An Assortment of Horror

I've really been on a horror kick lately. For a while I avoided it entirely because all I could find were generic slashers as far as movies were concerned and predictable plots for novels. However, things have been looking up lately, as I've been turning towards older movies and cult hits once again. Here are a few of the highlights this month.

The horror aspect of The Fly is pretty slow to pick up if we're being completely honest. All the same, it's a great movie, and when the horror does start occurring...well. I'll admit there was one scene towards the end that had me squirming uncomfortably. The Fly is a great example of 80s horror at it's best and the makeup is fantastic.

This was actually a re-watch for me, but I'm going to mention it anyway because Hellraiser has got to be my favorite horror movie of all time. The giant Pinhead poster over my wall says a lot about how I feel about the film. To be honest, I'm a bit obsessed. Obsessed enough to stick through the train wreck that was the franchise after Hollywood got a hold of it. Granted, number three wasn't awful, but everything after that makes me cringe. Still, the first two movies are horror movie gold in my opinion, and I highly recommend the book it was based off of as well.

Eraserhead is at the top of the list of movies that have disturbed me so deeply I'm not sure I want to watch them again. The whole movie is unsettling from start to finish, with it's black and white arthouse style and surreal filming. There's one scene at the end that I just really don't want to think about too hard, but I can appreciate this movie as a work of art, as well as an absolutely horrifying film.

  

You can't go wrong with Vincent Price. You just can't. I love every single one of his B-grade, cheesy, wonderful horror films and House of Wax was no exception. I didn't like it as much as say, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, but it's undeniably a masterpiece.

Ok now this has actually been a consistent horror source in my life so I can't say it's a new discovery. However, season two has been airing and I feel the need to express how wonderful it is. Season one was a fresh take on the many escapades of Hannibal Lecter, (And of course, I fell in love with Will Graham immediately) but season two hasn't lost any of the creativeness of the first, while amping up the horror aspect. They're not holding back anymore, and let me tell you, the cinematography in this show is phenomenal. As are the relationships between the characters, dialogue, and of course, death scenes.

Finally, a book! This is one of the coolest books I've read in a very long time. The horror in this book is the  kind that nags at the back of your mind and doesn't want to let go. It's psychologically unsettling, no gore here, but it really doesn't need it. The premise is simply a house who's inner dimensions don't match it's outer ones, but that discrepency turns into something no one could ever have expected. The only thing with House of Leaves is that the format is extremely bizarre. The whole thing isn't like that, but I had to put several hours into this book in order to make sense of some of it. Just google the book and you'll see what I mean. You're either going to find it very pretentious, or extremely clever and fun.

This has been sitting at the bottom of my movie list for a very long time and I finally got around to watching it. I didn't expect to love it the way I did. The costumes are a Goth's dream and the story an absolutely delicious concept. Is it perfect? No. But it doesn't have to be because Repo was a thrill ride from start to finish. Graverobber's songs were my favorite so it's a shame we didn't see more of him. I think it's safe to say I've developed another character crush... Now I'm off to watch the Devil's Carnival!

I don't know where to start with this movie. I went to Vancouver Fan Expo this weekend (There will be pics quite soon) and one of the panels featured the Soska Sisters, AKA The Twisted Twins. They. Were. Wonderful. I have to say I enjoyed their panel the most. They weren't afraid to curse, tell stories about running away from cops while filming, or to be brutally honest about the pieces of themselves they put into this movie. I don't know if they identify as Goths, but they certainly had the aesthetic. I was ridiculously happy to see some girl directors. They weren't afraid to call out sexism and also they hit on me in front of everyone which was wonderful. Basically, this movie deals with a lot of issues like rape and sexism, and also heavily features the body mod community. A lot of research went into this film and I highly recommend it.

Spice up Casual Goth

 I recently did a post about the necessity of sometimes toning down your look for the sake of your sanity and sleep, but what about those of us who have the opposite problem? Or even just those days when you want to be casual, but still interesting? We can't dress like a Shiny Black Sheep every day, (Lovely metaphor courtesy of Lucretia's Reflection. It's my favorite phrase as of right now.) but there are some minor things you can do when you want to dress down, but still add a little interest to your casual wear.

• Accessorize! Accessories can make or break an outfit as we all know. If you're going out in a T-shirt and jeans you can add a little interest with a few well placed bracelets/necklaces. I love wearing simple chokers with my t-shirts and my ankh is normally a staple.

• Shoes! There's no rule that says thou-must-wear-boring-shoes-when dressing-down. When I have t-shirt days I tend to throw on a pair of my more interesting sandals to balance it out. Or how about creepers? They've got that unusual flair that separates them from the converse clad crowd around you. I'm sad to say I don't own a pair because I think they'd be perfect for a go-to casual outfit. Even slipping on a pair of combat boots let's me feel a little more in my element, and it provides the additional element of letting me stomp around when I'm in a foul mood.

• T-shirts that say things about your interests are much more fun than a plain black shirt. If you're going to wear a t-shirt, make it say something about you. You can show off the things you like, and maybe even find someone who shares your interests. Band shirts are obviously a popular choice, and my Bauhaus shirt has actually helped start conversations with two old school Goths. (One of them was working in a bakery and made sure I got the largest lemon square. It was fantastic) Of course, who says the shirts have to be Goth or band related? The most worn T-shirts in my closet are my Riddler and Dark Souls shirts. Comics and video games for the win ;) 

 

Not particularly Goth, but my love of Batman is easily worked in ;)

I'm eying this too.
The sad thing is I hardly have money to spare for T-shirts XD

• Hats and scarves automatically bring an outfit to the next level. It looks like you spent a lot more time choosing your clothes when in reality it took you 30 seconds to wrap a piece of fabric around your neck or pop on a hat. I've got this semi-boring black shirt and skirt combo that looks completely different once I don my leopard or skull scarf. And hats are fantastic creations. If you're having a bad hair day on top of your casual day you can just stick a fedora or bowler on your head and you're good to go.

• How about changing your makeup or hair? If you've got the same everyday makeup routine try changing it up a bit. I normally match my eyeshadow to any colors that appear in my shirt. Since I normally only go out in eyeliner, the eyeshadow helps me feel a like I put a little effort into my outfit even if I've just thrown on the typical shirt and jeans combo. Hair, on the other hand, can be easily changed as well. You could quickly tease it a bit before you go out. A spritz of hair-spray and you're half-channeling the trad Goths with minimal effort. We're not talking a whole bottle of Aquanet here. (Unless you'd like to. Then by all means go ahead! I highly approve.) If you've got the time, straighten or curl your hair. If you just want to put it up, try something different like braiding it back.

Just changing your eyeliner can make a look completely different.

Well that's that. In other news, we recently had one of our lovely summer storms down here, which resulted in me going without power for about 24 hours, an extremely flooded yard, and a large 70 foot tree barricading my driveway. I've had to climb over it a few times to get to the bus. So yeah, fun times. I never realize how crucial electricity is to my existence until I lose it. I actually got so bored/fed up with not being able to even do homework online, or most of my chores, that I ended up polishing my boots. I really ought to do it more often considering scuff marks magically appear on them no matter how hard I try to avoid it. I think I hit my feet on the stairs at school...I'm really a klutz.

 Finally, anyone watching Hannibal on NBC? That show is making me ridiculously happy at the moment. It's got so much more interest than most typical crime shows, the cinematography is really beautiful, and the characters are flawlessly done. Mads Mikkelsen is my absolute favorite Hannibal to date and you can just feel the instability seeping off of Will in the way he stands and talks. And of course I get a kick out of watching Hannibal play his mind games with everyone as they scramble left and right to do his bidding. I mean, he's only trying to help. No manipulation here. Just your friendly neighborhood cannibalistic psychiatrist.

I see what you did there~

I'm sort of worried that it's going to be cancelled, and that would be a tragic waste of potential. Of course it's got a few faults, (which I'm not going to get into because I'd rather this didn't turn into a rant) but the show has got so many redeeming qualities that more than make up for the shortcomings.  The reviews are great, but the views for whatever the coveted audience demographic is have dropped, and NBC is pretty fickle. So everyone should go watch it ;)

Book Suggestions~ Forbidden Game, Night Circus, Haunting of Hill House

Books, books, books. I believe literature may actually occupy 90% of my brain. I've got this enormous list of things to recommend to everyone sitting on my computer and I doubt it'll ever reach it's end considering I'm constantly adding to it.

 The first one I've got today is actually a YA book. I don't read a huge amount of these, (Or, correction, I don't normally like a lot of these. The same overused tropes left and right...) but this book has been one of my favorites for years. It's called Forbidden Game by L. J. Smith and though technically it's three books I have the collected edition. I have a hunch the creativity of the series in not making it like any other paranormal romance is because it was written before Twilight hit the market. (When everyone started emulating that in varying degrees.)

 
In the book, Jenny is convinced by a white-haired stranger at a store to buy a game for her party. She does so, but when she and her friends go to play it they invoke a rune which drags them into the game. The stranger from the store is there and introduces himself as Julian. He says that they've all agreed to play this game, and therefore must do as he says if they want to live. They have 24 hours to navigate the house and face their fears or they're trapped here forever. When asked what his motivation is, he claims that he's in love with Jenny, that he's watched her for years. He's a 'Shadow man', an ancient race of beings who've always made deals and played games with humans. Basically, I can't go into much more detail without spoiling certain plot twists, and the next two books can't really be explained until you've finished the first one, so you'll have to trust me ;)

I like the atmosphere and places in the book. They've got the sort of fantastical elements that I love in a setting, but there are very dark undertones lying under the surface, especially in some of Julian and Jenny's conversations. As far as characters go, Jenny always annoys me in the beginning. She's weak and bends to everything her boyfriend says. However, her development through the books has her change into a strong, independent girl who I can actually respect. (Even if a few of her choices make me want to cry) Her circle of friends all have their quirks and I found them all interesting enough to like, other than Tommy her boyfriend. Julian of course, is my absolute favorite. I have a tendency to like the villains, but I've always especially loved him. Some aspects of his personality are enough to make you want to hit him through the book, but I guarantee that if you don't like him in the beginning you'll like him by the end.

The end of this series actually upset me nearly to tears,  but there's hope for me yet. The author has said she's working on a sequel series, which will be targeted at adults and that makes me extraordinarily happy.

The second book I have for you is The Night Circus. I'm sure you've all seen this on the shelves, or if you follow Jillian Venters on Tumblr she's alluded to it several times. The plot of this book becomes rather convoluted, much of it is a mystery throughout the novel. It revolves around two magicians, who place a bet that their apprentices are capable of defeating the other in a sort of competition. They spend years training them, but the apprentices aren't told who the other is, or even what the competition is. The setting is to be the Night Circus. A circus that 'arrives without warning' and sets up quickly in whatever location it's arrived at. It's open at night and inside the color scheme is entirely black and white. There are wonders inside that you couldn't even dream up. (The author of this has one of the best imaginations I've ever encountered) The circus ends up gaining a cult following, The 'Reveurs', who wear a splash of red to identify one another, and attempt to predict where the circus will go next. And under all of the mystery and fantastical elements of the circus (Supported by magic, though no one realizes) there's the ongoing battle between these two apprentices.

There's not much else I can say, other than that the whole book held me in rapture. The settings, the people, they were all so delightfully decadent that it had me aching for a real life 'Night Circus' to pop up and let me in ^^ The story is rather slow-paced, but in my opinion the atmosphere makes up for it entirely. Of course that might not be the case for everyone so I'm giving you a little warning that the plot is certainly not the fastest moving one around.

Finally, the third book is The Haunting of Hill House. This one was published in 1959 and it's the sort of Gothic style horror I really enjoy. The book is generally considered one of the greatest ghost stories ever written, and I tend to agree. The author uses psychologically frightening tactics to slowly build up suspense throughout the book. There's no gore or graphic violence, everything is extraordinarily subtle, and you won't realize many of the significant hints until later on. As far as the plot's concerned it's not very complicated. A doctor is conducting a study on the so called paranormal activity witnessed at Hill House. He invites people to come and participate, based on their previous experiences with paranormal events. Only two young women accept, and the heir to the house joins them. As they stay in the house they begin to experience small disturbances, which gradually escalate the longer they remain. The climactic event has been hinted at subtlety throughout the book and the ending was not anything I expected. The ending is actually fairly ambiguous, I'm not even sure which of the two possibilities I believe in more strongly.

The characters in the book aren't very likeable in my opinion. Eleanor is full of self-pity, Theodore is brash and irritating, Luke is fairly spineless, and Dr. Montague is a bit patronizing. But it's the makeup of all of their psyches and the exploration of them that further enhances the book and the events in it. The nonsensical conversations between the characters might seem unrealistic at times, but it only adds to the atmosphere.

Finally, a little question for you all. Have any of you been watching Vikings? Because it's fantastic. I'm a bit of a history buff and I was worried they would mangle all the Norse myths and culture, (Not to mention, I've got a personal stake because I'm Swedish and rather proud of my heritage) but I think they've been doing a wonderful job. I love Ragnar because he manages to be both soft-spoken and intimidating, (Also, he's got gorgeous eyes) Lagertha is a kick-ass shield maiden, and Aethelstan (The captured monk) is just adorable. I'm going to full heartedly recommend this show to anyone who hasn't been watching.

Plus come on. Look at that braided mowhawk.
Obviously vikings were the original punks ;)

30 Day Clothing Challenge~Day 10: Something You Wore to a Special Event

Well this certainly brings back memories. I've been to a few "special events" recently I suppose, but I don't have any pictures so I'm going with something older. This is the dress I wore to my 9th grade homecoming. I got it the day before the dance for $30 and it still looked a million times better than someone's (who shall not be named. Suffice to say she embodies all of the negative qualities I dislike in people) $400 dress. (And let me just say she didn't get tired of announcing it in every one of her classes...)

I love halter tops and dresses.

This was before I even really cut layers into my hair and I don't know what possessed it to lump up like that on the left. I don't think I styled it like that ^^

I didn't bother going to homecoming this year. It's just too much effort. You have to buy the dress and the ticket and find people to go with... It was fun once, but only for the experience. Dancing is great, but I'd rather put my money towards a new jacket than watch people grind to horrible music.

Just for fun...do you suppose marching a parade could be considered a 'special event?' because well, I wore this for a parade we went to in Chicago.

Very flattering I know.

I've just recently started watching Sherlock and Doctor Who (Starting with David Tennant. I'm already in love. I'm going to go back and watch the old ones eventually once I've gotten through him and Matt Smith.) because obviously I needed more fandoms. I'm almost done with Sherlock and then I'll have to wait with everyone else for the new episodes. But until then, I'll have The Doctor!

Well I'm off to study for a math test, so I'll leave you with today's outfit. It was perfect outside for my little blazer  ^^

Young Dracula

 Me and my vampire shows right? I've seen 'em all. Normally, they crash and burn or just get ridiculously boring/disappointing (Anyone seen Moonlight?) This one however, is different. I first saw it when I was probably about 7 years old. We were in Sweden and my cousin was watching TV so I plopped down and joined him. I was completely fascinated by the vampires and ended up watching a couple of episodes. Of course, being so young I forgot all about the show as soon as we got home. About a year ago I had a flashback to that trip and remembered the show. I couldn't remember the name of it, so I set about googling until I finally found it. And thus, my love of Young Dracula reappeared.

First off it's British and played on CBBC so if you're over there you might get reruns every so often. Secondly, it's a kids show. Do I care? Not really. It's so over-the-top cliched and campy that I'm laughing too hard to even be bothered with the fact that it's for "children". Hey, I'm sixteen. I can play that card right? Not to mention, they'd never let us have a kids' show like this down in the good old USA. We might scar our children after all.

So what's it about? Well, the Dracula family has been driven from Transylvania and have decided to start a new life in England. Vlad wants nothing more than to lead a normal life, which is rather difficult to do when your father (Count Dracula himself) is trying to turn you into a "dark creature of the night". The Count spends half his time trying to corrupt Vlad and get him to accept his heritage, and the other half bullying Renfield to find him a 'peasant' to drain.  As you can imagine, they don't really fit in. Throw an evil (No, really) jealous sister, vampire obsessed neighbor, and wanna-be vampire hunters into the mix and you've got an even bigger problem.

Ok, so it's cheesy. Horrendously so. But I love it so much. The Count is my favorite character, he cracks me up. If you want a silly, quirky, vampire-themed show to waste time on then you definitely need to check this out. The second season is even better than the first, it gets rather dark actually. The third season targets an older audience, mostly teenagers. Also, the budget is much bigger so better effects. I believe season 4 is coming out sometime in October and I'm anxiously awaiting it.

In other news I recently discovered that Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston (LOKI. Eep!) are teaming up to do a vampire movie. That high pitched squealing you hear is the sound of my fangirling and will probably stop in a few days...probably. No promises.

Dark Matters: Twisted but True

 I was feeling really lazy with the start of school and all so I thought I might hold off of a new post for a few days. Then I came on and saw I had gotten a few more followers and I told myself to get off my lazy butt and write. Thanks for the motivation everyone! Still, I've got an AP essay to start on so I'm afraid this is going to be a quickie.

There's a show on the Science Channel called Dark Matters: Twisted but True. It's hosted by John Noble, who some of you might know from Lord of the Rings or Fringe. Basically they go and dig around in history and find notes/records of experiments that question human morality.  Then they broadcast them. It's normally about the real "mad scientists" who've existed and caused massive controversy with their actions, about the horrific turn science can take if people let go of their inhibitions. But sometimes, it's just creepy events and occurences that make you rethink a few things in life. Things like...

• The invention of the lobotomy.
• Brain surgery creates a perfect amnesiac who can't remember his own life from day to day
• A man who has a hole blown in his stomach and is kept as a living science experiment.
• Alien hand syndrome.

I like the show because they don't go after the typical doctor horror stories we've all heard. Not to mention, they're all real! They really dug deep to find some of these. It's not always scientists experimenting, as with the Hungarian 'Suicide Song', but they're all interesting and have a medical aspect to them. What I like best about the show is that it makes you question what's right and wrong. Where should science draw the line?

It's my personal opinion that the stories in season two are far more fascinating than season one. So if you stick with the show it gets better. Of course, it doesn't really matter what order you watch them in and there are reruns all the time. A warning though, the show can be pretty gory if the occasion calls for it, so if you're squeamish do not watch the episode with the man with the hole in his stomach. The reenactment isn't very....pleasant.

School Shopping + New Artwork

Back to school shopping...done! I'm all stocked up and ready to begin anew the learning process...sort of. The best tip I can offer when shopping for school is stock up on the basics. You can buy wonderful, unnecessary things later when you have the money, but if you're going to be putting together a different outfit everyday stick to the basics. Things like band shirts, plain black shirts, black jeans, skirts, dresses, tights and fishnets...etc, etc, etc. Whatever you tend to pick up when you throw on a typical outfit. Of course, if you dress in full uber-goth mode every day more power to you. Or if you refuse to wear jeans just hunt down a lot of versatile skirts. But for school I've always found the basics with a few well placed accessories and a pair of stompy boots can go a long way.

Old fuzzy pic of me. Without the accessories and boots this would be pretty plain.

From personal experience, I tend to find good things at Target, Kohls, and Bealls. If you want even cheaper things and don't mind sorting through hideous neon colors try Marshalls. I found my favorite black lace dress there. I also will admit to unashamedly stopping in by Hot Topic to stock up on studded and spiked bracelets. They're cheap. They're real leather. I've never had one break. End of discussion. Of course, online shopping is your best friend. You can search exactly what you're looking for. I found a new bullet belt for roughly $12 on eBay the other day.

Other than a bunch of black basics and that belt, here's what I've gotten for school. As usual, I'll buy more as the year progresses, but what I currently have in my closet will easily last me a long time so there's no rush.

Band shirts are a must for my casual days.
I'm so happy, my David Bowie and Bauhaus shirts have arrived!
Now I'm just waiting for my The Damned one to show up.

It's unfortunate how popular converse are now.
However, I find a good canvas shoe really useful for school so I buy them anyway ^^
Not to mention, stripes!

I've been getting back into drawing lately. My sketchbook tends to gather dust during the summer and then I 'rediscover' it as the school year begins. (Because I do most of my artwork during my classes ^^) The funny thing with my drawings is that they always end up being done in groups. I have some original art, but mostly I enjoy doing fanart. That means when I get inspired I always end up with five to seven drawings all pertaining to the same theme.

Recently I re-watched The Dark Knight, which reminded me just how much I love The Joker. Heath Ledger's version scared the crap out of me and his performance was captivating, however I've always had a soft spot for the dapper and charming comic/animated joker. (Mark Hamil's voice? It's perfect!) 

Which led to two days of reading comics and watching Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures.

Which led to this.

I need to fix the top right Joker's hair and color the bottom ones.

TNBA Joker is my absolute favorite <3

Now to wrap this post up. Just in case no one has seen this wonderful, fantastic, extraordinary, amazing, awesome Joker cosplay by the genius who is Anthony Misiano...brace yourself.

 

I'm in love <3

More Hannibal Lecter and Dracula Adaptions?

Well I think we've all realized people have long run out of ideas for movies and shows. I mean, count all of the horror movie/superhero remakes and *gasp* old content in 3D they've done in the past couple of years and it's clear they've run out of original material. Now NBC is helping to contribute to this seemingly never-ending pattern. They've latched on to both the Hannibal Lecter AND Dracula franchise once again. My initial reaction?

Frankly, I found it hilarious. Now I love Hannibal and adore Dracula, but how many adaptions can you squeeze out of a book before it runs dry? Obviously they're going to try again. Here's the general rundown of the two shows.


Hannibal

 There will be no twisted romance/whatever you want to call Starling and Lecter's bizarre relationship. The show is going to strictly focus on Hannibal's time as a free man while in the company of Will Graham. (The fanfiction slash writers are going to run away with this one. *facepalm*) Pretty much, it''s taking place when Dr. Lecter is still in the law enforcement's good books and is a well respected forensic psychiatrist.

This time, Lecter won't be promoted as the bad guy, but as Will's mentor of sorts. (And we all know how that turns out.) He'll be helping to profile and catch the serial killers the FBI are after. Brian Fuller, who wrote the script, claims "There is a cheery disposition to our Hannibal. He's not being telegraphed as a villain. If the audience didn't know who he was, they wouldn't see him coming," which has the potential to be either very pleasant or disastrous.

Directing the show is David Slade, who's also done 30 Days of Night (Good.) and Twilight: Eclipse (We're not even going to go there.) Playing the part of Will is British actor Hugh Dancy. (If anyone's seen Blood and Chocolate he played Aiden. Also, if you haven't seen Blood and Chocolate...don't. The book is much better.) Playing Hannibal is Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen.

Right now, the series is scheduled for thirteen episodes and if it's successful will renew for another thirteen.

Problems I foresee

• Hannibal Lecter is a very complex person. There's all sorts of intricate quirks in his personality that are very hard to pull off. As amazing as Anthony Hopkins was in the movies I still don't think he managed to capture the essence of Hannibal in the books. (I think Brian Cox actually came a little closer in Manhunter.) The acting required to portray Hannibal has got to have the right amount of I'm-a-genius-with-a-little-crazy-thrown-in but has to capture his impeccable manners and unnerving calm at the same time.
• There are already five films featuring Hannibal Lecter. I've seen them all and read the books. Sometimes enough is enough. Movies and shows tend to get worse and worse as you drag them out and even sequels are usually questionable. I would be so disappointed to find myself losing interest because I've seen too much. It's like listening to a favorite song so much that one day you wake up and realize you can't listen to it anymore despite how much it means to you.
• If Fuller gets his way this show will go on for 7 seasons. I don't care how successful the show is. There is no way the plot is holding up that long. Look at Supernatural! Into the eighth season and it lost any semblance of a good plot three seasons ago. It's only stayed alive this long because people don't want to let go.

...Of course despite all my protests I'll be tuning in as soon as this thing is on. We'll see how it goes.


Dracula

Another one? Well, here we go again....

Ladies and Gentlemen, our new Dracula.

The show was approved for ten episodes before a pilot was even shot. This means NBS was either very impressed or is just jumping on to the ever popular "Vampires are cool now" bandwagon. It has Jonathon Rhys Meyers (from the Tudors) playing Dracula, who's in London posing as an American Entrepreneur. (Obviously, he's worked hard to get rid of that accent of his...) In reality he's out for revenge and ends up falling in love... yada yada yada. Haven't we heard this somewhere before? Oh oh oh! and guess what? She happens to be a reincarnation of his dead wife. If you listen very carefully you can hear Bram Stoker banging on his coffin and begging to be let out so he can set a few things straight.

Problems I foresee

• Yet another romantic twist on Dracula. Don't get me wrong, I swoon just as much as any girl when I see a handsome vamp seduce another lovely lady. I happen to enjoy romantic Dracula adaptions. It's just that I think the romance of the original Dracula comes from a darker place. It's the suspenseful atmosphere and actions of the evil count, who is in the end is really irredeemable. It's the way the book is written to horrify (Even if nowadays we're rather hard to horrify it's the idea that stands.) and I don't think you were ever really supposed to like the count. He was the monster. I'd like to see another adaption where Dracula is cruel and uncaring and just downright out for blood. No falling in love this time. (I'd probably end up liking him even better.)
• I've already snarked about this, but talk about beating a dead horse. Unless you've got a revolutionary Dracula adaption that's going to blow our minds then get your greedy hands off of Bram Stoker's work! 
• It's been said it'll be a "big, sweeping, international soap opera that's young, sexy, and supernatural". This scares me. We do not need another vampire show made only to enthrall unsuspecting teenagers. We have True Blood and The Vampire Diaries for that.

...Yes, I'll also be watching this one. I really hope it exceeds expectations. But if not, at least we get an attractive vampire in Victorian London to stare at. ^^

In other news, NBC is ALSO doing a remake of The Munsters (We just can't win can we? Leave our classics alone!) and have asked for a script for a modern take on Frankenstein. I just...can't even...we're doomed.

Alternative Fashion in the Mainstream~ Project Runway

Ok, so I'm not usually a sucker for reality TV shows. They tend to grate on my nerves. However, Project Runway has remained one of my guilty pleasures since I was a kid. Being fashion oriented, the show is a great way for alternative fashion to creep into mainstream life without being 'taboo'. Seth Aaron even won his season and those clothes...well let's just say I've spent no small amount of time on the internet looking to buy things similar to his designs.

Normally the semi-alternative/designers with interesting ideas are thrown out around the half way point to make room for the 'marketable' ones, but it's nice to see them while they last. A new season just started up and I've picked out some of the designers that caught my eye, for better or worse.


Elena Slivnyak

I'm ah, not entirely sure about her. The first item she showed us was this amazing leather jacket that was a strange cross between armor and the creature in Alien. (To my disappointment, I can't find any pictures.) However, her work is futuristic to the point where I couldn't help but think 'Tron!' when I saw a few other pieces. I think she's got great inspiration, but some things might be a bit over-the-top. Futuristic looks are great. Personally, I'd rather not look like I popped out of Star Trek. On the other hand, I liked how she said she strives to create a sort of look that 'Isn't male, but isn't female'. I'm a huge fan of androgynous looks so maybe she'll pleasantly surprise me in the future.

Melissa Fleis

I'll admit I got a good laugh out of this one. Melissa walked in with this rack of black clothes which my eyes began to feast greedily on. Then she began to speak. Somewhere in describing who she is and where she gets her inspiration from she said something similar to this. "My clothes have a certain Gothic element to them, without being too Gothic."
*Snort* Oh dear. Again? Must we immediately shy away from the term Goth and be afraid to apply it to our clothes? How many bloggers have already written about their own opinions on Goth in the mainstream and how everyone does this exact thing? (Black Lipstick? That's edgy, not Goth.) It amuses me to no end. Not to mention, where exactly do you draw the line at being 'too Gothic'? I'd really love to know how she creates her 'Gothic' inspired clothes without crossing that dreadful taboo.

 Andrea Katz

Ooh, Victorian inspired clothing here we come! (hopefully). This lovely lady is 58, owns cats, and walks in to the audition with this jabot that threatens to consume her face because of how enormous it is. I'm already on her side. Ok, so she admitted to half of her clothing reminding her of her grandmother's tablecloths. But the other half was very promising indeed!

It seems I've been helplessly sucked into yet another season of melodramatic fights and people accusing others of stealing their ideas and so on. (Someone please get me some Advil. I'm going to need it.) Oh, how I suffer for fashion ^^