THE VOID

The Void ratchets up fast! It starts with a hint of David Lynch, small town darkness, a la Twin Peaks or Blue Velvet, and is quickly in territory of The Thing and then The Walking Dead. Cultists? Check. Cosmic horror? Check. Weirdness galore? Body horror? Check and check!

I acknowledge this won't be everyone's cup of tea. But for aficionados of Lovecraftian horror, this is excellent. The visual special effects in this are spectacular. I'm assuming most of them are physical effects, with very little CGI. They look and feel physical.

Streaming on Tubi.

•

There are a few scenes that I'm pretty sure are nods to Re-Animator. They didn't go where I thought they would, and I'm glad they didn't.

I believe the protagonist Daniel Carter, an officer of the Marsh County Police Department, is a reference to Lovecraft's alter-ego fictional character Randolph Carter. (A descendant perhaps?)

OLDER GODS

Older Gods is Lovecraftian cosmic horror with the faintest dash of Hellraiser thrown in. Gorgeously shot. Excellent sound design. Music that rachets up the tension. The descent(s) into madness of the two protagonists, Billy and Chris, are told through modern technology the way Lovecraft did through print media. We never see too much, but rather just enough. I loved it.

Streaming on Tubi.

TROY'S WORK TABLE

Meet Troy's Work Table 2.1, discovered on my morning walk.

In the neighborhood next to mine, there is a "micro nursery" and they had this table sitting out at the road. I've been looking for something sturdier than TWT 2.0, which has seen better days. This barely fit in my car when I returned for it, but I'm glad it did. I expect that we're going to have grand adventures with one another.

Here's to more art-ing!

DAB

DAB, a Dortmunder Export Lager by Dortmunder Actien-Brauerei.

500 ml/16.9 oz. can served in my "giant" Sam Adams glass • 5.0% abv. • ****.

—

A little DAB will do ya! (But a full pint is better.)

Leafy, floral, light pepper. A hint of biscuit and leathery yeast. A good balance of hops, malts, and yeast. Very enjoyable.

REPTILE

Reptile, directed by Grant Singer, is a tense crime thriller. It builds psychological tension throughout by keeping us as viewers off-kilter. Stellar performances by Benicio Del Toro, Alicia Silverstone, Eric Bogosian, and others help us connect to complexly written characters. Everyone is suspect. 

 Highly recommended. Streaming on Netflix.

HEX and HEN

TWT reading his short story "Hex and Hen" at The Mill by J+A. Photograph by EV.

—

I was invited to participate in the 2023 Creative Colloquy Crawl. I was a featured reader for one of the events, "Spooky Tails," that took place during the first hour.

When I agreed to read, I didn't really have anything in hand to present. I asked if poetry was okay and was told that it was. So I worked on a few poems, but nothing seemed to really capture the spirit of the reading. 

Then I was attacked by a German Shepherd. I don't know why that called forth a short story (!) about a chicken stalking a neighbor living near its coop, but there it was. I wasn't sure this foray into genre fiction, and Lovecraftian cosmic horror at that, really worked, but everyone seemed to connect with it. The Wife declared it "pretty creepy." As I left the stage, one of the other readers told me, "Troy, that was disgusting." I took that as a compliment!

EL CONDE

I heard a film critic review El Conde and knew I needed to see it. It imagines Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet as a vampire who fakes his own death in order to leave his life of leadership behind. It's political satire meets family farce, coated with a veneer of vampire film and Greek tragedy. It's shot in gorgeous black and white. It takes a surprisingly delightful and unexpected twist toward the end. I recommend it.

It's an art house foreign film. Keep the subtitles on since it shifts between Spanish, French, and English throughout. Streaming on Netflix.

BOTTOMS

It's been quite some time since I've seen a film on the big screen. Even better, I saw it in the afternoon. (Hello, staycation.) ((This was the first time I could imagine myself as retired!))

Bottoms is Heathers meets Fight Club, but a Bizarro version of such. Gay teen romantic comedy peppered with violence and subverting some of the tropes. Plenty of laugh out loud moments. I highly recommend it.

Now playing at Tacoma's The Grand Cinema.

GHOST CAPTAIN SPACE HOP

Ghost Captain Space Hop IPA, an Imperial Pale Ale by Crux Fermentation Project.

16 oz. can served in large Sam Adams glass • 6.9% abv. • *****.

—

Crux Fermentation Project, a sibling of sorts to Deschutes Brewing, absolutely brings it with Ghost Captain Space Hop IPA. BRINGS. IT.

Complex and swirling nasal notes and palate. Pine needles. Tangerine. Butterscotch. Papaya. Grapefruit. Orange. This is such an excellent beer.

DARUMA

"Daruma." Spray paint, cardstock, and mailing labels on cardboard beer coaster.

Daruma (Bodhidharma) is the legendary founder of Chan (Zen) Buddhism and the Shaolin Temple. In Japan, Daruma dolls are used to mark the beginning and end of a goal. At the start, you color in the pupil of Daruma's left eye (right side when looking at him). When you achieve your goal, then you color in the pupil of his right eye.

Made for my favorite college student!