Dr. Hans Gruper, who proved he can actually save a life if he really applies himself, gave him some stitches and antibiotics— after all, Dr. Nazi was in on the “frame-up” of Sister Jude.
• Anyone else notice there were shots in the preview that were not in the actual episode?  That includes the one above, the one of Sister Mary Demon with someone (I think it was Lana) miming a sarcastic Oh, boo-hoo!   directed at them, and we didn’t see THIS disturbing one either. And we really, REALLY looked for it, too:

Not in “The Coat Hanger”, but in the preview for it. All we know is it BETTER damn well show up later! We already got screwed with all the AHS S1 DVD/Blu-ray; Murphy describes all kind of cool shit on the commentary, then says, “we had to cut it out, but I’m sure it’ll be a special feature on the deleted scenes/out-takes on this DVD, you can watch it there.” NO we fuckin’ CAN’T! Because there’s no deleted/extended scenes, or even out-takes in the special features on the whole set! At the very least, tell us where the above was supposed to go. Cross your fingers with us that this and the one above comes up later in the next four episodes…

• We can’t fucking wait for the last four episodes (starting January 2nd, 2013), and  really  can’t wait to see  the two toughest cookies in the joint: Judy Martin and Lana Winters- team up. Of all the (human) women in there, they’re the ones whose good side I’d try to stay on (or join up with). This should be very, very good.

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She’s also played many other genre roles; you may also remember her as Merlyn Temple from Raimi‘s sadly short-lived horror series in the 90s called American Gothic. I first rented it just to see a sizzling hot Bruce Campbell play a fairly serious one-shot role in the episode “Meet The Beetles” (he ended up getting eaten by said beetles, but looked pretty goddamned fine before that), but started with the pilot and was completely hooked–and scared as hell–well before Bruce showed up.  Sarah Paulson, always great in dark, nightmarish material, has been cast in a wide variety of roles that many talented performers with less flexible careers might even envy. She played a pretty demanding dramatic role as Agatha Ripp, a rock-bottom meth whore with mysterious stigmata that freaked out even Dr. Christian Troy on that first, other frequently sick and twisted FX drama Nip/Tuck  (which I believe was the first project Ryan Murphy cast her in). It was a difficult role and she nailed it;  a less gifted actress could have easily gotten wrong and driven her character –and the whole episode– off a cliff.

We Deadwood  fans won’t forget that she played a pretty nasty, cold-blooded character in S2– a “Pinkerton” woman in black whom even bad-ass motherfu Al Sweragean (Ian McShane  …oh wait, that’s right, you might recall his trivial, bland, harmless role on the Christmas episode of American Horror Story Asylum) was concerned about as a threat. The spectacular HBO show was mainly a historical drama (with plenty of crime and corruption), but also had some very dark moments indeed; “A Hell Of A Place To Make Your Fortune,” was one of our favorite taglines. She also played pin-up turned pin-up photographer icon Bunny Yeager (a personal heroine of ours) in the fairly true-to-life big screen biopic The Notorious Bettie Page. She had (and continues to have) an amazing range, and those credits were just off the top of my head; go to her page on the IMDB and you’ll realize you’ve seen her in many  other roles before– more than you think.  WAY more.  She does have a memorable face, but her roles are so successfully, wildly different that sometimes you don’t figure out it was Sarah Paulson playing them until it hits you much later.

Here’s a piece where she’s interviewed about her role as Billie Dean from American Horror Story Season One (AKA “Murder House”) and whether anything scary happened on the set or not…

Here she is in her first interview to the gay press with new SheWired contributor, her sister Rachel Paulson. It’s a good watch (unless you’re homophobic, which I doubt) whether you’re a fan of American Horror Story or just a fan of Ms. Paulson.
Thanks to http://www.shewired.com/.

And of course, I had to add something with her playing Lana Winters. Here’s a pretty creepy (but very well put-together) piece featuring her… interactions… with Dr. Thredson/Bloody Face. Enjoy (if that is the appropriate word) this video!

OK, here’s one more. Watch her break that photo of Wendy over Dr. T’s sociopathic, shitty head just one more time!

Here’s wishing the talented, entertaining, and glowing (see the below photo and just try telling us she’s not radiant in person) Ms. Paulson a n especially happy birthday …and many, many more!**

*who I hope to hell catches up with Dr. Thredson really soon, and not the other way around.

**and I hope her character Lana also has many, many birthdays left to celebrate and dies of old age, after living long enough to take out Thredson AND, we’re hoping, his equally monstrous NEW Bloody Face son. But let’s save theories for later–and are they  ever coming!

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Reblogged from PopStyle:

We knew Mark Worthington and the whole production team were talented and worked hard, but had no idea they were so completely devoted. Any set where many otherwise fearless cast members admit not wanting to enter certain areas alone because of the creepy, unsettling vibe? THAT is impressive. Personally, I think you've done your job creating an effective horror set/production when absolutely no cast/crew members don't want to hang around a minute longer than they have to. Remember, the interiors are built on a set on the Paramount lot, not set in some actual abandoned insane asylum from that era.  

With some sets that are warm and comfy, people want to hang out. At the end of the day, with this, people just want to beat it out of there. -American Horror Story Asylum PD Mark Worthington

Be sure to read the whole article - A separate one (about set design, and some more subjects while we're at it) with some behind-the-scenes video is also coming up! Oh, and if we seem to be dragging my feet our little longer than usual on our weekly piece on "The Coat Hanger" (Episode 9)  it's probably due to some kind of denial about having to wait till 2013 to find out the answers to the cliffhangers! We're pretty sure we'd rather eat glass than wake up in Dr. Arden's lab, on his "table":

We looked at a lot of research of mental institutions and tuberculosis hospitals. They’re usually a lighter green color, painted surfaces. We felt that had been seen a lot. The tone of our story is horror, creepier and scarier.

Please note: Horror Boom does NOT claim in any way to own the images of the set used in this piece, the copyright belongs to the artists and to The Hollywood Reporter ©  (who did an amazing gallery on the sets in a recent issue).

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J. Anthony Kosar elaborates: “Maleficium is a Latin term for mischief and dark art, and, if horror is your thing, this is a must-see show.” Mischief and dark art? Check. Horror being our thing? CHECK!   A last chance to catch the Maleficium Dark Art Exhibition is being offered with a closing reception from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15 at Kosart Effects Studios & Gallery in Westmont. The works are by thirty-four award-winning artists of all media. The complete list of artists, along with their biographies, is on the website, KosartGallery.com.

“Maleficium is a Latin term for mischief and dark art, and, if horror is your thing, this is a must-see show.”

-Gallery founder and award-winning artist J. Anthony Kosar, instructor of special FX classes and workshops at Kosart Effects Studios

From the press release: The artists include sculptors The Shiflett Brothers (Sideshow Collectibles, Bowen Designs, Moore Action Collectibles, Toy Biz), world-renowned sculptor and concept artist Jordu Schell (“Avatar,” “Prince Caspian,” AVPR, “Predator 2,” “Edward Scissorhands,” “Batman Returns,” and seen on the Travel Channel’s “Making Monsters” and “Toy Hunter”), Eisner Award-winning artist Alex Ross (Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse, Dynamite Entertainment and Warner Brothers), award-winning sculptor Tim Bruckner (Kenner, Gentle Giant, DC Direct and co-writer of the book “Pop Sculpture”), Eisner Award-winning artist Jill Thompson (“Scary Godmother,” “Magic Trixie” and “Beasts of Burden”), Eisner and Inkpot Award-winning No. 1 “Star Wars” artist Dave Dorman (Dark Horse, Marvel, DC, IDW, Image, Hasbro, 20th Century Fox) and many others. Kosart Effects Studios and Gallery is located at 760 Burr Oak Drive, Westmont.  Other viewings are by appointment only. Please call to schedule an appointment: 630.310.8353.

You can see even more here- visit this link for the original 2011 MALEFICIUM Dark Art Exhibition (also held at the Kosart Gallery).

Here’s Mr. Kosar’s official, and impressive, bio:

J. Anthony Kosar is an award-winning artist who specializes in Fine Art, Illustration, Sculpture, Creature Design, Make-up FX, and Product Design through his company Kosart Effects Studios, LLC. In 2007, he interned at legendary Stan Winston Studio creating effects for INDIANA JONES 4 and James Cameron’s AVATAR, and studied sculpture under world-renowned creature designer Jordu Schell. Kosar designs and sculpts Halloween masks for Zagone Studios, creates special effects for theater, film, and commercials, and between projects, teaches the art of FX through his studio in Westmont, IL.  Besides FX, Kosar is an internationally awarded fine artist and illustrator, having been awarded by the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles, American Watercolor Society, Illinois Watercolor Society, and several others.  He designs and sculpts prototypes for toys, collectibles and medical anatomical models, illustrates for novels and comic books, and creates fine art paintings and sculptures. Kosar was Valedictorian of the class of 2008 at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, IL where he earned his BFA in Illustration.

Not too shabby, huh?

*Please note: all images are from the exhibition (we probably wouldn’t need to tell you which one is Joshua Hoffine’s “Bathory” even without his name on there), and are for promotional purposes of the Maleficium Exhibition only – we do not own the copyright, that belongs to the artists. All artwork and images © their respective artists. All Characters TM and © their respective owners.

**not a healthy reaction for a recovered compulsive spender. Plus, that’s when I walk in there stone cold sober. My most recent strategy was to give Mr. Horror Boom my credit card and debit card, ask him to get me a specific amount from the ATM, then hold onto everything else that could get me in trouble.

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