Dark and Creepy

I started this post ~6 months ago but have been busy with my art so this blog has been neglected

I want to post some films and stuff that I like which contain the oft-creepy Crispin Glover:

Bartleby – “I’d prefer not to”. Odd movie, I really liked Maury Chaykin from the excellent Nero Wolfe in this one too.

Clowny Clown Clown (music video by Glover) – “I was walkin on the ground and I didn’t make a sound…I turned around, and I saw a clown.” When I first saw this video I was obsessed and watched it many, many times over a few days until I went (a bit more) insane…you can view the creepy awesome clowny on youtube.

Infamous David Letterman appearance – lol, check it out on youtube.

Dead Man (film by Jim Jarmusch) – “Look, they’re shooting buffalo”…his short scene in this movie was weird and great. The film itself is a modern classic as well, as is the score by Neil Young.

Back to the Future – McFly! “You’re my density…” — what a classic character. Not really creepy, but included here for completeness

Categories: creepy movies, music by airn
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It feels like Fall already…I have been working on getting in the mood for Halloween, partly so I can plan and work on my new Jack O’Lantern painting but also just ’cause Fall and the weeks leading up to Halloween are my favorite times of the year. I love guzzling tea in the awesome Autumnal ambiance, scarfing down scones, making pumpkin stew, and creeping around graveyards while the leaves blow by and the smell of Fall is in the air.

In order to get in that proper spooky spirit, I have been listening to lots of Bauhaus, Danielle Dax, and other spooky stuff, and watching a bunch of Halloween-mood-inducing movies. Today I started watching the BBC version of Dracula, which features Mark Warren (aka Mr. Teatime!) and Stephanie Leonidas from Mirrormask. I haven’t finished watching it yet (I tend to watch movies in chunks) but it seems like a decent addition to the hearty feast of Dracula movies out there. A couple days ago I also watched Dracula: Prince of Darkness with the most excellent Christopher Lee…fun times. I also watched 3 of the Halloweentown TV-movies recently, which I had never heard of before…they are dorky family fare but still enjoyable cuz there are monsters and magic and jack-o-lanterns and they get you in the mood for Halloween

Oh yeah, and today I went to Michael’s craft store which is rather awesome for Halloween stuff! I was overjoyed with the little tombstones and medusa statues and animated light-up tombs and other zany stuff they had, I am gunna go back soon and stock up on more Halloween goodies since I like to have that stuff floating around my apartment and workplace year-round

Categories: creepy movies, creepy paintings, creepy tv, halloween, tea by airn
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Oh boy is Martin Sheen creepy in this movie. I don’t want to give away much of the plot…how about I just tell you the tagline (from IMDB and the poster to the left):

She was only a little girl. She lived in a great big house… all alone. Where is her mother? Where is her father? Where are all the people who went to visit her? What is her unspeakable secret? Everyone who knows is dead.

Ooh…now that sounds interesting, doesn’t it? The first scene takes place on Halloween…I love that. Stuff set on Halloween automatically gets a bonus point from me…plus the titular character’s birthday is Halloween and she is a sinister 13 years old…spoooky (:B) !

Wikipedia says this fits in the genre of “psychological thriller drama with elements of romance and horror”…the romance and standard horror aspects are pretty minimal, it’s not a slasher or anything, it’s just a rather creepy movie that has a lonely, stage play-ish feel…only a couple locations and a few characters.

Some of the score/soundtrack is dated and almost messed up the vibe for me at one point, still overall it’s uber-creepy, just grit your teeth and the 70′s music will be over in a moment.  Pour a cuppa tea and break out the almond cookies for this one…it’s dark and creepy fun for the whole (deceased) family.

Categories: creepy movies, halloween, tea by airn
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More people need to know about Mirrormask, a surreal and partly creepy fantasy-type movie written by Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman. In an informal poll (i.e. me asking friends over the course of a weekend ), only one out of 15 people had even heard of it. It’s really quite good, just the right amount of creepiness with a great dreamlike alice-in-wonderlandishness and unique artistic styling (Dave McKean was the Production Designer as well as the co-writer so if you are familiar with his art you have some idea of what to expect).

Mirrormask is reminiscent of films like Labyrinth and Legend, with perhaps a bit of The Wizard of Oz…visually it can feel like a fantasy version of Tron. I feel the need to mention City of Lost Children here too, perhaps just to say I think fans of that most excellent movie would most likely enjoy Mirrormask as well. It’s even readily available, so Netflix it up and watch out for those creepy sphinx cat-things!

Categories: creepy movies by airn
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Location: Blackpool, British fun-land vacation getaway. Occasion: Holiday with the wife to get the marital jooces flowin’. Unforeseen event: Big loss at the poker table…an indecent proposal is offered to pay the debt (“miscellaneous services and the like”). The plot thickens: A death or two in the family…a tragic chainsaw-related family incident. A mysterious key is given with an ominous warning.

A nerdy creep who never removes his latex gloves. A twitching freak lurking in a dark corner gibbering insanely. Shirley “The Wolf” Woolf, bad-ass gangster who cowers under the gaze of his even more bad-ass wheelchair-bound kingpin (queenpin?) mother, Mercy.

This is like David Lynch meets…no, I can’t think of anything to compare this to. It’s dark, it’s funny, shocking, mysterious…Funland. It’s billed as a “disturbingly funny thriller”…I have to concur. Put the kids to bed, grab a cuppa tea and a scone, lock the doors and prepare for a dark ride through the Funland.

(FYI – last I checked this was not on Amazon in the USA or Netflix…but I did find it on eBay)

Categories: creepy movies, creepy tv by airn
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The first time I saw the movie The Tenant I was in a state of hyper-paranoia for hours afterwards…I was ready for bizarre and terrible things to happen to me in real life at any moment Now that I’ve recovered, when I watch it I snicker with creepy glee…this movie is an all-time favorite of mine and if you like dark and creepy stuff, you can’t beat this bizarre trip through one man’s creeped-out craziness. A man moves into an old apartment building in France where the previous tenant has committed suicide. Strange occurrences plague his creepy stay there, and he becomes convinced the other occupants are conspiring against him in a bizarre fiendish plot.

Have you seen the Ninth Gate, also by Polanski? Remember that scene with the wheelchair and fire and stuff? In the Tenant, half the damn movie is psycho like that! Polanski, you rool.

Kafka, the 1991 movie starring Jeremy Irons and directed by Steven Soderbergh, is waiting for you at the top of the elevator shaft if you crave more paranoia. Set in Prague in the 20′s, it’s the epitome of dark and creepy, with a bit o’ black comedy thrown in for good measure. I love the dialogue, setting, acting, and pretty much everything else about it. Walking over wet cobblestones in dark Prague, with the shadowy castle looming above…a conspiracy of black intentions hang around you as you wend your way through the old graveyard…that’s Kafka. The score is wonderful and perfectly complements and accentuates the dark and creepy feel of the movie. I don’t think the DVD is out in the U.S. yet even though it’s many years old (wtf), but I was able to score a copy of a Japan release on eBay that is in English and works on US DVD players (“region-free”). Watch this and then paint a twisted and shadowy city with unseen villains skulking through the maze-like streets.

Categories: creepy movies by airn
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Spoooky, it’s the new Dark and Creepy site!

I just converted this site to a blog format and will actually be adding some content to it now, so stand by while I change stuff around.

This site is a place for me to point you in the direction of neat stuff, generally of a kinda dark and creepy nature. Think Tim Burton or Lovecraft or The Munsters or City of Lost Children…like that. Not so much Marilyn Manson or Texas Chainsaw Massacre…just kinda Dark and Creepy, like an October moonlit glade with some glowing eyes lurking ahead as opposed to a demented maniac chasing you down a dark alley. You get the point.

If you wanna guest post about something cool, or have something creepy and awesome I should post about, let me know!

Here’s the kinda stuff I thought of when I started this site:

• dark and creepy pictures and art
• resources for creaky freeps
• maybe later a messageboard / forum
• mentioning tea a lot (though that’s not really dark and creepy, eh? but i swear tea can make you 10 times as creepy, because you will have more energy)
• dreams of darkness calling, falling through the stars
• dark and creepy films like the tenant / kafka / city of lost children
• especially creepy bands like 45 grave and danielle dax and strawberry switchblade and bauhaus and elfman / boingo / mystic knights
• creepy spooky upcoming happenings
• a section that accepts article submissions or artwork / music
• awesome books that are dark and or creepy
• an unhealthy fixation with h.p. lovecraft
• maybe a couple computer game reviews if i am feeling particularly nerdy
• tentacles sliding out of nocturnal wells to tickle your fancy
• some of my own art and music because i am a creepy person
• awkward steps in the night…worms, they slide away in fright

Categories: about, creepy books, creepy movies, creepy music, halloween, tea by airn
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