Kweeny Reviews...PENNY DREADFUL: SEASON ONE

So as my Facebook friends will tell you, I am in love with the show Penny Dreadful. I wasn't sure I could find another horror show that would entertain me so thoroughly like Helix did so soon, and this season of American Horror Story is okay, but not as good as Coven was for me. So my dear friends asked me, “Kweeny, have you seen Penny Dreadful?” And when I said no, they were shocked.

I got the same expression I always get when I tell people I have not in fact, seen that particular horror themed THING yet. It can be anything; from a movie, to a book, to a song, whatever. If it is in any way dark, weird or downright gory, people in my life expect me to know about it.

With good reason. I might be a TAD bit in love with horror.

I may be trying to make horror more than just a hobby. I might be going steady with horror a little, trying to make a career out of it.

So I shock people when I tell them I have not seen all the horror that ever existed. Don't worry gang, I will get around to it or die trying.

So I got several shocked expressions from friends who have seen the series Penny Dreadful because I haven't seen it yet. It got to the point I watched it to shut people up. *snickers* I sat down not expecting a damn thing from the series, and came away from first season MADLY IN LOVE WITH EVERYTHING ABOUT IT! Penny Dreadful is everything 18^th century gothic horror should be. OF COURSE I FUCKING LOVED IT! Especially when they dragged out my favorite classic monsters! Everyone is there! Not to give too much away, but they tell a really amazing story that weaves all the great classic monsters around one woman named Vanessa Ives. And she HAPPENS to be possessed by demons. In such a way that it is sometimes downright terrifying to watch her on screen! (Of course, she is my favorite character, but moving on...)

I think I might have a huge lady crush on Vanessa Ives to be perfectly honest. So hard. And on Eva Green for playing such an amazingly layered female lead. Double lady crush.

We need more characters like this in the horror genre representing female characters. 

Seriously, give this show a go if you haven't already, and you love the whole 18^th century dark horror ecstatic. If that really touches your black heart like it did me, you will adore this show. And there is a second season. So the ride isn't over yet THANKFULLY!

Great acting, awesome setting, and a deliciously evil story make Penny Dreadful a fun show to follow. I'd highly endorse you having a marathon of season one.

I had to do it in pretty much one day. I gave myself insomnia watching it.

And I regret NOTHING.  

Kweeny Reviews: Helix

Welcome to 2015 gang! 

So I wanted to start the New Year off right by not only dressing up as Krampus on New Years Eve, but by watching some really awesome horror-sci-fi. Someone suggested I give Helix a try, and I'm sure glad they did. I just finished Season one on Netflix. (As for the Krampus costume, if you'd wish to see the costume I made, I posted the pictures to my instagram here. I do enjoy my monsters and demons, and I might have a slight obsession with embodying them.)

As for Helix, I wasn't prepared to be impressed with a Syfy original series. I mean, these are the same people that brought us such wonders as Sharknado right? The very same people? And don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good shlocky bit of cheese sometimes with my horror, but Helix is very much not that kind of show. The writing is tight, the characters are rich and engaging. And the virus they are dealing with on the show was actually terrifyingly convincing!

Dude, you got a little something in your eyes...oh nevermind.

So the story is this: A specially engineered super-virus is created in a secret lab out in the frigid arctic. A nice call back to the classic horror sci-fi The Thing. Only it's more like The Thing mated with a Zombie outbreak and made a beautiful abomination baby to make the shows setting. The CDC is sent to this base because whatever weird shit they were experimenting with for years and years is unleashed and people are getting infected. Scientists are getting sick, and their boss Mr. Hatake is not pleased. As the show progresses we get this marvelously complex plot that at times made me nostalgic for shows like the X Files. And trust me, you will be too if you were a huge fan of shows like that too. I'd go on about the story but I don't want to spoil too much for you. It's a very human story while dealing with things like genetic mutations, ideas about immortality, zombie monster hunting moments and even shadow government issues. Sold yet?

Don't cry Hatake, it only makes me love you more.

It's a beautifully written show, with great acting, nice special effects, the whole bit. This show is tight. If you are a fan of stuff like the X Files, The Thing, and zombie-virus-scariness, You'll love this series. It's damn good. Now I gotta figure out what next to watch, because my year has only just begun...

Come on 2015. Keep on impressing me. This is a good start TV wise. Bring on the horror!

Kweeny Reviews The Series...

I am sure by now to any of the frequent followers of my blog, that I adore American Horror Story. So far as a whole, the series has proven to be the most unique, visceral, and risk-taking pieces of horror TV going. I would even put it above things like The Walking Dead and Hemlock Grove for the way it tackles subversive topics, while it tells a great story. And not just one story. Usually each season has multiple stories within one frame work, making it like an anthology. 

Sure I love the actors in the show, and I love how they keep repeating throughout seasons. It’s nice to see familiar and talented people keep coming back, even as new folks get added. I love how they always have interesting places to take you to, like The Murder House, Briarcliff and New Orleans. And these places feel alive. They feel vibrant and atmospheric. I love how the characters are interesting and rich with personality, making me want to know more about them and missing them when the season ends. These things I adore about the show. I even adore the musical selections they've had throughout the series, with first season having soundtrack blurbs from movies you've seen if you are a die-hard horror fan and listen closely.

And they have friggen AWESOME promo images!

But the best part of the show for me is the stories.

For a person like me who adores well done storytelling, this series is what I've been wanting. While I have been pleased with a lot of TV coming out that gives us horror fans something to sink our fangs into, American Horror Story is a series I have wanted above all the others. It has so much good stirred into the pot that I am never bored when I watch it. Even when I can’t quite buy a story they are telling, I still enjoy myself. I still want to keep watching.

Now I won’t say it is a prefect series. Very few ever attain perfection. I mean, I think the weakest season for me had to be second season, and it is disappointing because I love the setting! An asylum is a great place to have an American Horror Story play out. It’s such a fertile field for terrible stories of malpractice, torture, and real abuse people suffered in those places. These things are touched on, which is one of a few reasons I don’t hate the season, but they took a risk and tried to tell a tale of aliens. While I get what they were attempting to do, reminding us of some of the real fears people had in the time period of the show (Back in the 70’s aliens were a scary thing), it wasn't told as well as the other mini stories being told. I loved the Bloody Face saga, and I loved Sister Jude’s terrible story. I even loved the crazy Nazi doctor and his Frankenstein-like experiments. But the aliens just didn't work for me. It is the weakest story, and makes the season fall flat.

The first season however, was awesome. Not my favorite, but that’s because even though Coven isn't finished its season, it blows my mind. It’s the best yet. The Murder House is a good season though. It has so much going for it with the eclectic mini stories, and a lot of them are so subversive, touching on topics that feel real and not made out for pure shock value. And I've noticed that each season seems to have some hat tip to the book Frankenstein. Have you noticed it? Dr. Charles Montgomery is a nod at Dr. Frankenstein. Dr. Arthur Arden is another. And Kyle Spencer is The Monster. Of course one of my favorite books of all time is Frankenstein, so I can see what they love about it.

With all this and more, I keep coming back to American Horror Story, and this season with Coven they have figured out the perfect spell. Everything works. The world is consistent within itself, the characters are unique and are preformed awesomely by the actors, there is drama, magic and horror all wrapped up in a voodoo doll full of pins. Each character in the series is beautiful and flawed, lovable and sickening, something they've cultivated since the first season. I’m in supreme love with this season. I can’t wait to see how things turn out.