Gravity Falls: Summerween

the Mystery Shack, decorated for Summerween

For those not familiar with the Disney Channel series 'Gravity Falls', the premise is how twin siblings Dipper and Mabel Pines spend their summer with Great-Uncle "Gruncle" Stan, a Shriner-looking sheister who runs a tourist trap called the Mystery Shack. (Or Mystery Hack, rather, as the letter S has fallen off of its proper place on the sign.) But, as the children soon learn, the town of Gravity Falls, Oregon is far from normal and appears to be a hub of all manner of strangeness. It's loosely like 'Twin Peaks', but less soap opera melodrama and for kids. (This is especially apparent at a restaurant called The Club, where the interior resembles the "Red Room.")

In time for the season, 'Gravity Falls' released its latest episode "Summerween," named after the fictitious holiday celebrated on June 22nd. The townsfolk of Gravity Falls apparently all loved Halloween so much that they invented it. (Definitely sounds better than Christmas in July in our book.) Essentially, Summerween keeps to the same traditions as Halloween does but with just a few discrepancies: watermelons are used instead of pumpkins to create jack o' melons, "cheap ol' loser" candy is prevalent (ex: Sand Pop!, Gummy Chairs, and Mr. Adequate-Bar), and, in direct relation to the candy, the Summerween Trickster. As Mystery Shack handyman Soos tells it to the Pines kids, the Summerween Trickster is a boogeyman who will get children discontent with the off-brand candy or lacking in the Summerween spirit.

bowl of cheap ol' loser candy

The legend of the Summerween Trickster has to be invoked, of course, so naturally a scenario shortly afterward begins to set itself up. Wendy, another Mystery Shack employee, along with a Donnie Darko-esque Robbie, the typical douche-bag boyfriend, come by the Shack to pick up her coat that evening. While there, she relates to Dipper details of a party happening later that night and that he ought to come. As it happens, Wendy is one of those slightly older cool kids and incidentally Dipper's crush. So when she inadvertently validates Robbie's point that trick-or-treating is for little kids, he decides to give it up.

"Twins in costumes! The people eat it up."

This proves problematic, as Mabel loves trick-or-treating and has fond memories of doing this together. To spare his sister's feelings, Dipper feigns sickness from eating some of the bad candy. But while in the middle of selling his white lie, there comes a visitor knocking at the Shack's door. Cue the ominous music, and here we are introduced to a trick-or-treating Summerween Trickster. However, exasperated with convincing his sister that he simply isn't up to it, Dipper rudely shuts the door on their visitor twice.

Yeahhh, you already know that this isn't going to go over well.

"Trick or treeeat..."

"Dude, really? You're a little old for this, man."

A third, more adamant knock bangs on their front door and this time Mabel answers, as Dipper refuses to. She politely excuses her brother's behavior, but the Summerween Trickster has been angered and will not be appeased until they have met his demand: retrieve five-hundred pieces of candy that night before the last jack o' melon goes out, or else he will be eaten (just like an unfortunate, random kid is only moments before). Now, even if this wasn't some sort of boogeyman, he's still an incredibly tall and creepily imposing guy. That alone should be adequate motivation. Even so, Dipper begrudgingly goes along with trick-or-treating as Mabel recruits Soos and her friends to help.

"I got a picture!"

Meanwhile, Stan Pines, the self-proclaimed "Master of Fright," gleefully anticipates terrifying any trick-or-treaters who come over to the Mystery Shack. Between an 'Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark' melting face scare and a disembowelment with sausage link guts, this works pretty well for the most part. However, two among the group of costumed kids are underwhelmed with the antics, despite his best efforts. So here we come to a standstill between an unstoppable force and an immovable object: a cheapskate who scares children to avoid handing out treats vs. horror-desensitized kids who want their candy. Who will break first? That question will have to wait.

Elsewhere on the streets of Gravity Falls, the Pines twins and their gang of friends begin hitting up the houses. But it becomes plainly clear that people won't hand out enough candy unless Dipper dresses up in costume, which at this point he hasn't. And to give them a healthy little reminder, the Summerween Trickster promptly drops in – quite literally – to check on their progress, or rather lack thereof.

"Tick tock, children..."

*blows out jack o' melon's candle*

Dipper relents and dresses in a complimentary costume to his sister's, the literal peanut butter to her jelly. This goes off without a hitch – especially with the twin cuteness factor – and during the ensuing montage of trick-or-treating the circle of friends collect four-hundred and ninety-nine pieces of candy, just in the homestretch. But when Wendy and Robbie happen to spy Dipper he ditches both the costume and candy, making up an excuse as to why he's out. When the older kids have driven off, we see that Mabel has overheard everything and is hurt that Dipper would have otherwise ditched her.

To make matters worse, the wheel barrel of their collected candy accidentally dumped itself into a ditch and washed the treats away in a creek. It's then that they notice all of the jack o' melons have gone out, save for one, and despite rescuing it they themselves wind up blowing it out with in sigh of relief. Oops. Cue the ominous music again, and the Summerween Trickster comes to collect.

"Knock, knock..."

Yeah, even as a kid's television show, that scene is still kinda creepy. 

Approaching the children on the deserted street, the Summerween Trickster corners them into a local dump. When Dipper is unable to deliver on his demands, the Trickster stretches taller, his humped back tearing through his coat, and another pair of spindly arms branch out. The Pines boy futilely flings the last and only remaining piece of candy at the changing character, only to see it absorb into the boogeyman's mottled skin. Laughing, it pursues the children and begins to nab them in its clutches. Luckily, Soos comes to the rescue in a truck and dashes the Summerween Trickster into broken bits.

Their luck doesn't last, though, as the Trickster begins reassembling itself into something more akin to a giant spider, with the exception of the smiley face mask. It leaps onto the moving truck, causing Soos to crash his vehicle into the local Summerween Superstore. Everyone is alright, but the immediate danger isn't over as the monster makes its way into the store and stalks about as they hide.

Blocking the entrance, they devise an escape plan by dressing in the surrounding costumes to disguise themselves from the Trickster as store props. Progress is carefully made and eventually they do make it to the front of the Summerween Superstore. Soos, however, cannot resist the temptation of the touch-activated, talking skull candy bowls. Despite Dipper and Mabel's hushed pleas he goes ahead... And it doesn't work. As it turns out, there are no batteries inside. But in a stroke of comical genius, Soos goes out of his way to tear open a package of batteries, install them, and press again, which of course works this time and alerts the monster.

the Summerween Trickster, here resembling No-Face ('Spirited Away'), swallows Soos

Perhaps emboldened by the dire situation of their friend Soos, the children brandish costume weapons and attack the monstrous Summerween Trickster. Flecks of the boogeyman-thing glance off of its mottled skin, some in their mouths, and they notice it has a flavor like saltwater taffy. When it sees that they haven't pieced together the truth, the monster removes its mask and reveals that it is, itself, made entirely of "loser" candy. "Did you ever stop and think about the candy at the bottom of the bag, that no one likes?" it asks. Every year, all of the rejected candy would be discarded in the dump, where it accumulated, grew sentient, and now seeks revenge on the picky children of Gravity Falls.

"Look at my face. Look closely..."

No one would eat him, he tells the children, "So now, I'm going to eat you..." But as the monstrous Summerween Trickster draws them closer within its clutches, it hesitates, gurgling out a cry of agony as its chest begins to painfully break outward. Then, Soos suddenly bursts through in a manner directly taken from Ridley Scott's 'Alien' films, even letting out a shrill, Xenomorph-esque squeal and flailing his arms before reverting to passively chewing. He offers some of the creature's candy innards, which catch the ear of the dying Summerween Trickster. Hearing that someone thinks it tastes good – all it ever really wanted – makes it happy, so resigns itself and passes.

Shortly thereafter, the little kid who was eaten earlier on also bursts out of the Summerween Trickster's body.

"'Sup, Gorny?"

"I've been twamatized!"

Back at the Mystery Shack, Stan Pines does finally prove himself to be the Master of Fright. When the two stubborn trick-or-treaters have tired of T.P.ing the place, they resolve to go inside and find out the old sheister. Little do they realize, though, that he's readying himself for a bath and walk in on him half naked. Fittingly enough, 'Psycho'-like music strikes up at the sight as they flee screaming into the night. Not only does he get his confidence back, he also lays claim to the bags of candy left behind. All in all, a good Summerween for Stan.

Mabel, Dipper, and friends also return to the Mystery Shack, finding Gruncle Stan in his customary chair near the television, watching a late night, horror movie marathon special. Also there, to Dipper's surprise, is Wendy, who relates that the party wasn't so fun after all. Plus, Robbie had to go home early due to choking on the wrong end of a lollipop. (Yup, that boyfriend's a keeper alright.) Dipper is pleased to hear this, but Mabel can't help being disappointed that they have no candy, considering after all the hardship endured that night. Stan pulls out the two claimed bags of candy and generously hands them over to his grandnephew and niece.

And so, the rest of Summerween night is spent gathered around the television, eating candy and watching schlocky horror movies. Not a bad way to end the night. Not bad at all.

ahh, holiday quality time with friends and family

We've been thoroughly enjoying Disney's 'Gravity Falls' and "Summerween" only reaffirms our faith in both its endearing animation and creative storytelling. Not to mention how this episode playfully nodded to a number of very adult horror movies in a kid-friendly way. When they're older, someday, they can appreciate that on another level as we can now. For parents who are hardcore horror fans, this is a good way to introduce their children to the genre without scaring the bejeezus out of them.

This episode scores five out of five jack o' melons.

Marceline the Vampire Queen sketch card

Prepping myself for this year's Detroit FanFare, which is coming up in late October. Given the season that the convention falls in, Marceline the Vampire Queen from 'Adventure Time' felt appropriate. She was a little tricker, though, since I didn't have just the right colors for her skin nor mouth, so those were done in watercolor rather than marker. But the final effect was certainly worth the effort.

Purchase this original art for $25 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Contact me if interested.

hiatus happenings

Ouch. *cringes* It's been just shy of a year since our last post, here on the Darkley Niche. Been kept busy dredging away at work like a blue collar zombie. Apologies all around, readers. Without further ado let's get the reagent, because we're about to bring this blog back to life!

Although we've been absent for a considerable length of time from the blog scene, we've been keeping at it with watching and reading horror in both film and literature, respectively. And of course there's still oh so plenty on our to-do list. Here's an abridged rundown of what we've viewed in the more recent months during our hiatus. – We'll try to come back to these later on and write more in-depth reviews or commentaries. Consider this the first entree, so dig in.

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MOVIES

 'The Cabin in the Woods' (2012)

When you think you've seen all that horror has to offer, 'The Cabin in the Woods' takes many of the tried and tired subgenres and then turns them on their ear, like your ol' Nanna did when she caught you swearing. I had some inkling of what the premise was, but had only guessed at the tip of the iceberg. This is one film that we can confidently feel safe to say you won't be able to predict. Also, kudos to the filmmaker's nods to 'The Evil Dead' movies and guest cameo, albeit brief, with Sigourney Weaver. This was a fun ride, and it was apparently so for those making it.

'Creature from the Black Lagoon' (1954)

We've been meaning to see this Universal Studios classic for some time, but it wasn't until reading Gary Myers' "Understudy" in the 'Shadows Over Innsmouth' anthology that gave us just the right push. The creature itself, that is, the Gill-man, was an impressive costume, both in its appearance and functionality underwater. Not too many made during the fifties can make that claim. And we've been on a serious H.P. Lovecraft kick with all things Innsmouth, so this really hit the sweet spot. In certain respects, we would even favor this film over 'Dagon' (2001).

'Mary Shelley's Frankenstein' (1994)

Speaking of creatures, here is another movie that features one of its own. This little gem took us by surprise, as we had heard very little about it. And while the names Kenneth Branagh ('Hamlet') and Robert De Niro ('Taxi Driver') don't instantly bring "horror" to mind, it was all pulled off rather well. And there was a rather impressive line-up of actors, ranging from Tom Hulce ('Amadeus') to Ian Holm ('From Hell'). Our only real complaint is that Helena Bonham Carter's ('Sweeney Todd' and 'The Corpse Bride') physical appearance as the Bride was rather disappointing.

'The Thing' (2011)

Having been fans of John Carpenter's 'The Thing', we awaited this prequel with an equal measure of anticipation and trepidation. Admittedly, animatronics and movie make-up will almost always trump CGI in our book. But it wasn't too cumbersome with the latter, which was a relief. And speaking personally, I had to smile when seeing the inclusion of the alien spaceship deep in the Antarctic ice. That hails back to 'The Thing from Another World' (1952) and actually included a number of other bits that I recognized, which were also carried over. It adapted much of what made its two predecessors good movies.

'The Woman in Black' (2012)

When we come back to this film, we'll have to make an attempt at watching the 1989 adaptation, albeit both are based on Susan Hill's novel, much in the same way that both 'The Thing's and likewise 'The Thing from Another World' are with John W. Campbell's novella, "Who Goes There?" Surprisingly, it wasn't hard to watch Daniel Radcliffe without thinking Harry Potter. (If anything, Elijah Woods kept coming to mind.) While his performance was certainly noteworthy, hands down the best part of the film had to be the Eel Marsh House itself. If you've seen it yourself, you'll understand why.

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TELEVISION

AMC's 'The Walking Dead' (2010-present)

'The Walking Dead' has been a mixed bag for most, and while friends of ours have found plenty at fault with it, we still enjoy the series. Could certain changes have been made for the better? Sure. But as far as comic book adaptations goes, this sure beats the hell out of a lot of them. (Seriously. Look at 'Spider-Man's Green Goblin and ask how they go from the illustrated designs to a sorry, Power Ranger knock-off. With a little make up, Willem Dafoe's face would've been fine.) We're still working our way through season two, so it's always possible our opinion might change. We'll see.

John Carpenter's "Cigarette Burns" (2005)

Eighth episode of 'Masters of Horror's second season, "Cigarette Burns" made us think of Robert W. Chambers' 'The King in Yellow' stories, in certain respects. Instead of a play, however, we have a rare film that drives its audience mad. It could also be said that "Cigarette Burns" resembles Carpenter's 'In The Mouth of Madness' (1995), which we loved due to its obvious Lovecraft overtones. Lastly, while Udo Kier makes an appearance his screen time is regrettably kept short. (Coincidentally, this episode happens to star Norman Reedus, who plays a regular on AMC's 'The Walking Dead'.)

'Psych'  (2006-present)

Season six of USA's 'Psych' has included some comical homages to horror films, specifically episodes "This Episode Sucks" and "Hereeeee's Lassie". If James Roday and Dule Hill in full costume as 'Interview with the Vampire's Lestat and Blacula isn't enough for fang fans, it also guest stars Corey Feldman ('The Lost Boys'). And while "Hereeeee's Lassie" is essentially a parody of Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining', there are additional little Easter eggs slipped into the episode, like pregnant neighbor Rosemary ('Rosemary's Baby').

Stephen King's 'Bag of Bones' (2011)

Ugh... Firstly, we're definite fans of Stephen King stories, so make no mistake. 'IT' (1990) the mini-series still ranks among our top horror favorites. But 'Bag of Bones' was nothing if not predictable, as much as we wanted to like it. (SPOILER ALERT) It didn't take much foresight to predict Pierce Brosnan's character was related to the cursed men, for starters. And let's be honest folks, having an author protagonist is a tiresome trend that occurs pretty regularly in King's work. Yes, it was integral to the plot, but come on. Enough with the writer characters, King.

'Adventure Time' (2010-present)

Cartoon Network's series 'Adventure Time' started with an outbreak of candy people zombies, so it was fun to see this idea brought back to life in 3x07a, "From Bad to Worse." Together with the murder mystery in 3x06b, "The Creeps," these two episodes comprised part of Cartoon Network's 2011 Halloween specials. – Speaking for myself, I particularly enjoyed these episodes as they're the closest I can get to watching horror films with my girlfriend.

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READING

 'Shadows Over Innsmouth'

Published by Del Rey Books and editted by Stephen Jones, this anthology includes seventeen stories all inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," along with that as well. Some are hits, others are misses. But that's to be expected, really, and the hits really make this book worthwhile. "The Big Fish," "Daoine Domhain," and "The Innsmouth Heritage," were among my personal favorites. Be assured that a detailed Darkley Niche review will be in the works.

'Tales Out of Innsmouth'

As mentioned earlier in our two cents on 'Creature from the Black Lagoon', we've been indulging in Innsmouth-inspired stories. And while we haven't yet finished this anthology, shorts such as Gary Myers' "Understudy" have already made this read a worthwhile venture. Additionally, "The Weird Shadow over Innsmouth," which begins the book, was made from fragments of early drafts and reworked into a cohesive narrative by John Glasby. It's offers an interesting insight, although the story itself is a little repetitive, as is to be expected.

'The Whisperer and Other Stories' by Brian Lumley

Referring back to the previous book, this particular anthology is the reason why we put a pause on 'Tales Out of Innsmouth'. If it was to take a vacation from Innsmouth, guess again. "The Return of the Deep Ones," similar to most of those told in 'Shadows Over Innsmouth', spreads their tainted influence over to the shores of Britain. So far, so good. However, we may soon be swapping this for another of Lumley's anthologies, 'Return of the Deep Ones and Other Mythos Tales', and resume reading from there.

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That's all for now, our Darkley Niche faithful, but we hope it is enough to rekindle the embers of those followers who have been patiently awaiting this long-overdue post – like Cthulhu in his deathless sleep. We'll aim to keep this weekly to biweekly, if able. A film or book review may well be in order, come next time we write again. Until then, dream darkly readers.

Supernatural: Children shouldn't play with Dead Things

For the past few weeks, I've begun watching Eric Kripke's paranormal drama television series, Supernatural. Needless to say, I'm loving this show. Perhaps if Darkly collaborator and good friend of mine, Don, is willing, he'll also give it a watch and share his input. -- I won't lie, part of the appeal to give Supernatural a try was Gilmore Girls' Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester). I liked Gilmore Girls, so sue me. In Jared's defense, he has made cameo appearances in his fair share of horror films. Though after getting my feet wet in the series, I'd have to say that I happen to like Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester) more. Sure he's your atypical tough guy, but he's just so damn funny at times. The witty banter and smart alec remarks are what makes Dean a likable character.

Getting to the heart of the matter, I've wanted to write a review on at least one of the episodes that I've seen thus far. After finishing the first season yesterday, and subsequently starting the second season as well, this fourth episode compelled me to write, today. Giving a nod to two personal favorites of mine within the horror genre, namely zombies (The episode title itself was a big tip-off. -- Refer to the film of the same name.) and author Stephen King, "Children shouldn't play with Dead Things" gives us something old and something new. (WARNING: spoilers ahead)

Hmmm. Must've been one hell of a small UFO.

With their father's death still green in memory, the Winchester brothers pay a long-overdue visit to their mother's grave. Already we're beginning to see parallels to zombie cinema, namely Night of the Living Dead. (Recall siblings Barbara and Johnny, who likewise visit a parent's grave.) While Sam buries their father's dog tags in a shallow hole beside the stone marker, Dean takes notice of a dead tree nearby in the cemetery. His curiosity is only further piqued when he notices that the tree touches a perfect circle of dead grass, encompassing the site of another grave. Dean suspects that it might be unholy ground and so the next paranormal hunt begins.

After some initial inquiry and talking to the survivors of the deceased, Angela Mason, the brothers learn that the young woman had recently died in a car crash. Everyone has a good word for Angela and protest that nothing but happiness and promise were present in her hastily-shortened life. This puts Dean's gut suspicion of Angela returning as a vengeful spirit into doubt. That is, until the Winchesters talk to Neil, Angela's male (heterosexual, by the way) BFF. It turns out that Angela's boyfriend had been fooling around behind her back with another girl, then was caught in the act. Said boyfriend, Matt, also apparently slit his throat later during their investigation, before either have the opportunity to question him. Neil claims that it was a guilty conscience that drove Matt to suicide, feeling personally responsible for Angela's death.

As is customary in their line of work, Dean and Sam visit Angela Mason's grave under the cover of darkness to burn her bones. Pouring rock salt on the remains as well, the combined acts are part of a purification ritual that permanently expels vengeful spirits. (Rock salt is even used as ammunition in their firearms, acting akin to silver bullets with werewolves, but only work as a temporary solution in this instance.) However, upon opening the unearthed coffin they find that the corpse is missing. Baffled, the brothers then catch sight of a strange inscription at the head of the casket interior. Dean recognizes the symbols from Dr. Mason's office, Angela's father and a college professor of Ancient Greek.

an Ancient Greek text in Dr. Mason's office

handwritten copy of the coffin inscription

Having done some homework at the library (because libraries are great receptacles of occult knowledge...), Dean and Sam learn that the inscription is part of an Ancient Greek divination ritual, namely a form of necromancy used for bringing a corpse back to life, "full-on zombie action," as Dean so eloquently puts it. Revisiting Dr. Mason at his house, Dean angrily accuses the professor of using this to resurrect his dead daughter. "I get it. There are people that I would give anything to see again, but what gives you the right? What's dead should stay dead!" This echoes Jud Crandall's sentiment from Stephen King's story, which is driven home when Dean adds, "I mean, come on! Haven't you seen Pet Sematary?"

"Sometimes dead is better." -Jud Crandall, Pet Sematary

As it turns out, however, Professor Mason isn't responsible. While any grieving parent would certainly have motive, the living, healthy green houseplants inside indicate otherwise. Like in the cemetery, her mere presence causes vegetation within the vicinity to wither and decay. It's an interesting contribution to zombie lore that hasn't been used in any film that I'm familiar with. As Dean describes it, the zombie "rots the ground around them."

It doesn't take long for Dean to finger the real culprit. Neil, who also happened to be Dr. Mason's teacher aide, had access to the same Ancient Greek, divination texts. As for motive, well, it comes as no surprise that a single, male friend might have alternative reasons to be a shoulder to cry on, other than just out of simple friendship. (That, and reading out of Angela's diary provided insight into Neil's "unrequited duckie love.") A little cliche? Sure, but it does happen. Although resurrecting a dead girl and keeping her locked in the basement makes Neil unique enough from the much-tried, typical archetype. I imagine that most can't make the same claim.

Can you say "necrophilia?"

The real problem lies in how to dispose of zombie Angela. Seems simple enough, right? "We can't just waste her with a headshot?" asks Dean, to which Sam replies, "Dude, you've been watching way too many Romero flicks. [...] I'm telling you that there's too much [lore]. I mean, there's a hundred legends on the walking dead, but they all have different methods for killing them." Everything from setting the zombie on fire to cutting out the heart and feeding it to wild dogs, Sam and Dean haven't the slightest clue on what to do. A few legends, though, suggest using silver to put down the zombie. It's a start at least, although personally I wouldn't rule out Dean's headshot idea just yet. Just saying, it couldn't hurt. (Well, them at least. Not so much Angela.)

"Hello? Neil? It's your grief counselors. We've come to hug." -Dean

Breaking and entering into Neil's house, the Winchester brothers find the residence empty, but also discover Angela's "zombie pen," which is likewise vacant. Deducing that the boyfriend's suicide was in fact a murder, Dean suspects that the adulteress in Matt's philandering is next in Angela's intended victims. Furthermore Lindsay, Angela's roommate, was unusually broken up over Matt's death, making her the likely target. Ouch, that has to hurt. No small wonder Angela was so frantic earlier, having walked in on her boyfriend whilst nailing her roomie. But before zombie Angela can learn how many painful ways there are to use a pair of scissors on Lindsay, Sam and Dean come to the rescue. Firing several silver bullets into her, the projectiles have some effect on the zombie, albeit very mild, and Angela escapes.

It's like Karen Cooper (Night of the Living Dead), if she was a catfighting, college girl.

It's alright, Miss, you're safe now. You will live to skank another day.

During the drive from Lindsay's house, Sam reads aloud that another solution might be "nailing the dead back into their gravebed," which he suggests is why staking vampires became a common notion. I can already imagine hardcore zombie fans and vampire fans having conniptions over this, but let's roll with it and move along. (Fun fact: Staking a vampire has no effect in Supernatural. The only sure-fire way of vampire disposal is decapitation.)

Arriving at Dr. Mason's office that same night, the Winchester brothers find Neil apparently sorting papers or performing some other arbitrary, teacher aide work. Despite their combined confrontation, which tends to mimic "Good Cop, Bad Cop," Neil plays dumb to the accusations. Part of this is from loving protection for Angela, we assume. But given that she was also hiding within earshot, odds are that the denials were made more from the fear of what she might do to him, otherwise. We never do see whether or not if he ultimately remained loyal, since his neck is violently broken out of pure suspicion. Chances are he probably would have left her, but it's not verified for us.

Before leaving Neil to his grisly fate, Dean fabricates a story of how they will perform a bogus ritual at her grave to eradicate zombie Angela. She takes the bait and eventually follows them back into the cemetery. While setting up the bogus ritual, Sam investigates a noise, which, surprise, turns out to be Angela. She makes crocodile tears to Sam, who keeps his firearm fixed on her. The plea doesn't convince him and conceding to Dean's earlier suggestion shoots her squarely in the forehead. Unfortunately, all that manages to accomplish is angering Angela. A chase ensues and Sam runs toward her grave, where Dean lies in wait and ambushes the zombie. Nailing her into the coffin with a silver stake, this method actually proves to have merit, and Dean finishes the job.

Would've wagered money on this one actually working. Guess not.

Dean nailing Angela. -- Wait, bad choice of words.

So was this my favorite interpretation of the zombie mythos? No. Did I find it to be an interesting interpretation? Yes. Like good storytellers, the original molds were still recognized, even outright citing Stephen King and George Romero within the episode, while the subject matter itself went in a direction that differentiated enough from its predecessors. This is the very reason why I was so impressed by Stephen King's novel, Cell, just to use an example. So I have to give Supernatural props for taking its own stance on the iconic zombie. I give it three-and-a-half out of five Deans. Why Dean? The real question ought to be, why not?

Hot as the Dickens

For our Darkley followers who still have a case of Christmas in July fever, albeit it's currently August, here's a special seasonal episode of Doctor Who, "The Unquiet Dead," featuring none other than Charles Dickens himself. How appropriate to pay homage to the author of the Yuletide, ghost story classic, 'A Christmas Carol'. You can bet your stockings that this episode is going into the Niche's Seasonal Horror Calendar.

On a side note, we felt that we would include our opinion on these risen corpses by stating that our definition of "zombie" isn't inclusive of these particular undead. Or at least we're hesitant in labeling these walking dead as such, and here's why.

Films the like of this, Sam Raimi's 'Evil Dead' trilogy being another prime example, though sometimes considered zombie cinema use possession as the means of reanimation (or transformation, since many of the possessed in Raimi's trilogy are still alive). Sure, the possessed corpse oftentimes attacks the living, but that doesn't distinguish it automatically as a zombie in our book.

The one particular detail that we look for is whether or not the corpse feeds on the flesh of the living, or at the very least the recently deceased. As far as we're concerned, a reanimated corpse that doesn't eat flesh is simply a reanimated corpse. There may be the occasional exception, but that's our general rule of thumb.

"...then you sent me in a room full of zombies!"

So apologies to Rose, but we must respectfully disagree with you on this one.

ZotB: The Walking Dead, animated

In anticipation of the upcoming 'The Walking Dead' AMC television series, an adaptation of Robert Kirkman's comic of the same name, this animation was made from the original artwork of the first issue. Even if you aren't necessarily a fan of the zombie subgenre, it's fascinating to watch what were once still illustrations given motion. However, if you are a fan, yet are unfamiliar with 'The Walking Dead', it's a unique icebreaker into Kirkman's comic.

original artwork by Tony Moore

Don't have a friend that can lend you past issues of 'The Walking Dead'? Try referring to your library system. Chances are if it's linked with libraries across the state, like Michigan's MeLCat, for example, the trade paperbacks are available to borrow. Or, if you're like me, perhaps find a comfortable chair in a Schuler Books or Barnes & Noble and read theirs.

randomness: FlashForward Halloween

Recently I've begun watching ABC's series 'FlashForward', a sci-fi conspiracy thriller. Now normally this would have no relevance to the Niche, given that our interest lies in horror, horror crossovers, and horror-related subgenres. However episode six of 'FlashForward', "Scary Monsters and Super Creeps" (the title derived from David Bowie's song of the same name -- kudos for their good taste in music), takes place during Halloween. What caught my attention was babysitter Nicole Kirby (Peyton List), who was dressed in costume as Sally, the living rag-doll girl from Tim Burton's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas', greeting trick-or-treaters. It was a cute homage, even if it was a small one.