NOTE: Yes, this is a re-print of an article originally published on November 26, 2012. Why a re-run, you ask? Due to missing over a week of postings in late May (got kicked in the ass by pneumonia and the unexpected death of a good friend) things got pretty sparse here as everything else went out the window at the time …so I’m filling them in (and back-dating them for the days we were on the disabled list) in with cool stuff and postings you may have missed the first time they were printed, because I hadn’t fully understood how to publicize properly back then.. Enjoy.
It’s almost impossible to pick the ten–hell, I’d have to really apply myself to get it down to twenty– scariest scenes or moments from the Ju-On (AKA The Grudge) series, let alone the scariest. OK, that’d be the stair-crawl, but you get the idea. However, I’m pretty sure that this scene would probably make the top ten. Full of creepy moments (seeing Toshio pass by the elevator on EVERY goddamn floor, seeing your husband through the peephole and opening the door to the sight of an empty hall), Shimizu saves the best scare in the scene for last.
We doubt it’s necessary to sell you on Asian horror knowing exactly how to scare you and stand out from 90% of US horror films, but the idea of not even being safe in your own (formerly) cozy warm bed, with…
It’s almost impossible to pick the ten–hell, I’d have to really apply myself to get it down to twenty– scariest scenes or moments from the Ju-On (AKA The Grudge) series, let alone the scariest. OK, that’d be the stair-crawl, but you get the idea. However, I’m pretty sure that this scene would probably make the top ten. Full of creepy moments (seeing Toshio pass by the elevator on EVERY goddamn floor, seeing your husband through the peephole and opening the door to the sight of an empty hall), Shimizu saves the best scare in the scene for last.
We doubt it’s necessary to sell you on Asian horror knowing exactly how to scare you and stand out from 90% of US horror films, but the idea of not even being safe in your own (formerly) cozy warm bed, with the covers pulled up to your chin? If that isn’t the stuff of nightmares, we don’t know what is.
Damn, not only is my ‘hit count’ improving drastically, but as of this writing, I’m at exactly 666 hits, which is a first! That’s pretty awesome, and– wait, did you guys hear that noise? Why did it get so hot in this room all of a sudden?
Yes, sadly Halloween has come and gone, but the scary goodies will be continuing, hopefully at the same pace they have been. Right now lots of horror fans are pretty excited about American Horror Story Asylum, so I’m adding more news and spoilers as I hear them (with spoiler warnings, of course). Hopefully I’ll get a news round-up with links to any new interviews at least once a week. I’ve noticed lately that the specific search terms that show up the most for the show* are variations on “American Horror Story who is the Pinhead.” I’m surprised a fan page for Naomi Grossman as Pepper hasn’t sprung up–wait, actually, I bet if I searched, there’d be a couple at this point.
I upgraded and added the option for adding sound and video files to my posts. I’ll keep slapping up the You Tube videos, of course, but now there’s other forms of media. I’m trying to use the “Press This” option (AKA re-blogging), too, so that you get some variety; I’m the only one writing this site, hearing fresh voices is probably nice. There’s room for every horror writer/blogger on here! Everyone has been super-cool and supportive lately, and I appreciate it. It was just a few months ago when I was averaging about 30 hits on a good day, which really was a drag.
If you want to check out Horror Boom on You Tube, I don’t have anything really spectacular right now, but I’m putting together playlists, especially of hard-to-find movies that are worth a watch.
Oh yeah- here’s a poll (below) that’s be cool if you could give your opinion on. Basically, what would you like to see more of here? If you have a favorite feature and just want it to keep going, that’s worth a vote. You can vote for up to five things you think would be groovy to see on Horror Boom, plus write in something if it’s not listed. Plus, I promise to actually pay attention and respond to what you’d be amped up to see on here. Thanks in advance for voting …and hopefully it’ll take your mind off the “Election 2012” 24/7 media jamboree that you’re really, really fucking sick of hearing about (and thinking about) by now. ENOUGH. We already sent in our ballots and are mostly watching horror DVDs when the TV is on, until Election Night. At this point I think many of us just want it to be OVER. Anyway, the feedback from y’all fellow horror fans would be great.
Image-wise, I just added ten more photos of Kayako to the recent Ju-On Gallery. They’re all PR photos (or very close– if they weren’t ones taken in a closed session with Takako Fuji posing and making her scariest facial expressions, they used shots on set as official PR photos) and I’m pretty sure, unless you have a weird Ju-On obsession like I do that includes buying the novel, tie-in Manga, and a copy of the Ju-On “Haunted House Simulator” game for Nintendo Wii even though I knew I’d probably be too much of a pussy to sit down and play, there’s several you haven’t seen yet. At least half of them were staged photo shoots, because if they were in a Ju-On movie scene, you would definitely remember the image/shot. Check out the latest growing Kayako gallery here. The first series of Grudge/Ju-On images I posted, let me think, right over here, and here’s the “Chills to Beat the Summer Heat” gallery I did second. More Ju-On goodies–OK, I don’t know if that sounds appropriate when referring to one of the Top Five most frightening females in horror history, let alone J-horror history. Uhhh, try that again. I mean more Ju-on/Grudge (relatively) rare footage, trivia, and of course, plenty of new photos are coming soon. Also I would again to state I am well aware I do not own the copyrights to any of the images, they’re here to entertain you; if anyone who DOES own the copyright wants me to take it down, I will. Just contact me …I’m not looking for any copyright trouble!
Meanwhile, genius that I am when I’m not getting enough sleep, I go rifling through Kayako content on the night we set our clocks back, after I spent several hours (before and after sundown) watching a bunch of J-Horror shorts back-to-back Friday and Saturday to build up a decent backlog of “Scariest Short Horror Film of The Week” entries like a moron. Hell, I’m watching a featurette right now onThe Grudge 2 (American sequel) boxed collector’s tin/set AFTER I sat through the last half of the movie; I think back and find no real justification whatsoever for this. Something tells me an Onyro might be making a surprise cameo in one of my dreams soon. Ooooh goodie!
While I’m on the subject, I’m still puzzled and sort of concerned over the amount of males who make comments on You Tube, and/or have websites, where they rhapsodize about how hot and sexy Kayako is. Not Takako Fuji, the actress who plays her, mind you, or even Fuji-San as Kayako before she was murdered, but Kayako in full-out terrifying, crawling or limping un-naturally right at you, dead white, eyes wide as saucers, bloody running down her face, croaking out the classic Grudge/Ju-On Death Rattle mode. Attraction is subjective, and I know she’s a beautiful actress, but I just don’t get it. One said the “kind of lustful, hungry look” she has on her face is “soooo HOT!” Fine, to each their own, but I do hope it’s not because the think only women who look very dead, have broken necks, with blood-smeared faces and a white dress so soaked with her own blood it actually could be mistaken for a red dress are sexually attractive. I’m not even close to a judgemental person, yet I am not altogether comfortable with that piece of information…
Anyway, thanks for reading, and Happy November. Don’t forget to set your clocks back this weekend, and even if you hate less daylight (I do), look on the bright side– hey, that’s time for an extra episode of American Horror Story, time for watching/re-watching a Masters of Horror episode (may I recommend Dance of the Dead, Imprint , or The Damned Thing ?) or two back-to-back Tales From The Crypt episodes you can enjoy.
Hey, it beats more election coverage…
Stay Scared, Mrs. Horror Boom
*after variations on “Evan Peters naked”, “Evan Peters getting spanked”, and “Evan Peters butt,” that is.
Well, my cough is almost gone, but I have a strange, unpleasant style of hangover from being on over-the-counter cold/cough medicine for over a week. I felt more or less normal when I took it the first week (probably because I made sure it didn’t have any of the crystal meth ingredients ending in “phrine” in it before I put it in my body the first time). I took two of the tablets (supposed to take one of these doses every 4 hours) on our way to go see Magic Joe ManganielloMagic Mike *, and during the closing credits of the movie I suddenly began to feel very weird and nervous.* Then I discovered (in the tiniest print ever) on the instructions the words do NOT use for more than seven days continuously. Since I was on day 8 or 9, that explained that. Well, shit. I immediately ‘discontinued’ the cold/flu remedy (also per the instructions). Since I stopped about 36 hours ago, I’ve felt better flu-wise (other than a nagging, dull rebound headache from all the Tylenol), but all cloudy and fuzzy, and not the good kind of dreamy-cloudy that seeing the routines in Magic Mike (which was definitely not caused by any kind of chemical unless you count hormones) and mentally clumsy, clunky, and foggy. I was barely able to follow the plot of the regular Thursday new installment of the free web comic Crossed:Wish You Were Here; the weekly series is very twisted, but not overly-complicated.
…it’s been pretty warm out lately, and just looking at many of these may give someone the illusion of the temperature dropping. I didn’t know it was possible to get goosebumps in 80 degree heat, but apparently, that’s where Takashi Shimizu and of course, Ms. Takako Fuji come in to lend a hand!
I’m surprised I even pulled this intro together. My IQ took a significant drop. I just realized I kept meaning to watch the two sneak preview clips on HBO.com for this Sunday’s True Blood, but never quite screwed two brain cells together long enough to do it. Hooked as I am, that never happened before (that I can recall, my memory is worse than usual, too). When I tried to write something more complicated than a retweet. I could barely finish my sentences in my own head. I have a couple reviews of movies that turned out to be terrible almost ready to “press”***, but I don’t want to post two negative reviews in a row. So until my slow-witted head clears up, I have another Ju-On gallery I put together.
Now would be a good time to GTFO, Kobayashi…
I don’t own the rights to any of the stills from the Japanese movies themselves, I just think they’re amazing …and creepy as shit. Also, it’s been pretty warm out lately, and just looking at many of these may give someone the illusion of the temperature dropping. I didn’t know it was possible to get goosebumps in 80 degree heat, but apparently, that’s where Takashi Shimizu and of course, Ms. Takako Fuji come in to lend a hand!
From the original TV movie, aired in Japan in 2000.
This time, I also included some very unsettling images from the two Ju-On movies: Ju-on: Shiroi rôjo (The Grude: Old Lady in White) and Ju-on: Kuroi shôjo (The Grudge: Black Ghost). These were filmed in 2009, and weren’t released in the US until 2011 as a package deal: Ju-On: White Ghost/Black Ghost. They aren’t direct sequels, and only one member of the Saeki family makes an appearance, but they definitely take place in the same universe as the rest of the Ju-On series. Kayako may not show up (unless you count a very distinctive croak/death rattle, but I still found both movies (especially the first) badly frightening. Oh, and at some unknown point, I learned how to mimic the Kayako ‘death rattle’ perfectly. Not in time to scare anyone else with it, just enough to give myself a nightmare that I was imitating the noise while surfing the net, stopped, then heard it coming from behind me. Then I bolted awake! I fell back to sleep in less than a minute …but I think it says a lot about the staying power and effectiveness of a true horror movie when you get a nightmare based on it after you haven’t even watched it in months. That’s during cheerful daylight, with my husband reading the paper in the next room. And I jumped …then decided I was sitting much too close to the TV.
From the “Black Ghost” second half of the recent Ju-on: White Ghost/Black Ghost (2009)
One of Toshio’s two “cameos” from Ju-On: WGBG (2009)
The first of several genuine jump scares from Ju-On: Old Lady in White (2009)
HORROR BOOM 