THIS FRESH BLOOD: Nekromantik 2 (1991)

Original Post Date: 03.13.17

I had a bad feeling when Sex & Death Mastermind Jorg Buttgereit introduced his film as a love story, not a horror story.

Confession time. I had built the anticipation so much for this sequel that I was really blindsided by how boring it turned out to be. I feel a little bit guilty for saying this but, I really did not like Nekromantik 2 (1991). Why? WHY!? Nekromantik (1987) was perfection and it was actually the highlight of THIS FRESH BLOOD series in 2016 (read review here).

I am completely out of words. I don’t want to dwell on the negatives so let’s stretch the positives and use bullet points for them, shall we? ** SPOILERS AHEAD **

• Monika (our main character) steals Robert’s (the first movie’s main character) corpse from his freshly covered gravesite  
  

• Monika looks like a total badass while digging up the grave (smoke break anyone?)
  

• Betty (Robert’s ex-girlfriend) makes a late appearance at the now empty gravesite (OMG Betty!)
  

• Monika has tender sex with Robert’s corpse at her apartment, she seems to love Robert
  

• Monika and Robert’s romantic polaroid’s
  

• Monika meets a new [living] guy, Mark, and she seems to love him
  

• Jorg Buttgereit’s cameo at the movie theater where Monika and Mark met
  

• Monika looks yet again like a total badass while getting rid of Robert by chopping off his rotting body and returning it to the gravesite inside blue bags
  

• Monika keeps the head and penis as souvenirs
  

• Penis in the fridge (or is it leftovers?)
  

• Girls night in with Robert’s head on the coffee table
  

• Behind the scenes of porn dubbing
  

• “She doesn’t want me to move during sex and takes weird pictures of myself.” – Mark
  

• Mark’s dark ending met with the most original switcheroo (LOL Frankenhooker flashbacks!)
  

• How do you call an embryo made out of headless daddy’s sperm? (I don’t know, I am asking you)
  

This fresh blood was not what I was expecting. (get it? I make jokes)

- Marath

Charlotte, the Vampire - WE ARE THE NIGHT (2010)

Original Post Date: 02.16.17

If I were a vampire, I would like to be like Charlotte from 2010 German movie Wir sind die Nacht (We Are the Night). Not only was her character beautiful and badass but also had a rich backstory that was way more interesting than the other three vampires of the film, yet, hers left me wanting more. Charlotte should have her own movie. Until that day comes, this photo essay should make do. 

Without further introduction, I give you, Charlotte:

“Two more pages. I want to know how it ends.” - Charlotte

- Marath

Sinister Made Me Do It

Original Post Date: 01.30.17

If you have not watched Sinister (2012) there are two things I need to tell you right now. One, you are a lucky bastard and I envy you (I would pay a small amount of money to be able to experience again the fear from when I first watched it). And two, this post will have mild spoilers so you better not continue reading and instead go watch it and call it a day (listen, I tell you this because I care).

Now, as for the rest of us, let’s relive the dark phenomenon that was Sinister.

For me, it all began last summer when I attended a seminar at ScareLA called “The Anticipation of Fear” by speaker Marc Straight, composer, sound designer, and creative director at Bad Jack Productions. Marc provided examples of horror movies and video games that made good use of music, lighting, and repetition, all to achieve the perfect scare for the audience. The movie Sinister was one of those examples; I was impressed, so I immediately wrote down SINISTER!! on my notebook, but then life happened and completely forgot to look into the film.

Fast forward to two days ago—Friday night—when my husband and I were browsing Netflix (below photo evidence of the momentous occasion lol) and stumbled upon Sinister, the Sinister. Long story short, I absolutely loved it and actually rewatched it a day ago—Saturday night—and purchased the DVD copy as well as the soundtrack. You could say Sinister hit me hard and made me lose my mind… yes… Sinister made me do it.

In my lifetime, there have been two movies which have truly scared me. I am talking about having physical reactions of fear such as sweaty palms, increased heart rate, muscle tension, alertness, etc. Ju-on (the original from Japan) was my first one; I watched it alone at night, in the dark, sitting on the bed, holding my knees close to my chest, both arms sore by the end of it. And Sinister was the second one; I watched it with my husband at night, in the dark, on the couch, holding hands whenever I sensed something bad was going to happen. You don’t forget about movies that made you feel like you were in real danger. The keyword here is ‘real’.

Sinister depended on the use of homemade movies. Some of us (yes, you and I) grew  up with parents recording those special family moments on VHS or mini discs, and maybe if you lived in an extra cool home yours were recorded on Super 8mm, like the five families from the film.

The home movies were the essence of Sinister. All of the five home movies were terrifying as they were presented in very real day-to-day scenarios: at the backyard, at the front lawn, at the pool, at the car, in the bedroom. They all began as nice and innocent family moments until they turned violent, FAST! But why? And by whom? A home invader? Let’s watch:

The way the violent scenes were filmed reminded me of this video of mine where it was shot in complete darkness and the subject was illuminated by a single flash of light so you, the viewer, had no other option but to watch what I wanted you to watch when I wanted you to watch; in my case it was Day of the Dead ephemera, in Sinister’s case it was hanging, running over, drowning, burning, and stabbing.

Had the movie not ended the way it did, I guarantee you I would have had trouble sleeping at night, however, since it was revealed that supernatural demon Mr. Boogie aka Bughuul was behind the killings—well, the kids he possessed and abducted were actually the ones committing the killings—I felt relieved and pleasantly returned back to my safe reality. See? It was not a flesh-and-blood murderer, it was a controlling demon. Phew!

Now, I would like to leave you on a happy note, so please let me share with you two of my personal videos displaying my admiration for this movie. (Man, I love Sinister so much.)

In Love and Fear,

—Marath