Tag Archives: horror

Oct3

Carpe Scream Day 3

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Well, I’ve seen the Omen several times, so I decided to finally watch the sequel…

Damien Omen II, 20th Century Fox

I have to say, this one is slightly less of a thrill ride. The pacing is pretty slow, and the movie relies more on stunning color pallets and gorgeous location shots than it does on plot.

Apart from that, I like that we got to know Damien’s character as he’s starting to grow up and discovering his dark powers. Johnathin Scott-Taylor’s performance as the 12-year-old antichrist is really captivating and heartbreakingly sympathetic at times. I also love that we get to see another huge classic actor like William Holden take the reins as the next father figure/martyr. Plotwise, I had to laugh because it’s almost like a very dark version of Harry Potter.

“Yer a Wizard, Harry.”

The only thing I didn’t like was that we spent so much time with “Uncle Rich’s” work and a lot of side plot-lines that seemed disconnected and didn’t really seem to go anywhere except to provide us with a body-count. The deaths themselves were also faster, bigger, splashier, and in the end more cartoony than interesting, because they had to top Patrick Troughton’s skewering and David Warner’s decapitation. I laughed at every cheesey death, where with the first Omen movie, I gasped. They could have trimmed all that and added more scenes of Damien bumping off classmates and teachers while discovering himself as a man to make it better. Like discovering girls…

“…and then I set her on fire!” Hahahahaha!

I’ll probably go ahead and watch the Omen III and IV to see how I like the over-arching story, but maybe I’ll do it later.

Oct2

Carpe Scream Day 2

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In keeping with our inadvertent theme of happy family life, Day 2’s feature was The Omen.

The Omen 1976, 20th Century Fox

First of all, I’ll just state for the record that I ADORE Gregory Peck and David Warner. I’d watch them in damn near everything. Secondly this is just a solidly good movie. I have no idea why they remade it (especially since, from what I can tell, it was shot-for-shot and line-for-line identical). I love soundtrack, the characters (especially David Warner) and the plot from beginning to end. (And the Doctor mark 2 Patrick Troughton as a brilliantly creepy fallen priest seeking redemption.) Oh, and David Warner, did I mention him?

Dat hair.

And Once again, this movie makes some great parallels between the true nature of fear and the strange quirks of ordinary children that drive parents to madness. Also, as a Catholic, I adore a great good vs. evil plotline with all the clout of biblical angelic battles for dominance, unless those stories run for 4 freaking seasons *cough* supernatural *cough*

I highly recommend this one for a good horror that’s more thriller than a gore fest, that has a strangely classical feel to it and a fantastic tragic hero.

And they get an honorable mention for having a tricycle scene that’s almost as scary as The Shining.

A for effort, Damien, but Danny Torrence did it better.

Oct1

Carpe Scream Day 1

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DAY 1 of my Halloween Horror Movie Challenge, and I begin with my absolutely favorite movie:

Rosmary’s Baby 1968, copyright Paramount Pictures

This movie’s been a favorite of a while, for how brilliantly it captures the constant pain, worry, and terror of being pregnant and twists it in an interesting new way. I first watched it when I was pregnant with my first child, so it was extra poignant at the time. Pregnancy is, without a doubt, one of the scariest things women have to go through, and it really does feel like your own body is betraying you while being host to a strange entity, despite all your love and hopes.
Now throw into that psychological mix, two of the greatest villains: The Castavets. I love that the mundane meets the sinister in the fantastic characters of a pokey old busybody and her lovable bear of a husband.

The Face of Evil

It makes Rosemary’s Baby, one of my favorite horror movies (Polanski aside) of all time, and it’s the movie I’ll ALWAYS start any horror marathon with.

Sep29

Get ready….

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Okay, here we go again! Leaves are fluttering in the air, a cold damp wind is shaking the windows, and I’m coughing up green junk, it must be time for…

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Yesiree, Bob. There will be 31 days of 31 drawings, some quick sketches, some detailed works, others assignments masquerading as frivolity. In this I hope to hone my skills as an inker and maybe stop hating inking as a chore in general. For FULL information on inktober, please click the graphic which will take you to mrjakeparker.com and the originator of the Inktober initiative.

In addition to Inktober, and as a way to school myself in the genre, I will ALSO be attempting my own challenge:

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The rules are as follows

  • For every day in October, watch one horror movie.
  • Post about it on your blog or on my comments.
  • Tag it as #carpescream2015

And I leave the interpretation of “horror” to you all entirely. It can be a pyschological thriller, or a comedy or family feature. It can even be from a TV series, as long as it has a halloweeny feel to it. I did this last year and I had so much fun watching the movies (that I’d otherwise be too squeamish to watch) and picking up a better appreciation for the industry and the art of horror.

So get your playlists ready, and your pens uncapped.

October is going to be a wicked fun month!

~Monica Marier

Oct19

Inktober twofer

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I missed yesterday’s post due to force majeur so today I’m posting a two-fer. These are both character illustrations for the upcoming Skeleton Crew RPG book character creation section for ready-to-plays. The first is a Jacobean scardey-cat called “Headless Hob.” I approached him as sort of a “Canterville Ghost” meets Scooby Doo villain and he came out looking darling. The next is rougher and more visceral. It’s supposed to be an ancient Celtic warrior wight. I was inspired by the traitor ghosts in Return of the King. I think it would read a lot better with a black background or some other finessing. In retrospect this was a hard one to do with just ink. Anyway. More tomorrow. Bye!

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Oct3

Inktober Day 3

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Just as luck would have it, I’m participating in another challenge this October, the October Horror Movie Challenge. It gives me an excuse to watch all the movies I’m usually too chicken to watch under the excuse of “research” for my horror comic. That being said, I did this while watching Cabin in the Woods. I’ve always been inspired by the fabulous inking style of Colleen Doran, so I tried to use some of the technique I’ve observed in her art while doing this.

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“Dont Go In There!” by Monica Marier available for $35

Note: Horror movies are rubbish to watch while inking because the jumpscares always screw up my lines. It’s a bit like trying to ink on a plane where someone keeps bumping your elbows.

Again, feel free to post links to your inks after this post, or critique mine! If you want to join in, go on ahead. Additionally, if you see an inks of mine that you like, they are available for purchase. Email me through the blog contact form if interested. International shipping will be charged extra for outside US rates.