Halloween Scariness-ness

Following the lead of fellow blogger Kyle, I've been trying to beef up on my scary Halloween movies this season. I've gotten several under my belt including "The Ring" (awesome), "FearDotCom" (sucks), and other unfinished disasters. I hit the jackpot over the weekend, though. TiVo explained to me that a little known horror movie was playing and I might like to check it out. Little did Master TiVo know that it hit a nerve with it's suggestion of "The Beast Within."

I often talk about wormholes here and this is a good example. When I was about 13 I guess, this classic film was new. It was sold as horribly horrific and anyone who watched the last 30 minutes would instantly BURST INTO DEATH while sitting in the theater with their jeroboam of popcorn and Diet Coke spilling out all over the floor.

I didn't grow up watching any R-rated, booze filled gore fest sex romp on HBO that I wanted to so I had to take what I could get when I could get it. I actually don't think I ever saw it through in one sitting. All I remember was how horrifying the parts I saw were and how I think of that film as the definition of horror. Funny, because as it turns out, it was pretty stupid.

The IFC channel played it in its letterboxed, uncut entirety the other night and I watched it straight through early Saturday morning. It was about what I expected. Both fun and worthless. Ronny Cox sold me as the grieving Dad, though. What a guy. I actually sat next to him at a Thai restaurant in Nashville one night. But I digress.

The gruesome transformation scene, while certainly awesome, left a little to be desired in this day and age and the plot line was... well, not really there. But still it scratched an itch I've had for 27 years and I feel I'm the better for it. Thank you, Beast Within, for closing that door. Here's the trailer. Watch it... IF YOU DARE!!!



Well, I'm off to watch the 1981 David Cronenberg classic "Scanners." I hear the guys head blowing up scene will leave you shocked!

Foothills Trail

This past weekend, my buddies Kyle & George and myself set out on an ambitious hike through the Chattooga section of the Foothills Trail. Actually, I thought we were setting out on a nice little walk through the woods. It became ambitious on its own. I learned something about myself over the course of the trip. I learned that I can now pretty much do anything and I learned that my foot hurts when I hike. Here I am at our first night campsite: We hiked just over 30 miles in three days. Yeah, I don't believe it either and if you told me I was going to do it I probably wouldn't have believed you. But we did. And I'm proud of it. George lead the way and Kyle kept us going with the comic relief. I needed them both or I would have probably been picked up by a giant hawk and carried away to be baby giant hawk food.

Do I romanticize the trip in my mind? Yes. Will I do it again? No... although, there is a part of you that recalls a strenuous experience that you survived with a desire to repeat it. So if I ever start talking about maybe wanting to do it again, just remind me that I can do anything and that my foot hurts when I hike.

Here's a little visual. Much like the trip, it has no ending.