Now that my coffee/blood level is back to normal – let me regale you lucky people with a very belated review, a slightly belated review and an idea that might not make it out the gate. First – more coffee for me.

The Cabin in the Woods
is a brilliant send-up of that particular genre of horror films, and sly wink to the audience. I regret not being able to see this film when it came out in the theaters, but I managed to find it on Pay-per-View and saw it last night. If you’re a fan of horror films, deconstruction of horror films and Joss Whedon (or like me, all three), then this film is a must-see, or if you got to see it in the theater – must see again and buy on DVD. I would tell you more about it, but I really don’t want to spoil the ending.

Now, for a more extensive review: The Following, currently on Fox. OK – this is one of the shows I have been looking forward to watching, and I have not been disappointed. While there are some people who are going to want to compare Joe Carroll to Red John from The Mentalist, there is a sizeable difference. While both of them are good at manipulating people and getting them to do what they want, Red John is the McGuffin. He is what drives the major plot of the show. We’re never going to see him directly until the show ends (if the writers are smart, that is). The show is not about Patrick Jane and Red John – it’s about Patrick Jane and his interactions with the CBI. Because we never see Red John, we are merely informed that he has followers. We have no idea how he gets his followers – are they recruited? Blackmailed? Is there a sheet hanging in a Laundromat with phone numbers on little tabs that reads ‘Want to kill now? Ask me how!’ in the back next a lost dog notification? With Joe Carroll – he’s teaching and guiding. He’s doing what he does best. He teaches. He manipulates (that poor woman). He guides. While he is wrapped up in a Romantic notion of madness – I am seeing a tint of Lovecraftian insanity: the mortal mind, when confronted with the truth that the universe at large doesn’t care a whit about you, snaps and splinters like old, dry wood. Joe’s novel is panned and a failure, which drives him to his first murder. The show makes great pains to paint Carroll as a Romantic madman, but I don’t see it. I see Lovecraft pushing Carroll along. Or maybe it’s just me.

Now on to the idea – if anyone here is familiar with the ‘Hellraiser’ series of movies, there is that one classic line in the beginning

Kirsty Cotton: Who are you?
Lead Cenobite: Explorers… in the further regions of experience. Demons to some, angels to others.

OK – we know who sees them as demons. What about the angels? What would drive someone to actively seek out the Cenobites? Seized with this idea, I tossed and turned for a good part of the night (more coffee!) turning it over in my head. While I have a good idea for a novel, I don’t really think it is an actionable piece for one reason: Clive Barker will sue me back to the Paleolithic Age. I can dance around it as best I can. I can not mention them by name (‘Cenobite’, ‘Pinhead’ et. al.), but if you squint hard enough and turn your head, you can see the source material. I am caught up enough in it to put it in my common book, but I worry more about the lawyers that Mr. Barker can summon than the Cenobites. Who knows? I might put it out privately.

Well, I need to make lunch, play around more with Scrivener and listen to one of my favorite Art Bell episodes with Ghost Investigative Services. I miss them actually.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy