Web Crush Wednesdays: Brainchild

I’m not usually into horror, but while I was on my webcomics binge this break, I stumbled upon a little comic called Brainchild. I didn’t know anything about it and I had the vague idea that it was about mutants, so I went in pretty much completely unprepared. Quick update: it’s not really about mutants. However, it is about an enormous, unsettling conspiracy that looks to have a great effect on the personal and professional life of its protagonist, Allison Beaufort. I was thoroughly creeped out and thoroughly entertained, and that’s all I can ask for from a webcomic.

Trigger warning for body horror after the jump.

Magical Mondays: Sentience Is Magical—and Horrifying

Sometimes it’s a bad idea to think too hard about the things you love. Last week, while we were looking for something to watch between the Tonys red carpet and the actual Tonys, my friend and I settled on a channel showing Toy Story.

Now don’t get me wrong, I adore the Toy Story franchise. However, it’s one of many beloved childhood stories where, if you poke too closely at the seams of the worldbuilding, it starts to unravel into questions that only get more disturbing.

Um, yikes (via inquisitr)

The Call: 2Spooky4Me, but Perfect for Halloween

(via Introverted Wife)

Happy Halloween, y’all! I hope everyone has fantastically spooky plans for this exciting Monday night, or if not, that you at least got your spoop in this weekend.

In the spirit of All Hallows Read, I figured I’d use this post to recommend a scary book. I unfortunately ended up taking this duty too seriously, and ended up reading a book that was just a little beyond my spook limits. It’s cool, though. I’ll sleep again eventually.

The Call by Peadar O’Guilin piqued my interest despite my inability to handle horror because it wasn’t generic horror—it was fairy-based horror. I’ll read pretty much anything that puts a dark twist on fairy lore, so I dove in headfirst.

Vague spoilers and a trigger warning for extreme body horror after the jump.

Throwback Thursdays: Spy Kids

There’s something about spy movies that, for me, makes them more interesting than the usual action-adventure film. (It’s probably the gadgets.) But despite this, I haven’t been a fan of the recent spy movies out there. I didn’t really like Spy, and I’d heard that Spectre didn’t match up to its predecessor, so eventually I turned back to an old favorite in the genre: 2001’s Spy Kids.

Trigger warning for body horror after the jump.

Pan’s Review of Fantastic Four: I Watched It So You Don’t Have To

Over the course of the last three weeks, I heard no shortage of wary, hesitant, lukewarm predictions about the newest Fantastic Four movie. It seemed like somewhere underneath all that flinching, everyone really wanted to get excited, but ten years had not been long enough to recover from the pain of the 2005 version of the same film. My reassurance, in every case, was “Well, I’m not worried. No matter how bad it is, it can’t be worse than the first one, right?”

Maker’s breath, but I was wrong. I was so very, very wrong.

That’s it, that’s the fight scene.

Manga Mondays: The Enigma of Amigara Fault

Wow, so, this is about a million miles off from my usual Manga Mondays fare, and before I begin to explain the story, let me get this out of the way:

TW: Claustrophobia, Body Horror

The Enigma of Amigara Fault is a one-shot story of about thirty pages by Junji Ito, and, when it showed up on my Tumblr dash a week or two ago, just reading the author’s name should have clued me in that this was, perhaps, 2spooky4me. Tsunderin has reviewed Ito’s manga here before, and I should have remembered from just reading her review that Ito goes in for the psychological creepiness and body horror without pulling any punches. Regret, I has it.

The story of Amigara Fault runs something like this: following an earthquake in one of Japan’s prefectures, a giant faultline appears in the side of Amigara Mountain. Upon examining the huge crack in the earth, it’s soon discovered that it’s full of hundreds of naturally-occurring human-shaped holes, which go deeper into the mountain’s surface than any simple probes or measuring devices are able to detect. People from all over come to investigate and rubberneck at the sight, and soon certain visitors get the unavoidable impression that certain holes are meant for them in particular, and are struck with an irrational desire to fit themselves into the crevices. What happens when they snap and climb in? Well, I’ll leave that to you to find out—it is only thirty pages, after all.

Euuughhh, it makes my skin crawl.

Every time I encounter a scary story or movie, I think to myself, “This time I’ll be okay; this time I won’t let it get to me.” In actuality, I have a particularly low tolerance, although eight seasons of Supernatural have increased my vulnerability to jump-scares. Needless to say, I was unsuccessful yet again in not being disturbed by a scary thing; thanks a lot, Ito-sensei. However, if you’re into horror manga or just scary stories in general, this is a great example of how to tell a terrifying original story in a small space (whoops, accidental pun) with only a little buildup, backstory, or exposition.

If you’re up for spending the rest of your day feeling totally unsettled, you can read the full story here.