Greta (2018)

Last night I attended my first movie screening! I felt so fancy.

Bonus: this movie was showing in the same movie theater where I obtained my first job after I moved to Seattle (over 20 years ago). The early 20 somethings behind the concession counter were not as impressed with this knowledge as I was sharing it with them (repeatably, they serve beer there now).

Let me introduce you to: Greta

I walked into this screening with very, very little knowledge of what I was walking into - and I was pleasantly shocked and surprised. 

This movie begins with a young woman finding a handbag on the train and, with a pure heart, hand-delivers it to the owner at her home. Things get wildly out of hand from there. 

Now, see - well. I totally and immediately understood this young woman because I kinda sorta did the same thing once. Instead of a handbag through, I found a bunch of unopened mail (important stuff, checks, etc) all scattered in the middle of the early morning street. Several different addresses all over the neighborhood. 

Like this poor young woman, I too made a TERRIBLE MISTAKE in my good nature attempt. Instead of just putting the mail in the mailbox down the street, I decided to hand-deliver the mail back to the owners. 

DO NOT DO THIS

NEVER DO THIS

NO

I have absolutely no idea why I didn't just pop the mail into the street corner mailbox and instead hike through the neighborhood in the scorching hot afternoon to do this ridiculous thing, but I think it was lack of coffee, the terrible heat, and a healthy dose of stupidity. 

Turned out all those addresses didn't exist anymore (new buildings being built) and I wasted a lot - a lot of time and energy - and what I did was likely illegal. After nearly an hour of walking around and failing at every address, I popped all that mail into the nearest mailbox and walk of shamed myself to the nearest pub.

I share this little story as a cautionary tale for anyone who finds mail in the street. JUST PUT IT IN THE MAILBOX. And.... also because several simple, bad decisions and unbelievable moments occurred in this film and it might make you groan but hear me out: roll with it, it helps with the entertainment of the film. Just as I hope my self-humiliating little story entertained you. You'll ask yourself, "why would anyone do this? No one would actually do that" and that's fine, just let the few but striking suspension of disbelief moments take you for a joy ride.

I found this film to be a fast-paced slow burner. There's one scene in particular, after a lot of quiet activity, where the fully packed theater jumped. While there are other fast cringe-binge moments that will have you curling back into your seat. 

This is also a bad ass film with a karate kick to the face ending. 

The theater clapped at the end. I always found that weird but even *I* clapped. Back when I worked at this same theater in 1997, one of my jobs was to wear a bow-tie but also to assess the crowds during the trailers and report back to management on the crowd's reaction to each preview. 

I'm going to do the same here, for Greta:

Entertained, talked loudly and excitedly at the end, laughed at moments. Jumped at scenes. Seemed to like it.

Fun, frightful, and fancy - watch this thriller/killer with one of your best friends. I watched it with one of mine (my brother is awesome and took the photo below). Pairs with French food and bottles of booze that you can break in case you need to fight someone. 

Take care everyone, and enjoy the film! (and don't hand deliver stranger's mail OR handbags).

Overlord (2018)

A few weeks ago, while watching a football game, I saw a kick-ass trailer on TV that prompted me to text my brother right away.

Me: "We need to see Overlord!"

Brother: "Whoa, this is freaky. I literally just watched a trailer for that like two minutes ago and was going to text you the exactly same thing!!"

Me: "It's a sign. Hopefully a sign that it's awesome and we'll really enjoy it!"

Brother: "Oh shit, you must be watching the Seahawks game!"

Us: Hahahaha!

Although I thought fate was working some mysterious magic on us for a second there - instead we were just watching the same game at the same time - the real magic is that when we both saw this trailer, for the first time, we both knew what had to be done. Overlord had to be seen. 

I rarely ever see movies on opening weekend, let alone opening day. I just don't like people crowds that much. I made an exception for this film. 

I can't put in proper terms how excited I was to see this film, and I can't tell you exactly why I had to see it except that it had the look and feel (based on the trailer alone) of a film sure to kick ass and take names. I'm also not sure if it was released on Veterans Day weekend purposefully, but this proud ten year+ Veterans Affairs Administration employee and member of a military family was All Over this film, and not wrong at all in my suspicions of it's ass kickery.

Going to take a moment here to reiterate my Twitter post - sent about 10 minutes after walking out of the theater: 

Oh hell yeah, Overlord!! It's opening weekend - get yourself a seat for this experience!!

If you have a heart condition, ask your doctor if these opening scenes are right for you.

— Jolie Bergman (@HorrorHabitBlog) November 10, 2018

Just remembering the opening scenes gives me palpitations. Holy SHIT.

I was working in a movie theater when Saving Private Ryan was released and remember hearing about WWII Veterans needing to walk out because the visuals/memories were all too real. I've never been in a war zone. I never want to. But this film's opening scenes help give the audience an experience of what D-Day - war in general - entails. 

That's a horror story in itself. 

And then the zombie things show up....

This is a war film. This a military show. This is a horror story. This is a creature feature film of epic proportions. Bonus: Punching Nazis in the face! 

My brother and I argue about how much of a creature feature film this is - you decide for yourself by seeing it. I felt the creatures played a significant role. He felt they were secondary to the other horrors happening. 

All in all, here's what you need to know: A handful of American soldiers with a mission to dismantle Nazi communications head into France on the eve of D-Day, and then they stumble upon experiments....

Thrilling, adventurous, people making bad descions, people making sacrificial descions, real monsters, medical monsters, heartfelt, insane, gross, gritty, fast, and kick-ass: See This Film. 

For the best experience, see this film in the theater. 

***As I was typing this up I just got the news that Stan Lee passed away. I'm adding this news to this post because his comics played no small role in my youth - finding the hero in yourself and in others - and the role he played as hero to so many, in comics and in person. Cheers to you, sir. For everything. Travel on to that next world peacefully. 

Thank you to all of America's veterans for your service. Fun fact: Stan’s official US Army title during WW2 was ‘Playwright.’ #VeteransDay pic.twitter.com/limi6CWzsL

— stan lee (@TheRealStanLee) November 11, 2018

Cheers, heros. F*ck you Nazis.

Happy Halloween! Here's 18 Short Horror Films You Need To See! (2018 edition)

October Challenge Day 31:

Happy Halloween everyone!! Here is 18 brilliant short horror films to spook up your day.

Why 18 you ask? Because this is the 8th month of the old Roman calendar and the 10th month of the current calendar. BRAINS!

So without further ado, below is my pick of some of the best out there. With a review of 18 words or less, and in no particular order, please enjoy Horror Habit's 2018 Short Horror Film Festival.

Behind: CRINGE BINGE GALORE! Absolutely Frightening. The mother is just trying to protect her child ... from something...

BEHIND - Horror short film from Ángel Gómez on Vimeo.

Coffer: A quiet night at home leads to a Jump Out Of Your Seat (I literally did) evening.

Coffer - Short horror film from David F. Sandberg on Vimeo.

The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon: LMFAO

The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon by Richard Gale from Bibs on Vimeo.

The Visitor: A creatively done little story with a neat twist. 

THE VISITOR (2016) - short horror film from M/N/K/N Production on Vimeo.

The Maiden: Spooky haunted house story goes sinister. Dare you to play the Scary Grandma game after seeing this.

THE MAIDEN - short horror film from Michael Chaves on Vimeo.

Larry: Careful what you browse through in the lost and found. This creature is terribly scary!!

Larry - A Short Horror Film from Jacob Chase on Vimeo.

Into the Mud: Well this took a turn I certainly did not expect!!! Brilliant story, cinematography, and acting. 

'INTO THE MUD' HORROR SHORT FILM from Pablo S. Pastor on Vimeo.

The Bridge Partner: This is one very serious bridge game. Fun, fresh, and wonderfully made - great story for all horror fans.

THE BRIDGE PARTNER - Short Film from Gabriel Olson on Vimeo.

Good Luck, Mr. Zombie!: This is a clever little side tickler!!

Good Luck, Mr. Zombie! Short comedy horror from Stuart Stanton on Vimeo.

In The Tall Grass: A fantastic, wonderfully made animated horror story about the horrors of our mind.

In The Tall Grass - Short horror animation film from Alexii Muftoll on Vimeo.

The Election: You might think you know what this film is about, but I can assure you - you don't.

The Election Short Film from Padraig Reynolds on Vimeo.

Green Eyed: Brilliantly created original story about a girl, a monster, and a jealous yuppie.

GREEN EYED - Short Film from Nathaniel Lindsay on Vimeo.

The Crossing: A genuinely disturbing story about love, loss, and the nightmares in-between. Lovely work, terrifying story.

ПЕРЕХОД - THE CROSSING (A Short Horror Film) from Shell Shock on Vimeo.

The Little Mermaid: Fantastical, beautiful, and chilling.

The Little Mermaid from Kim Oxlund on Vimeo.

Waffle: Sometimes making friends is very difficult. Gruesome and unsettling, this short is also a cautionary tale, of sorts. 

WAFFLE - short horror film from Rafael De Leon Jr. on Vimeo.

The Silent: A troubling but beautiful visual experience, and a look into grief. 

The Silent - Award Winning Short Horror Film from Toni Tikkanen on Vimeo.

Midnight Story: A little story about actual monsters in our home... one of the best animated films I've ever seen. 

Horror Short Film : Midnight Story ; เรื่องสยอง 2 นาที : นิทานเที่ยงคืน from ALTERNATE STUDIO on Vimeo.

Zombies and Cigarettes: "What are they?!" "Zombies, I think". [screaming and chaos everywhere]. "Zombies in Spain?" Smart, gory good fun.

Short film Zombies and cigarettes / English subtitle from Rafa Martínez on Vimeo.

The Witch in the Window (2018)

October Challenge Day 18

Three days ago I was watching a loved one hold on to life by a thread, and they very nearly lost their grasp. Today I received a call from them - they used all their strength to whisper over the line: "I'm sorry."

A torrential downpour of tears and every variety of emotions took my breath away.

It was a tremendously emotional day, to say the least. Tremendously emotional. So much so that I felt like I could sleep for three days, and it was only 3:00 PM. Instead I got home, sat in the living room chair and very nearly fell asleep at 5:00 PM. The cats made sure sleep was not happening that early, so instead I decided it was time to try and watch a horror movie.

Scrolling through the latest horror movie news, I came across a film that I noticed was just released today on the Shudder channel! This film was apparently plucked from the film festival circuit and is now, as of October 18th, showing exclusively on Shudder. Ladies and gentlemen, I present: The Witch In The Window.

I don't recall the last time I watched a movie on 'opening night'. I often wait weeks to see a film when it comes out in theaters. I hate the ticket lines, really crowded theaters, and generally I prefer that the hype chills for a bit. Hell, I don't even like going into a museum exhibit if there are more than five people in there at time. I love people, I have a tremendous love for people. I just don't like too many of them near me.

So when I saw that it was a movie 'opening night' that I could enjoy from the living room chair that I could barely move from, all while trying to wrap my heart and mind around the day's overwhelming heart bursts, I was more than happy to continue to sit there and let my mind melt into the safe world of stories and make-believe.

As in almost all my movie choices, I have no idea what I'm getting into aside from the occasional vague reference or description. All I knew about this film was that it was opening day and a father and son were going to bond while fixing a house together.

If you like tenderhearted spooky stories where things linger in the background to menace your idea of safety, then get this one ready in your to-watch queue!

I strongly believe that really good ghost stories are actually heartbreaking love stories under the cold, angry surface. In life and in stories. Here we have a love story. A love story about family and dysfunction. There also happens to be a pretty stellar ghost involved. Bonus: there are a few elements in this little spook factory that really, really, really surprised me.

This film was able to create some very original and disturbing scenes using nothing more than the sense of normalcy. BRILLIANT. These scenes will, in fact, haunt me. *looking directly at you 'son slowing waking up' scene*. I was most pretty blown away by this film's story telling magic.

I also just needed this type of story right now. I needed a spooky little drama/horror. I needed a place for my mind to cozy up to - in a world where loves never dies. I also needed a place where my heart could find treasures in some of the forgotten corners of our diverse emotions.

This film is not for every horror fan, but it's likely a really good choice for those looking for a ghost story that is more focused on the living.

I watched this film on Shudder, or use the Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's side bar to locate where else you can find this heartfelt story.

Marrowbone aka The Secret of Marrowbone (2017)

October Challenge Day 9

Hold on to your heart strings - it's about to get dusty in here (I'm not crying you're crying)! It wasn't until after I watched Marrowbone that I saw it was written and directed by Sergio G. Sánchez - who also wrote The Orphanage [deep, guttural sob].

There are five siblings in our family, and I would do anything for my brothers - and they would do anything for me. We are tight and a force to be reckoned with should anything threaten our unit. So you can image how invested I quickly became with this story: siblings doing anything to stay together and protect themselves.

SOB. I'm already sobbing. 

In this story sibling are trapped together in a spooky old mansion, out in the woods, armed and ready to go to war their #1 threat: Their Father.

Things are already dark in this twisted tale and they get darker, terribly so. Although their home/prison/under more normal circumstances most children's fantasy palace is a mixed blessing, the story quickly reveals how this cohesive unit survives on a day-to-day basis. There is so much charm and kindness in this shadowy story, making the unraveling of it all the more shocking and (again) *dusty for the eyes.

Ghosts in the attic, fantasy in the woods, board games at night - it's hard not to fall in love with these kids. It's hard not to sympathize with their plight, especially whey their secret might be found out...

Fantastic cinematography, spooky atmosphere, wonderful acting and writing: bravo on all fronts. But prepare yourselves folks, this is a harrowing little story that will leave you with many different feelings by the end. Pairs with fresh vegetables, water, and tea. Best watched from a blanket fort.

I watched this film on Hulu, or use the Find It! Watch it! links on Horror Habit's sidebar to locate where else you can find this original and jarring twisted tale.