October Horror Movie Challenge: Demon Night

My wife, who never watches horror, has expressed a desire to see some demon movies. "Something like the Exorcist, but not as scary." Not a problem, most movies are not as scary as the Exorcist.  "But good." Damn. She got me there. Well, we found some for an afternoon and evening of watching movies.

Hellraiser (2022)

This is the new one and was much easier to get her to watch. Every year there is a movie that everyone in the October Challenge watches. This was one of those (the other so far appears to be Halloween Ends).

This is a reboot, revision, of the Hellbound Heart novella from Clive Barker.  This one stars Goran Visnjic as rich hedonist Voight, the current owner of the Lament Configuration or the puzzle box.  Odessa A’zion stars as Riley, a recovering drug addict who finds the box and starts to open it. And we get Jamie Clayton who is taking a turn as the Hell Priest, more commonly known as Pinhead. Clayton was given a lot of grief online a little because she is not Doug Bradley, the friend of Clive Barker who played Pinhead in all but 2 of the original 10 Hellraiser movies. But mostly it was due to the fact she was a trans woman I feel. 

Watching her in this she was an AMAZING Hell Preist. Going by Barker's own words in the Hellbound Heart.

Its voice, unlike that of its companion, was light and breathy-the voice of an excited girl. Every inch of its head had been tattooed with an intricate grid, and at every intersection of horizontal and vertical axes a jeweled pin driven through to the bone. Its tongue was similarly decorated.

— The Hellbound Heart, Clive Barker, ch. 1

This fits with Clayton's portrayal. The story, if the plot, is familiar. People mess with the box, Cenobites are summoned, and people die. Often in horrible ways. 

Riley manages to escape with her brother's boyfriend, but Voight is given a new "reward" in the end.

The movie is quite good really, and a sequel seems likely.

Errementari (2017)

This movie is based on an ancient European folk tale of a blacksmith and the devil.  The one I remember was about a tinkerer and the devil and was an Irish tale. This one deals with a blacksmith who has captured a demon. The villagers avoid his home, except for the orphaned Usue (played by the amazing Uma Bracaglia) who is unafraid. The local children call her "witch child" and tease her.  She goes to the blacksmith's home where she is trying to find her doll; a local boy tossed the head onto to property. 

Here she discovers the blacksmith has captured a demon, Sartael, and keeps it chained up.  Meanwhile, a local magistrate is investigating the blacksmith claiming he was an army deserter who turns out to be a demon lord, Alastor, and the lord of the chained-up demon.  

To stop the unleashed mayhem of two demos, Usue asks Alastor to be taken to her mother. They disappear and go to Hell.  The blacksmith is being hounded by the villagers but manages to get free. He convinces Sartael to take him to Hell to save the girl. He goes, sending the girl back with Sartael (who tells the scared villagers that "this girl is a Saint and Hell rejected her. You better treat her well or I will eat your thumbs!" 

The final scenes are of the blacksmith swinging his giant hammer, and fighting devils.

The movie has a real fairy tale quality to it. There is comedy, some scares and good story.

Jennifer's Body (2009)

Believe it or not, I have never seen this one. Jennifer (Megan Fox) and Anita "Needy" (Amanda Seyfried) are unlikely best friends. They do everything together including going to see this indie band Jennifer has "been stalking on MySpace."  They go see them and the bar catches on fire killing a lot of people.  In shock Jennifer goes with the band, much to complaining of Needy. They ask Jennifer if she is a virgin (spoiler, she isn't and hasn't been since Jr. High), but she tells them yes. So they decide to sacrifice her to Satan so they can be as big as Maroon 5. 

Next thing we know Jennifer is back at Needy's home where she is acting very strange. Like coughing up a bucket of black blood.

While everyone is sad about the deaths at the bar, Jennifer is elated. She has never looked and felt better. Though Needy knows something is wrong.

Jennifer is not only acting strange, she is eating high school boys.  Needy soon discovers this and hears Jennifer's story. She did die in the sacrifice, but because she was not pure the demon took over her body making her a succubus. 

Needy tries to get her to stop, or finally trying to stop her, and Jennifer just continues to eat boys including Needy's own boyfriend.

Needy and Jenifer fight, Jen bites Needy and Needy manages to kill Jen. Jen's mom sees this and now we see why Needy is in prison.  But we also learn that Needy has gained some of Jen's demon powers so she is strong and can levitate.

The movie's credits roll as we learn that Needy has killed the members of the band that had sacrificed Jennifer to start with.

It was a fun movie and honestly, I totally bought into Needy's nad Jennifer's friendship. They did seem like they need each other.

Ok getting tired tonight. I had one more, but that might need to go tomorrow night.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2022
Viewed: 33
First Time Views: 26

  

Monster Manual Minis, Set A-C

I am on record on how much of an effect the first AD&D Monster Manual had on me.  I can recall playing AD&D and wishing I had (or could even afford) minis just like what was in the Monster Manual.

Well. Now I can.

This is the first set of minis for D&D (and of course AD&D) based on the art from the original Monster Manual. I have to say I am loving them.

Obviously not every monster A to C, but it has the stars. I always wanted a Carrion Crawler mini, not sure why, I think they were cool to me back then (still are!).  I have a few now, but this one is the best.

I am thinking that the next set will just be "D" to be honest. Dragons, Demons, Devils. All are perfect for this. 

 Can't wait for the others!

100 Days of Halloween: Fane of the Witch King

I have spent all month long so far on "Witch Queen" adventures, I thought maybe a Witch King might be nice. Spoiler. There is still a Witch Queen here. 

Fane of the Witch King

Print and PDF. 68 pages. Color cover, black & white interior art.

So this one goes all the way back to the 3.x days from Necromancer Games. It is an adventure for 4 to 6 characters of 10th level and higher. 

The adventurers investigate the site of an ancient and evil city where the minions of the now-dead Witch King reside and plot his return. Among them is his former lover, the Witch Queen Kytara Bane.

"Witch" in both cases just means "evil spell-caster" but I can work with it. So this is a Necromancer Games product so expect there to be plenty of monsters to kill, deep forgotten dungeons and everything that made 1st Edition adventures so much fun. The NPCs are also great in a "how can we make something so evil" sort of way. The Witch King Osenkej for example was the product of a Balor father and Red Wyrm mother. Kytara Bane, his queen, was/is a Half-nymph/Half-demon. There is the Ghul Legion a band of dark elves and gnolls working for a group of evil Stone Giants and their Black Dragon leader Ghul Lacronus. All who they have to fight to get into the Black Fane and then to get out they have to face Kytara Bane herself.  Along the way they can also run into the Covenant of the Claw, they are a half-elf/half-dragon, a half-human/half-dragon and a half-gnoll/half-dragon.  Really giving those half-dragon template rules a workout.

Not to mention all the demons and undead running around including a demonic triceratops! This adventure is a meat grinder and the characters are assumed to be level 10. I think they need to be a little stronger.

The appendices are full. A new spell. New magic items including new artifacts. Five maps.

The locations are great, and that is what the adventure gives top billing, but for me, it is really about these NPCs.

Use in War of the Witch Queens

Again, it is the NPCs here that interest me the most. The locations are fun but I can put those anywhere, or re-do them as I need. The NPCs are just too much not to use. The adventure is fun as it, but what if I add this twist for my world/campaign. Kytara Bane learning of the death of the Witch Queen decides to make her move.

It could be fun really. Certainly near the end of the campaign.

October Horror Movie Challenge: Hex (2017)

I was not expecting a Cavaliers and Roundheads movie tonight, but here we go. 

Hex (2017)

This movie belongs to a genre that I am starting to call "The Real Monsters are Humans" which of course if you read any horror, or even just watch Scooby-Doo, you will realize is actually a lot of horror. But movies want to have a monster, whether that monster is a literal one like Godzilla, a transformed one like Freddie, or a metaphorical one, like the Babadook. This movie sets up one monster but really it is the one in front of us the whole time.

Set during the English Civil War (1642–1651) we have a Parliamentarian, Thomas (played by William Young) and a Royalist, Richard (Daniel Oldroyd). They encounter each other in the woods after a long and bloody battle. Thomas is obviously religious, taking time to pray. Richard though is extremely loyal to the King. When they meet Thomas suggests they don't have to fit, but Richard decides the best way to do that is to kill Thomas quickly.

These two chase each other through the woods and there is very little to no dialog for several stretches of minutes. Richard obviously wants to kill Thomas much more than the other way around.  The whole time they are playing this cat-and-mouse game (including Thomas hiding in an old churchyard) you get the feeling there is something sinister here. Both soldiers catch glimpses of a hooded figure just outside of sight.

Eventually, Thomas stumbles onto a camp and arms himself with a rifle. When Richard finds the camp their stand-off is changed. Thomas tells Richard he needs him alive to fight the evil in this forest, an evil they have both felt. Thomas at this point declares it is a witch.

The two reluctantly work together and keep seeing things. Are they real, are they dreams or visions?

Finally, they decide to reconsecrate the church to force the witch out.  Here it is learned that Richard may have killed Thomas' brother, and they fight some more, but now Richard seems to be the level-headed one while Thomas is unhinged. 

They do find the witch (played by Suzie Frances Garton), but she turns out to be an old woman that is just trying to scare them from her woods. They corner her in a cave and she tells them of a life where she had basically been brutalized for as long as she could remember. Richard puts away his sword and wants to talk, and offers a quick and painless death.  Thomas is not having that. He pushes her out of the cave where she falls and hits her head. She tries to crawl away, but Thomas (in the name of God no less) gets on her back and stabs her repeatedly while she screams.

The cast is quite good and if these were less capable actors then this would have been pretty dull. Thomas' turn from seemingly innocent bystander in this war to a blood-thirsty monster is only eclipsed by Richard's man of unflinching, and unthinking duty, to one that tries to understand his place in this war. 

Of course, the "witch" is no monster, but Richard and Thomas are. 

This film was reportedly made for just about £1,000.00. I don't know if that included the actors' pay of not, but it does show you can do an effective movie without a big budget.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2022
Viewed: 30
First Time Views: 23

Kickstart Your Weekend: A Bunch of Games!

I have a wide variety of Kickstarters to share with you all today, so let's get started.  In order of when they will finish their funding period.

Elementara: Guide to the Seven Elements for 5e

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/plusthreepress/elementara-guide-to-the-seven-elements-for-5e?ref=theotherside

D&D has always been great on elemental magic spells and this book hopes to expand on that with elemental casters. In addition to the fou common elements this book add Spirt, Nature, and Metal to mix.  It looks great so far and quite fun. Get on it soon, ends in 8 hours!

Bugbears and Borderlands

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1693797308/bugbears-and-borderlands?ref=theotherside

A new one from Rod Waibel and Izegrim Creations.  So far all his Kickstarters have been top notch and the products amazing. AND if I can add, each one is better than the last. 

This is a Basic Edition of D&D 5 (he can't say that, but I can).  And it looks great. Hurry though, you have only about 46 hours to get on this one.

Covenstead: A Podcast About Games & Magic

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danielledelisle/covenstead?ref=theotherside

Not a game, but a Podcast about RPGs that is trying to get some more start-up funds. So exactly what Kickstarter was meant for.

They are up and running so can check them out here, https://covenstead.podbean.com/ and their Facebook page. 

You have four days left on this one.

The Golden Age of Khares

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mooselodgegames/the-golden-age-of-khares?ref=theotherside

This one looks fun. A Bronze Age, Low Fantasy system. The Bronze age doesn't get enough love in the FRPG circles. This one looks like it could be great for the right group. It is for the Low Fantasy Gaming system, but I imagine it could be used with most FRPGs.

You have 9 days left on this one.

There are more, but let's concentrate on these for today.

100 Days of Halloween: The Witch's Daughter- Adventure Module GSAM01

I have spent all month so far working with adventures from various systems, tonight I think I will try a systemless one tonight. 

The Witch's Daughter - Adventure Module GSAM01

PDF. 68 pages. Color cover, black & white interior art. 

This is a systemless adventure centered around a village where a witch was attacked and killed leaving her daughter behind. The adventure is a quasi-sandbox. There are 60 some-odd pages of backstory and details of the village, its people, and most importantly the NPCs.

There is a lot here to be honest, maybe more than needed for an adventure? This is more of a mini-setting. 

The strength of this adventure is the lack of stats. Why? I think by having go through the effort to stat ups the NPCs like Count Ducas Fellbane and the titular witch's daughter. For example, I might make Count Ducas a vampire. I know I shouldn't it would be so cliche, but I kinda want to do it to be honest. And the thing is. I can do this if I want. 

Again, like some of the other adventures I have reviewed this month I might use this one to shore up some of the others that are not as rich in background as this one is.  Yes. This adventure is perfectly fine on its own and it can be used anywhere.  But my time is limited on how many adventures I can run; 14th level is going to be the max level. 

I think I might try starting this up for a couple of systems to see which ones feel the best.

October Horror Movie Challenge: Sorceress (1995)

I should lose my horror street cred for this one. In my defense, it meets some good horror elements. It has Linda Blair. It has witches in it. There is mayhem, magic, and murder, and I am sure another "M" word will come up. Also, it does have a pentagram on the cover, so it makes this year's cut.

Sorceress (1995)

Where even to begin on this one? Well in the first few frames we treated to a full frontal of Julie Strain (as Erica) performing some sort of magic ritual. She stabs a picture of Howard Reynolds (Edward Albert). Howard is driving home talking to his wife Amelia (Linda Blair) on the phone. Amelia gets some sort of psychic warning and tells Howard to pull over now!  He gets out of the car before it crashes and explodes! Maybe she should have told him not to carry so many explosives in his car.

Anyway, Larry Barnes (Larry Poindexter), a partner in Howard's law firm comes home and his wife is Erica! He catches her casting the spell and next thing we know she is taking a dive off of the second story and is dead on the pavement below. Wow. We have not even rolled the credits yet and Julie Strain is dead. Oh and for *reasons* Toni Naples as Maria leaves with them. 

Later on Larry is getting over Erica's death. He talks about her as if she had cast some sort of spell on him. We get flashbacks of them having sex in the living room, them having sex in the bedroom, them having a threesome with Maria. Meanwhile Howard is at home still recovering and telling his boss John Geiger (played by none other than William "Blacula" Marshall!) he isn't going back to work and the promotion he got can go to someone else. Guess who gets it? Yup. Larry, who is probably remembering a time he and Eric had sex at a 7-Eleven. Ok that is not in the movie.

Larry does start dating fellow lawyer Carol (Rochelle Swanson). He tells her about the threesome, to which she immediately says she won't do that. They fall asleep and Amelia uses her evil altar to invade Carol's dreams. She has her in a threesome with Erica and Maria. 

Amelia is using magic to make Carol act more like Erica including dying her hair brunette. She tells her husband she doing this out of revenge for what Erica did to him. She just about has Carol killing everyone when Howard shoots and kills Amelia and frees Carol. 

THEN Larry sits up in bed in shock and sees Erica standing there asking if he had a bad dream!  Well, I guess they needed her for the sequel.

Ok. So. This is not a great movie, but entertaining in the same way a Russ Meyer film is. You don't go into looking for a plot. There is one here and I will get to that in a bit.

One of the things I noticed while I was looking people up for this is how many of the stars are now dead. Yeah, it is a 27-year-old movie, but still. Julie Strain, William Marshall, Edward Albert, Michael Parks, all gone.

For Use in NIGHT SHIFT and War of the Witch Queens

Oh. I'll make lemonade from this one. The basic plot here are two witches, Erica and Amelia, both fighting a magic war with each other using their men as proxies.  It becomes obvious really fast that while Larry and Howard are the ones bringing in the money, the real power lies with their wives.

For War of Witch Queens, I take this as the default approach. Once the High Witch Queen is dead then the gloves come off and the pointy hats go on. This is what has everyone so afraid. 

For NIGHT SHIFT, well it can kind of work as-is really. The threesomes are up to you and your group.  Elf Lair Games makes no guarantee that playing NIGHT SHIFT will increase the number of threesomes in your life.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2022
Viewed: 29
First Time Views: 22