HHN RIP, A Love Story

Original Post Date: 10.28.18

Everything was better this year at Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) — everything! I even found myself saying out loud at one point, “If I died right now, I’d die happy” (you could assume I was in a state of bliss for the 6+ hours we spent at Universal Studios for our yearly Halloween celebration). So, without further ado, I present to you all the things I loved at this year’s HHN. Let’s do this!

• Valet parking being closer to the main entrance; I appreciated not having to walk thru Universal City Walk

• A very diligent Security Attendant going thru my belongings at security check; peace of mind is priceless

• The speakers at the entrance playing “The Day is My Enemy” by The Prodigy

• A smooth check-in at the R.I.P. Lounge

• This year’s introduction to the tour experience right off the bat; no more going straight to dinner by yourself

• Cara, our Tour Guide; she was the best and explained at the very beginning what our itinerary was going to be about

• Dinner; the risotto and the pumpkin ravioli were to die for, and so were the decadent fruit tarts

• Stranger Things Photo op; it almost made me want to watch the series for the first time ever (never have)

• Universal MONSTERS Maze; my favorite maze of the night featuring all the classic monsters (OMG The Bride!)

• Holidayz in HELL Scare Zone; my favorite scare zone of the night featuring a very creepy Thanksgiving

• Terror Tram Hollywood Harry’s Dreadtime Storiez; all the clowns, all of the evil clowns! (LOVE the backlot!)

• Snack break at a different lounge with a Makeup Artist’s live demoing a Demon makeup

• Stranger Things Maze inside a Sound Stage (!!!)

• The First Purge Maze incident; a Scare Actor accidentally hit my hand pretty hard with a prop and was very apologetic immediately after it happened (he/she could have ignored it, but nope, instead broke character to make sure I was okay)

• Trick ‘r Treat Maze; is there something else to be said about it? It was a freaking “Trick ‘r Treat” maze! 

• Poltergeist Maze; those sexy coffins at the end (I need one, please)

• Blum House Chapter Two Maze; seriously though, I need to watch “Truth or Dare” like, right now (never have), it looked so good!

• And last but not least, the group’s trolley (above picture); not having to take the insufferable escalators? Nor having to walk thru the annoying Toxic Tunnel? Universal Studios R.I.P. tour, thank you, thank you so much! #LOVEU

Phew! That was a long list, was it not? Okay, okay, one more thing before I leave: a walkthrough of my favorite maze, enjoy!

In Love and Fear,

—Marath

Family First – Texas Chainsaw (2013)

Original Post Date: 10.21.18

“After the first massacre in 1974, the townspeople suspected that the Sawyer family was responsible. A vigilante mob of enraged locals surrounded the Sawyer house, burning it to the ground and killing every last member of the family. Decades later, a young woman named Heather learns that she has inherited a Texas estate from her grandmother. She decides to bring her friends along on the road trip to investigate her inheritance. On arrival, she discovers she has inherited a mansion, but is yet to uncover the terrors that lurk in the basement underneath it.” Written by Tom Thomas via IMDB

Thank you, Tom Thomas, for such a great plot summary for Texas Chainsaw (2013). Now that we are all up-to-date, let’s talk about Heather and her realizing she was a Sawyer, but most importantly, her finding out her “evil” family was brutally murdered by the townspeople and, once they knew she was back, they were out to get her:

As Tom Thomas mentioned on his plot summary above, the terrors lurking in the basement awaiting for Heather to discover were the works of Leatherface who—surprise!—was still alive and taking residency right there. For the record, Leatherface was just doing his thing, protecting his family by killing the strangers that got inside the house. Leatherface was older and a little slower of course, after all, the current events took place 39 year after the infamous Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). Quick side note: The intro for this Texas Chainsaw (2013) movie sequel showed archive footage from the original and oh my god, the way they incorporated it with this new film was A+ (loved it!).

Now, let’s all say hi to Leatherface and his antics:

Towards the end of the story Heather and Leatherface were best pals, realizing all they had left was each other, so after taking vengeance on the Mayor they returned home together, as a family. I am not going to lie, my heart started feeling for Leatherface because, in all honesty, he was crippled by his lack of self-reliance and kind of felt bad for him – it was clear he would now depend on Heather and, in exchange, he would be there to protect her like he always did with his family, because after all, family comes first.

In Love and Fear,

- Marath

Mayfairs, Gone

Original Post Date: 10.11.18

I feel like a crazy person. Yes, I am aware this is something I should not say out loud, and definitely something I should not declare in writing on such a permanent and public forum. But fuck it, I feel like a crazy person. Only a crazy person would cry inconsolably four times in a row after finishing reading a fiction novel. Four times. Unnecessary. Even for me.

Back in February 2018, eight months ago, I started reading “The Witching Hour” by Anne Rice. It was my third time trying to read it (detailed explanation found here) as, basically, the size of the book was overwhelming and I could not see myself finishing almost one thousand pages of the same story. The thing was, eight months ago I didn’t know it would not be the same story, and that that same almost one thousand pages would not be enough to tell it all, and that now I find myself in October craving more.

I wish there was more so I could end this sudden bout of sadness that I feel. I was not prepared for such a sad ending. I was not prepared to letting the Mayfairs go, period.

Do you know what bothers me the most? The fact that I was not aware I cared so much for Michael Curry, I was so enthralled by The Mayfair Witches and Lasher that the minute their ordeal imploded, all the rawness of Michael was revealed and exposed and taken advantage of. I hate it. Why do I feel sad for him? What does his story say about the human condition? About me? Maybe it says that we are imperfect, trying to make things better for ourselves, letting our guard down either by inexperience or by choice. Perhaps it says we are willing to put ourselves at risk to one day feel happy and complete again, to one day make sense of everything that went wrong just to be ourselves again.

[Okay, I am back, I had to take a break. Make that five times in a row.]

The thing is, you let someone have all that really actually matters—love, companionship, hope for the future—just to take it away? WHY!? Wow, look at that, my sadness is slowly turning into anger… interesting.

By the way, whenever I write about horror books I never write a proper report, not even a review; I only share my experience from—one could say—a ‘feelings’ perspective as that is something I am well versed at: feeling my feelings. Wait, were you waiting for me to tell you who the Mayfairs were, or what the story was about, how it began, how it ended? Are you new to marathMARATH? (damn, thank you and welcome)

I would like to end this short yet emotionally draining post with a much needed positive quote:

“And I suppose I do believe in the final analysis that a peace of mind can be obtained in the face of the worst horrors and the worst losses. It can be obtained by faith in change and in will and in accident; and by faith in ourselves, that we will do the right thing; more often than not, in the face of adversity.” – Michael Curry

In Love and Fear,

- Marath