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Halloween 45 Convention This Weekend!
Hey all! This weekend, September 30-October 1, I’ll be at the Halloween 45 convention selling signed books and handing out stickers at the Cinescare booth! This will be an amazing event, devoted to one of my favorite movies of all time, John Carpenter’s Halloween. Check out the guest list in the link below. It’s gonna have a ton of celebrities signing autographs and meeting fans. And that’s not all! At the Cinescare booth, we’ll be hosting Vincente Disante, director of Never Hike Alone 2! He’s gonna be there passing out info on his newest fan film of the Friday the 13th franchise, which was co-produced by our own Cinescare Productions.…
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Horror 2022!
Well, it’s a new year, and that means it’s time for me to release my 20 Favorite Horror Movies of 2022. That’s right, twenty! I usually only do my top ten, but this year was so strong, I decided I needed to double the number. If you’ve been listening to the Cinescare Horror Podcast, which you totally should, you’ll know just how incredible a year this was for horror movies. Check out our 2022 Top 10 episode HERE, available January 6th, to hear favorites from Joe, Marc, and Jimmy-o. The other hosts and I each give our ten favorite horror movies of the year. It’s a terrific episode with some…
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5 French Extreme Films to See…if You Dare!
Recently, on Cinescare Horror Podcast, we reviewed the horror genre known as French Extreme. If you are interested in these films, check out our episode at the Cinescare website. New French Extreme, New French Extremity, French Extreme–whatever you want to call it–is one of the most vibrant and controversial subgenres in all of horror. Its name alone promises revolutionary art house narrative, combined with visceral violence, and something unsettling, maybe disturbing, that feels at once exhilarating and dangerous. These are films that stick with you like bad memories, conjured up every-so-often when we talk to fellow horror-philes who, like you, have walked a little too close to the precipice of…
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Your Shocktober Challenge Guide 2020!
Finally! We’re back in the fall spirit and ready for October. The pumpkin spice Scentsy aroma is strong in the Speak house, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. OK, maybe Reznor could do with a little less of it, but he’s a good sport. It seems like forever since I’ve written anything, either on my blog or on my books. I’ve been dealing with severe tendinitis in both of my hands the past few months, which has made typing rather difficult. I had intended to have book three of the Bettendorf Tales ready for publication by now, but I’m afraid that timetable will be pushed back into 2021.…
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A Decade of Horror
The 2010s—the decade horror became elevated. I’m not sure what that means, but I agree this was a golden age of horror. We saw wonderful performances and storytelling by some of the most talented up-and-coming directors in the business. Setting out to create a top ten list from such a substantial sample size is a fool’s errand, but I’m a sucker for these things, so what the heck. I’ll push mine out there and see what you think. I doubt most of my list will be a great shock, especially to horror nuts, but there may be one or two you’ve not seen before. What was my method for choosing…
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Horror 2019
Merry Christmas! First off, I just want to say this has been one crazy year for the Speak-Reeves family, after moving across the damned country to settle back in my hometown of Bettendorf. I can’t say it’s all gone according to plan—in fact, almost nothing has happened like we planned it—but we’re settling in OK and figuring things out. Reznor is doing very well academically, though moving to a new town/school is the LAST thing a fourteen-year-old wants to do. We’re all more than a little homesick, even now. Michelle’s been hard at work—like, fingers-to-the-bone style—and Speak Art Studio is growing because of it. I think 2020 will be a…
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Ten Haunted House Movies For Halloween
Halloween is just around the corner, and if you’re like me, this month has been all about watching scary movies. My personal favorites are the ones with ghosts. For me, there’s nothing like a good old fashioned haunted house tale. And if you haven’t subscribed to Shudder, AMC’s horror movie streaming service, I highly recommend you do so for at least a month. For the cost of what you’d spend on a typical rental, you get a month’s access to a huge catalog of horror movies, including many you’ve probably never seen. So, here’s a list of some of my favorites, in no particular order. I tried to slip in…
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Horror 2018
This was another interesting year for horror. From movies and TV to books and podcasts, it seemed like horror was everywhere. I can’t let the year slip away without talking about some of my favorite stuff. First, I’ll start out with my top ten horror movies of the year. Here we go…