looking back, i know i had every intention of writing about more than STAR TREK when i started this blog... but here we are, in this reality, dying together. it is SPOOKY SZN though, so let's take a brief STAR TREK break to recommend my favorite scary stories out of the unhinged amount of horror i consumed while hiding from the world this summer. (it was research!)

TALES FROM THE HOOD (1995) // how are there not at least five sequels to this?? a fun, spooky anthology that is full of creativity, and the exact kind of "woke" great horror and scifi has always been.

THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS (1991) // damn, wes craven had a go at societal commentary horror too?? the main kid is amazing (brandon adams, i looked it up), ving rhames is insane, and i can't believe i had no idea ed and nadine from TWIN PEAKS were the still-married, absolutely psychotic villains of an entire movie.

FIRE IN THE SKY (1993) // this movie traumatized me for years when i saw it in theaters, and made me forever UFO-obsessed in that way only weird '90s kids understand. it's much less scary now, but still very worth the watch. the abduction sequence, the alien flashback, and robert patrick's performance remain highlights.

tales from the crypt presents DEMON KNIGHT (1995) // holy shit! i was not expecting such a cool, mythic story. the cryptkeeper bookends and obtrusive boobie scenes (not something i'm used to complaining about) are trying to pretend we're watching a silly b-movie, but they accidentally made a cool-ass religious horror epic with an absurdly talented cast. shoutout to my old friend CCH pounder. and jada as the FINAL GIRL! epic!

BONES (2001) // another gem i missed. once again i was expecting a silly '90s b-movie and got a absurdly well-directed generational horror/fantasy tale with some truly dazzling visual sequences and a great young cast.

THE METEOR MAN (1993) // okay, not horror, but everything about this is still fucking fantastic... other than b*ll c*sby, but let's please overlook that? the fashion catwalk sequence at the end made me laugh harder than i have all year. it's a love letter to comic books (long before they took over the world), early '90s hip hop, and its massive cast of black actors and comedians.

NOPE (2022) & GET OUT (2017) // thank you jordan peele for these theatrical experiences. NOPE was fucking perfect, and it immediately made me want to see GET OUT again. (no surprise, also still fucking perfect.) NOPE is a movie i know i'll watch over and over for the rest of my life, and i can't fucking wait. an all time classic call to adventure.

CUBE (1997) // hadn't seen this gem since the latenight canadian television days. i've never been curious to watch SAW or its sequels, and now i remember why... canada did it first and did it better. fight me.

EVENT HORIZON (1997), CANDYMAN (1992), & CANDYMAN (2021) // okay so technically these are SPOOKY SZN '21s highlights but i didn't write a post last year and these are all iconic must-sees.

CAT PEOPLE (1982) & THE HUNGER (1983) // both of these are sexy, hypnotic delights that will replay in your mind. perfect '80s goth/new wave erotic horror vibes. one has bauhaus, and both have bowie, bodies, and blood.

THE SADNESS (2021) // my roommate had already seen this and she recommended we watch it. we fucking loved it. DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE. YOU WILL NOT LOVE IT LIKE WE DID. WE ARE DEPRAVED HORROR MANIACS AND YOU ARE LIVING YOUR NICE, POLITE EXISTENCE, BLISSFULLY UNAWARE. gonna text my roommate, we should watch THE SADNESS again.

CRIMES OF THE FUTURE (2022) // i could write a whole post about how beautiful i found this film to be. i can't believe david cronenberg and howard shore came back after so many years and gave us one of their best works ever. i know this might have looked gruesome to some, but let me assure you, it's not gruesome... it's horny. and full of wonder. BODYISREALITY.

ALIEN 3: ASSEMBLY CUT (1992) // in this age of multiverses, sequels, and alternate timelines... we all pick our own canon. and i admit, i love ALIEN and ALIENS so much that sometimes i pretend no other ALIEN films exist. but watching the assembly cut... no way, man. ALIEN 3 is fucking canon. this is definitely and definitively the end of ripley's arc. thank the gods they didn't make any ALIEN movies after this one, right? kidding, RESURRECTION can stay too. but no others!

did i mention my roommate and i were depraved? did you believe me? well, CRIMES OF THE FUTURE and the ALIEN 3 ASSEMBLY CUT were actually a "double feature" for us because of what the two films have in common. what do they have in common, you ask? a cast member? the same composer? a thematic link? no silly, it's extended child autopsy sequences!

you should have believed me.

HELLRAISER (1987) // the new HELLRAISER flick is boring as fuck outside of the last half hour when the hellraising starts, so just go back and watch the original and HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II instead. and while you're doing that, look for clive barker's NIGHTBREED DIRECTOR'S CUT, a queer horror classic and another SPOOKY SZN '21 highlight.

as far as the new new... season two of CHUCKY is a deliciously evil delight so far. the catholic boarding school setting is perfection, and... queer teens in a catholic high school filmed in toronto?? you have no idea how much i wish this show existed when i was a queer toronto teen going to catholic high school... albeit with less killer dolls and even fewer friends.

it looks like HALLOWEEN ENDS this year is just as controversial as HALLOWEEN KILLS was last year. this low-key, optimistic, oddly romantic conclusion to the trilogy won me over more every single moment it continued to focus on its characters and ignored michael myers (who doesn't kill anyone until the one hour mark... ballsy AF). it reminded me of a classic stephen king story in the best way. the message, that once you've let go of fear and anger your demons are powerless, will stick with me for a long time. this trilogy may have just become a SPOOKY SZN staple.

thank you for your indulgence, and i wish you a creepy, kooky, altogether ooky halloween. now back to our regularly scheduled STAR TREK programming.

2022.10.17