October Challenge: House on Haunted Hill

Been on a Haunted House kick lately.  So I figured I'd watch this one as well.  I had seen it years ago and I was always confusing this one with other movies.  This one is the unique one of the bunch since all the "ghosts" were fake in the movie.

House on Haunted Hill (1959)

What do you need to know about this film?  Well it is wonderfully campy.  It almost plays as a parody of haunted house movies.  Vincent Price is campy, creepy and suave all at the same time.  There are lines of dialogue that frankly I just can't  anyone else pulling off.  He managed to be scary and funny in the same breath.
The elements here are familiar,  people come to a haunted house to stay, if they survive they get money.  Only this time it is a "game of murder" and that game is Price's character vs his 5th wife.  They are trying to off each other and hopefully use the guests as patsies/witnesses/alabi's.

The plot doesn't really work so well, but it is grand fun in almost a Scooby Doo way.  I half expected Velma to come out and demonstrate how the walking skeleton worked with Scooby dancing with it.

Of course I have seen this one before, but given the fun with Hell House and the Haunting, I could not resist it.

Tally: 15 movies, 12 new.

Zatannurday: Zatanna as an RPG Character

Magic using characters are interesting, but in comics their powers tend to be all over the place.   Zee is no different, but at least she is not as bad as Scarlet Witch.

I have been thinking about magic using characters a lot of late.  Partially as I wrap up my new Witch books and as I look forward to maybe working on my own system/modern system.

So here are some of the links I have been using of late to help research her character for various games I might want to add her to.

Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zatanna
Comic Vine, http://www.comicvine.com/zatanna/29-5691/
DC Wikia, http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Zatanna_Zatara_(New_Earth). This has a good list of her powers
DCAU Wikia, http://dcanimated.wikia.com/wiki/Zatanna
Smallville Wikia, http://smallville.wikia.com/wiki/Zatanna_Zatara. I'll need to talk about Smallville soon.
Her IMDB page, http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0035273/

Interestingly enough, while in some comics Zee is seen to need to use her voice to cast spells (or be rendered helpless if she can't talk) sometimes, like the above screen shot, she can do magic without needing to vocalize at all. Or, as in the past Paul Dini run, she can write the word backwards.

The DC Adventures game has all her spells as "vocal" ones. But even recent comics has shown her writing a spell backwards to get the desired effect.

I'll spend some time looking over her RPG stats for DC Adventures and Mayfair's old DC Heroes.

TBBYANR: Thoughtcrime Inc.

Once again it is time for another entry of The Best Blog You Are Not Reading.
Which really is an excuse for me to tell you about blogs that I like that off the beaten path of what you normally see around here.

This time around I want to draw your attention to Thoughtcrime Inc.
Run by artist David Reynolds of Shadowgirls fame it features his art and thoughts on cartoons, animation and comics.

If you are a regular reader here then you have seen David's work.

and this

D.Rey has been talking a lot about the DC 52 and some of the issues going on there.
Plus he has an undying love for the Batgirls and that is ok in my book.

He has been talking about a faux comic/fan comic "Batgirls: Hope Prevails" which has all the Batgirls in it.

• http://thoughtcrimeinc.blogspot.com/2011/08/batgirls-aka-if-i-had-my-way.html
• http://thoughtcrimeinc.blogspot.com/2011/09/batgirls-hope-prevails-character-cards.html

As well as a favorite of mine, Power Girl,

• http://thoughtcrimeinc.blogspot.com/2011/10/last-daughter-of.html

I like his purely Atlantean take on her.  Or Lemurian.  Which also has lead to the creation of his own character: 

• http://thoughtcrimeinc.blogspot.com/2011/09/intrepid-verisimilitude.html
• http://thoughtcrimeinc.blogspot.com/2011/08/lemurs.html  (names are Marcia and Shampoo according to DA)

I like her, and the lemur is a nice touch.

He also has a Deviant Art page. http://machsabre.deviantart.com/ and his Journal there talked about a lot of the same things he talks about on his blog.

If you like comics, comic art and thoughts on cartoons, then Thoughcrime Inc. is a great place to start.

October Challenge: Let Me In (2010)

The modern vampire movie has very little that can surprise me.  Then we get this little treat. Based on the Swedish book and movie, Let the Right One In, this marked the return of Hammer to the American screens.

Let Me In (2010)

Let Me In is the fantastic Swedish vampire movie starring Chloë Moretz (Hitgirl from "Kick-ass") as the vampire girl Abby.  She is only 12, but she has been 12 a very long time. Abby befriends Owen, a scarred boy that is getting picked on a lot a school.
The relationship builds slowly between the two main characters and it seems obvious that these two broken and lost children need each other.  That is to me the most interesting part of this film.  I can get gore and vampire angst from 10,000 movies, this one is different.  It is better.

There are some traditional vampire elements here.  Abby can't come in unless invited (hence the name), she has   a vampiric form, and is burned by sunlight.
Owen discovers Abby is a vampire and in his own child like innocence he accepts her for what she is.

I feel this film is never going to get it's due.  It is a good film, but a touch slow for American audiences. While it gets rave reviews, I don't think many people have seen it to be honest.

Also Chloë Moretz is fantastic.  She is a great actress now and will only get better as she improves her craft.  I am looking forward to seeing her in the new Dark Shadows.

Tally: 14 movies, 12 new.

Game Material: This is really a good one to use.  The movie took place in 1983 with a 12 year old Owen and Abby.  Now it is 2011 and 40 year old Owen moves in with his 12 year old daughter Abby and strange deaths begin.   Of course Abby is last person your players would suspect, right?



Abby
Life Points 44
Drama Points 15

Attributes
Strength 3
Dexterity 3
Constitution 4
Intelligence 3
Perception 5
Willpower 4

Qualities
Attractiveness +1
Hard to Kill 2
Fast Reaction Time
Situational Awareness
Vampire (Ghosts of Albion type)

Drawbacks 
Dependent (co-dependent Owen)
Love (Owen)
Teenager (from Buffy/Angel)

Useful Information
Actions 1
Perception 1d10 + 8

Skills 
Acrobatics 3
Art 1
Crime 1
Doctor 1
Driving 0
Getting Medieval 2
Influence 2
Knowledge 3
Kung Fu 2
Languages 1 (English)
Notice 3
Occultism 3
Science 1
Sports 1
Wild Card, Puzzles 3

The Kids Are Alright

With my wife down from her surgery I have been left to do all the things she does, take care of her and still find the time to squeeze in "my" stuff.
One thing though (of many) that has taken a hit is my game time.

I have no idea really if I'll get back to my Pathfinder game; things are just too crazy on the weekends and my regular game with my kids has been hurting.

My son though REALLY wanted to play.  I couldn't so he sat down on his own and wrote an adventure involving finding a lost King and defeating the monster that took him.  It was simple really but he hit it with enthusiasm.  Remember, all those things we in the older guard consider cliche or even passe are still new to someone.
He then proceeded to grab my books, roll up some characters (it was a 1st level adventure) and play with his brother and a friend.  They were in my kitchen while I worked so I got to hear it all and answer

They spent some time looking for equipment, managing their funds and complaining about the high cost of cross-bow arrows in this land.  They heard rumors, interacted with townsfolk and then went on their quest.

They were attacked by goblins, but found clues that lead them to a treasure trove, the King and a green dragon holding him hostage.  The dragon was a youngling and not very skilled.  The fighter and the thief nearly bought it a couple of times, but they had some help from their retainers.
The king was returned safe, the gold from the treasure returned to the merchants' families and the King gave them all a reward for bravery and honor.

Not bad for a few hours of play.  And certainly not bad for their age range (8 to 11).

So when people are worried about whether kids have the interest in D&D anymore, I have to think of "The Forrest Quest".

Now good readers.  Can you also ID what version of the D&D game they were all playing?

October Challenge: The Haunting

You have to love a good haunted house movie and this is a good haunted house movie, maybe even the best.

Again, my big surprise is I had never seen this one before.  I did see the 1999 remake back when it was new.

The Haunting (1963)

A great, moody, creepy movie that works on many levels.  Is Nel crazy or is the house haunted? Or both?  I think both.   There is a lot to like about this movie. Here are a couple of things I noticed watching it in 2011.  Amber Tamblyn today looks a lot like her dad did in this movie.  Secondly this movie accomplishes more with less than the 1999 remake.

This movie is almost cliche by today's standards; four people, staying in a haunted house investigating hauntings.  Classic stuff really.  This movie does it without gore, without any special effects to speak off and all with tone and mood.  Honestly I think this movie needs to be required viewing of all haunted house movie directors.
Nel's character is a bit whinny at times and we hear far too many of her thoughts that could have been better relayed through dialog.  Plus I would have liked to seen more psychic power from Theo.

Though now thanks to this movie and The Legend of Hell House and the House on the Haunted Hill (coming up soon I hope, though that one I saw years ago) I think I know exactly what to do if ever I change careers and become one of those guys investigates haunted houses.

Tally: 13 movies, 11 new.

Game material: Fantastic haunted house scenario.  I love how all the doors are off-center so the close an open all the time and how there are no right angles in the entire house.  Plus the history of house can be used as well.

October Challenge: The Witch's Sabbath (2005)

When you don't expect much from a movie and get nothing you are only mildly disappointed. When you expect nothing from a movie and get comedy of this sort then that is something else.  Witch's Sabbath is that kind of movie.

The Witch's Sabbath (2005)

The premise here is simple, even one I could use in a game.  Coven of witches, pretending to be strippers to get 666 victims for their dark lord. The 666 number seems a bit large, the cops would notice at 6 really (even less) and the strip club is the smallest, dingiest hole in the wall I have ever seen. But this little flick has some charm.   The actors don't seem to take themselves very serious, which is good since the acting is terrible.  The special effects are crappy, but fun.  If you like your gore plenty and often then this is a fun little flick.  Plus the film has Ron Jeremy in it. How can that be bad?
This is not a good movie and I am not pretending it is.  But is a stupid kind of fun.

It is worth sitting through for the witches' dark lord at the end.

Tally 12 movies, 10 new.

Game wise this is a perfect set up.  Strip-club or night-club where some mysterious goings on are well, going on, it's cliche, but still a classic.