No Gein III: The Final Cut Part 8

Chapter Eight: A Familiar Face

March 14^th, 2007 Milwaukee, Wisconsin

“Welcome to your first comic book store!” Jonathan giddily announced while holding the door open for Stella. Walking into this strange new world that was Deranged Comics and Games, Stella saw unfamiliar faces looking her over. In the back, a heavy-set guy with big poofy hair sat at a table surrounded by a few other men as papers and dice lay scattered about. The table-top gamers stopped mid roll to stare at the store’s potential new customer.

“Hey, Jonathan,” a goth looking girl in a Wednesday 13 shirt greeted them with a smile, “so this is the is the girl you’d been telling me about!” Stella blushed nervously as she wasn’t always comfortable with people discussing her. Still, looking around at the other people in this store, Stella was glad to see this place wasn’t a total boys club. Stella gave a timid wave as the girl said, “I’m Rachel, the store manager. It’s great to have you here. What kind of things do you like to read?”

“Um,” Stella looked around at all the single issues, shelves filled with graphic novels tables covered in labeled boxes and answered, “all kinds of things I guess.”

“Alright, well these are our newer releases.” Rachel said while walking over a display rack against the wall covered with comics. “They’re all arranged alphabetically, and the boxes on the tables are older back issues. If you have any questions let me know.”

Stella nodded politely as Rachel went back behind the cash register. Looking at the comic book rack was like gazing upon an alien world, its god like citizens clad in spandex fighting the good fight for all time. Stella scowled at the sight of some of the barley dressed female fighters. “You know I was thinking,” she heard her boyfriend Jonathan say, “we should start a new charity.”

“Oh yeah, for what?” Stella asked, her eyes still perusing the titles.

“We should raise money to buy some more clothes for these female characters.” He quipped while holding up one of the offending floppys.

Stella rolled her eyes as she still wasn’t used to his cornball humor. “It’s a good thing I like you.” she said.

Looking back to the shelves, Stella noticed the titles displayed weren’t all spandex. She recognized some manga like Death Note and Oh My Goodness which her roommate Amber liked. There were a few horror books too, including what looked like several separate issues all with Halloween in their title.

“Rob Zombie’s Halloween.” Stella said out loud as she picked up her first comic book. The name Rob Zombie stuck out to her as she was a fan of his music and his House of 1000 Corpses movie.

“Oh, that’s right.” Jonathan went on to explain, “Rob Zombie was set to do a remake of the original Halloween, but the studio canned that so they could do Helloween. Zombie’s idea was for two movies,” Jonathan continued, “one about a young Michael Meyers in the sanitarium, the other basically redoing the Halloween night he escapes. This series is about Zombies first idea.”

“Wow, neat.” Stella said while taking issues 2-5 off the shelf.

Looking over her shoulder, her curly brushed against him as Jonathan leaned into her saying, “Supposed to be a six part series.” Jonathan then made his patented goofy smile and said, “I guess that means I’ll have to bring you back here for the sixth issue!”

He didn’t notice her blushing as his attention immediately diverted to the cover of another issue. It was a cyberpunk style collage of computer images straight out of the Matrix, only the monitors were dripping in blood. Jonathan quickly reached for issue one of Halloween: H2K Rebooted. Yanking the title off the shelf he said, “Check this out. Ever since Devil’s Due comics got the rights to the Halloween they’ve been doing all the follow ups to those anthology films. Pretty neat stuff.”

Jonathan then snatched Halloween title featuring a pair of dueling werewolves explaining, “Oh, this one is a crossover between Halloween Six and some 80’s TV show called Werewolf. Ever hear of that?”

“I don’t remember anything from the 80s. Do you?” She said teasing her boyfriend who was just a few years older.

“Oh, she burned you there Jonathan!” A thin man in a Bart Simpson T-shirt laughed as he approached and introduced himself to Stella. “Hi, I’m Aaron. Buying some Halloween comics huh?”

Stella nodded while looking down at her books. Aaron then asked, “Did you hear they’re doing a movie with Halloween and Hellraiser.”

“Helloween, right?” Stella responded, naming the title of next year’s crossover film.

“That’s right.” Aaron said excited. “Rumor is the cult leader from Halloween 3 is gonna get Michael Meyers and the characters from the anthology films; like the sea monster from H20 and the vampire from Resurrection, to team up against the Cenobites! Trying to top Freddy vs the Devil I guess.”

Another man approached and chimed in, “Hey Jonathan, that reminds me, did you hear they’re doing a comic crossing Pumpkinhead with Friday the 13^th? It’s gonna be called Devil of Evil, Demon of Vengeance.”

“No Paul, I haven’t.” Jonathan said, but looking at his shirt, filled with the image of the titular character from the hillbilly horror movie known as Pumpkinhead, he added “and I can’t tell who your money’s on either.”

Paul then laughed saying “Wow, my sarcasm detector is going off the charts.”

Aaron then mimicked holding a scanning device, and in a nasally voice said, “Oh, a sarcasm detector, that’s a really useful invention!”

While the four all laughed together Stella saw a familiar face walked out from the back of the store. “Jesus mighty, you guys need to make like Jon and get a girlfriend.” Stella knew she’d seen this man before, with his mustache and dyed orange hair, but she couldn’t remember where.

“Oh hey, it’s Harry, the owner.” Jonathan pointed to him and said to Stella, “This is guy is like the Howard Hughes of comics. Remember this moment as we don’t see him here that often.” Then looking to the shop’s owner he said, “Harry, this is Stella, you might not recognize her, as last time you saw her it looked like she was dancing in a barbecue pit.”

“Oh,” Harry recalled, excitedly pointing at her saying, “you were at the movie dressed up as Freddy Krueger.”

Stella shyly nodded as Harry complimented, “That was a great costume!”

“Thanks.” She wondered how much he meant it, given she was slim and not all buff like Nightmare on Elm Street’s Kane Hodder.

“Have you been finding everything OK?” The owner asked.

Stella held up her Zombie Halloween comics as John said, “Yeah, it’s your lucky day. She’s about to buy her first comics!”

“Awesome,” Eying the five titles she held Harry said “Just so you know, issue six of that will probably come out next week. Despite how Johnny boy here is crackin on me, I’m always here on Wednesdays. You can come by and pick it up then.”

“Sounds like a date.” Stella said.

“Well how about that!” Jonathan jokingly protested. “You know some guys have a story about losing their girl to Mick Jagger or Robert Plant, here I lost my girl to Comic Book Guy!”

By the following Monday Stella had forgotten all about that humorous exchange as she stared at the computer monitor. “Bleep, bleep, bleep,” and the sound of the clacking keyboard echoed through the dormitory. Over AOL instant messenger Jonathan informed Stella of a poetry reading at the coffee shop that would be held in two nights. The memories of their first date lingered in her nostrils as she recalled the smell of freshly ground coffee. Memories of hot java were replaced by the actual present aroma of melted butter. “Hey love bird,” Amber said “I made some popcorn. It’s almost showtime.”

“Oh right!” Stella realized she’d lost track of time and excitedly typed “c ya l8r” into the instant messenger chat window. She smirked as her computer instantly bleeped back with the message “Not if I see you first.” Stella then left her desk to join her roommates on the couch.

The A&E network was on the television and the station hyped its series premier. Bates Motel was a prequel to Psycho set in the 1970’s. Early in the episode, an old car with luggage tied to the top drives by the beautiful Oregon coast. To one side were mountains lush with greenery, while the other side small waves crept onto the sands as the scene was scored with soft piano music. The scene then cut to an interior shot of the car, driven by the youthful beauty that was Norma Bates. In the passenger seat, her teenage son Norman flipped through the radio dial, stopping on a news broadcast that altered the mood of the splendid scenery about them.

Stella’s ears perked up as she heard the familiar voice on the show’s car radio. “in one of the most shocking and brutal crimes in the annals of American history.”

“Who is that?” Stella wondered aloud.

“Oh right, I heard about this.” her flatmate Michelle answered. “That’s Jon Larroquette.”

“Larro-who?” Stella asked.

“He was on an 80s show called Night Court.”

“Did you watch that when you were a kid?” Amber coyly asked.

“Fuck, I’m not that old!” the senior student said while playfully tossing a piece of popcorn at her.

“Anyway,” Michelle added, “he did the opening narration in the Texas Chainsaw movies.”

“Oh, right.” Stella said.

“Yeah, I heard the guy that directed Chainsaw pitched for Larroquette to have this bit.” Michelle said, pointing at the screen. “He pitched the TV show to appease the studio after killing Norman off in Psycho II. In his notes he had this idea kind of backhandedly tying in Psycho with chainsaw.”

“Isn’t that that director that disappeared or something?” Amber asked.

“Yeah, Stella,” Michelle chimed in, “aren’t you reading a book about him?”

“Yeah?“

“So where is he?” Michelle asked.

“Buried at my house.”

Michelle laughed. “Stella you’re hilarious.” 

“Yeah, just kidding,” Stella said, “he’s tied up in my room.”

“Jonathan better not find out.” Amber cracked on her before asking, “but really what do you think happened to him?”

“I don’t know. The book talks about this obsessed fan he had who they suspect murdered his sister. They both disappeared, so who knows.”

“Man that’s fucked up. I heard he killed himself.”

Stella tensed as those words were spoken. She loved these girls. In her short time here they became like a new family to her, but not even they knew of that dark night she had all those years ago.

After the TV episode was over, Stella went back to her desk, carrying with her a peculiar feeling she just couldn’t shake. That book they were talking about sat at her desk. Thumbing through it, she found a picture of George Kohler. He looked heavier his face looked fuller than she remembered him looking on TV. It was an old picture from before he broke into the business. Back then he had this bombastically big poofy hair. As she focused on his eyes, there was a familiarity with him she couldn’t place, it wasn’t just from seeing him on TV. Placing a bookmark to keep the page she pulled out her sketch book. Her pencil scratched the pages, lines formed the facial features of the missing and possibly departed director. The top of the pencil floated up to George’s forehead, about to draw his massive mop of hair, but it stopped. Almost instinctively, the pencil drew a crew cut on the head instead. The wooden pencil then returned down to the face where it drew a small mustache above its lips. Her hand dropped the pencil as she looked down at her work. Her hand then reached for her colored pencils, her fingers gripped the utensil that was orange in color. Stella was able to see the finished product in her mind before she continued. Thinking back on her day, butterflies fluttered in her stomach as the thought fully dawned on her. It was not a sensation of fear, as if she had something to be afraid of, but it was a shock, a realization of a truth that had stood before her. Still looking down at her drawing while her hand effortlessly colored the sketch pad, she knew it was true. The resemblance was uncanny.

No Gein III: The Final Cut, Part Six

Chapter Six: Don’t Go In The House

Psycho: Movies, Murder, Madness and the Disappearance of George Kohler

Kohler’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre opens with a decayed corpse sitting atop a tombstone. After this shocking image, we get the film’s scant plot involving Sally and her brother checking on their grandfather’s grave after hearing news of several local cemeteries being desecrated. Along the way, they run into a family of cannibalistic murders, least of which is the newly named Leatherface; who replaces Saw-Man from the original 1974 film as the Chainsaw wielding maniac who dons several masks of human skin.

Along with its massive success, much controversy surrounded the 2003 remake. Victim’s rights groups suggested Kohler had taken inspiration from Milwaukee murderer Jeffrey Dahmer, whose apartment was found to have various skeletons and other human remains. The home of the maniacal family in Kohler’s Chainsaw film seemed to have taken cues from Dahmer, with its chairs covered in bones, human skin lampshades and bed posts made of skulls. However, was there possibly an earlier influence on this film that was unknown at the time?

Before his time in Hollywood, George was in correspondence with author Robert Bloch regarding an unproduced screenplay George wrote called Deranged. Bloch was a relatively successful novelist and television writer, but never attained true breakout success until his later years when he published the 1993 novel Psycho. Bloch personally arranged for the then unknown George Kohler to be the director on Psycho’s film adaptation, which closely follows the novel.

Norman Bates, an eccentric hotel owner devoted to his live-in mother, is the lead character in both the film and novel. Following several murders comes one of the great surprise endings in film, as it is revealed that Norman’s mother is actually long dead. Her body is preserved by her son and kept in her old bedroom. Even more shocking, Norman dresses as his dead mother, and, apparently suffering from dissociative personality disorder, “becomes” his mother, murdering anyone perceived to be a threat to her son. Psycho turned out to be more shocking to audiences than Silence of the Lambs which was released just a few years prior.

Published just before the author’s death, Bloch was very tight lipped about what inspired him to write such a tale. Upon closer inspection, the name Norman is close to the word normal. Norman of course is not normal, but desperately attempts to don the appearance of normalcy. This seemingly normal man lives in a secluded area with his fanatical mother while hiding a terrible secret. Parallels to Edward Gein are obvious.  

“What are you reading?” Stella’s father momentarily took his eyes off the road to ask.

Holding up the book cover she answered, “It’s about George Kohler.”

“Oh, wasn’t he that movie director?” he asked.

“Yeah.” she answered as her eyes diverted back to the pages.

“Didn’t his mom or somebody run into that Psycho down in Plainfield years ago?” He asked as his eyes focused back on the road.

“It was his Aunt.” she answered while continuing to read.

Thinking back to the local story that made global headlines he recalled. “Yeah, I remember that in the news a few years ago when they found all those bodies. Crazy stuff.” Then, glancing at her book, he added. “What ever happened to that director guy? Didn’t he vanish or something?”

“Yeah, this book talks about it. No one knows what happened. It says he had some crazy fans. Some of them wanted him to make a movie about that Plainfield guy but he didn’t want to. One theory is that a fan killed him.”

“I remember hearing that.” her father recalled. “One story I heard was he checked himself into the Mendota institution up in Madison. Who knows though; can’t believe everything you see on the internet right?”

Approaching their hometown of Amherst, he smiled as the sun hung ahead of them. He was so proud of his daughter. They’d both been through so much loss and hurt, but now he was a year sober, and she was off to college and seemed to have met someone special. He got to meet Stella’s boyfriend today when he picked her up from college. He seemed a little eccentric, but so was his daughter. Either way, Stella seemed really happy, happier than he’d seen her in a long time.

“So, Jonathan huh?” he said. “You really like this guy?”

“Yeah.” Stella said, blushing. She then turned away from her book and looked out the window, the flat plains of Wisconsin lay stretched out to the horizon.

“Well that’s great.” Her father said. “Listen, you know I love you, and, and I know,” he was stammering his words now, “I know you’re not a little kid anymore.” It grew more and more uncomfortable for him the closer he got to the subject. “Just use protection, OK?

“Dad!”

“Okay, okay!” As uncomfortable as that exchanged was, he had to laugh a little as it’d been a long time since he’d seen his daughter show so much emotion as she just had in that moment. “Okay, I’m just saying.”

Finally coming into their hometown, he saw a large white house on the side of the road. It looked empty now, but he was grateful for its presence and the opportunity it provided to change the subject. “That there’s a Kohler property.” He said pointing to the house. “From what I remember, George bought it for his dad.” He saw her glance at the building and its empty driveway as he continued. “Who knows, maybe he’s hiding out there.”

Her dad couldn’t stay long once they got home as he had to go in for the night shift at his new job. Once she dropped her things off in her old room, she went into what was her sister’s room. Before leaving for college, her father converted Juliana’s old room into a studio for Stella. He also kept a small desk there which he occasionally worked out of, so they both shared this space that once belonged to Juliana. In a way, it helped them both heal. Using this room helped them to move on. They both agreed to keep one thing of Julianna’s, her trophy case remained intact, still glowing in the light of the room.

Stella sat at the chair in her desk. Looking at the spot where Juliana’s bed used to be, she remembered and reflected. Her short time in university was the best time of her life, probably better than all of her life before that really. Now looking at the window at the lonely landscape outside, she thought about how she was now back in this place where she didn’t have any friends. At least spring break was only a week. She supposed she could call Meghan, that girl she knew from high school, but she was probably busy. Stella made no real plans for this week. It’s not like she could afford go to Palm Beach or wherever other college kids on TV go for Spring Break. Tomorrow she would give Jonathan a call, but tonight she intended to just stay home and read. However, as the book cover faced up, looking back at her, and she could only think of one thing.

The sun was so far behind her now. As it dipped into the horizon Stella rode her bike down the gravel road towards the large white house ahead of her. Placing her bike in the nearby tree line, she crept toward the house and the looming darkness around it. No lights were visible inside and as she ascended the creaky porch steps she had no idea what she would tell do should she find anyone. “Hi George, I’m Stella, I’m a big fan of your movies and I just wanted to see if you were hiding here.” What could she say? “Hello.” was all she could think of as she wrapped on the door. No curtains hung from any of the windows of the house. Placing the edge of her hands around her forehead she pressed her face towards the large pane of glass on the front porch. Looking inside, most of the furniture was gone. There was an old dusty couch and a few cardboard boxes, but otherwise it looked empty. She jumped and quickly turned around as a breeze blew accompanied by a loud banging noise, it sounded like wood banging on wood. There was nothing behind her, and she realized the sound was coming from around the back of the house.

Walking around the perimeter of the home, Stella noticed a security camera posted to the wall. It remained still, and, looking closer, she realized its light was off. It was long dead. Coming to the back of the house, she found the source of the noise. The back door was open, occasionally slamming shut with the wind. “Hello.” she spoke again as she poked her dead inside. There was still no answer. She pulled a flashlight out her backpack, bringing a little light  into the house while the sun faded away. Inside the kitchen, the refrigerator sat silently. No light emerged from within as its door opened revealing empty contents inside. Walking up the steps to the second floor she found each of the bedrooms to be empty, except one.

This must have been George Kohler’s home. Horror posters remained on the wall, including Friday the 13^th Part VIII, the Devil Takes Manhattan, and the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Next to Saw-Man and his chainsaw the text of the poster read, “Who will survive and what will be left of them?” This room was like a shrine to horror movies. Various props and memorabilia sat about. Stella noticed a prop knife along with a wig and dressed that looked like it was from Psycho. A prop chainsaw hung on the wall. There was also a desk with a stack of papers. Rummaging through the desk drawer, she’d found an old, typed screenplay called Deranged, written by George Kohler dated 1989. Flipping through the script, inside the first few pages were photographs. A few of them looked like they were George when he was young. Most of them were of a woman, whom Stella realized was his sister. “Such a shame,” Stella thought to herself. All the other rooms were bare, no clothes, no other personal items, but this room remained intact. Why would all this stuff have been left here?

Looking down, Stella realized that wasn’t the strangest thing about this room. A series of cuts were visible on the floor. Kneeling down, her fingertips traced the grooves in the wood. There were four short cuts, and they weren’t random. In fact, as the frame of her upper body faced downwards, Stella realized the top two marks lined up with her shoulders. Standing up she continued looking down and realized the bottom two marks would have lined up with her hips had she been laying there. These marks weren’t deep and weren’t clean cuts that would have been made with a knife or an axe. It looked like someone took a power tool to the floor. It looked like the marks of a chainsaw.

That wooden door downstairs was still banging, sending echoes through the house, but now there was another sound, the sound of footsteps. Someone else was in the house. Now it was several footsteps she heard, followed by the sound of giggling. “Time to get fucked up.” an adolescent male voice said followed by the crackling sound of an aluminum can opening.

“I’m already high man.” the voice of another boy followed.

Stella quietly crept to the bathroom as the commotion continued downstairs. Luckily the door was able to be locked. At least she wouldn’t get in trouble for trespassing, she thought to herself, as whoever these kids were, they were trespassing themselves.

“I heard that movie director haunts this place.” She heard the first voice say.

“Bullshit.” She heard the other voice reply.

“No man, he was in a cult and summoned up some demonic shit here. They say the devil took his soul.”

Stella almost laughed as she heard the juvenile speculation. It sounded like there was only two of them, but there was still only one of her. She could remain hidden in this bathroom if worse came to worse, but she was long passed tired of hiding. Besides, rummaging through her backpack, she found an old makeup kit. Looking in the cracked mirror, she had an idea.

“What was that?” One of the voices said as the soundtrack from the Psycho movie played on Stella’s Walkman. Its volume was turned up all the way so the sound from the headphones filled the empty house.

“Sounds like its upstairs.” the other voice said as their footsteps approached the stairwell. Their own flashlights shined up to the second floor and screams followed, for what these boys saw seemed inhuman. Borrowing from the special edition of the Exorcist, released just a few years prior, Stella did a spider-walk down the steps. Her hands served as feet as her chest faced the ceiling leaving her head hanging upside down. Makeup formed red and black shapes around her face as her mouth hung agape releasing a terrible screeching sound. The boys almost fell over screaming before frantically running out the door, dropping their beer cans behind them and abandoning their six packs.

Adrenaline still rushed through Stella as she rode her bike home. The night breeze blew softly on her still made-up face. Anyone who might happen to drive by and see her might have been scared to death, but fortunately no one else was around. For once, the solitude of Kodak country was a comfort to her as she rode home in the night. She laughed to herself as she thought back to those boys running out of the house in terror. Still, this humorous thought couldn’t smother that creeping feeling she had. As her own house lay ahead, the warm lights still glowing inside, one horrible thought rattled in her mind. Did she just see the place where George Kohler was murdered?

No Gein III: The Final Cut, Part Four

Chapter Four: That First Kiss

Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Spring 2007

It was her second semester living at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and she was loving it. The weather was warm again as she sat at a park bench in Catalano Square across the street from her campus. It was there that she heard a voice ask, “That’s Mushroomhead right?” The girl looked up to see another student pointing at her shirt.

Her head nodded and a little smile escaped her lips as she looked up. She had seen this guy around campus but didn’t know his name. Aside from his shoulder length reddish hair, he looked a bit like Jim Carrey from Ace Ventura.

“Cool, I saw them at The Rave last year. Ever go there?” This time she nodded her head no, as the man immediately went to his next question. “So, do you like horror movies?”

“Why?” she asked nervously.

“Just asking.” He then extended his hand as if closing a formal business deal, saying, “I’m Jonathan.”

“Not Larry?” she replied, leaving his hand hanging in the air. Over a Spiderman shirt Jonathan wore a brown collared top with a ‘Patticoni Printing’ label stitched on its right breast and the name “Larry” embroidered above it.

Jonathan looked down at his shirt with a mischievous smirk. “Oh, I just wear these for fun.” He then asked, “So, I heard you’re a horror fan?”

“Yeah, sometimes.” she answered as she wondered why this guy was talking to her.

Jonathan then mimicked the voice of the Ghost Face Killer from the Scream series, asking, “What’s your favorite scary movie?”

The girl leaned back on the bench, startled by the wicked gleam in his eye while his right hand mimicked holding a telephone, but, seeing her reaction, his expression immediately changed. “Oh, sorry, just kidding,” he said, holding his hand up, palm facing towards her. “Don’t mace me.”

Still leaning back cautiously, she did manage to relax a little as he asked her “Have you seen the new Freddy, Devil, Ash movie yet?”

“No, not yet.” She answered as she perked up. She was interested in this sequel to Freddy vs the Devil, the crossover film between Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13^th. This entry added another franchise to the mix with Ash, the lead character of the Evil Dead series.

“Well,” it sounded like Jonathan’s wall of confidence shook for just for a moment as he spat it out. “I’m off work Friday but I have to work Saturday so I was wondering if you’d like to see a movie with me Friday?” His words ran out of his mouth like a runaway train going down the tracks. It was as though had his words not escaped at that exact moment they would have been trapped, forever stalled at the train station of his dreams.

“Yes.” She felt her eyes widen as her own single word emerged, expressing shock that her vocal cords even formed the sound of that word before her brain even considered it.

“Groovy!” Jonathan said, now mimicking Ash from the Evil Dead. “Hey,” Jonathan’s voice was once again confident and energetic as he suggested, “wouldn’t it be fun if we were in costume? I’m gonna go as Ash.”

“Ok.” She never dreamed of dressing up for a movie before, but it sounded fun.

“You live in the Two50Two building right?” Stella nodded, indicating that was correct. A few exceptions aside, all full time Freshman and Sophomore students were required to live in the Two50Two building.

“Great, I’ll meet you in front of Two50Two, let’s say at five fifty-five?” Jonathan beamed with pride at the corny word pun he just made.

Stella rolled her eyes but said “OK.”

“Awesome.” He grinned at her in triumph. Then, his eyes darted about before he said. “Oh, I suppose you should know who you’re going with.” Extending his hand as if closing a formal business deal, he, “I’m Jonathan.”

“Not Larry?” she replied, leaving his hand hanging in the air. Over a Spiderman shirt Jonathan wore a brown collared top with a ‘Patticoni Printing’ label stitched on its right breast and the name “Larry” embroidered above it.

Jonathan looked down at his shirt with a mischievous smirk. “Oh, I just wear these for fun. My name really is Jonathan.” Reaching for his wallet he said, “I can show you my id if you want!”

“That’s OK.” the girl said, laughing. He couldn’t tell if he was joking or if he was actually serious, but it was cute either way.

Then, pointing at her, he said, “And you’re Stella, right.”

“Right.” she blushed, it hadn’t occurred to her to share her name.

“Ok great. So, see you Friday?”

“Sure.”

“Alright, smell ya later!” Jonathan said as he strutted away.

That Friday Stella’s doormats helped her get her cos-play ready. Jonathan was going as Ash. The Jersey Devil of the Friday the 13^th series was a full body suit, which seemed too daunting at this short notice. Hence, Stella would go as Freddy. Amber, one of her dorm mates, lent Stella her black and red sweater that resembled that of the horror villain’s. Stella pulled it over her and saw it fit well while Raina, another dorm mate, helped her with her makeup. After a coat of face paint, Stella appeared to have been horribly burned, just like the character she was cos playing. Tucking her long blonde hair under a black hat, it felt uncanny as she looked in the mirror and saw Freddy Krueger staring back at her.

“There’s just one thing missing!” her other dorm mate Michelle excitedly said. As Michelle approached it appeared she was delicately holding something in her hands. Stella’s disfigured appearing face cracked a smile that glowed through her make up as Michelle presented her a brown leather glove with plastic extensions protruding from the fingers mimicking Freddy’s claws. “I got this last Halloween, but you can have it.”

“Aww, thanks Michelle.” Stella said as she pulled the glove over her slender hand.

The girls collectively looked at Stella’s reflection in the full body mirror and were in amazed at the transformation. Looking over her slender figure, Amber said. “That is one fine Freddy!”

Waiting outside the dorms her outlook darkened as the sun began to dip, its last rays reaching out over the Milwaukee River. She got a few stares from people passing by. Some were startled, others expressed concern as they glanced her seemingly charred face. Stella wondered if anyone even got who she was supposed to be. Stella looked at her watch, it was five fifty-four. As a cool April breeze blew by and the stares continued from passerby’s, she wondered if all of this was such a good idea.

“Hail to the king baby!” Just in the nick of time, Stella heard Jonathan’s booming voice. He confidently walked toward her dressed in a long sleeved buttoned-down blue top. As he drew closer, she noticed the “Shop smart, shop S-Mart,” patch stitched into the shirt. Naturally, the name ‘Ash’ was embroidered above it. Like her, he also bore a costumed glove resembling a metal gauntlet.

“Wow, you look amazing!” He said as he saw her scarred face and her own gloved hand.

“Thanks.” she said, looking over herself, almost forgetting her costume. Then, noticing Jonathan was carrying a small backpack, she asked, “What’s that for.”

“Oh, that’s something for later.” He answered as he raised his costumed fist up where she met him with a light fist bump. She smiled as their costumed hands connected. Just for a moment, it felt electric. In the movies Freddy wasn’t slim, and actor Bruce Campbell didn’t have long reddish hair, but here, on this night, these two were perfect just as they were.

They made small talk on the bus to the theater. Jonathan did most of the talking actually, prattling on about his classes and such. Getting off the bus near the Avalon Atmospheric Theater, Stella felt a pit in her stomach as a small crowd gathered at the entrance. Some patrons were even dressed up like they were. “Just a minute.” Jonathan said as Stella faced the theater. Jonathan stopped to open his backpack from which he pulled out a toy shotgun, the handle of which appeared to have been removed. He rolled up the blue sleeve of his gloved hand and, via a contraption on his prop gun attached the barrel to his limb, making it appear not that his hand was holding the gun, but that his hand was the gun. “My boom stick!” Jonathan proudly proclaimed.

Stella covered her made up face with her own gloved hand, nearly poking herself with the plastic extensions as she giggled. “Oh my god, you’re nuts.”

Approaching the crowd in front of the theater, Stella pulled the brim of her hat down in an attempt to hide her face as the sound of clicking cameras surrounded them. She stood close to Jonathan, moving slightly behind him as he gallantly posed for pictures spouting Bruce Campbell quotes. She couldn’t believe this guy. In a way, he looked ridiculous, but he relished every moment.

After Jonathan bought tickets for the two of them, they entered the lobby to find a few others in costume. Stella was surprised to see a few people actually made full body costumes to dress up as Friday the 13^th’s Jersey Devil. Random other monsters were there too, including the werewolf from Halloween Six, Pinhead, and a few other Freddy’s. One cos-player got her attention, it was a character who had quite an impact on her life. There before her, in a fairly accurate costume, was Saw-Man. She instantly zoned out while watching the lead villain from Texas Chainsaw Massacre , not hearing anything around her.

“I said, are you supposed to be Freddy Krueger?” A condescending voice snapped her back to the theater, where in front of her stood a bald obese man with his own chocolate stained unbuttoned S-mart shirt staring at her. Through his thick glasses his eyes looked her over disapprovingly. “Freddy Krueger is supposed to be jacked!” Stella looked down, her eyes avoiding the fanboy and focused on her own slim figure.

Jonathan came to her side and interjected. “Hey, what movie was that where Ash had a giant beer gut?” he quipped, pointing to the man’s belly. Stella let out a small chuckle but still avoided eye contact.

“Whatever.” the man said, walking away dismissively.

“Don’t let that asshole bother you.” Stella heard another male voice say. “You look great!”

“Thanks.” Stella said as her gaze moved upward away from the floor where she saw another large but more fit man with short peroxide blonde hair.

“But I have to tell you something.” the man said. “The Devil wants his rematch.”

The best of the Devil cos-players lumbered towards her. His claws extended outwards, and his fang filled jaw hissed at Stella who stood motionless. She wasn’t scared, she was amazed. The level of detail in this costume was awe inspiring. She couldn’t even dream of being talented enough to make something like this. “Do you mind if I get a picture with you?” The Devil cos-player asked.

“That’d be awesome.” Jonathan answered for her as he took his own camera out of his backpack. The two horror villains faced off in the theater lobby. Stella held up her pretend bladed glove, but her face was blank, her makeup simply hung expressionless on her face.

After a snap of the camera Jonathan interjected. “Come on Stella show some ferocity. You’re the stuff of nightmares!” he said standing next to her mimicking her own pose as he coached. “Here, like this.” Jonathan hissed and glared at the devil with a fierce stare.

Stella’s lips parted, her teeth slightly protruded foreword as she posed for another picture.

“That’s better, now put some snarl into it!” Jonathan said stepping away.

Stella’s lips slid further apart, her eyes widened and her arms tensed as her gloved hand remained pointed to her fictional opponent. Out of the corner of her eye she could see she’d drawn some attention. Other people stopped and were taking pictures of her. Among the picture takers she could see that obnoxious fanboy walking away. It was then that, somewhere within her, an intensity emerged. Feelings long smothered, shamed and shunned, rose from her within her guts, up through her lungs and out of her vocal cords. From her lips sprung horrifying hiss that scared the Devil himself.

“Beautiful baby beautiful.” Jonathan clapped in approval. Stella’s gloved hand shook as it returned to her side as she wondered if those around her were as startled as she was of what had just come out of her.

“Thanks a million.” The older man said. The lobby lights flashed indicating the real show was about to begin. Turning to Jonathan the older man asked the three co-splayers, “Mind if I get a quick one with the three of you?”

Stella’s hands were still shaking, but she managed a deep relaxing breath as she felt Jonathan place his arm around her. The Devil stood happily to her side, as there would be no posing for this photo. The three cos-players smiled as if the characters they portrayed were all best friends.

As the theater grew dark the first trailer began. The lullaby “Hush Little Baby Don’t Say a Word” was softy sung by an older woman as the audience witnessed scenes of a desolate landscape. “What is this?” Jonathan asked. Once that whirring sound effect hit, Stella, as well as others in the audience, knew instantly. “Every Legend,” the chalk white text read on the screen followed by shots of R. Lee Ermey of ‘Full Metal Jacket’ fame playing the patriarch of a family of maniacs. ‘has a beginning.’ The text concluded, as a group of young people are dispatched while cries of terror came from both the silver screen and the in theater audience.

“It’s Chainsaw.” Stella answered before the logo emblazoned the screen. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning was a prequel to the 2003 remake of the cult 70’s hit. This franchise was all too familiar to Stella, as it accidentally played a crucial role in the young girl’s life.

Once the feature presentation began, the crowd cheered wildly at the title screen. Stella had never experienced theater goers cheering for a movie before. Looking around at the enthusiastic fans, she saw that older man sitting with his Devil costumed friend. The cos-player clapped his clawed hands, but the other man sat still in his seat. In fact, as the light glowed on his face, it looked like he had shed a tear. “He must really be a big fan.” she thought to herself as the movie began.

After the show Stella sat in a comfortable chair. Her hands wrapped around the ceramic mug as she felt the heat from the java in her hands. A few bookshelves and paintings covered the walls. Stella hadn’t been to the Emporium before, but Jonathan seemed familiar with the place. The staff knew him when he walked in, and thought nothing of his shotgun arm prop, never mind his date walking in looking like a burn victim.

“That was so cool when Freddy used the Necronomicon to bring back the past Friday the 13^th victims as Deadites.” Stella agreed with her date as she sipped her steaming drink. Jonathan then asked, “Did you like it?”

“Yeah, it was awesome.”

“Think they’ll do another one?” Jonathan asked before sipping his own drink.

“I don’t know. It’d be cool if they did.”

“Yeah, lots of crossover films coming out.” Jonathan began to prattle on again. “Last year was Aliens vs Predator. Tonight was Freddy, the Devil and Ash, next year is Helloween.” Smirking he then asked, “Hey what are you doing next year? Would you want to go see that one with me?”

Stella grinned at Jonathan as she detected zero sarcasm in his question. “Well, I don’t know, let me check my calendar.” she motioned with her hands, mimicking opening an imaginary date book. “Helloween,” she asked, “don’t you mean Halloween?”

“No, Helloween. That will be a crossover between Hellraiser and Halloween.” Jonathan explained. “The cool thing about this is they’re bringing back Michael Meyers from the first two Halloweens.” Jonathan’s eyes then diverted upwards, he always looked like his mind was going a mile a minute. “I wonder if they’ll bring any other characters from the rest of the series.” He thought out loud. After Halloween II, series creator John Carpenter turned the franchise into an anthology, with each subsequent entry standing on its own. “The Wraith from part four would be interesting to see, so would the Werewolf from part six. I don’t know if Halloween H20 would fit though.” He then mimicked the impossibly deep voice of Sylvester Stallone, the washed up 80’s actor who starred in the 1998 Halloween entry in a desperate attempt to resurrect his career. “We’ll tear your soul apart!” Stella laughed again as Jonathan recited the famous line from the first Hellraiser in an 80’s action hero voice. Finally turning his attention back to his date, he asked “Are you a fan of the series?”

“Not so into Hellraiser.” Stella said, then, without thinking, she went on to say, “My sister and I went to see H20.”

“Oh, you have a sister.” Jonathan asked, “What is she doing?”

His face then grew puzzled by the awkward silence. It finally ended with, “My sister, um, uh, she died.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Jonathan sounded genuinely upset to hear this. He looked almost panicked, as if he’d unwittingly lit a fire in the woods. Almost at a whisper he asked, “What happened?”

“It was a drunk driving accident.” Stella revealed. “She got in a car with her drunk boyfriend, so…” finishing her story with a simple shrug of her shoulders.

“That’s terrible.”

In that moment he looked like he needed more comforting than she did as she reached across the table to squeeze his hand. “Thanks.” she said. It felt good holding his hand, his skin was warm and comforting.

Pulling her hand back she heard Jonathan say, “Well don’t worry, I don’t drink and drive, in fact I don’t even drink!”

“Oh, so we’re not going to the frat party after this?” Now, for the first time the whole evening, Jonathan was at a loss for words.

“I’m just kidding,” Stella laughed like she hadn’t laughed in a long time, “I don’t drink either!”

Jonathan himself laughed a sigh of relief as he held up his cup of mocha boasting, “Alright then, well, to not drinking!”

“To not drinking!” She toasted him back.

After they both took another sip of their beverages Jonathan looked around at the surrounding bookshelves and suggested “Well, since we’re not getting black out drunk tonight, want to look at some books?”

As they browsed, Stella saw both old and new books resting on the wooden bookcases. “Ever go to North Carolina?” It seemed like such a random question, but that didn’t surprise Stella at this point. She looked to see Jonathan in the travel section looking at a title that read ‘Islands at the Edge of Time.’ Jonathan explained, “I went their with my cousins one summer. This guy wrote a book about the islands on the outer banks that way. Cool stuff.”

Stella turned back to the shelf in front of her to find an old beat-up paperback. Movie Monsters by Alan Ormsby had the image of Frankenstein and the Wolfman on its blue cover. It was a book for kids, but as she thumbed through it with her left hand, she was curious to find a few pages covering monster makeup.

“Oh, I heard about this book.” Jonathan sounded really excited and as Stella turned to find him in front of the New Release shelf. The book he held bore an image of Saw-man, and the title, emblazoned in big white letters read ‘Psycho: A Tale of, Madness, Murder, and the Disappearance of George Kohler.’

Holding the hardback up, Jonathan said, “This guy directed that other Chainsaw movie.”

Noticing the subtitle, ‘the Disappearance of George Kohler, she wondered, “Oh, what happened to him?”

“Who knows.” Jonathan said as he placed the book back on the shelf. “I guess that’s what the book’s about.”

Stella immediately snatched the book back off the shelf. Removing her prop glove and placing it in her coat pocket, her fingers quickly perused the pages. She didn’t notice Jonathan wander over to the thriller section. She didn’t see him point to a few hardcovers, and only half heard him as he asked, “Ever read Robert Bloch?” Stella was too focused on the tome in front of her to answer, but Jonathan added regardless. “He was one of my favorites. Did you know he went to high school right here in Milwaukee?”

Stella hadn’t even heard the question as she closed the book and stared at its cover price. “Tell you what,” she now heard Johnathan say, “I’ll buy that for you, and you tell me where George is.”

“Really?” She looked up to his eyes as she asked.

“Sure, save’s me the trouble of reading it myself. “ He then gave that odd chuckle she’d already got used to hearing. “Besides,” Jonathan boasted as he pulled a small business card from his wallet. “I get the membership discount.” He then made a clicking sound with his mouth and winked at her.

Stella burst into laughter at Jonathan’s mannerisms. “You’re adorable.” she said as she placed the book into his hands.

On the bus back to campus, Stella clung to the Emporium bag in her hand, anxious to read her newly owned book. Looking out the window she noticed a few familiar superhero logos, along with some she was not as familiar with.

“Ever read comics?” Stella wondered how many girls Jonathan asked that question too. She also wondered how many of them said ‘yes’. “No, not really.” She answered as she remembered her friend Megan. ‘She would have liked a store like that’, she thought to herself as she added. “I knew a girl in high school that liked them. I liked the X-men movies, those were cool.”

“Awesome, well if you ever want to check out some comics. I’ll take you there sometime.”

“Um, ok.” she said, looking back down at her bag.

 Soon their stop came. The pair got off the bus and Jonathan walked her to the Two50Two building and said, “Well, I got an all day shift tomorrow so I’m gonna drop you off here, OK?”

Stella shook her head ‘yes’ thinking to herself how she wished this night would never end. Jonathan then told her, “I had a really good time tonight.”

Earlier in the evening, when Stella stood at this same spot, she was unsure how this evening would be. She wasn’t sure if going out in this costume to meet this guy was even a good idea. Now she stood in front of her new home, having had one of the best nights she could ever remember. “I did too.” She told Jonathan. “Thanks.”

Jonathan slowly reached his arms towards her, his fingers slightly trembled as they brushed her hair. Throughout the evening Jonathan projected an aura of confidence, but there periodic moments like this where he was exposed as being just as nervous as she was. Stella brought herself closer to him as their arms gently wrapped around each other. She felt his head turn towards her. Through her makeup she could still feel his lips brush her cheek, where she heard the gentle sound of his lips part. She couldn’t wait anymore, bringing her mouth to his she heard him inhale, as if he were honestly surprised to be getting kissed himself. His lips were warm and moist, and just for a moment she felt the tip of her tongue on his. It was simple, magical, and perfect just the way it was.

The evening ended with her whisper. “Good night.”

No Gein III: The Final Cut. Chapter Two

Chapter Two: Desperation

Amherst, Wisconsin. April 25th^th, 2003

Stella sat at her desk drawing, trying to blot out the world around her. It wasn’t easy though. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her. Study hall was mostly quiet, but small whispers accompanied stares while she attempted to create something in her sketchbook. The school newspaper folded up on her desk advertised a student art contest. Stella knew she wasn’t good enough to win, but working on a submission would at least be something to do to pass the time. The problem was her mind was drawing a blank. She’d been in a daze the last few weeks, with no inspiration in sight. Her charcoal pencil doodled on the sketchpad, desperately trying to form some design she could work with.

There were a few giggles as a spitball hit her in the back. Slamming her pencil down in her sketchbook, she stood up. A hush fell over the study hall as the other kids wondered what she would do, if anything. Brushing herself off, she walked over to one of the computers and put on a headset.

Surfing the web, she clicked on a link for a new horror movie trailer. It would take a few minutes to download, especially with public school connection speed. Amherst was still stuck in the stone age at 56k. Waiting for her video file to download, she surfed the forums at UpcomingHorrorMovies.com while she noticed someone sitting next to her.

A few minutes later the flash player was up. The small window on the computer monitor showed a lone girl stumbling into a room where the floor was covered in bones and debris. Naturally, she screams, but it wasn’t a typical horror movie scream. It was a guttural intense scream, a scream from someone actually experiencing the moment. It looked like she really was running out of that house as fast as she could when a man grabbed her from behind. She struggled with all her might as this man brought her into another room. It didn’t even look like they filmed this movie. It looked like this was really happening, and someone just happened to be there with a camera. Someone was just standing there filming as the woman was drug helplessly toward the deadly object. My god, they really wouldn’t show this in the movie, would they? Stella looked behind her to make sure the teacher couldn’t see what she was watching. It was safe, at least for the moment. Stella looked back at the screen to see this poor girl wailing and fighting for her life as the fiend walked her closer to it. There it hung, a shiny metal meat hook.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre would be out this summer. Stella remembered when she first heard the news of this remake; she thought her and her sister would go see it. Juliana, her sister, hated horror movies, but took her to see Psycho when they were back in middle school. She remembered her sister squirming in her seat due to the obnoxious teenagers in the front. “Yeah, let’s see some titties!” one of the boys shouted at the screen while in the movie a woman was murdered in the shower.

“Hey, what is that?” Stella was brought back to the present by voice of the study hall teacher. As his footsteps approached her fingers quickly clicked on the mouse to minimize the window. Luckily, she was safe, but the kid next to her was not, as he’d just been caught looking at girly pics.

After that commotion was over, she brought the window back up and finished the video clip, the ending of which truly struck her. Its last moments featured a large burly looking man who wore some kind of strange leather-like mask; it almost looked as though he was wearing another person’s face. He had thick black curly hair and a blood-stained apron. Standing in what looked like a flat Texas field, the sun shined over head as the maniac spun his body about, frantically waving the titular chainsaw through the air. Several times Stella clicked back to re-watch these last few seconds of video, finally pausing at one particular moment. The still frame image embedded itself in the mind of this teenage girl. It was beautifully violent, a juxtaposition of man’s wickedness and the peaceful calm of his natural surroundings. It was both ugly and serene, disturbing and wondrous. It was inspirational.

Stella went home that day to find her dad sitting in front of the TV drunk again. No words were exchanged as she went upstairs. She didn’t bother going to her own bedroom, instead, she sat in her sister’s empty room. Dad hadn’t touched it since…

Juliana’s basketball trophies were getting dusty, so Stella decided to wipe them off. It was the least she could do. Her sister had this big desk in her room. Maybe it was why she had good grades. This desk had so much space to do all kinds of work on, like drawing.

Stella couldn’t bring herself to ask her dad to move it though. This was Juliana’s desk, it belonged in Juliana’s room. Sitting in that space, she got her sketchbook out again. That image from the movie trailer was still fresh in her mind. Her charcoal pencil now eagerly brushed the canvas that was her sketchbook. Time vanished as Stella found herself in an artistic zone, transferring the image in her mind onto the page with ease. She didn’t even hear the sound of the door opening behind her, nor did she hear the approaching footsteps or smell the scent of alcohol. Finally, her father grabbed her shoulder and lightly shook her. “Earth to Stella.”

Stella jumped and screamed as her father stepped back, almost dropping what he was carrying in his hand. Her pencil again dropped to the notepad, this time leaving a mark on her piece. “Jesus, dad, you scared me.” She didn’t know what he wanted, but then she noticed the aroma. It covered the scent of whisky that had been on her dad’s breath too often these days. It was a much better and more appetizing smell.

“I brought you something to eat.” Her father said, putting a paper plate on Juliana’s desk. The plate just barely held a few slices of pizza. Steam was still rising from the hot tomato sauce and garlic as it must have just come out of the microwave. Her father squeamishly smiled and said, “I made it myself.”

“Thanks.” His daughter said quietly before returning her gaze to her sketchbook. She frustratingly reached for her eraser and desperately tried to erase the stray mark.

“What are you drawing there.” Her father asked, looking over her shoulder.

“Just something for school.” she answered, maintaining her focus on her work.

“Oh, looks good. Looks scary.” her father said with a laugh.

“It’s just a first try. I’ll rework it and add color later.”

Looking over the desk, her father said, “I was thinking, would you want to have this desk? I can move it into your room if you want.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Ok. Well, um, I won’t disturb you. Don’t stay up too late, OK?”

She said nothing as his father stumbled to the doorway, where he stopped and turned to say. “You know, I was thinking, maybe next weekend we should go out of town. Would do us both some good. Maybe we can go down to Hancock and go roller skating or catch a movie or something. I know that new X-men movie is coming out next week. You still like that stuff, right?”

“Yeah, sure dad.” Her voice expressed zero enthusiasm as she continued working on her piece.

“Stella,” her father desperately tried to find the right words. “Stella, I miss her too you know.”

Again, there was silence. Even the charcoal pencil ceased its scratching as he walked away. Stella couldn’t bring herself to admit it, but her father was right. They both needed a change of scenery. Maybe getting out of Amherst for an afternoon wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

May 2cnd, 2003

Stella again sat alone in study hall doodling in her notebook, but her listlessness was so strong even this was boring now. She stood up and walked by the computers, but they were all taken. She noticed Megan, one of the girls in study hall with her, looking at some comic book website. As Megan scrolled through the page, an image of a character Stella recognized appeared. Wolverine was shown on the cover of something called Ultimate X-men, with a logo reading FCBD on the top. Stella didn’t know what all this was, but she liked that X-men movie and was excited to go see the new one this weekend. She could also appreciate the colors and design on the comic pages as Megan continued scrolling through images of other FCBD books.

“Pretty cool huh?” Megan said as she noticed Stella staring.

“Yeah, it looks neat.” Stella replied. Then reading the text on the monitor, she asked “What is Free Comic Book Day.”

“It’s a day when publishers send a bunch of free books to comic book stores to try to attract new readers.” Megan said. “They’re having it tomorrow; some stores get industry people to appear and do signings.”

“That sounds cool.” Stella said.

“Yeah, too bad there’s no stores like that out here.” Megan complained. “I hope one of these years I can get out to Milwaukee and check one out.”

Stella nodded while she continued looking at the screen. There was an awkward silence, as Stella didn’t know what to say next. Some kids next to her were giggling a bit which added to her discomfort.

“Hey, I meant to say we all really appreciate the make up work you did for the play this spring.” Megan said.

“Thanks.” Stella said sheepishly. She wasn’t used to anyone complimenting her work.

“Did you submit something to the art contest?”

“Yeah, I did. I didn’t hear anything yet.” Stella answered. Her head then turned down toward the floor as she said, “Probably didn’t win I guess.”

“Oh, Mr. Avery got swamped this week.” Megan explained. “From what I heard, he’s going to call the winner this weekend.”

Stella already put the idea of winning out of her mind, she only did this stupid contest to pass the time anyway. That awkward silence came back, then was finally interrupted by a boy. One of the kids who was giggling earlier, said “Hey Stella, I’m done here.” He got up out of his seat and asked, “You wanna use this computer?”

She didn’t answer but sat down at the screen. Clicking on the Firefox browser, seeing the new default screen felt like getting hit in the head with a sledgehammer. She hated that website rotten.com. Horror movies were one thing, but this site was renowned for posting celebrity morgue pictures and other actual death related stuff. Everyone in school knew the highway from the pic shown on the monitor, and the site of twisted metal and shattered glass made Stella sick to her stomach.

The boys behind her howled in laughter as Stella almost fell out of her chair. She was so shocked she couldn’t even speak, but when Megan saw the screen they were all looking at she shouted, “Real mature assholes!” With tears in her eyes, Stella stormed out the room, not even bothering to take the hall pass.

Stella hated this bathroom, but it was the closest one. The smell of cigarettes made her nausea worse, as did the cigarette butts floating in the toilet. After wiping her mouth with toilet paper, she flushed the combination of wet tobacco and vomit down the commode. She could hear some girls laughing over the sound of the water swirling away.

Coming out of the stall, she saw her standing there. Lisa was the last girl she wanted to see right now, but there she was smirking as she took another puff of her cigarette while standing by the sink with her friend. “Gee bitch, you’re skinny enough as it is and now you’re in their being all bulimic.”

Stella said nothing as she walked towards the door, but she winced as smoke was blown in her face. “I’m not done talking to you.” Lisa said as she stood in front of Stella. Her friend stood to Lisa’s side blocking Stella’s way out. The timid girl froze as Lisa then stepped back and said, “Ah, you know what, I was being too hard on you.” Stella’s shoulders moved up and down as she took a deep breath. “I’m really sorry your sister died.” Stella nodded as if to say thanks. Then Lisa stepped forward, raising her voice to say, “I’m sorry she died because I was gonna kick her fucking ass! Bitch stole my man but hey,” she stretched her arms outwards to finish, “maybe I as better off. It wasn’t my guts splattered all over the highway!”

Lisa’s friend laughed as Stella rushed out into the hallway. “Don’t drink and drive.” The friend chimed in as Stella fled.

It was long past time to get out of this place “Dad I’m home.” Stella said. “Are you ready to go?” There was no response as she walked in her house, but she got all the answer she needed once she saw her father passed out on the couch. Jerry Springer played on the TV as a bottle of Jack Daniels lay open on the table in front of him. She cursed herself for even getting her hopes up. Grabbing the bottle in disgust she took it to the bathroom upstairs. This wouldn’t be the first time these past few weeks she poured her father’s alcohol down the drain, but this time, as she saw her reflection in the mirror, she realized this bottle had a better use.

She almost gagged as soon as she tasted it, it was like liquid fire going down her throat. The only reason she didn’t spit the whole mouthful back up was because she didn’t want to defile her sister’s room. “How does anybody think this is cool.” she thought to herself. Looking at her sister’s trophies again, she wondered, why did her sister think this was cool. Was it because of that boy? Was her date hot enough to convince her to get in the car with him after he’d been drinking this shit?

After another smaller sip she sat back and slowly began to understand the appeal. Normally her mind was always running, always thinking, bouncing around from one thought to the next, but now her thoughts slowed down like an empty canoe floating in a lake. Numbness washed over her as she tried another sip. Looking over her sister’s display case, as the light shined off the golden trophies Stella understood the truth. Her sister shouldn’t have died, it should have been her instead.

Everyone loved Juliana. She was the perfect daughter, good grades, lots of friends, star athlete, popular with boys, while Stella was the weird little sister everyone ignored. Most people left Stella alone on account of who her sister was, but now that Juliana was gone it was like open season on the loser sibling. No one liked this odd artsy quiet kid who liked 80’s horror movies and grind-core music. What was that slut Lisa so mad about anyway? It’s not like she didn’t have a boyfriend, several if locker room rumors were true. Stella never even had a boy hold her hand, let alone a kiss, let alone…

The world took Juliana away, and it was a terrible mistake, a mistake Stella decided she should correct. She didn’t just bring the bottle to her departed sister’s room; she also brought the pills. She’d been thinking about it for a while now. She thought about it before the accident even. Nobody gave a damn about her. Hell, maybe she would be making the world a better place.

Stella took another fiery drink before looking at the trophies one last time. She then lay down on her sister’s bed and kissed the pillow. She placed the Jack on the nightstand, next to the picture of her and Juliana, and opened the bottle of pills. She figured it would be quick. One good handful of pills washed down by one quick swig of the bottle, and it’d be lights out.

Her body lay face down on the bed when the phone rang.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Netflix’s 2022 entry.

2022’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre is the ninth installment of the horror series and is exclusively on Netflix. Taking a cue from 2018’s Halloween, this installment seems to only acknowledge the original 1974 film, ignoring every other chainsaw film that came after.

This entry opens with an old DVD playing at a gas station, the DVD is a documentary about the events that happened in 1973 (which to us would be the 1974 original movie) regarding the masked chainsaw killer known as Leatherface, who was never found. The in-film documentary is narrated by John Larroquette, who is known for narrating the opening crawl of the 1974 film.

At the gas station we see there is some fandom relating to Leatherface, as there are chainsaw shirts, corkscrews, and other merchandise for sale. At the gas station we are also introduced to the main characters, a group of young Instagram influencers who have invested their money in the Texas ghost town of Harlow. Their plan is to make a small paradise for affluent young people who want to escape from big city life. One of the youths is Lila, who is traumatized from surviving a school shooting. Lila wrestles with survivors’ guilt and it is interesting to see a slasher film tackle this modern issue.

Naturally we see a generational clash as the young people assume the worst about the older generation of Texans, who themselves are not fond of the self-righteous youth.

Upon descending into the ghost town, we see an older woman is still living in one of the buildings (an orphanage) with her son. The original film featured a whole family of maniacs, by 2022, the only surviving members of the family are Leatherface and his mother. They come into conflict with the entrepreneurial youth, as the family claim that they have the deed/are the rightful residents of the property (It should be noted that this ghost town does not have the family homestead of the first movie).

Murder and mayhem ensue. The first act of violence is sudden and shocking. Unlike the first film, there is on screen gore, but the gore is seen so quickly that it feels more effectively disturbing than other violent horror movies.

Again, taking cue from 2018’s Halloween, Sally Hardesty, the lone survivor of the first film, returns for vengeance. It is explained that she became a Texas Ranger (presumably she’d be retired now) who spent the last near fifty years trying to find Leatherface (I know Texas is a big place with lots of empty spaces, but if you wanted to, you could nitpick how it’s a stretch that she never found the family in almost 50 years). When you first see her, you could mistake her for Leatherface given what she is doing in her introductory scene. She seems more functional than the Laurie Strode of 2018’s Halloween but is definitely still haunted by the trauma she faced all those years go.

Given most of the victims of this massacre are millennials, we of course get the gag of people putting everything on their phones. During a particularly brutal scene, the massacre is live streamed on social media, and leads to the highest body count of any TCM entry.

1974’s original Chainsaw movie is revered as a classic. Like most horror series, it has had its share of stinkers regarding subsequent sequels. This Netflix original stands as one of the better entries in the series, and I’m curious to see what the future holds. Definitely recommended for fans of the slasher genre.

P.S. I can imagine a Netflix TCM series involving a younger Sally as a Texas Ranger trying to hunt down the family. Maybe she never found Leatherface, but who knows, maybe she managed to find and kill the rest of the family.  

No Gein II: A Second Helping Chapter Three

Part Three: A Family Affair

Indianapolis, Indiana. August 25th, 2003 

“I’m so sorry you have to do this.” Marilyn said in embarrassment as her elderly hands gripped the walker.

“It’s okay mom, I promise.” her daughter Kristina replied as she helped her mother from the bathroom into the living room. 

“At least I can still wipe myself.” Marilyn cackled.

“I would rather do that than lose you.” 

“Oh honey, you shouldn’t worry so much. You know I’m gonna be gone one of these days.” 

“Which is all the more reason I want to be here,” Kristina insisted as she helped her mother get back into the hospital bed that the nursing agency provided. As she lay in her bed, positioned in front of the TV, Marilyn naturally felt grateful for the help, but her daughter needed to live her own life. Her son, Kristina’s stepbrother, lived far away and had his own family now. She wished Kristina had started a family instead of being stuck here with her. Marilyn knew with her illness she didn’t have much time, but at least she was able to stay in her own home; where a nurse paid frequent visits and most days she didn’t feel so bad.

Laying back in her comfortable bed, Marilyn reached for the remote when she noticed a stack of papers on the nightstand. They were old photographs and documents, some of the pictures were so old they were from back before photos even had color in them.

“What do you got there?” Marilyn asked.

“When I was cleaning out the attic, I found these.” Kristina answered while picking up the items in question and looking them over. “It looked like stuff from,” she stopped for a moment, and Marilyn let out a gasp as she recognized what was now in her daughter’s possession. Marilyn thought she’d thrown those out years ago, but there they were in her daughter’s hands. Realizing what her daughter found, Marilyn’s own hand went up to her face, covering her mouth, her fingertips pressed the birthmark on her left cheek. Kristina didn’t have to finish the sentence, but she did, “back when you were looking for your parents.”

Marilyn never dreamed of that part of her life becoming unearthed, especially as she lay on her deathbed. She thought she’d gotten rid of all that junk, but Kristina must have found it when she moved into the attic. All the more reason she should be living her own life instead of rummaging through old garbage.

“That was so long ago honey, don’t you be worrying about that. You and your brother were all the family I ever needed.” Her words couldn’t hide the pain that shot through her hips as her eye set on those clues from her own personal scavenger hunt she’d abandoned so many years ago.

“I know mom, but it must have been hard, not knowing who your own mom and dad were.”

“What’s hard is how your nephew’s going to pay for college! Let’s worry about that.” Then, pointing the remote towards her new TV, she added, “Let’s also worry about the fact that I’m missing my shows!” Her elderly finger pushed a button on the remote control and the TV zapped on.

They were just in time for the 12:00 news. The lead story was the fallout from last week’s suicide truck bombing at the Canal Hotel in Baghdad where twenty-three people were killed. News footage showed the aftermath of the blast, including people covered in grey dust and rubble.

“God that’s awful.” Kristina said. “I don’t know why Bush sent us there in the first place.”

“He sent us there to fight those damn terrorists!” Marilyn retorted. 

“Those damn terrorists are in Afghanistan.” Kristina countered. “I don’t understand what we’re doing in Iraq.”

“Cause of what happened in New York, that’s what we’re doing there!”

Kristina knew Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11, but she didn’t want to argue with her mom about it. She just wanted to enjoy whatever time she had left with her. Still, this whole mess with the war worried her. Her nephew, technically her step nephew, was a teenager now. In a few years he’d be out of high school and was thinking about joining the military to help pay for college. “God,” she thought to herself, “what if he gets sent to Iraq or Afghanistan?” Her family had enough hardships and didn’t need one more. She hoped Bush’s military excursions would be over fast, but who knows, maybe we’d stay in Afghanistan for 20 years.

Thankfully on the television changed the topic to entertainment news. “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” the grey-haired anchorman began, “was the number one movie for the second weekend in a row, taking in an astonishing fifty-eight million dollars, almost doubling its opening weekend. Both critics and audiences are raving over the remake of the cult classic about a family of deranged killers and their deadly chainsaw. Noted film critic Rex Reed called it the most terrifying film he’d ever seen. But the film is not without its controversy. Some claiming George Kohler, the Wisconsin film director, took inspiration from the crimes of the late Milwaukee serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer. The original 1974 film was about a group of youths on their way to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert who run afoul of a family of murderous hillbillies, whereas in Kohler’s remake a group of youths investigate the desecration of a local graveyard, and encounter a deranged family of cannibals.” 

The program then cut to a pre-recorded interview from entertainment reporter Vanita Williams, who wore a tight revealing dress and looked like a movie star herself. On the red carpet of the film’s premiere, she asked the director. “Were you aware of a mass grave that was recently uncovered in the town of Plainfield Wisconsin, not far from where you were born? If so, is there any connection between that and the content of your latest film?”

“No, I haven’t heard about this, but what does that have to do with my movie?” George angrily responded, it was evident by the look on his face he was shocked by this news. “Jesus’ lady,” he continued, “are you trying to say I’m a damn murderer or something?” He didn’t wait for her response as he stormed off with his date towards the theater entrance. 

The program cut back to the studio, where Vanita herself was in the anchor chair. The camera made a wide shot, making her long legs visible to the viewing audience. Vanita’s ruby red lips made a perfect smile as she said, “George Kohler may deny the connection between his newest film and this shocking discovery, but what cannot be denied is that possibly up to ten human remains have been found outside the small town of Plainfield Wisconsin. Even more gruesome, dried-up chunks of human flesh were found wrapped up in a patch of denim. Police are still investigating the mass grave found weeks ago, missing persons cases have been reopened in the desperate hope that they may finally be solved. Even more shocking are initial reports suggesting that the bodies here may have been buried for decades.”

“Ahh!” Marilyn cried out as her hand touched her hip again.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” 

Marilyn then pointed her remote control at the TV and flipped the channels. “I’m sorry honey, I can’t watch this.” 

“It’s OK mom.” Kristina said as Marilyn changed the channel.

After flipping through a few stations Marilyn and Kristina soon heard a crowd of people making that familiar chant. “Jerry, Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!!!!” Kristina rolled her eyes while a smile grew on Marilyn’s face. The topic of today’s episode of the ever so insightful Jerry Springer Show was “Who Wants to be a Porn Star?”

“Mom, we’re not watching this.” Kristina protested.

“The hell we’re not!” Marilyn said as she set the remote down beside her.

Kristina was repulsed by this show which was all the rage now. Every day America tuned in to see incest, adultery, fisticuffs’, and scantily clad guests, but Kristina had enough. Rummaging through the papers she’d just found, Kristina recalled how she hadn’t talked to her mom about this stuff since she was a kid. She knew that her grandmother, placed her mother Marilyn in an orphanage at a young age and that she didn’t remember much about either of her parents. When Kristina herself was a child, Marilyn was trying to find her own folks, that was before she got in the accident. Looking through the papers, never realized her mom made this much progress. It seemed there was a bit of a trail to follow, and as Kristina looked closer, she saw a name. Kristina didn’t know her mom had dug up a specific name. Now, there were so many questions. Who was this person? What happened to them? Could they have been one of Kristina’s grandparents?

Who indeed was this mystery person, and what connection do they have to the ghastly discovery in the plain states? Come back in two days for No Gein II Chapter 4, Enter Saw-man!

No Gein II: A Second Helping. Chapter Two

Chapter Two: Terror Remade

Mann’s Chinese Theater, Hollywood California, August 15th, 2003

Paparazzi crowded the approaching limousine which was soon bathed in a sea of flashbulbs. A beautiful blonde woman stepped out of the limo and waved to the cameras. As the lens of one particular camera zoomed in on her, the man behind the lens admired her dress, but wished it exposed more skin the way other starlets had. At least the dress exposed her back, which is where her partner placed his hand as he nervously waved to the cameras. The cameraman didn’t recognize this couple and could tell no one else did either as the sea of camera flashes quickly faded away. As the couple slowly walked the red carpet, it was obvious this was a new experience to them. “Who is that?” The cameraman asked Vanita, the reporter he was accompanying. “She’s gorgeous.”

“I think that’s the director’ s sister.” the woman explained. “The square must be her husband.”

“Yeah, like I care who the dude is Vanita.” 

“Just shut your mouth and keep recording.” Vanita ordered as an older couple stepped out of the same limo. Once again, the woman, an older but still attractive redhead, also in a conservative dress, waved happily to the crowd, while her partner, who was dressed to the nines, timidly ignored them.

“That’s the director’s dad and I think his new wife.” Vanita explained.

“Wasn’t asking.” The camera man said.

“You’re going to be asking for a new job if you don’t lose the attitude, Bill.” Vanita did seem extra bitchy tonight, but Bill understood why. She hadn’t gotten a big scoop in a while, and Bill knew how fickle this business was. He also knew Vanita feared getting the axe if she didn’t hit a big story soon.

Another wave of camera flashes swept the area, this time maintaining their intensity as a young man emerged from the same limousine. He posed to the crowd with a confident smile and a voluptuous woman on his arm. “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Bill shouted as his lens zoomed on the woman’s exposed cleavage, he then moved the camera up and down her body, allowing his lens to capture all the exposed flesh her dress revealed. Billy was quickly yanked out of his own private fantasy by Vanita’s voice shouting “Let’s go!” 

Vanita shoved through the sea of reporters all making their way to the young couple. She almost reached him when another reporter pushed ahead of her and got the man’s attention. “We are with George Kohler, the director of tonight’s world premiere.” The reporter said. “George this isn’t your first rodeo, but are you confident about how your audience will receive this?”

“You’re right, this isn’t my first rodeo, but honestly, I am always nervous whenever a project is done.” The young director humbly answered. “I never assume anyone will like it. The original film is such a classic in the eyes of horror fans, and I hope I have done it justice.”

“Early buzz is this film is quite scary.” The reporter followed up with his next question. “Your name is fast becoming associated with the horror genre. What is next for you?” 

“Well,” George said looking over the crowd of spectators, “this is all great and I really do appreciate it, but I’m going to the set of my next film tomorrow and getting right back to work.”

Finally, managing to squeeze her way through the crowd, Vanita reached George. “Vanita Williams, Inside Entertainment. Word is you’ve added elements of cannibalism and other shocking content to what you refer to as a classic. There is already some controversy surrounding this film, as some say this was inspired by the late Wisconsin serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.”

Billy loved it when Vanita got under someone’s skin. He smirked as he could see George’s face instantly shifted from being happy go lucky to irritated and stern as he answered, “Dahmer was a sick man and I in no way took influence from him. This movie is a period piece, and I hope it lives up to the original and the legacy it left for so many of us.” Vanita had one more question, and she knew this one would be the killer.

Henry was used to keeping stuff to himself. All that changed when Franki came into his life, as well as when he reconciled with his son a few years back. Now here they all were at a Hollywood movie premier, something he couldn’t have even conceived dreaming of during all those years he worked at Bethlehem Steel. As he watched George taking questions from reporters, Henry thought how things happened so fast and his son had been so busy that he never got to tell George how proud he was of him. 

“He looks a little upset?” Franki whispered in his ear while squeezing Henry’s hand. When he looked, he could see George did appear a little agitated while storming away from a reporter. 

As George and his date approached his family at the entrance to the theater his father asked, “What’s wrong son, that reporter piss you off?” Then, laughing, he added. “They didn’t say jack shit to me!”

Holding his date’s hand tightly, George answered “I’ll tell you later.”

Entering the theater, George felt more nervous than usual. Since cutting weight he felt more capable of dealing with all the stress the film business has to offer, but he put extra pressure on himself tonight. This latest project was a lot to live up to. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his face. “You’re sweating again.” His date said sternly as they sat down. Her nagging only heightened the tension as he looked around at the packed theater. 

While the lights dimmed, George remembered the breathing exercises Franki taught him, breathe in, breathe out, focus on what is right in front of you, be present in the moment. In this moment, the curtains pulled back, and a beam of light shot through the darkened theater splashing on the white screen ahead.  Soon the color switched to green as an MPAA rating was shown for the upcoming trailer. 

“1980,” the white letters read on the now black screen, “Fear was born…” These words faded, before being replaced with, “1980,” which in turn was replaced with, “The nightmare began…”

“Yes!” George pumped his fist while his date looked at him confused. “I heard this was coming!”

A series of images involving blades and claws flashed by the screen before words reappeared reading “2003,” then, “The legends come together.” 

“Warn your friends,” the voice of a little girl now filled the theater, “warn everyone.” Then the words “face to face” appeared. 

The whole audience cheered as Kane Hodder burst onto the screen as Freddy Krueger, the villain from the Nightmare on Elm Street series. The tall muscular actor spouted out lines, “Welcome to my nightmare.” and “Why won’t you die!” as he battled what appeared to be a vicious monster. 

“This Halloween,” the screen read, “evil will battle evil.” before a female character appeared saying “Place your bets.” According to the end of the trailer, on October 17th, after years of the characters being in literal hell and, what was worse in the eyes of fandom, Hollywood development hell, Freddy vs the Devil would finally be released. Paramount’s crossover film between Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th would at last see the light of day. George yelled out a cheer that the rest of the theater soon followed. He was almost as enthusiastic for this as he was for his own movie premiere. Earlier, when asked outside what was next for him, George was hesitant to say what he really wanted. In the darkness of the theater, he spoke aloud what was his true wish. “Someday I’ll direct one of those.” George proudly stated while his date checked her makeup in her pocket-sized mirror.

Other trailers followed, and part of George wished these previews would go on forever. As the feature presentation was about to begin, he felt that anxiety creeping back up on him. His heart raced as the studio logo hit the screen. This was it, the moment of truth. George remembered Franki’s advice of being present in the here and now. He concentrated his whole attention on each second of the now rolling film. As the introduction commenced, he remembered how thrilled he was when he managed to get John Larroquette to reprise his role as the film’s narrator to the opening crawl. The actor, now known for his role in the 80’s sitcom Night Court, explained what the audience was about to see was one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history. It wasn’t really a true story, but that added touch always gave this title an extra sense of dread. Adrenaline washed away the anxiety while the audience cheered again for the opening of this highly anticipated remake, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

No Gein: An Alternate Horror Part Nine

Part Nine: Yours Truly, Robert Bloch 

October 26th, 1990. Hallow-Con New York City

Browsing a book vendor while waiting for the auditorium to open, a blue cover caught George’s eye. The Frankenstein Monster lurked on the front of the book, as did Lon Chaney’s Wolfman. Flipping through its pages, George remembered reading this book as a kid. Movie Monsters by Alan Ormsby was a gift his sister got him for his birthday when they first moved out east. Back then, his sister introduced him to a few scary books. He tried returning the favor, offering her some Spiderman comics, but she didn’t care for them.

Placing the old book back on the table, he noticed a few movie novelizations and spin-off books. A Halloween novel caught his eye. It wasn’t an adaptation of any of the movies though. The title read, “Halloween: The Return of Michael Myers.” by Nicholas Grabowsky. This book brought back memories of film school, where he borrowed this book from Dan. George recalled those early days in the student dormitory arguing about the novel, which was an original story where both Michael Myers and Dr. Gavin survived the explosion at the end of Halloween II. In the novel, Myers awakens from a ten-year coma to wreak more havoc on Haddonfield, and Dr. Gavin returns to again save Laurie Strode, who now has a daughter. George thought this would have been a much better movie than what the fourth Halloween movie turned out to be, especially with that incredible twist ending. Myers is legitimately blown up in the climax, but the novel ends with Laurie Strode getting killed by her now psychotic eight-year-old daughter, who has inherited her uncle’s madness. Dan wasn’t as sold on the book, being a fan where Carpenter’s took the franchise, moving past Michael Meyers and becoming an anthology series. That disagreement didn’t matter anymore now. Looking down at the book, he realized today was the first time in a while that he’d thought about his time at film school.

Then George spotted a novel he’d recognized. He’d read American Gothic as a teenager. It was about this guy named H. H. Holmes who had a literal torture chamber in his house. Even cooler to George, was it was based on real incidents. Dr. Holmes Murder Castle was a factual account of the real-life case by the same author of American Gothic, the same author he was going to meet tonight. He hadn’t read the factual account and decided to buy both books. After paying and placing the purchases in his bag, he went into the now open auditorium. 

The topic of tonight’s special presentation was the history of the horror film, presented by the man George sought to meet, Robert Bloch. George was growing to like this author’s work, but initially wondered why Bloch was presenting on this topic, since he had little if anything to do with horror movies. As the author was introduced, George now realized, per the MC’s introduction, that Bloch wrote television episodes for scary shows George liked, such as Monsters, Tales of the Unexpected, and Darkroom. Not only that, but he also wrote episodes of the original Star Trek, Night Gallery, and the Man from U.N.C.L.E. The MC joked that Robert Bloch had the heart of a young boy, which he keeps in a jar on his desk. This elicited laughter from the audience and Robert Bloch took the stage.

After receiving a warm reception, the author graciously thanked the convention for having him, then jested “You were too cheap to ask Stephen King and you knew I needed lunch money.” The audience laughed some more. George was not expecting to find the master of psycho tales to be cracking jokes, but there he was.

Naturally, Bloch began his lecture with the golden age of horror of the 1930’s and 40’s. He pointed out how the classic monsters like Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolfman were all foreigners, and/or characters from European folklore. Then in the 50’s you had the nuclear monsters in the wake of the atomic bomb. George remembered watching those movies. His dad and his sister used to like them too. George remembered the time he covered himself with a blanket trying to scare his sister while they watched The Blob. He rolled over to her in his disguise and Helen just laughed hysterically.

There wasn’t as much to cover in the 1960s, but Bloch noted that the 1970s brought a pronounced change. George cheered ferociously at the mention of 1974’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  Hearing such an exuberant response, Bloch pointed to George and said, “I bet you loved the sequel, The Tennessee Slumber Party.” to which George and everyone else howled in laughter. Bloch went on to explain how the Texas Chainsaw Massacre was about a group of hillbillies in rural Texas. The lead villain, a deformed character named Saw-man, dispatched random motorists with his trusty chainsaw. George wished with all his heart that that movie could have turned into a series. In his mind it could have stood up there with the modern franchises like Nightmare on Elm Street, and his beloved Friday the 13th. Unfortunately, in the real world, a sequel never came.

Bloch’s point about Chainsaw was, while it was not a big hit, it marked a new trend of homegrown American horror, scary stories not of a foreign or alien menace, but of your neighbor, the guy next door. Other movies mentioned included Last House on the Left, and The Hills Have Eyes, which Bloch joked was followed by the sequel the Woods have Noses. Bloch theorized that in the wake of the Manson murders and the social unrest of the 1960s, audiences were developing a taste for real life and brutality in their horror. George was never academic about his fandom, but he was unsure of Bloch’s theory. After all, as the author himself had said, the aforementioned films were not big hits.

Halloween was mentioned, which brought about a big cheer. “If you remember, the first two Halloween movies were not about ghosts and werewolves.” Bloch reminded the audience. “It was about a boy, Michael Myers, who was a psychotic killer. Michael Myers wasn’t from another country or from outer space, he was from any-town USA. Now, hearing the cheers in this crowd, assuming you’re not cheering for me,” to which the audience laughed again, “these movies obviously found an audience.” Another cheer erupted as Bloch continued, “but the truth was these weren’t very successful movies when you look at the box office. They were not critically well received either. Now if you look in the last decade, we seemed to have taken the idea of the home-grown threat and brought it back to the monster. If you look at Halloween, it did inspire a sub-genre known as the slasher, with movies like the Burning and Sleepaway Camp, but they weren’t huge hits like 1980’s Friday the 13th with its Jersey Devil, or films like CHUD, Critters, or the Thing remake. You did have Nightmare on Elm Street, with Freddy Kreuger being slasher-esque, but he’s also like a ghost, more supernatural. Halloween itself got away from the slasher genre it helped create in its later installments, bringing in witches and ghosts and werewolves. Reportedly the next entry of that series is going to involve vampires. I have an idea for the following one though.” He then suggested, pointing his finger up in the air, “It should be about Jack the Ripper!” Again, the audience laughed, especially from those familiar with Bloch’s frequent works involving the infamous London serial killer.

“What will the 90s bring to horror cinema,” Bloch asked as he reached the end of his speech, “who knows? Sequels for all the big franchises are still in the works, but undoubtedly a new generation will come along with new characters that will make us Scream.“

After dinner Dan and Victoria sat in on a presentation on entertainment law. The presenter was a lawyer who specialized in the entertainment business. Dan wouldn’t say it out loud, but she looked like she could be a movie star herself. She was quite attractive, with a special poise and intelligence about her, similar to what Dan saw in Victoria.

When the presentation ended the woman stayed to take questions from the audience. As Dan and Victoria approached, the woman greeted Dan with a smile, saying, “Nice shirt.”

Dan looked down at his Halloween shirt, which he totally forgot he was wearing. “Thanks.” he said. Then looking back up at her he asked. “Are you a Halloween fan?”

“I got a soft spot for the original.” The lawyer revealed. “Actually, I auditioned for a role in it.”

“Really?” Dan was pleasantly surprised. “Which part did you try out for?”

“Well, I tried out for the role of Laurie Stroke actually. Carpenter wanted that girl from Lassie,” she explained, referring to the actress and star of Halloween, Annie Lockhart. The lawyer’s voice revealed no remorse as she said, “So, them’s the breaks.”

“Wow!” Vicki said, surprised. “So, you were an actress?”

“Well, my mother was.” The woman said. “You probably never heard of her. Janet Leigh?” 

Dan drew a blank, but Victoria instantly recognized that name. “Oh, I know her, she was in the Manchurian Candidate and Angels in the Outfield!”

“That’s right!” The woman said, pleasantly surprised.

“And she was in Touch of Evil!” Victoria added enthusiastically.

“The Orson Wells classic.” The woman said, then pointing at Victoria, she said to Dan. “That’s a smart girl you have there.” 

“Thanks,” Dan said, “she’s the best.” 

“Aww that’s so sweet.” The woman said, admiring the young couple’s affection for each other.

“So, you tried to be an actress?” Victoria asked.

“Well, when I was young the acting bug got me, so I dropped out of law school to give it a shot. My big break never came through.” she explained, revealing no remorse over her path in life. “Eventually I went back to school, became an entertainment lawyer, and here I am!”

“That’s really cool.” Victoria said. “Do you ever regret it, not getting to act?”

“Sometimes I think about it, but I like what I’m doing.” she answered. “I wasn’t patient back then, I didn’t want to wait five years to be successful. But, who knows, maybe someday I’ll take another stab at it!” she said laughing while thrusting her hand in a stabbing motion. “In the meantime, if you ever need representation here is my card.”

Both Dan and Victoria took her business card. Dan looked down to read it aloud. “Jamie Curtis.” Looking up he said, “Well it was nice to meet you.”

“Nice meeting you too!” Jamie Curtis said. She smiled as the young couple walked away. The lawyer then turned to chat with the last few people remaining in the room.

Leatherface 2017 Film Review

Leatherface is a prequel to the 1974 classic horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and focuses on the origin story of the franchise’s chainsaw wielding lead character. For whatever reason, Leatherface was given only a limited theatrical release and was then sent straight to Video On Demand services.

The majority of this film takes place in 1965, the premise being that years prior local law enforcement took the Sawyer children into protective custody. Now, nearing adulthood, they have spent several years in an insane asylum. One night there is a riot, and four inmates escape along with a kidnapped nurse.

Surprisingly this entry takes the feel of a horror road trip movie, akin to The Devil’s Rejects or Natural Born Killers, with some scenes reminding me of Hannibal and the more recent Revenant. The majority of this prequel focuses on the inmates being on the run from the police, one of which is shown to be pretty crazy in his own right. I suppose this is an attempt to make Leatherface more sympathetic.

There’s also the issue of which of these inmates turns out to be Leatherface, which adds a hint of mystery to it. However, maybe because of this, the cannibalistic nature of the Sawyer family is downplayed until the end, and once Leatherface’s identity is revealed, it was unclear to me what ever made him think to make his first skin mask.

Clarice, one of the escapees, was to me the most intriguing character of the film. Given she was a supporting character, I suppose that counts as a weakness. The scene taking place in a diner was the highlight of the film. If you pay attention to character names, you’ll catch few nods to the first second, and previous chainsaw films. Until the end there is limited onscreen violence, but if you recall the same was the case for the original. It does have a modern polished look to it, and it could have used more of the grit of the first movie.

Leatherface is not a great movie, but it is not terrible either. It is better its previous entry Texas Chainsaw 3D from a few years ago. If you’re a fan of the series I would recommend it.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre DVD review.

I’ve never reviewed a movie on here that I haven’t seen in a theater, but I wanted to review this as I’m a fan of the Texas Chainsaw series. It came out the first weekend of 2013 and I was in Korea at the time where horror movies always seem to come late. To my knowledge it never came to Korea, the fact that it bombed probably didn’t help.

Texas Chainsaw is unique, in it’s not a remake, but a direct sequel to the original movie, ignoring the other sequels and the remake and it’s prequel. So it’s kind of a reboot of the sequels. To my knowledge that’s never been done before.

It opens with a brief recap of the first movie. We get highlights that have been digitally restored and looks incredibly sharp. Picking up immediately where the original left off, the local Sheriff goes to the house and wants to bring Leatherface in. We see the family, including Grandpa. Other family members show up, (including one played by original Leatherface Gunner Hansen) and after a tense moment it appears they agree to send Leatherface out. However the local towns people show up, and acting as vigilantes they burn the house down. The look of the film in this sequence matches the re-mastered look of the original highlights that were just shown.

After the fire one of the men from the town finds a woman from the Sawyer family holding her baby. The man kills the woman and takes the baby. The rest of the film picks up with that baby, now and adult woman named Heather, learning of her birth right. This isn’t a plot twist, it’s established right up front. Apparently she had a grandmother that recently died that married into an oil family and has this big mansion. Upon first viewing I didn’t catch how she got all this money.

Texas Chainsaw starts out great and has a good premise following up on the theme of family. Unfortunately it’s not scary at all. Leatherface, who obviously survived somehow, has a very underwhelming reveal, and while starting off strong it lost me when Heather and her friends do something incredibly stupid regarding the house. 

The commentaries and features are interesting, as it’s revealed that the actual original chainsaw appears on film. The Sawyer house from the first movie was meticulously re-created, only to be burned to the ground. That opening scene that I loved was actually directed by original Chainsaw director Tobe Hooper. There’s three different audio commentaries, during which some of the other chainsaw films are subtly knocked. However most of those sequels I feel are better than this.

One of the commentaries has cast members from the original, including Gunner Hansen and Marilyn Burns, who played the surviving character from the first movie (who’s character isn’t mentioned in this, I was curious about what happened to her) and makes a cameo in a flashback scene as Heather’s grandmother. Most of that commentary is spent talking about the original film. This may be the only case where the DVD features are more interesting that the feature.

One issue is there’s a big time gap the film makers purposely ignore. The original explicitly states that it takes place in 1973. This new movie definitely takes place today, and Heather is a 20 something. On the commentaries they say they basically ignored this, and put some 80’s era cars in the Tobe Hooper directed opening scene to make up some time difference. But even the 1980’s is 30 years ago now. This would have been a good movie to make in the 90s (only scarier) instead of the even worse Texas Chainsaw New Generation. 

I really wanted to like this and I really wanted this to succeed. Before it was released Lionsgate stated that something like 6 sequels were planned. I was curious where they would take it, but it probably won’t happen now.