Vikings vs. Jack Bauer

[uberreiniger]

Do you remember Hagar the Horrible? He's that cute Viking frm the newspaper comic strips. This morning I had this really immersive dream that Hagar the Horrible stared in this dark, violent, intense, and very, very good CGI direct-to-DVD movie. It was more like an actual Norse saga then the Sunday funnies. I basically got to watch an entire commercial-quallity movie in my sleep. Nothing like free entertainment. I was even watching the screening in this very nice room on a big screen, like at a convention or something. After it was over the director gave a speech, and he was this big, muscular guy dressed in a Greek robe with tattoos and those body-modifications implants they put under the skin to create ridges. Not a guy who's going to be directing romantic comedies any time soon.

Yesterday we went and saw Mirrors. I didn't know anything about this movie except that it had Kiefer Sutherland and ghosts coming out of mirrors. It turns out Kiefer plays a depressed, lonely guy who takes a job as an overnight security guard at a huge, dark, burned-out building and then starts getting harassed by the undead. Yeah, that hit a little too close to home for me!

It was a far better movie than I was expecting to be. I was expecting it to be like almost every American horror movie that's come out in the last six years: a cookie-cutter production; sleek and with pretty special effects, but a wafer-thin plot and no real scares. I was pleasantly surprised. Mirrors is a pretty scary movie with good acting and some serious gore in a few places. There were one or two plot holes, and I don't think the ending quite achieved what they were aiming for, but still one of the better American horror films of the current decade.

Otherwise the weekend was spent reading/listening to the works of Richard Matheson, (best American writer no one's heard of,) playing World of Warcraft, and watching Shin-Chan. Fun times.

Comments

[sihaya09.livejournal.com]

Man, it figures that the one good horror movie to have come out lately is one I will absolutely not see due to subject matter. I have a serious mirror-phobia.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

According to a little behind-the-scenes featurette that I saw a few nights ago, Kiefer Sutherland has one too so it was kind of a freaky movie for him to make. Any kind of strange experience that brought yours on?

[sihaya09.livejournal.com]

Yes indeedy. There are certain names one does not say in front of a mirror. Also, I've just always managed to see things that weren't "there."

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Would this be that bloody person who girls are always daring each other to say in front of mirrors in middle school bathrooms in order to scare each other? I had a friend in school who claimed she did that and she appeared, but I was never sure if I believed her. She had a lot of ghost stories and they were all pretty out there, even for someone like me who's inclined to believe in those sorts of things. I'd like to hear a little more about what you've seen if you wouldn't mind. Of course, I do understand if it's nothing you want to talk about.

[sihaya09.livejournal.com]

Yep, that would be the one. And who knows if what appeared was the person in question-- it could have been any number of other things taking advantage of a perfect opportunity to scare some kids. But yes, I've seen everything from "her" (which-- lemme tell you, jesus christ. Kind of like "the scream" with matted black hair and freaking FANGS) to wolves to my own face, distorted. I absolutely cannot sleep in any room where a mirror is near the bed; in my own room, I have one 12" mirror on a spindle that can be turned to face the wall at the end of the night.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Considering how the name can't be traced back to any kind of real person, I'm more likely to believe that if there is something appearing in mirrors in response to this little ritual, it's some non-human entity that's found a way to exploit the situation. Although what such a creature would gain from said activity I have no idea. Maybe they get bored and try to find ways to entertain themselves just like we do.

[sihaya09.livejournal.com]

That's what I figured. I always thought that the various legends were just that. But there is definitely something (or somethings) taking advantage. And what I saw was pretty much the freakiest thing I've ever seen.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

I've lately become interested in the subject of djinn. And for that matter rakshasas, nephilim, Norse fire and ice giants, and other of these immaterial things with full working societies that allegedly interefered against humans, were punished for it by God(s), and have held a grudge against us ever since. The fact that some variation on what looks for all intents and purposes like the same species keeps popping up in one culture to the next both fascinates and disturbs me.

[fadedsecret.livejournal.com]

I won't watch Mirrors, because I believe in ghosts, and when I start thinking about it too much (especially after a horror movie) I get super freaked out...and ghosts/seeing things in mirrors is one of the top spooks for me.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Remember the mirror scene in Silent Hill 3? The movie's pretty much that. I've never seen anything come out of a mirror, but the character's situation in which he encountered the ghosts was enough like mine to make me uneasy. It was a scary movie to me because it reminded me of my life!

[fadedsecret.livejournal.com]

:( Scary...that would make it worse since it is so like you.

[redstar826.livejournal.com]

I'm a wuss with an overactive imagination so I tend to avoid those sorts of movies. I don't even really have much of a belief in ghosts (I guess you could say I am agnostic on that subject) but I can scare myself pretty easily.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

If you spook easy I wouldn't recommend the movie.

[nightshade-7976.livejournal.com]

Is Mirrors a remake, because just by the previews, it looked like a remake of a Japanese movie???

(best American writer no one's heard of,)
Not exactly true (the "no one's heard of" part...the "best American writer" part is debateable. ;P). I have three of his books at the moment, and know his other works well...but I wouldn't exactly say he's the best...I mean, I like him, and I first started reading him when I was 13 (The Legend of Hell House), but he's not anywhere near the top of my list...What'd you read, though?

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Not the best, just the best no one's heard of :) Lots of people have heard of movies like What Dreams May Come, Stir of Echoes, and Somewhere in Time but not a lot of people know they were all based on novels by the same writer. He doesn't have the name recognition that Stephen King has, although King cites him as a primary influence.

Currently reading A Stir of Echoes. Will hopefully finish it tonight as it's a very fast read. Also listening to the audiobook of I Am Legend. Read it a few years ago and loved it, especially the ending.

[nightshade-7976.livejournal.com]

You should read Hell House. Creepiest book...and Nightmare at 30,000 Feet. :) I have the two you're reading, myself. They're pretty good...:)

[ravenbrenna.livejournal.com]

O_O Remind me to watch that movie in the day time...

[flame-song.livejournal.com]

I didn't know Hagar was known outside of Europe!!!

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Yep. He's not super-popular or anything but he's quietly maintained a presence on our comic strip pages for decades.