Happy Halloween!

I'm taking a break from my horror movie marathon to wish everyone a Happy Halloween and to share my costume: Sexy Chucky. This costume was a total rip off and I don't recommend anyone to buy it. The knee high socks don't even have feet, they're just tubes! And the jumper looks like it says "Goo Guy" on it. Oh well, that didn't ruin my Halloween fun last night. Here's my costume:

Oh, and don't forget to watch The Walking Dead tonight at 10:00 pm on AMC!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

T.V. REVIEW: Scared Shrekless

What scares an ogre?

Shrek claims nothing, but Donkey and Puss in Boots aren't convinced, so they come up with a fun/spooky idea of how to spend their Halloween night. They will take turns telling scary stories and whoever can last through the night will be dubbed "The King of Halloween." And to up the ante, Shrek suggests they tell the stories in Lord Farquaad's supposedly haunted castle.

This 30-minute Halloween special is comprised of three stories and the wraparound story of Shrek and pals spending the night in a haunted castle. These are the three segments:

The Bride of Gingy

After Gingy's girlfriend kicks him out, he arrives on the Muffin Man's doorstep and begs the baker to make him a new girlfriend. But Gingy insists on adding tons of sugar to ensure his new girlfriend is sweeter than the last. Despite Muffin Man's warnings that no one has ever made cookies with that much sugar and that he doesn't know what could happen. Well, Gingy's girlfriend ends up a little too sweet...and clingy.

Boots Motel

Donkey and Puss in Boots collaborate on this story, but try to kill the other one off throughout. On a dark and stormy night Donkey and Puss take shelter in the Boots Motel where Puss takes a well-deserved tongue bath. But he's murdered! Or is he? Perhaps it was Donkey taking a shower until he is interrupted by...  a donkey-eating waffle who wants revenge!

The Shreksorcist

Shrek helps Geppetto put Pinocchio to bed, thinking he can handle it because he takes care of three baby ogres on a daily basis. But it's more difficult than he presumes because Pinocchio seems to be possessed.

Scared Shrekless is a fun Halloween special and had me laughing quite a bit. I love Gingy. He's such a cute and funny character. For instance, in one part when he gets scared he poops out candies. And look at his explanation for why his girlfriend kicked him out:

Gingy: "I dunno something about me being too into myself, blah, blah, blah, yak, yak yak."

Muffin Man: "You?! But you are so adorable!"

Gingy "I know! That's what I keep telling her!"

Oh, Gingy. You really are adorable. Scared Shrekless is even better than I expected. I'm not a big fan of kids' movies or T.V. shows, but while this one is kid-friendly it also has some humor for adults. If you missed Scared Shrekless it will air again on NBC at 8:00 pm on Saturday.

Halloween TV/Movie Schedule (Canadian version)

Get your DVR ready because there are a ton of horror movies and Halloween-themed TV episodes airing in the next few days. TV.com already has a pretty comprehensive list, but since I live in Canada and don't get a lot of the channels featured, I thought I would compile a list of movies and TV shows featuring channels available in Canada.

Scared Shrekless premieres on NBC Oct. 28 at 8:00 pm.

Thursday, October 28

12:15 AM
Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster on AMC

12:30 AM
Grimm Love on Super Channel 2

4:00 AM
Creature From the Black Lagoon on AMC

9:30 AM
End of Days on AMC

11:00 AM
Walled In on MExcess

2:15 PM
Thirteen Ghosts on AMC

3:30 PM
The Frighteners on MovieTime

8:00 PM

Scream on IFC Oct. 28 at 9:00 pm.

Little Shop of Horrors on SunTV
Red Planet on AMC
Scared Shrekless on NBC

9:00 PM
Lost Souls on MPIX
The Reaping on MovieTime
Scream on IFC
Silent Hill on Action

10:00 PM
Beneath on Dusk

10:30 PM
Jason Goes to Hell on AMC

10:40 PM
Hollow Man on MPIX
Thirst on MFest

11:00 PM
The Final Destination on The Movie Network
The Wicker Man (2006) on MovieTime

Friday, October 29

12:30 AM

The Lost Boys 7:00 pm on Dusk, Oct. 29.

Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning on AMC

10:00 AM
Friday the 13th Part 3 on AMC

11:00 AM
Carriers on Super Channel 2

12:00 PM
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter on AMC

1:00 PM
Dementia 13 on SunTV

2:15 PM
Razortooth on Super Channel 2

4:00 PM
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives on AMC

6:00 PM
The Chair on The Movie Network
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood on AMC

7:00 PM
The Lost Boys on Dusk
The Unborn on MExcess

7:30 PM
Zombieland on The Movie Network

The Crazies (2010) airs at 9:00 pm Oct. 29 on TMN.

8:00 PM
Devil's Diary on SunTV
Predator on AMC
Urban Legend on Diva

9:00 PM
The Crazies (2010) on The Movie Network
Children of the Corn (2009) on Super Channel 2
Friday the 13th on Action
Orphan on MExcess
Signs on Dusk

10:30 PM
Predator 2 on AMC

10:45 PM
The Children on Super Channel 2

11:00 PM
Friday the 13th Part 2 on Action
From Within on The Movie Network

11:20 PM
When a Stranger Calls (2006) on Dusk

Saturday, October 30

The Rocky Horror Picture Show 2:00 am on CTV Oct. 30.

1:00 AM
Deep Blue Sea on AMC

1:30 AM
Interview With the Vampire on SunTV

2:00 AM
The Rocky Horror Picture Show on CTV

3:15 AM
Jeepers Creepers on Super Channel 2

3:30 AM
Cocoon on AMC

5:00 AM
Jeepers Creepers 2 on Super Channel 2

9:00 AM
Blood of Dracula on AMC

10:30 AM
They Live on AMC

11:15 AM
Open Graves on Super Channel 2

11:30 AM
Garfield's Halloween Adventure on YTV

12:00 PM
Alvin & the Chipmunks Meet Wolfman on YTV

Alvin & the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein on YTV 12:00 pm Oct. 30.

12:30 PM
28 Days Later on AMC

12:45 PM
The Grudge 3 on Super Channel 2

2:00 PM
Alvin & the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein on YTV

2:20 PM
The Wizard of Gore (2007) on Super Channel 2

3:00 PM
Scary Movie on The CW

4:00 PM
The Hills Have Eyes (2003) on Spike
Monster House on YTV
Smash Cut on Super Channel 2

5:00 PM
The Exorcist on Diva

5:30 PM
Beetlejuice on NTV

6:00 PM
The Flintstones Meet Rockula & Frankenstone on YTV

The Flintstones Meet Rockula & Frankenstone

6:15 PM
Blade Trinity on Spike

7:00 PM
Dracula: Dead and Loving It on CH
Paranormal Activity on MExcess
White Zombie on The CW

7:15 PM
Zombie Strippers on Super Channel 2

7:30 PM
Bless the Child on Diva

8:00 PM
The Host on TVO
Lost Boys: The Tribe on Peachtree TV
Pet Sematary 2 on AMC
Vipers on Global

8:30 PM
Bride of the Monster on The CW

9:00 PM
Daybreakers on The Movie Network
Ginger Snaps on IFC
Halloween (2007) on Spike
Jennifer's Body on Super Channel 2
The Mothman Prophecies on Dusk
Saw IV on Action
Quarantine on MExcess

Videodrome will be on TVO at 10:20 pm Oct. 30.

10:00 PM
Bats on Peachtree TV
The Ring Two on Diva

10:15 PM
Ghost Ship on AMC
Red on Super Channel 3

10:20 PM
Videodrome on TVO

10:30 PM
Dead Snow on MExcess

10:45 PM
The Midnight Meat Train on Super Channel 2

11:00 PM
Saw on Action
Suck on The Movie Network

11:30 PM
Freddy vs. Jason on Spike
The Hole on Dusk

AMC will air Halloween 1-5 on Halloween beginning at 8:00 am.

Sunday, October 31

12:00 AM
1408 on Peachtree TV

12:30 AM
Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever on Super Channel 2

2:00 AM
Feast II: Sloppy Seconds on Super Channel 2

4:45 AM
The Brain Eaters on AMC

6:00 AM
The Flesh Eaters on AMC

8:00 AM
Halloween on AMC

10:00 AM
Halloween II on AMC

10:50 AM
Village of the Damned (1995) on MPIX

12:00 PM
Halloween III: Season of the Witch on AMC

All Poltergeist films will air on Space on Halloween.

12:30 PM
The Burrowers on Super Channel 2
Dreamcatcher on MPIX
Poltergeist on Space

1:00 PM
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on YTV

2:00 PM
Casper on YTV
Dolls on The CW
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers on AMC

2:15 PM
The Descent Part 2 on Super Channel 2

2:45 PM
The Blair Witch Project on MPIX

3:00 PM
Poltergeist II on Space

4:00 PM
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 on MPIX
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble on YTV
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers on AMC
The Witches of Eastwick on SunTV

Drag Me to Hell will be on MExcess on Halloween at 7:00 pm.

5:00 PM
Child's Play on The CW
Final Destination on MovieTime
Poltergeist III on Space

6:00 PM
The Sixth Sense on Diva

7:00 PM
Drag Me to Hell on MExcess

Scary Movie 2 on MovieTime

7:20 PM
Boogeyman on MPIX

7:30 PM
Return to Sleepaway Camp on Super Channel 2

8:00 PM
Dawn of the Dead (2004) on AMC

8:30 PM
Gothika on Diva

9:00 PM
The Amityville Horror (2005) on MPIX
The Collector on MExcess
The Devil's Rejects on IFC
House of Wax (2005) on MovieTime

The Walking Dead premieres on AMC on Halloween at 10:00 pm.

The Seventh Sign on APTN

10:00 PM
The Walking Dead on AMC

10:30 PM
The Amityville Horror (1979) on MPIX
Halloween II (2009) on MExcess

10:45 PM
Killer Movie on Super Channel 2

What I Got For My Birthday

October 19 was my birthday so I'm going to share with you all what I received/bought myself.

First, I bought myself this awesome Chucky t-shirt from RIPT Apparel for only $10:

And I bought myself this cool hoodie from Giant Tiger for only $20:

And of course I saved the best for last. This is what my boyfriend got me:

Yep, that's right, a Kindle! I am so excited and I will be reviewing it very soon.

Halloweek III

I can't believe October is almost over. This month has been busy for me and I'm sorry I haven't posted much.

For the past two years I've dedicated one week to Halloween-related posts and dubbed it "Halloweek".  So this week (well only the next four days, to be exact) I will begin Halloweek III and try to post a lot to make up for my lack of posts in October. Happy early Halloween everyone!

R.L. STINE BOOK OF THE WEEK: Goosebumps: Attack of the Jack-O'-Lanterns

Put one head in front of the other...

From the back cover:

PUMPKIN POWER!

Nothing beats Halloween. It's Drew Brockman's favorite holiday. And this year will be awesome. Much better than last year. Or the year Lee and Tabby played that joke. A nasty practical joke on Drew and her best friend, Walker.

Yes, this year Drew and Walker have a plan. A plan for revenge. It involves two scary pumpkin heads.

But something's gone wrong. Way wrong. Because the pumpkin heads are a little too scary. A little too real. With strange hissing voices. And flames shooting out of their faces...

My thoughts: In anticipation of Halloween, for the next five Sundays I will be reviewing a Halloween-themed R.L. Stine book. The first one I chose is Attack of the Jack-O'-Lanterns, which ended up being one of the most uninteresting Goosebumps books I have read so far.

Half of the book is comprised of flashbacks to previous Halloween nights which were ruined by snobby Tabby and Lee's mean (yet dull) pranks. When Drew and her friends finally get revenge, their practical joke is lame and not scary at all. I don't understand how being forced to trick-or-treat forever by jack-o'-lantern people is terrifying. I suppose you would get sick of it eventually, but that still doesn't make it remotely scary. I don't know where R.L. Stine comes up with some of these ideas....

But I enjoyed all the descriptions of autumn, trick-or-treating, costumes and just Halloween in general. And since it made me excited for Halloween to come, I'll give Attack of the Jack-O'-Lanterns a 2 instead of a 1.


Rating: 2/5

PG gore: "Noooo-!" I cried out as two ugly creatures came snarling through the hedge.

I saw only a blur of ragged fur. Open jaws. Saliva-covered teeth.

Before I could move, one of the creatures leaped onto me, snarling and growling. It shoved me roughly down to the grass. And dug its fangs into my shoulder.

Next week: Fear Street: Halloween Party

And the winner of Scream Queens Season 2 is...

GABBY!

I am thrilled that Gabby won Scream Queens. I've been rooting for her since the very beginning and still cheered for her despite a few poor performances in the director's challenges. I knew she could overcome those to win.

It was still a bit of a surprise when Gabby won because Jessica has been consistently good throughout the competition. But Gabby definitely did a better job in the final director's challenge. I felt very "meh" about Jessica's last two performances.

I wasn't planning on watching Saw 3D, but now I can't wait!

R.L. STINE BOOK OF THE WEEK: Goosebumps: The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight

It's a field of screams!

From the back cover:

THEY'RE ALIVE!

Jodie loves visiting her grandparents' farm. Okay, so it's not the most exciting place in the world. Still, Grandpa tells great scary stories. And Grandma's chocolate chip pancakes are the best.

But this summer the farm has really changed. The cornfields are sparse. Grandma and Grandpa seem worn out. And the single scarecrow has been replaced by twelve evil-looking ones.

Then one night Jodie sees something really odd. The scarecrows seem to be moving. Twitching on their stakes. Coming alive...

My thoughts:

Although scarecrows are only supposed to scare pests, many people (including me) find them creepy. The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight is about scarecrows coming to life therefore should be terrifying but is ultimately a letdown.

There are some creepy images (like Grandma's hands being made of straw) but most of them end up being one of Stine's ridiculous chapter ending cliffhangers (oh, Grandma was just holding a broom).

But the book is still fairly suspenseful and keeps you reading to find out if the scarecrows are really coming to life or if Sticks is just playing a prank. And how/why the scarecrows would come alive.

Overall, an okay Goosebumps book. Even if it's a bit of a disappointment, The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight still has its moments of suspense - and evil scarecrows.

Rating: 3/5

PG gore: The corn was a disgusting brown color. And it was moving on the cob. Wriggling. Squirming.

Stanley raised the corn to his face to examine it. And I realized it was covered with worms. Hundreds of wriggling, brown worms.

Next week: Fear Street: Halloween Night

BOOK NEWS: Fresh Blood Writing Contest Winner

The winner for the Fresh Blood Writing Contest was announced a few weeks ago. It is Disunity by Aaron Dries. Here is what was posted on the ChiZine website:

The contest is over. The results are in. The winner is Aaron Dries, whose novel Disunity (now entitled House of Sighs) will be released by ChiZine Publications in a signed limited edition hardcover edition on February 15th, 2011.

There is no mention of the Leisure edition, which was promised to the winner.

Here is what Disunity is about:

Liz Frost is a bus driver. She began the day wanting to kill herself.

It would've been better if she had...

Her passengers are now hostages. They must unite & fight.

But where is the real danger? In the driver, her family, or among each other?

And the book trailers:

BOOK REVIEW: Joyride by Jack Ketchum

Jack Ketchum frequently uses true crime stories as inspiration for his novels. Off Season is based on the legend of the Sawney Bean family, The Girl Next Door tells the horrors that befell Sylvia Likens and this novel, Joyride, is derived from Howard Unruh's killing spree. In Ketchum's afterword, he reveals that he found his story (and the story of Sylvia Likens) in Bloodletters and Badmen by Jay Robert Nash.

 Usually Ketchum's combination of real-life terror and an interesting "what if" scenario hooks me, but Joyride never grabbed my interest and is a mediocre effort from a usually amazing writer.

Carole and Lee planned the perfect murder of Carole's abusive husband. But they didn't count on a man named Wayne watching them. He doesn't want to turn them in or blackmail the couple. He mistakes them for being as sadistic and depraved as himself. What Wayne wants is simple: friends who understand his dark side and can indulge in it together.

The plot is more like that of a crime thriller than a horror novel. The story is told from Lieutenant Rule's perspective on the chase of the spree killers, and then Carole, Lee and Wayne's viewpoint in alternating chapters. And there isn't much gore - at least for a Ketchum novel.

It takes several chapters before anything exciting happens and even then the pace doesn't really pick up. There are a few more dull chapters, one action-packed chapter, and then back to the same tediousness. This formula is repeated throughout the novel.

The reason for my boredom is probably due to the lack of depth in the characters. Carole and Lee are fairly bland and hard to emphasize with. While the reasons behind Wayne's madness are never touched upon, he is merely crazy, end of story. Lieutenant Rule is an interesting and well-drawn character, but isn't featured in the story as much as Wayne or Carole.

But I didn't hate Joyride, although it may sound like I did. It's still a Ketchum novel, so it's well-written and the climax is exciting, but it still doesn't make up for the rest of the lackluster novel.

Rating: 3/5

This novel also includes the bonus novella, Weed Species, previously released in 2006 as a hardcover, limited edition from Cemetery Dance.

Weed Species is also based on a true crime story, this time on that of Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo. This story still angers many of us Canadians especially since Homolka is now free and married with a baby although the videotapes found showed that she is just as depraved as Bernardo. And Ketchum's imagining of what happened after Komolka was released from prison is our worst fears brought to life.

 At a mere 86 pages, this novella still packs an enormous punch. Anyone who is familiar with the rapes and murders of Bernardo and Homolka will know the brutality and gore to expect. For those of you who aren't, I'll warn you that there is a lot of violence in this novella, including graphic rape scenes.

Although Weed Species is well-written, interesting and leaves you wanting more, it's so disturbing and graphic that it will have you questioning why you enjoy reading stuff like this. But it takes a great novel to give you that feeling, so I'll give it a 4. This bonus novella is far better than the main novel, so I would recommend buying Joyride just for Weed Species.

Rating: 4/5

Combing rating: 3.5/5