What do pumpkins, demons and a really crummy movie have in common? They are all mentioned in this post. Enjoy.

AZMouse's prize mini sugar skull/Art and photo Ryn Gargulinski

AZMouse's prize mini sugar skull/Art and photo Ryn Gargulinski

The good

Congrats to AZMouse for winning TC.com’s Pumpkin Decorating Contest. Her scary scarecrow and coyly peeking pumpkin took the win with 39 percent of the 33 votes. Jennatoolz’s Hungry Demon was a close second with 36 percent, while entries from KoreyK and Radmax tied at 12 percent each.

Thanks so much to all who entered their creative creations. Sawyer says AZMouse wins Rynart — a mini sugar skull named Terry Jr., which I fashioned after the Terry Sr. skull she admired in a previous post (unless, of course, she would prefer burnt pumpkin seeds).

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The bad

Paranormal Activity has been running away with box office sales. More than 1 million folks voted for the movie to go nationwide after its debut as a midnight-only flick in limited areas. Roger Ebert calls it “an ingenious horror film. It’s so well made it’s truly scary.”

Are folks so used to today’s incredibly wide array of crappy films that Paranormal Activity actually looks good?

This flick features a young couple who have enough cash to buy a house in San Diego although they never seem to go to work. They are too busy playing around with a video camera to try and capture the evil force they believe is invading their home and has been following the chick around her whole life. Ninety-nine percent of the movie is watching them sleep – or at least try to.

Even if the stars of the flick can’t sleep as some invisible, three-toed demon tramps through talcum powder down their hallway, the audience certainly can.

Paranormal Activity is truly a yawn. Yes, the premise is thrilling – what’s not to like about the possibility of demonic possession? But the execution is not. In fact, you kind of hope there will be an execution to speed things up a bit.

Perhaps that’s a bit unfair. The audience does stay awake. It’s hard to sleep, after all, when we were treated to that same choppy, disoriented, and headache-inducing camera work that has unfortunately become so popular following the Blair Witch Project.

You know the stuff: unfocused images, zooms to the corner of the ceiling, watching people’s torsos while they speak since the camera just so happens to be focused on their abdomens rather than their faces. It’s enough to make you seasick.

Highlight: Hope. Hope is the only thing keeping the audience alive. You hope something will soon happen. You hope you’ll get to see the three-toed demon. You hope this thing is winding down already.

Lowlight: Not being able to take a bathroom break since you don’t want to miss the possibility of some three seconds of action that you hope will happen soon.

Another lowlight: Rumor has it Paramount is talking about a sequel. Jaws 5, anyone?

Rating (1 to 10): 3.

While it’s not the worst movie I’ve seen lately, we are still annoyed we didn’t opt for our second choice about the weed-eating zombies.

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Demonic possession may sound fun but really isn't/Art and photo Ryn Gargulinski

Demonic possession may sound fun but really isn't/Art and photo Ryn Gargulinski

The ugly

Demonic possession, although a thrilling concept, is not a very pretty thing. It’s quite rare, but common enough to pay attention. Below please find several warning signs of demonic possession taken from the very lengthy lists at Foundation for the Study of Paranormal Phenomena.

The site also warns: “Never mention to someone undergoing personality changes that they might be possessed. You can plant a dangerous seed by doing that.”

You may also offend them, no?

Hey, Ethel, you’re not acting like your usual self. Are you maybe possessed by a demon?

Warning signs of demonic possession:

Changes in personality, sleep patterns, weight gains or loss, lots of cussing, preoccupation with sex and aversion to religious objects or going to church.

Bad hygiene, change in what they eat or how they dress, outbursts of violence and hurling cats against the wall, nightmares and peeing on themselves.

Change in eye color, hair color, facial features, a habit of “gliding” along instead of walking, suddenly blessed with many talents, such as moving objects around a room, speaking languages they never studied or being able to levitate.

Have a nice day.

[tnipoll]

logoWhat do you think?

Did you see Paranormal Activity? Are you going to?

Is it worth all the hoopla?

What’s the best demonic movie possession you’ve seen?

Did you ever meet someone possessed by a demon?

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