Monthly Archives: December 2024

Saturday is Horror Day #198 – In Her Skin

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

In Her Skin


Rachel Barber (Kate Bell) is young and pretty and very well-liked by everyone. Lovely and slender, her passion is dancing, and she takes classes at a local school. Her parents, Michael (Guy Pearce) and Elizabeth (Miranda Otto) adore her. But one day, Rachel does not get off the tram, where her father is waiting to pick her up, and life will never be the same for the Barbers.

 

 

Realizing immediately that something is not right, the family contacts the police, but they are dismissive of their concerns, and claim that it hasn’t been long enough to be considered missing. That she has probably run away. Rachel’s boyfriend Manni (Khan Chittenden) says he hasn’t seen her, and neither have her friends. Rachel is too dependable to simply have gone somewhere without letting someone know. But then Manni confesses that Rachel told him she was going to a job that night, one that paid a lot of money but was vey secretive, and that’s all he knows. The Barbers are naturally concerned what that might mean.

 

In Her Skin is based on a true story that took place in Australia in 1999. The stars in the cast are rounded out by Sam Neill, who plays the father of a girl who once babysat for the family, Caroline Reid Robertson, played by Ruth Bradley. The acting is top notch, not surprisingly with such a cast, and the concern for their daughter is palpable. Anyone who has children can relate to how hopeless they must have felt, wondering where their daughter was. As we discover the identity of the killer and watch her own descent into madness, it’s difficult to empathize with her, despite her difficult childhood and her feelings of inadequacy and self-loathing. At the end of the day, a young life was taken for no good reason. This is a story that will haunt you afterwards. The seeming indifference of the police is indeed maddening. I would have felt frustrated too.

 

I think this film is underrated and worth a watch. Just be aware that it is a difficult subject and does not have a happy ending. I’ll give this film 4 Stars.

Wednesday Briefs: December 25, 2024

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page. If you are interested in becoming a Wednesday Briefer, please leave a comment or email me at shelley_runyon@yahoo.com.

A Witcher Christmas by Julie Lynn Hayes

“Tell me something. Has Geralt always been so…” Jaskier floundered for words, something he was generally not at a loss for, and finally finished his question with “crotchety?” The petulant bard kicked disconsolately at an object situated alongside the path, then yelped in dismay after discovering said object was a rather hard rock which would not yield to his misguided efforts to dislodge it.

The slim platinum blonde he’d addressed patted Roach’s cheek and briefly nuzzled the patient horse before turning back to her companion. “You’ve known him far longer than I have,” she said bluntly. “You tell me.”

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Book Review: One Piece, Vol 19: Rebellion

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One Piece, Vol 19: Rebellion   

Author: Eiichiro Oda

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: October 7, 2008

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Action Adventure/216 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Luffy and his crew are making their way to Alabasta, slowly but surely. Since Luffy ate all the bait they need for fishing, they are using Karoo, to Vivi’s shock! When they pass through a steam cloud caused by an underwater volcano, they are surprised to find they have gained an unexpected passenger.  He’s a bit of an oddball and claims to have also eaten the devil fruit. Only when a ship draws near and takes him off do they find out he is Mr. 2 Bon Clay of Baroque Works!

They reach Alabasta at last, only to find, to their alarm, a whole lot of Baroque Works ships behind them! They anchor the ship and Luffy takes off immediately, having smelled a restaurant.  Vivi is dismayed to spot Mr 3’s ship in the harbor. Apparently he isn’t dead after all. Not only that, but Captain Smoker is there as well. Luffy finds food, but then Smoker finds him. Off Luffy goes, Smoker in hot pursuit! Another unexpected arrival turns out to be Ace, Luffy’s older brother! Brother, what?

Meanwhile, Mr. 11 has been captured by a group who calls themselves the “billions”. They see an opportunity to make a name for themselves – at 11’s expense.  As Luffy and the others reunite, Vivi sends Karoo with an important message for her father. Of course, everyone wants to know about Luffy’s brother, who apparently has also eaten the devil fruit. What are the odds? For something that is supposed to be a rarity, they seem to find a lot of people who have partaken of it. Ace invites Luffy and his friends to join Whitebeard’s pirates, but of course he declines.

They set course for Yuba. Vivi intends to reason with the leader of the rebels, intent on avoiding future bloodshed. She is determined to rid her country of Baroque Works as well.  In the meantime, those same people are meeting at their headquarters, at the Spiders Café.

Luffy and the others arrive at Erumalu the Green City – but it isn’t very green!  Vivi explains that it was once upon a time, but that rain hasn’t fallen there in three years!  She also tells them about the King’s Miracle, which provided water to Alubarna – but at a high price. It’s gonna be a long, hot, and dry trip to Yuba across the desert sands!

We’ve finally reached the crux of the Alabasta arc and things are falling into place. We have Luffy and the others who are fighting for Princess Vivi, who is fighting both Baroque Works and the rebel forces. We’re seeing the assembled Baroque Works now, in all their “glory”. They have some real characters among them, that they do. There is backstory for Vivi, which yields very interesting information, especially in light of an unexpected reveal. And let’s not forget Captain Smoker, who is hot on Luffy’s heels! Things are really happening, looking forward to the next volume!

Saturday is Horror Day #197 – Abigail

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Abigail

A group of criminals is hired for the purposes of kidnapping. They are not told beforehand who the target is, just that they are to kidnap her and hold her while ransom demands are made and met. They don’t know one another and are under strict instructions from the man who hired them, Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito) not to change the status quo in any way, including exchanging real names. To that end, he assigns them nicknames they are to use. Joey(Melissa Barrera), Frank(Dan Stevens), Rickles(William Catlett), Sammy(Kathryn Newton), Peter(Kevin Durand), and Dean(Angus Cloud) Clearly, someone likes the Rat Pack here.

Abigail is a ballerina, and is performing to an empty theater. Afterward, she is taken home, and the

kidnappers follow. Upon arrival at the place where the kidnapping is to occur, Sammy is dismayed to learn the target is a young girl, Abigail (Alisha Weir). But a job is a job, and she has a child of her own, so what can they do? They break into the house, acquire the target remove her to another location, where she is blindfolded and shackled to a bed. They decide that only one of them will interact with Abigail, thus lessening the chances she might recognize their voices later. Sammy volunteers for this, and makes sure she wears her mask whenever she checks on Abigail.

But strange things begin to happen, and the kidnappers find their numbers dwindling. Worse, they find themselves locked into this place with no way out. If that’s not bad enough, Abigail is no ordinary child…

First, let me say that if you happened to watch the trailer, as I did, there is no need to see the movie, you’ve seen it all. Seriously. I believe that had I not seen that first, I would have enjoyed the movie more. But the element of surprise was irretrievably lost, so I had a good idea what was coming. I even made some surmises regarding Sammy from the beginning, which proved to be true.  There was one unexpected event at the end, but I would have known that if I had read the entire cast list at IMDB.

That being said, there is nothing about this movie that stands out. Even the child ballerina who is more than that loses interest. The acting is just okay, although I do like Kevin Durand, also the surprise visitor at the end. But ultimately it’s not enough for me to say I enjoyed watching this. It misfires on some level. The info dump at the beginning was just too obvious and did come into play later. But I have to believe there was a better way to do this. So, if you’ve seen the trailer, stop there. You’ll be better entertained. If you still want to watch, proceed at your own risk. I’ll give this film 2 Stars.

Wednesday Briefs: December 18, 2024

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page. If you are interested in becoming a Wednesday Briefer, please leave a comment or email me at shelley_runyon@yahoo.com.

Dracula #34(7.4) by J L Hayes

Avram jumped as a blue bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. Far too close for comfort, it was followed about five seconds later by the requisite thunder. This storm was practically upon them, the rain but a precursor to its fury. Avram was torn between taking Andrei and seeking shelter in order to keep him from seeing what was about to happen and witnessing that same event. While it was true he’d seen Nico display his talents many times over the years, that was a sight he never grew tired of.

The boat began to rock upon the turbulent river like a drunken sailor. Avram still clung to Dracula for balance

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Saturday is Horror Day #196 – Dark Night of the Scarecrow

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Dark Night of the Scarecrow

Bubba Ritter (Larry Drake) is a mentally changed man who wouldn’t hurt a soul. He lives with his mother, and his best friend is a young girl  named Marylee (Tonya Crowe), and they spend a lot of time together. Unfortunately, in their small Southern town, four men who are the local assholes, including the postal carrier Otis Hazelrigg (Charles Durning) like to make life miserable for Bubba. They torment him and have, on more than one occasion, beaten him, simply for existing.

When Marylee is attacked by a dog, the four men blame Bubba, even though it wasn’t his fault, and he

actually saved her. They chase him down and execute him, only to learn that the girl lived and he didn’t harm her. They hide their deed, and claim self-defense, and are declared blameless, to the chagrin of the prosecuting attorney. Bubba’s mother is very angry, and tells them that there will be justice of another kind.

And then suddenly these four men can’t stop seeing a mysterious scarecrow. And once he appears to one of the men, that man dies. What sort of curse is this? Has Bubba come back from the dead? Or was he even dead to begin with.

So maybe this film will never receive an Academy Award nomination (especially as it’s from 1981), but I find a certain satisfaction in watching ignorant assholes get what is coming to them. Charles Durning is particularly loathsome as the mailman who torments poor Bubba every chance he gets. He is also cringeworthy when he tries to convince young Marylee that Bubba’s death isn’t his fault. If this was done today, some might even say he’s a pedo, but I think he just can’t handle the truth. As a side note, Larry Drake, who plays Bubba, played Benny in the TV series, LA Law, a character who was also mentally challenged. In fact, Drake became known for playing that kind of character, and people were so convinced by his performance they thought he was handicapped himself.

I’ll give this film 3 Stars.

Wednesday Briefs: December 11, 2024

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page. If you are interested in becoming a Wednesday Briefer, please leave a comment or email me at shelley_runyon@yahoo.com.

Dracula #34(7.4) by J L Hayes

Avram jumped as a blue bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. Far too close for comfort, it was followed about five seconds later by the requisite thunder. This storm was practically upon them, the rain but a precursor to its fury. Avram was torn between taking Andrei and seeking shelter in order to keep him from seeing what was about to happen and witnessing that same event. While it was true he’d seen Nico display his talents many times over the years, that was a sight he never grew tired of.

The boat began to rock upon the turbulent river like a drunken sailor. Avram still clung to Dracula for balance

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Saturday is Horror Day #195 – Son

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Son

Laura (Andi Matichak) has a troubled past, one she was able to escape from… barely. She still has nightmares about that time and those people. But the one good thing she took away with her is her son David (Luke David Blumm).  Several years have passed, and David is ill. The trouble is that none of the doctors can diagnose what is wrong with him. Worse, they seem to think something is wrong with Laura. Something mental.

Laura removes David from the hospital and flees with him. But violence seems to follow them. She  meets a detective who is working the case, Paul (Emile Hirsch), and it seems they may be forming a connection. But at the end of the day, David comes first, and Laura will do whatever she must to protect him…. anything at all.

This film does start slowly, I admit, but it does pick up eventually. I think it feels a bit disjointed at times and that perhaps it could have been told in a better way. The basic premise is solid and entertaining, and the end is unexpected. Luke David Blumm was great as the unfortunate son, outshining the adults around him. The two leads are so-so. It’s not a bad film, I just think it could have been better. I’ll give this film 3 Stars.

Wednesday Briefs: December 4, 2024

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page. If you are interested in becoming a Wednesday Briefer, please leave a comment or email me at shelley_runyon@yahoo.com.

Dracula #34(7.4) by J L Hayes

Avram jumped as a blue bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. Far too close for comfort, it was followed about five seconds later by the requisite thunder. This storm was practically upon them, the rain but a precursor to its fury. Avram was torn between taking Andrei and seeking shelter in order to keep him from seeing what was about to happen and witnessing that same event. While it was true he’d seen Nico display his talents many times over the years, that was a sight he never grew tired of.

The boat began to rock upon the turbulent river like a drunken sailor. Avram still clung to Dracula for balance

Click here to read the entire Brief:

Continue reading →