I've been busy/ Short Shop Review: Sam Heimer

Greetings, Fanatics!

 This week has been a time of transition for our family. Our littlest creep has started his career in the public school system, a system that Aaron (home-schooled) and I (truant) are both bewildered by and are grateful for. I have a large commission order on my work table, due on the 1st, so I've been sewing away at that. That, plus the change in our sleep schedule (no more midnight movies) means that I haven't had as much time to devote to this blog as I'd like. BUT. As we get into the swing of things and with the approach of the Halloween season, I think you'll find that our blog is about to be more entertaining than it's ever been.

Shop reviews are usually on Wednesdays, but like I said, I've been crazy busy this past week. This week's shop review is on artist Sam Heimer. The school year has started and that's always been my cue to get antsy about Halloween. I've been a long time admirer of Sam Heimer's work and was finally able to put a few pieces from his Etsy shop into my review queue. Although I plan on buying whatever he's been hinting at on his Instagram, for now I settled for a pack of pinback buttons and a small art/comic/sketch book that I've been dying to get a look at.

Sam Heimer's work is dark; I'm not just talking about the subject matter, which features ghouls, Death, and Halloween. With muted tones and a heavy hand with ink, Sam Heimer's art is moody and dark, a number of his pieces remind me of woodcuts with traces of 20's Halloween advertisements.

The two buttons I purchased ( and indeed the only buttons in the shop) are going on my button board, although I'll probably take them off to wear around in October. One features a screeching Jack-o-Lantern and the other cheerily implores you to "Keep It Creepy!". Both are very simple and stylish.

I miss out on the pre-orders for Heimer's mini book, The Decoy and the Detective with a Melted Face", but a few weeks after the pre-orders closed I was happy to find out that there were a few extra copies left up in the store. The Decoy and the Detective with a Melted Face is series of sketches and story bits from a comic that Sam Heimer will never finish. It's a pity because the few pages that have story in it are intense and interesting. I'm glad that Heimer decided to share this small sketch book, even of the comic itself won't reach fruition, because the art inside is incredible.

I'll probably be revisiting Sam Heimer once his Halloween lineup is out for this year.

Stay Fanatic.
Megh

Aaron Reviews: The VVitch

Last Saturday Megh and I had the opportunity to see The VVitch (stylized with the double V as it would have been in the 17th century typography.) Being a limited release, we were ushered into the smallest theater Memorial City Cinemark had to offer. The theater was about half full, the crowd consisting of mostly teens and young couples. I was worried. I had been very interested in this movie since its first Sundance reviews, and had been hyping the movie up in my mind for several weeks.

The movie started strong. The crowd quieted. It stayed completely silent throughout the film, save one man softly exclaiming "Jesus" at a particularly upsetting part near the end. When the movie was over, everyone silently stood and left. No one discussed the film. To me that is a good sign.

 

The plot was simple: A 17th century family is tormented by a witch. The movie had a slow but steady build-up of dread and every part of the movie, from the excellent cast to the cinematography and score, worked together to make the best horror movie I've seen in a long time. There are no twists. There are no tricks. There is only one mild jump scare, and it was used with care. The blood and gore in the movie was also used with care, and it was not over-the-top or ever unnecessary. The actors did their jobs well, even the children. The source material for the film, the legends and accounts of witchcraft in 17th century New England, are portrayed accurately and even sometimes verbatim with the literature of the time.

Describing the movie further is difficult. In fact, on our way home Megh and I remarked on the fact that there wasn't much to talk about, even though we both thoroughly enjoyed it. There's a certain element that the movie has that can't really be explained. The movie feels bad. In the same way that the old woodcuttings of satanic rites feel bad. The way that being alone in the woods can suddenly feel bad. Or hearing a baby cry in the dark feels bad. Not a feeling that something terrible is about to happen. A feeling that something terrible has already happened, and you're too afraid to look, because after you look you can't go back to not knowing.

The movie isn't for everyone. It's not a slasher. Its not a thriller. The dialogue can be difficult to understand in parts. There's no sex, although sexuality does have its part. It doesn't have a lot in common with most new horror movies. But most new horror movies, I would say, aren't very good. This movie was. It was upsetting, dark, and very, very good. I would give it a 9.5/10, and I plan on seeing it again.