2AM: The Smiling Man

As a frequenter of a subreddit called NoSleep, I was delighted to find that one of the most memorable creepypastas I’ve stumbled across was interpreted in film format last year. 2AM, directed and edited by Michael Evans of Go For Broke Pictures and starring Sean Simon and Paul Foltz, is based on a supposedly true account by user tidal_wave of what happened during one of her sleepless nights out and about in a big American city.

Tidal_wave, a self-described night owl, had made a habit of strolling through the streets late at night while her (she doesn’t explicitly state her gender in the story, but as she pointed out in the wake of the release of 2AM, she dropped some pretty obvious clues) non-nocturnal roommate was asleep. This went well for four years until she encountered the now-notorious Smiling Man and resolved never to walk out at night again.

The major creep factor here is that the story is realistic. Insane people exist, drugged out people exist, and people who just enjoy messing with strangers in the middle of the night exist. Whether or not creepy supernatural beings from hell exist is debatable, but a story like The Smiling Man sure makes some of the more terrified minds wander.

The most glaring inaccuracy in 2AM is the protagonist, who is most likely female in the original. But seeing as that’s not exactly a crucial element in the story, I think it’s fair to say that the film team did The Smiling Man justice — though the visual portrayal of the smiling man might actually be a tad more hilarious than horrifying while the written description is 100% spine-tingling, but that’s just my opinion. Here’s what tidal_wave has to say about the adaptation of her story: “This is pretty cool. It’s really well shot, and the actors did a great job. It’s not particularly accurate in terms of how it actually went down, but a few things were very close.”

Read the story, which was originally posted to r/letsnotmeet and later re-posted to r/nosleep, here (listening to “Surfin’ Dead” by The Cramps while reading helps if you scare easily) and watch the short film below. I recommend proceeding in that order.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u6Tt3PqIfQ]

Childish Gambino – Because The Internet


Today I’m going to write about a genre that I don’t listen to very often, and my last real experiences with it were about twelve years ago with The Marshall Mathers LP. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m talking about hip hop…more specifically the second album, Because The Internet, by the American rapper Childish Gambino.

There might have been some decent records in the past decade, but none of them really appealed to me since, from what I’ve gathered from listening to the radio or seeing random songs posted on the internet, it was mainly that “gangster shit”…which I simply can’t stand. While there are some “bad boy” moments among the nineteen songs on BTI, it’s a very diverse package altogether and the seriously clever lyrics make me forget my aforementioned aversion.

Musically, it’s a brilliant mix between instruments and synthesizers with mostly easily-recognizable beats and melodies. One should also mention that this is a concept album of the special kind, but more about that in the next paragraph, which is also clearly noticeable in the mood of the different songs and even in the various parts of individual songs…one prime example for that is Shadows, which ranks among my favorites among these fifty-eight minutes.

The main attraction, as is generally the case in hip hop, are definitely the lyrics though, which tell the story of “The Boy”, who is a pretty rich guy but who has a very peculiar attitude and behavior. However, Gambino didn’t stop there…he also wrote a script to go along with the music, which can be listened to for free on the site, and actually filmed a short film. I can only recommend giving both a try if you liked anything about the album, since it makes the whole experience a tremendous blast. As gripping as the story is, there is also the fact that the references he makes are in quite a few instances extremely funny and well thought-through…they certainly made me smile more than just once.

As a closing statement, I can wholeheartedly tell everyone I know who actually pays attention while listening to music, to give Because The Internet a chance; even if they aren’t necessarily into the genre. While it has not caused me to re-discover my love for hip hop…it did make a big fan of Childish Gambino. More information can be found on Facebook and the first single can be found down below…but I recommend giving the whole thing a chance.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG35R8F2j8k]

Malevolence – Reign Of Suffering


The following review will be quite concise on purpose, since the sound of Malevolence is hard to describe and best enjoyed by simply listening to it. Nevertheless I will try to whet your appetite a bit for their debut album Reign Of Suffering!

The sound of the five blokes from Sheffield can best be described as a bastard child of groove metal, beatdown hardcore and stoner rock with tiny traces of metalcore. It sounds super weird when written out, but when played it just sounds so organic, almost like these genres were always meant to be blended into a tasty mix of musical goodness.

During the thirty-six minute playtime, the vocal effort of the singer is very diverse and adapts to the various influences perfectly; which gives the whole thing a truly authentic feeling. Along with some quite memorable, and easy to sing along to, choruses, the package is nicely rounded off.

I won’t bother talking more than that about the eight tracks, since you just have to give it a go yourself…so what are you waiting for? Click below to listen to Serpents Chokehold and visit the band’s Facebook page for more information! Stay heavy, stay sexy and until next time!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOjuw_VBhTA]

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

It’s safe to say that the Paranormal Activity franchise went radically downhill after the first film. Given the mediocrity of the second and third instalments I didn’t even bother with the following release, which, according to reviews, turned out to be a wise move. But here they are, still milkin’ it Saw-style, and on a rainy Saturday with nothing to do except lounge around I decided to pass the time with some mindless entertainment and deemed the newly released Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones by Christopher Landon perfect for the afternoon.

The Marked Ones isn’t technically a sequel (the fifth part of the series is coming out in October), it’s more like a spin-off. It is supposed to solve some of the mysteries surrounding the paranormal forces at work and touches on aspects of the previous PA films, all the while telling a new story.

I expected it to be stale as a corpse, but it is actually much more entertaining than every post-PA1 flick I’ve seen. The storyline centers around two best friends, Jesse and Hector, who are just living for the day and horsing around like teenagers do until Jesse’s weird neighbour dies and spooky occurrences start piling up. The first half of the picture is uncharacteristically humorous. The main characters are likeable goofballs and there are some genuinely funny scenes (minuscule spoiler ahead: the entire audience chuckled when Hector slid down the stairs in a laundry basket with a GoPro attached), which is a change I embrace. The movie feels relatively authentic and not like a big budget Hollywood production in general, and it doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously.

The jump scares are fun and actually made me jump. Admittedly, that’s not exactly a shining accomplishment because I am a huge scaredy cat, but judging from my fellow cinemagoers’ reactions, they do work. Even so, I didn’t find the film all that scary in terms of suspense, but that didn’t strike me as a problem.

My major criticism is that for every question answered, The Marked Ones raises another, presumably to make sure that the machine can continue milking the franchise for every last penny until the end of all existence. Cliffhangers are annoying when the intention of the makers so obviously isn’t to let people reflect on the story on their own, but to make more money off sequels.

Other than that, The Marked Ones is a solid popcorn flick. For me, its strong points are the protagonists and the humour. You don’t necessarily have to have seen PA2, PA3 and PA4 in order to understand and enjoy this one, but I recommend watching PA1 so you’re not missing the key links (and besides, it’s inarguably the best of the bunch and you should totally check it out if you were hiding under a rock and somehow missed it in 2007.)

Rufus Ready – Rufus Ready


It’s about time we got in a review of a national band in the new year, even though technically it dates from mid-July 2013…but better late than never. Rufus Ready is a duo that, with the help of their “imaginary friends”, recorded their eight song strong self-titled debut.

They categorize themselves as folk rock and that about hits the spot, since their mid-paced music is appealing to a broad audience and should be accessible to the average listener who might not enjoy the heavier side of the musical spectrum.

However, the guys manage to cram a lot of different and interesting instruments into their sound, which separates them from many other bands of the genre. Among those are a trombone, a banjitar, a moog and a pedalsteel, which, coupled with the regular stuff like guitars and drums, create an enjoyable half hour experience.

The vocals are either hit or miss for people, I’d say…while they are well performed, I found that they were generally monotonous on the album, the featured song The Tidal Wave below being the main exception. There are, however, both male and female back-up vocals, which bring a nice little contrast with them.

In closing, I’d say that Rufus Ready, like the majority of folk rock bands, are best enjoyed in a live environment but that the home version of it is worth looking into. So if you get a chance to see them play somewhere around you, do so and if you like what you hear…grab one of their CDs! For more information you can visit the band’s Facebook page and be sure to listen to the song below.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSinWjFgxXE]

The Animal In Me – Who’s Laughing Now


I always try to keep up with new bands and therefor I am subscribed to a channel on YouTube that regularly puts up new videos by newcomers. That’s how I came across The Animal In Me and their song End Of The Road. One thing upfront: after listening to that one song, they managed to stand out from the rest and convince me to delve into their debut album Who’s Laughing Now, which was released mid-December last year.

The sextet from California plays fairly standard but tight post-hardcore, with not many musical surprises in the instrumental department…but as I always say: why change a winning team? The different musicians have no issues whatsoever of playing their instruments and the songs are nicely arranged, with enough catchy parts to keep the listener interested during these thirty-six minutes.

Now, you might wonder why TAIE caught my attention and the answer is quite simple: because of the vocals. Especially on the album, this surprise effect is quite wonderfully orchestrated: the intro is your run off the mill one minute song, with screaming and heavy riffs. But when the Doctor Doctor! kicks in, the band shows its true face with clean female vocals…something I have seldom heard in this genre. The fact that she’s a brilliant singer only enhances the whole experience during the ten tracks.

To sum it up, I’d say that the record is not a masterpiece but a very welcome variation on a very exhausted genre. I, for one, will be looking forward to what the guys and gals are up to in the future! For more information, you can visit their Facebook page and in order to get a taste of their music, be sure to check the video below!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCTvXRUsWFY]

Trash Monday C


If someone had told me ten years ago that one day Snoop Dogg would change his name and do reggae, I’d have laughed out loud…but it happened. The video below has a certain charm with its Pokémon and Contra homages, but the afore-mentioned fact makes this a perfect number one hundred.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qM7IYPAJsw]