A Universe from Nothing

Why there is Something rather than Nothing.

I have seen Lawrence Krauss in action at Het Denkgelag in Gent, Belgium about the limits of science as proposed as the subject of that night's debate. I even let him sign off the latest book he has written called A Universe from Nothing from the copy I bought, and I managed to have a good shot with him.

Het Denkgelag

The debate was focusing on philosophy, how it relates to science and how science can benefit from it. Before this was happening, I wasn't really sure how the two could work together, but at the end it became clear that we need both in present times to face the current problems and mysteries.

Daniel Dennett and Massimo Pigliucci were also present, and they were able to let Krauss reconsider his opinion about their specialism, which is philosophy. But the topic of today is about Krauss's latest book, which is about nothing.

"Nothing" in this case refers most of all to the "empty" space that is all found around the universe, between stars, planets, galaxies, nebula's, clusters and possibly extraterrestials. Krauss is explaining to the mainstream how empty space currently works with it's hidden agenda.

Also known as dark energy, Krauss explains that nothing is actually space where things are happening. It is one of the biggest fundamental mysteries that has had a role in both the Big Bang and the expanding and acceleration of the universe.

The cosmic background radiation lets science track down how energy and matter came closely to being next to the Big Bang, but then there is this unknown phenomenon called dark energy that seems to be everywhere and is much larger than matter or energy.

Not to be confused with dark matter, this is the main topic Krauss is addressing in his latest book. He explains his current thoughts, theories, reasons and facts towards it and formulates it all into a considerable convenient way, while occasionally making fun of creationists or the American Congress.

References to Einstein, Hubble, Newton, Heisenberg, Bohr and more gifted reputations from other scientists complete A Universe from Nothing with an abundance of large interest for these large topics.

Especially his chapter about how the future might look like completely baffled me as to imagining that once our neighbor galaxies get fused with ours billions of years in the future, our future species might not see anything else out there but massive amounts of emptiness(dark energy).

And all that is observable today might not even be relevant or worse, completely disappear in the future, because of how the universe is expanding and accelerating. And then there is the topic that so much is happening on a microscopic level, including quantum mechanics.

It is all thought provoking. And with that food for thought in mind, I would like to wish you all a strong, willing and inspiring 2014!

Rating: ***

Ace Attorney

Before I discovered Capcom's courtroom drama's, I didn't think deeply about how the world of the law works subsequently of crimes committed. My only concern and indirect thoughts were always that if I did something wrong, the law would take the matter in hands, officially.

Once I stumbled upon Ace Attorney, my view and interest of courtroom trials skyrocketed. Never before did I manage to understand how the legal system works, even though the one mainly shown in the series is based upon the Japanese legal system.

With Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, I never thought of the legal system the same. Suddenly I was much more interested in real cases happening, and the laws that get the green light in countries around the world.

Ace Attorney itself is a fictional representation of all this I talk about and more. The gameplay is first and foremost point and click related in the way that you will have to read through a lot of clever writing.

The trials and cases are most of all humoristic with ridiculous and stereotypical characters appearing in court to tell their stories. From witnesses to defendants, you will have to defend your clients as an ace attorney and confront the truth each and every time during the case chapters.

Specifically, there are 2 main phases of Ace Attorney. First is the investigation phase, where you will travel to the crime scenes, talk to people, examine clues and collect evidence in order to prepare for the next phase, which are trial sessions.

Inside the courtroom, you must "battle" with the prosecutor who usually claims that your client is guilty before all of the facts and perspectives are dealt with. You do this by discussing away the claims that have been made, and by coming up with theories provided with conclusive evidence to get to the bottom of each case.

Thinking outside the box is regularly present, because many cases feature an unexpected twist that continues to keep the series interesting. "Whodunit" is a recognized feature where it sometimes is fun to guess the true murderer, but at other times, especially with the first chapters, it is plain obvious as to who is the criminal.

Intriguing mysteries combined with the clever writing and adorable characters make the Ace Attorney games very entertaining, but their only weakness is that they have low replay value, unless you replay them in several years.

The thought provoking final turnabouts are the highlight of each title, where as they are always the best chapter with the most intense courtroom proceedings, dramatic outcomes and unforgettable actions done by individuals.

Perhaps the core gameplay of it all is cross-examining people who present their testimonies to the court, and it is up to you to either uncover the contradictions found in the statements, press for more information or present evidence to overthrow or progress the case.

Ace Attorney features fantasy elements such as spirit mediums and ridiculous events in certain cases, but that's part of the fun that it provides. It is also the franchise that popularized the phrase "Objection" into the gaming culture.

So far, 5 core entries have been released, which are Ace Attorney, Justice for All, Trials and Tribulations, Apollo Justice and Dual Destinies. There's also the Investigations sub-series, where you play as Phoenix's friend and rival Miles Edgeworth and the main difference is that the gameplay of the trial sessions happens during investigations now.

A spin-off title called Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney has been released and will come soon to the west in early 2014. Seeming as I haven't touched Professor Layton yet, that title will have to get postponed from me personally.

In any case, Capcom's Ace Attorney is one of the very few current successful IP's that despite lower sales has seen an enormous rise regarding cult status and it hopefully will continue to receive new entries and enjoy the fans that have discovered this unusual approach towards video games.

Mario & Luigi Tetralogy

AlphaDream's Mario & Luigi, a sub RPG series, has seen moderative success onto the various handhelds in the last ten years. It's basic template is Super Mario RPG, but adds comical effects, interesting cooperative combinations and new lands to explore.

Using comedy to progress and develop the story, Super Star Saga is about the Beanbean Kingdom and their bean citizens who are in danger because of an evil witch called Cackletta and her underdog Fawful.

It's up to Mario & Luigi to stop them and Bowser as well, who plays a comical side role and is fought occassionally. The gameplay is a mixture of Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario, but is entirely new when it comes towards the special Bros. Attacks during battles and using special techniques on the overworld to overcome puzzles and uncover secrets.

Personally as with some other games, the middle part of the game wasn't that exciting for me. It wasn't until 2005 that I beat this game and that spicy final boss after obtaining the game for 2.5 years already.

Rating: 7.9

While Partners in Time is an improvement over Super Star Saga, something about it makes it feel very bland, it's kind of the same with The Wind Waker because I don't feel like replaying these games any time soon.

This time, Mario & Luigi will have to travel through time in order to stop an alien invasion from taking over the Mushroom Kingdom, initiated by the Shroobs. Our heroes are accompanied by none other than their baby counterparts.

The Nintendo Dual Screen is used creatively here, as the second screen allows for interesting new battles, counterattacks and Bros. Attacks to be used simultaneously on both screens. Partners in Time is also a more colorful entry.

It's easy to point the critical finger at the babies for being bland or annoying, but I gotta choose for the Shroobs here that made PiT somehow lesser likeable. So while it is a solid and easy RPG, it won't be a memorable one for me.

The pacing largely shaped the final score for this one, as some sections dragged on for too long.

Rating: 7.5

There's plenty of original content to be found here, surpassing the original M&L and its sequel as well. Bowser's Inside Story features a cool plot because of the way the game is played in several segments, and RPG mechanics are still simple but well executed.

New features include traversing through Bowser's organs coming with their own unique ways of getting further, playing as Bowser with his own moves and the Giant Bosses, where you will have to fight enormous opponents while you switch the DS to a vertical position similar to Brain Training.

Its simplicity is both its lifesaver and disaster. I wish that the world of the M&L games would be a bit more deep, like Mario's other RPG's. Certainly yet another very solid Mario RPG on its own though for it's gameplay, music, comedy and lore. Plus Fawful makes up for an impressive villain.

Rating: 8.4

To end the Year of Luigi when speaking of video games and putting the green plumber into considerable perspective, Dream Team is the last of 3 featured Luigi titles. The latest Mario platformer on Wii U doesn't really count despite him having a distinct ability there. But Dr.Luigi got announced for 2014 then, so the celebration is not over yet.

A new context of dream features is introduced, as Luigi takes a featured role as an avid dreamer while Mario must travel through his subconscious to rescue Pi'illo's and ultimately Peach from the wretched hands of Bowser and Antasma, a nightmarish dream manipulator.

Using Luiginary Works, Luigi will transform into various backgrounds objects in the dream world in order for Mario to progress further, such as manipulating gravity, time, air and more. The dream battles feature special Luiginary attacks which have their own special charm to them considering the vast amount of Dreamy Luigi's that were constantly present.

The Giant Bosses return and this time it's Luigi who will do the fighting instead of Bowser. Pi'illo Island is a pretty fun new location with plenty of secrets and collectables to uncover. My favorite new characters are the Massif Bros. because of their beef and muscle references, and I enjoyed Somnom Woods most of all because of it's quite different tone from the rest of the locations regarding the music.

Unfortunately, Dream Team also suffers from repetitive manoeuvres, long tutorials and not the most exciting pacing. Luckily, there's enough to keep the fans of the sub-series happy, and AlphaDream has done a fine job in general designing all four of them.

Rating: 8.0

Gone Home

Received a lot of buzz and fuzz and even got awarded GOTY as far as indies go on several sites, I decided to check this out before closing the year. Gone Home is a first person point and click adventure where you explore your home where your parents and sister usually live, but because of certain reasons they are not there right now.

As you search your house for clues regarding what happened while you arrived earlier than expected, you will start to discover secrets that have to do with your family and the house. Gone Home is a very short emotional journey that has been claimed as being a nostalgic ride back to the 90's.

For having a satisfying discovery about your sister turning out to be lesbian, her feelings with the person in question and then having to say painfully goodbye while love is chained upon them. As for me, I gotta say the experience was alright, I slightly felt compassion towards the ending, but this isn't GOTY even regarding indies.

Nor would I consider it a prime example of the pseudo argument that video games can or cannot be art(they already are). Still, that doesn't mean someone else would be completely engrossed by this, even though I was raised in the 90's as well.

Rating: 6.4

Christmas Spirit

Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas!

This will be the first time in years when grandma won't be present with us on Christmas Eve or the two days afterwards. She used to spoil me and my older brother so much, this year has been a weird and sad feeling knowing that our family became smaller.

So I wanted to type a special Christmas blog this year, but had a hard time thinking of a specific subject. It's the most famous holiday in the West, has a long history of religious themes, and it's usually the most wonderful time of the year.

I can really enjoy the mood Christmas brings with us, especially when snow is falling down and building up, traditional songs are playing out and celebrations are all over including the trees, the bells, Santa Claus and of course the presents.

There is a vague coined term called Christmas Spirit where many people try to become better humans and show their good behaviour. It's also a time where family and love are highly important, and we would like to think that no one needs to celebrate it alone.

The Christmas Spirit, or however you would like to call it, is perhaps the best reason and excuse why this holiday exists in the first place. But maybe it's even better as a reminder that people are the happiest when good things happen to them.

Whether by love, a fairy tale or general kindness, Christmas can be considered an innocent celebration of events nowadays. I'm sure that it was celebrated way different in the past, the same goes for Halloween.

In any case I wish you all a happy time with your families, for as long as they can last.

Arkham Origins

In this prequel, Batman admittedly gets way too much partygoers being uninvited for the corruption sandbox of Gotham City on Christmas Eve, where every place and corner is filled with criminal activities and our hero's to do list seems to be endless.

Folks around the pipe tubes of the world's largest community have described the caped crusader's latest adventure as repetitive, unrealistic, uninspiring and more of the same. Yet I can only agree with one critical point pointing out at the bugs and glitches that have been reported by anonymous individuals.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's the deal with Arkham Origins, but what makes this different from the likes of Call of Duty sequels? The content actually matters. Unlike the hidden intel reports scattered around the battlefields, I would rather hunt for Enigma's extortion datapacks instead.

What's that? Are you saying that the fluent combat has become tedious? Then why won't you differentiate between your tactical choices and consider spicing up the experience by oh I don't know, using your surroundings?

Doesn't that invitational anthem for the Bat's fearful entrance pump and strike your auditory channels as the unseen citizens but mainly the criminals are confounded by the major events that are playing out here and there?

Don't you see the beauty of the chaos that the most wanted quirkies provide on the night of Christmas Eve? Are you not feeling the excitement of the trash that needs to be cleaned up from the streets? DON'T YOU FEEL LIKE A DARK COMPLEX VIGILANTE WITH HONORABLE IDEALS?

No? Then I am sorry to inform that this game is not made for you. Go ahead, make fun of the presentation, nitpick about empty complaints and close it off with a "not an average" rating. Do yourself the worst and get on with living.

For the rest of us that do enjoy Batman media with quality design, this is for you. Enhancing and unexpected boss battles, a long grocery list for the dark knight, an exciting main plot and a more elegant Gotham City than the rusty and dirty Arkham City.

The rogue gallery's list is frankly overwhelming for a single night, but the same excuse can be said for the absence of normal Gotham citizens almost never found in Old or New Gotham. Must I remind you that Toads do not usually casually walk around near Goomba's and Koopa Troopa's?

Do you understand that these are still premature times before the time comes that supposedly every videogame must have innocent NPC's? This will never hapen, and that is why Arkham Origins's decision making is tolerable and entertaining.

Bring it on Anarky, with your critical judgment against capitalism. Take control of the power Black Mask, with your vast resourcefulness. Continue to harness your reputation Deathstroke, but eventually accept defeat.

Admittedly, Arkham Origins is essentialy more of the same content and gameplay wise, but it's story is strongly represented, Joker and Bane were outstanding for their introductions, character developments are tight and boss fights are challenging, diverse and unpredictable.

If Origins is considered to be filler when speaking of the big Rocksteady rumor, then it must be the best filler game I have ever played. Do not dismiss this prequel folks, do not shy away from the critics. I had a ton of fun with this one, and it can easily sit together with City and Asylum.

Rating:8.7

Gravity

Looking at the cast before Gravity's release felt like a picture that would be mediocre to average at best, but once the reviews and rating came in, my expectations were shattered and rejuvenated with hope. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney have made a memorable drama drifting in space.

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón of Children of Men(2006) fame, it depicts a survival story where emotions flush through the character's veins, and they are easily reflected back towards us. Even the use of 3D here helped, especially when Ryan and Matt were hung together and they crashed with impact upon artificial objects.

The score felt both empty and heroic, and the writing and direction are very simple but well shown. Interactions are at first professional, but once the debris storm from a Russian satellite flies over with the use of gravity, the drama enters, and emotional and primal instincts galore.

There is a little twist awaiting, and Ryan is talking too much to herself at one point in my opinion, but considering her situation, I would revoke my statement. Gravity is all about feeling the journey of this medical engineer and astronaut.

Some movies out there have the grandest epic tales awaiting you with tons of showdowns, explosions, chaos and more. Here, it is most of all silence and loneliness ruling, but because they are shown in a terrific and dramatic way, it adds to the film's value.

Fundamental themes of survival, hope, death, family and progression complete Gravity, making it into a well recommendable drama flick happening in outer space, with a simple premise but a strong execution of actually feeling like you are living their moment.

Rating: 7.5

Iceland

Ólafur Liljurós

As for my third and final vacation of 2013, I visited Iceland with my buddy Eric, the land famous for it's ice as well as it's fire. It is relatively still a very young island compared to the rest of the world and is regarding nature and peace a top country to visit for anyone!

We hired a Hyundai Tucson 4X4 in order to do a Fly and Drive session, making a full circle around Iceland's main road simply named as "1". As my first Scandinavian country, we were constantly surprised of nature's different landscapes every single day.

From glaciers to lava fields, from black beaches to mountains, Iceland's picturesque visuals are constantly stunning, even during winter, the lesser popular time to visit, but in our minds arguably the best time to do so.

As we started in Reykjavik, we drove to Akureyri in the north and along the way stopped at Þingvellir National Park,where we saw a waterfall, cliffs, fissures and it's home to the world's longest running Parliament.

When it became dark, which happened around 16.00 PM every day, driving to the north turned out to be challenging, when a snowstorm occured and the roads became slippery while occassionally cars would pass us by. Cars would usually only pass us by once per hour.

Iceland is indeed very small regarding population, actually the city of Utrecht could fit into it. Arriving in the north at Akureyri, we liked the town more than the capital, but there was not much time for citytrips, our next course lay ahead!

Departing from the north, we went to Lake Mývatn after hearing about lava fields, birds and more being situated there. Passing by Egilsstaðir, we stopped at our next location in Fáskrúðsfjörður, at an Icelandic family's guesthouse(Elin and Hermann), who were exceptionally friendly, helpful and social.

We had another day here in the east, so we decided to explore the fjords, see some interesting spots and take a look at Henkifoss, one of many beautiful waterfalls being active here in Iceland. After an evening of discussing Iceland's current actual topics including economics, trade, history, religion and culture, we embarked towards the south the next day.

Going through more eastern fjords, we stopped at Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon, one of the highlights for anyone travelling here. At this place, I foolishly made some pictures while my right hand was naked and exposed to the very cold air sweeping here, which resulted in excruciating pain and I almost had the first symptoms of frostbite upon me.

Having my lesson learned, I never packed in colder for the rest of the journey. Stopping by at Vatnajökull National Park, we learned of what was available to do here. Our main interest was the ice cave, but we had to travel further south towards Vík í Mýrdal before returning here for this specific tour.

We would stay in the south for 3 nights. On the second day, we explored the Falljökull ice cave, translated as Glacier Fall. As another of our personal favorites, we were astonished by nature's magic working here through the thick ice laying around.

The next day, a very heavy blizzard was happening only in our area, which resulted into cancelling our activities for this particular day, as snow had already fallen down as high as 1 meter, and it was impossible to move even with a 4x4.

Luckily we anticipated this, calling it a buffer day. After this, we left the south and along the way stopped at many terrific waterfalls including Seljalandsfoss and Faxafoss before we experienced the most famous tourist attractions of Iceland, which are Geysir and Gullfoss.

Gullfoss was mesmerizing, while Geysir wasn't showing much at this geothermal field. It's little brother called Strokkur on the other hand was the main show around here, erupting roughly every 5 minutes, but the field was nevertheless interesting for smelling like rotten eggs and having bizarre land growing around.

Staying at Selfoss inside a lovely cottage, we were very impressed by the owner's kindness and this was frankly my favorite night of them all. On our final day, we wanted to visit another cave, but this turned out be stuck with a lot of snow fallen inside, rendering it unable to explore it.

Instead, we went to the famous Blue Lagoon spot where normal tourists would first go to after landing in Iceland, but we decided to save it for the last. After that, we visited Reykjavik one more time, and then it was time to fly home after a long roadtrip.

With remarkable everchanging landscapes, unbelievable friendly people, memorable landmarks and unpredictable weather including hail, snowstorms, blizzards, mist and sunshine, Iceland is ideal for anyone who loves nature and wants to have a quiet yet warmful adventure.

Hajime no Ippo

Admittedly, I wanted to criticize the anime/manga industry as a whole for basically being unable to impress me for almost 5 years now before coming up with this post. Countless series are so much alike, that copycatting seems traditional to be found.

Luckily, I also remember those moments when anime continued to amaze me, as I started watching the medium in early 2004 with the animated movies Akira(1988) and Ninja Scroll(1993), and then gradually moved towards the countless series, starting with Full Metal Panic for some random reason.

And then there was Hajime no Ippo at some point, which despite looking "older", is a series about the art of boxing and it had moved me in numerous ways, not just the sport itself, but also the emotions, characters and motivations found inside.

Hajime no Ippo is a brilliant story about a weak fisherman's son getting bullied and then out of nowhere stepping up to become one of the fiercest and strongest Japanese boxers to ever appear all over the world.

It is also a hilarious comedy about competition, training, sexual puns and absurd moments. The overall plot flows great alongside the buildup of each fight that Ippo must mentally and physically prepare for.

As far as the fights themselves go, these are very intense and interesting to watch because the audience sees them thinking inbetween these flash moments of exchanging blows towards each other. Most of the opponents also have either a distinct fighting ability, a different personality or better yet, both.

The story motivated me to become stronger in general in real life too, as I got pumped up because of the adrenaline being present in it and I felt like working out, doubting no more and accomplishing goals I set up.

The world of boxing is strongly represented as international fights and fighting styles occur regulary. Carrying around their backgrounds, motivations and fists, pretty much all of the characters are worth seeing in action.

So despite my general pessimism about the industry, this is one of the select few that was able to touch me positively in several ways. Season 3 of the anime is happening as I type this, and I personally cannot wait to experience the ring's living mood once again with excitement.

The Communist Manifesto

The introduction by Gareth Stedman Jones is not an introduction. On the contrary, it is a large history and in depth look at the political situation in the 19th century, especially during the 40's, when the two authors of The Communist Manifesto collaborated.

It also is categorized as biographies for both authors in a way, and this deep assesment cites many sources that ultimately are relevant to words spoken by either author or their most famous book, or just their ideals in connection with others in general.

I was warned that the content found in the Manifesto might be outdated. But thanks to this "introduction", I could grasp a good realization of the political situation back then in Europe. 

Communism is a well thought out ideology that wants to abolish the private property concept of humanity while centering mankind itself more around themselves, rather than letting their lives be carried out by states, government, social classes and other unnatural differences, including wealth and poverty. 

It is only controversial in present time because of the practical ways different races have attempted to convert the political system into their countries next to other ideologies. Although I do claim to have understood the situations told well, by no means is this an easy book to read, because complex political topics are just that.

The antagonism between the bourgeoisie and the proletarians is a thought provoking state, realizing that there are still classes, however and wherever they are called, today. Yet, communism continues to survive in some form or another.

Just take a look at Vietnam, Laos, Cuba, North Korea, China and even Russia and see if you can spot all of their differences and offsprings the ideology has made upon the nations. As it was written in Germany, many alterations exist, such as socialism, Marxism, Maoism, Stalinism etc. .

It would take way longer than a single post to go through all of those, just know that The Communist Manifesto is one of the most important political theories, as it has caused tons of revolutionaries and continues to be debated directly or indirectly today.

Rating: ***

Kenpo Karate

I didn't attend an International Karate Championship this year. Previously, I attended them at 2009 in Las Vegas, a semi similar IKC at 2010 in Dublin, in Madrid at 2011 and in Utrecht at 2012. This time I would like to talk a little bit about Kenpo Karate.

Having trained with this martial arts for roughly seven and a half years now, it definitely changed me as a person. There are many advantages towards starting with martial arts, and some of the biggest boosts I personally got were self-esteem and teamwork.

The philosophy surrounding Kenpo Karate is also interesting, yet schools and dojo's using the fighting art around the world tend to tweak and modify the knowledge left behind by grandmaster and founder Edmund Parker.

The history of Kenpo Karate came from Parker's birthplace Hawaii in the form of streetfighting, but in fact traces centuries back towards what can now be considered ancient forms of martial arts from Asia including Japan and China.

As a green ranked belt, the next step up the ladder is considered the first huge leap in the whole system, for when I do become a brown belt in the nearby future, I can be considered eligible for teaching others the things I learned.

Yet in Kenpo Karate, it is permitted to be creative about how to use the techniques, forms and basics, how to interpretet them, how to adapt towards them, etc. , however, this level of creativity seems to usually come when black belts start their own schools.

Being committed towards the fighting art is wonderful. It usually leaves me satisfied after either mentally or physically training, be it intensive or calm. And all sorts of people, from young to old, female and male, participate together in this network of the Fist Law.

I would be honored to be awarded the status of a black belt someday, but I must say that I always feel victorious and truly successful whenever I train for this system. Sometimes I might be sick or feel negative, but at the end of the day, I am always glad that I went for another lesson.

A New Science of Life

Morphogenetic resonance is a general theoretical term coined by Rupert Sheldrake suggesting that behaviours and forms from the past might affect those from the present and future, indicating that learned attributes and genetic or formative causation can be predetermined by the phenomena.

Proclaiming that the morphogenetic fields reside outside of space and time, as well as being formless and working independent from the principles of natural laws, A New Science of Life is a controversial and fresh look at how topics such as forms, behaviour and chemistry are conditioned and created.

Going through in my opinion very detailed explanations, the topics range from the origins of the phenomena to how it interacts with energy, matter, chemistry and pretty much all of the major scientific fields.

This is yet another difficult book to comprehend, yet it remains fascinating for letting us shape a new perspective towards the situations that we currently take for granted, or took for granted, such as the Earth is flat or the universe is finite.

The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy and The Principle of Relativity featuring Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein are two other books I previously attempted to read, but failed to understand them thorough. Unlike those two books featuring a ton of equations, formula's and more, A New Science of Life is way more theoretical based.

Therefore, I feel irresponsible to rate any of these big books merely because they taggle some of the largest topics out there and they are written in such vast details. Like any sane person, I consider myself intelligent, but alas, mathematics remains a major weakness for me.

Because the videogame Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors referenced Rupert Sheldrake and his theory, I was curious about his work and thus I started reading his most well known published work. And I must say that I am satisfied, for A New Science of Life promises exactly a new way of thinking.

Rating: Pending

Favorite Horror Scenes

I cannot believe I managed to write 31 blogs in this month alone, this was not something I planned beforehand, but it was happening spontaneously instead. It sure was a fun ride for me to think about horror related posts!

Let's share my 31 personal and favorite horror scenes, in no order. And anything goes with this list, from the most suspenseful to the most shocking to the most unexpected, to the most famous, to the most obscure.

Before seeing them, the best thing to do first would be by seeing the movies all the way through. I am just giving you my personal highlights from each one of them. Indeed, some scenes are more effective when you are given the buildup, background or more.

And don't fast forward through, because otherwise some of them get ruined!

1.The Woman In Black(1989) Bed Scene
2.An American Werewolf in London(1981) Deceptive Nightmare
3.[REC](2007) Attic Scene (Starts at the 8th minute)
4.Eraserhead(1977) Henry's Nightmare
5.Psycho(1960) The Truth About Mother
6.The Legend of Hell House(1973) Paranormal Activity
7.Trilogy of Terror(1975) The African Killer Doll
8.Day of the Dead(1985) Choke On 'Em
9.The Thing(1982) Chest Defibrillation
10.Re-Animator(1985) Dr.Hill's Head Issue
11.Saw II(2005) The Twist(s)
12.The Conjuring(2013) Hide and Clap
13.Deep Red(1975) The Hidden Killer's Face
14.Black Christmas(1974) Eye Scene
15.The Shining(1980) Room 237
16.Sinister(2012) Attic Scene
17.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre(1974) Ending
18.Martyrs(2008) Helping a Victim
19.Hellbound: Hellraiser 2(1988) The Doctor Is In
20.The Untold Story(1993) Family Murder
21.The Fly(1986) Ending
22.The Evil Dead(1981) Cheryl Williams
23.A Nightmare on Elm Street(1984) Bloodiest Nightmare
24.Friday the 13th part II(1981) Surprise, Surprise!
25.The Exorcist(1973) Spider Walk
26.Insidious(2010) The Smiling Family
27.It(1990) Kiss Me Fat Boy
28.Braindead(1993) Lawn Mower
29.Suspiria(1977) Heart Stabbed
30.Evil Dead II(1987) Laughing Scene
31.Halloween II(1981) Hot Tub

I will admit that some favorite scenes are missing because they weren't available on YouTube or elsewhere online. Perhaps you will see the rest in the next year. :) Happy Halloween guys, it was a fun ride for me, definitely.

The Cabin In The Woods

You think you know the story.

A group of people enter a cabin in the woods, but things don't seem to be what they appear to be. Actually, things are going out of hand, as they die off one by one. Just when you thought that this would be the umpteenth same scary story, the movie threw at me the first social commentary I can remember.

Pretty much a commentary onto the majority of the horror genre itself, The Cabin in the Woods with its generic title, early plot and characters overthrows all of that by literally unleashing major horror monsters upon the human characters during the second half, and by delivering a message about what we, as the general horror audience, want.

The general audience is depicted as the Gods of the universe of The Cabin In The Woods. Sigourney Weaver's character explains more about this(or us basically) and the movie's general motive regarding it's plot.

Sci-fi, fantasy and horror elements galore upon us, and it asks us not to go down into the same formula throughout the horror decades, at least the recent ones. The Cabin in the Woods is not only a pretty good horror comedy, it is also celebrating the genre, leaving us with a wishful commentary to see. That of continuing to be creative and original.

And for this "breaking the fourth wall" kind of theme playing, The Cabin In The Woods stands out for being mandatory towards only the most dedicated fans. perhaps it might even inspire a new wave of independent filmmakers out there.

Rating: 7.5

Silent Hill

My first Silent Hill was Shattered Memories, and I kind of feel dissapointed in doing so, because I usually go back to the past and experience the first carnation of anything. But because SM was so accessible to me, this was not the case this time. 

Anyhow, Konami's other proud horror franchise generally delves into psychological and religious themes, where as the main characters usually dissolve into nightmaristic worlds of mist, darkness and hellish locations.

And since Shattered Memories was more of a disappointment than a truly memorable game (Opinions of course vary), I had this giant urge to finally start with the franchise and enter the world of Silent Hill with the original. Glad that I started with this.

It shows it's age, but the fog, especially the foggy atmosphere makes it a great experience which by the way was a clever way of keeping the graphics in the distance obscure, lowering the loading times and keeping the frame rate stable. 

This is of course an assumption, but frankly I don't see why else other than the horror aspect that fog was included. I will let others find out the story for you. The gameplay is very familiar to a big Resident Evil fan like me, however Silent Hill has a nifty auto aim gun pose that shortens the time to kill those demons and manifestations.

It's almost identical otherwise, but it seems that in overall Silent Hill is a more difficult game, despite that it was generous with the health drinks and first aids. I am enthusiastic about telling you the most tense part I had while playing the game.

Yes, the cat in the locker was a good start but sooo obvious for a horror veteran like me, and its Otherworld alter ego was even better, plus random sudden shocking noises are also awesome to experience if implemented at the right time.

Not to mention the fuck up moments where you aren't playing the game, but the game is playing with you, including a warp sequence between the rest rooms of the school or when you hear the flapping sound of a bird in a room but you can clearly see no bird being present in the birdcage.

Even the metallic music playing at some parts was effectively scary in some way, but the top of the iceberg easily goes to when I first entered and explored the hospital. After a quick cutscene with a certain Dr.Faustman, you are left to explore the rest of the hospital.

Before I even encountered the nurses and doctors, Silent Hill completely had me around its finger when I was opening doors with high tension. And that music in the background, which is almost not music, but a creepy sound changing from its sound slowly that accompanied me while exploring the hospital was what made it an unforgettable period the next time I think back on Silent Hill.

It's another hard experience to explain, let me finish summarizing it by saying that you would NOT feel safe at an abandoned hospital after those freak events you already witnessed. Something was just not right about that hospital, heh. 

Rating: 8.2

Silent Hill games really set you up for the mood, I’ll give you that. I’m glad to have finally played and beaten this incredible PS2 game, once should be enough for now. Part 2 is more of a stand alone title from the rest of the franchise, it’s entirely about James’s life instead of some demonic cult bent on shaping the world.

The first time playing these atmospheric games, there is definitely a feeling of unease playing in your mind. Especially when you are searching for the destination in a foggy or dark town, or when you try to open the umpteenth door only to acknowledge that it’s a locked or a broken down door once again, or when the tension music is quietly yet effectively playing, in summary, Silent Hill is an expert in trying to creep you out.

And I can easily see why Silent Hill 2 is such an amazing game. It’s a messed up journey full of symbolism, weird occurrences, scary environments and a beautiful but sad complex plot await. Gameplay wise, Resident Evil comes to mind what with the weapons and the vast amounts of ammo. The enemies although scarce in variety are original and the most effective are the mannequins and of course Pyramid Head.

There are so many theories floating around on forums as to what it all means that it keeps getting interesting to talk about this classic horror game. And as for how scary Silent Hill 2 truly is…the sense of unease is definitely present. 

Sadly (but perhaps also thankfully in a way haha!) I missed the infamous Toluca Prison scream in the women’s restroom. I recently heard it on YouTube and I definitely would had peed my pants if I never knew of this scream from beforehand.

However I think that the original slightly wins more because of its sudden but well placed loud and scary SFX sounds and the Otherworld “looked better”. But make no mistake, Silent Hill 2 is easily the best SH game I have played so far, and it most likely will remain my favorite.

Rating: 8.6

From what I have seen, it definitely is the most disturbing of the three main Silent Hill games. Make no mistake, all three of them made me at unease to play through them, and that’s while using a walkthrough(!), and all three have memorable horror scenes neatly scattered through the areas here and there.

But Silent Hill 3 took a step further, adding in more bizarre scenes of indescribable horror, borrowing heavily from the movies Jacob’s Ladder and I think even Session 9, more monsters which means more tense and without a doubt the best Otherworld yet, better known as simply Hell.

The story is connected with the original, but like any Silent Hill game, the dialogue scenes are vague, mysterious and never too clear. Believe me, logic and reason are far and far away from the resort town known as Silent Hill. 

Fortunately there are plenty of experts out there on this twisted franchise. I’m really glad to have beaten them all so far, a must play for horror fans. A minor disappointing note is that Silent Hill 3 is the most linear of the three, meaning that there wasn’t as much exploration and freedom as in the other parts. 

Rating: 8.5

It has its moments, but part 4 has to be the weakest in the series yet. But since I know of other titles later on having an even worse reputation, I think I will stop here and see what Downpour can bring to us.

The Room suffers from repetition by the use of recycling previous world levels, by only adding in extra puzzles, new enemies and new progressions. The inventory system is inferior towards the previous one for limiting items with 10 objects only.

And by the way, the handgun and revolver in this game not only are less spectacular than the melee weapons, but their ammo block much needed item slots for health or key items, meaning that for each ammo box you find, it will occupy one slot, it won’t add up on itself, the same goes for health items. 

And although I usually can do fine with main characters, Henry here is noted for being more dull than Heather, James or Harry. The Room’s good things are the “locked in” concept of being stuck into your room, having still a decent eerie atmosphere (although the trilogy was scarier)and the gameplay plays fine, even Eileen wasn’t annoying to have as a partner.

And the story of course gets interesting, but only near the end, pretty much like any other Silent Hill. The twin baby monster, the SH4 nurses and most of all the very unusual hospital room where a giant Eileen head with focused dizzly eyes onto Henry are the creepiest things in the game for me.

Rating: 7.6

So this is my first game of the series, a remake from the original game, however I have heard that the differences vary a lot between the two. The best factor to this is the lonely atmosphere, the immersion is impressive to experience.

The profiling is an interesting touch to a horror game. Choices that affect the gameplay and the story is another cool addition. But while it's a very good cinematic game,the lack of effective horror and even gameplay lowered my expectations.

Rating: 7.5

Underrated Scares

Here are a few horror movies that in my opinion deserve more attention and are just as good as the ones who are famous:

Bad Ronald

The concept of this movie is just great, you just want to watch it all happen in Bad Ronald. Ronald, a distant nerd in life, accidently kills a girl after she taunted him, stating him to be weird. Because of the sudden moment, Ronald panics and decides to bury her using a showel.

This would be the first mistake inside the Wilby family. Once Ronald gets home, his mother confronts him with worries, and learns of the horrible event which just happened today. Now, the mother panics even more, and goes down through some possibilities which might happen to Ronald, and concludes that the only way to save her son from facing the law is to hide him.

For some reason, the mother thinks of the insane idea to hide Ronald inside their house, in their old bathroom on the main floor, which has now been modified so that it has become a living room for Ronald, complete with a hidden entrance.

She leaves out an option such as a hotel, or some woods where Ronald can camp through the night, and decides to go with this idea, why? Now that I think about it, the mother and Ronald both were afraid of letting Ronald get arrested and put in jail for a life time, so the mother figured that the best way to BOTH hide and to communicate the easiest and most effective way(for 1974 anyway)was to hide her son inside their own house.

And all of this happens just because Ronald accidently killed a girl and made a huge mistake afterwards to bury her. Once the idea has been set, Ronald starts living inside the hidden room, pretty much not having sunlight passing inside of it.

The mother and Ronald keep a close communication with each other whenever the cops or other people visit, and so far, everything works out(In particular because of the forged note the cops found), despite it being a crazy idea. Until the mother has to undergo a surgery and does not survive it.

After hearing the news from the now new family moving inside the old Wilby house, Ronald grieves with pain, yet at the same time, starts entering this psychotic behaviour, by observing the new family, or should I say peeping tomming as well, which just moved in, by use of small holes he has drilled using his toolkit.

All the while still hiding inside the hidden room, safe from the cops and people suspecting him. All the time, Ronald always liked fantasizing, and when he started living inside the hidden room, he started creating his imaginary world known as "Atranta". 

Maybe through a combination of panic, grief, loneliness, remorse and other negative emations, he started showing the viewers this behaviour. Anyway, once the new family has finally moved in, Ronald has become used to the moments when the whole family is absent from the house.

During those moments, he always checks the refrigerator to see if there is anything tasty. On a particular day, Mrs.Schumacher, a neighbour woman, suddenly catches Ronald at the refrigerator, and both are shocked to see each other.

Ronald then walks towards her in a creepy way, and she then suddenly gets a heart attack, because of the fact that she thought that Ronald no longer lived inside this house and that he was probably far, far away. Never could she calculate to find Ronald of all the places back inside here! "They will probably blame me for this too", Ronald said to himself after suggesting that she is dead.

Basically, he makes the same fucking mistake here like he did in the past, by hiding her body as well! Still, you could have some kind of sympathy for Ronald, despite him being psychotic and making bad mistakes, hence Bad Ronald.

It's actually pretty interesting, because the family starts thinking that their place is haunted by a ghost, while it really is Ronald making the noises and moving objects. Then, Ronald gets a so called golden opportunity to meet one of the daughters in the family he has been keeping his eye on, confirming that the parents other than their daughters are gone until atleast tommorow, and confronts her, which shocks her.

Ronald then started identifying her as the princess and himself as the prince in his fantasy. A chase scene happens, which ends at Mrs.Schumacher's house, where he locks her successfully inside the basement.

He makes a run back to his hidden room and forges another misleading note because he knows that another daughter would arrive soon. It appears to work, leaving the other daughter worried but the cops themselves not, because they have no traces to investigate. The next evening, even though Ronald heard that the cops will not bother him for now, he decides to kidnap one of the daughters's boyfriend.

Another foolish mistake, but maybe it is because Ronald did not like him, because he happens to be the brother of the girl he accidently killed in the past. The cops then decide to start observing the house from outside, and advises the two remaining daughters to close every door and window, so that nobody can come in, and so that they are safe from inside.

Ronald then beats the boyfriend up because of making a hard noise, and the daughters then discover because of their paranoia that their house has a suspicious small hole. Then THE scene happens, and Ronald makes a run for it, because soon everyone will know the truth.

And then Ronald gets captured, and the credits roll. In overall, a truly one of a kind movie you have never seen before, and it fascinated me. And yes, it was also creepy. On a side note, I think that this is one of the few movies I would love to see a remake from, because it definitely is a chilling thriller movie, and could possibly become an ever better movie with both horror and thriller in a remake.

Possession

By far the most confusing film I have seen yet, but NOT because of the movie itself. Instead, Possession's audio synchronization got worse throughout the movie. Once I fixed that first problem with Yet Another Avi Info, the audio got worse once again later on in the movie.

Since I could NEVER find english or dutch subtitles for this movie, and the english accents inside the movie were being too hard to understand(For me atleast) at some points, I gave up with frustration, and gave myself in for this unique movie.

I decided to see this movie in the first place because it got "recommended" to me when I was looking on the IMDB forums for an entirely different horror movie I remembered, which also had an intense woman character and an alien octopus being.

I am content that I saw Possession, but I still wish to know what horror movie I saw as a child in the past. Possession is said by viewers to be split up into 3 parts, first is the marriage gone wrong part, then the suspense/horror part, then the action/confusing scenes one after another part.

The last couple scenes either have symbolism behind them, or Andrzej Zulawski was on drugs when he made this movie. But let's pretend for the more interesting case to be fact, which is symbolism. Anna at one point feels nothing positive anymore, is very intensely showing insane behaviour at other points, and kills intruders who happen to stumble upon her secret octopus lover.

It seemed to me that she loved both Marc and the octopus, because she did not kill Marc when the unusual sex scene occured. Also, according to another viewer, the octopus seems to be an embodiment of some kind, something like misery or pain, which Anna gave birth too in the underground subway scene, where she went completely mad, which was a pretty interesting scene by the way.

I think that the viewer is on to something with this theory, and therefore I support it. If you did not understand so by now, Possession is not a movie where everything gets explained. Lucky for me that I have seen past confusing movies already, such as Tetsuo and The Holy Mountain, although Possession is an entirely different movie from the other confusing ones.

It also shares some resemblences to the dissapointment which I call The Brood, atleast that's what I think. The camera work was well done as well by the way, and about the ending....well, it either is a brilliant ending, or it made no absolute sense.

The octopus having become an exact copy of Mark, and later on, Bob, the son of the couple, telling Helen, the lookalike of Anna(I told you that it's not an easy movie to understand)not to open the door for this new Mark, but when she almost does, Bob suicided himself into the bathtub which was random but an effective scene, and the very last scene shows Helen listening to loud noises and then looking straight at the camera(Which Anna also does quite a few times).

Jesus, what is this movie about? I am kind of repeating a few sentences through some of my movie reviews, because I sadly have to tell you once again that this movie grasped my attention as well. In overall, expect to see a deep buried confusing movie if you plan to watch it. Oh, and why is there Godfather music playing during this movie?

Psycho II

The timeline is perfect, after sitting for 22 years, Norma Bates is released. This has to be an exciting sequel right!? Unless he turns out to be healed from his homicidal tendencies...After returning to his old home, Norman settles in with a new job but at the same time recollects his property Bates Motel.

After being friendly towards Mary a new colleague, the current owner of Bates Motel is being an asshole towards them but nevertheless they recover from it. Meanwhile, Norman is getting bad memories when he looks at knives or when he recalls his mother in several ways.

After a voyeur scene, the ex-owner is being drunk plus annoying and he bluntly states that he is moving out, finally. Before being able to do so, he gets killed by an unknown assailant. The next day, Norman’s psychiatrist checks up on him while Mary finds out about the peeping tom hole.

Psycho II is unpredictable and mysterious when it comes to it’s direction, and I have no clue who the killer is. They wouldn’t use Norman himself after the scenes playing out like that, right? Interesting how Mary’s mother is precisely the persistent one who wants Bates back in jail.

The bloody toilet and bath is a nice touch, also interesting how Norman seems to think he killed the boy in the basement despite not knowing for sure. Luckily Mary sees that he is trying to be a better person.

The soundtrack sounds from the 60’s instead of the 80’s, but it’s fine. Anyway, Psycho II is very good. It has a lot of good stuff going on, and I am pleasantly surprised. It's unrealistic at times, but nevertheless watchable.

Castlevania

What was once one of the most beloved franchises born on the NES is now seeing troubling times, as is the case with other well known franchises out there as well. Castlevania is the ultimate inviting party towards gothic atmosphere, mythological creatures, distinguished gameplay and pure terror.

This is a huge franchise, so let me only talk about the ones I have beaten and experienced so far. my first Castlevania was Super Castlevania IV, but I didn't get far with it as a kid. Years later, I did manage to beat it. The controls and gothic setting are mindblowingly good here.

The first title I did manage to beat was Circle of the Moon on the Gameboy Advance, which continued the famous formula starting with Symphony of the Night, which is basically action RPG with a large playground, or as they are called by fans, Metroidvania and Castleroid.

Aria of Sorrow was next. This felt like a really new way of presenting the franchise, as it was happening in the future, the characters were reincarnations and some of the monters in it remain pretty weird.

The Soul Capturing system was interesting as you were able to use abilities from the enemies themselves, adding more gameplay. There is also a little twist involved in the story, and the level design was very good.

I went back to Harmony of Dissonance because I was hungry for more, and I was pleasantly surprised of the huge castle layout and that despite having like 8-bit music playing, some of the songs were really good. It was a lot of fun to just dash around the huge castle, looking for secrets or the next path that just opened.

Dawn of Sorrow turned out to be my favorite Castlevania because of the excellent bosses, the graphical animations, the tight mechanics, an improved Soul Capturing system, celebrating music and good extra unlockables.

Symphony of the Night on the contrary turned out to be the most dissapointing for me after playing all those others already. I disliked the very easy challenge, most of the castle or the inverted castle felt unnecessary to explore and I wasn't really a fan of the overall soundtrack.

It is by no means a bad game, but it was easy for me to disregard it as the best of the franchise. Portrait of Ruin introduced a dual partner system but re-used a ton of enemy designs, previous bosses and had poor level design, but it still offered enough new content to satisfy me.

Order of Ecclesia is another very solid experience that once again changed the formula here and there, such as the Glyph feature and splitting the level design into smaller maps(and one huge castle later on).

The latest Castlevania games I managed to play and beat is the NES trilogy. The first one was short, difficult and classical, Simon's Quest is a oddity like many NES sequels back in the day and Dracula's Curse is rightfully the best of the three.

As you can see, I still have a lot of Castlevania's to play out there, such as Rondo of Blood. Recent titles like Lords of Shadow don't seem to be successful enough nor interesting. Sure it's a new direction, but Castlevania is starting to go underground.

I really hope to see a classical 2D action platformer or a phenomenal 3D attempt from this franchise in the future. Or at the very least see it continueing to survive, as Castlevania deserves to stay after making many memorable entries already.

Disturbing Exploitations

If you are an avid reader, then you knew already that A Serbian Film is the most extreme movie I have seen yet. There are several others with infamous underground cult status of which I would like to talk about now. Because let me tell you; I have seen some serious disturbing, shocking and fucked up ones. These are some of the toughest movies to watch out there.

Usually, storylines, acting and other normal cinematic terms do not apply with exploitation movies. Controversial topics, specific target audiences, gross out or any kind of disturbing issues DO apply here:

Men Behind the Sun

The "hunt" for the most shocking movies ever continues. It is kind of a different hunt from horror movies such as The Exorcist and Eraserhead though, which are my favorite horror movies so far. For me, there is a clear difference in the genre inbetween movies such as Salo & Men Behind the Sun and these two I just mentioned.

Now that that speech of my current thoughts is out of the way, let me start with the latest review. Men Behind the Sun is about the Japanese during World War 2 doing terrible human experiments on their neighbour country people.

The grim atmosphere and it's low quality of dialogue as well as the plotline were annoying, but the story was atleast more interesting to follow than other exploitations. Plus, it can be argued, or just be pure opinion, that the disturbing scenes in Men Behind the Sun are some of the worst out there.

Atleast in my case, the scenes were more varied, more gruesome and I will most likely remember these better for their shocking nature. The infamous cat scene was no trouble for me to observe, instead, I felt more sad by the boy who died before the cat.

The Japanese had some sick sense into making bacterial weapons, but I can't blame them in the same way, because viruses are very deadly to mankind. What would you do in times of war? Right, innovate and experiment.

Their guinea pigs just so happened to be humans, and that my friends is the summary of this movie, which is a Japanese concentration camp(Squadron 731) full of "marut's"(Translated into specimen I guess) which get experimented and exploited on by the Japanese force of Squadron 731. In overall, another movie which is not for everyone.

The Untold Story

Heh, this is one sick movie, and it is supposed to be based on real events as well. The Untold Story is a mix of the funny cops investigating the brutal case while trying to impress their chief Lee, who almost always has hookers around his shoulders, and of course the brutal murders done by the criminal himself, Wong Chi Hang.

Taking place mostly at the local Police Department and the crime scene itself, the Eight Immortals Restaurant. Oh, this movie is not really about the plot itself though. It is more about the criminal and his crimes.

Although the movie did not talk about why Wong would really murder so many people, be a cannibal himself, and make human pork meat out of his victims(Other than some money business for some of his victims), it still was interesting to see this murderer work in the shadows, trying to hide from the cops because of him being a wanted criminal already, before he start murdering a whole family inside the restaurant, including it's owner, and use their meat as food(most likely).

Anthony Wong playing the killer felt realistic and interesting for me. Wong Chi Hang was one insane motherfucker, who always did not want to get messed up by anyone. And if they did, he would give them brutal punishment, and show them who's boss.

And when the cops are quite sure that Wong really killed a whole family, Wong literally gets fucked up and beaten up by everyone he encounters. Many beat him up, including the angry brother of the previous owner of the restaurant, and although it was cruel and evil to look at, it did left a rightful feeling for me though, watching the cops and fellow prisoners beat him up so many times.

After all, he did murder a whole family full of children. Although Wong is pretty beaten and fucked up many times, he still tells everyone that no one will get him. And after a failed suicide attempt(which was pretty intense to look at, since it looked painful), he finally suicides by stealing a sharp object out of the hospital.

And that marks the end of the Untold Story really. The movie did not bore me, as the killer and the murder scenes were interesting to watch. In overall, this is the most famous of the Category III movies, which is a genre only for either the most violent or the most erotic titles out there.

Cannibal Holocaust

Continueing on with one of the most controversial and shocking movies ever, Cannibal Holocaust. The raw footage of this movie was delightful, and yes, this movie was pretty intense.

Now that I think of it, comparisons are hard to make with shocking movies such as this one and Salo plus Men behind the Sun, even though pretty much all of them are effective in their own different ways.

Cannibal Holocaust is about a documentary which gets found by a professor. The 4 americans inside the documentary are curious indeed, as they perform in many cruel acts when walking inside the green inferno, looking for cannibals.

Yes, this is also the most infamous animal killing movie. And the most infamous of all, the turtle scene, was fascinating to see. What I mean by that is that I haven't seen such a brutal animal killing as that before yet.

I don't have any problems that they got killed during this movie though, it might sound wrong, but then again, for others it might sound right. As the professor reviews the footage with collegaues back in New York, one particular act is stuck in my head: why did they burn the village together with many cannibals?

As "clean" as it may look like compared to the many gory scenes in the movie, this moment is possibly the guiltiest act for me. Apparently they did this in order to stage a scene for their documentary, to get more profit or something.

What a manipulation, which is also shown in the next controversial scene, where the males rape one of the cannibal women and later claim that the natives in the end impaled her because of an obscure sexual rite.

Their obsession with the documentary itself gets even worse when they decide NOT to rescue their fellow partners while they get fucked up and killed by the cannibals. And then the movie ends, all americans are dead in the footage.

Back in New York a man says a strong sentence, that is, all of the footage must be burned. In overall, still to this day, a very effective shock movie, presented with a raw quality to it. Oh, and that happy music was so inappropiate for me.

Aftermath

The continuation of looking for the most shocking movies in existence, this time Flok takes a quick look at Aftermath, a short movie about the daily life inside the morgue, excluding the aftermath part then, or isn't it? DUM DUM DUM DUM.

This very bloody picture has zero dialogue, little music which felt more at home in churches, necrophillia and some dog eating a human's heart, which is not cannibalistic. Anyway, Aftermath's presentation is good, but it isn't more shocking for me than for example Men Behind the Sun's evil autopsy. In any case I was content with this and before I knew it the movie was over. We're talking about a short movie yes but it was still 30+ minutes which went by quickly.

Salo or the 120 days of Sodom

Unusual made movie. Definitely near the top of one of the movies which is not for everyone. Salo is infamous for it's extreme scenes throughout the movie. The story shows an experimental area ruled by fascists somewhere in Italy, who enjoy every moment of toying with their "specimen", be it boy or girl.

There's lots of naked bodies and lust moments, which I previously saw in Caligula as well, but perhaps these are more disturbing. We follow the fascists, the storytellers, the guards and the "specimen", who all participate into these experiments.

Personally I had no problem sitting through the whole movie while I was normally eating up my dinner plus dessert, but it is advised by many not to. The film is extremely controversial, and the climax features quick shocking scenes for the viewers.

It seems during this climax that every fascist finds it very intriguing to observe these torture and rape scenes...In conclusion, Salo is a film that should only be experienced by those who want to have seen this movie and be glad that they saw it.

The ending after that was pointless though in my opinion. I cannot say that I was dissapointed with Salo's content, because the promises reviewers have said about this movie are pretty much true, but I can number atleast 1 more movie on the top of my head which was both a better movie plus a more disturbing one, which is The Untold Story.

In any case, as I said before, if you are on the hunt for the most disturbing/horrifying/freaky/gorefest/disgusting movies ever filmed, Salo would be a good start, or a good end to some, heheh.

Ebola Syndrome

Anthony Wong is at it again, he is pretty much my favorite Hong Kong villain right now. The opening scene begins nasty. An early quote is quite funny, "I am killing them, isn't that ok?" with Wong's expression.

The tongue scene looked really fake, too bad. After the opening credits we get to see frogs being sliced up from close. Kai is working in South Africa now while he is still wanted for the murders of 3 people.

The English portions have finally been improved, but it's still poor. Argh, seems that this is the first time I witness the very disturbing nature of employees jacking off and ejaculating inside food. Yuck if I think about it.

Ebola Syndrome on a whole is a very dirty movie, really. Further on we see that Kai and a collegaue need pig meat so they go to a local tribe which is busy with a dirty ritual of recklessly decapitating chicken.

Some people there also seem to be dead, possibly because of Ebola. Kai himself hates bullies. He feels that he gets bullied again by his current boss, so then he leaves him alone with a wrecked car. What happens next is very nasty, he sees his chance to rape his first black female, but it turns out that she is heavily infected and his dick is somehow stuck inside.

He then gets splashed with a disease and proceeds to smash her head to bits. More stress moments happen, and Kai is then sick of his boss's wife(Like before) as they are sick of his non discipline behavior and stinky smell.

He attempts to rape her(Oh Anthony so traditional of you), but his boss comes just in time to stop the mess. But things get even worse, and in the end the boss's head falls off when Kai is busy stomping the door on him and then dragging him out.

And before that he was walking around confused with a stabbed eye. Kai returns to the wife by humiliating her and eventually eating a piece(!) of her cheek and then drops the round edge of a table on her neck, proceeding by spitting out the meat.

My god, this director was definitely enjoying it all. "I killed everyone and still I am working and cleaning up." Wong pulls an Untold Story as he is seen yet again making human meat feasible and then selling it.

Oh, the humor is also still here, especially when Wong is talking crappy English, sounding like a bad tarzan from the jungle. Wong kills A LOT of people indirectly by sneezing, close contact etc.(Slow motion with high tension music scenes confirms this), but also directly because of his "African buns". 

Victims of the Ebola Virus get fucked up by seizures, heavy internal and external bleedings and basically just dying. So many scenes where people get seizures...Yeah, Ebola Syndrome definitely beats The Untold Story in my opinion.

The later might have a whole family killing and nasty self cutting scenes, but the former is the ultimate CAT III movie for me. Disgusting, disturbing, gory, sexual abusive, homicidal, creepy soundtrack and extreme violence. Bon appetit. Great for horror/extreme/CAT III fans.