DARKNET: Canada's New Horror Anthology Series Is Worth A Look

 ~by Marie Robinson

You find the most grisly things on the internet. You read about serial killers and stalkers, or your morbid curiosity leads you to pages of pure shock value. But seeing grotesque images or reading sinister stories from your computer screen makes them a little less real, right? You don’t dare to think about who is logging from the other side…

From a team of horror writers and directors comes an interesting new television series of urban horror called Darknet. Among the directors are Vincenzo Natali (Haunter, Splice) and Rodrigo Gudino (The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh) as well as a fresh crop of first-time filmmakers (Steve Hoban, Anthony Scott Burns, Jeremy Ball). Each director will be taking on their own episode.

The first episode, directed by Natali, features several interwoven stories of debauchery and bloodshed all leading back to a seedy open forum website called Darknet, where criminals post proof of their crimes. In one particular plotline, a man catches sight of a comment left by a self-proclaimed murder that reads, “I just killed someone. How do I dispose of the body?” When he offers up a sarcastic slice of advice, the killer seems to take it, and the online interaction takes a dire turn. When other users condemn the so-called killer with their disbelief, the murderer takes it one step further, offering public proof of their depravity for anyone curious enough to go and check it out.

The first episode was full of original ideas, and I would really like to see more of Darknet. Unfortunately, that is not an option.

The first season, which consists of six episodes premiered on Super Channel on February 21st and is at the time only available to Canadian viewers. Efforts are being made to bring Darknet to the States, but for now, the first episode is streaming internationally on their website, here (http://darknetfiles.com/about/).

Book Spotlight: 8 Great Horror Anthologies

Article by Marie Robinson

I have a serious obsession with anthologies. I love to go to used book stores and scour the shelves for rare and excellent horror anthologies! Here are a few of my favorites from my very own book shelf.

THE DARK: NEW GHOST STORIES edited by Ellen Datlow

First of all, everyone should get to know Ellen Datlow if you don't already. She is one of the greatest editors out there and she has a special place in her heart for horror; the book includes an introduction by herself. The theme of this one is obviously ghost stories and all from modern writers. I always have to check out the table of contents and there are few and here that just made me squeal! Jeffery Ford, Tanith Lee, Joyce Carol Oates, Ramsey Campbell and Kelly Link. You can definitely hear the modern voice in this anthology, and although I prefer the classic gothic voice myself, I do like to give myself a dose of the modern every once in a while, and this is the perfect concoction. It was released by Tor, one of my favorite publishers!

AMERICAN GOTHIC TALES edited by Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates (a.k.a. the shit) edited and introduces this collection of gothic horror stories penned by some of the greatest American authors. With 40+ tales, it showcases what it considered to be each others best, or most popular, as far as the horror short story goes. It contains Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown", Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper", Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and Henry James' "The Romance of Certain Clothes". There are a few hard-to-find stories by great authors; I was very excited to see the rare pieces, "A Lovely House" by Shirley Jackson and "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner. There were many tales and authors I had never heard of before, and I had great fun reading this book!

LATE VICTORIAN GOTHIC TALES edited by Roger Luckhurst

Although this collection only has a handful of tales, they are rich, thought-provoking examples of gothic literature.  There are two pieces by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as well as one from Henry James, Oscar Wilde and Rudyard Kipling. What really sealed the deal for me was that this anthology included Arthur Machen's masterpiece "The Great God Pan", an essential piece for serious horror lit fans!

POE'S CHILDREN edited by Peter Straub

These tales are handpicked by living legend himself, Peter Straub, and are what he believes to be the best of the best of the last decade. These are not gore for gore's sake, these are truly terrifying stories, crafted with care by some of the most talented modern writers. The table of contents includes Ramsey Campbell, Kelly Link, and Glen Hirschberg, with, of course, an introduction by Straub, himself.

THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF HAUNTED HOUSE STORIES edited by Peter Haining

The "Mammoth Book of..." collection is one of my favorites. Not only do they give dozens and dozens of stories to read, they always pick the best ones! This one is, of course, contains stories about haunted houses, and each one has a fun little introduction and tidbits about the author and possible inspiration of the story. We get haunting tales by regulars like Algernon Blackwood, Charlotte Riddell, Ramsey Campbell, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; there is even the rare piece by Virginia Woolfe. It also has my FAVORITE story by Sheridan Le Fanu "Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House".

HAUNTED LEGENDS edited by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas

These stories penned by modern writers are inspired by folklore and urban legends around the world. I wrote a review on this book that you can read here: (HAUNTED LEGENDS).

REALMS OF DARKNESS edited by Mary Danby

This anthology of "Nightmarish Tales of the Supernatural and the Macabre" stands out because it has an introduction from Count Dracula, himself--Christopher Lee. If that hasn't gotten you to add this to your Amazon shopping cart, the 50+ stories, written by the best of the best, will! Stephen King? Check. M.R. James? Check. Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, Washington Irving? Check, check and check! Plus some surprise appearances from H.G. Wells, Ronald Dahl and Agatha Christie. I must give shout-outs to my favorites Ambrose Bierce, Sheridan Le Fanu and Guy De Maupassant. And since I purchased mine at a used bookstore it came with yellowing pages and a wonderful smell - perfect!

PHOBIA edited by Charlotte Emma Gledson

I'm throwing this last one in for a bit of shameless self-promotion!! This antho was released at the beginning of September by Black Hound Digital Press. All of the stories carry the theme of (you guessed it) phobia and the psychological--or physical--effects of it. It just so happens to feature a story by lil' ole me, Marie, called "The Winter Wind". If you are interested in buying, I will provide the link here: (PHOBIA) . It is available for Kindle only and costs a mere $2.99.

*All right, that is it for now! But since I have an ever-growing collection of anthologies I promise to make another post like this in the future! Happy reading!!

V/H/S (2012): The Anthology Lives!

Review by Marie Robinson

Greetings, darlings! I have been immensely excited for this film since I first heard about it several months ago. I discovered it by looking up director Ti West’s (House of the Devil, The Innkeepers) filmography, eager to see what he was going to come up with next. At the time his next project was an anthology-style film called V/H/S, which sounded awesome, and had a bad-ass trailer. In fact, I believe I mentioned it at the end of my review of The Innkeepers. It became my most anticipated film of the year.

You may know that the film was released On Demand this past week, and although I really wanted to see it on the silver screen when it came to St. Louis in October, I could not pass up the opportunity.

The frame story is about a group of assholes that make money off of videos in the “up-skirt” fashion. One of them (we’ll call him Mustache) says that a guy tipped him off about a video that will cash in for a ridiculous amount of money; all they have to do is steal it from a guy’s house.

When the group arrives at the house and break in they find the owner of the house, an elderly man, dead in his armchair in front of several sets of staticky televisions. Whoever tipped off Mustache told him that they are looking for one specific tape; this man happens to have stacks of them, all unlabeled. The only way they can find “the one” is to watch them.

Each tape was done by a separate director; a list that consists of David Bruckner, Glen McQuaid (I Sell the Dead, Stake Land), Joe Swanberg, Adam Wingard, a group of directors called Radio Silence, and of course, Ti West.

I was SO excited for this movie that I was actually terrified that it was going to disappoint me horribly. Lucky, it was AWESOME!

Seriously, I’m not exaggerating. There are things that could lead you to believe that it is unoriginal. For example, it is a found footage piece and it is the anthology-style, there are dozens of each. However, this film is different from any other film you have experienced. The frame story and each individual “tape” are each completely original and refreshing. Oh, did I mention that this film is fucking scary? Hands down, the most terrifying film I’ve seen all year. I might also add that it is not for the faint of heart; it has gore that “goes there”.

It is stylish, it is clever, and it deserves applause from the horror community. These directors give us hope for the future of the genre, which we need with so many stupid films making money in the mainstream box office (The Apparition and The Possession are two good examples).

Speaking of horror anthologies, I caught wind of another one coming up next month. Called The ABCs of Death, it is a collection of 26 short films, each by a different director, and each film corresponds with a letter in the alphabet.
Obviously each word will be somehow related to horror, what the word may be was left up to the directors, themselves. Ti West is also on board with this one, as well as Adam Wingard, Ben Weatley (director of Kill List), and a directorial debut by beloved genre actress Angela Bettis (favorite of director Lucky McKee).

There is a short trailer/promo thing for it on IMDB, so check that out if you are interested.
It is scheduled to release on September 15th in Canada, October 4th in Russia, and November 2nd in the US (limited).

Fascination With FEAR ITSELF (2008)

~by Marie Robinson

Greetings, goblins! Even though I do not have cable, I do love a good television show. Though a continuous storyline has its perks—as a viewer you get to know the character, the setting, the storyline, itself—after so many seasons it can lose its freshness. My favorite shows are anthology-style, such as the Twilight Zone, Tales from the Crypt, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Tales from the Darkside.

Fear Itself only survived one season, but I have cherished every episode. I found it on Netflix a year ago, but it originally aired in 2008 on NBC. The creator is Mick Garris, who is known for the Masters of Horror series and a slew of Stephen King adaptations. The producer, Adam Goldworm, also did Masters of Horror.

 "The Circle"

Now, I’m sure all of us horror lovers know that many episodes of Masters of Horror are notoriously awful (a friend and I recently laughed our way through John Landis’ Deer Woman), which is a shame since it has an extremely impressive collection of directors, but in my opinion they got it right the second time around with Fear Itself.

Fear Itself also has a few notable directors. John Landis returns, along with Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator), Brad Anderson (The Machinist), and Rob Schmidt (Wrong Turn). And while there aren’t any big name actors, there are a few you will see and say, “Hey, there's that guy/chick,” such as Anna Kendrick from Up in the Air and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Scream Queen Brianna Evigan.

"Skin and Bones"

Each forty-five minute episode is its own little horror story. Some are supernatural, some serial killer—they cover the classics and some original ideas as well. What I love about the show is the originality—each episode stands on its own. They pull you in and keep you watching, and they sure as hell get you sweating. This show masters suspense and of course, fear. I’m not kidding, this show is freaking SCARY! One episode, entitled “Chance”, about a man who is faced with his own evil doppelganger was so intense I turned it off! I’m sure you guys are judging me now, but watch that episode, I dare you!

My favorite episode is called “Skin and Bones”, directed by Larry Fessenden, and it is about a man who becomes possessed by a wendigo. In case you didn’t know, a wendigo is a creature in Native American folklore, an evil spirit that possesses people and turns them into cannibals. Now, unless we have some cannibals in the crowd (nice to meat you), I guarantee watching this episode will give you gooseflesh and gags.

Seriously, this show is the stuff of nightmares! It is a shame that it only lasted one season, but lucky for us all the episodes are on Netflix!

Anthology shows are probably my favorite because I am short story writer, myself, and I am always looking for examples of spooky, clever, and quality tales.

Check this show out and let me know what you think! And if you are familiar with the series and have a favorite episode, please, do tell.

*Editor's note:  After reading this synopsis of Fear Itself (and remembering that I not only watched some of this series when it was on but I actually did a small review of it here on FWF), I checked on Amazon and you can buy the entire first season (the only season) for only $13.20.  Matter of fact, I bought a copy for myself, so thanks Marie! / ch

Thanks for the ride, lady!

Sometimes I like a good anthology movie.
This isn't one of them.
No, just kidding! I happen to like Creepshow 2 even better than the first one.
(Though that "Crate" story in the original one is by far the best - I love love love the scene where Hal Holbrook fake-shoots his trampy, loud-mouthed, drunk of a wife Adrienne Barbeau right between the eyes. Classic!)

Anyhoo -
Creepshow 2 is a real campy treat. Instead of the five tales of the macabre that we got in part one, we get three longer, tighter stories here.

The first, 'Old Chief Woodenhead' stars a couple of old school Hollywood stars - George Kennedy and Dorothy Lamour. The old fogies own a general store in a desolate, run-down, one horse town somewhere in the southwest. They have been supporting the townsfolk (mostly American Indians) by letting them buy on credit, and one day one of the higher-ups brings a bag of precious stones and jewels for the elderly couple to hold as a lein on their debts.
That night the couple is robbed and unfortunately killed by some local youths who proceed to steal the valuable gems as well. The wooden Indian statue out at the storefront (Old Chief Woodenhead) then tracks them down to exact some revenge for his good-hearted, well-meaning owners. It is the most inferior tale of the three but still worth a look.

The second tale 'The Raft' - appears in Stephen King's book Skeleton Crew, but differs somewhat. The bones of the story are still there though. Simply put, two couples go to a lake to hang out (get high, get laid) on a wooden raft that has apparently been there for this reason for some time. It is a deserted area and when they swim out to the raft, one of them notices a duck being sucked down into the water by what looks like an oil slick. It's all downhill from there, kiddies. The special effects here leave a bit to be desired, but it's passable and still effective.

The third story - by far my favorite - is 'The Hitchhiker'...
A wealthy woman is getting ready to leave a hotel room after a romp with her regular gigolo. She is running late, talking to herself the whole way home - devising excuses to tell her husband regarding her tardiness. She drops a cigarette, fumbles trying to find it, slides all over the exit ramp, and smacks her car right into a black hitchhiker in a yellow slicker. She freaks out and, after hearing a truck coming, drives off leaving the man for dead. Being that this IS a horror movie, you just know damn well that dude ain't dead.
Special notice should be given to the truck driver in this scene - it's Stephen King himself, making a Hitchcock-like cameo. Funny!

Another cameo (though you cannot tell it is him) is Tom Savini starring as 'The Creep'.

There's no rocket science to this script, and it wouldn't win any prizes for quality content, but it is a true guilty pleasure that I'm happy to own.

Update on Fear Itself

Ok, so I've now watched the first two episodes of the new horror anthology series on NBC- "Fear Itself", and I have a few thoughts.

First of all, I kind of enjoyed the first one, entitiled 'Sacrifice'. It was the story of a small group of criminals who hoard up in an abandoned fort in the wintertime. Soon they run into three young women, sisters I believe, who live like old time pioneer folks, and for some reason Dad's chained to the bed. The sisters have some secrets, and being about only 40 minutes long (commercials!), they don't waste much time figuring things out. I'd like to say it was a tight little tale, but it had more than a few holes in the set-up and was only somewhat scary. It had a bit of atmosphere and a claustrophobic feel, but all in all - just mediocre.

The second episode - 'Spooked' was directed by the guy (Brad Anderson) that did 'The Machinist', which I very much enjoyed, but this hour - for me - was totally inferior. I didn't find it even remotely scary - and the storyline was actually just boring. I almost nodded off a few times (but that could be the late 10pm showtime). Eric Roberts starred, and he almost always brings a sleasy, skum-bag kind of feel to things, and this was no different. He stars as a disgraced cop who has made some fairly bad decisions in his career, was forced off the police squad, and in turn, is a private detective of sorts. He is hired to get evidence on an unfaithful husband by staking out the house from the abandoned (say, haunted) home across the street. Basically, I think the idea was that his past was coming back to haunt him...literally.
The plot, to me, was just a mess here, and I couldn't find many redeeming qualities. So let's leave it at that and hope for better next week.

So far I am not impressed and don't think it even holds a small candle to the 'Masters of Horror' series on Showtime that it is patterned after. And it is not because they aren't able to swear profusely, have nudity, or excessive gore. It is a problem with the writing, in my humble opinion. Let's just hope they have saved the better eps for later on. I will keep watching, if only because there isn't a damn thing on tv this summer - unless you like extra shitty reality shows.

I guess you should check it out for yourself, though. I never believe what the critics (or anyone else) say until I see something for myself.
Till next time...

Nothing to fear but...

FEAR ITSELF is a new horror anthology series coming to NBC tv on Thursday nights at 10:00pm.

It starts on June 5th with an episode entitled "The Sacrifice", about a band of criminals who take shelter in an abandoned snow-covered fort that has its own secrets.

Brought to us in the same vein as (and by the same producers of) Showtime's 'Masters of Horror', I am sure it will be a bit more edited due to network tv constraints, but it still looks fairly promising - especially for the summertime, which is usually quite mundane when it comes to interesting television. The show's website (http://www.nbc.com/Fear_Itself/about/index.shtml) states it will be "pushing the boundaries" - so you know what I say: PUSH 'EM!

I'll report back after the first episode with a humble opinion.