Friday, September 13, 2013

The Seasoning House is bold, brilliant & disturbing...to say the least

Chilling and realistic, brutal as hell and mostly disturbing, The Seasoning House is a culmination of cruelty and suffering that even the hardest of horror fans will at times find hard to stomach. Basically, in a nutshell, this is Hostel without the tools.
In the war torn Balkans, deaf mute Angel (Rosie Day) is inadvertently forced to watch her family slayed by murderous thug soldiers lead by a heartless commander Goran (Sean Pertwee). This is military business as usual for his squad, with even the most hesitant of legionnaires forced to participate. It is also the source of commodities for Goran’s illegitimate side business; a brothel operated by the equally ruthless and cold hearted Viktor (Kevin Howarth).

At this whorehouse, a dark and dirty place with boarded up windows and scampering rats, the girls are held captive, forced to comply and perform through the use of involuntary drug addiction.

Angel, her sordid past told early on through effective flashbacks, has now been assigned as, for lack of a better word, maid and primary pharmaceutical deliverer. In a warped sort of way, this is a good thing since it keeps her from being one of the bound to the bed products.
In this capacity, she preps the girls before each typically violent, painful and callous encounter, injecting them with a hypodermic needle filled with heroin and gingerly applying eye shadow. Afterward, using an unclean sponge drawn from a rusty bucket, she soothingly wipes the blood away. Far from unfeeling and uncaring, herself a prisoner and the sole object of Viktor’s whim affections, she has no choice but to accept the atrocities.
Nighttime finds her wandering the crawlspaces between the walls, struggling and wriggling and able to maneuver from room to room undetected, where at times she exits from behind the ventilation grates. (This is the film’s initial revelation and in the opening scenes we see her accomplish this).

Powerless to aid, she maintains sanity in this vile existence by keeping it bottled up deep within and simply going through Viktor’s directed daily routine.
When newcomer Vanya (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) realizes that Angel is deaf and begins communicating with her through sign language, Angel lets her guard down and befriends, even bringing and sharing a little piece of heaven in the form of the chocolate she keeps hidden away under her mattress.
But, make no mistake, life here is meager and pitiless as Angel watches, so close but yet so far, from behind the room’s metal grate while Vanya is subjected to chronic and vicious rapes that leave her bloody and shattered. After one such encounter, Vanya’s pelvis is broken and Viktor is forced to summon Andre, a neighborhood doctor who may harbors ethics and pity, but is also unable to help since the establishment is well protected and far-reaching. After delicately scolding Viktor about taking better care of the girls, he (in a creepy, grin filled shot reminiscent to the visiting truant officer in A Clockwork Orange) lies to Vanya, hides the true extent of her injuries and tells the poor girl that she has only suffered a little tearing. An aware Angel wants desperately to assist her new friend, but fearfully abstains, knowing it futile.

But when the ones responsible for her abduction and family’s demise pay a visit, her plan of revenge takes full root. Will it lead her on a path to escape and freedom?

Throughout the first two thirds of the film, Director Paul Hyett sets the tone, making it impossible for the audience to turn away and taking them on an almost ethereal journey that nearly implies it is nothing more than some horrible bad dream. But, the final act yanks this away, exchanged for a high suspense filled game of cat and mouse. 

Raw, powerful and harsh, the film, carefully crafted by Hyett, is not for everyone and many will find it revolting. However, this is not to say that the film is in no way, shape or form terrible. On the contrary, the film is excellent, has won numerous awards and is filled with especially moving performances.
Kevin Howarth, as the imposing Viktor, initially will have the audience despising his character but will eventually turn them into rooting fans.
And, Dominique Provost-Chalkley is exceptional as Vanya, a role that can only be described as grueling and arduous.
However, it is Rosie Day’s Angel character that commands attention; something rather difficult when dialogue is forbidden; clearly conveying emotion the audience will comprehend and feel even without the use of words.

Uncompromising, The Seasoning House is an unrelenting glimpse into the sexual slavery trade that is probably closer to fact than fiction and for those who view the film, be aware, while the film may have ended, the memories will most assuredly remain.  



And the winner of the Killer Klowns From Outer Space DVD is....
Michele Lineberry

Michele, your prize is on the way!






Fester Bones Giveaway #2
WEREWOLVES by Jon Izzard



As mentioned last week, from now until Halloween, Fester Bones is giving away one prize a week. This week it it the book Werewolves by Jon Izzard. Chock full of photographs, this 192 page book goes beyond fiction to find the facts
Want to win it?
Simply drop Fester a line at FesterBonesGiveaway@yahoo.com and include your name and address. All entry's will be tossed in a grave and one will rise. 
Deadline is midnight September 19th and that winner will be announced next week right here on Staying Scared.
Good Luck Ghouls


One last note...
Things do go bump in the night and you might notice that Staying Scared is going through a change. All we here at Staying Scared can say is that It's going to be a very creepy October. More on that later

Until next week Creepsters,
Stay Scared

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Horrorscapes is a must for any Halloween Boo Bash

With Halloween in the not too distant future, costume parties are certain, held in places filled with the decor of nightmares. By adding HorrorscapeS, an innovative looping DVD of horrific scenes and chilling vignettes, any television or computer screen can easily be utilized to push that boo bash over the top.
Produced by Michael Speigner and Jeremiah Baumbach, over 80 fragments are depicted. With vampires and spiders, skulls and zombies, ghosts and Jack-O-Lanterns and even a creepy clown amongst, even things that go bump in the night will take notice.

Created and filmed with the utmost quality, proof coming in the form of an Emmy nomination for Photography, each punctilious scene is a culmination of distinctive costuming, exceptional FX, precise lighting and enhanced settings designed to constantly reinforce the mood.
The menu is easily maneuverable
With six sections to choose from, as well as the option to select all, choreographing a themed party couldn’t be easier and any ghoulish host can easily set the tone to their specifics. 

Section one is called Fear Fest, a vast combination of assorted scenes yanked from nightmares including a hairy tarantula creeping along, a demented butcher knife clutching clown lurking from the haze at the bottom of a stairwell and a terrified woman lying on a gurney covered in blood, her arm horribly gashed and being experimented on by an implied Dr. Death. Various odd looking eyes are also depicted and is sure to send shivers down many a spine.

The remaining five sections are specific screensavers:

Fire Skull is a perfectly designed and a graphically superior depiction of just that, a skull floating on and in a pit of fire from straight out of hell.
The Vamp Vixens are both beautiful and deadly
Vampire Vixens are sultry female blood suckers sure to tantalize any neck and perfect for those parasitic only parties.
Various Jack-O-Lantern's are depicted, all having a creepy feel
U Don’t Know Jack is possibly the overall best and will comfortably fit in any scenario, even the younger generational ones.
Watch closely and you will see
Ghost Hunting is the most innovative as camera 13, complete with date and counting digital clock across the top reminiscent of Paranormal Activity, watches over a dark and frightening, misty cemetery that in itself would convey fear. Watch closely minions, for the spooks do come out at night.
Lunar Madness is similar in fashion to the Vampire Vixen portion, only this time it is a depiction of a shadowed full moon perfect for bringing out the werewolf howls. 

An interesting note: With regards to their screensavers, 2010 saw Michael Speigner and Jeremiah Baumbach create the very first Halloween themed edition for Comcast On Demand and over 30 million fans paid witness to their handiwork. Coincidentally, they’ve been doing it ever since.

If there is anything detrimental to say about this product, it would be the dark and hard to read packaging itself. In my humble opinion, this needs an update to include eye catching flash and pizzazz…maybe some blood dripping from edges.
Any television and DVD player will work
Otherwise, HorrorscapeS, from www.relishthefear.com, is frightfully clever, horrifically disturbing, fully unnerving and for those planning a Halloween Boo Bash, this DVD is an absolute must.




Fester Bones wants to have some giveaways.


 So, from now until Halloween, each week he will be giving away something. Want to win? Simply send an email to Fester at FesterBonesGiveaway@yahoo.com and include your name and address. Also, since some of these items may be "R" rated, please state that you are 18 years of age or older.
This week the prize is a DVD of Killer Clowns From Outer Space (okay, so maybe Wee Willie Wicked help him choose this prize). Good Luck Ghouls. The deadline for entering is Thursday September 12 at midnight, so hurry up spooks and send that email. The winner will be announced on next Friday's Staying Scared posting.



Until next time Ghouls, when we will review The Seasoning House.

Stay Scared,
Thomas