"The Witches" 2020 Movie Review!

I was going through my social media accounts one day, minding my own damn business as usual, when I saw the advertisement for this movie. I didn't even know a new version for "The Witches" was coming, and I was beyond excited when I saw the promo. 

I remember reading the book multiple times when I was in middle grade. That was the time when I read many of Roald Dahl's classics, and "The Witches" novel amazed me. It was weird, granted, but it was still a fun read. 

If you don't know what "The Witches" is about, it's the story of a young boy (who's never named in the book) who lives with his grandmother after his parents die in a terrible accident. The grandmother loves him deeply, and she always tells him stories about witches. In this world, witches are essentially demons in female form. Witches have no toes or hair; their hands are actually claws; their nostrils are exceptionally large; and in the book, they also have eyes that change color or reflect strange things, and they have blue spit. 

The grandmother is a retired witch hunter, and that's how she knows so much about the topic. She takes her grandson to a hotel in England, oblivious to the fact that the British witches are holding their annual convention there, led by the Grand High Witch herself (she's like their queen, so to speak). Here is where the adventure begins. 

The book was already adapted in 1990 and it starred Anjelica Huston, who did an amazing job as the Grand High Witch. 

In this post, I will be making a review of the new book adaptation. It was marketed not as a remake of Huston's film, but rather a reimagining of the book, and it delivered that in some ways. I must warn you though: there will be SPOILERS! Also, please remember these are just my opinions, so don't take them personal. 

The review will be divided in three parts: 

1- Things I Liked 

2- Things I'm Not Sure How I Feel About

3- Things I Didn't Like 

Without further due, let's get started! 

I. Things I Liked:

1- Main characters' race change: Both in the book and the original film, the grandmother and the kid are white. They come from Norway and move to England. In this new adaptation though, they are both black and live in the south of the United States. Why did I like this? Because it's not very often we see lead characters who are not white in stories like this; more often than not, we see white characters involved in adventures and magic, so it was very refreshing to see a new race perspective in the story. 

Also, Octavia Spencer is a phenomenal actress. 

2- Social Commentary: At one point in the movie when the grandmother and the kid are discussing witches, including a very recent attempt on his life by a witch herself, the grandma delivers a very harsh truth. She states that witches mostly attack children like him, the ones who are considered outcasts and outsiders; children that our society would (sadly) not make a big fuss about their disappearance. This was a subtle but important message, one that reflects our society even today. 

In the movie, the boy protagonist is black, and the little white mouse was an orphan girl. No one worried too much about her disappearance back when she was turned into a mouse. 

3- Aesthetic of the movie: This movie is set in the 1960's, and boy did it look beautiful! Everything was so pleasing to the eye, from the cars, the clothes, the places, but mostly the hotel itself. The hotel was so incredibly beautiful! I wanted nothing more than to stay there- minus the witches, of course. 

4- Grand High Witch: As with the original one, the Grand High Witch steals the show! Anne Hathaway (in my opinion) did a pretty good job portraying the movie's main villain. Long gone is princess Mia Thermopolis, as now Hathaway steps into a demon's high heels. She looked regal, evil, proud, vain, sadistic, rude, menacing and ultimately narcissistic. She was like Fiona Goode but hideous. My only problem was with the forced German accent they made her do. 

I also liked how the character's powers were expanded. Neither does the book or original film explain the extent of the High Witch's powers; they only mention that she is the most powerful of them all. This movie finally showed how powerful she truly is, possessing gifts such as: 

    - Telekinesis 

    - Electrokinesis 

    - Flying 

    - Super strength 

    - Longevity

    - Enhanced sense of smell (stronger than other witches).

    - She could also stretch and elongate her arms, and that looked twisted and creepy as hell.  

5- Ending closer to the book's: In the 1990 film, the main boy is turned back into a human by a witch-turned-good; she leaves him with the promise to turn Bruno (the other victim of the witches), back into a human boy as well. But in the book, the boy and Bruno both stay as mice forever. Furthermore, in the book Bruno stays with his parents, and the girl Daisy/Mary never existed (at least not like in the movie). Nevertheless, even with these differences, the 2020 version stayed true to the book's ending: there are no good witches, and no one goes back to their original form. 

Now, let's go for the next section. 

II. Things I'm Not Sure How I Feel About: 

1- Appearance of the witches: Granted, I'm not a big fan of the witches' appearance in this universe at all. I even find them kind of lame; I just really dislike them. But still, I was expecting several things I didn't see, such as Anne Hathaway removing her face and revealing her demonic side. Also, some elements of the witches' bodies changed, namely their hands and mouth. 

In the book and original film, the witches have all their fingers, but not nails; instead they have claws. 

Click here so you can see their hands- and transformation- closer.

In the 2020 version though, their hands look like this: 

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this. I mean, they look pretty cool in their own way. I'm just not sure I completely like them. 

Now, for their mouths. That change was a pleasant surprise, as it added something new to their appearance, and it looked very creepy. It was as if I was watching female versions of Pennywise the dancing clown. 

OH HELL NO!
In this house we believe in going to the dentist, young lady. 

What I didn't enjoy that much about their mouths was that you could always see their scars, even when their mouths were in normal mode. 

If only the Grand High Witch had had those scars then I wouldn't complain, but all of the witches did. Aren't they supposed to go mostly unnoticed by people? Wouldn't anyone suspect something was a little off after seeing a large group of women with the same scars? It also ruined the big mouth reveal for me a little, because the scars already teased that something was off about their mouths. 

Last but certainly not least, let's take on the next part. 

III. Things I Didn't Like

1- Grandmother being a voodoo priestess: This element is brand new to the story, and I wasn't a fan. First of all, it came out of nowhere and it served no purpose whatsoever. You take that element out of the movie and it remains virtually the same. The grandma only used it twice, and it was pretty unimpressive. Also, isn't this a reinforcement of black stereotypes? Always associating black people with voodoo and occultism might be a counterproductive thing. I might be wrong, but at least that was the perception I got. 

2- Some very bad CGI effects: I remember I was discussing this movie with my best friend over voice messages the very next day after seeing the movie, and something she said really stuck with me. How come a movie made in this era has crappy special effects? They can't claim having a low budget, as they clearly had enough for the set, and for paying actors such as Stanly Tucci, Octavia Spencer and Anne Hathaway. Then... what the hell happened? 

Some effects looked decent, such as the High Witch flying. 

Also, the arm stretching thing looked nice too. I mean, seeing the bones breaking and reshaping all at once was disturbing enough. But the super strength effects... those looked plain terrible; there's no way around it. There is one specific scene during the third act of the movie, when the grandmother faces the High Witch in the latter's hotel room. The High Witch comes in and she rips the bed's backside by sheer force. Those effects looked terribly bad. 

Last, I didn't like how the main boy became a mouse. I'm sorry, but the CGI for that transformation was full of crap too. 

3- The Witches themselves: I get that the main witch is the Grand High one, but still. The others were merely part of the background. They served almost no purpose, and they never gave me the feeling that they were dangerous. For me they were just there. This brings me to my other issue: we didn't spend enough time with them. 

I was hoping for their scene with the Grand High Witch to be longer, and full of more tension and danger. Instead, it was over in a couple of minutes. The tension was never felt, and we never saw enough of their dynamics with their queen. This was actually my favorite part of the book: reading about their convention and all the things that happened there, sensing the tension they felt around their leader, and how they calculated the genocide of England's children. 

In the movie, they looked more like mindless drones. After all, the story is called "The Witches", not "The Grand High Witch" only. 

4- The voice over and some sappy quotes: I really disliked Chris Rock's voice as the narrator. He was meant to be the older version of the main boy, and it was awful. He made it too funny for my liking, and many things sounded exaggerated. When he said the quote, "Witches are REAL!" it sounded like someone on drugs was speaking to me. I hated every second of it.

As for the sappy quotes, there weren't that many, but one in particular irritated me. When the Grand High Witch was stretching her arms to get to the grandmother, the old lady said something about the power of love being more powerful than evil. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I'm so sick and tired of listening to this kind of crappy quotes: "Oh, the power of love will do it!", "Love can do anything", "You might have everything, but you don't have love". LADY: you're about to be murdered by a possibly-centuries-old entity, and all you can think of saying is that?? Exactly how is the power of love involved in this? I would understand the power of good or even light (maybe). But the quote itself was full of cringe, and it was delivered in the worst way possible. 

FINAL RATING: 

The movie wasn't terrible. I mean, it wasn't "Cats"! Like I stated above, it had several good things which would make it a decent movie, at least for children. But overall, the movie for me is pretty forgettable, and way too silly in many instances to be taken seriously. I am personally sick and tired of children movies being dumbed down for their audiences, as if children couldn't handle things. Yes, they're children and many topics will be obviously toned down. But just because they're children that doesn't mean they're stupid, and I loathe with all my soul whenever they make villains silly. 

My final verdict is: 

That's all for today folks! As always, thank you for reading. Follow me on Instagram as @emabooks_stuff 

Take care and I'll se you next Sunday. 

P.S. Can somebody please take me to that beautiful hotel? 

Halloween Creatures Book Tag!

It's been a while since I've done a book tag, and I thought: why not do it now? 

I found this tag searching online for Halloween tags and I loved it! It's fun, creative and it gives you the chance to find out about books you might have not known before. It was created by Anthony @ Keep Reading Forward so make sure to check his page as well. 

For this tag, there will be a quick list of 13 questions based on a creature typically associated with Halloween. Each of the questions is either answered with a book or book character, but the answers are not necessarily associated with Halloween; as long as they're answering the questions, then they're fine. 

Let's get started! 

1- Witch: A magical character or book. 

This book is so magical, so beautiful and enchanting. It's full of witches in every corner, and a magic system that is so beautiful to read about. The descriptions are enchanting and breathtaking, and I will praise Danielle Paige for the rest of my days for her unique touch to the land of Oz. It's still one of my favorite books, and I reread it every now and then. The rest of the series is also full of magic and witchy fun, except for Glinda- she's a heinous monster.  

2- Werewolf: The perfect book to read at night. 

This book and its sequels are just perfect for night reading. They're creepy, very creepy. There are monsters in every corner, fun mysteries and cool, magical abilities. The vintage pictures included in the books makes them even better and creepier. The movie adaptation sucked, but the book is one hell of a marvelous ride. I haven't read past the third book yet, but I'm planning on doing so very soon. 

3- Frankenstein: A book that truly shocked you. 

Three triplets born in a magical island, with one of them meant to rule and the others to die. The tradition establishes that they must be separated from each other at a young age, only to be reunited at 16 to kill each other for the throne. The level of darkness and violence in this book shocked me to the core, and I never imagined that someone could create such a dark (but amazing) tale. It was a very twisted story- believe me, I enjoyed every second of it. 

4- The Devil: A dark or evil character. 

This lady is Marisa Coulter from Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials". She's not the devil, she actually works for the church- and that's precisely what makes her so dangerous. She kidnaps children to cut their daemons from them; I remind you that in this world, daemons are people's souls that walk beside them in the shape of animals, which shape/species reflect their personalities. Cutting away a child's daemon means sure death for most of them. The ones who survive remain as mere shells of the people they used to be, completely subjected to the will of the church, without feelings such as desire, love or true happiness, or most important of all: free thinking. 

Mrs. Coulter is a very complicated character, to the point where even her villain status is dubious at times. She changes sides as she pleases or finds convenient; she's a good mother for a moment, and an abusive monster the next; a feme fatale who uses her seduction abilities to gain power and manipulate men; at the end, a self-abusive woman with a thirst for power, and no morals. 

5- Grim Reaper: A character that never should have died. 

Lord Eddard Stark... goddammit. I still cry with his death. It just wasn't fair, period. He was a loving husband, an amazing father, and an honest man through and through. He was a pure person, with only goodness inside of him. I miss him a lot, and I don't care if he's fictional. 

6- Zombie: A book that made you hungry for more. 

This entire trilogy DESTROYED me! It was amazing, and I want and NEED MORE! It's about this world where superheroes do exist, and they have created this whole society system that seems awesome at first, but pretty soon you can see the cracks on it. I usually don't like reading about superheroes, but this trilogy is so perfect; I even created a playlist for it on my iTunes account. 

7- Gargoyle: A character that you would protect at all costs. 

Credits of the fan art are for Ida V. You can find her on 
Instagram. 

This girl right here is Bryce Quinlan from Sarah J. Maas' "Crescent City". I love Bryce with my life, and I think I would be friends with her if I was a fictional character in her world. Bryce struggles a lot with her mental health, which is something I can relate to completely. She loves with her life and more, but she feels underserving of love. Bryce would give her life for her friends, which is something I would do as well. She's fun, independent, confident in her body and full of passion. I will protect her at all costs, so help me Jesus. 

8- Vampire: A book that sucked the life out of you. 

This is the fourth book in the "Red Queen" series by Victoria Aveyard. This book sucked the life out of me and I almost died. Not because it was bad; it was actually quite the contrary! I adored this book! It was so intense, and I loved every scene. Every quote, every action moment, every epic event was divine. Also, the character development present in this book was beyond beautiful. I almost died several times reading it, and I'm thankful for it. 

9- Ghost: A book that still hunts you. 

This story messed me up so badly man. Especially Claudia's story, which was tremendously tragic and sad for me. I don't think I'll ever be over this book, but I don't mind. It's one of the most beautifully written stories I've ever read, and Anne Rice is one marvelous author; she's a genius with words. Lestat, Louis and Claudia will always be with me no matter where I go. 

10- Demon: A book that really scared you. 

I know "The Lord of the Rings" is not exactly a horror book; it's actually high fantasy. Nevertheless, this book gave me a bad juju from the start. All this mess with the Ring and the Dark Lord Sauron, mixed with the Nazgul, Gollum, the cave troll, the orcs and Saruman made me afraid of the dark as an adult. I am not joking. And the chapters dealing with that goddamn cave...HELL TO THE NO. Those chapters were incredibly descriptive, and I admit I was scared reading them. Besides, there was a demon-like creature in this book, so yeah. 

11- Skeleton: A character you have a bone to pick with. 

Hawley Griffin, also known as the Invisible Man, was part of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. His permanent invisible status made him a very valuable asset to the team. The problem? He was a rapist. The League actually caught him in the act of raping a young girl; he, of course, used his ability to do this horrible act. In the second volume of the series, he ended up betraying the League to the invading aliens. In other words, he was a major asshole. 

12- Mummy: A book you would preserve throughout time. 

Not only are "The Hunger Games" very entertaining, but they teach several important lessons which I think we would be stupid to forget. For me, "The Hunger Games" is a cautionary tale: this could happen if we as a society are not careful with the paths we take. I'm terrified of a future where things like the ones in these books could happen. Besides all of this, the books present important survival skills in hostile environments, which I will need when the zombie apocalypse arrives.

13- Creepy Doll: A cover too scary to look at. 

For me, any cover version of this book is scary, creepy, and bound to be burned. It gives me a serious case of bad juju, leaving me thinking only of the clown's teeth. Like I said in last week's post: f*** you Pennywise. If the cover is scary, you really don't want to experience that's waiting on the inside. 

THE MONSTER MASH: For this part, I was supposed to tag my friends. but my friends don't have blog accounts. Therefore, if my friends are reading this post, I invite you to reflect upon these questions and come up with your own answers- even if you don't share them. 

Now, that's all for today! I hope you guys enjoyed. I was planning on writing a more complex post today, longer actually. But I'm currently divided between doing my house chores and preparing my classes for this week, so I had to go for something simple. Hopefully next week I'll be able to do better. As always, thank you for reading me and I'll see you guys next Sunday. 

P.S. I can't wait for Halloween. 

Movies that Scared the Crap Out of Me

Going through these October days, I decided I wanted to watch as many horror movies as possible. I'm not talking about the Freeform movies of 31 Days of Halloween, even though I adore those. The movies I'm talking about are the truly bloody ones; movies that leave you scared and chilled to the bone, wondering if you'll ever see sun light again, or if you'll even be able to sleep! 

Credits to Ridge. 

Therefore, I decided to focus on the movies I haven't seen yet. So far, I've watched a couple of some very good horror movies I had never experienced, such as "Gretel and Hansel", "Mary Shelly's Frankenstein", and "The Omen" trilogy. Watching them, I reflected upon the horror movies that have scared me the most, and why they're so scary to me. I am a fan of the horror genre, and I usually don't get scared that easily. But still... the ten movies I will be talking about shook me to the core for various reasons. Some of them don't even have a fantastic rating; nonetheless, the effect on me was pretty real. 

Without further due, let's get started! 

1- "The Blair Witch Project"

This might not be the movie you were expecting to see here, but hear me out. What scared me of this movie was how realistic it was. At one point, I considered the possibility that the tapes presented in the film were real, because they just seemed to be. The terror was palpable and blood chilling, the storyline flowed naturally, and the things that just appeared out of nowhere were terrifying. 

The horror of this movie for me is how natural everything seemed to be. It gives you the impression that it could happen to anyone. Also, the fact that the effects were so simple made it even more realistic, as it wasn't packed with over-the-top CGI (looking at you "The Conjuring"). There is of course the paralyzing ending. We have Heather, the protagonist, asking for forgiveness as she was the one with the idea to investigate the Blair Witch in the first place. She's crying, visibly terrified of what might be with her in the room, recording herself saying goodbye to her family. And then, all of a sudden, she screams while being killed by an unseen horror. 

The fact that we never see what kills Heather in the end, 
makes it even more terrifying. 

2- "Halloween"

The original version. 

This will always be for me the best version of "Halloween", hands down. Part of what makes this movie so brutal and shocking is the soundtrack, at least in my opinion. It's iconic, it's creepy and it really sets the mood for what happens in the story. There's also of course the villain himself: Michael Myers. He has become the embodiment of pure evil, and even though all the (terrible) sequels have tried to give him a reason for being so vicious, I believe he has no real reason. He's just evil, pure and simple. And that is what makes him such a scary villain. 

He was forever silent. His eyes were completely dark, devoid of feeling and humanity. He came out of nowhere, stalking the characters, making chilling appearances in the screen. He killed viciously, without a certain pattern, without a motive, only because he wanted to. He was the boogeyman for protagonist Laurie Strode; for me, Michael Meyers was hell made into flesh. 

Even as a little kid, you could see in his eyes the truth: 
Michael Myers was empty inside. 

3- "Child's Play"

I curse the day I saw this movie. 

Yes, I am a twenty-something adult who's still afraid of Chucky. Deal with it. 

Chucky was for me the main source of most of my nightmares, and I'm sure that for many other children he was too. Everything about this bastard terrified me to the bones: his voice (both the innocent and violent version of it), how he creepily moved from place to place, his thirst for murder, his black magic rituals, and how he just appeared out of thin air- or so it seemed at the time. 

I still remember the part when little Andy was in the mental institution and he saw this goddamn doll climbing the stairs outside. Seeing him climbing those stairs, so naturally, still scares me. I know, compared to other scenes that one wasn't particularly frightening, but seeing that thing walk towards Andy was like a dark promise of the things that were to come. 

F*** you. 

4- "As Above So Below"

This movie was recommended to me by one of my best friends, because she knows how much I love these movies. I thought I was going to enjoy it. I though it was going to be fun, considering the premise. Boy, was I wrong. I almost did it in my pants! 

I left this movie with one major headache and the promise that I would never watch it again for the rest of my life. HELL TO THE NO! The fact that it was filmed similar to "The Blair Witch Project" didn't help- that only made it more scary for me. Most of the movie takes place in underground caves, and a lot of them were quite small, making me feel very claustrophobic. The things that were seen, the horrors that were found, the chilling sounds that were heard- it was too much for me. Then I investigated about the movie, and found out that the story was meant to represent the Nine Circles of Hell. 

Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, 
Violence, Fraud and Treachery. 

Let's just say this whole Hell thingy didn't help. At all. 

5- "Stephen King's It"

Maldita sea la hora en que vi esta película. 
Pardon my Spanish. 

If Chucky still haunts me to this day, you don't want to know about Pennywise, the dancing clown. Yes, I've gotten over this fear for the most part. I read the book, which I admit took me a whole year to do so. I saw the new movies and I actually enjoyed them a lot. But this 90's version... nope. I can't watch it. 

The new Pennywise is creepy, but the original one was traumatizing. Period. 

I can still hear him, clearly as if he were beside me right now. I remember how scared I was for years to walk over sewers and spending too much time in the shower- I could only see this thing coming out of the shower's drain. 

You goddamn bastard. 

I don't think I will ever be over this movie. Which is kind of ironic, considering I was able to handle the source material. But there's just something so disturbing about this adaptation, something so creepy about this particular Pennywise, that I still have nightmares. I'm talking about the nightmares that make you wake up in the middle of the night, all sweaty and deadly afraid- those kind of nightmares. 

I mean... who needs sleep anyway? 

The fact that I live alone doesn't exactly help either. 

6- "Carrie"

Granted, it's not the scariest horror movie. But "Carrie" does gives me the creeps. For me, this movie is a combination of mixed feelings and terror. The mixed feelings come with Carrie White of course: a victim and monster at the same time, Carrie's revenge is understandable but never justified. I also have mixed feelings about her classmates and teachers; yes, they could be extremely cruel, but did they really deserve to be murdered? 

The terror comes with three things. First of all, Carrie's house. It was creepy beyond reason. It was ornamented with candles, all sorts of religious things, and it always looked so dark and devoid of live. 

Second, Carrie's mother Margaret White. She was a religious fanatic, which alone made her dangerous. When she took her faith to the next level (attempting to murder her own daughter) she became quite scary. 

Then of course, there's Carrie herself. The way she opened her eyes in such a creepy way when she was killing people, the eerie music that accompanied her doing so, and seeing her drenched in blood made her one the scariest female villains for me. The thing is, even though she did something horrible, and she looked way too creepy, you can't help but feel sorry for Carrie. 

Hell to the no. 
Bye. 

7- "The Shining"

Oh look, it's the third Stephen King's adaptation on this list. 

This movie had everything to give me a bad juju from the start: creepy (iconic) music, a suspicious setting (I got really bad vibes from that hotel from the start), great characters who all seemed in the border of insanity, and a creepy kid. 

The plot moved slowly but surely, making you grow attached to the characters, and getting to really know them. Also, you get to see the hotel and all of its nice inhabitants. 

The two of you can go to hell. 

When you get to the point in the story where you understand what the hell is going on, you feel as trapped as the characters. Everything seems hopeless, as if the whole hotel was going after you (which isn't very far from reality). And by the point where Jack Torrance finally loses what little sanity he had left and goes on a murder rampage, well... let's just say you feel what Wendy Torrance is going through. 

This poor woman deserved better. 

And for me that's what's so scary about "The Shining": you get so immersed in the story that you empathize with the characters a lot, and feel some of the terror they are going through. 

8- "The Witch 

According to master of horror Stephen King himself, this movie terrified him. I think that says quite a lot about it. 

The movie has a lot of strengths, including: the pace, the setting and its atmosphere, the collective hysteria present during the Witch Trials, the color palette, the subtle terror growing stronger by the minute, and all the devilish implications in the plot and characters. The movie creeped me out from the start. You don't know what the hell is going on, and you get as suspicious as the family in the story, looking for the source of evil and all that is going wrong: the witch. 

The conclusion of the story is violent, gruesome, dark and full of many twists. The real witch is revealed in the end in my favorite scene in the movie: the Devil himself comes to her, and offers her His book, where if she signed her name, she would have witch powers in return. After doing so, she joins a coven of witches and starts to fly in an eerie sequence with ghastly music. It's scary, it's pure horror, and absolutely perfect. 

The movie is also full of creepy Easter eggs such as the goat's name Black Phillip, which is another name for the Devil. Also, many believes that the Pilgrims had about witches are shown in the movie, and it's quite disturbing that people really believed in this stuff and even worse: that they murdered women for these believes. 

I must admit though: I wanted to sign that damn book too. Sorry not sorry. 

9- "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"

It was shocking, to put it lightly. 

Never in my life did I ever feel so desperate to finish a movie before, until I saw this one. I didn't want to stop because I'm not a quitter, but damn... The impression it left on me was too great. The violence in this movie was not over the top like in other works, such as with "Saw". But it came so unexpected and all of a sudden, while being so brutal, sadistic and cruel that I couldn't help feeling scared out of my bones. 

This movie made me learn a hard but important lesson: human beings are the ones you need to be afraid of. Not the supernatural, not the  monsters under your bed, not the cool breeze in a lonely night, or the villains in the movies. It's the ordinary people you see every day, because you never know what they might be hiding, or what they might be capable of. 

This final sequence with Leatherface chasing the protagonist (or final girl) still gives me nightmares. His determination to end her speaks a lot of our society, as does her determination to survive no matter what. 

That thing using the chainsaw is one of the most horrifying monsters I've ever seen. Including his cannibal family. His face though... that's something you don't forget easily. 

10- "The Exorcist"

Cliché, yes. But like all clichés, it's the truth. 

I first saw this movie when I was in seventh grade. After watching it, I was fine; I wasn't that afraid. I just had to wait till night though. That's when the fun began. 

I saw Pazuzu's face all over the house. I remind you that Pazuzu is the demon who possessed Regan in the movie. I kept seeing his eyes everywhere, hearing his voice, expecting him to come out of the shadows for me. 

Up to this day, I haven't gotten over most of the things in this movie. From the backwards catwalk in the stairs scene, to the cruel things the demon did to his host and others. 

If Michael Myers is the embodiment of evil, Pazuzu is worse. So much worse. He is the embodiment of hell, corruption, murder, sadism, cruelty, darkness, terror, manipulation, tragedy, horror, destruction and abuse. I do admit this movie still creeps me out. As an atheist, I don't really believe in the events that take place in "The Exorcist". But even when I don't believe in them, that doesn't mean the movie doesn't scare me senseless. 

I won't post any more pictures of this movie because they are too disturbing for me. I can barely talk sometimes about the horrible things that demon does to poor little Regan. 

BONUS MOVIE!!! 

* "Trick 'r Treat" 

This one doesn't really scare me, but it is my favorite Halloween movie of all time. It has many things I love: a mass killer, a mysterious villain, werewolves, zombies, tragic backstories, Anna Paquin and some 'True Blood" vibes, evil bastards getting a taste of their own medicine, and Sam. 

Sam is short for Samhain, 
the real name of Halloween. 

Christmas has Santa Claus. Valentine's Day has Cupid. Easter has the Bunny. Thanksgiving has a Turkey. Saint Patrick's Day has a Leprechaun. 

Halloween has Sam. 

He is Halloween made flesh, and he makes sure that all Halloween traditions are taken accordingly. He looks like a sweet little boy in disguise, but he's actually a demon with a taste for murder and candy. 

I expect this beautiful work of art will have a sequel sooner than later. 

You can see the cartoon that inspired the movie here: Season's Greetings

It was created by the same man who created the movie; it's short but so fun!

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That's all for today folks! I hope you enjoyed this post and I'll see you guys next week. Take care. 

P.S. F*** you Pennywise.