Welcome Back

Welcome back

Your dreams were your ticket out

Welcome back

To that same old place that you laughed about

Well, the names have all changed

Since you hung around

But those dreams have remained

And they've turned around

Who'd have thought they'd lead you

(Who'd have thought they'd lead you)

Back here where we need you?

(Back here where we need you?)

-John Sebastian, Welcome Back, 1976

That's right, no more promising, I am back! Be sure to check this page often for updates on projects, random thoughts, complete stories and/or snippets, and so much more!

Let's just say that though the Creepercast may now be defunct I have been writing my own material like a mad man. Well, I already was a mad man, maybe a madder man?

By the way, the Creepercast blog does still exist if you want to travel back in time and read reviews, etc. But going forward I'm likely to slowly phase it out in favor of my pulpit hear. I will repost the best of the best here before then.  Meanwhile, let me remind you of where you can find via the links below. Yes, most of the content therein is pretty old, reinvented, or in much need of editing and re-release. But new stuff is on its way and this is the place to learn about it! For now...

Farewell from the beast and I...

'til next we bleed - JP

About J.P. Hunt

J.P. was born as far north in Michigan as you can get without being Canadian and raised next to the flattest mountain in the state. He received his B.A.A. in English Literature/Creative Writing at Central Michigan University with a heavy focus on medieval history/literature and general film studies. J.P.’s writings focus predominantly in the general fantasy and horror genres with several stories, collections, novels, and scripts in the works. He currently resides in New Mexico with his wife, 3 dogs, 5 cats, and stepson. J.P. is a storyteller with dark corners in his mind that echo the voices of King, Poe, and Lovecraft.

Find more of his work on Amazon and Smashwords or follow his blog Sayviors Sermons. You can also follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and his Wix Author Site.

Creepercast Episode 58: News with comments week of 1/18/2012

News with comments week of 1/18/2012

Click Banner to Hear Full Episode

 

by Jeff

In the News

He won't stop!

One of the noteworthy sci-fi flicks due to hit theaters eventually is M. Night Shyamalan’s After Earth: an original project that actually sounds pretty promising, despite the fact that its director’s name has become synonymous with “hack,” as far as many moviegoers are concerned.

After Earth follows a father and son (played by real-life father-son duo Will and Jaden Smith) on an adventure that unfolds after the two are stranded on a futuristic version of planet Earth, abandoned by humanity some thousand years ago. The supporting cast already includes Oscar-nominee Sophie Okonedo (X-men: First Class) and Zoë Kravitz (Doctor Who). from ScreenRant

By now everyone knows my hatred for Shyamalama-ding-dong-dammit. Yet, I still subject myself to his ridiculous tweeesty creations. The main problem with this one is it “sounds pretty promising.” Isn't that the reason we have fallen for everything the man has done? Does he ever deliver? Will this movie benefit from the Smith's involvement? I have gone on record saying the best M. Night movies had Bruce Willis in them. Could Will be the new Bruce? As always I will hope that “promising” means something and end up seeing this movie despite the realization that that it 'promises' to let me down. Or maybe that's why I do it. Check out my review of 'Devil' or listen to just about any episode of the Creepercast to get an idea of how I really feel about Mr. Shyamalama!~

The Devil Inside... Again

‘The Devil Inside’ director and writer pair, William Brent Bell and Matthew Peterman, are readying yet another installment in the ‘found footage’ genre. Is the untitled film something new or a ‘Devil Inside’ sequel? Nobody knows for sure but it will again found footage style and filmed in Romania. Sounds like sequel to me.

It’s no surprise to hear that the pair is moving fast, especially considering that most box office experts are expecting a major drop-off for The Devil Inside in the coming week – due to negative word of mouth and the unenthusiastic response of the critical community. However, regardless of the film’s reception, it managed to do big bucks on a $1 million budget – making the pair an attractive prospect for Hollywood executives.

The film is set for financing through Sierra/Affinity and the Incentive Filmed Entertainment Fund with Peterman as well as Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity, Insidious) and Morris Paulson (The Devil Inside) producing – and Bell, Peterman, and Paulson’s company, Prototype, handling production. The film is set to start work in Romania this April – though no storylines or potential cast members have been revealed at this point. from SreenRant

I will reserve most of my comments for the review of  'The Devil Inside' in the next couple days. What I will say is found footage films are in a great abundance right now its starting to get boring. As for this one here's a review teaser...

My Synopsis: Take every exorcism movie you have ever seen and add a documentary crew!~

Dexter Season 9?

Showtime President of Entertainment, David Nevins on Dexter...

“[Season 8] is the likely endpoint, but I’m leaving open the possibility that plans could change [...] I think there’s a very clear trajectory now of where they’re going. I think it’s going to help to write with that endgame in mind. I’ve been pushing to shake up the formula a little bit. I think there should be fundamentally different dynamics now.” from ScreenRant

Season 8 is supposed to be the end of Dexter. But that is not to say they aren't considering a season 9 with all the craziness and added dimensions to Dexter's story currently. But all this really proves is that the powers that be behind Dexter have learned how to mess with our minds like the great people of Supernatural. Damn them!~

The Twilight Games

Summit Entertainment (The Twilight Saga) and Lionsgate (Mad Men, The Hunger Games) have merged. Find out the details of the deal, and what it may mean for the TV/Movie industry.

So what we have is two minor studios that have seen a moderate amount of success in recent years combining forces to bigger and better things. Aside from the aforementioned Hunger Games franchise, Lionsgate has had moderate success in both TV (with shows like Mad Men, Weeds, and Tyler Perry’s House of Payne) and movies (The Lincoln Lawyer, The Expendables, Precious, Kick-Ass and several Tyler Perry films). Aside from Twilight, Summit’s success has been regulated to a few breakout films, including Red, The Hurt Locker, Source Code, and current awards contender, 50/50. Hopefully smaller studios like these will result in some bigger risks that offer us more original TV/Movie ideas- rather than the string of remakes, reboots, and brand-established fare we’ve been getting in the last few years.” from ScreenRant

Over the last few decades Lionsgate have proven to be a powerhouse all by themselves. They've taken chances on many things the major studios wouldn't touch and received much success for doing so, especially when it comes to films from the Horror and SciFi genre. Summit has taken quite a gamble itself in the last decade with films like Red and the multi-billion dollar success of the vampire/werewolf/human triangle Twilight. One can only hope that a merger of this magnitude will incite others to take more chances on new and original film ideas like this article says. Hopefully it doesn't mean Lionsgate/Summit will get sucked into the maelstrom and start cranking out remake/reboots themselves.~

Score!

Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series: Jessica Lange in FX’s American Horror Story from ScreenRant

One of the greatest women in Tv/Film and the only nod this year to the horror genre.~

Box office

6 The Devil Inside (2012) $8.03M weekend $47.4M after 2 weeks

 Look for my review! ~

7 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) $6.66M weekend $89.2M after 4 weeks

This movie is labeled a crime/drama/mystery and yet seems to be getting a lot of nods from Horror reviewers. Which means we may have to give it consideration. Since our definition of horror is often based on any part of the film containing essential elements, who knows for sure. Being a purist, though, I will of course watch the Denmark original first and then likely criticize the American version for messing with the story to much. Look for a review soon! ~

New Releases this week in theater

Underworld: Awakening(2012)

“When human forces discover the existence of the Vampire and Lycan clans, a war to eradicate both species commences. The vampire warrioress Selene leads the battle against humankind.”

So we (normal non-vampire/werewolves) are the bad guys this time. I have no idea who to root for! Is this film going to make me wish I was one or the other? Look for a review soon! ~

Creepercast News

~Jeff and Lovesdragons hang with the cast of the walking dead!

~The Walking Dead Week in Review Fancast returns next week with the season thus far in review and Madison (Sophia) has a message for Jason and maybe a bit of a spoiler for the rest of the season!

Kickstarter pledges andwhat it means to us! Updates posted regularly!

Cafepress merchandise!New logo and sticker designed by nessaboo! 

~Barry Bostwick (Some Guy Who Kills People) contact after jan. 21!

~Gary Streiner (Night of the Living Dead) said yes! Just need to book!

~Zombies 101 next week! Origination of the Zombie Genre – Voodoo and Re-animation!

~A call to writers and reviewers! Submit material!

~Follow us on facebook and twitter to keep updated on stuff!

I Saw the Devil (2010)

http://www.isawthedevilmovie.com/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1588170/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Saw_the_Devil

My synopsis: This is a serial killer movie and a revenge movie. It’s mostly a revenge movie. The serial killer is the bad guy. Or is it the cop? It’s definitely the serial killer or the cop.

Comments:
Yeah, I've really been on this Asian film kick lately and this one comes highly acclaimed from Sundance, Toronto Film Fest and SXSW. It’s been billed as an action, thriller, and horror film. The 'horror' tag is what brought it to The Creepercast and honestly that description is tenuous. But you can hear Jason tirade about that on the podcast (Creepercast Episode 28: I saw the devil and he is Jason!). I am going to discuss all three tags and probably will end up defending it as a horror movie of sorts...

To read more visit www.creepercast.com!

No Trespassing (someday soon I hope!)

'No Trespassing' is a horror/thriller/slasher flick Jason and I have been working on since college. Some of you already know that I am an aspiring screenwriter and with Creepercast and all those horror reviews it's pretty obvious what my chosen genre is. If you look through older posts you'll even find loglines to script ideas currently in progress. Being the oldest of the stories working on, 'No Trespassing' haunts my every day/night since it is still more of a concept then a reality. In a world of remakes it's time for some original horror material so it's time to make it a reality! Check out the info...

Log Lines:
Bickering brothers lead their clueless friends on a camping adventure that finds them in a struggle for survival as they are hunted for trespassing.
OR
It’s more than mere sport when an irate hermit struggles to keep wayward misfits from trespassing on his hunting ground!

'No Trespassing' uses a blend of traditional and original story telling techniques that pay homage to the masters of the genre while seeking its own place amongst them. The story itself is comprised of themes like personal struggle, friendships and family, good times, the hunting culture, and the voyeuristic horrors that grace the pages of every daily newspaper. It is intended as a study of the human condition that uses the tried and true slasher style movie mold. It's not all seriousness of course. The script promises the same thrills, and more, than you expect from the genre! Upon completion of the script it is our goal to go into full production using the Oregon wilderness as our backdrop.

As we work to make this script come to life I will constantly keep all you awesome readers informed. Just keep visiting this page, because believe it or not in the end, it is all of you that can eventually make this film happen!

Some Guy Who Kills People (2011?)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568341/
http://www.someguywhokillspeople.com


My Synopsis: There’s this guy right, we’ll call him Every-Guy-Who-Has-Survived Childhood-Prosecution But-Not-Without-Several-Years-of-Therapy; or Some Guy works too. More importantly, he kills people. No, really, it’s in the title and this movie title doesn’t lie.

***Getting a hold of this movie was major for us at the Creepercast, written by Ryan Levin, Directed by Jack Perez, starring Kevin Corrigan, Barry Bostwick and Karen Black it is a truly entertaining dark comedic horror. For the full review we ask that you visit www.creepercast.com

Here's what the creators think of the review!
On Jun 13, 2011, at 2:36 PM, Ryan Levin wrote:

Thank you so much for the incredibly generous review. I’m extremely flattered you enjoyed the film as much as you did, and I’m extremely appreciative that you shared that enjoyment with your readers. I’m really just thrilled that someone would want write such an extensive and complimentary review of the film. Thank you both so much. The podcast will be a blast.
Talk soon.
--Ryan

Dear Jeff & Jason,

Just wanted to thank you for your extremely thoughtful and kind review of SOME GUY. Your examination was superb - you clearly "got" the movie in spades. So happy you enjoyed it. I'm really looking forward to the podcast and speaking with you directly.

Many thanks again!

best,
Jack Perez

So if you do a Google search for the as yet unreleased dark horror comedy - Some Guy Who Kills People - you will find my Creepercast review as the 8th result! If you haven't checked it out yet you should, help make it number 1! ;-)

In the meantime i will keep you all posted on the upcoming podcast review, interviews with Jack Perez and Ryan Levin, and anything else 'Some Guy' related! Follow me here, on the Creeepercast site, or the Creepercast facebook fanpage (http://www.facebook.com/creepercast) for more info!

Devil (2010)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1314655/

My Synopsis: Five shady characters trapped in an elevator and one may be (the/a?) devil. Oh! And there's a tweest!

Comments: By now it's no secret that I am a masochist. There's nothing I like more than torturing myself by watching ridiculous crap that had no reason for existing. But in my defense I do these things for you. That's right, I am the self appointed martyr of the bad film world. I subject myself to cruel tortures to prove not only that my opinions have to be correct (I mean how can I vocally assault something without seeing it) but I also do it as a service to you, my faithful reader, as a warning to what you should undoubtedly avoid. I crucify myself for you, I am Jesus! Ok, that's over doing it. I have no delusions of savior. But I hope I save someone with this review. Although judging by the fact he keeps making movies (or adding his name to them) there are far more sadistic people than me out there.
'Devil' begs the question, even if you were making a supernatural flick with twists and turns, why would you think having M. Night claim it would help you? Now if Rod Serling was still alive I could see it, we're talking track record of quality stories, something M. Night is grossly lacking at this point. So much so the studio quickly went into damage control mode by limiting his name being mentioned in the trailers. It didn't stop it from dominating the open credits, of course, exclusive contracts rule. Apparently 'Devil' is executively produced by Shyamalan and is part of the M. Night Chronicles. I'm both unsure and worried as to which chronicles he is referring too. I can only assume it is a chronicle of movies 'inspired' by him. All the promo for this movie says “from the mind of.” This is a scary thought, especially since, and it pains me to admit this, 'Devil' doesn't even match up to Shyamalamadingdongs usual standards. Let me explain...

We'll begin with the story. Now I honestly don't care to be spoiler free, not just because of the usual ridiculousness of Night movie twists, but also because the first fifteen minutes makes the end obvious. Even so here's your warning, if you are determined to be 'shocked' by the twists stop reading now! Ok then, for the rest of us I continue...



As previously mentioned; five shady characters are trapped in an elevator - a mattress selling con man, a bad attitude temp security guard, a spoiled rich girl, a bitter old woman and a PTSD ex-marine. I know, it sounds like a joke. Which it pretty much is. The character development was almost non-existent and that which did exist popped in so fast that if you blinked you would have missed it. Which is why the only thing I remember about the old women and rich girl is spoiled and bitter. Now the PTSD guy is easy to remember because more time was spent on his flashbacks. Which means he's more important than the rest. Which leads us to the cop who also has a lot of baggage in the form of losing his wife and kid to a hit and run driver he can't seem to find. I think you know where this is going. Long story short, while trying to figure out how to get the people out of the elevator, as they one by one get killed off during power outages, the twist unravels without many questions. Thus not very Shyamalan like. Everyone knows a M. twist usually involves the most ridiculous answers. This made too much sense! In the meantime we get to watch the people stuck in the elevator become suspicious of each other as they are one by one killed off.



Finally, there was a worthwhile thing to mention about this movie. The end. Not just because it was over, although that was my favorite part, but the old woman that appears at the end was a very good devil. And though Mr. PTSD gets redemption (not sure why it was even offered to him while the others were indiscriminately eliminated, maybe because he was the only one with a little guilt) the devil woman gets the best line in the whole movie. 'Damn, I wanted you.' I can't say an hour and a half of crap was worth getting to that line, but it worked for me.

So, the lesson the movie is trying to teach us is that sinners will get there's, Hispanic elevator techs can prove the devil is around by dropping jellied toast and it landing jelly side down, and that M. Night should not only stop making movies, but inspiring them as well. Also, I really think Bruce Willis should have been in it. He would have made a great old lady devil.



Yea, you know it's true. Awesome call back to an earlier review no?

'til next we bleed...
JP

Toy Story 3D

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435761/

My Synopsis: Andy goes to college to party while Woody and the gang go to Hell!

Comments: So those Pixar guys are amazing! And the Toy Story movies still stand as the greatest demonstration of the perfect blend of story, voice acting, and animation. We all know it's true and I really don't feel the need to spend too much time confirming it. What I do choose to address is two major elements of this movie. 1. What is the point of the use of 3D? 2. This is a horror movie!

The first one is specifically phrased as a question because I'm really not sure. It is also the thing I am actually criticizing of the two. It just seems self defeating to 3D a computer animated picture. I mean, the purpose of cgi is to make a 2D animated picture appear in 3 dimensions. So what does the new 3D technology add? Honestly, the 3D was noticeable for only about ten minutes. I kept peering over the top of the glasses to make sure what I was seeing was supposed to be 3D. And yes, most of the time it was the usual blur, but the only time I noticed it in true 3D is when we were looking over a characters shoulder. Maybe I missed something? I welcome comments on this one!



Now for the second observation, this is one scary movie! I don't intend to spoiler-rific here, this movie, as is the case with all Pixar films, is totally worth seeing. But I will say the story content seems well above suitable for the age group these movies usually cater too. I mean, these toys get brutally punished for losing faith in their boy Andy. Which just made me realize this chapter in the Toy Story universe especially could be the subject of a very long religious paper with Andy as God, Woody as the Christ figure and the rest of the toys as disciples. In fact this whole movie, which can often be the case with Disney movies, is very biblical in nature. But that is not the focus here, I will leave those observations for a film student or evangelical minister to explore. Besides I usually try to avoid such analysis in favor of viewing each movie for it's entertainment value rather than it's religious implications. I only mention it now because it is integral to seeing Toy Story 3D as a horror movie.



Anyway, believing Andy does it want them they set out to find a new place in which they can get played with, because that is what toys want more than anything (it's been awesomely explained to me that, for the toys, being played with is equal to getting attention, as in, god is not showing them attention so they look for one that will, but I digress back into a religious discussion). As the new toys in the day care they are forced, by the purple Teddy bear and his mob (or cult followers) to be locked in the toddler room, where the toddlers torture and maim them in ways Jigsaw hadn't thought of yet! Before the end of this adventure they literally find themselves in Dantes Inferno. The images of their experience are as graphic and visceral as they can be considering we're dealing with toys. I have a hard time imagining this wouldn't scare a child, by the time they faced the flames of Hell I was scared!



There are a few other things that lent to the belief that this film may not have been intended for It's usual target audience. There's metro-sexual Ken (the gay undertones are hardly under, sure it confirms what we all guessed, and Michael Keaton is as always, brilliant) apparently Buzz is more sexy in Spanish mode (to me he seemed a touch more like Pepe lePu then Latino amorado, just seems like a stereotype that should some day be layer to rest), and, if the mangling of the toys has taught us anything it is to seriously reconsider having kids. Toddlers are vicious!



In conclusion, though I still believe it is an interesting chapter to the Toy Story saga, it made me question much about it's place in the whole scheme of the Disney Universe. That is not to say I didn't like it though. 3D aside, it is a very entertaining horror movie that deserves 3 out 5 Barbie heads. As always I welcome comments and opinions!

'till next we bleed
JP