Penny Dreadful is finally here! A few weeks ago I reviewed the trailer and talked a bit about my anticipations for the show, and now I get to experience the dark, brooding magic that is the supernatural underbelly of 19th century London. Come with me as we enter the demimonde! Spoiler alerts below the jump.
Don’t they just look absolutely dreadful?
About two months ago or so, I found out about a new horror show that really piqued my interest. I’ve been an avid fan of American Horror Story since day one, and who doesn’t love a good period piece? Give me provocative scares and a time when men wore vests on the regular. American Horror Story: The Gilded Age or perhaps simply Victorian Horror Story would be right up my alley. Well, neither one of those is coming to a TV network near you, but something close enough is on its way: Penny Dreadful. First off, what is a penny dreadful? They were actually an early form of pop fiction: 19th century small, serial publications with sensationalist material, geared toward working-class youth and costing only, you guessed it, a penny. The genre has lent its name to this upcoming Showtime series, a period horror show also set in the 19th century. Let’s take a peek at the trailer below. Warning: this looks to be a show extra heavy on the horror, not for the faint of heart.
Should I start crying now or later?
Seriously, there are so many interesting stories out there, waiting to be told, missing out on their chance at the big screen because some production company thought “yes, what we need is a generic dark urban fantasy story about Harvey Dent fighting shapeshifting gargoyles. Oooh, and let’s throw an innocent and generic blonde romantic interest, some religious imagery, and lots of explosions in, too!” Continue reading
It’s that time again, the falling leaves, the chill in the air, the dead body swinging from the tree in the neighbor’s front yard. October is truly a wonderful month. It contains the best holiday which crosses over all faiths, races, and creeds (that don’t think it’s about devil worship). I can hold a bloodied sack of candy while dressed as the Batman without anyone calling the cops, but the most important part of this wonderful holiday full of ghoulish ghosts and wicked witches, bloody vampires, and psychotic clowns, are the Halloween movies! We all have our favorites, but possibly the most beloved (or at least most well-known) Halloween movie “for families” is Tim Burton’s A Nightmare Before Christmas, a stop-motion animated movie about a bored Pumpkin King and a less-than-jolly Santa. In that same vein Burton’s latest movie Frankenweenie was released this October 5. It is based on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and the 1931 movie of the same name.
Frankenweenie is a simple story about a boy named Victor and his undead dog Sparky that he brought back to life using electricity (I see what you did there, Burton) and a special scientific formula. Aka: science is magic. Victor’s unfortunate looking classmate Edgar recognizes the bestitched Sparky and blackmails Victor into teaching him how to raise the dead. Soon some of his other classmates find the formula and after playing God for a while, end up accidentally creating giant monsters. Havoc ensues.
There were some very funny parts of the movie. Edgar had some good one-liners. The Weird Girl was also appropriately named. When Burton calls something weird, you better believe it! Overall I enjoyed the movie. The beginning was very touching; it truly showed the bond between Victor and Sparky. I cried when Sparky was hit by the car, was reanimated, and at the end of the movie. Sparky reminded me of Zero, Jack Skellington’s red nosed ghost dog and Victor reminded me of…Victor from Burton’s lackluster movie Corpse Bride. Overall I would say it was B+; pretty good, but it seemed a bit short, and I didn’t really like the Asian representation in the movie. Still, I heartily recommend it.
Lady Geek Girl and Friends 