Monday 25 February 2013

"Lord of Tears" an upcoming horror thriller

Thrills, chills,tension and the spilling of blood. This film will have it all!

Plotline-
Set in the Scottish highlands a man named James Findlay (played by Euan Douglas) must confront his fears and the demons of his past including a menacing presence known only as "The Owl Man" by returning to his childhood home after the death of his mother.


Reviewing the story and trailer, the"Lord of Tears" has that kind of Lovecraft feel to it by way of the protagonist questioning and fighting for sanity. A bit of Fall of the House of Usher with an ancient stalker creature that we only know as " The Owl Man"makes for a great story and film formula. The creators of Lord of Tears share that it is based on ancient legends ( Celtic -the Slender Man and others). Some other research shows that there actually is (allegedly) an "Owl Man" in more modern legend. This just adds to the Lord of Tears creepiness. The film has the mystique that only British horror can have. Often imitated by American horror but never quite hitting that classy scare the hell out of you as opposed the exploitation style of modern U.S. horror cinema.
 
On seeing pictures of the Owl Man (ie Moloch an ancient evil entity of mythology) it brings to mind the creepiness of Nosferatu with those scary long arms and claws. On top of that add the cold supernatural nature (and stare!) of owls, the creature of the night/silent hunter. There was serious  research done and the director even dared travel through the haunt of the alleged Owl Man. Interestingly the film is actually shot where witnesses claim to have seen the creature. Lucky this didn't turn into a Blair Witch Ala The Owl Man real life encounter for the cast and crew! Otherwise this would be a murder investigation instead of a film review!

The film is complete and ready to rock and has a kickstarter to secure release. For anyone that doesn't know, movies cost money to promote and release. Unlike most kickstarters the film is done but they still need the help and funding for final release and will add some extras. You can also check out the Facebook site and show some support for a great film. I for one can't wait to see the final product. Its been awhile since I've seen anything that's got me this excited for quite awhile. -EvS

Some of the folks in Lord of Tears
 Lawrie  Brewster - Director
Sarah Daly -Writer 
David Schofield (Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean)
Lexy Hulme (500 Days of Summer)
Euan Douglas

Trailer


Lord of Tears IMDB
Lawrie Brewster IMDB
Lord of Tears Kickstarter
Lord of Tears on Facebook
Lord of Tears on Tumblr


Some exclusive kreepy treats to wet your bloody appetite:








 I, for one, am extremely excited for this one, and proud to support this film in any way I can! Let's get it out there!  ~ Kount Kreepy

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Cleanskin (2012)

"Cleanskin"- an intelligence term for an operative that is off the radar and previously unknown to intelligence networks.

 I kind of waited out for this movie. My initial impression (without seeing it yet mind you) is that it would be another feel good film for the masses. "Good guy kills terrorists and we can all go home feeling better about the increasing security state" type of film. Well fuck was I wrong (not for the first time, lol) about this one.

A bit of a long movie its not so much action adventure (although it does have enough) but more of a drama. Kind of two parallel stories that intertwine. One story being of a British born Muslim man (played by Abhin Galeya)  who gets indoctrinated into the radicalized world of Islam. The other is a story of an Intelligence operative ( played by Sean Bean ) who's lost his wife to a suicide bomber attack and will kill any and all extremists his handlers tell him are a threat.

There's quite a few plot twists and the movie does show a bit more than most action films looking at things in a black and white perspective. You get the feeling throughout the film that both of the main characters are "being played" by their respective sides. Also there are elements in the film reminiscent of the real life Operation Gladio operations. The critics didn't like it but fuck them, any film that makes us a bit uncomfortable with our myth-conceptions is a good one in my books.



It's been out on video for a bit and if your attention span is better than a pet rock and intellect higher than most of the main stay "man fall down stairs ....funny" crowd, you'll be in for a good film. -EvS

Monday 18 February 2013

Dredd (2012) review

Go fricking see it.
No really.

We finally got a decent book to screen interpretation of a comic book hero. For those who haven't heard of Judge Dredd just think Punisher if he was actually supported by the law for his actions and go about 100 years into the future. The Dredd were talking about here is the 2000 AD comics version not that DC comics "bullshit one off" they tried to pull.

For those that actually have read to comic book you should be happy with this film version. Also it has Judge Anderson (aka Psi-Judge Anderson,who is actually a main character in the comic) starting off as a rookie.

From Lionsgate films- "The future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One- a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called "Judges" who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge - a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of "Slo-Mo" experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed." -- (C) Lionsgate

Yup that's right really great distopian shit. Me I put efn mustard on that! 

I was initially concerned with seeing the slo-mo combat scenes as I thought it might be the whole movie but it was used in good proportions and didn't turn the film into an advertisement for some new film techniques. Effects and make up were good and visuals exceptional.  There were quite a few nods (to those who would notice that kind of thing) to quite a few Judge Dredd story line factors such as the "fatties" and "block mania","The Apocalypse War",also the use of the Lawmaster (Dredd's gat) was done well.  Anyhow even though it didn't do that well at the box office we could give a "Drokk" and really hope to see a 2nd part. Cheers, EvS


Fusion Power coming soon? Hmm..


A new Lockheed Skunkworks project promises outsized results in a compact package.

Lockheed Skunkworks Exterior
Lockheed Skunkworks Exterior Wikimedia Commons
In a presentation that seems ripped from the Atomic Age, Lockheed Skunkworks says it might be a decade away from producing a power plant based on compact fusion reactors. Unlike current nuclear reactors, all of which use fission, nuclear fusion does not easily produce materials that can be used in nuclear weapons. Fusion reactors also offer better containment, easier shutoff, greater energy efficiency, and less radioactive waste than their fissioning cousins. Of course, with something this promising, there has to be a catch.
Despite the fact that nuclear fusion has been pursued as a power source since the 1950s, fusion reactors have yet to be effectively turned into a regular power source. Tokamaks, the first kind of fusion reactor attempted, generated power by using magnets to squeeze and heat plasma in a giant ring. To make it work, you need a massive donut-shaped vacuum chamber, and it can take years to go from construction to power generation. There has been something of a modern revival of fusion reactor attempts, but most designs still are tremendous undertakings, requiring the kinds of resources and infrastructure that usually only governments can provide. And such coordination efforts are difficult in the best of times and can be an impossible sell during severe financial constraints.
So in part, it's the feasibility of the new Lockheed project that makes it so compelling. Much smaller than traditional fusion attempts, the compact fusion reactor uses a cylinder, not a ring, which makes for a stronger magnetic containment field and leaves fewer points where the energy could escape. This could make for a reactor that's small enough for a truck to transport and still robust enough to generate power for 100,000 homes. Lockheed hopes to have a test model available by 2017, and scale up to regular production by 2022.

KK - While this is VERY cool, it makes me wonder a few things...and maybe I am paranoid..but part of the process requires Lithium..and Afghanistan conveniently has large reserves of lithium...hmmm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining_in_Afghanistan
....and what else are they working on...

Monday 4 February 2013

Nazis and the Occult, the "Ahnenerbe" and other weirdness

Well allot of our favorite scary movies that have Nazi's almost always alleged some kind of Nazi occult dabbling. Turns out in real life there was!
 (at left the motif for the Ahnenerbe, a sort of occult bureau of archeology)
In looking into this one will find allot of real oddball stuff like Nazi UFO's and journeys to the Arctic (or the Moon as some like to claim). Now there is allot of b.s. about this out there but that shouldn't detract from some of the incredible yet true stuff.  Recently I read a book entitled simply enough, "Nazis and the Occult" by Paul Roland (2007) which dispels allot of the far out there stuff but has just as much that makes you wonder just how far gone the regime really was. Most sources have it that it was Himmler ( and others )that was more the occultist and that Hitler only put up with it when it suited him. But then again who knows really?

Here's just a few examples of the Nazi's and their journey to the dark side.

The movie at left in full entitled "Nazis, the Occult Conspiracy" 


1/ German expedition to Tibet (1938-1939)
surely inspired the Indian Jones films. This real life expedition to find the origins of the "Aryans". The expedition brought back records and research of mandalas, etc.

2/ The Spear of Destiny 
Apparently the spear that pierced Christ on the cross. Those that held it were destined to rule, as did Charlemagne apparently who died when he lost it. Kind of sounds like the Lord of the Rings.... but there is a real life artifact and Hitler did claim it immediately after taking over Austria.

3/ The Nazi Bell (Die Glocke)
A Nazi UFO or time travel device? This did exist. Another case of truth stranger than fiction!
(above picture of "bell henge" where the Bell may have been placed for experimentation) Most of the people involved in this project from regular workers to the scientists were ordered executed by Hitler when the war started going south for the Nazis. I found one site where the author claims it was a particle accelerator. Maybe this was part of the "Black Sun" or the Nazi atomic weapon? There are various locations given for different wonder weapons factories. One that is confirmed is the Der Reise or The Giant. 

 4/ Nazi Psychic Experiments
apparently psychic and mediums,dowsers and the whole gammut were called up time to time but a great many of them were thrown into concentration camps as well. Maybe the Nazi's didn't like what was predicted?

5/ Vril and Thule Societies 
The Vril and Thule societies that were occult in nature and practice, had allot of weird ideas that the Nazi regime adapted. But how much influence they really had in the Reich is up for speculation.  This ties back into the whole UFO's and Antarctic base/hollow earth Nazis thing. There is also an apparent connection to the concentration camps in being the Reich had sacrifices to offer.


6/ New Swabia/ Antarctic expedition
There was in fact and expedition but apparently it was to establish a whaling station. Other say though that it was to find the mystic "hollow earth". Interestingly though that later on many of the "hollow earth" theorists were sent to concentration camps by the regime. 
The truth is indeed stranger than fiction! -EvS