Monthly Archives

October 2015

/

Writing Bloody: An Ode to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) has a simple premise: Five friends drive out to where Sally and Franklin's grandparents used to live, in order to check out reports of grave robberies. It's when they continue the journey to visit their grandfather's house in the country, that the teens are hunted and terrorized by a chain-saw wielding killer and his family of grave-robbing cannibals. Just the text at the beginning of the film combined with the soft reading by John Larroquette does what so many older movies did…create tension and fear with little gadget[...]

/

Happy Slasher Week + My Favorite Slasher Revealed

Happy Slasher Week!!!                   Wait, that sounds weird when I say it out loud. *shrug* Happy slasher week! As most of you know, slasher horror is one of my favorite kinds of horror. Growing up, I absolutely loved Michael Myers, Jason, Freddy Krueger, and everything in between. Cabin in the Woods was A-MAZ-ING. Scream is still one of my go-to favorite movies of all time. Our love for the slasher genre is what led to Brian and I writing our book together. What is it about slasher books and slash[...]

/

Slashers: Before Then, Then, and Now

This week's theme is slashers, so you'll read a tributes to our favorite villains and learn what makes a good slasher movie. As the first writer of the week, I decided to take the long view. What are the slasher's origins? What typified the slasher's heyday? How have filmmakers varied on the slasher theme since its inception? Let's take a look at slashers from before then to then to now. Before Then: The Slasher's Origins Slasher plots originated in the mystery genre as films where people were killed one by one until the killer was found. The Terror (1928): Gu[...]

/

Zombies, Not Just Mindless Brain-Eaters

Welcome to zombie week! I hope it's been fun for you and no un-dead have wandered out of a cornfield to eat you for dinner. If you're reading this, I guess you're safe, but stay vigilant! I have to admit that I'm not a huge zombie fan...ghosts and demons are more my jimmie-jam. Watching the un-dead saunter along the street hoping to catch and eat people never thrilled me. But I'm hopping on the zombie train because I have discovered something. Zombies can be more than mindless creatures hobbling out of the trees. This revelation struck when I read... Zombie[...]

/

Let’s Play SOMA for #OctFearFest (Ep. 2)

My October Fear Fest series of let's plays continues this week with the second installment of SOMA.  For those that missed the first episode, you can watch it here. If you haven't heard of SOMA,it's a survival horror game where the main character finds himself in an underwater research facility with no idea how he got there or how to get home. The game brings to mind equal parts BIOSHOCK  and DEAD SPACE for me. I'm playing through SOMA for #OctFearFest, and I’ll be posting the episodes both here are over at my gaming site, Co-Op Critics throughout the mo[...]

/

Lipstick & Zombies: Rockin’ the Apocalypse

It's not often that a writer can pin down the exact moment they came up with the idea for their book or series, but I can, because it was on twitter. https://twitter.com/faithmckay/status/458316923118166016 Yes, The Spice Girls were very big in the 1980s. *headdesk* https://twitter.com/faithmckay/status/458317110129598464 https://twitter.com/faithmckay/status/458317493619015681 https://twitter.com/faithmckay/status/458327130279931904 AND THERE IT IS. I was kidding when I hit tweet. But then it wheedled its way into my thoughts. What would that story look[...]

/

Let’s Play UNTIL DAWN for #OctFearFest (Ep. 2)

My October Fear Fest series of let's plays continues this week with the second installment of UNTIL DAWN.  For those that missed the first episode, you can watch it here. If you haven't heard of UNTIL DAWN, it's essentially a game where you as the player are directing your own slasher film. Every choice that you make has a ripple effect on the story, and who lives and dies will do so because of your decisions (or lack thereof). For #OctFearFest, I’ll be doing a let’s play series with UNTIL DAWN, and I’ll be posting the episodes both here are over at m[...]

/

Writing Bloody: My Fav Zombie Books

Long before The Walking Dead TV series, I was a zombie fan. I loved reading zombie stories and watching zombie movies. But I'll be the first to admit that I might not make it if there's a real life apocalypse. I'm too slow. Lol! I do have a bunch of favorites, some of which I've showcased on our blog before and some are new ones. I'd love to hear about your favorite zombie reads in the comments below, so post away! My Top Five Zombie Books 1.  My number one favorite series is written by Jonathan Maberry. I was sucked in by the very first page of Rot & Ruin[...]

/

Spoiler-Free Review: ASH VS. EVIL DEAD–Episode 01

  I have seen the premiere of ASH VS. EVIL DEAD, and it is glorious. Before we get into that thought, allow me to set the scene. I attended New York Comic Con this past weekend, and ASH. VS. EVIL DEAD pretty much ruled the entire show. Smack dab in the middle of the front lot was an exhibit that allowed fans to go into the trailer that Ash lives in on the new show. On Saturday at 3pm, over a thousand EVIL DEAD fans filed into the historic Hammerstein Ballroom for the ASH VS. EVIL DEAD panel. Moderated by Kevin Smith, the panel featured the cast of the[...]