Title: 30 Days of Night: Omnibus Vol. 1

Publisher: IDW

Writers: Steve Niles

Artist: Ben Templesmith

Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

Bleak and sparse, 30 Days of Night is the type of vampire story that should be told more often. Rather than try too hard by showing a lot of flash and overdoing the action, it broods. It breathes its icy black breath on every page. And the pages are dark as they come. It doesn’t have to try; it gets its point across just by being, making it quite the page turner.

In this colllection, the first three stories of the 30 Days saga are included, the self-titled first story, along with sequels Dark Days and Return to Barrow. With the first story, the duo of Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith had something terrifyingly special on their hands. The story is simple. In the quiet Alaskan town of Barrow, a group of vampires comes up with a plan that no vampire has ever tried before. They decide to drop in on the townsfolk during the short period between November 18 and December 17 when the sun doesn’t rise — the titular 30 days of night. Without a sun coming up to make the vampires return to hiding for a month, Barrow becomes a free-for-all, an all-you-can-eat buffet for the vampires. This is the story of how those townsfolk fight back. (more…)

31 Horror Films in 31 Days

By Jon DePaolis, Contributor

Halloween is truly a magical time.

It’s a day that brings people together, dressed as princesses and pirates, or, as seems to be the recent trend, extras from The Walking Dead.

I have loved Halloween since I was a little kid, watching a VHS of The Exorcist alone in my room during summer vacation. While other kids were being raised on The Little Mermaid, Aladdin or The Lion King, I was watching Laurie Strode somehow walk away from Michael Myers and asking myself why Sydney Prescott continued to answer phone calls after what happened the first go-around.

Obviously, I am in love with horror movies as much as I am in love with celebrating Halloween. That is why this October I decided to embark on a mission to watch a horror movie for every day in October. For those math majors out there, that equated to 31 horror movies of my own choosing.

Now, all cards on the table, I am a full-time writer and, because of that, I knew going in that I wouldn’t be able to watch a movie a day, so I chose to go with doubling — or sometimes, tripling — movie selections on certain days. (more…)

Title: Red Riding Hood

Format: Digital

Directed by: Catherine Hardwicke

Written by: David Johnson

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman, Billy Burke, Shiloh Fernandez, Max Irons, Julie Christie

Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Rating:

Review by: Sarah Kumley

Teen books (and movies) these days are often about one of three things: vampires, werewolves or forbidden love. Although Red Riding Hood is a reimagining of the well-known fairy tale, it still manages to contain two of the three criteria to snag teenagers’ attention. Throw in a love triangle and attractive leads and the package is complete to draw in a crowd. There is sufficient tension throughout the movie and the sets look like a medieval village, but the story is mostly predictable and unforgettable. (more…)