Podcasts I Love: Strange Brau Radio

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season!

Although I'm a horror movie reviewer, I also do other things, like eating, sleeping, and listening to podcasts.

I have decided to share some of my favorite podcasts because I love them and I also have an alarming amount of people in my life who have said, "I don't know how podcasts work".

I ride the bus everywhere (headphones on), have an office job (headphones on), walk around and avoid people (headphones on), so I listen - a lot. I used to listen to a lot of music but now I'm hooked on podcasts and audio books. Not sure what this means.

So I'm going to kick off my first podcast review with a podcaster who recently interviewed me! I'm specially focusing on this podcast because it's right up Horror Habit's alley and anyone who follows my blog will likely enjoy this podcast. Let me introduce you to: Strange Brau Radio!

If you missed my Twitter and Facebook posts about this interview, you can listen to it here or catch it on YouTube here.

Now, I am very much a paranormal fan (more shout-outs for those podcasts coming up), but what I'm probably less known for is as a fan for all other creatures of the weird. For example, I'm particularly afraid of werewolves.

I AM SO AFRAID OF WEREWOLVES

I've also been living in the Pacific Northwest for over 20 years (officially a member?) and so, obviously, aware of Sasquatch. Sasquatch and camping.

While camping in the heart of Sasquatch Cascade Mountains territory years ago, a few friends and I were just settling down after getting tents up and a fire set, when we heard a sound that FROZE ME TO THE GROUND. It was a yell/howl/cry that I'd never heard before. We were next to a mountain cliff so the echo made it more terrifying. After listening to a few of it's cries, I screamed:

"It's fucking Bigfoot!"

I was wild with fear for a while. Beer helped calm things down. Beer and friends saying "You know, it's probably a mountain lion." (For the record, knowing a mountain lion is hunting you/around you is not helpful.). But it was then - I'd always believed in them but never paid much attention - when I put Sasquatch in the nope folder.

Let's welcome again Tobe Johnson, team, and Strange Brau Radio!

If you are a fan of all things weird, supernatural, and especially Sasquatch stories, you need to check out this podcast and you absolutely need to keep an eye out for the Owl Moon Lab! This is both a project and a location in Oregon that is documenting Sasquatch sightings. With an enormous amount of evidence (1,400 hours of audio clips!!!!), a book, and a documentary coming out, Sasquatch fans must not miss Owl Moon Lab and it's work.

For crying out loud, one of the audio clips caught is being used by the Travel Channel for their Expedition Bigfoot show. Check it out here (and feel free to scream out loud after hearing it. I did):

I think the social world of the weird is small - we're a solid collection of delightful, curious, weirdos and I'd like to consider Strange Brau, Owl Moon Lab, and Horror Habit of the same family. This is yet another reason I want to give more shout-outs for similar podcasts - we're a weird, wonderful family and lovers of strange phenomena should be aware of all (the love).

If you're looking for a podcast about mysteries, the paranormal, and curious creatures, be sure to check out Strange Brau Radio and keep up with the work of Owl Moon Lab! In fact, if you want to learn a tremendous amount about Tobe, Owl Moon Lab, and Sasquatch, then you should absolutely check out this November 21st interview from Midnight In The Desert radio broadcast.

...going to be checking this radio show out more too....

Stay strange, friends! And keep an eye out for future Podcasts I Love (they're all going to be weird and paranormal...). Cheers!

Happy Halloween! Here's 18 Short Horror Films You Need To See! (2019 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 2019 Short Horror Film Festival.

Pictured: Short film scream queen Lotta Losten (of the shorts Light's Out, Coffer, and Attic Panic) delights again!

Pictured - Horror short from David F. Sandberg on Vimeo.

Holy F__K: Oh, holy sh_t this one is hilarious!! Stellar and hilarious!

HOLY F__K  |  Short Film from Chris Chalklen on Vimeo.

Salt: Best keep those salt shakers handy for this fast and furious bite-sized morsel!

SALT - Short Horror Film from Rob Savage on Vimeo.

The Fisherman: SCARY SEA MONSTERS ARE SCARY! This one is so, so good!

THE FISHERMAN - SciFi/Horror Short Film Trailer from A. Suarez Lozano on Vimeo.

Smear: All the ladies love going in for their annual pap exam - amiright?!! Ladies?!?!

SMEAR from Kate Herron on Vimeo.

Homunculus: A bizarre animation/stop animation about rotting food...

Homunculus from Humble + Postal on Vimeo.

There Comes A Knocking: A solid, ghostly chiller! Someday we might even see this be turned into a feature film!

There Comes a Knocking - (a Short Horror Film) from Ryan Connolly on Vimeo.

Self-Assembly: Wowza! This one's a devilish delight. Warning - the opening scene is intense.

SELF-ASSEMBLY (Horror Short) 2015 from Ray Sullivan on Vimeo.

Mother Died: Well, this one is sure a shocker! Possibly poetic even...

MOTHER DIED - BloodyCuts.co.uk Short Horror from BLOODY CUTS on Vimeo.

Meow: Well this one is a lot of fun! Perfect for cat lovers. 

MEOW - A Horror Short With Claws from Chris Jopp on Vimeo.

Lilith: Made in 48 hours, this moody and spooky film will leave you with chills!

LILITH - Short Horror from LODOVOS on Vimeo.

Undress Me: Dear christ almighty! Gruesome, gruesome, gruesome!

UNDRESS ME - Short Horror Film from Amelia Moses on Vimeo.

Shhh: This one is inspired by Guillermo del Toro's childhood nightmares - and the monster does not disappoint!

SHHH- A Horror Short Film by Freddy Chávez Olmos and Shervin Shoghian from MONSTRUO PELUDO FILMS on Vimeo.

Reverse: Evil garages are evil! This one is especially spooktacular. 

REVERSE | Short Horror Film from Perception Pictures on Vimeo.

Cliché (Short Horror Film): The title says a lot - but the scares are still pretty good!

Cliché (Short Horror Film) from Lucio Laugelli on Vimeo.

Deadpan - An Awkward Comedy Horror Short Film: Shout to these kids who put this bizarre concoction together in a couple of hours. Hahaha!

Deadpan- An Awkward Comedy Horror Short Film from Jocose Films on Vimeo.

Momo: A disturbing little thriller about love, loss, and madness!

Short Horror Film - Momo from DDark Films on Vimeo.

Big Bad Wolves: I too have theorized the story of Little Red Riding hood is a cautionary tale about sexual predators...

BIG BAD WOLVES from Rajneel Singh on Vimeo.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

October Challenge Day 30

I sat on this film for a while and didn't think I would get a chance to review it - but here I am on a late night on October 30th and with little chance to get a new movie in this evening - so I thought I would dedicate some time to a film that I hope is never forgotten.

Sequels are hard to really appreciate. Especially when they get to the third round, etc, like A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. I get it, they often suck. That's why I wanted to give a special shout out to this one.

A Nightmare on Elm Street is my youth! Wearing over-sized cat imaged shirts, sitting on shag carpet in front of a large television that guarded pretty much the entire floor, late night Saturday nights when the parents were asleep - MY JAM!

That was not my experience with this film, however. I saw this one just a few months ago. Now I'm in my 40s and cynical of franchise films, I approached this one with apprehension and low expectations - imagine my surprise when I found this film *dare I say* better than the first? At the very least, a close second!

Bonus: One of the first films where we see Patricia Arquette (Love You So Much Gurl!). Call me.

Overall, this film still follows the children of murderous parents, but these children are not having it. At all. Nor should they. They kick ass, take names and  Nancy is back to help. This is a really fun film and deserves a view for all, and all generations. This is not your parents or grandchildren'ts 3rd film of a franchise.

Pairs with food recommended by your doctor and best watched with a few of your close friends. I watched this film on Shudder. Use the Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's sidebar to locate where else you can find this surprise feature.

Midsommar (2019)

October Challenge Day 29

I'm reviewing this film in October, even though I didn't watch it this month, because I received such an overwhelming response from friends wanting to know my opinion. Most questions came this month. Oh, Midsommar. We fellow Scandinavians are f*cking crazy sometimes.

I'm stupidly Scandinavian - STUPIDLY. My blood flows with farming, snow peaks, and fjords.

So my brother and I went to see this film in the theater and I was immediately uncomfortable with the somber yet "friendly" greetings the strangers in this film were met with. It felt like Thanksgiving or Christmas in my family. I'm American enough to know what's happening and it's stupidly Scandinavian.

Panic set it quickly.

It doesn't help that we have "strange" traditions in our family. We try to warn visitors about the dancing and singing around a Christmas tree and trying to find odd objects in food as a game... there's no amount of warning. Nine years with my husband and he magically disappeared when these traditions were called upon.

So when I saw this film as I was all like, "Oh hell, yeah. We're weird sometimes...."

Then this film got really WEIRD and I was all like, "Oh, hell yeah no.".

I'm equal parts Danish and Norwegian - with a very scandalized history revolving a Swedish grandparent. This movie revolves around Sweden. Sorry Sweden! We don't talk about you at dinner!

No, in all seriousness, this film is a nature horror story and those stories are scary no matter where they come from. I react to nature god horror stories like this one or the Yellow King as I would finding a gigantic spider in my kitchen.

Kill it with fire. 

There is a very specific anxiety about nature god stories that I've never been able to understand, and I'm not sure I want to. But that anxiety is very, very real for a lot of people - it helps make this movie a truly horrifying show.

I, in the mean time, am going to continue being a quiet ale drinking occasional fun-loving berserker with a I'm uncomfortable hugging problem - and stay far, far away from those nature gods.

Pairs with anxiety masked as friendliness. I watched this film in the theater. Use Horror Habit's Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's side bar to locate where else you can find this really disturbing film.

The Birch (Television Show, 2019)

October Challenge Day 28

When I started seeing ads for a horror film to watch exclusively on Facebook - on Facebook - I was extraordinarily hesitant.

Then I learned it was a series, and the ads kept coming, I decided to watch The Birch, finally, in the only way I thought reasonable considering the context. In a bar and on my phone.

What happened next still blows my mind. 

The World Series is playing this week (go Nationals!) and bars are erupting. I'm sitting there, with my huge Bluetooth headphones - at the bar - watching a horror film. Like a normal person.

But it's what happened next that blew my mind: I loved it. I absolutely loved it.

Acting, execution, cinematography, and creature feature amazingness - all blew my mind. It's heady, dark, and crosses boundaries in horror that I very, very rarely see in quality work. Crosses boundaries in what is 'okay' normally for a certain platforms. Let's say, regular TV. Not uncommon in cable or specialty streaming channels, and maybe that's what really struck me. This show is on Facebook for free and showing some deep sh*t. Ballsy, scary, serious sh*t. 

This show follows a collection of teens as they navigate life though an unceremonious and unjust world thrown to them. You know, life. Except, in this one, they summon a beast from the Oregon woods and things get very, very interesting from there. 

Gaddam. This is a brutal and visceral show. Well done!

Best watched on your phone, in a crowded, loud place. Pairs with the sad memories of your youth. 

I watched this - for the first time ever saying - on Facebook Watch. As of today, there is nowhere else to see it.