THE CONVENT OF BLOOD

Well True Blood is halfway through its 3rd season...

2010-07-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

What do you think so far?

Do you continue to enjoy the changes made to the books?

Who is your favourite characters, has it changed from the previous seasons?

Do you enjoy the inclusion of the werewolves, and what do you think of the portrayal of Alcide Herveaux?

What do you think of Alan Ball giving Sookie greater Faerie Powers?

And if you haven't seen the trailer for the second half of the season - here it is:

True Blood Season 3 Part 2 Trailer

Vampire/Horror Remakes and COUNT YORGA

2010-07-18T14:40:00.000-07:00

In the lieu of old vampire/monster classics getting remade such as FRIGHT NIGHT and constant updates of DRACULA with Dracula: Year Zero, The Wolfman and so forth, what other vampire/monster movies from your past would you like to see remade (or not!) and how would you like them done?

Would you like the settings to be modernised or still set in the period? Would you like the cast to stay the same age or make them younger? And furthermore would you like the plot to be replicated or come up with an entirely new storyline or twist?

One film series I would like to see remade or a prequel to is COUNT YORGA. In the two Yorga films, the 2nd one Return of Count Yorga almost a remake of the original with a similar storyline, we see Yorga in a in a small American town trying to increase his brood of zombified and creepy vampire brides. Out of all the vampire movies, I find these Brides to be the most frightening.

But what about Yorga before he came to America? We know from his history as Count Yorga explains it that he came from a small village in Bulgaria. What happened there? Who made him a vampire, and what were the events that led up to it? Was he always a Count or did he marry a Countess? Was he kind or evil before he was turned and was it the Countess that turned him? Who is his master? Why does Yorga have full mental function and appear as human while his Brides are shambling vampires? Was he similar before he became a Master Vampire if not why are they different? What were his reasons for leaving his homeland and coming to America, and finally just how old is Yorga?

These are the answers I would like to see in a modern updates of YORGA. Unfortunately the wonderful Robert Quarry has passed, and the YORGA films are 30 years old, but I believe if done right, this film could be a great return to classic Gothic Horror Vampire Cinema....

Other vampire films I'd like to see remade are DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS, REQUIEM FOR A VAMPIRE, VAMPYROS LESBOS (still would have to have that disco soundtrack) and SCARS OF DRACULA.

What are your thoughts on a prequel to COUNT YORGA or do you have some other favourite you'd like to see updated? or do you believe that the era that they were made in with the fashion, music and culture made those films what they were back then?

True Blood Season 3: First Impressions

2010-06-21T22:30:00.000-07:00

Firstly, I apologise for my long absence from this blog. Had some personal stuff to sort out, and also I have started a new martial art called KFM aka Kesyi Fighting Method (that has taken up a lot of my time), which was chosen as Batman's fighting style in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

So life stuff has been sorted out and I'm back on track, and I've also had to spend a lot of time on KFM so I have it hard-wired in my brain I can give it my 100% and pass gradings and all that. Most readers probably won't know that besides my passion for Gothic Horror, my other life-long passion is martial arts which I've been doing almost all my life.

Anyways onto True Blood Season 3 - beware spoilers within!

Last we left Sookie and the other vampires of Bon Temp and Shreveport, Bill had proposed to Sookie and in panic she fled to the bathroom to sort through her feelings. While she was momentarily gone, a struggle ensued and Bill was kidnapped by persons unknown though Sookie suspects Eric.

The human members of Bon Temp, as well as its resident shifter Sam Merlotte has their hands full taking out the Maenad Maryanne, who was tearing their town apart. Through some careful planning and Sam's unique power, they were able to tear the heart from the heartless bitch and save their town, only for Jason to save one of their own from Eggs, who after having been in control under Maryanne for sometime asks Sookie to use her telepathy to show him what he has done.

When Eggs confronts Andy Bellefleur to arrest him for the murders, and pulls a knife to rush him, Jason kills Eggs with a headshot.

Onto Season 3: Sookie is desperation calls the police who are ambivalent about a missing vampire, so she runs straight to suspect Number one: Eric. Eric guards his secret that he was after Bill to coerce him in keeping his secret that he is dealing V for the the Queen Sophie-Anne, when a group of werewolves controlled by the King of Mississippi kidnap Bill.

Meanwhile Jessica deals horribly with the fact she killed her victim at the truck stop last episode of Season 2, (as well as a failed turning to save his life) and her guilt is affecting her relationship with Hoyt, when Sookie appears to confront Eric about the werewolves she uses this opportunity to consult Pam on feeding from humans and how to stop before the heart gives out, which is Pam gives in her usual cold detatched manner.

After a stand-off against angry werewolves which Bill manages to take out three, he is about to take down a fourth when the werewolf is told to back down by the vampire King of Mississippi Russell Edgington. Now I cannot remember whether in Club Dead (the third book this series is based on) whether the werewolves were under the control of the King, but I think its a nice touch and harkens back to Dracula and Classical Vampires where Vampires had werewolves as their henchmen.

Just like the books and classical folklore, the werewolves here take the form of true wolves, and not the Chronos/biped form you see in The Howling or the Wolf Man, but these wolves look very demonic and its fantastic. One of the best lines on the show when one werewolf named Cooter! standing off against Bill says "You're about to get deader! Dead-ass motherfucker!" I 'howled' from my couch at that!

Bill discovers that the King wishes to bribe/coerce him into forming a partnership/marriage with Sophie-Anne, the Queen of Louisiana so he can then take her out and control both kingdoms. In exchange the King Russell offers to make Bill Sheriff of Area 2, which will give him the same power as Eric. Subsequently Russell threatens Sookie's health and reveals that his sire Lorena is staying there which angers Bill enough, that in reality or a daydream sequence he immolates her with a gas lamp!

We have the usual Tara/Lafayette/Merlotte's crew storylines that are starting to bore me somewhat, though the Andy/Jason match-up with Andy covering for Jason's murder of Eggs leads to a goldmine when Andy takes Jason with him to Hotshot where we meet Calvin Norris and the rest of the werepanthers!! Also Sam manages to track down his biological parents who gave him away at birth (well the Father was in prison) and Sam discovers his father is human, and he has a brother who is also a shifter, who in episode 2 may or may not have tried to have him killed.

Two things stood out in the 2nd episode for me, firstly the way they did the wolves, they look fantastic and quite evil. Alan Ball is using real wolves here, not CGI but he has CGId their eyes to make them look more supernatural. The morphing from human to wolf is done the same here as when Sam shifts but it just looks so much better and much more sinister.

It seems here though, that not only does it seem that werewolves seem weaker than the vampires (after all Bill took at 3 in one fight) but they are so far portrayed as the villains, as least those wolves that serve King Russell, but this is where Alcide Herveaux comes in, and here is a preview pic:

Secondly even though after reading all the books I am Team Eric, Bill is kicking so much butt here, and Alan Ball has made him quite the bad ass. It's going to be a shame when Sookie discovers what's really going on, but until then I'm going to enjoy Bill's bad-assery to the extreme.

Other Highlights: Eric posing as a Nazi to expose the evil werewolves and the return of his sire Godric (above), and also Sam's sex dream of Bill due to his ingestion of Bill's blood to heal last season was quite funny and certainly a WTF moment! Lastly, only after 2 episodes, HBO have renewed True Blood for a 4th season! which is based on DEAD TO THE WORLD where Sookie is left to look after an amnesiac Eric, and um...things happen :)

The Season Finales of Vampire Diaries and Supernatural Pt 1

2010-05-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers if you have not watched either episode!

The first in the two part article will discuss Vampire Diaries.

Well the season finales of Vampire Diaries and Supernatural were upon us last night, so what did you think of them?

Vampire Diaries:

Anna: I was very surprised that they killed Anna's character, considering her popularity and also her relationship with Elena's brother Jeremy. Before she died, she gave Jeremy a vial of her blood so he had the choice to become a vampire if and when he wanted, but giving the overwhelming love for this character on internet forums, including myself, I was quite surprised they let John Gilbert kill her. I read the actress Malese Jow had signed on for season 2, so I assume it might just be for flashbacks.

Damon: Wow. Almost from turning from an evil character to a love sick puppy for Elena, I can still say that Damon is my still my favourite character on this show. Of course there is always the link to Katherine due to the eerie resemblance between the two girls, but the love triangle was important in the books, as it is in the show, amping of the sexual tension to drive its fans crazy.

This of course mirrors the way both Damon and Stefan fought for Katherine's heart back in the Civil War Era days, though what happened then with Damon the supposed favourite due to his dark heart is now flipped with Elena finding comfort in Stefan's 'pure' one. For me honestly, this 'shades of grey' for Damon makes his character even more interesting then when he was purely evil, and the fact that Elena and Stefan love him has brought him out of the Darkness that he was in for so long since he turned. In regards to him kissing Elena at the end on her balcony, and how that scene ended I think he is starting to figure out what's going on, even if it's in his unconscious mind at this time. Lastly, is Damon going to be blamed for turning Jeremy (if he does turn from drinking Anna's blood at the end), though I'm sure Jeremy will come straight out and say it was Anna's from the vial.

Also his closing scenes with Jeremy and Bonnie were very well done. It goes to show you that in some way the people you surround yourself with is indicative to the person you will become. I'm not sure whether Damon offered to erase some of Jeremy's memory to further his chances with Elena, and how he also made amends with Bonnie, but his speech about changing from his original intent of wanting to destroy the town to saving it I believe is an honest choice, regardless of his feelings for Elena.

Stefan: I try to like Stefan, I really do. I think he is a good character and the show's Knight in Shining Armour, a hero the town needs to save it from the darkness, and just like Angel I think when all the players are set (incl Matt and Tyler) I think he will take the lead for the final battle against Katherine. I don't think it will be Damon, though those who have read the books know how Katherine meets her fate. But this show is a way different creature to the books, so what could happen could change dramatically from canon. I think his faith in people is admirable, and he was even able to turn a vampire hunter like Alaric from someone willing to kill all vampires to knowing some are worth saving, and fighting along side.

Of course Stefan's guilt that he was the partial genesis to all this, including his father's murder and Damon's full turning will cultivate into something more dramatic. Elena knows the truth of their vampire origins now, but due to this darkness inside him that he has to constantly control, I think Katherine will use that against him and for a while could even once more (with a gallon or two of human blood) sit on the right hand of Katherine as her Vampire King in Mystic Falls for a while. Something both Elena and Damon will have to resolve, while at the same time dealing with their growing attraction to one another.

Elena: I was very surprised with the final scenes of this episode, and was actually cheering Elena and Damon's pairing, I guess I am a 'Delena' fan more than a 'Stelena' fan to tell the truth, and I did not see that reveal coming that it was actually Katherine who kissed Damon and was allowed entry into the Gilbert Home by Elena's overprotective aunt Jenna. In the books Katherine poses as Elena for quite a while, and fools everybody until the boys start to piece things together, such as things Elena doesn't remember she said and vice versa. But as we saw Elena coming up the stairs at the end, telling Stefan on the phone someone stole her handbag etc, is she going to have a confronation in the house with Katherine, and is Katherine going to knock Elena out and stash her somewhere or play a sick mind game and pretend to be Elena only SOME of the time?

I'm guessing Elena will find the body of her father/uncle in the kitchen, sans fingers and magic ring and this show seems to be going quite the tragic route, you'll find no love and light in this town. Her bio father is now dead, and her mother is an uncaring vampire who is protecting her from afar, but perhaps can't show her true feelings due to Katherine's cruelty. I assume Isobel will die soon enough when she tries to protect her daughter from this monster that is her Master.

Alaric: I've becoming quite fond of Alaric, and enjoy it immensely when he and Damon team up to be 'bad ass' and carve through a room full of vampires. I'm not sure what role he has to play in coming season but I hope he doesn't meet the same fate as John Gilbert did since he is also a possessor of a regenerator ring. I can assume he will become another General like Stefan, where Stefan leads the supernaturals, Alaric might lead the mortals. I'm not certain of his relationship with Jenna, and whether she'll find out what's going on but I hope he makes it out alive at the other end.

Tyler: After the constant teasing of full moon shots and anger fits, most fans have guessed Tyler is a lycanthrope, and we finally see evidence due to John Gilbert's device knocking out vampires, but also other supernaturals such as Tyler and his father The Mayor Lockwood. The Mayor met a grizzly fate along with the other tombed vampires when they were stuck with vervaine and thrown in a room to be immolated. We saw vervaine doesn't work on wolves (though I assume wolfsbane will) but since The Mayor was unable to defend himself (I assume he know what he was) then I can only assume that this version of werewolves is the classic variety and only can turn and access their abilities on a full moon.

This of course puts Tyler at a disadvantage when it comes to fighting off other supernaturals, who after tonight's events could sense he isn't human. I think the device only affected the wolves indirectly since it emitted a high pitched sound only non-humans could hear, and due to the wolves sensitive hearing, it was too painful to bear, not in a magic way like the vampires, but more in a physical fashion.

But that leaves us with what side of the fence will Tyler sit on? If he discovers the truth of the town, which I'm sure he will when he speaks to his mother, and he has his first change, I hope he will side with the vampires as it was the Council that inadvertently killed his father. The town is also without a Mayor as well, and since this family comes from wealthy stock, is the title hereditary or public vote? I, for one think that Alaric would make a good Mayor, I mean who else is there?

Bonnie: Last but not least is Bonnie. I quite enjoy a witch character on the show as they can have more variety and depth that the other supernaturals. Their powers can also grow over leaps and bounds than the physical powers of Vamp and Wolf, and I think Bonnie will become the most powerful character on the show, if she isn't already. I'm glad she was able to resolve things with Elena, and I actually agreed with her not disabling the device. Elena doesn't quite think clearly when it comes to the Salvatore Brothers, and if she heeded Elena's word and disabled the device, a whole lot of humans would be dead right now, as compared to a few minor characters such as Anna and the Mayor. Elena really needs to treat Bonnie right, for I think without Bonnie on their side, when Katherine finally steps up to the plate, they don't have a chance of winning this fight without her.

BUT, just as Bonnie's ancestor Emily served Katherine, there could be chance even with her hatred of vampires that Bonnie could come under the control of her as Emily kind of was. It's iffy, but it could happen. I look forward not only Bonnie continued growth in magical power, but I hope she starts making more magical artefacts for the gang, much like Emily did in the past. Kudos for Bonnie also by grabbing Stefan and Damon by the privates, and announcing that if either spills a drop of human blood, she'll immolate them both with a flick of her wrist.

So what are your thoughts on the season finale, the fates of the characters, and your hopes and thoughts for Season Two?

Aww Shucks!

2010-05-05T22:32:00.000-07:00

The lovely Nicole Hadaway over at ALL THINGS SMART AND SCARY granted me this award today, and I feel a little bit like Chewy in Star Wars when Luke and Han are up on the podium getting the award from the ever sexy Princess Leia, and I have to hang back even though I helped just as much. Just joking :)

Thanks Nicole! Now to think of seven truths, or are they lies (?) that goes along with the award.

1) I've spent the night in Dracula's Castle on the Borgo Pass in Transylvania a few years back
2) I used to be a member of a Witches Coven
3) I have sixteen tattoos
4) I have a child each to three different women
5) I've done martial arts since I was ten but never got a black belt
6) My name means "Strength of God Forever" in two old Languages
7) I named my first cat after a Vampire: The Masquerade Clan.

Now for the seven blogs, some new and some old, that I have a daily joy reading and keep me entertained in the cyber world:

1) Taliesin Meets The Vampires - Goes without saying this is my favourite Vampire blog and Andy was the person who got me into the blogosphere in the first place. Always a delight to read his reviews, and you'll always find something new (or old) you've never seen before to watch.
2) Vampire News - Everlost's blog is great because it's all the World's Entertainment news of the Vampire Genre in one handy blog, and you never have to go anywhere else for the latest fanged news. Very up-to-date information for the vampire aficionado.
3) Lady Lovecraft is one of the Lovecraftian blogs I follow, and always has very interesting articles on HPL and the Cthulhu Mythos, worth checking out!
4) Propnomicon is a wondrous site that catalogues all the HPL and Cthulhu Merchandise from around the world, you'll discover some neat artefacts!
5) Scare Sarah - As far as I know, Sarah is relatively new to the blogosphere, but she is charging full steam ahead reviewing all kinds of movies in the Horror Genre including old favourites from the Exorcist to new Horror such as Halloween 2 and Orphan. Check her blog out!
6) Vamp Chix - A great lover of the Vampire Genre (with a dash of werewolf), might seemed geared towards Paranormal Romance, but you'll always discover a new book to read there to dig your nails into!
7) Preternatura - Suzanne Johnson writes a great Pop Culture blog, from High Fantasy to Urban Fantasy among other genres. Suzanne has some very interesting articles, most recently on why Gandalf never married and a discussion of the 'overuse' of Kick-Ass Heroines as opposed to heroes in today's urban fiction. Worth checking out.

Grave Reviews: Martin (1977)

2010-05-04T00:16:00.000-07:00

Directed and Written By: George A. Romero

Starring: John Amplas, Lincoln Maazel, Christine Forrest.

I first watched MARTIN about twenty years ago on VHS. I was 15 at the time, and had seen most vampire films back then such as Count Yorga Vampire and the Hammer Horror Films. I didn't know Rollin and Franco's work existed as of yet, and Martin was the one of the last vampire movies on the Horror shelf I had yet to watch, so after picking it up and putting it back a few times I finally rented it.

To be honest as it was so long ago I couldn't really remember what happened. I think I remembered the train scene at the start and that's it, so when news of a remake was announced recently, I thought it was time to revisit this strange little film.

Romero is mostly famous for his zombie movies, but I think this is his most underrated film and it's certainly his strangest. We first meet Martin Mathias boarding a train to go live with 'cousin' in Braddock, Pennsylvania (A modern Transylvania perhaps?). On the train Martin attacks an unwary fellow passenger with a needle pumped with narcotics and as she passes out he slices her arm with a razor blade and drinks his fill. As Martin does his clean up, the audience sees he is used to such a thing. He cleans most of the blood and changes into a fresh set of clothes, and scatters pills around the cabin to suggest the woman was depressed and attempted to commit suicide.

At the end of the journey Martin disembarks scott-free and meets with his superstitious and fantatical cousin Cuda, who is dressed like Colonel Sanders and drops the word "Nosferatu" towards Martin as a foul-mouthed expletive. During his stay Martin lives under Cuda's roof subject to his superstitious rule, tries to avoid his neurotic Niece Christina, and while working at Cuda's Deli strikes up a sexual friendship with lonely housewife: Abbie Santini.

Throughout the film we see Martin's struggle with his bloodlust, while putting up with the religious prattling of his cousin, who swears if one person goes missing or dies under suspicious circumstances, Cuda will blame Martin and destroy him before his soul is saved. Both Martin and Cuda claim that Martin is an 84-year old Vampire, and that the curse runs in his family from the Old World. It seems to be a recessive gene and has only afflicted perhaps five people in the last century.

When Martin hunts for his blood throughout the film, the footage is interwoven with surreal black and white imagery that could be Martin from an earlier time, or his own delusions of his supposed nature. For instance when he comes in contact with his female prey, Martin imagines her willing to seduced by the vampire much like they are in vampire movies, complete with candlebras and flowing gowns. In reality the women flee for their lives before Martin stabs them with narcotics, subduing them till they pass out so he can feed.

Martin does not possess the usual powers of the classical vampire. He isn't fast or strong, does not shapeshift nor has eye mojo, doesn't have vampire fangs, yet he claims he hasn't aged past the age of 18 or so. When Cuda attempts to repel him with a crucifix after Martin enters his bedroom, Martin chomps down on a garlic bud hanging from the door screaming "You see!" and holds Cuda's crucifix to his face lovingly, sighing that "their is no real magic, ever."

So it is up to the viewer to decide whether Martin is the vampire he and his cousin claim him to be, or that since he is not a Catholic like the rest of his family, they have labelled him a Devil due to his 'ungodly' nature. In the middle of the film after delivering meat to Mrs Santini, he discovers she has become enamoured with him which unsettles Martin because before no other woman has been interested in performing the 'sexy stuff' with him. After a few encounters and curious to know what it's like to make out with a woman while she is awake, Martin begins a short affair with her that expounds on her loneliness and ends in tragic results. Cuda doesn't see it that way and is quite certain to prove to Martin his 'point'.

This was a charming film, and at the same time unsettling. I can't really remember it making an impression on me 20 years ago, perhaps I didn't like it as I was used to vampires having powers and living in crumbling castles while flossing their fangs. I clearly remember coming home from school having discovered my Father watched it that day and getting quite an earful about how disgusting it was (hey it must have been good!), which was a similar experience to my Auntie walking in on my cousin and myself watch Grace Jones in VAMP around the same time.

Ultimately it is up to the viewer to decide whether Martin was actually a vampire, or a deluded, sick little boy who had his head filled with superstitious nonsense from his Catholic Family at a young age. There really wasn't anything else in the film that triggered Martin's 'madness'. He didn't watch vampire films, nor read horror novels. His supressed sexuality could be part of it as he seemed to have trouble hunting and feeding once he started doing the sexy stuff. I tend to think that this film was a social commentary on established religion much like Romero's Zombie films were a social commentary on consumerism. The only scene at the Church in the film had the Priest ask his parishioners to sell their unwanted goods so they could give all their money to the Church, along with Cuda's total domination of Martin and the rest of his family. Also during an exorcism at the house, Martin grows bored rather fast and wanders off to do something else.

The scene where Martin attacks Cuda in the playground at night dressed as Dracula with cape and plastic fangs is gold. After Cuda begins to freak, Martin spits out his teeth and wipes the white pancake make-up off his face professing "It's only a costume", but unfortunately for Martin, Cuda seems to get the last laugh.

My Grade is B.

VAMPIREOLOGY

2010-04-14T18:34:00.000-07:00

THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE FALLEN

The latest release in the line of OLOGY books alongside Dragonology and Pirateology comes Vampireology, a wonderful little plush book whose style I am quite fond of.

As a proud owner of the Vampire Hunter's Handbook and Demon Hunter's Handbook among others, I enjoy these books with a passion. Produced in the usual Journal Entry style of similar titles, Vampireology chronicles the creation of vampires from a line of Fallen Angels cum Demons named Moloch, Belial and Ba'al.

Destroyed by Archangel Michael and rendered to ash, primitive man found the remains and worshipped them, causing these monstrosities to resurrect as the world's first vampires. From here they took control of the Earth and established the Rule of Three whereas a vampire could only create three progeny lest the world become overun by vampires, and the blood supply of humans placed in peril.

The journal is filled with letters, news articles, pictures and personal items of the Last Protector, an Archibald Brooks who was a quasi-Van Helsing. He bequeaths his journal to his successor Joshua T. Kraik whom while reading this tome discovers the ghastly history of the vampires and his own need to take up the mantle of Protector to keep the world safe from The Fallen Ones.

Brooks describes the strength and weaknesses of vampires, some attributed as more powerful to each bloodline such as immense strength, speed, enchanced senses, mesmerism and shape-shifting. Brooks explains that vampires can take many forms including other predators such as Snow Leopards, and even a Cloud of Bats or a Nest of Spiders, though seperating one's form for too long is uncomfortable.

Vampires are daywalkers and their powers are not sapped by the light of the sun, though they are less compelled to kill in broad daylight preferring to kill from the shadows. Garlic annoys them, and religious objects are useless unless the bearer possesses immense Faith. The Fallen Ones do not require permission to enter a mortal dwelling, and their lack of reflection is relative to their stage of hunger. The more ravenous, the paler the reflection.

Most vampires are motivated by Earthly greed so if you are pursued or wish to detect a vampire dropping such things as pearls or coins may reveal a vampire. Grains of rice are explained in this myth not as an obssessive compulsive trait, but for the fact that rice was once used as currency in times past. Vampires cannot eat food, so any person who regularly denies hospitality should fall under immediate suspicion.

Vampires are difficult to destroy, only weakened by a stake through the heart, and must either be completely drained of blood, turned to ash or the head seperated from the body to insure destruction. Creating a vampire is a three-step process of draining a Chosen One, much like the old vampire stories/movies. Once the last bite has occured, the Chosen One must be completely drained of blood and ingests the vampire's own blood to turn.

Throughout the book Kraik details a correspondence with one Countessa D'Amigliani of Venice who is aware of Brook's Journal and as she admits to knowledge of The Fallen Ones initiates a detailed correspondence with Kraik and eventually begs him to come to Venice with the book so together they may solve the mystery of The Fallen Ones.

Mentioned in the book also are other allies in the war against these Demons. The Were-folk who are the natural enemies of the Vampires, men who aren't immortal or undead but outlive most humans and possess the strength to battle a vampire head on, and the Mysterious Slayer, a repentive Belial who has taken the form of a young girl. Together these three warrior types formed a Circle Of Protection that Kraik hopes once more to assemble.

This was a lovely book and returns Vampires to their sinister blood-thirsty (and Gothic Horror) origins. In this book Vampire Romance does exist, inasmuch as Vampires cruelly seduce mortals for selfish purposes perhaps to gauge their worthiness as future progeny. The art was exquisite and lush, provided by five different artists, and the journals writings along with some hidden compartments were fun. Included were shards of silver, pearls and other items a would-be Protector could use to start his quest towards the destruction of The Fallen Ones.

My Grade is B+

Vampire Dreams

2010-04-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

From what I understand a lot of Horror/Vampire authors get their ideas from dreams they have, along with influences from their favourite vampire games/movies/tv shows.

For the last 5+ years I've had the same recurring vampire dream that is set in the same town, and is very episodic in a fashion. I cannot control when I have these episodic dreams, but when I am having them I know they are another part of the same whole and when I wake up I can remember them better than most others in full vivid Gothic Horror colours.

The dreams always start in an old video store in the same country town. I'm not sure what city it's in (It's obviously fictional) but it's surrounded by mountains and seems set in or around the late 1980s. The membership of this video store is exclusive invitation-only and seems to move around the town somehow. Sometimes it's at the end of an alley way, sometimes on the main street. So far I've only met one other member (though the store has other customers while I'm there) besides the store's owner and she helped me choose some titles during my first time there.

I say 1980s because the video store is just stocked with VHS horror tapes and no dvds. The store is filled with vampire movies that don't exist, and most contain the same vampire protagonist. The films seems European in nature though have the same Gothic Aesthetic as Hammer Horror but 100 times darker. They are bleak and morbid and while the main vampire is the protagonist he is not a hero.

So I rent a pile of these movies and go back to my house. When I insert the tape at the start I am on my couch watching them, and then suddenly for some of the film I am in the movie. Sometimes I am the Vampire, sometimes not. Most of the dreams seem to be set in the present with one so far set in the medieval past in the vampire's European castle. Sometimes I will be in a room with other vampires attending some kind of gathering but so far the dream has been 80% town/ 20% movie, though there is a blur between the two.

The vampire VHS cases seem to have a magical quality about them as well. When you remove them from the shelf at the store and look at the back, besides the synopsis is a thick plastic card not too different from the ones used in 3D gimmicks where you can tip them on angles and see a different scene.

The difference here is similar to Harry Potter where the card actually plays a trailer of the movie, similar to the moving photographs in HP, but there is no electronics in the VHS case to allow this. Vampires exist in this town in real life, and I am aware of them as they are of me, and I am also friends with one that owns a club but I am still human (I think). I'd say the town doesn't have more then 200-300 people in it, and when I think about it, the town resembles something out of a Stephen King story, similar to Salem's Lot but not as hilly.

There is something about the VHS covers themselves. When you look at them, even if you are a horror fan they fill you with an immense feeling of dread mixed with excitement, but you are compelled to watch them. When I pick up a movie I am ecstatic that I finally got hold of said movie as if I knew it existed but it was hard to find and I am compelled to rent it.

I also have to say none of these movies are low budget fare, and I am quite disgruntled that nothing like these movies exist in the real world. Even the Subspecies/Vampire Journals movies which are my favourites including the Yorga films do not match them!

Anyways, this last Vampire film was titled LUST, whereas lust meant bloodLUST. The film was a continuation of the same vampire series (having the same vamp) and it wasn't pornographic in any fashion, and was set in an old Gothic house (probably in my dream's home town) where the vampire was visiting someone, a young girl and her family.

He normally sleeps beneath a house in an ornate tomb and coffin. What's funny is that he resembles Kinski from Nosferatu in Venice and I have no idea why he does, though I am very fond of that movie, and it's inherent bleakness and wonderful setting.

He doesn't possess the same personality (or history) as Kinski's Nosferatu, but to be honest I don't think I've ever heard him speak in my dreams so I don't have the full picture.

During my dream I seem to fluctuate between these 'movies' and life in the town, and while the expostition isn't semi-apocalyptic like Salem's Lot or Nosferatu in Venice I can tell that it's heading towards something sinister.

Before you say why haven't you written about this as a story, the answer is I am trying to. But you might understand that having the remembered visuals of a dream, and trying to put those down into words is not an easy task!

Funny just now I just did a search for horror vhs tapes as a pic for this article and the first picture came across the one I have on my left. A video store called BLACK LODGE video, and they still stock VHS tapes mostly Horror. My video store in my dream almost looks like this, except it's more sinister and has a more gothic decor. A further check though and they stock DVDs but still I'm happy something like that exists.

There is a video store near my house called TRASH VIDEO that stocked VHS Horror in my teen years where I discovered Hammer, Yorga, Franco and Rollin so I am assuming my dream store is inspired by that store.

Part of my hesistation to write about these dreams is some similarity to The Japanese Ringu films. My dream plots are linked to these tapes which seem to be 'cursed' inasmuch they pull the watcher in to them, or affect them somehow. But perhaps the fact that I appear in and out of the movie could be just some weird non-linear dream mojo.

So what do you think, and at the same time I'd love to hear about your vampire dreams, if you have any. Also have any of these dreams influenced your writing?

Grave Reviews #14

2010-04-12T18:01:00.000-07:00

THE HAUNTED PALACE (1963)

Director: Roger Corman

Starring: Vincent Price, Lon Chaney Jr and Debra Paget.

Based on a story The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H.P Lovecraft (but strangely attributed to Edgar Allan Poe as one of Corman's Eight Poe Adaptations).

I love a love/hate relationship with Vincent Price. Actually it's mostly hate as he annoys me terribly. I can't see why he got so famous unless you knew a guy. I assume other than that, it was because of his stupid creepy voice that he got roles because he's a terrible hammy actor.

This is a bad rendering of the H.P Lovecraft tale The Case of Charles Dexter Ward and funnily enough is part of Corman's Eight Poe films. Even in the credits does POE get a writing credit. Besides mention of Lovecraft's Ward and the showing of The Necronomicon along with what I assume is an Old One in the well below Ward's Palace set in Arkham, this film doesn't really reflect the apocalyptic prose of Lovecraft's great work.

The setting isn't in the 1900s like Lovecraft's work either, and I found this movie to be a terrible adaptation and utter trash. The only reason it didn't get an F was due to the lovely gothic and creepy set design.

My Grade is E.

Grave Reviews #13

2010-04-08T00:54:00.000-07:00

Hellbound: Hellraiser II

Director: Tony Randel

Starring: Ashley Laurence, Clare Higgins, Kenneth Cranham, Imogen Boorman, Sean Chapman, William Hope and Doug Bradley.

A sequel to Hellraiser that was based on Clive Barker's novella The Hellbound Heart, this movie sees the return of the sadomasochistic Cenobities and the coveted Lament Configuration.

Kirsty (Laurence) wakes up at the Channard Institute, a mental hospital run by Dr Philip Channard (Cranham). There she relates in desperation the events of the last film, the crimes of her Uncle Frank (Chapman) and her mother-in-law and Frank's lover Julia (Higgins) who using the Lament Configuration summon and betray the Cenobites of Hell lead by Pinhead (Bradley). Kirsty literally makes it out with her skin intact when she hands Frank to the Cenobites who had disguised himself using the skin of Kirsty's father.

At the asylum also is Tiffany (Boorman), a girl who doesn't speak and has a penchant for solving puzzles. Channard learns of a bloody mattress that was found at Kirsty's house and she begs him to destroy it for otherwise Julia will just come back the same way as Frank did. The first night there she gets a visit from her skinless father begging for salvation from the torment of Hell.

Channard has the mattress taken to his house and sacrifices an asylum inmate to ressurect Julia so he can use her and Tiffany to glimpse Hell. Meanwhile Channard's assistant Kyle witnesses Julia's ressurection and frees Kirsty to put a stop to the madness.

Julia now wearing her own skin due to many bloody sacrifices tricks Kyle and kills him, and captures Kirsty. Channard uses Tiffany to solve the Lament Configuration, and the Cenobites appear ready to claim Tiffany, when Pinhead realises it wasn't her but Channard that ordered the box solved.

Kirsty wakes to discover Channard's house merging with the realm of Hell and runs into the Labyrinth looking for her damned father. Tiffany walks her own path through Hell to face her own personal demons and past just as Kirsty is tormented by her own. Kirsty crosses paths with Pinhead and she is powerless to use the Lament Configuration because she is already in Hell and has nothing to bargain with this time. Pinhead explains that each Hell is different, a person's own personal Hell. Pinhead suggests Kirsty explore Hell for the time being because the Cenobites have eternity to know her flesh.

Channard is led through the Labyrinth by Julia, and Kirsty begs Tiffany to help them get out of Hell since she solved the box. Julia and Channard make it to the centre of Hell to Leviathan, the God of the Cenobites and the Lord of the Labyrinth. It all becomes too much for Channard, who desires to leave. Julia reveals she was allowed to come back to Earth because Leviathan craves souls, and she will feed the doctor's to her God and forces him into the Chamber of the Engineer where he is painfully transformed into a Cenobite.

Kirsty discovers a representation of her Father's house and enters it alone, to discover to her horror it's Frank's chamber and the person that met her in her hospital room was actually Frank pretending to be her father. Kirsty torches the room burning off Frank's precious skin in the process. Julia walks in with Tiffany, and Frank attempts to seduce her once more but it betrayed and murdered by Julia because she is now above him and has set her sights on becoming the Queen of Hell. Both Kirsty and Tiffany use this moment to escape.

Channard resurrects as a Cenobite and ponders why he hesitated at the exquisite pain of it. Julia and the girls get caught up in the maelstrom of the labyrinth while escaping down a corridor, and as Tiffany tries to save Julia to Kirsty's protest, Julia's new skin is ripped from her flesh and she is hurtled screaming away from them. The girls flee once more, and suddenly find themselves back at Channard's Institute, which is Channard's own Hellish domain. They flee once again only to be cornered by Pinhead and the Cenobites where she challenges Pinhead to remember his own humanity from a photo she found of him in his pre-Hell days.

Channard appears desperate to feast on their souls and surprisingly Pinhead protects them by using his hooks to ensnare the Doctor. Channard is able to smite a few lesser Cenobites in the process and proclaims himself the new head Cenobite. Pinhead reverts back to his human form to die at the end of Channard's tentacle scalpels. Tiffany realises she has to solve the puzzle and makes her way back to the centre to Leviathan picking up a diamond form of the box along the way from Julia's discarded skin.

The box that Tiffany finds resembles Leviathan's form to the letter, and attempts to use the box's magic as a link to disable Leviathan's power but Channard turns up to spoil their plans. A bit of quick thinking on Kirsty's part gets her wearing Julia's skin to distract the Doctor long enough to change the box back to its original form neutralising the Cenobite's power and kill Channard. Leviathan begins to change shape to resemble the box, firing death rays at the escaping girls but they manage to make it back to their own realm and leave the Institute never to look back.

At the end, furniture removalists are cleaning out Channard's house and discover the bloody mattress which claims one of them as a sacrifice. His friend stares in horror as a bloody column of Cenobites and tortured souls arises from the mattress and asks the bewildered man: "What is your pleasure sir?"

***

In my opinion this is the best Hellraiser movie out of all eight that were made. I enjoyed the first one, and rate the fourth one but while number three was passable the other four I feel were like flogging a dead horse. Some of you may know that the first Hellraiser is up for a modern remake, apparently sans Bradley as Pinhead, and I'm at a loss as to what they can do with it except update the dated 80s SFX.

I enjoy Barker's rendition of Hell as I do his other warped works, thought I prefer his movie adaptations to his actual stories, mainly Nightbreed and Lord of Illusions. One must wonder what went on in his mind to invent such demented material but I for one enjoy the result. In a bit of trivia for those who are fans but don't know: the word Cenobite is actually a Latin form of MONK. The Cenobites are certainly Monks of Hell.

My Grade is B+

Grave Reviews #12

2010-04-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

THE DUNWICH HORROR (1970)

Director: Daniel Haller

Starring: Dean Stockwell, Sandra Dee, Ed Begley, Sam Jaffe.

Based on the story by H.P Lovecraft

This film is one of the better Lovecraftian adaptations that happened to not be filmed by Stuart Gordon, Lovecraft's unsung cinematic hero.

The movie is set in Lovecraft's fiction Massachusetts towns of Arkham and Dunwich. The film starts a few decades earlier in the Old Wheatley House in Dunwich with Lavinia Wheatley bed-ridden giving birth to twins whose father is unknown.

At Miskatonic University in Arkham, Dr Henry Armitage (Begley) had just finished his lecture on the Necronomicon and ancient Cults, and asks one of his assistants Nancy Wagner (Dee) to return the Tome to the Library. She is followed there by Wilbur Wheatley who in a charming fashion asks if he can read the book. She relents, and Wilbur sits at a table with glee to read about Yog-Sothoth and his role as gate-keeper to R'lyeh that will release the Great Old Ones from their watery prison.

Wilbur's investigations are interrupted by Armitage who demands the book back at first, and then is delighted to meet a decendant of the Wheatley family and asks him out for drinks so they can trade information. Wilbur asks to borrow the Necronomicon (the only one in existence) and Armitage refuses shaking hands and leaving. Using guile Wilbur tells Nancy he has missed his last bus back to Dunwich, tricking Nancy into driving him home.

On the way there she experiences discrimination towards Wilbur and grows more sympathetic to him. While showing her his house, he disables her car and drugs her tea to make her stay the weekend, and she decides to continue her stay in his mysterious home when her friend Elizabeth and Armitage come check up on her. They all meet Wilbur's crazy grandfather who is shocked to learn Wilbur is seeking the Necronomicon, and while staying there Nancy hears strange alien sounds coming from upstairs that Wilbur explains as the creaking of an old house from ocean winds.

Meanwhile, suspicious of the Wheatley family, Armitage discovers the Doctor responsible for delivering Wilbur, and after explaining about the Alien cult, Dr Cory professes that he didn't deliver Wilbur, it was Old Wheatley, and that Livinia gave birth to twins, one reputedly stillborn. She was damaged inside from the violent birth and later moved to Arkham Asylum.

Wilbur and Nancy spend the weekend getting to know each other, and he shows her around the town and the tour finally ends on Sentinel Hill, an old ancient altar of worship to the Old Ones. Knowing she is a virgin, Wilburs uses chants and hypnosis and rapes her, while she has crazy visions of cultists and otherworldly horrors.

Elizabeth comes back to The Wheatley House to check on Nancy, and rudely pushing past the grandfather, walks through the strange house of alien design, and entering the wrong room releases Wilbur's rumoured dead brother, who is a tentacled monstrosity. Elizabeth is quickly despatched with ravenous hunger, with Old Wheatley barely managing to trap it back in the room.

Wibur and Nancy return to the house, noticed Elizabeth's car. Old Wheatley reprimands Wilbur after he explains Nancy's friend 'went up those stairs!' and blames him for what is about to happen. Wibur is sickened by his Grandfather's weakness in letting the town get to him with shunning his cultish heritage, and trying to attack his grandson in a rage falls down the stairs and dies. Wilbur holds an unsanctioned funeral for him using the old rituals of Yog-Sothoth, and as Nancy looks on the paranoid townsfolk rock up to put a stop to the intended blasphemy burying a cultist in a Christian cemetery.

Armitage gets a phone call from Dr Cory explaining that Livinia is dying at the asylum. Meeting him there, they arrive just in time to see her pass on while muttering a strange chant that Armitage recognises from the Necromnicon and urges Dr Cory to drive back to the University with him post-haste.

Having enough of everyone's BS, Wilbur drives back to Miskatonic University with a spaced out Nancy, and in the act of stealing the Necronomicon kills a guard. He returns to Sentinel Hill with Nancy and the book and plans to sacrifice her to open the gate to release the Old Ones. Now under Wilbur's influence she begans to chant for Yog-Sothoth (Wilbur's real father) to come forth. The ritual also releases his more-alien brother from his bedroom prison killing some Christians (The Coles) that provoked Wilbur.

Wilbur declares to Nancy that she is now a Wheatley as a storm brews in the distance. Armitage discovers the dead guard and en-route to Dunwich the two men see the remains of The Coles and the growing mob mentality of the townsfolk. They arrive at the Wheatley House to find it burning down, and from across the river a gnarling alien sounds tearing towards Sentinel Hill. Armitage arrives near the end of the ritual and they initiate a magical duel, and first with Wilbur proving his dominance. Armitage repeats a chant to confuse Wilbur's mind, which causes him to be struck by lightning and fall off the cliff in a screaming ball of flame.

Nancy comes out of her magical reverie for Armitage to explain what is going on, and that the last of the Wheatleys is dead. The film ends with a shot of an alien baby growing inside Nancy at a rapid rate.

***

The best parts of these Lovecraft adaptations is the creepy New England Massachusetts setting made famous in his work. What I was also impressed with was the use of ritual in the film on Sentinel Hill, the director put a lot of effort to make them seem creepy, alien and authentic with regards to the Cthulhu Mythos. Roger Corman was a producer on the film, so I assume since he had a hand in adapting Poe and Lovecraft stories in the past he might have been responsible for it level of authenticity.

The acting was good for the most part, with Stockwell's Wilbur cold, charming yet sinister, and though the set decorations were sublime, the SFX of Wilbur's 'brother' left a lot to be desired, but it was the start of the 70s so these type of effects were still in their infancy, so therefore could be forgiven for they didn't really tarnish a great atmospheric film.

My Grade is B+

Grave Reviews #11

2010-04-06T05:25:00.000-07:00

House Of Frankenstein (1944)

Director: Erle C. Kenton

Starring: Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr, John Carradine.

Wow. I bought this about half a year ago because it was cheap, but had put it off till now partially due to my love/hate relationship with Karloff but I was mightily impressed. This is the middle film of a trilogy between Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman and House of Dracula.

Dr. Gustav Niemann (Karloff) has spent the last 15 years in prison after his two assistants frame him to escape prisons sentences due to their graverobbing in a bid to re-enact Dr Frankenstein's creation of the Undying Monster. He manages to escape with a hunchback named Daniel, whom he promises that if he can find Dr Frankenstein's notes he will give Daniel a normal mortal body.

Now Niemann is free to exact vengeance on his former assistants and a Burgomeister named Hussmann who sent him to prison. He murders a traveling showman named Lampini and takes his place as ringleader of a Horror show that boasts to include the staked remains of Dracula (Carradine). Arriving in the Hussmann's town, his granddaughter emotionally bribes him, her husband and the town's Police Inspector to see the Horror Show, and when Hussmann almost recognises Niemann he pulls the stake from Dracula's chest to revive him, and upon pain of re-staking commands him to assist in his revenge.

Dracula seduces Hussmann's granddaughter via the magic of his crest ring, and succeeds in killing Hussmann, fleeing by coach back to his coffin in the Horror Show. Seeing Dracula persued by the local constablary, Niemann and Daniel flee, and in an effort to distract the police, toss Dracula's coffin, and his sanctuary from sunlight onto the road. Dracula rolls the coach and is too late to make it to his coffin reverting back into a skeleton as the sun's rays strike him down.

Niemann travels to the town of Castle Frankenstein where Daniel spies a gypsy show, and subsequently falls in love with a gypsy dancer named Ilonka, whom he saves from a nasty brut, and takes her along to Castle Frankenstein where in the lower depths they find the frozen remains of The Undying Monster and the Wolfman. Niemann thaws them both out with fire, and he promises Lawrence Talbot now in his human form during the day a new body so he can be free of the mark of the pentagram.

Much to Daniel's chagrin, Ilonka falls for a non-disfigured Talbot who proceeds to change at the next full moon and kills again, alerting the town to a werewolf and the Castle used once again for nefarious scientific experiments. Daniel reveals Talbot's curse to Illonka in desperation to win her love, but she spurns his lies and finally when she learns the truth vows to love and help Talbot with his curse.

Talbot now sick of Niemann's procrastinations (and figuring out he only cared for the Undying Monster all along) attacks Niemann but relents when he realises the Doctor is his only hope to be free from the curse. Talbot changes once more at night, and attacks Illonka mortally wounding her, The gypsy girl manages to discharge her gun loaded with silver bullets into his heart, and they both die in a loving embrace (vomit).

By now Daniel has had enough and attacks Niemann blaming him for all his misery. The Monster awakens during the experiment and tosses Daniel around like leaves on a windy day, and as the villagers attack to quell the evil from rising once again, the monster thinking it is saving Niemann drags him into the quicksand nearby where they both perish.

***

I found this movie quite enjoyable until it got to the part of Talbot and The Wolfman. I am not a fan of the original Wolfman movie with Chaney Jr as I find Talbot's character to be a whinging sook and can't really stand monsters who are big crybabies about their condition. Lucikly he didn't play a big part but was in it enough to disturb me. This is the first time I's seen Carradine play Count Dracula and I quite enjoyed his version, but when I saw the crap bat effects I couldn't help but think of Taliesin and what he thought of this particular one, it was pretty damn crappy.

The Frankenstein Monster is hardly in it, and Karloff I see gave up the role to play more human (and more evil) characters and for once I could put up with his diabolical lispiness. The Hunchback Daniel played by J. Carrol Naish was sympathic enough, but reminded me of those ugly men in real life that expect to get a girlfriend that resembles an actress from Gossip Girl. Real life ain't like that, and I know this is a movie with vampires and werewolves, but Daniel baby if you ugly and ain't got the dough, you ain't got the chance.

The sets and costume were usual Universal Horror fare, so if you've seen Legosi's Dracula you know what to expect. Crumbling castles and dinner jackets galore. Still I enjoyed this enough as I have any other Universal Horror, though most now are quite corny in their old age.

My Grade is C.

Grave Reviews #10

2010-04-06T03:08:00.000-07:00

Requiem For A Vampire (1971)

Director: Jean Rollin

Starring: Marie-Pierre Castel, Mireille Dargent, Philippe Gasté, Louise Dhour, Dominique Toussaint.

This is my favourite Rollin film though not the first I'd seen. Lips of Blood takes that honour and coming in third is Fascination tied with Living Dead Girl.

There is something about being a Rollin fan that you just can't explain to someone that isn't. Rollin isn't that accessible because his movies are quite surreal and don't really make that much sense for the most part. But as a fan you are drawn to the Gothic EuroHorror visuals of vampires, coffins, crypts, bats and haunted chateaus along with a slew of lovely French ladies who get in way over their heads when dealing with the supernatural, as the two protagonists of this film. Of course you need to watch these films in their original French Language with subtitles to get the full atmosphere of these lovely Eurohorrors. Dubbing is the root of all evil.

***

Marie and Michelle have just escaped their school party (apparently, perhaps it was juvenile hall), evading the guards for a friend waiting outside with a car. They are chased for quite a while through the French Countryside exchanging gunfire (dressed as clowns no less) until their driver is mortally wounded and tells them to head for the water tower with his dying breath.

The two girls torch the car and the body, and head for the water tower to retrieve a motorcycle to continue on their way. Passing through a cemetery through a lovely montage of bats and graves (and almost 10 minutes of no dialogue) Michelle is almost buried alive, and they find their way to an abandoned chateau where they hope to spend the night. and hide from their pursuers.

Alas the chateau is not abandoned but home to a Coven of Vampires and their evil servants who serve a Vampire Master, who is dying and needs fresh blood (read: virgins) to continue his bloodline and own immortality who is assisted by two half-vampires. The two girls are tormented throughout the night until they are finally cornered, controlled by bat-like parasites summoned by the Master and given the cursed bite. Now half vampires, the girls are compelled to do the Master's and the Coven's bidding.

After a slew of gratuitous sex-scenes between the evil cultists and prisoners in the dungeon, the girls try to escape the chateau, but they are under the Master's power now and find themselves back at the chateau's gates everytime.

The girls are told they are be initiated into the Coven of Vampirism to replenishitsr numbers as the Master is dying because he no longer gains sustenance from the dark malediction of human blood. Erica has developed her teeth and Louise is not far behind, still half-vampires but on their way to replacing their Master as head of the coven. The two girls are tasked with going out in the daylight and seducing men back to the chateau so the vampires can feed off them. A person cannot be a non-virgin and a vampire, and from what is explained you need to be a virgin to have vampirism passed onto you. (This lore was also used recently in Helsing).

The girls use their sexuality to seduce men, but Marie goes all the way with a young man named Frederic, sacrificing her virginity because she doesn't want to become one of the Damned, while Michelle does her duty and keeps her innocence. This event is where the girls seperate in loyalty to the coven as Michelle falls into the darkness of the vampire, and captures and tortures her friend for betraying her (also Marie's mate is more attractive than the dirty old man Michelle seduces). Erica kills Michelle's mate and invites her to share his blood with her.

Marie lies lies and says she saw no-one to seduce, and the girls are told by Louise that tonight they will be fully initiated into the coven. The Master figures out Marie is no longer a virgin and is mighty pissed, sending his half-vampires to catch her and discover her mate that is hiding somewhere in the Chateau. The Master traps Marie's lover in the mausoleum, but has a change of heart. He confides in Marie a secret that he is too ancient to have passed on his full vampirism to his disciples, and that Erica and Louise will never be like him. He will pass soon and is happy as he didn't ask for this curse and decides to let Marie go.

Michelle isn't as impressed or forgiving, and at gunpoint demands to know where the lover is so she can kill him, as he is a threat to the vampires. If Marie doesn't talk the half-vampires will kill them both. Michelle's heart breaks as she chains Marie up and tortures her but Marie won't relent. Erica steps in to turn up the heat and Louise lets both of them escape so they will lead them to Frederic. The girls are chased to the mausoleum of the vampire and prove to be crack shots with a pistol, only running out of bullets when Erica and Louise show up (guns don't work on them anyhow).

The Master appears and tells them enough is enough, it's all over. Erica is to spend the rest of eternity with her Master in the tomb, and Louise is to guard it to make sure it is never opened. The girls waste no time in fleeing the cemetery as Louise stands guard heartbroken at the crypt's gates.

***

This is the film I would recommend to someone wanting to experience Rollin for the first time. There isn't much dialogue, and what there is of it is Rollin's usual musing of poetic pathos in regards to the vampire race. Vampire Lore here is a mix of standard and unusual. The half-vampires can walk about by day, are immune to injury from common weapons though don't possess any other supernatural powers such as shapeshifting, enchanced strength or flight.

The half-vampires could be the ones who summon the bats to mind control the two girls during the day as their Master is asleep in his crypt, though we do see him use this power when the girls first meet him. We see nothing in regards to weaknesses, no holy objects, mirrors or garlic. Humans must be virgins to become vampires, and start out half-vampire and become fully fledged in some unknown capacity.

Rollin has an wonderful eye for gothic scenery and pretty women, and there is plenty of both here to assuage any vampire fans hunger. Once you've seen this make sure to see his other films I mentioned above. Then once your done, or even inbetween, make sure to watch the films of his Spanish compatriot in Eurohorror Jess Franco, director of the fantastic Vampyros Lesbos and Virgin Amongst the Living Dead.

My Grade is B.

Six new occult Tattoos (plus others)

2010-04-05T04:11:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, while taking my wife to the tattoo parlour for her birthday to receive a much anticipated rose tattoo sleeve, I took the opportunity to add to my collection of occult tattoos. So without further ado here are the pictures (picture headings are clickable for more info):

From left elbow to wrist:

1. Unicursal Hexagram: Used in the Thelema tradition among others, this symbol denotes TRUE WILL.

2. Monad: The symbol stands for Azoth, and used by Dr John Dee to symbolise the goal of Alchemy, the Philosopher's stone. This symbol is a mix of symbols including Aries, the Cross, the Sun and The Moon.

3. Sulphur/Brimstone: The Leviathan Cross, A symbol for the alchemical element Sulfur, (Brimstone) which is spiritually analogous to the human soul.

4. The Seal of Babalon: (Left inside forearm) The Scarlet Woman, The Great Mother, or the Mother of Abominations—is a goddess found in the mystical system of Thelema. In her most abstract form, she represents the female sexual impulse and the liberated woman; although she can also be identified with Mother Earth, in her most fertile sense. At the same time, Crowley believed that Babalon had an earthly aspect in the form of a spiritual office, which could be filled by actual women—usually as a counterpart to his own identification as "To Mega Therion" (The Great Beast)—whose duty was then to help manifest the energies of the current Aeon of Horus. Besides my right forearm sleeve this is my favourite tattoo, I was so happy with how it turned out

5. The Seal of Astaroth: Aka Astarte, In demonology Astaroth (also Ashtaroth, Astarot, and Asteroth) is a Prince of Hell. He is a male figure named after the female Canaanite goddess Ashtoreth. He is referred to in The Lesser Key of Solomon as a very powerful demon. In art, in the Dictionnaire Infernal, Astaroth is depicted as a nude man with feathered wings, wearing a crown, holding a serpent in one hand, and riding a beast with dragon-like wings and a sepent-like tail.

This tattoo is on the inside of my left bicep, and I love its lines and how it turned out. Astaroth was an important figure in my early occult years, hence the tattoo in his honour.

6. Witch's Knot: Finally found a symbol to go in the middle of my right bicep to complete the Celtic armband I got over 10 years ago.

The Witch’s knot is a common symbol in folk magic. The witch’s knot is a symbolic representation of the knot magic practiced by witches in the middle ages, and was used as a sympathetic charm against witchcraft, and usually scratched over doorways of homes and stables. One aspect of its efficacy as a protective charm lay in the ability to draw the complicated symbol in one continuous motion.

While the symbol appears to be made up of intertwined vesica pisces, it does not represent “feminine powers” as is sometimes claimed, but the inversion of those powers- the four radiating half circles symbolically reflect malefic winds. Ironically, this is a popular emblem of choice for modern witches.

This is my Ode to Lovecraft (right forearm sleeve) which also includes the earlier tattoo of The Eye of Horus. I designed this tattoo myself with EIGHT tentacles bursting out of my body with three Cthuloid eyes growing out as well, symbolising a Deep One/Innsmouth Look feel. One day I plan to finish it, perhaps my tattooing sinew to fill in the flesh for a more alien look.

I was so happy with the way this turned out and I get complimented on it often, especially by most of the populace who don't know who Lovecraft is. I'm hoping someday to get some of Lovecraft's Gods on my body somewhere, either the Great Cthulhu himself, or perhaps Nyarlathotep whom I am fond of, and works in with the eye of Horus I have tattoed on the same arm.

Inverted Pentagram: (Upper back) This is my Ode to my favourite movie, The Ninth Gate. This symbol appears on the front of the demonic text coveted in the movie The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows, a book reputed to summon The Prince of Darkness in person. Those who have read the book it's based on The Dumas Club or seen and understand the movie realise that in this Lucifer appears as a female who aid's Johnny Depp's character Dean Corso on his quest through the Nine Gates represented by tarot-like engravings in the book. I own a replica of this book and it's one of my favourite possessions.

Here is a copy of The Nine Gates. The Ninth engraving is a picture of a woman riding a hydra, which represents Babalon (The Scarlet Woman) riding The Beast (Therion), which links to my Seal of Babalon tattoo. The Ninth Engraving is also something I am to tattoo on myself in the near future, I just have to decide where.

Warlock's Library #5

2010-04-05T00:47:00.000-07:00

I am on an Aleister Crowley mission at the moment, studying his system of Thelema at this time (among other systems) and I have just finished three books relating to him that I will review in due course, including this one.

Sandy Robertson as a young lad one day asked his father who Crowley was. The look of horror on his father's face was enough for him to delve into Crowley's history and become a prolific collector of Crowleyana as it's called.

Collected here are artworks, personal photographs, articles and newspaper clipping of the man who was to be dubbed "The Wickedest Man in the World" by the British Press. Crowley did everything in his power to become recognised by the world, partially as a Great Magickian but unfortunately his notoriety got the better of him, and he wasn't taken seriously by the British People much to his chagrin.

Getting expelled from Sicily by Mussolini certainly didn't help, along with his reputation as a drug fiend, the deaths at his Sicily Thelema Abbey (including one of his own children) and his association with many Scarlet Women such as Leah Hirsig (The Ape of Thoth) with whom he sought to produce a mythical in-the-flesh Moonchild. This book doesn't go into the magickal rites of his system Thelema, but discusses his childhood raised into a family of strict (and wealthy) Plymouth Brethren, he was happy to discard as soon as he was able. It was his own mother that labelled him as "The Beast 666" for his chaotic ways, and that name stuck to him. Crowley wasn't a Satanist though, as he was a member of The Golden Dawn, O.T.O, his own society A∴A∴ (Arcanum Arcanorum), and finally his own system of Thelema that was a mixture of magickal systems including Qabala(Kabbalah), Enochian and Egyptian Mysteries.

The book attempts to explain Aleister Crowley as a man, and also as a Magickian and gives evidence of differring degrees from picturing him as a leading figure in Occultism to a conniving con-man who used his influence to take money from his followers for his various schemes. Such 'evidence' is supplied in a letter titled "The Memoir of 666" by Alan Burnett-Rae who claims to have rented a flat to Crowley and explains his eccentric behaviour, wild stories and apparent lack of assets and money.

Also described within is his various quarrels with other occult personalities such as the Head of the Golden Dawn MacGregor Mathers and the poet W.B Yeats who desired to see Crowley removed from the Golden Dawn. From Robertson's own collection of Crowleyana he provides pictures of the Thelema Abbey, poems, plays and stories written by Crowley, and discusses the influence Crowley had on horror fiction such as Dennis Wheatley's occult villain Mocata from The Devil Rides Out, who was portrayed by Charles Grey in the Hammer Film of the same name.

Lastly Robertson briefly mentions a Lovecraft-Crowley connection, and finishes with discussing Crowley's influence in the modern world, from featuring on The Beatles album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, to influencing Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page as well as Ozzy Ozbourne's song "Mr Crowley" and a mention in David Bowie's song "Quicksand" from his album Hunky Dory (Closer to the Golden Dawn/immersed in Crowley's uniform of imagery). More recently Crowley's influence found it's way into Carl McCoy's 80/90s Gothic Rock Band Fields of the Nephilim with such songs as Moonchild and Love Under Will.

If you are interested in learning more about Crowley this is a good place to start, because to understand Crowley the Magickian, you also have to know and understand Crowley the man.

Grave Reviews #9

2010-04-03T06:28:00.000-07:00

DRACULA (1979)

Director: John Badham

Starring: Frank Langella, Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasance, Kate Nelligan, Trevor Eve and Jan Francis.

A few days ago, starved for vampire movies to watch I perused Taliesin's A-Z list of vampire movies and came across this film which I hadn't seen since my twenties.

I had first seen it back in the 80s as a young vampire-obsessed lad, and although there were many vampire movies still unseen on Taliesin's list my fond memory of this film made me choose it over the others, hence I found it first on my to-watch-list.

After watching it again, this time after now seeing 100+ vampire movies, and probably 10+ Dracula adaptations (but back then I believe I'd only seen the Yorga films, Salem's Lot and a Lee Dracula or two) I believe that this film is one of the best Dracula adaptations produced.

The film follows the plot of Stoker's original story close enough, but omits and changes plot points such as omitting Transylvania and the Brides altogether (a pity) as well as swapping the character histories of Lucy and Mina. Here Lucy Seward (Nelligan) is only not of the Westernra family, but the daughter of Dr Seward who runs The Whitby Asylum, from within his mansion no less. She is engaged to Johnathan Harker (Eve), and Mina is the daughter of Abraham Van Helsing (Olivier) and is also frail and sickly.

Renfield is not a committed madman at the start of the film, but actually a labourer who delivers boxes of Transylvanian earth to Carfax Abbey, and gets more than he bargains for (including a taste for bugs) when he bad mouths Dracula at the abbey for having to shift the soil-filled crates.

Dracula arrives aboard the Demeter during a storm as per the novel, and as it smashes on the rocks, Mina though sickly runs down the cliffs to the wreck and follows a wolf to the nearby cave. There she finds an 'unconscious' Count Dracula in a fur coat to whom he now regards as his saviour. The workers at the abbey lead by Doctor Seward unload the boxes to transport to the Abbey as Harker arrives by motorcar to inquire on the health and wherabouts of Dracula.

The next night the Count attends the home of Seward to meet his new neighbours in a warm Whitby welcome and much to Harker's chagrin, Dracula and Lucy seem smitten with each other. Seeing Mina suffer from one of her fainting spells, Dracula insists on using hypnotism to calm and recouperate her as he believes the laudanam Seward usually administers her will make her blood impure.

Lucy is rather sarcastic to the Count's beliefs and also his choice of lodgings, only for him to remark he prefers his women strongwilled and full of life and blood, and that as he is of an old family a new house will not do. The decrepid Carfax Abbey is just the home from one such as he. Harker grows jealous when Dracula and Lucy dance.

That night while Lucy and Harker have a secret interlude, the Count descends the wall to Mina's bedroom and picking the frame from around the window enters the room to drink of her blood. The next morning Lucy awakes afright and summons her Father only to have both of them watch her die as she struggles for oxygen, not realising that vampiric blood is taking over her body and soul.

Mina is buried, and Seward at a loss with the marks on her neck summons her father Abraham from Paris to tell him of the terrible news. Harker arrives at Carfax to give the Count his deed to the property and he insists Harker file it at his law firm in London at once. When he apologises due to Mina's upcoming funeral, Dracula uses this time to invite Seward and his daughter to dine at his house while Harker is away, and would he be so kind to deliver the message.

As Abraham arrives at Whitby, Lucy is wine, dined and seduced by Dracula and agrees to become his bride. Van Helsing learns the true fate of his daughter after a mother of a murdered baby attests that the now dead Mina was the killer. So they dig her up her coffin and discover a tunnel into the mines were a cadaverous Mina lurks, and after a struggle the grieving father kills his daughter.

Dracula comes to Lucy's bed that night and turns her while making love, and Harker finds her in a similar state with the same puncture wounds that poor Mina sported. After Dracula fails to kill Helsing does the lead hunter learn who they must now destroy to free Lucy.

After a blood transfusion to slow Lucy's vampiric transformation, the men cut out Mina's heart and rebury her with a horrified Lucy watching from the window. She flees to warn her Master only to be stopped by the new vampire hunters. Seward locks Lucy in the Aslyum as Van Helsing and Harker attempt to destroy Dracula at Carfax. Helsing is surprised Dracula is mobile during the day, and they almost destroy him with sunlight but he escapes in bat form.

That night Dracula breaks Lucy out of the Asylum, he commissions a crate full of earth to return to his homeland, and only by a stroke of luck do the hunters' cross paths with the crate. After they are outwitted by the Count do they finally make it to the Scarborough Docks to see Dracula's ship sail off in the distance.

Hiring a boat Van Helsing and Harker manage to board the ship, locate the crate with The Prince of Darkness and his new Vampire Bride encased within. Harker tears a vampiric Lucy from Dracula's grip and the Count struggles with Van Helsing gaining the upper hand by impaling Van Helsing to the side of the ship. Harker misses Dracula with a ship hook, and subsequently getting strangled by Dracula, he is saved by the last ounce of strength from Van Helsing's limbs as he sends the hook into Dracula's back.

Harker desperately pulls on the crank of the rope sending Dracula screaming through the floorboards towards the deadly sunlight. The rays destroy his vampire powers and he dies becoming a decrepid old man. Harker turns away from the now restored Lucy in disgust and pain towards his now dead friend, and Lucy smirks triumphantly as she sees Dracula's cloak break free of the hook and sail in the shape of a bat into the horizon. Does Dracula still live?

One thing this movie has going for it is atmosphere. Any vampire fan will literally drool when they witness the exterior and interior shots of Carfax Abbey as I did. The mix of marble and cobwebs was lush, though I was a bit perturbed that Dracula slept in a crate, surely he could have acquired a lovely coffin or at least stole one from the cemetery.

The Edwardian clothing and furniture were sublime and Langella played a fearsome and seductive Dracula that gives Oldman and Co a run for their money. I find it funny that Coppola stated he tried to do something that wasn't done before with a love story, yet there is a twisted love story in this film, as well Dan Curtis' Dracula with Jack Palance.

The script and acting were good enough though I found Eve as Harker a tad annoying, was a bit confused as to why Van Helsing was French and not Dutch, and as usual Donald Pleasance played Donald Pleasance just like he did in Vampires in Venice, Halloween and Prince of Darkness among other films.

The SFX in this were great. I loved the wall-crawling and shapeshifting - the vampire bat wasn't too hokey as it usually is, and the shifting to wolf shape was done rather well. The fang and demon eye effects were great, and I was surprised that Langella's Dracula did not show fang once.

Reading up on this film I read it was on Langella's insistence that his monster be more believable (though they kept in the wall-crawling and shapeshifting) I thought Dracula was a tad thick though for a 500-year old vampire as I do now when I watch these Dracula adaptations.

Surely the people of Romania knew his weaknesses such as the cross and garlic, which was part of the reason he moves to England, so he should know what to do when others discover his weaknesses? What happened to sneaking up behind hunters so they can't pull a cross on you, or grabbing some plates from the sideboard and tossing them like frisbies at vampire hunters' heads when they confront you in a dining room?

My Grade is A.

Grave Reviews #8

2010-04-01T00:10:00.000-07:00

CLASH OF THE TITANS

Director: Louis Leterrier

Starring: Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Mads Mikkelsen.

During a storm, a fisherman finds an ornate coffin floating in the sea. Inside he finds a crying newborn lying on his dead mother. He raises the child as his own and names him Perseus, and while teaching him his trade, makes no secret of his origins though most of it is a mystery.

About 20 years later the people of Greece, especially the people of Argos have grown weary of the God's ruling them and in an act of defiance destroy their towering statue of Zeus on their coast. Perseus and his family witness this, and Hades seeks revenge through Harpies and his own appearance, where Hades murders Perseus' family with a fireball sending their ship to the bottom of the sea.

The surviving Praetorian Guard take Perseus back to Argos, where the King and Queen declare an end to the rule of the Gods, name themselves Gods on Earth and their own daughter Andromeda more beautiful than Aphrodite. On Hades request Zues sends his brother to make an example of the people of Argos, killing the rest of the soldiers, (and is surprised to see Perseus immune to his magics) damning the prideful Queen to old age and death, and threatens Argos with destruction on the coming solar eclipse with his Kraken if they do not sacrifice Andromeda to him.

Now both the Gods and the people of Argos know a demi-god walks on the Earth in the form of Perseus, who is the son of Zeus (accidently) born to a Queen who was seduced by Zeus as punishment to King Acrisius for defying him in a futile war at the base of Mt Olympus. The King has the wife and bastard child murdered by Perseus survives due to his unique heritage. Later on he is gifted with dark power by Hades to destroy the bastard son of his dead wife in an effort to upset Zeus and also protect his own immortal skin from revenge.

Along with Draco, the leader of the Praetorian Guard, Perseus leads a quest first to the Stygian Witches for information on defeating the Kraken, and then to the underworld, Charon and the River Styx to do battle with Medusa. Will the party survive Giant Scorpions, Medusa, and the Kraken to save Argos and Andromeda? Will Perseus accept his father's offer of sanctuary to live as a God in Olympus, and who is the ageless Io who watched over him since his birth and aids Perseus on his quest? Has mortal man bit the hand that feeds them too many times, and is Zeus justified in destroying the very beings he created and loved to make an example?

I saw this movie in 3D* and let's get this part out of the way first. The 3D was good for the most part, though lifting my glassed occasionally to check the entire film didn't seem to be in 3D. There was a problem with Ghosting in the film especially with Hades, and one or two times with Zeus that I found rather annoying. A lot of critics are pulling the 3D version apart and also commented on the Ghosting problem, suggesting that you watch the film in regular 2D and I agree. I am afraid the AVATAR curse will plague other 3D films for some time, because if you've seen that film and you watch this and others in 3D format you'll find the others sorely lacking.

I enjoyed the modern update to the story though, especially the new additons such as the Djinn, Arab Warriors who delve in black magic to expand their power and lifespan and weild an fantastic blue flame ability that can harm or heal. Their entire body seems to be of this fire as their eyes glow electric blue and their hearts burned with the same blue fire. They also replace their damaged and missing limbs and skin with bark and wood, which when facing a Gorgon is quite an advantage.

Aside from the slightly dodgy 3D effects the movie's own special effects were spectacular. Besides the black magic of the Djinn, the giant scorpions, The Gorgon, Kraken and scenes of Olympus were well developed. The battle scenes were great and fast-paced (though I found the final battle between Perseus and Hades disappointng), and the Gorgon fight had me on the edge of my seat. I found it a bit strange that Perseus having no former warrior training could suddenly beat Draco in his first sword fight let alone start performing somersaults or gaining unconscious access to his abilities such as lightning summoning. This was explained as 'the God in Him", and though I realise the exposition of the story was only 106 minutes it still was a slight stretch.

In regards to performances, I like Sam Worthington (Aussie Oi! Oi!), but I've yet to see anything real awe-inspiring from him. I've seen Avatar and T:4 as well, and while he has charisma I think he needs to find a role that is more emotional to win my vote. Liam Neeson once more plays the leader and Mentor role this time in his visitations to Perseus, along with bestowing him with a magic sword, flying horse and gold coin for Charon.

Besides Ra's Al Ghul from Batman Begins along with Qui Gon Jinn from Star Wars, he almost seems to fall into a bit of a mentor typecast rut much like Ralph Fiennes is as a dial-a-villain with his portayal of Hades along with Voldemort from Harry Potter. I enjoyed his rendition as Hades still, it was more sublime and less corny than Voldemort and the SFX for his powers were awesome. Gemma Arterton is stunning in this, and plays Io, cursed with agelessness because she declined a God's advances. A great gift some might say, but as she mentions to Perseus she lives while those she loves die, something he should be sympathetic too.

Mads Mikkelsen was great as Draco, head of the Praetorian Guard, and I hadn't seem him in film since playing Le Chiffre in Casino Royale. His lack of humour and stoic demeanor comes from years of combat, and he himself states he will smile for the first time when he spits in the eyes of the Gods. Just like Zeus he acts like a mentor to Perseus and is responsible for him embracing his God like gifts to win the day, even though he himself desires a Twilight of the Gods.

For the rest of the cast, and I mean this seriously, see how many of the People of Argos and Praetorian Guard you recognise from the film 300. I counted at least three. The Queen of Argos was Atia from HBOs ROME series,.

The movie is an enjoyable action romp, and a great update to the original (that I didn't really care for, I found it camp and lame) but like other reviewers I suggest you see it in good ol' fashioned 2D.

I have two grades for this film. For 3D I give it a B-. If I was to see it in 2D I would give it B+

*My cinema seemed to only offer CLASH OF THE TITANS in 3D, which giving the errors in its translation from 2D is probably not a smart move.

Grave Reviews #7

2010-03-28T05:34:00.000-07:00

FRIGHT NIGHT (1985)

Director: Tom Holland

Starring: Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Roddy McDowall, Stephen Geoffreys, Johnathan Stark.

At the start of the film, Charlie Brewster (Ragsdale) is watching a horror movie show hosted by Peter Vincent (McDowall) who is a Peter Cushingesque horror actor based on Vincent Price and Peter Cushing. For over a year he has been trying to sleep with his pretty, virginal girlfriend Amy (Bearse) only to grow constantly frustrated at her frigidity.

When Amy finally relents, Charlie notices that the vacant house next to his bedroom has two new occupants, who for some reason are carrying a coffin into the basement. He becomes instantly obsessed and Amy storms out angry at Charlie ignoring her.

That night, a prostitute asks Charlie if she has the right address, and he says she needs to go next door to the new neighbours. He mentions the neighbour to his mother who hopes that he isn't gay, and he retorts that he's not (due to the prostitute that he doesn't mention). In his room he hears a scream next door, and the lights next door go out.

At school, Charlie tells his best friend Evil Ed (Geoffreys) about the neighbour and is embarrassed by Amy with a pie in the face when he ignores her once more talking about his mysterious neighbour. He is horrified to see that the woman he saw has turned up dead, and Evil mentions that latest murder victims have been decapitated.

That night he sees a naked woman with one of the men about to do the deed when he freaks out at the long teeth the man has. The man notices Charlie watching him from a dark room, and he closes the window blind with a clawed hand. He sees the two men carry out the dismembered bodies in garbage bags later on, and goes to the police the next day telling them he knows who the serial killer is.

A policeman goes to the house with Charlie and interviews the flatmate Billy Cole who says Jerry is out of town. Charlie notices an old painting that resembles Amy and growing frustrated at Billy lying tells the policeman to check the cellar because Jerry is there sleeping the sleep on the undead away from the burning sun.

The policeman leaves threatening Charlie with imprisonment, and he flees to Evil's house and asks for advice (why is this he watches enough vampire films to know their weaknesses!) Evil states the most important rule is that a vampire must be invited into a house by the rightful owner to gain entry.

He comes home to find that his mother has invited Jerry over for tea to get to know each other, and Jerry asks for permission to visit anytime. (This is in reference to my last article: Jerry needs permission to enter into a mortal's dwelling, and in asking for repeated permission this could either mean that he needs permission every time, or just states this to torment Charlie who knows the truth).

Later that night Charlie faces off with Jerry in his room barely surviving. Jerry trashs his car in retaliation for interferring with his life and staking his hand with a pencil.

Charlie's next step in gaining help with destroying the vampire is to visit his idol Peter Vincent at the TV studio who has just been fired because of the growing popularity with slasher films compared to jaded vampire films. After hearing Charlie's story, Peter claims Charlie is deranged and leaves.

In desperation to save their friend from commiting murder they visit Peter Vincent and pay him money to perform vampire tests on Jerry with Charlie present in two nights time. They all arrive, Peter hands Jerry tap water still not believing Charlie's claims, and Jerry becomes enamoured with Amy who is the spitting image of his mysterious lost love. They quickly leave however when on a whim Peter looks in a small compact mirror and notices that Jerry does not cast a reflection, dropping and shattering it in shock. Soon after they leave Jerry steps on the broken mirror fragment to realise he has to destroy them all for his own safety.

Jerry stalks them on the way home, turning Evil after he leaves Charlie and Amy and sets him on Peter at his apartment. Amy and Charlie run into a club only for Jerry to kidnap her, killing several bouncers in the process. Evil almost succeeds in killing Peter but since he is a newborn vampire is easily overcome by Peter's crucifix and he jumps through the window.

Jerry contacts Charlie to tell him to return to Jerry's house the next night alone with Peter is he ever wishes to see Amy again. Jerry turns Amy that night, Charlie and Peter come to the house to do battle, only for Peter to realise his crucifix has not effect on Jerry. He must have upmost Faith in the crucifix for it to work on a Master vampire. Billy knocks out Charlie and Peter flees next door to Charlie's house to find Evil in his mother's bed. Evil takes the form of the wolf to kill Peter after crashing through railing luckily stakes Evil with a broken piece. He removes the stake from Evil's reverted human form and leaves to save Charlie once more.

Charlie wakes locked in a room with Amy who is angry with Charlie for abandoning her with Jerry, and attacks Charlie. Peter returns to the house and frees Charlie from the room, and tells Charlie he must kill Jerry if he wishes to save Amy. Peter finds his Faith and wards off Jerry who with the coming sunlight flees to his coffin after the hunters destroy Billy who crumples to goo and bugs after getting staked through the heart.

They find Jerry's coffin in a secret compartment in the basement and are almost overcome unti the begin smashing windows trapping Jerry in bars of sunlight. Breaking an entire window Jerry is pinned to wall and his flesh is flayed by sunlight until he is utterly destroyed. Amy returns to humanity, and Peter returns back to television hosting B-grade Alien invasion films. Charlie and Amy are about to make out when he notices two red eyes in Jerry's old house staring at him, but dismisses them as his imagination. The film ends with Evil laughing, saying "Oh you're so cool Brewster". Peter removing the stake from Evil's body has resurrected him similar to the Dracula films.

****

This is one of the best vampire movies ever made. The homage to Peter Cushing and old vampire films, the Classical vampire of Jerry Dandridge who can become bat, wolf and mist, his ghoul-like servant Billy and some poor teens who get in over their heads makes a perfect combination along with a pumping 80s soundtrack.

Sarandon has the right amount of charm and menance to portray Dandridge and he rates up their with my favourite evil vampires alongside Radu and Yorga. Classical Vampires are my favourite breed of vampires, and unfortunately they are a dying breed.

This film is a must for any vampire fan, if you don't own it or at least have never seen it, you should be ashamed of yourself and not call yourself a vampire junkie.

My Grade is A+

Sermons from The Bloody Pulpit #1

2010-03-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

Vampires and Invitation into Private Dwellings

After the latest episode of Vampire Diaries last night, it got me thinking about the law of invitation for vampires. This law is not used in every vampire myth and story, lately it was used in Let The Right One In, along with movies such as movies Fright Night and The Lost Boys. Also this was a plot device on TV shows such as Buffy and Angel, and recently in True Blood

From my knowledge, older stories such as Dracula and Carmilla didn't entertain this rule, and I wonder where it came from, and also which writers/filmakers were the first to use it in their stories?

In Dracula, there is some kind of mirrored law with invitation where Harker must "Enter Freely Of His Own Will" into Dracula's Castle though this could be a magical solution or trick to breaking the will of Harker, and dominating him as the Castle belonged to Dracula.

The first novel that I found to have an invitation revoked was Stephen King's Salem's Lot, while some other popular vampire series such as Rice's The Vampire Chronicles don't use this law at all, and from most of the modern vampire literature I've read over the years, this law seems to be as sparsely used as a vampire's reflection in mirrors.

So I'll put it out to my readers to test their knowledge. What do you know of The Law of Invitation, and what it's origins were, and what do you think of it as a plot device?

Grave Reviews #6

2010-03-21T02:39:00.000-07:00

Premature Burial (1962)

Director: Roger Corman

Starring: Ray Milland, Hazel Court, Alan Napier, Heather Angel

Based on a Tale by Edgar Allan Poe.

This is the third Poe adaptation out of eight films by Roger Corman and the only one not to star Vincent Price.

Guy Carrell (Milland) develops an increasing level of paranoia from the fear of getting buried alive, when at the start of the film he witnesses a corpse getting exhumed and along with bloody claw marks on the lid of the coffin, the man's features are frozen in torment.

Guy writes a letter to his fiancee Emily (Court) telling her that the wedding is off for her own good. Not impressed with the letter Emily turns up to Guy's mansion unannounced and once getting past Guy's defensive sister Kate (Heather Angel) she learns of Guy's fears that are quickly growing into an obsession. She tells him she loves him unconditionally and will make sure his fear of inherited catalepsy (Guy's believes his father was buried alive in his tomb and heard him screaming the first night) will not get the better of him.

After the wedding, Guy builds a special tomb for himself, with all sorts of failsafes in case his worst fears are realised. The coffin is rigged to open at the slightest movement, and the crypt can open by pullcords that also open secret doors and a ladder with a hatch. If all else fails, there is a cord attached to a bell, food in the pantry and as a last resort poison in a chalice behind the black curtain.

Emily's old friend (and ex-lover) Miles stays in touch and rents a nearby house from Guy so he can work on his medical experiments along with Hazel's Doctor father where they can perform experiments on the body and mind. Miles is interested in the early stages of psychiatry and is intrigued by Guy's dilemma and attempts to help him find a solution.

Guy's hallicinations get worse, from seeing gravediggers stalk him, to an eerie graveside tune whistled only he can hear, to finding a trapped cat behind the walls. Kate demands an ultimatum, his fancy tomb or her with which he chooses her and blows it up with the dynamite, one of the options he had to escape the tomb. Miles comes to his wit's end with Guy's obsession and demands to see the body of Guy's father to prove once and for all that not only was his father not buried alive, but that catelepsy is not an inherited trait.

Upon seeing his father WAS buried alive he immediately falls into a cataleptic state. Emily struggles with her promise not to bury him in the crypt when Miles and her father declare him dead, and they bury him (alive) in the cemetery. Secretly a day later Emily's father has him dug up for medical research, and Guy begins to extract his revenge. He kills the graverobbers and Emily's father, and sneaks around his own house to listen in and discover who betrayed him.

He discovers Emily was behind it all, not only to get to his money, but also to have Miles for herself again although this plan was unknown to Miles himself. Guy kidnaps Emily and takes her to his grave to be buried alive herself as punishment, and after Miles is alerted to the dead graverobbers and Emily's father he gives chase to the cemetery to stop Guy.

Guy is compassionate to Miles, telling him to back off as he knows he played no part. Emily is dying under a foot of gravesoil in the grave, and as Guy gets the better of Miles he is shot dead by his own sister Kate who was aware of Emily's devious plan but was too hesistant to warn Guy because she would not be believed due to Emily's position to Guy. Miles retrieves Emily's suffocated corpse from the grave where Kate shows her the key to Guy's father's tomb tucked in her bosom, and they leave the two cursed lovers to rot in the cemetery.

This was a lush film, beautifully filmed and the sets were wonderfully gothic and necromantic. Like most of Poe's protagonists, Guy was half-mad and dealt with some obscure obsession. The film deviated slightly from the story, inasmuch as Guy's character does not die in the story, but at the end wakes up in a confined space, where at first he believes he is buried alive, but realises he is in berth of a boat, and subsequently overcomes his fear of being buried alive.

Of course this had to be changed from dramatic effect for film, and like Poe's tales adapted for film the end is a tragic one. Ray Milland was a fine substitute for Price, and to be honest I couldn't really see Price in this role, perhaps he turned it down? Hazel Court who plays Emily was in the Masque of the Red Death that I reviewed previously, and seemed to have made a name for herself as villains in Corman's Poe films. Both Milland and Hazel are admirable here, and the story seemed to centre on them mostly with Miles, Kate and others really one having minor parts.

But I watched this film for the gothic scenery and location (along with my love of Poe's literature) and I was not disappointed. Not sure if it's my favourite Poe adapatation yet, as I have to watch The Pit in the Pendulum and The Fall of the House of Usher etc, but this is certainly up there. I remember watching this in my teens years ago on T.V but can't remember whether I enjoyed it, though it must have left some impression.

My Grade is A-.

Grave Reviews #5

2010-03-18T00:32:00.000-07:00

The Masque of The Red Death (1964)

Director: Roger Corman

Starring: Vincent Price, Hazel Court and Jane Asher

Based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe

Prince Prospero (Price) is a right, royal bastard and also a cruel Satanist who rules with an Iron fist over a small medieval European village. At the beginning of the film, a elderly lady from a nearby village is called over by a holy man dressed in red leaning against a tree and gives her a white flower he turns red with a wave of his hand. He commands the woman to take the flower back to her village as a sign of deliverance from Prospero and his evil ways.

Prospero travels to that village on the same night, to give gratitude to them for this years harvest and to invite them to a feast at his Abbey in several days time. He doesn't take kindly to some of the silly villagers giving him lip, so he orders them garrotted only to be pleaded by a village girl named Francesca (Asher) to spare their lives.

Prospero is amused and offers the girl the choice of which one of the two shall survive his wrath, but this is interrupted by a moaning from a nearby hut where he discovers an elderly woman, the same who met the Holy Man, dying of the Red Death. He flees the tent and demands answers. The villagers tell him of a prophecy where they would be spared his tyranny, so in punishment (and also a way to prevent the Death spreading) he orders the village burnt to the ground, taking Francesca, her cheeky lover Gino along with her father Ludivico back to his Abbey.

Back at the Abbey where he is safe from the Red Death, he entertains nearby nobles and grants them a Masquerade Ball in honour of their safety, but all are forbidden to wear red. Juliana (Court), Prospero's current lover is not amused that Francesca has usurped her room, along with her bath and proclaims to Prospero she is prepared to perform the final Satanic rites to ensure her place within the Abbey and at his side, a move Prospero mentions she was not so eager to undergo before the arrival of the peasant girl.

Over the next few days Francesca witnesses Prospero's cruelty but also his realistic philosophy, comparing the black grace of his Dark Lord to Francesca's 'dead' god of 'love'. He states that Satan rules this Earth along with the universe, and that he is a God of Reality and Truth that opens the eyes to those shut by Blind Faith. He demonstrates this by showing her his Falcon kill a bird, and explaining that in the start a Falcon's eyes are sewn shut to give them loyalty and reliance on their master, much like her own dead God has done to her.

Prospero shows Francesca six rooms off the main ballroom, each in a specific style: blue, purple, green, yellow, white, and violet. He explains his father imprisoned a friend in the yellow room for three years, and when he released him he couldn't bear the site of sunlight or daffodils. He stops her at the last room, telling her she is not ready to enter yet, but one day soon with his instruction she will be ready to view its dark secrets beyond.

In the background Juliana is performing her own Black Rites, hoping to become Prospero's equal by becoming Satan's bride, and in the process removing Francesca from the competition. Unluckly for Juliana, Prospero has grown bored of her, and sees a better conquest in corrupting Francesca. Juliana 'helps' Francesca and her friends escape only to be captured by Prospero's who is onto his lover's treachery. He sets a Falcon onto Juliana's face, eviscerating her painfully till her death.

Beforehand he desired to have the two men fight each other to the death, but now at the feast before the Masque, he presents them with five knives, one of them poisoned and demands they each cut their forearm in turn. The poison will kill in five seconds, and Prospero continues with his Christian taunts of 'love thy neighbour' and to put their faith in their God to test it.

After four knives both are unharmed and Francesca's father snatches the last to stab Prospero. He dies on the point of Prospero's sword, and Gino is released back into the wilds to the mercy of the Red Death as a last test of his Faith. On the road he meets the same Holy Man in red who gives him a tarot card and tells him to return to the castle and wait on the battlements.

At the ball Prospero is thrilled to have finally crushed Francesco's will, who is now prepared to undertake the same Satanic Rites that Juliana was prepared to undergo. Suddenly he spies a Masque guest dressed all in red, and furiously charges after him, catching up with him in the last room, which is painted black and illuminated with red light. He assumes that this guest is his Lord Satan finally come to show his gratitude to his number one servant.

As he follows 'Satan' back through the rooms, Prospero babbles on about how awesome a servant he is, and the guest informs him he is not Satan and that Death bows to no God. The guest waves his robe towards the Masque attendants and they suddenly become stricken with the Red Death, but Prospero is still oblivious and blinded by his own dark faith, much the same way he previously accused Francesca of on numerous occasions. The man in red tells Francesca to leave for the battlements where Gino is waiting for her, and in anger Prospero removes the man's mask to confront his own death, his own visage sweating blood.

The Masque attendees all clamour around a terrified Prospero who tries to escape his fate, and is coerced by the crowd to be lead back into the black room. There the personification of Red Death itself tells Prospero that he shouldn't fear his own death as his own soul died long ago, and with that Prospero succumbs to the illness.

At the end of the film, The Red Death is playing Tarot cards with one of the six survivors of the village, when he is greeted in turn by the personification (among others) of the Black and Yellow Death. Yellow Death has grown weary of the misery he has wrought, which perhaps signals the end of all the plagues across Europe.

The film ends with the line from the story: And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.

This film was made by American International Pictures, the same company who made the Count Yorga films, and other Poe adaptations such as The Fall of the House of Usher and the Tomb of Ligeia. The latter films also starring Price who was their star actor much the same that Hammer Horror was to Christopher Lee. When you watch these films though you can see a resemblance in set design and atmosphere, which for a big Hammer fan like myself is quite a treat. To me Roger Corman was the Terrance Fisher of the USA, and produced many star vehicles for Price, and I have enjoyed each of his films which include Premature Burial, The Pit and the Pendulum and the Raven and those I mentioned just before.

Price is charismatic as always and chews every scene he is in. I don't enjoy Price as much as Lee (I can't explain why) but his movies were part of my teenagehood of Horror much as Lee's were. The scenery was lush, and the script wasn't bad (well it came from a Poe story) and I quite enjoyed Price's dialogue, he really stuck it to the peasants and his own noble class though I found his demise at the end a tad hokey.

My Grade is C.

Grave Reviews #4

2010-03-17T21:04:00.000-07:00

The Devil Rides Out (1968)

Director: Terence Fisher
Screenplay: Richard Matheson
Starring: Christopher Lee, Charles Gray
Based on the novel by author Dennis Wheatley.

Set during the 1930s when the novel was written, The Devil Rides Out tells the tale of Duc de Richleau (Lee) and Rex Van Ryn, who upon Richleau's insistence they visit old friend Simon Aron to discover he is to miss their yearly reunion because he has joined an 'astronomical' society.

Curious about the gathering, Richleau becomes startled when at first he realises the meeting is restricted to 13 members, and they are asked to leave. Wandering around the members' room beforehand, he overhears occult terms and philosophies. His suspicions are confirmed when he invites himself to Simon's observation tower to discover a mini-temple along with a black cockeral and white hen about to be sacrificed to some infernal deity that Simon is to be baptised to.

Knocking Simon out, Richleau kidnaps him and in explaining to his friend Rex that he has studied the Black Arts all his life they begin a cat and mouse game for the very souls of Simon and fellow worshipper Tanith who Rex has fallen for, and leads them into a magical and spiritual battle with the charismatic and dreaded cult leader Mocota (Gray). This leads to various locales such as desecrated churches and haunted groves such as Salisbury Plain where Richleau and his small band catch site of The Angel of Death and The Goat of Mendes (Baphomet) himself.

When Mocota fails in his bid to repossess Simon and Tanith to the circle, he at first summons The Angel of Death to take his enemies out, and only succeeds in killing his disciple Tanith. He kidnaps Peggy, Richleau's niece into using her in a diabolic sacrifice to locate the The Talisman of Set.

Only Richleau's own knowledge of the Black Arts, and his own Faith in God will be enough to save them all from their souls burning in hellish torment as the Darkness desires to claim them all.

I had read some of Wheatley's occult novels many years ago in my youth, namely this one, To the Devil A Daughter (also the film) and The Satanist. Apparently Wheatley's fascination with the occult began during a card game where he prayed to Satan that if he won the game/hand he would devote himself to darkness or something like that.

Well he DID win the game, and it scared the bejesus out of him. Quick as spit, he renounced the Dark Master, named Jesus his saviour and then used his own fear, along with the growing fear of Black Magic in society due to Crowley, the O.T.O, the Golden Dawn and others (which weren't black magicians by the way). I wonder whether he kept the winnings to or gave it away? Anyways for the rest of his life, even though he made a fortune from writing about Black Magic, he always proclaimed that one shouldn't meddle in the Black Arts, for it would destroy your very soul.

Christopher Lee is great in this, and he was the genesis of bringing this tale to Hammer, and as a consequence it was one of their greatest successes. I enjoyed it for two reasons. One you actually get to hear Lee speak more than 10 words compared to his normal role as Dracula, and secondly it still possessed the Hammer charm, and I actually found it quite terrifying in a way. I can imagine back then with the lack of horror films, and also a lack of knowledge of the Black Arts of the general public (compared to today) it would have had the same effect on the audience as The Omen and The Exorcist did ten or so years later.

Mocota is a formidable chap, played with great glee by Charles Gray. He has a great and fearsome hold over his disciples, and possesses some awesome occult powers, powerful enough to summon Baphomet and The Angel of Death to serve him. Various other Dark Lords are mentioned during his rituals such as the Egyptian God Set, so I assume he draws his powers from a variety of dark sources. Besides a powerful mental connection, he can also perform other dark tricks like eye mojo either directly or through his disciples. He can turn glass opaque, summon fog, and illusions such as giant spiders and people, but his greatest power is to be quite charming and persuade those against him that Black Magic is not real, and that Richleau is the disturbed one.

Even though in the end the film came off as a sort of bible-bashing tale, it was still enjoyable and quite suspensful all the way through. On occassion I winced at the stupidity of Richleau's friend Rex who got himself in trouble a few times with his lack of occult knowledge, but if it wasn't for Richleau's interference in the first place, he wouldn't have gotten himself in this predicament.

I was a bit confused with the ending, when Richleau's friend Marie is possessed by some spirit and says a spell that destroys the Satanic Temple and vanquishes all the Satanists. I can only assume it was some guardian angel, though the stretched it a bit more at the very end when time was reversed one complete day, and a summoned Angel of Death resurrects Tanith and hunts down Mocota for the single soul he must take back with him to the Underworld.

My Grade is B.

Grave Reviews #3

2010-02-22T04:04:00.000-08:00

Synopsis:

Forever.

That’s the response Ben Gongliewski receives, when he asks Miranda Dandridge how long she’s been a vampire. He doesn’t expect the word forever in her reply, but then again, Ben never imagined meeting vampires, let alone demons and werewolves, during his time as a Resistance worker in World War II Poland. Far from being horrified, Ben discovers that Miranda and her friends have very useful … talents … especially when it comes to saving children from concentration camps. After all, in these desperate times, while the line between good and evil is clear, the one between heroes and monsters is very, very blurred.

The last thing Miranda wants at this point in her immortal life is a human lover, but as she and Ben perform rescue after daring rescue, she can’t help but be drawn to his passion to save his fellow Jews. As the War draws to a close and Miranda must chose her love for Ben or her duty to her race, Ben is blindsided by a betrayal that no one sees coming. This leads to a danger in which all hell is about to break loose … literally…

***

If there is one supernatural topic I enjoy more than Vampires, it is Demons, Fallen Angels (Watchers, Grigori, Nephilim) and Black Magick (Occultism) and this book had bucketloads of the stuff. In RELEASE, Nicole Hadaway introduces us to three supernatural creatures: Miranda the Vampire, Rose The Werewolf and Vanessa The Demon/Nephilim Spirit/ex-Succubus. In helping Jewish children and their families across enemy lines to safety in WWII, the trio meet Ben Gongliewski, a Jew posing as a doctor who would diagnose Jewish children with typhus, leprosy or other horrible ailments so he could get them across enemy lines to surrogate families, and away from the evil Nazis and their concentration camps. He works with a German Priest named Father Ott who would take them to a shelter supposedly created to care for the children, and then would send them on their way to families who would protect and raise them.

Initially Ben falls for Rose's heartshaped face, and while having a meal in a cafe frequented by SS solders, and discussing their plans to rescue more children during the early days of working together, the SS soldiers pick up on Rose's crap German and trap them in a tunnel while they fled, which they set alight.

Lucky for Rose she has a demonic mark on her from Vanessa which leads to their rescue and Ben's introduction into the supernatural world. While falling for Miranda, the Vampire he learns of their specific traits and weaknesses, and how theirs is a secret history that exists alongside human history.

Firstly for Vampires, they are an actual race as opposed to turned humans. The product of an unholy union between Lilith, the first woman, and Sammael, a Fallen Angel, Vampires are actually born, and grow till a certain age until their immortality kicks in. Besides eternal life, they possess shape-shifting, enchanced physical abilities and senses, eye mojo and preternatural healing. Miranda and her twin-brother Cray (vampires are usually born twins, perhaps in a twisted visage to Cain and Abel) prefer to take the shape of a crow, and can transport a passenger in the shape of a twig.

They cannot turn humans into vampires, the result is more of a mindless zombie that kills without thought. To procreate and continue their race, they must marry another vampire with an ancient rite to bear children. If they do not perform the rite, ghastly things can happen like the female vampire becoming barren.

Vampire weaknesses include fire, sunlight, water, holy water, and decapitation (with angelic weapons). Normal water hurts them and diminishes their powers because they are descended from an Angel, that is a Being of Fire, and they cannot cross onto Holy Ground, Holy objects will repel them if the bearer possesses enough Faith, and they must be invited into a human dwelling that mirrors Lilith's casting out from Eden, and Sammael expulsion from Heaven. Vampires are no longer part of humanity, but must seek sustenance from them in some kind of twisted cosmic joke. Stakes through the heart will paralyse but not destroy them.

Werewolves are the traditional kind here, they are cursed but cannot pass it on through a bite or claw, but it's more of a heriditary curse passed down from ancestors who made a pact with a demon and ended up on the bad side of the joke. Rose turns at full moon and kills and devours most humans in her path. She won't attack supernatural creatures unless provoked, and can be deterred from humans through scent if they rub the blood from a supernatural creature on their bodies.

Sometimes Rose will turn two nights a month, before or after the night of the Full Moon if the Moon itself is potent enough, and on nights such as Walpurgisnacht (April 30th) and Halloween (October 31st) a werewolf can be haunted by the spirits of innocents she has killed. Other than that they are mortal and can be killed easily in human form, they age, can die from cancer and other human sicknesses but are a bit more resilent to human viruses such as the flu or common cold.

Now onto my favourite subject, Demons/Fallen Angels: Vanessa is a Nephilim spirit, the union of the Watcher Azazael and others who came down from the Mt Ararat and found the Daughters of Men and found them beautiful. Vanessa is the offspring of Azazael and Naamah, the Daughter of Cain. They gave birth to Nephilim, giants and monsters who were originally wiped out with the Great Flood. They were bound to Hell for a time, working as incubus, succubi or debt collectors. After a while trapped in the abyss, the Watchers figured out how to put the spirits of the Nephilim into human corpses so they could walk the Earth.

In corpereal form they don't possess the same physical powers as vampires, they are stronger than humans but not faster. Their sight and hearing is greater, but not their sense of smell. They can teleport and possess pyrokinesis, and if their human host is killed by either sunlight or enferous (angelic) metals they will lose the memories they retained with that host, but their spirit will live on to possess again. If they enter Holy Ground they start to smoulder, smoke and catch fire as indicated in a hilarious scene when Vanessa accidently teleports into a church while rescuing children.

When demons sleep during the day their bodies are become the corpses they once where as the demon's spirits roam Sheol, a middle-realm that is neither Heaven nor Hell.

After some initial rescue missions are a success, the supernatural Charlie's Angels get into a bit of strife clashing with SS Soldiers and reveal their abilities. After rescuing a boy from a concentration camp, a tale of the "Brides of Dracula" begin to spread around Germany and Europe. This reaches the ears of Nazi Occultists such as Himmler and Wiligut who became keen to use their supernatural talents to release Azazael from his Hellish prison with other demons to follow. News of this trouble finds the ears of Cray, Miranda's brother and Denny, a demon who hunt down Miranda to warn her and her friends of the imminent danger, but the damage has been done.

Ben is crushed to learn the Father Ott has betrayed them, and has renounced Catholicism to embrace the Nazi religion Irminism, whose central deity Krist was adopted by the latter Christians as their saviour. He had tricked Ben into sending him children for an unholy rite from the Key of Solomon at Wewelsburg Castle, the Centre of the World according to Himmler, where the Black Sun symbol featured on the novel's jacket along inside a vault in the castle would open a portal to Hell, and grant power to Ott that the demons 'promised' him. He kidnaps Gertrude, a human witch working with Miranda and Co, and uses her with the help of demon possessed SS soldiers into an initial meeting with Ben and the 'Brides of Dracula'.

After a nasty fight that reveals Ott's plan and a portion of his unholy power, The Supernatural Resistance Fighters consisting of Miranda, Cray, Vanessa, Denny, Rose (now more conscious in her werewolf form), Gertrude (a human witch), Helen (Gertrude's mortal lover) and Ben descend upon the castle in an effort to prevent the Nazi apocalypse. Cray inadverdently opens the portal when he spills Ott's blood upon the Black Sun, and demons begin to pour forth from the portal, counting up to 616, which is the unholy number required to release Azazael.

They are successful in defeating the Nazis only after Miranda summons Sammael (a rite given to her by Semjaza for a price), her grandfather and sire of the vampire line to gift her with the Raphael's "Pent Alpha Ring", the same ring that Solomon used to control demons to build his famed temple.

This transforms her into a monstrous Dragon, whereby she devours all the spirits, and tosses Azazael along with the Nazi Occultist Wiligut Jr back into the abyss and using Raphael power of "Healer of the Earth", seals the portal from further use.

Sammael and Lilith appear at Wewelsburg Castle, to spirit their children to safety from the rising sun, and here we learn the lore of mirrors in regards to vampires. They avoid mirrors because they are portals to the demon realm, and they would rather not have demons looking upon their affairs. Some of the characters see a brief interaction between Sammael and Ben but think nothing of it at the time.

Once they take a quick stop to Lilith's creepy cave, they end up back in Brooklyn at the Dandridge residence where after a small respite Rose decides to reunite with her family.

But not all is over yet. Ben, exasperated from the events of the last year is not only angry with his limitations as a mortal, but also the reluctance of supernatural creatures to prevent atrocities with their vast powers. Miranda has offered an attempt to turn him but that is not enough. Taking the opportunity when the supernaturals are out of the house, he raids Miranda's library for The Key of Solomon to summon Semjaza for a deal (which I assume Sammael planted in his mind at Wewelsburg). Here we learn the price that Miranda has paid for summoning her father Sammael, and Ben summons Semjaza to kill Hitler, Himmler and the Goebbels for their crimes in return for his own soul, to which Semjaza agrees.

Knowing something is amiss with Ben since he left Wewelsburg Castle, Denny, Vanessa and Cray confront Miranda about her silly interlude with a human, and realise too late they left him with access to an occult library on Walpurgisnacht! Semjaza drains Ben dry in front of Miranda's horrified eyes and drags his corpse to Hell, letting her know the price of their victory was at a steep cost. But I get the feeling we haven't seen the last of Ben. Miranda falls into a fit of complete despair but comes out of it over time, and vows to not interfere or indulge in human (love) affairs anymore....

***

This was a great read, and while I found it slow to get into at the start like most stories until you warm up to the characters, finding the eBook format a bit off-putting originally, and I feared with the book featuring mostly female characters it would be some kind of chick-lit that I usually turn my nose up at, I soon changed my mind as I read on. The flow was great, and the characters engaging and sympathetic, though I found Vanessa a tad underused, I would read a novel purely based around her as protagonist (along with Denny) and her kind, with Fallen Angels et al.

I really enjoyed this story especially for its Demonic/ Fallen Angel content. I don't think it would have been as enjoyable without Vanessa, the Fallen Angels and Nazi Occultism, and if it was a straight vampire novel (set in the same situation and period) I think I would have found it a tad dull. I still enjoyed Miranda's character, and found it an interesting spin on a male vampire seducing a boxom lass, and I found her interaction with her twin brother Cray invigorating.

Rose was great too and I enjoyed her tragic circumstance, and how she has come to except her curse as it's only a part of her life, really only 12 days or so out of 365 which really isn't very much. Here also I got the impression that the werewolf curse was meant to mirror a woman's menstral cycle, where the ferociousness of the Werewolf curse mirrored a woman's moodiness, wrath and pain through her monthlies (those these last for more than one night obviously).

Ben was used to great effect as the human connection and the readers' portal into the maelstrom of the supernatural world. Like most humans who I imagine would experience similar circumstances, they would feel an initial fear, and attempt to destroy what he feared, but if they overcame their own prejudices they would be eager to soak up all the knowledge from these creatures like a sponge.

I thought it was a bit shallow of Ben falling for Miranda after the initial attraction to Rose, especially since I think Cray was right that he only liked Miranda for her otherworldliness and the thrill it would bring, especially if she could grant him a portion of that power. I felt he cast Rose aside almost out of disgust for her curse, and perhaps because she couldn't pass the power of the Wolf along to him. But in a way this is realistic, as we humans DO tend to keep people around us that we can use to our betterment, and dismiss things that aren't of use to us though usually in most cases this is reciprocated.

I was quite thrilled to learn that the The Black Sun, Wewelsburg Castle, and Wiligut where actually real places, events and people. Even though these were dark times and atrocious acts occured during this period, it still makes for exciting storytelling, and a great pool for drawing villains from, similar to how Rasputin and Nazi Occultism was used in the Hellboy Mythology. I, for one don't think using Nazis as villains is trite if it's done properly and their sinister presence is used to perilous effect. Though from what I've heard from friends who have visited Germany, the Germans are sick to death of being brow-beaten about it (the war).

I have studied The Goetia (Aleister Crowley), Enochian Magic, Demonology texts, The Book of Enoch (and books on the Watchers such as From the Ashes of Angels by Andrew Collins) and related texts in the past, and I was quite impressed with the rich infusion of those lores in this story, along with Nicole's meticulous historical research of the war that she cleverly intergrated into this debut novel. But to add I was intrigued of Nicole's use of alternate spelling for some of the Fallen Angels: I always saw Semjaza spelt as Shemyaza, Sammael as Samael and Azazael as Azazel.

I haven't read The Key of Solomon in full, only flicked through it at a friend's house in the past but now I have to acquire my own copy! Then I just need to visit a certain castle in Germany to see if it works....

If I could mention some criticisms it would be some of the speech especially from Vanessa. I think she was protrayed as too hip and carefree for the period, and her speech seemed a bit too modern at times. For me this eccentricity would need to be fixed if she were to become more prominent in any sequels or if she was to appear in her own novel.

Also at first I wasn't sure about the use of supernatural creatures that descended from creatures outside the human race. Part of the lure of supernatural fiction for me and others is that the reader can get into the power of the vampire protagonist etc, and sympathize with them because they came from humans, and fantasize that they too can become a creature like the character they are reading about.

Here was removed some sympathetic connection as humans could not gain the power of a vampire, werewolf or demon unless they were born of that race, but to be honest after a short while I enjoyed that angle, as it showed the true mortality and hopelessness of the human race, and also how their inherent evil can come from within and not from supernatural influence. While having Lilith as the mother of Vampires is not original, having creatures that didn't come from the human gene pool to me is. I don't think I've read a vampire novel where they weren't formerly human, so this was a breath of fresh air.

If you are into Supernatural fiction, and/or enjoy a good historical fantasy than this book is for you.

My Grade is B+.

Nicole's eBook can be purchased here at ebookundead.com.

Grave Reviews #2

2010-02-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

"Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the Autumn moon is bright"

Haunted Estates, Family Curses, Victorian Gothic Landscapes and a Insatiable Monster. The perfect formula for a Horror movie and The Wolf Man is one such movie.

***Contains Spoilers***

The film begins with Ben Talbot getting attacked by the Werewolf on a full moon. Shortly after, Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt) writes to Lawrence Talbot (Benicio del Toro), the brother of her missing fiancee to give him the news of his brother's disappearance and to perhaps help in the search. Upon arrival to Talbot Hall in the town of Blackmoor, Lawrence's father Sir John (Anthony Hopkins) is surprised to see his oldest son return, remarking quite coldly that he always wondered what he looked like.

Upon investigating the death of his brother and seeing the horrific state of his corpse, Lawrence is given his brother's effects at the morgue, which include a gyspy medallion that leads him to their camp. He goes there to speak to Maleva, a gypsy elder, though his father had warned him previously to stay inside this night as the moon was full, and it would perhaps influence the escaped lunatic held responsible for the ghastly murders. Also that night at the tavern Lawrence overhears suspicious townfolk talk of monsters and curses, which he initially dismisses.

Soon enough at the camp the werewolf strikes, killing gypsy and villager alike and while hunting the beast with a rifle in the process of saving a gypsy boy, Lawrence is attacked and bitten but spared his life as gypsies scare it off with gunfire. Lawrence is taken back the gypsy camp where he wounds are tended and they argue over murdering him to spare him the Werewolf's curse. Maleva says to kill a man is a sin and the next morning he is returned to Talbot Hall to a shocked, but relieved Sir John.

Gwen watches over Lawrence for a week and he makes a miraculous recovery. The bite on his shoulder has almost disappeared as has his arm healed. A doctor inspects him, and is surprised at his recovery, and soon after sees the arrival of Inspector Aberline (Hugo Weaving), who was in charge of the Ripper Case. He is aware of Lawrence's past, his time in a lunatic asylum soon after witnessing the suicide of his mother as a boy. He found his father cradling his mother in the courtyard, her throat slit with a razor, an apparent suicide.

Furthermore, Lawrence and Gwen begin to grow close and develop feelings, much to the unamused Sir John watching from the distance.

Aberline suspects that Lawrence is still deranged from seeing the murder of his mother, and adds that due to his skill of impersonating Shakespearean characters on stage, that other more malevolent personalities lurk beneath the surface, though all wear the same face. Lawrence counters that Aberline was in charge of the Ripper case, and since the Ripper was never found either Aberline is incompetent or was the Ripper himself.

The full moon has come to Blackmoor and Talbot Hall, and Lawrence wanders the desolate halls, remembering his time as a boy, and the suicide of his mother. He sees his father walking to the family crypt where Sir John's wife is interred and follows him down to the lower levels. There Lawrence discovers a hidden room with a cell door attached, and inside the room a chair fit for a lunatic with straps and head brace. Sir John explains that he has been dead inside since the death of his wife, and locks himself in the room saying to his son that 'the beast will have his day'. As Sir John walks into the shadows his eyes shimmer with an unnatural light.

As Lawrence starts to ascend from the crypt, the curse takes violent hold of his body for the first time. He changes and prowls the hills of Blackmoor, coming across a trap laid by the villagers with a deer tied to a pole. The werewolf falls into the pit, but manages to pull several of his captors in, dismember them and then leap out of the hole killing the rest of the hunting party.

Lawrence awakens in the base of a tree not far from Talbot Hall, to be greeted by his father stating he has done terrible things. His clothes are torn and bloody, and as he runs back to his home confused and shocked he is arrested by Aberline and his men. Sir John mentions from a distance to stay strong.

Lawrence is tortured and injected with various drugs in the same asylum he spent time as a child, the Doctor in charge of his case amused to study a case of mental lycanthropy, not knowing that the curse is a reality. After several days Lawrence awakens chained in his cell to find his father sitting there, who recounts a tale of one of his hunting expeditons 25 years he sought a cave were a strange creature was sought to reside. He found the cave, and the creature which was a wolf boy who bit him on the forearm.

At first Sir John thought he was the target of some practical joke by his friends, until his first full moon came and he killed his wife which was the actual scene Lawrence saw as a child, though Sir John had made the institution make him believe his mother had killed herself. His memory true now he sees his father now in his werewolf form sitting hungry over the body of his mother, her throat torn, not sliced by a razor.

Sir John also confesses his secret love for Gwen, and that he grew jealous of his son's relationship with her, and also his possession of his own son whom he knew would leave when the two married. On the previous full moon as his servant Singh chained him to the chair in the crypt, a drunk and enraged Sir John knocked out his servant and in wolf form murders his own son, and discovers his body in a ditch the next morning.

Sir John tells his son to embrace his curse, and that it is really a gift for the strength and power of it make you greater and freer than any man. After years of locking himself in the crypt, he had decided to let the beast roam free.

Lawrence vows to kill his father for the murder of his mother and brother, and as Sir John leaves the asylum, Lawrence is tied to a chair similar to what his father owns, and is taken to a court of scholars lead by the head Doctor who insists as the full moon rises that night, and Lawrence sees he does not transform, that this will be the first step to his mental recovery. Aberline is present and is horrified along with the scholars as the full moon brings about a physical transformation in Talbot who begins killing the panicked crowd before leaping through a window he previously tossed the head Doctor through and begins a rampage on the London streets.

The next morning Lawrence awakens next to the Thames near the London Bridge and makes his way to Gwen's antique shop. There he confesses his curse, his father's crimes and his intention to murder his father for revenge. Gwen confesses her affections and desire to help no matter the cost, and Lawrence manages to escape as Aberline comes to her shop knowing that Lawrence would come there.

While Lawrence makes his way slowly back to Talbot Hall, Gwen researches lycanthropy in the British Library, and seeks out Maleva for a way to remove the curse, only to learn there is no cure and only a loved one can set the wolf free.

Lawrence arrives to find a murdered Singh and the body of one of Aberline's men, and attempts to kill his father in human form with Singh's silver shotgun shells. As Sir John beats his son with his silver wolf cane, he states that he removed the powder from the shells years ago, and where once he thought Lawrence the cowardly son, he has now come to admire his strength. He continues that Lawrence is his heir to both his fortune and the curse, and that makes him proud and that they should rule together as a monstrous family, to embrace the beast inside them.

Lawrence attacks but is easily overpowered by a man who has been under the power of the curse for much longer, and mid-fight they both change under the light of the Full Moon. Aberline sees Gwen arrive at Blackmoor and chases after her, and Talbot Hall begins to erupt in flames as lanterns were knocked over during the battle. Lawrence is almost dismembered by his father before he kicks him into the fireplace setting him alight, and decapitates him with a single stroke of his claw.

Gwen arrives, and Lawrence sniffs new prey. Aberline attempts to rescue Gwen but is bitten in the process, and Gwen manages to flee Talbot Hall with Aberline's gun loaded with silver bullets. She runs to the waterfall that was a refuge for Ben and Lawrence as boys, and is cornered by Lawrence but manages to calm the beast when she reminds Lawrence of her love for him. The Wolf grows calm and seems to be ready to withdraw, when Lawrence is once more provoked by the appearance of Aberline and his men. The werewolf turns to kill Gwen but she takes up the gun once more and shots him in the heart. Returning to his human form, Gwen begs for forgiveness, while Lawrence states he is glad to finally find peace.

Aberline's men arrive to find a dead Lawrence cradled in Gwen's arm, and she notices the bloody bite on Aberline's shoulder as he looks towards the full moon with dread. The Curse of the Werewolf lives on.

***

I loved this film, and was filled with glee that good old Gothic Horror had returned to the cinema. There was no sappy teenage love, or supernatural creatures with superhuman powers trying to save the day. This was a Gothic Tragedy through and through and I hope it sees a return of REAL horror to the cinema.

All the actors were terrific and sublime in their parts. Del Toro made a worthy successor to Lon Chaney Jr and even steps it up a notch or two with his character's tortured soul. His role suited up as the Wolf Man was phenomenal and quite horrific, the lack of humanity in the curse was evident here, and the pain and despair on his face after he discovered his monstrous actions was quite heartbreaking.

I have never seen Emily Blunt in any other film that I am aware of, but she is a pretty lass and did quite well here as the innocent Gwen who seemed to be cursed in her own way with her ties to the Talbot Family. Unlucky for her was that every Talbot male sought to possess her body and soul, though it just happened that two of them were monsters. Emily looks wonderful in her Victorian outfits, and played out Gwen's desperation and loyalty to the Talbot family quite convincingly.

Unsurprisingly, Anthony Hopkins stole the show for me as Sir John Talbot. I had guessed before going in that he was also cursed, and I guess it wasn't that hard to figure out along with the reveal half way through the film. He played the role of Sir John with a quiet menace, and as a man who was quite comfortable with the beast inside him, who knew what the beast wanted, and gave in to its possessiveness and evil. I've always preferred Hopkins villianous roles to his heroic ones, save for Van Helsing in Dracula, and one only thinks he needs to be cast in a remake of Frankenstein to be associated with the whole range of classic monsters.

Hugo Weaving was great as Inspector Aberline, a man cursed with his own failure to put a premature stop to the Ripper murders, and to give respect back to his name by investigating the murders of Blackmoor. Hugo plays the role with a direct yet cool calculation, using the past knowledge and a skeptical analysis to determine the facts of the crime, and it almost destroys him to see that the supernatural is indeed real and responsible for the carnage in Blackmoor.

I assumed then and there that he now would consider a similar theory for the Jack the Ripper murders which were just as ghastly as they were here. I didn't suspect he would get bitten at the end and the curse passed on, and although I am not sure of a sequel I would unsure if Aberline's character would headline, but if he did would be be hero or villain?

Most importantly was the Gothic Landscapes and settings of this film. Besides an obvious plot of tragedy and curses, the use of decayed English Landmarks such as Chatsworth House, Castle Combe and Stowe house were a win for me, besides the horsedrawn hearses and Gothic Mausoleums. The Gothic costuming was exquisite, it's not hard to see that Victorian England is my favourite point in history as are it's literature and fashions.

If I had problems with the film it was the following: For starters I don't think the budding romance between Lawrence and Gwen was that believable. Surely people can fall for each other fast in a sexual way, but this was Victorian England and we are lead to believe that in a short amount of time that both Lawrence and Gwen fall head over heels for each other, even though they did not share many scenes, nor to my knowledge spend much real time together. Sure Gwen watched over him while he recovered, but there was no horseriding, no picnics out on the hills, not a day in London attending the theatre or dining in fine restaurants where they could have grown to love each other and develop their tragic romance.

Lawrence spends most of the film either investigating his brother's murder, recovering in bed, killing people as a werewolf, or locked up and tortured in an asylum. There really wasn't time for an ill-fated romance to blossom let alone enough time for 'true love' to win out to end the curse.

My other problem was the use of CGI though this is only minor. The filmmakers had Rick Baker for this film, and if you don't know who he is I only have to mention An American Werewolf in London for you to get on the same page. He constructed the suit and prosthetics for Del Toro to wear but the transformation itself was computer generated and you could tell.

It was almost flawless but for an old horror fan like me, prosthetics and other make-up effects will always be the way for me. Additionally even though they shot the film in medieval villagers like Wiltshire and Chatsworth, changing London landmarks such as The London Bridge and Big Ben and The Tower of London etc just looked fake, and possessed that same dark blue hue that ravages the modern Underworld films, though the werewolves and story in this are much better.

In the end I still enjoyed this immensely, and I plan on seeing it again next week.

My Grade is A-.

Grave Reviews #1

2010-02-02T23:25:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my new column GRAVE REVIEWS where I review fictional works in the Horror Genre. Please be aware that in reviewing these works I may offer possible spoilers from the story.

Concilium Sanguinarius is Andrew M. Boylan's first full-length novel, and a great novel at that. Entirely about the dark, secretive and destructive world of vampires, this first book in a future series of novels tells the tale of two vampires: Ymochel of the Uriel Bloodline, a Nubian vampire granted the Velvet Kiss circa CE74 Pompeii, and Danaan, a vampire of the Shangi-Di bloodline brought across in 1067. In this work vampires are known among their kind as The Velvet, and the act of transforming a human to the vampire as the Velvet Kiss.

These two vampires fates become crossed when Danaan in her role as the Concilium's Praetorian (vampire enforcer) she is ordered to kill Ymochel's Fledgling Radu Tepes in 1819, for crimes against the vampires. Ymochel swears vengeance on Danaan and spends 160 years plotting his revenge while he is held captive to Qutrub of the Flesh, a vampire who oversees torture, and prepares future Praetorians mentally and physically for their tasks ahead.

Both vampires are tortured, yet powerful creatures. Danaan feels a great sadness due to her estrangement from her Sponsor Adrianne due to childish and arrogant actions, that almost across a period of a century cost both of them their unlives on several occasions. In an effort to make amends, Danaan takes the sash of a Praetorian to enforce the law of the Concilium, but for Danaan it may be a too little too late.

So Danaan walks through the centuries, taking different guises in wondrous lands such as Kirkless, the Forest of Robin Hood in the 14th Century, and as Erzebet Bathory's cousin in 16th Century Transylvania at the haunting Castle Csejthe. This was the period where the insane Countess committed her most foul deeds of bathing in the blood of 600 women, a situation that Danaan feels responsible for.

It's not until in the depths of loneliness and despair that Danaan crosses paths with Beatrice in 21st Century New York, and she seeks her as an eternal companion to bring comfort to her endless days. Ymochel stalking Danaan since his release from the Flesh sees this as a perfect opportunity to exact revenge of the injustice of destroying his Fledgling and interferring with his grand plan of revenge and dominance.

Danaan is a vampire of the Shang-Di bloodline, vampires who are mentalists, can read and affect people's thoughts and influence their dreams. The enzyme in their bite also produces a pleasurable effect in mortals.

Ymochel is a Nubian vampire that was brought into the Velvet by Uriel the Leech before the final days of Pompeii. As a member of the Uriel Bloodline, their blood contains an enzyme that produces lactic acid in the victim's bloodstream causing pain and discomfort similar to an ant's bite as they feed. They are more sensitive to the presence of other vampires and can sense them up to a mile away (with notable exceptions such as those from the Undjit Bloodline that can hide their presence in plain sight).

In his service the Leech taught his servant many secrets, such as gorging oneself on blood so they may fight off the effects of stupor that causes a vampire to surrender to sleep as the sun rises above the horizon. In this Ymochel becomes guardian over his Sponsor's villa and sleeping body during the daylight hours.

Ymochel despises his slavehood, and as a creature of the Velvet desires the same freedom and power that the Ancients' possess, and it isn't until the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in CE79 that Ymochel has his chance for escape and learns several hidden secrets of his kind.

When the Mt Vesuvius has its initial eruption, he discovers after he attacks the annoying slave Augustus that drinking a vampire's blood takes a portion of their power and increases his own, and also forces a psychological servitude onto the attacked vampire. In the final day of Pompeii, Ymochel takes a risk to drain his Sponsor to the point of death while fleeing the villa, and casts his body into the incoming lava, losing an arm to the molten stone in the process. He gains vast powers from this act, not only absorbing greater strength, but the traits and powers of the vampire he had consumed. When an Ancient dies their psychic death is felt for miles around, and other Ancients can detect the death of their kin no matter where they are in the world.

Ymochel is rescued by Praetorians, and as the only vampiric survivor of Pompeii relates the story to the Concillium and to Uriel's oldest Fledgling Remus, who becomes the new Ancient of the Bloodline. When questioned by The Morning Star, a vampire who can detect untruths, he discovers he can pass off lies as truth with the power he stole from his Sponsor, thus obtaining the freedom he always desired.

With newfound power, freedom and the secret of power absorption, Ymochel sets a plan in motion to conquer the vampiric world. As a hero of Pompeii, he is granted permission to sponsor Vlad Tepes' brother Radu, keep his mortal name* and secretly they plot the downfall of the Concilium. Only when Radu's crimes are revealed is he executed by Danaan, and Ymochel is sentenced to a century or more of torture at the hands of The Flesh to atone for his Fledgling's own crimes, which unknown to all are of his own making.

We meet further interesting characters such as Fenrir, a vampire of the Undjit bloodline who can become 'insignificant', and walk among mortals and immortal alike undetected. I became quite fond of Fenrir, and hope to see more of him in the sequels, and in regards to Qutrub the Flesh, not only the torturer of vampires but the instigator of World wars, I look forward to seeing him get his just desserts, possibly at the hands of Ymochel or perhaps someone else we least expect.

The story ends on a cliffhanger as Ymochel is denied his vengeance of Danaan momentarily, but his schemes and crimes are now brought to light to the Concilium. Will Danaan and Fenrir be able to stop the near-invincible Ymochel, and will Danaan make amends with her Sponsor? In the Epilogue we meet a mysterious creature named 'The Watcher' who may or may not be influencing the events of our vampires like pieces on a chessboard. I look forward to the sequel.

Andrew is the creator of the quality vampire genre review blog known as Taliesin Meets the Vampires. As a great lover of the vampire genre, it seems only natural that with his depth of knowledge of the genre from the amount of vampire movies/books he has reviewed that his first book is a well written labour of love. What I loved about this story was the incremental flashbacks of the characters that showed the progression of Ymochel and Danaan, and how through their actions, mostly selfish and arrogant, lead them down a path that will surely lead to one (or perhaps both) of their destruction(s).

Flashbacks set across centuries are always gold in my eyes, which is why TV shows such as Forever Knight and Highlander are still amongst my favourite TV shows. The grand scale of an immortal characters' background can make for fascinating storytelling if done right as it is done here, and gives the reader time to sympathise with these tragic creatures.

Another positive aspect of Andrew's story is the flow. The book was so easy to read. the story wasn't overly descriptive nor pompous in its delivery, there was a great balance of scene setting and dialogue, which was realistic and engaging.

If I could point out one or two minor weaknesses in the story it's Andrew's love of the Gothic Aesthetic, and use of different clans of the vampires. Like most authors I assume Andrew wrote a story he wanted to read and himself enjoyed reading, but I believe he may limit the story's readership by setting it in the subculture of the Gothic world, if only partially. The use of a Latin title for the story was a bit strange, and I wondered why Andrew just didn't call the story The Vampire Council or the Council of Blood for example.

The use of many clans/bloodlines may be not as confusing to seasoned vampire genre fans as myself who have played Vampire roleplaying games, but some readers may find the use of so many bloodlines confusing, even though their use is to describe different vampires powers, political viewpoints and philosophies.

I recommended read for Vampire Genre fans and new fans looking for an intelligent, yet enjoyable vampire tale. My Grade is B.

You can purchase Andrew's novel here.

Andrew's Vampire genre review blog can be found here.

* When a vampire is granted the Velvet Kiss they are given a new name by their Sponsor that will see them throughout eternity. This is so they can find it easier to leave their old life behind, and also adjust easier to their new one in the process of cutting mortal ties and adhering to the laws and ways of the Concilium.

The Warlock's Library #4

2010-02-02T04:50:00.000-08:00

The Vampire Bible by The Temple Of The Vampire.

Within Lies Fact and Fancy, Truth and Metaphor. Discriminate with Care.

The Vampire Bible is the first in a series of five Bibles published by the Temple of The Vampire that began as an experiment by some members of The Church of Satan back in 1989, and is actually a registered religion with the U.S Government.

Like the COS it champions power, wealth and human potential to the greatest degree. I say human but to the Temple its members and future members view themselves as more than human. Like the Vampire of folklore they crave power and wield it without guilt. They know they are supreme, and have a higher calling than the human sheep of this world and have no qualm in answering that call, but we will also see that these vampires are nothing like their mythical counterpart in deed and operation.

The TOV offer a glimpse of the six secrets of Earthly power on their home page:

SIX SECRETS OF EARTHLY POWER

1. Develop willpower and mental strength.
2. Get your way with people.
3. Master self-defense secrets.
4. Improve and protect your health.
5. Achieve authentic financial freedom.
6. Live beyond the usual human lifespan.

Here I will discuss some of the contents of the Vampire Bible, and give a brief outline of its tenets. The Bible is only 50 pages in length but gives an introduction to philosophies and religious origins, how they 'feed' and nurture power, along with some of their other mysteries. To give you an idea as to the mind set and mission of the Temple and its members I reproduce their creed here:

THE VAMPIRE CREED

I am a Vampire.

I worship my ego and I worship my life, for I am the only God that is.

I am proud that I am a predatory animal and I honor my animal instincts.

I exalt my rational mind and hold no belief that is in defiance of reason.

I recognize the difference between the worlds of truth and fantasy.

I acknowledge the fact that survival is the highest law.

I acknowledge the Powers of Darkness to be hidden natural laws through which I work my magic.

I know that my beliefs in Ritual are fantasy but the magic is real, and I respect and acknowledge the results of my magic.

I realize there is no heaven as there is no hell, and I view death as the destroyer of life.

Therefore I will make the most of life here and now.

I am a Vampire.

Bow down before me.

The Winged Skull of UR

The Temple's motto is: Test Everything - Believe Nothing. This is similar to the Satanic Credo of Doubt, and where Doubt is more important than Truth, the utilisation of doubt leads to the real truth through investigation. With the topics and rituals within the Vampire Bible, the Temple and its Priesthood ask you to fully investigate and verify their claims and knowledge for yourself. They accept no flights of fancy, nor delusions or fantasies. These people are discouraged and turned away from the Temple as are criminals who break the laws of their respective governments. The Temple has disdain for those who break human law, especially those who are members of the Temple, and ex-communicates such imbeciles without compunction. Like the COS, the TOV gives responsibility to the responsible, and expects its members to behave in a responsible and adult manner within society.

Through its first Bible, the Temple is quick to discourage the classical and fantastical view of the vampire and views blood-drinking as a metaphor and a practise for blood fetishists that has nothing to do with the real Vampire. Once again such sanguine practitioners are turned away. Temple members are taught a form of psychic vampirism, a secretive yet moral way to take Lifeforce that is discarded from humans and use to expand their own power, and those that run the Temple including the Undead Gods.

The TOV revere Tiamat, the Dragon God of Babylonian Myth that was the Goddess of the Sea who gave birth to a variety of monsters. The Priesthood in the TOV is regarded as the Priesthood of UR with UR referring to an Ancient city in Southern Mesopotamia (Sumer) whose patron God was Nanna, the God Of the Moon. For the TOV, Tiamat is the ultimate Undead God and is the source of all things, and all Lifeforce and it is through her that a Vampire can obtain true Lifeforce through the Ritual Of The Calling in a form of vampiric communion with the Undead Gods (sacrifice) with the symbology of a mirror, the very symbol of Tiamat.

The ritualistic aspects are very Sumerian in nature as they should be given their origin. The TOV claim that these secrets have been held by those in power since ancient times and known by such groups as Freemasons and other mystics. Now they have decided through public experiment to relay this information to those that are worthy. Part of the ritual asks the Vampire Sorceror to call To the Four Winds, which resemble to Watchtowers of Sumerian Myth. Here the practitioner through this ritual learns of the symbiotic nature of this Temple, and the true secret to its power.

In the world of the Vampire there are three realities: Dayside, Nightside and Twilight.

The Dayside is the skeptical side of the Vampire, and the keyword is doubt. The Vampire needs to approach life with a seriousness of no-nonsense and their utmost mission to acquire material possession and wealth, to live finanicially comfortable, and never worry about money again. The result of this is hedonism in its purest form, and masters of their own life, which is a natural consequence of attaining one's greatest potential.

The Nightside contains the magical side to the Vampire. Belief in magick when harnessed, and the will of the Powers of Darkness manipulated and controlled by the vampire's desire and all traditional vampire powers become reality. The Vampire is the quintessential Chaos Magician, using different belief systems and paradigms that serve his purpose at that particular time. The Power of the Astral Body is absolute.

The Twilight is the successful melding of truth and fantasy, mixing doubt and belief together into a workable model for the Vampire to attain complete success, and to mold their world into one that suits their needs and desires. They become both master of reality and dreams, and essentially become the Dragon, become their own God.

There are five grades or circles within the Temple, and after the Vampire acquires the appropriate Bible for the next grade, studies, understands and passes the tests within are they able to graduate to the next level.

The five levels are: Initiate, Predator, Priest(ess), Sorceror(ess) and Adept.

Most literature from the TOV is reasonably priced, but priced nonetheless to turn the unworthy and generally curious away.

In regards to Immortality, the TOV offer two choices, one through science (cryogenics) and the other through their own magickal methods. The TOV do not believe in reincarnation and that this life is your only life, and you need to make the most of it here and now, become the best you can be, surround yourself with greatness and you will be great. All losers and wannabes in your life must be discarded and will be forgotten in the sands of time as they crumble to dust and memory.

Disclaimer: No, I am not a member of the TOV and I do not endorse it.

The Black Orchestra #2

2010-02-02T02:55:00.000-08:00

Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows

I love Anna-Varney Cantodea and her music, and she is an interesting fellow.

Yes, I did say fellow as Anna is actually a Transexual (transwoman), a man who dresses as a Gothic Lady, and lives like a woman, but has decided not to take that final step of having a sex change due to spiritual issues.

But don't let that stop you from listening to her music, as it's one of the better Darkwave bands you will ever experience in your life. In this review I plan not to review any particular album but just draw attention to some of my favourite songs, as well as give a small biography of this wonderful musician.

Anna started her musical project in 1989 as a way to deal with her depression in regards to her sexuality and gender issues along with an outlet to express her love of the Gothic Horror stories of Edgar Allen Poe and vampires. Other themes included such topics as unrequited love, occultism, isolation and romance. The Varney part of her name comes from Varney the Vampyre, the old Penny Dreadfuls of the Victorian Era and Cantodea means 'Female Singer' in Latin.

The name Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows comes from two separate sources. For Anna, her childhood was full of torment, constant bullying from her parents and peers, as well as childhood illnesses she sought a release from by sleeping most of it away. Anna practically became suicidal in her later years. Sopor Aeternus means Eternal Sleep in Latin, which mirrors Anna's attempted escape from the pain of reality.

The Ensemble of Shadows are Anna's muse and are a group of mysterious shadow/spirits that came to her during different periods of her life, firstly while on an operating table when she was a child, and later an an adult when she became overcome with sickness that almost caused her to go blind. They frequent her dreams and offer her comfort and musical inspiration, and after one of her rare outings into the real world to a German Goth club called Negativ, she met Holger and Sopor Aeternus and the Ensemble of Shadows was born out of a dark, melancholic void.

Anna's early work is dark, depressive, filled with pain and I think it's her best work, though throughout her career she has failed to disappoint, let alone sell out. She sings about vampires, death and her confusion about her gender, and also sings several of Poe poems such as The Innocence of Devils (Alone), The Sleeper and The Conqueror Worm. Poe seems to resonate with Anna more than most other artists, which could explain the wondrous yet hypnotising adaptations of his poems into song form. I believe that The Innocence of Devils speaks to Anna more than any of his other poems (besides the Sleeper for obvious reasons) when we look at the following verse:

From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone

Anna's view of vampirism in her music is quite Gothic, Necromantic and Traditional. In the song DEAD SOULS she sings:

Hidden behind merciful shadows, beyond the cruel daylight,
living to hunt and kill, we are the... damned children of the night.
Dragging our immune existence through thousands of centuries
and from dusk to dawn we suffer from our immortality.

Vampires for Anna are crypt-dwelling, corpse stealing horrors that live throughout eternity in pain and suffering secluded from the pulse of life and the joy of the sun. But for Anna it's not all gloom and doom, she generally loves the aesthetic of this necromantic creature as indicated in these later lyrics:

"I'm the resurrection-man, who steals his own corpse
and abducts himself to the beloved catacombs and vaults"

Other songs worth mentioning are the epic Hades Pluton, a beautiful song about a dark journey to the Underworld, and the folkish and haunting Shadowsphere about the world of shades. Anna's work could be described as baroque, classical and folkish with darkwave and Gothic influences. Most of the music is orchestral such as brass, strings and woodwind, and along with Anna's haunted and tortured style of singing makes for an experience like no other in the world of music.

In regards to Spiritualism, Anna reveres Saturn, the Ancient Roman God who devoured his own children when he become aware of a prophecy that one of his children would destroy him. Upon further investigation I believe that this reverence could be a form of dark humour for Anna.

Firstly Saturn is a metaphor that "indicates a tyrannical, domineering parent who seeks to mold his children in his own image and force them to live by his standards. Children often become swallowed up by such domination." Such could have been the case in relation to Anna's father or mother. Additionally, Saturn also represents feelings of isolation, sadness, depression, three events that Anna bears deep scars from due to her childhood and sexual confusion.

Besides the songs sampled I recommend the following albums for investigation:

1. Es Reiten Die So Toten Schnell (For the Dead Travel Fast)
2. Todeswunsch
3. Songs From The Inverted Womb
4. Flowers in Formaldehyde
and
5. Dead Lovers' Sarabande Face One and Two.

The Warlock's Library #3

2010-01-27T22:07:00.000-08:00

This book is one of my favourite possessions as Leilah Wendell is one of my favourite Occultists. I own all of her books including her biography Our Name Is Melancholy, Necromance Art Book and Encounters with Death. I also own and have framed her collection of wondrous art works, and have been a member of her Obitchuaries Forum since April 2003.

Many years before Katrina devastated New Orleans, Leilah bought an old dilapitated house on Magazine St and transformed it into the Black and Purple House Of Death (photos). From here she wrote many Necromantic works under her Westgate Press company including this ritual book(1991), and it became HQ for Necromantics around the world.

At 50 pages this book is short and sweet, but details quite thoroughly the means to become a Necromantic, practise its beautiful rites and in doing so become Death's Empath. Firstly the distinction between Necromantics and Necromancers must be explained, as it is done with Leilah at the start of the book.

Where Necromancers were magicians who would raise (read: force) the spirits of the dead to rise up from their graves to reveals wordly and otherwordly secrets, the Necromantics purpose is more sublime. Necromantics aim to communicate and become one with Azrael, the Angel of Death, bask in his Amythest light and use Death Energy for magical purposes, astral walk through Earth and Stargates, and become comfortable with their own Death before the event occurs.

Most NecRomantics are in love with Cemetery culture, adorning themselves with crucifixes, crosses and skulls, are taphophiles and are comfortable in the presence of Death. They enjoy a long walk through a cemetery, and it's common for Necromantics to first learn this Twilyte Art when someone close to them passes, but it's not a pre-requisite.

Here is a brief summary of Leilah's chapters within this Ritual Book:

1. Preface - Leilah describes "Death Energy" and its purpose, along with a Necromantics relationship to Azrael.
2. Terminology - The difference between Necromancers and Necromantics.
3. Amortean Credo - The vow a Necromantic makes to Azrael and to herself.
4. Getting To Know You - The beginning steps for a Necromantic to become accustomed to Death Energy and revere Azrael.
5. Connecting With The Death Energy - The next stage in connecting with Azrael. How to walk through the Stargate, the tools and emotional state necessary. Also how one can Astral Travel.
6. Ritual for Opening the West Gate - How to walk to the Other Side with Azrael.
7. The Summoning of Shadows - To summon shadows, one must become a shadow, this explains how.
8. Ritual Sculpting - How to create a Golem, similar to the one Leilah constructed in the House of Death.
9. High Necromancy - The ultimate rite of a Necromantic. Not for the faint-hearted or uncertain. How to connect with Azrael like never before. The rite will change your life and you will never be the same again (you will be better!).
10. Necrophilia in the Necromantic Rite - Leilah's disdain for Necrophilia and how it is forbidden to Necromantics, how it is an affront to Azrael, and why.
11. Doing Battle on The Spiritual Front - When one needs strength, the way to call upon Azrael's brother Mikael, the first Angel of Death, whose sword slays, while Azrael's scythe harvests.

Necromantics is a beautiful art, and in the world of the occult is quite unique. Necromantics is more spiritual in its workings then physical. It doesn't revel in the pleasures of the flesh, but requires the practitioner to harness the strength of their spirit to connect to the Death Energy, and to walk with Azrael in his Melancholy Path. He has no desire to be worshipped, only understood, deeply loved and never feared. One only needs to drive past a cemetery and sigh at its monuments, crypts and tombs to glimpse an understanding of the beauty and fascination of Necromantics.

You can peruse and order Leilah's Necromantic works here. Leilah's main Westgate site is here and her famous Obitchuaries Forum is here.

The Black Orchestra #1

2010-01-27T18:28:00.000-08:00

Garden of Delight - Enki's Temple

Formed by Singer/songwriter Artaud and Pisacane in 1991, Garden of Delight began as a band to explore their love of spiritualism through music, and after releasing their first single NECROMANTEA (which Atraud now despises) they signed with Dion Fortune Records to record their first album about Sumerian Mythology titled ENKI'S TEMPLE:

1. Ancient God (Dead But Never Gone)
2. Inanna
3. And The Wind Blows Down The Clouds
4. The Watchtower
5. Behind the False God
6. Sumerian Haze
7. Enki's Temple and The Gates of UR

Artaud's grand plan was to release 7 albums, with 7 songs each across a span of 7 years as this number was significant in Sumerian Mythology with 7 Gates and 7 Seals to the Underworld.

With a distinct Gothic Darkwave sound featuring Atraud's deep and sombre singing, along with a drum machine and synthesizers, Enki's Temple mused Inanna's descent into the Sumerian Underworld to attend a funeral there. In the myth Erishkigal, Inanna's sister and ruler of the Underworld suspects that Inanna's true purpose is to conquer the Underworld and dethrone her sister, taking this hellish and morbid place for herself. To expose and depower her, Erishkigal demands that Inanna must pass a test at each of the 7 gates to the Underworld, giving away a magical item she possesses to each Gatekeeper. Arriving naked in front of her sister, Inanna then demands her sister step down from the throne. Subsequently Inanna is murdered and impaled on a hook.

Inanna's servant Ninshubur goes to Enki's Temple and pleads with him to release his mistress from the Underworld, and Enki gives Ninshubur the tools necessary in the form of two homunculi to appease Erishkigal. The servant manages to retrieve her corpse, and when they escape the homunculi are able to revive her. Inanna sends a band of demons after her sister to demand someone close to her take her place. Eventually her husband Dumuzi and his sister agree to spend six months each in the Underworld, and when her husband is down with Erishkigal this explains the lack of fertile crops and the Autumn/Winter season because she is the Goddess of Love and Fertility.

Artaud and G.O.D ended up making more then seven albums, after a brief break-up in 1997 with their 7th album PARADISE which ended Part-1 of the band's history. Each previous album Artaud sung about different mythologies ranging from Greek (Necromanteion IV) to Jewish (Scheoul "Sheol").

Enki's Temple is regarded by most fans as their best (and sombre) work, but to appreciate it I recommend you listen to their other albums, especially their earlier ones such as EPITAPH and SARGONID SEAL.

I am certain that the seal/sigil on the front of Enki's album cover is from Simon's Necronomicon that explains Lovecraft's tome originated in Sumeria. The symbol stands for MARUTUKKU, which is the Third Name/Seal and he represents Master of the Arts of Protection, sealed the Ancient Ones in their caves, behind the Gates, and he possesses the Arra Star which is the five-pointed pentagram. The Sigilist who invokes this sign does so when he performs an occult ceremony where there is danger present, such as when invoking demonic forces. Calling upon his Arra Star invokes a symbol of protection, that guards the soul as well as the body.

A recommended album for fans of Gothic and Darkwave music. If you are looking for a new band that has this particular sombre sound, or like other Gothic bands that sing about Sumerian Mythology such as Carl McCoy's Fields of the Nephilim I recommend you start with this album.

The Warlock's Library #2

2010-01-26T22:01:00.000-08:00

Supernatural Guides: Vampires, Werewolves & Demons.

Published in July 1979 by Usbourne Pocketbooks, this little guide by Lynn Myring was the first book I ever read on the subject of vampires. I believe I was twelve at the time, and I read it down the Gold Coast down south while attending a party at someone's mansion for a 40th.

The family had one daughter who was a year or so older than me, and when the strip-o-gram arrived and the children had to vacate the room the girl whose name I cannot recall took me to her parent's opulent library, placed this book in my hands and asked me if I believed in vampires.

This innocent act was the beginning of a lifelong obsession with vampires and the occult, and although I saw the original Salem's Lot on TV four years previously the obsession never stuck, or did it? I am certain the image of the vampire boy floating out of the mists, scratching on his friend's window begging for entry was stuck in my mind ever since, and would be to this day.

This book explains the myths behind Vampires, Werewolves and Demons, and provides a pop-cultureless explanation of these groups. Sure Hammer Horror, Franco and Rollin had been making vampire films for years by then, but this was before vampires were cool ala The Lost Boys, and decades before they become a pop-culture phenomenon.

What was explained in this book stuck in my mind what vampires and their hellish ilk should be like in stories, albiet of the classical/traditional kind: No reflections, shunned by garlic and crosses, refused entry unless invited and could take the form of bats, wolves and mist. The vampires either lived in eerie castles or returned to their graves early in the morning after their blood feasts before the sun's rays destroyed them utterly.

Like most books on vampire lore this book explained the origins of vampires around the world, but what made is special was the comic-like art of the interior that resembles the cover art you see above. My favourite pages are the vampire rising from beyond the grave in a swirl of supernatural mist (page 6)*, and the page of a pious man watching over a coffin, with a legend pointing to the different ways of preventing the birth of a vampire such as:

1. Illuminating the room with candles and a fireplace, because as creatures of the night, vampires feared the light.

2. Placing garlic cloves over door frames. In medieval times anyone who didn't like garlic was viewed with suspicion.

3. Sun and Moonlight were once seen as strong sources of life-giving energy, which might reactivate a corpse. Therefore curtains and windows must remain shut till the body is buried.

4. Animals were a great danger to an unburied corpse, and if one such as a cat jumped over the coffin, the body inside was sure to become one of the blood-sucking undead!

5. Lastly mirrors were thought to reflect the soul and were taken down or turned to face the wall near the corpse. This was to prevent the soul becoming trapped in the mirror and returning later to animate the body! (Page 11)*.

The book explains how vampires were buried and destroyed, such as nailed down in their coffins through the joints so it couldn't rise at night, to stuffing its mouth with garlic and staking it upside down. The book explains the vampire myth in correlation to the Black Death, and also relates medieval vampires stories such as Arnold Paole, with some pages on Eastern and Jungle vampires.

The Werewolf section goes into the myth originating from Norse Berserkers to its further growth in Germany and France. Pacts with Satan and night-time rituals with bonfires and magic salves are presented as a means to become a werewolf. Jean Grenier, the Wolf Boy who claims the Lord of the Forest gave him a magic wolf skin and ointment so he could eat men, was dismissed by a judge at the time as ludicrous and sentenced the boy to spend the rest of his life in a monastery.

The Demon section is short and sweet, detailing medieval demons and their correlation to vampires and werewolves, and how Demons were blamed for the misfortune of man for some time in the Middle Ages.

The guide ends with a summary of real monsters such as Vlad the Impaler and Elizabeth Bathory, and the short history (back then) of Supernatural Cinema such as Bela Legosi and Christopher Lee's Dracula and the original Nosferatu.

At only 64 pages, this little treasure is better than most vampire/monster guides released today, and compared to the state of the Vampire genre to back then, with this book we can clearly view what is sorely lacking into this wonderful genre today.

I got my copy off eBay years ago, but you can also find it on Amazon for an average price of US$60. As a memento this book is worth far more than that to me, but at 64 pages I suggest you do a good search to compare prices.

* Alas the scanner on my printer is not operating for some reason, so I cannot show you the pages in this wonderful little book.

The Warlock's Library #1

2010-01-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

On Walpurgisnacht 1966, Anton LaVey who was to become known as "The Black Pope", ritualistically shaved his head and formally announced the creation of The Church Of Satan. Two years later he wrote this book as a collection of his observations of the human race in his early years, and also his own adaptation of Ragnar Redbeard's MIGHT IS RIGHT philosophy with his own Satanic Spin. A book of Humanism with a dose of devilish psychodrama and ritual, this has come to be the tome that most modern day Satanists use as a rule-book to achieve carnal pleasure and success while removing all unnecessary spiritual hogwash from their lives and philosophies.

The Satanic Bible is split into Four parts that are represented by the Four Lords of Hell and their elements:

1. The Book of Satan - The Infernal Diatribe - Fire
2. The Book of Lucifer - The Enlightenment - Air
3. The Book of Belial - The Mastery of the Earth - Earth
4. The Book of Leviation - The Raging Sea - Water

To LaVey, Satan wasn't a fallen angel trapped in the confines of Brimstone and Fire eager to steal your soul, with pitchfork and a contract ready for you to sign at the crossroads. He represents a Force of Nature, a metaphor for the carnal side of man, a man who uses his intellect and natural gifts to ascend above the dim-witted God-Fearing populace of Earth. A Satanist knows that his body was given to him to experience the pleasures of life (sin), and spits venom at those who tell him to deny that which is only natural to him such as sex, food and revelry (the seven sins).

Before part one, The Book of Satan, LaVey listed the Nine Satanic Statements, where through the metaphor of Satanic thought he explains the rules by which a Satanist should live his life: to aspire to greatness where he can become the best he can be. He must realise that man is just an animal not some spiritual being, and he needs to revel in the so-called sins of man if he wishes to live life to the fullest.

Some examples of these Satanic Statments are:

1. Satan represents indulgence, instead of abstinence: This statement explains that our bodies have been geared to respond positively and orgasmically to pleasure, so why deny yourself these experiences? Abstinence to a Satanist, let alone to common man seems like a strange concept. A bird has wings, why shouldn't it enjoy flying?

5. Satan represents vengeance, instead of turning the other cheek: Some people are prone to become a walking door-mat, letting others use and abuse them, and when abused just let it slide and/or think it is necessary to cater to the other person's whim. The Satanist says Hogwash! to that and claims if one man strikes you on your cheek, smash him on the other! Make your enemies fear you; if someone pesters you tell them to stop. If they persist; destroy them utterly. In picking a fight with a Satanist they are signing their own doom, and they have no-one to blame but themselves if they cross you. A Satanist feels no guilt destroying his enemies when they have been duly warned.

6. Satan represents responsibility to the responsible, instead of concern for psychic vampires!: This one is my favourites at the moment. We all know someone in our lives that is so full of self-pity and needs constant assurance and attention that it drains us emotionally and physically.

We all have someone in our life that drains us with their constant lack of moving forward and improving. I recently ended a friendship because the 35-year old man who still lives with his parents, has no car and refuses to diet and exercise yet goes for girls that could guest-star on Gossip Girl kept complaining to me why he couldn't get a girlfriend. Furthermore he was still complaining about getting picked on in high-school which was 18 years ago!

After constant sound advice of getting his own place, exercising, having realistic standards in women, and purchasing a car, he is still drowning in the same shallow pool of self-pity, and still of course has no girlfriend! The Satanist abhors these leeches, and casts them back into the pitiful place from whence they came! LaVey describes himself people that only have you as a friend because of their high standards, constantly give you physical/monetary gifts and ask for nothing in return except for 'favours'. When you ask for things in return they are always 'indisposed'. Remove these people from your life as quick as possible.

The Book of Satan is LaVey's rewording in verse of Redbeard's 1890 book 'Might Is Right', giving the Satanist through verse a guide to his life, whereby he can become monetarily and physically powerful, exalting the physical and carnal whilst disparaging the spiritual and weak. The keyword for Satanists is not TRUTH but DOUBT. The Satanists constantly tests and investigates things before he accepts their validity.

The Book of Lucifer explains the intellectual viewpoint of a Satanist, presents a Satanic view on Satanism and not the twisted explanations from bible-thumpers that have been the only (wrong) source of explanation for the religion for quite some time.

LaVey explains that the seven deadly sins lead to emotional and physical gratification, and should be practised and celebrated. Since man has been hard-wired to enjoy these sins, it was only natural for the Christian Church to point them out to tear man away from his own nature, while at the same time he explains that in the end the carnal will always win out over the spiritual. Some examples of this are wearing any clothes other than just to keep you warm makes you guilty of pride. Someone that enjoys a large block of chocolate or a 3-course meal even though the body does not require that much sustenance is guilty of gluttony and so forth.

LaVey continues with the metaphor of selling one's soul and how the Gods of past religions become the demons of the current ones. Satan means adversary and this term means that a Satanist must be adversarial, not be part of the flock, and to be true to yourself and your own nature. LaVey lists the Four Crown Princes of Hell that constructed the book's chapters, along with the names of devils and demons from different cultures around the world that stood in a similar light to Satan. Also explained is the Satanic viewpoint of sex, how love and hate relates to a Satanist, the difference between indulgence and compulsion, and the explanation and use of The Black Mass in a Satanist's life, its real meaning, psychic vampires, Religious holidays and the misunderstood topic of Human sacrifice.

The Book of Belial explains the use of ritual and magic in a Satanist's arsenal, how to construct and employ the tools for this, and the Thirteen steps for Satanic Ritual. Beforehand LaVey scoffs at 'white-light' magicians that invoke protective circles and pentagrams to safeguard themselves against the very forces they demand assistance from. A Satanist is not one to insult those who seeks aid from, and boldly steps forward and respectfully asks for assistance. Belial means "without a master."

The Book of Leviathan lists three different rituals that respond to a Satanist's modus operandi - Love, Destruction and Compassion. This mirrors the previous explanation of the Satanist's weapons of Sex, Sentiment or Wonder*. LaVey stresses that a Satanist discovers which weapon the Witch or Warlock wields to the best capacity, and uses that weapon to attain all their desires.

These rituals use emotional response and energy along with a choice of Nineteen Enochian Keys (adapted from John Dee's own work), that when assembled and chosen properly the Satanist will obtain the desired affect. In doing so that Satanist must be 100% certain that this is the outcome she desires for said person/event. The Satanist has no-one to blame but herself if they chose the wrong ritual or reason, and the result causes them guilt or grief. Two examples of this are:

1. LUST: Causing someone to lust after you but you don't really desire them or find their resulting advances to offend and disturb you.

2. DESTRUCTION: Seeking the total end of a person in one form or another, only to experience guilt over their demise. You must utterly and succinctly desire their end, with no regrets. To the point they must deserve beyond a doubt what is coming to them.

Thus ends THE SATANIC BIBLE. An interesting read on the true nature of man, and how following your desires and being true to yourself will lead you to live a gratifying existence that you were meant to live. LaVey had his tongue firmly in his cheek when he named his group a Church and his book a Bible. A smart man for his time, this book is recommended, not only for the aspiring Satanist, but also for those who wish to know more about this philosophy and desire to hear Satan's side of the story, pitchfork and all.

*An example of Sex, Sentiment and Wonder is where the Witch/Warlock is extremely attractive and can use that as a weapon then they chose SEX as their power. SENTIMENT explains the old lady next door who cooks endless amounts of cookies that children gobble up and are enchanted by her lifestyle, or the wizened old man that people go to for advice. WONDER is where the person isn't the personifiction of sex but is strange, menacing or quirky enough to hold people's attention and the person will do things for the witch/warlock out of fear.

Requiem Chevalier Vampire: Tome 8

2010-01-24T02:24:00.000-08:00

Written by French writer Pat Mills (Slaine - 2000 AD) and artist Olivier Ledroit, this darkly fascinating and very twisted comic series is translated into English and published by Heavy Metal magazine about once a year in their monthly issues. The comic itself is normally split into 'parts' within the issue.

For readers not familiar with the comic, you can read about the background to the story and characters here: Requiem Chevalier Vampire

In this issue, we see a Hellfire Club meeting in Greenwich Village hosted by Aleister Crowley and his latest Scarlet Woman, Leah Hirsig (featured above) aka The Ape of Thoth. The purpose of this event is to consecrate Leah to Aiwass, the Dark Mysterious God who helped Crowley scribe THE BOOK OF THE LAW.

In attendance is Journalist Horatio Burton of Union Jack Magazine who recently described Crowley as “The Wickedest Man in the World.” After declining a glass of menstrual blood from the ‘Ape of Thoth’, Crowley shows Burton his latest painting of the Ape, which is a demonic visage of Leah painted as the “Queen of Dead Souls.”

Crowley dedicates Leah to Aiwass as Alostrael – The Womb of God, where she will become his vessel to give birth to a ‘Moonchild’. Vowing to write about this blasphemy in his paper, Crowley beckons him to the painting once more where the spirit of Aiwass in the spirit form of a mandrill tears him limb from limb, cursing him to limbo for all eternity.

In Resurrection now, we meet the vampire selves of Crowley and Leah, where Crowley is now known as Black Sabbath and Leah as Aiwass in her/his Mandrill form where they consummate their forbidden love with the taboo of different species. Requiem has just destroyed The Convent of Blood, trying to rescue his Earthly beloved Rebecca who is now a Lamia. Requiem is battling Otto, his vampire advocate who was responsible for Rebecca’s earthly demise. If a Lamia can kill her murderer in Resurrection they will be set free. (see comic page above).

Otto gets the upper hand on Requiem, who in his astral body returns to his proper vampire form to then face off an Inquisitor who has slain an army of zombies and in his spare time feeds off orgasmic energies, thus denying any party he targets any lustful satisfaction.

Taking her vampire form once more at the request of Black Sabbath, Leah seduces Requiem to subdue him and release his mind from his endless desire of Rebecca, only to have their orgasms stolen. Requiem expresses his utter dissatisfaction in Leah’s seduction, and in a final, desperate attempt to please him, she takes her mandrill form once more while riding him, asking him if her mandrill form is gross (exhilarating) enough for him. The story continues….
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I have followed this comic for several years now, and it’s only published in Heavy Metal Magazine once or twice a year. To be honest I get it for the superior, twisted art of Ledroit than the story, but on this occasion Mills has outdone himself with his penmanship.

I’ve always admired Aleister Crowley from afar. I’ve read the BOOK OF THE LAW and seen a documentary about his life, but haven’t had the chance to read any of his works or investigate his life fully. After reading this issue, I am quite keen to pursue knowledge of this enigma of a man, and must say I am intrigued by these Scarlet Women and why he referred to Leah as “The Ape Of Thoth”. So I am beginning my investigation on Crowley, The Scarlet Woman and Thelema.

If this story interests you, you can find the current tome split across two sections in the March 2010 issue of Heavy Metal magazine. You can find a preview of the issue, and what the cover art looks like here.

Welcome to THE CONVENT OF BLOOD

2010-01-24T01:20:00.000-08:00

Firstly some of you may know me from my first blog THE DIRGE OF GABRIEL.

While I loved that blog, since it was my dark little first born, I have decided to discontinue it because I rarely watch and read many Horror films/books as often as a blog would require me to keep it updated. Good horror novels are few and far between as are movies now, and I feel the Golden Age of Horror has faded (though I desire the remake of The Wolfman will reignite the Black Flame!).

I read more non-fiction books than fiction at this current point in my life, so I wanted to create a new, improved and darker blog that would suit my current hobby, thus THE CONVENT OF BLOOD was born. I got this name from a building a vampire named Requiem destroyed attempting to rescue his beloved in a vampire comic called Requiem Chevalier Vampire, which I will review shortly.

So this blood-soaked Blog of Darkness serves a variety of dark purposes from reviewing some horror movies and novels that I find worthy of my peculiar tastes, to examining occult texts, and investigating occult personalities, groups and events that I find intriguing.

It will also serve as a personal journal of sorts, a dark biography to discuss what is going on in my dark little mind. I’ll also discuss occult systems that I have examined and explain what I like/dislike about them.

Come my fellow Dark Immortals! Take a seat in our decrepit pews, and open your Black Bibles to Chapter One. As the Demonic Priest and his Vampire Nuns take their place behind the pulpit, let your mind wander to the depths of your pagan minds, where your darkest fantasies lurk, and let the Black Mass begin !!