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(Book Review) Russel James–Dreamwalker

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What if you could make shit happen in your dreams? I mean, some of us get that sometimes, right? You make some sort of slumber-minded decision to hang out just a little bit longer with that girl in your dreams. Maybe you even hold her hand. Maybe you almost kiss. Whatever the case, you wake up before it goes any further. Years ago, I dreamed of the perfect girl. We hung out all night, talked, stared into one another’s eyes, and yes, we even held hands. It felt so real. I remember us sitting on the floor, her head on my shoulder. And then…I woke up. I can’t even express to you how bad I wanted to climb back into that dream. I wanted her to be real.

What the hell am I rambling on about?

I’ll tell you– Russell James’s brand spankin’ new novel from Samhain Horror, Dreamwalker.

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In Dreamwalker, Russell James gives this amazing dream power to a young college fella named, Pete. In the real world, Pete has trouble with direction. He gets mixed up by signs, and he’s not really into what his life has to offer. In his dreams though, Pete has it goin’ on. Okay, it’s not like he’s a Don Juan there or anything, but he’s entrusted with the lead role in each and every adventure. And he has a leading lady who he refers to as Dream Girl. There’s a really fun little dream sequence near the beginning of the novel featuring these two. I won’t get into it, but it is definitely more Indiana Jones than the horrors that await Pete and Dream Girl in Twin Moon City. In his dreams, Pete has a mansion on a hill, designed and built from scratch with his unique powers. The thing is Pete isn’t even aware of the full scope of the gift he possesses.

Pete wakes up one day and feels something pulling him–a calling, if you will. Despite his lack of direction, Pete leaves school and catches a bus headed east. Armed with just a few hundred dollars, Pete lands in New Jersey and quickly finds a cheap apartment and a job. It isn’t very long before he realizes that there’s more to his dreams than he originally thought.

 

 

 

 

Over the years, New Jersey has been home to some pretty nasty things: those Jersey Shore scumbags, Chris Christie, the Menendez Brothers, and maybe the worst….the Jonas Brothers!  But James introduces us to another real bad motherfucker by the name of Jean St. Croix.

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We’re brought into St. Croix’s ruthless drug lord way of life with a great, cringe-worthy scene featuring a man by the name of Manuel. St. Croix runs drug business under the guise of a taxi company. As wicked as he is the real world, St. Croix, who is possessed by the evil spirit of the petro loa, is even worse in the dream world. He has even created his own nightmare-developing community called, Twin Moon City.

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Here, St. Croix has trapped the countless souls his nightmares have  destroyed, including a Dreamwalker. I also have to give Russell James props for a great job of giving us the background on how and why  St. Croix, back in his home country (Haiti) comes to be possessed by the petro loa that goes by the name, Cauquemere.

The only threat to St.Croix?  The Dreamwalker.

St. Croix, and his wicked dream persona, Caunquemere, set out to seek and destroy this Dreamwalker before he realizes the full extent of his powers.

Can Pete uncover who and what is after him before it’s too late? Will he reach his full potential as a Dreamwalkerin time to stand against the rising force of darkness that seeps its sinister trade in both the dream world and in ours?

Russell James takes our hand and brings us along for a terrific adventure filled with plenty of suspense, chills, blossoming love, and a surprising bit of tragedy…..oh, and did I mention St. Croix’s army of zombies?

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Seriously, read this novel. I’ve read a few of James’s works. He’s a great writer, and this is definitely his best so far. I can’t see it not making my top ten of the year (a bold statement considering it’s only the third week of 2015!).

 

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 Russell James Website

Russell James, Author Page @ Samhain Horror

Russell James Amazon Page

 

 

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News

The Pope’s Exorcist Officially Announces New Sequel

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The Pope’s Exorcist is one of those films that’s just fun to watch. It isn’t the most terrifying film around, but there’s something about Russel Crow (Gladiator) playing a wise cracking Catholic priest that just feels right.

Screen Gems seems to agree with this assessment, as they have just officially announced that The Pope’s Exorcist sequel is in the works. It makes sense that Screen Gems would want to keep this franchise going, considering the first film scared up almost $80 million with a budget of only $18 million.

The Pope's Exorcist
The Pope’s Exorcist

According to Crow, there may even be a The Pope’s Exorcist trilogy in the works. However, recent changes with the studio may have put the third film on hold. In a sit-down with The Six O’Clock Show, Crow gave the following statement about the project.

“Well that’s in discussion at the moment. The producers originally got the kick off from the studio not just for one sequel but for two. But there’s been a change of studio heads at the moment, so that’s going around in a few circles. But very definitely, man. We set that character up that you could take him out and put him into a lot of different circumstances.”

Crow has also stated that film’s source material involves twelve separate books. This would allow the studio to take the story in all kinds of directions. With that much source material, The Pope’s Exorcist could even rival The Conjuring Universe.

Only the future will tell what becomes of The Pope’s Exorcist. But as always, more horror is always a good thing.

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News

New ‘Faces of Death’ Remake Will Be Rated R For “Strong Bloody Violence and Gore”

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In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, the Faces of Death reboot has been given an R rating from the MPA. Why has the film been given this rating? For strong bloody violence, gore, sexual content, nudity, language, and drug use, of course.

What else would you expect from a Faces of Death reboot? It would honestly be alarming if the film received anything less than an R rating.

Faces of death
Faces of Death

For those unaware, the original Faces of Death film released in 1978 and promised viewers video evidence of real deaths. Of course, this was just a marketing gimmick. Promoting a real snuff film would be a terrible idea.

But the gimmick worked, and franchise lived on in infamy. The Faces of Death reboot is hoping to gain the same amount of viral sensation as its predecessor. Isa Mazzei (Cam) and Daniel Goldhaber (How to Blow Up a Pipeline) will spearhead this new addition.

The hope is that this reboot will do well enough to recreate the infamous franchise for a new audience. While we don’t know much about the film at this point, but a joint statement from Mazzei and Goldhaber gives us the following info on the plot.

“Faces of Death was one of the first viral video tapes, and we are so lucky to be able to use it as a jumping off point for this exploration of cycles of violence and the way they perpetuate themselves online.”

“The new plot revolves around a female moderator of a YouTube-like website, whose job is to weed out offensive and violent content and who herself is recovering from a serious trauma, that stumbles across a group that is recreating the murders from the original film. But in the story primed for the digital age and age of online misinformation, the question faced is are the murders real or fake?”

The reboot will have some bloody shoes to fill. But from the looks of it, this iconic franchise is in good hands. Unfortunately, the film does not have a release date at this time.

That’s all the information we have at this time. Make sure to check back here for more news and updates.

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Movie Reviews

Panic Fest 2024 Review: ‘The Ceremony Is About To Begin’

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People will look for answers and belonging in the darkest places and the darkest people. The Osiris Collective is a commune predicated upon ancient Egyptian theology and was run by the mysterious Father Osiris. The group boasted dozens of members, each forgoing their old lives for one held in the Egyptian themed land owned by Osiris in Northern California. But the good times take a turn for the worst when in 2018, an upstart member of the collective named Anubis (Chad Westbrook Hinds) reports Osiris disappearing while mountain climbing and declaring himself the new leader. A schism ensued with many members leaving the cult under Anubis’ unhinged leadership. A documentary is being made by a young man named Keith (John Laird) whose fixation with The Osiris Collective stems from his girlfriend Maddy leaving him for the group several years ago. When Keith gets invited to document the commune by Anubis himself, he decides to investigate, only to get wrapped up in horrors he couldn’t even imagine…

The Ceremony Is About To Begin is the latest genre twisting horror film from Red Snow‘s Sean Nichols Lynch. This time tackling cultist horror along with a mockumentary style and the Egyptian mythology theme for the cherry on top. I was a big fan of Red Snow‘s subversiveness of the vampire romance sub-genre and was excited to see what this take would bring. While the movie has some interesting ideas and a decent tension between the meek Keith and the erratic Anubis, it just doesn’t exactly thread everything together in a succinct fashion.

The story begins with a true crime documentary style interviewing former members of The Osiris Collective and sets-up what led the cult to where it is now. This aspect of the storyline, especially Keith’s own personal interest in the cult, made it an interesting plotline. But aside from some clips later on, it doesn’t play as much a factor. The focus is largely on the dynamic between Anubis and Keith, which is toxic to put it lightly. Interestingly, Chad Westbrook Hinds and John Lairds are both credited as writers on The Ceremony Is About To Begin and definitely feel like they’re putting their all into these characters. Anubis is the very definition of a cult leader. Charismatic, philosophical, whimsical, and threateningly dangerous at the drop of a hat.

Yet strangely, the commune is deserted of all cult members. Creating a ghost town that only amps up the danger as Keith documents Anubis’ alleged utopia. A lot of the back and forth between them drags at times as they struggle for control and Anubis keeps continuing to convince Keith to stick around despite the threatening situation. This does lead to a pretty fun and bloody finale that fully leans into mummy horror.

Overall, despite meandering and having a bit of a slow pace, The ceremony Is About To Begin is a fairly entertaining cult, found footage, and mummy horror hybrid. If you want mummies, it delivers on mummies!

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