The Joy of Gaming: October Challenge 2019 - Day 21: Attack on Titan: The Last Stand (2017)

TMI - Usually as I get ready for bed, I have my television on. On Adult Swim there have Anime on Saturday nights and I fell into watching Attack on Titan. It is so revolting, yet it drew me in. Bottom line, I'm kind of a fan. When I saw they turned it into a tabletop game, I was really interested. When I learned Attack on Titan: The Last Stand was made by Antoine Bauza and Ludovic Maublanc it became a must-add to my collection. Finally it happened and I've become a fan.

Loved the mechanics. Loved the asymmetrical quality. It reminded me of a more involved version of Jurassic Park: DANGER! With the one player playing the dinosaurs/titans and the other players playing the characters and using their designated skills. Attack on Titan, though, felt more involved and requires more strategy. I really am excited to break it out again. Our game went quickly but it was our first time.

The Joy of Gaming: October Challenge 2019 - Day 20: Elder Sign (2011)

Elder Sign is a lighter companion piece to Fantasy Flight’s other Cthulu games Eldritch Horror and Arkham Horror.

Elder Sign is a cooperative game that inspires terror at midnight! Elder Sign plays 1-8 players, but is best played with 4, if you want to defeat the evil that is unleashed. You encounter spooky locations within a 1926 museum and through the use of dice and special cards try to earn elder signs to aide in battle against the big bad Ancient One, once it is awoken.  You will lose members along the way, but never fear, others will emerge to help the team be victorious against what lurks just past midnight.

I've heard debate over which game is the better Cthulu: Elder Sign, Eldritch Horror, or Arkham Horror. I think Elder Sign is significantly faster and less of an absurd table hog than Arkham Horror. I would argue that Arkham Horror is overly bloated with mechanics that back in 2005 may have seemed cool, because it added to the them, but 14 years later just seem annoying. For that, Elder Sign stands the test of time and the growth of the game industry.

Also, with the outstanding Gates of Arkham expansion, Elder Sign takes you out of the museum and becomes just as thematically city-sprawling as Arkham Horror without adding too much bloat. It is just so much more accessible, especially when introducing people to the genre of games and it is a plus to play with most of my kids. This is an absolutely fantastic game.

The Joy of Gaming: October Challenge 2019 - Day 19: Betrayal at House on the Hill (2004)

You and your fellow players go through the doors of this foul mansion to unearth its mysteries. Move room to room looking for clues, finding means to protect you from the horrors that lurk around every corner. Not only is your life in danger, but your very sanity teeters on the brink. In the end, one of your compatriots turns out to be a traitor and each game of Betrayal at House on the Hill leads you down a very different story path depending on a number of circumstances. Is someone bringing for demons from another dimension? Is their a vampire amongst you? Is one of you a lunatic housing a gang of murderous escaped inmates? Has someone bowed down before alien eye-creature overlords? One never knows what sinister happenings you will discover at the House on the Hill.

This game is so awesome! We brought it to the lock-in and the kids thought it was great! The best part was the twist at the end. Whoever gets the book as the betrayer goes off and hides and reads their part. Everyone else at the table wonders what is going to happen and tensions start to run high! These are the kinds of games that my middle school kids get a kick out of. For instance, Dead of Winter also has a potential betrayer and so the kids are always trying to figure the person out. Sadly, it gets so distracting sometimes, because you have the kid who is always saying that they're the betrayer or "maybe it's me?" and all of that sort of thing. It's that unknown factor that just drives them crazy, because we all know kids think they know everything and always want to feel smarter than everyone around them.

The Joy of Gaming: October Challenge 2019 - Day 17: Ghost Stories (2008)

A co-operative game from designer Antoine Bauza (he also gave us the previously reviewed Hanabi and so many other great games). A game for 1-4 players, Ghost Stories is about 4 noble and mystical Taoist priests protecting a village from an onslaught of ghosts, demons, vampires, and everything else that goes bump in the night. Players perform exorcisms, take special actions by enlisting the help of certain villagers, and work together to prevent any of the priests from becoming overrun and any of the village locations from becoming haunted. This all culminates in the priests doing battle with the incarnation of Wu-Feng, Lord of the Nine Hells. This is an incredibly difficult game the requires precise teamwork and strategy, but its elegant design and simple mechanics make for tremendous fun.

I laugh when my husband gets it out. He still considers it an incredibly strategic game and he'll have little play sessions alone at night playing it. It is so adorable. We've even played it with our daughter and it's been interesting. Our middle school kids, though, had the most fun, whether we bring it for lock-ins or our game unit... it's a challenging yet rewarding game.

October Movie Binge 2019 - Day 13: The Last Exorcism (2010)

The Last Exorcism has one of those titles that makes you forget about it and a poster that doesn't really match up to the film itself. So every time I see the post or hear the title, I have to rack my brain to remember the movie. And as I watched it, it just had too many things that made me think of Paranormal Activity and The Conjuring combined into some sort of shameful attempt at fear, with a little touch of Southern insanity.

The film is done as a faux documentary, with a film crew following a hoax preacher, Cotton Marcus, who claims he can do exorcisms, but really it's about praying on the weak. He shows up at this family's home and their daughter, Nell, is said to be possessed. There is the act of helping with an exorcism. Then little pieces are revealed that make the preacher think something else is going on and then things take a turn for the worst. The question lingers, though, as to whether or not she's truly possessed or is just ashamed of being pregnant as a young girl.

It essentially becomes a possession film revolving around a Satanic/Demonic cult. This is revealed further in The Last Exorcism II (um... let that title sink in for a second). As I'll get to in a later post, Paranormal Activity is essentially a demonic cult/possession film and isn't about a ghost at all! The Last Exorcism might also be touching on the Rosemary's Baby story of being forced to bear the son of a demon or Satan and you're at the mercy of the cult.

Regardless, the movie is pretty interesting. It has its own twists and turns that make it unique from other possession films, but the sequel is unnecessary with some horribly cheesy special effects at the end, as well as just a disappointing ending.

October Movie Binge 2019 - Day 12: The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

The Exorcism of Emily Rose is a bit of a departure from the possession story that The Exorcist presents. What happens to the priest when the possessed dies as a result of the exorcism and how does psychiatric medicine figure into the label of demon possession?

The story is based on the real life story of Anneliese Michel, who went through a similar experience of being diagnosed with epilepsy, then depression, then other psychosis problems that required psychiatric help and medication. The long and short of the story is that medication over an almost 10 year period was having not effect on improving the condition and the family saw Anneliese getting worse. The family finally decided that she was possessed and called in a priest for support.

Possession and diagnosed mental illnesses or brain conditions have been a long battled issue. Well... not like people are out there challenging this daily, but it's a topic of debate and concern. Not only by people in the medical field and skeptics, but even by the Catholic Church itself. If we go back to the days before modern medicine, women who were suffering from various psychoses were committed to institutes (informal or otherwise) or were forced into seclusion via convents. The cultural history of the nun and it's presentations are rife with these types of conditions.

In The Exorcism of Emily Rose the matter is mental illness verses possession is well played out. Both sides of the case are presented, from symptoms to connections to even letters and testimonials. There is a level of the supernatural that makes you want to believe one side and there's a more realistic level that causes you to wonder about coincidence and subliminal suggestion.

While not endowed with shock horror value, the film has its moments, but I love the thinky quality it possesses (get it... possesses... hahaha...).

The Joy of Gaming: October Challenge 2019 - Day 12: Zombicide (2012)

Zombicide is a Kickstarter phenomena that has spawned several sequels and all sorts of mini-characters that are inspired by pop-culture. You could say, at this point, it is completely out of control and you could dedicate a whole room to your house for all the Zombicide you might own! At least you can play this cooperatively or there are individual glory quests, so with all the stuff there will never be a dull moment. The game books have the campaigns you can follow in them, explaining end-goals and missions. The problem, as with most zombie games, is being overrun with zombies! And in Zombicide you face the Abomination which can only be defeated with a special concoction. In other expansions and games, there are other challenges, additions, monsters, and goodness knows what else. It is a whole world of possibilities!

Zombicide is the most epic epic games and can actually take up an entire weekend of gaming. My favorite characters are El Cholo (AKA Machete) and Dave (AKA Sheldon). There are so many character options, depending on the editions and character expansions, you can have endless geek fun representing all sorts of cult classics. I've played this with my game club kids and it has been a hoot. Practically an RPG without being an RPG and the kids really get into the action. Cooperative play at the middle school age is really great!

October Movie Binge 2019 - Day 11: The Exorcist (1973)

While many exorcism and other supernatural spirit films call on the echoes of rituals and cults, The Exorcist brings us right into the realm of mysticism and the connections it has to the world - the old world and the new world. Clearly this is brought about with the opening at an archaeological dig. We sift through the remnants of the past, hoping the understand more about the ancient world, but instead we playing with things that we only think we know something about. Hubris. All the dichotomies the long opening offers because we get to Georgetown and the possession.

As the film plays out, though, we are introduced to the supernatural spirits' best friend... the Ouija board. This is the gateway to the demon who then wreaks havoc on Reagan and her mother. The Exorcist is its own classic horror film and the roots of so many other films clearly crib from it, even if they're in denial. I mean, honestly... once you enter into a genre you can argue it wasn't planned, but certain things become ingrained into our culture and occasionally find their way out into modern film.

An origin film and, again, it fits into this perfect start to more modern exorcism films.

The Joy of Gaming: October Challenge 2019 - Day 11: Zombie Fluxx (2007)

My daughter has never played Fluxx before. She knows I absolutely adore zombies, so she took the time to play this with me. The basics of Fluxx is that you start out by drawing a card and playing a card and the rest of the time you just follow the rules on the cards. This was both frustrating and exciting for her. I, though, enjoyed it. The zombie variant offers several new twists and changes (such as groaning like a zombie when you get a zombie creeper and the Ungoal that causes everyone to lose).

A great quick game for the spooky season.

October Movie Binge 2019 - Day 10: The Possession (2012)

The Possession has an interesting place in my spread of movies. It has the malicious spirit attached to an item quality, but that spirit possesses the daughter in a very demonic way.  The dybbuk box is part of Jewish mythology and there is part history and part fictionalized horror. The box itself is said to have been specifically a wine box and that, when burned, will burn an excessively long time, releasing the spirit. At some point, a guy created a box and sold it on eBay along with his fiction story about it, which is what this particular movie is based on. Well... based on the story, not buying the box off of eBay.

According to one of the histories I read, the dybbuk originally was considered a demonic spirit, but over time it was changed to be an angry spirit.  This is primarily why I put it between the possessed items and demonic possession. 

The Possession itself is an interesting movie. It follows the same traditional format of not realizing an item is possessed and essentially getting entangled in the situation. Again, here we have an individual who takes on the spirit from the box, fighting from inside. This is similar to the Annabelle movies in The Conjuring Universe.

One of the best images, though, is in the hospital and the scan of her inner body. A unique touch in this particular genre. Addressing that idea of where does a spirit or demon go when they possess us or is it just an ethereal thing. 

The film has its creepy moments and how people suffer at the hands of a possessed tween, but again the plot is relatively formulaic. 

October Movie Binge 2019 - Day 9: Oculus (2013)

Oculus is an interesting movie that truly deals with a malevolent force. Like with Annabelle (the possessed doll), the main character, Kaylie, is convinced that an old mirror is responsible for the deaths in her family. She spends years and a good majority of money researching and finally tracking down the mirror. Kaylie waits for her brother, Tim, to be released for a psychiatric hospital where he has spent his time after being accused of killing his parents.

Kaylie gets Tim and takes him back to their childhood home where she attempts to rope him into documenting how evil the mirror is. Sadly, it doesn't go well for either of them, because the spirit that inhabits the mirror is determined to keep it's home safe so that he can continue to harass and torture the living.

Having just finished watching Annabelle Comes Home (2019), I found it interesting that Ed Warren asserts demons don't attach themselves to object, they attach themselves to people. I don't know if I buy that, despite demons seeking lifeforms and "haunt" the living until they can enter someone. But with Oculus, the spirit is clearly malicious and wants nothing more than to hurt the family.

When I think back on Oculus I always seem to have a different story in mind. Almost like it combines with another story. I think this is mostly due to the cover, but when I watched it again it really had that kind of psychological scare that comes along with malicious spirit movies. This spirit really goes all out to mess with their minds and it's hard not to feel sorry for the family.

October Movie Binge 2019 - Day 8: The Conjuring (2013)

The Conjuring Series absolutely enthralls me. I spent a good bit of time looking into how the films came about and how involved James Wan was in the production. As I mentioned in the Insidious commentary, Wan and Whannell and Peli are these three keystones to the modern take on the supernatural horror genre. What I found at the heart of the production started to open the lid of Pandora's Box even more than this binge session already had.

Long story short, the script went through a bunch of drama to the try to get made, but Chad and Carey Hayes were finally brought on to give the script a treatment and bring it up to something a bit more Hollywood. They are the ones to really bring in the Warren's POV of the events taking place, instead of it just focusing on the family's POV. Here, consultations with Lorraine Warren were even made. After the script had started to be floated, then they attached Wan as a director, which also brought with it Patrick Wilson.

The interesting connection that popped up was that the original writer of the initial script/story, Tony DeRosa-Grund, had made a deal with Gold Circle films. Clearly the deal fell through and the script just got moved around like crazy. Gold Circle films, though, is the production company that did The Haunting in Connecticut, which is another movie that is going to pop up later with the haunted house films.

Also, Carey and Chad Hayes had some horror credits to their name with House of Wax (2005) and The Reaping (2007). Not that any of these have a place in this holiday binge, but the slasher and psychological horror aspects I think are interesting backgrounds to have going into this new and cutting edge take on ghost films.

While I chose The Conjuring as my title item, I also am drawing in the other Conjuring movies. The emergence of one just built an entire franchise that still has a very intriguing development in regards to the ghost/spirit/haunted story genre.

Annabelle (2014-2019)
The Annabelle movies fall more into the possession category. The object (doll) is possessed by a demon and seeks a host to bring it to life. The demon was summoned through the prayers of desperate parents who wanted nothing more than to see their daughter again. How the story continues to develop is really intriguing, spanning numerous films. Another interesting connection between the Annabelle films/Conjuring Universe and the spirit films is Lulu Wilson, who is in Annabelle: Creation (2017) and Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016). She plays Doris in Ouija - the girl who is possessed. She plays Linda in Annabelle - the girl who wants to stop the possessed Janice. The series is really engaging and I love watching it. It still has some spooks and scares after several watches.

The Nun (2018)
This is another demonic entity and I'm interested in seeing how this story unfolds. They say there will be a second one. This demon is connected directly to The Conjuring and what Lorraine Warren goes through. It's amazing how they make sure all the movies are linked. The Nun is focused on an actual demon and its possession of people. I think this movie, overall, is kind of weak. As someone who loves nun movies, this aspect is really disappointing. Once I link it up with the arrival of the nun in the other Conjuring movies, though, it adds a little more information and the potential overarching plot I find very intriguing. I, though, am insanely detail-oriented when it comes to film series and the picture from the convent of nuns is actually in Annabelle: Creation (2017). Sadly, there is no real  explanation of this and while the connection is there, it is never explained in either movie. Maybe the second nun movie will explain it more. Wan said there is tons of information to use to develop the story. It's just about getting a green light to move forward with projects.

The Conjuring (2013)
The two actual Conjuring films that have been done have primarily centered on actual spirits in the two houses that serve as primary setting and how they are affecting their respective two families. I like this presentation, because it reminds me of the roots of the television show Ghost Hunters. It's not about collecting evidence - it's about helping families. Along the way, though, information is collected to be used in the future. I've learned that the last Conjuring, though, is going to return to the demonic and possession with the very first trial of someone who used the possession defense in the court room. It should be pretty great.

The Curse of La Llorona (2019)
Then there's this little stand alone movie. The only connection it has to the Conjuring universe is Father Perez, who was in the Annabelle movies. He helps guide the family about the spirit haunting them. This particular film deals with a malevolent spirit and how she seeks revenge for the loss of her own children. It has a few touches that seem akin to Paranormal Activity, with the idea that you can transfer a haunting onto other people. It also seems connected to Drag Me to Hell, because it involves a person being cursed by another in a fit of rage. A child services caseworker, Anna, takes a, woman's children away and, in doing so, leaves the children vulnerable to La Llorona. The children end up being killed by the spirit. Their mother then calls on La Llorona to go after the Anna's children. Woowee... so much anger and bitterness. This movie really needed a bit of the loving mother, Lorraine Warren. The Curse of La Llorona does have some great scare scenes. For example, how La Llorona lures the children and the car scene! I can't give this stuff away, because it gives some great flavor to the film, but it does feel a little out of place in the entire universe unless it's touched on again.

I love the Conjuring universe. It pushes all my must-see buttons when it comes to a series. Interconnectedness always gets my engine revving and all the different supernatural elements utilized make this universe an absolute must for those completely obsessed with spirit/demon films.

The Joy of Gaming: October Challenge 2019 - Day 8: Letters from Whitechapel (2011)

I am an absolute adoring fan of Letters from Whitechapel, Whitehall, and Scotland Yard.

Letters from Whitechapel puts you in the position of one of the most notorious killers in history or the cops who sought to find justice. Players are either Jack the Ripper or the police officers. Each turn, Jack the Ripper secretly moves around the board and the cops need to use their knowledge and powers of deduction to try to catch The Ripper before the final night of making it back to his hideout. Full of fun and strategy and great for a group of people. You can even roleplay the characters if you’re so inclined.

Also, if you’ve played Nuns on the Run, this is a similar gameplay style and Nuns on the Run is an additional fun game that you can dress up for (trust me, I’ve done it), but isn’t a murderer thing!

October Movie Binge 2019 - Day 7: The Ring (2002)

When The Ring came out, I remember it caused a new film obsession with Japanese horror cinema in the United States. Not only were fans of The Ring obsessed with the American remake, but Ringu started to make the rounds.

I should have watched it before The Grudge, in this binge, because The Grudge came out of this new Hollywood obsession. What is interesting, though, is that sometimes both films are great or one is significantly better than the other. In a movie I'm watching later, the Japanese version is far superior to the Jennifer Connolly remake.

I like the pacing of the American one. I know, as a country, we supposedly can't appreciate a long burn movie, but the original loses interest once the island investigation starts. In this one, it moves at a really reasonable pace and keeps our interest going without huge lulls of driving and swelling music, attempting to cause suspense, but instead makes it like a Sunday drive meant to be little Timmy to sleep.

While The Ring has the scares that pop up throughout, the real story is based in the investigation. What drives me nuts, though, is the video. Watching it now after all these years, the video still bothers me even more. It was too film school, which the character Noah mentions. It just brought back too many of the bad feelings I have towards my time in academia in the Humanities and the Film Studies departments in general. It reminded me too much of Un Chien Andalou (The Andolusian Dog) made Luis Buenel and Salvador Dali during the surrealist movement in Europe. Art for art's sake without any rhyme or reason. I've officially decided these ghosts were fans of artistic Euro cinema.

What is different from the surrealist movement, is that here all the images and things have a deeper meaning that drives the investigation and could potentially save lives, affecting the characters in the movie and not simply frustrating the audience. It's art for the sake of horror. Luckily, the artistic take makes the horror that much more memorable. The burning circle of "the ring" and the creepy long-haired girl crawling out of the well and the walk towards you and all the aftermath... haunting.

At the time is was more powerful. In today's world, people demand much more hardcore scares and I can see this not playing as well if released based on today's mainstream standards. Sad, but true... the jaded internet, need to feel smarter than everyone else (lack of humility?), and the ever growing quality of the post-production process has done so much damage to the industry in so many different regards.

The Ring, though, stands up as much as it can. The most recent addition, Rings (2017), taps into the modern by attempting to understand the move from video to actual digital content. Would the "curse" still hold? The American remakes are just The Ring (2002), The Ring 2 (2005), and Rings (2017). The Japanese series had a series, but then a prequel.

As far as what it contributes to this binge, it has the malicious ghost and her attachment to an object in order to wreck absolute terror. And like The Grudge, that spirit just can't seem to be sated.

The Joy of Gaming: October Challenge 2019 - Day 6: The Walking Dead: The Board Game (2011)

Of all The Walking Dead games, I have a soft spot for this one. I love the original artwork. It's dice rolling, set collecting, and variable player powers. Those are some of my favorite things combined with my favorite theme. It has a unique area control aspect with zombie attacks.

I really recommend it, especially since I've enjoyed it more than the other games. The one based on the TV isn't as cool. So if you're going all in on a game, I can't recommend this enough!

October Movie Binge 2019 - Day 6: Drag Me to Hell (2009)

I hadn't seen Drag Me to Hell (2009) movie in quite a while and my memory of it was vague. I forgot how Sam Raimi it was. The, sometimes blatant, campyness that goes with the film - even the almost silliness of some of the basics of the plot.

I struggled with the main character Christine (Alison Lohman). I think that was the primary drawback to the film for me. My husband did not feel the same way, but she just felt like a truly pathetic individual. What happens to her sucks, sure, but she really had a modern perspective on life goals. This is presented in juxtaposition (but barely) with the two styles of life seen in the movie: The gypsies and the boyfriend's family.

Strangely enough, in my class we are studying understanding characters at a deeper level and one of the things I ask the students to do is realize that characters have good and bad traits about them. They're like anyone you would interact with. Is anyone ever truly all good or all bad? You know the oppositional kids said yes. I disagree. But I shared my experience watching this movie (not the name of the movie) and how I wanted so badly to sympathize with the character and I couldn't, because despite being the lead in the movie, she just had too many bad traits.

The movie deals with the revenge taken against people for doing things that cause them personal tragedy. The old woman uses her "powers" to put a curse on her via an object. This object is causing her to be haunted by a Lamia, a powerful demon who will drag her to hell. Christine deals with all the moral implications of saving her own life, which is somewhat redeeming of her. The curse is attached to an object, which is attached to a person, which then causes them to be haunted. It's a tricky film for my movie binge, but that's what makes it a special oddity to include. Is it ghost haunting? Object possession? Demonic haunting? Oh goodness!

If you're into Raimi, it's another notch on his supernatural belt. Already in on my calendar as several of his produced films and it's I put it in the possessed object and vengeful spirit category, because of the button. I don't want to give too much away, but it was interesting. If you like Raimi, you'll get a kick out of some of the things, but it's no high ranking cinema for this particular topic.

The Joy of Gaming: October Challenge 2019 - Day 5: Jurassic Park: Danger! (2018)

Our daughter came out of the womb a Jurassic Park fan. Okay, well... that might be a bit of hyperbole for you. I can remember the exact moment she became enamored with it. AMC was constantly showing Jurassic Park. Oh my goodness it was driving me nuts. My daughter was already into dinosaurs, but when she came downstairs, I pointed out to her how cool the triceratops was in the scene where Dr. Sattler and Dr. Grant and fawning over the Trice on the ground. She practically tried to climb in the TV and the rest... is history. 

This game was an absolutely must-have for her and, of course, it found its way into our collection. While the game plays up to 5 players, I have preferred the 2-player gameplay. Tonight we played it as a family. Sadly... my daughter's dinosaurs beat our poor set of Nedry, Dr. Sattler, Dr. Grant, and Dr. Malcolm. We each had one player die and then... well... Dr. Sattler left Dr. Grant all alone on the island. I'm sure he survived. Remember the retconned Jurassic Park 3? 

So you're probably wondering why in the world I would include this in the spooky games list. Well... when I was a kid and Jurassic Park first game out, I was scared to death. The scene where the T-Rex breaks out and then eats the blood-sucking lawyer? Yep... still can't stomach watching it. I left the theater EVERY TIME that scene started to play and I still, all these years later, avoid it. Not long ago I actually attempted to watch it, but I still cannot. Too many creepy moments. 

The basement at my childhood home also had a furnace or something that would snap in the basement. It was a finished basement, so there was a pull out bed and I was staying down there while my bedroom was painted. I heard that clicking all the time and it always made me think of the raptors clicking their massive claw. I can't tell you how many times I looked towards the hallway towards the sound, expecting the see a head peaking around the corner. 

Those traumas are why I couldn't resist putting this on my spooky list. Love, love, love the idea of it being scary. I still get anxious when the T-Rex starts to target me. Get me out of there are all costs!!!

October Movie Binge 2019 - Day 5: Ouija (2014)

Ouija boards are one of those things that has such an interesting history and either results in a use believing in it's power or the user being absurd about its clearly idiotic purpose. I mean, it's made by Park Brothers for goodness sake (acquired by Hasbro and previously sold by a novelty company). But I'm not here to get into the nitty gritty of a Ouija board. I admit I have used one both in earnest and in ignorance (so many of my friends were obsessed with dares, but I was a bystander). My mom and a few friends made a point of banishing these boards from their house and felt it was inviting evil spirits in.

So are they tools for good or instruments of evil? Ouija explores this very idea. To take away the jaded idea of being able to go to your local Target and buy one, the story allows for the initial character to find an old, authentic looking board in the attic, clearly from previous owners, while cleaning the attic as a chore for her parents. (Sidenote: Who are these people who move into a house and never "clear out" the basement and attic of weird crap that was left by the previous owners prior to establishing their own life in the building?) There is even a special planchette that is used to see spirits if using the board. I'd be a fool if I didn't say I never knew that about the planchette and never really questioned it's actual shape.

Ouija uses the energy of an object for a spirit to manipulate people. This is the first movie out of my set to start to tap into the idea of objects allowing for malicious spirits to exact revenge.

The most intriguing aspect of the Ouija films is how we identify with the villains and the heroes. Both Ouija and Ouija: Origin of Evil cause us to check our preconceived notions of spirits at the door. It is a concept explored in The Ring, which is Monday's film, but Ouija brings it out in a very intriguing way. If I actually explore the ideas, I'll spoil the film(s), but suffice to say... sometimes the ones we think need saving maybe don't deserve it.

Upcoming Trivia: The writers of Ouija, Stiles White and Juliet Snowden, also wrote The Possession, which is coming later this month. Additionally, this is another Sam Raimi and Ghost House Productions film.

The Joy of Gaming: October Challenge 2019 - Day 4: Unspeakable Words (2007)

Unspeakable Words is my absolute favorite word game EVER! I can't explain why, except that the rolling the dice mechanic to see if your sanity is affected really interests me. It's not like Scrabble where you try to get the better of other people with really weird words. It's more about making the words, tallying the score and then descending into madness!

The little tiny Cthulu are also absolutely adorable. The Deluxe Edition has new little Cthulus with different colors and a glow-in-the-dark D20.

I've played the game quite a bit with my students, who it always seems to be a miss, because they don't like word games. Even if it's only 3-letters or more, they don't seem to want to make words. I think in their mind, they HAVE to score high level words, when just nickle-and-dime your way to a win is still totally alright. I want to argue that some of it might be vocabulary or insecurity about spelling, but too often I see them just want to call a mulligan, because they can't make a word. Deep down I also wonder if it just accesses the kind of mental faculties that they don't associate with games.

Either way. I enjoy it, but even my daughter can't seem to get into it.

October Movie Binge 2019 - Day 4: Insidious (2010)

The Insidious Film Series is incredibly enjoyable. A friend of mine hates it and my husband and I have yet to fully understand why. I understand if it was the horrific violin music they use, but I like the interesting take on the afterlife in these movies.

Insidious is a series with modern horror greats at the very center of it's creation: James Wan, Leigh Whannell, and Oren Peli.

James Wan and Leigh Whannell are most famous for the Saw movies. Oren Peli was the director of Paranormal Activity, producer on the Paranormal Activity series, and went on to create the found-footage, supernatural TV series "The River."  Leigh Whannell wrote all four movies in the series and starred in all four as Specs, one part of the investigation team members.

Peli, Wan, and Whannell stayed involved in the project in different ways throughout the series, but James Wan branched off to work on his own box office busting series The Conjuring. He seemed to have taken Patrick Wilson with him, because Wilson went from traveling the astral dimension to portraying the most iconic paranormal investigator of all time: Ed Warren.

The series seems to follow the touchstone character of Elise Rainer (Lin Shaye) as she tackles difficult spirits throughout her career. Funny enough, as seems to be the case with several supernatural horror films of late, the movies start with her final case and the second film deals with how to wrap up the final case.

The serious deals with insidious (malicious) spirits waiting on the edge of the afterlife so that they can regain the joy of life. This includes demons and also spirits that seek to harm the living in payment for their own eternal and mortal suffering. Interestingly enough, even in the "real life" ghost hunting world, demons and demonic possessions have started becoming a common topic of discussion, mostly fostered by Zak Bagans of the "Ghost Adventures" show. It is an interesting discussion, I suppose, trying to pin down what are potentially ghosts (residual or intelligent) and what are demons. I have theories on this, but this article is not the place for it. I appreciate the line these movies walk in regards to that current conversation.

The Insidious films use the shock factor when it's scares, creating hideous images and visual events that cause you to jump and cringe. What I love about these films is that they are still story driven via the horror elements in the film. So many ghost movies either all into the pit-trap of being too overly wrought with plot and the spirits are merely a backdrop to the storytelling or the storytelling is merely there to generate the scares. I suppose this is true of all types of films, but the ghost movie is so varied in it's presentation of suspense and horror.

Wan, Whannell, and Peli changed the face of the supernatural horror genre and while the Insidious films have come to an end, there are more films to come from all of these creative masters.