The Dark Herald Recommends: Venom 3 – The Last Dance

Well, it is the best of the Venom movies. I do have to give it that.  Even if that is about the same as being the finest hockey player in Zimbabwe. It did have a few things going for it that the others didn’t.  I can actually remember what happened during this movie.  That’s new for Venom. Due to some arcane filmmaking technique known only to Sony Marvel.  The previous Venom films stubbornly refuse to move from short-term memory register to...

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RE:Play Phantasmagoria

“The history of horror is basically a history of what we aren’t all that frightened of anymore. Horror began appropriately enough in France shortly after the Reign of the Terror.  Religion was officially outlawed.  The Catholic Church had been forced out of the country and if you were going to worship anything at all, it had to be the Goddess of Reason.  Graveyards were filled with dead people who were according to the First Republic, gone forever.  They were in an...

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Vampire Rules: Nosferatu

I know it's Kinski. Shut up about it. Nosferatu:  Derivation from the Slavic Nesuferitu; defined as insufferable One Greek word: Nosphoros - disease-bearing The etymology indicates a common Indo-European root word. Possibly pre-historic in origin Something that was whispered in hushed tones around Pleistocene campfires. Nosferatu is the oldest surviving movie based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula.  There may or may not have been a Russian Dracula film made in 1920, although it’s possible that that movie only got as far as an announcement. No known...

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It Came From the 80s – A Random Horror Listicle (Part 2)

Fright Night (1985) We are now into much better-known territory.  At least for the first one. The Plot: horror movie geek Charlie Brewster, thinks that a real-life vampire has moved in next door to him.  Everyone thinks he's nuts, including the has-been Hammer-Horror actor turned Monster-Chiller-Horror-Theater UHF TV host, Peter Vincent (the perfect name by the way).  Peter Vincent is hired by Charlie to hunt the Vampire Next Door.   Peter thinks it will be much easier just to prove that Jerry...

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It Came From the Eighties – A Random Horror Listicle (Part 1)

REPOST: 5 October 2023. I like to repost this one, every year in the lonesome October. Ah, Horror.  The "lesser genre". Eternally demeaned, abused, and snubbed by the elders of the film industry. Yet almost all of the major filmmakers started out in it.  The only genre that has produced more mainstream directors is no-shit porn and I am not kidding about that. Rather than do some best-of-all-time horror movies list  I will just concentrate on the 1980s. The Eighties represent a unique...

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Hammer Films: The Decline

The memory of Ralph Bates is in an unfortunate position.    The son of two Psychiatrists he had a unique approach to the craft of drama being able to concentrate on the deeper drives of characters and more importantly those of the characters he was playing against. He had enough raw talent to land a scholarship to the Yale Drama School.  When he returned to Britain he went into the more or less standardized path of an apprentice British actor, touring small...

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Dune: Prophesy – Final Trailer

TV shows don't usually take four years to launch. It started life as Dune: The Sisterhood. The series is based on one of the prequel books by Brian Herbert and Keven Anderson that I've never read. It was part of their trilogy on the founding of the Great Schools, (the Suk, Mentat, and of course Bene Gesserit schools) after the Butlerian Jihad. It's been in pre-production so long that quite a few members of the original cast...

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Disney Announces New Chairman of the BOD

He's the Executive Chairman of the BOD of Morgan Stanley and frankly was nowhere on my radar for this job. This announcement was made with a concurrent declaration that Disney would be announcing the new CEO in early 2026. Meaning the Dark Herald was wrong, but will plead extenuating circumstances. I had predicted that Walden would be named President and COO of the Walt Disney Company by the end of this year. Effectively making her the crown princess. That...

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And Which Narrative Design Company Did Unknown Hire?

What's wrong with your faaace?!?! Subnautica 2 was just announced and I'm already a bit worried. Yes, it could be just lousy rendering. This is just a teaser afterall. But it can be assumed the two characters are going to be the protagonists. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS0vTRl_2PQ There isn't too much information being released and no in-game engine footage at all. Unknown Worlds has dumped the Unity engine (along with everyone else), and the new game will be using Unreal. ...

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Disney Just Had a Very Bad Day

Aww. Disney appealed to the 9th Circuit to avoid Discovery and got the big thumbs down. https://twitter.com/ginacarano/status/1846935783543874007 Keep in mind this won't be immediate. The judge ordered a year-long mediation. Now this is not the same as arbitration, where the matter WOULD be settled. At the end of the period all Carano has to do is say, my issues with the Walt Disney Company have not been met, there is no other recourse but to proceed with the trial, and the case rolls...

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