London Expo - The Event

Well I've moved now so it's tine to get to work on the next update for the London Expo.

I want to thank my friends who had to deal with my bullshit over the weekend of seeing something and rushing over to take a photo of it or look at it or spend half an hour playing it... I'd have punched me if I was them haha! but yes I've been going to Expo a long time but never as a blogger so it was interesting to pay attention to all the small things I might have ignored before hand.

The new Alien game and Lolipop Chainsaw were very much the key items in the horror genre this expo. Sadly I had no chance of getting to play the Alien game as I lack the urge to line up for half an hour BUT I did see the awesome Alien and marines around.

I'm so effing cool.

Daaaaww~

But from what I did notice the game and people in costume were massive hits with the crowds.

Now I DID get to play some horror related games.. Lolipop Chainsaw which I thought looked just like DEAD RISING with tits but I was wrong. Same idea but as you know zombies are very much not a fresh concept and there isn't allot you can do to spice them up.

You are a cheerleader and there are zombies everywhere in your school. I didn't get any real cut scenes so I had no idea of her back story other then she's a cheerleader and has a head attached to her belt?

The game is very fun to play I'd say it was like DEAD RISING meets BAYONETA. Pretty, flash and easy to work.

That's me not some old horridly dressed man.

The other game I got to play was the Wii version of PROJECT ZERO 2/ FATAL FRAME 2 and I'll say this now... man it was boring as fuck. I think I played for half an hour and nothing happened? the plot is good as they all are and as a J horror fag I know that the Japanese love to build their tension and make the atmosphere drip with tension but damn it was slow and Wii controls work like dick anyway.

I'm sure if I played the XBOX version I'd like it more.

There was a fair few neat horror related merch to buy but I do find at Expo that every other shop is cute crap that is very much aimed at girls or middle aged guys.... cough.

This is awesome! it combines two of my loves together. Street Fighter and Zombies.

No idea what this game would be like but IT'S THE WALKING DEAD I NEED TO BUY IT. Also you know when your fandom has made it when it has it's own board game.

Awesome zombie drinks from CYBER CANDY.

I also met a few famous people while at the event one being the pretty, lovely and chatty Elvira.

This woman has aged well and is stunning. I told her this and she seemed flattered. I've seen her without the costume garb on too and she's hella pretty.

I also got to meet Noel Clarke who is a sound guy, awesome and chatty just a very nice guy and got my DOG HOUSE DVD signed.

So all in all the weekend was pretty ace. I got to dress up like a twat, have loads of fun with friends and try some new games. I came away with a few things but didn't guy buying crazy like I did last time.

Signed DOG HOUSE and my DEAD SPACE T-shirt which has become like a second skin to me.

Hope you all enjoyed my Expo recap, I had fun rambling.

XJigsawX

Space Horror

A type of horror that has it's own genre I feel. There's not many space horror's out there, there are however enough good movies about aliens on earth to keep us going but not horrors IN space. Also known as sifi-horror. I think for me the movie that owns this genre over and over again is Alien whose long and glorious franchise has spanned from 1979 to 1997 and has also been part of a VS movie but if Freddy VS Jason has taught us anything it's avoid anything vs anything for your own sake.

So as I was saying, ALIEN is the mother of this little sub genre of horror. I remember watching it as a kid and being captivated by it, how sleek and awesomely designed the Aliens were, somehow the design just looked like 'yeah aliens could so be like that'.  The movies are slow going but build up a sense of dread, the things with horrors in space is.. we know so little about space that for us to be stuck out there with something unknown, so very far from anyone who could help is terrifying.

The casting is good, the acting is fantastic for such an old set movie the B movie cheesyness is no where to be found in this franchise, it is just good solid horror. Even the gore back then was spot on, I think movies today could learn allot from the brilliant execution this movie had.

Event Horizon is another good space horror, the unseen force that lurks around every corner keeping you on the edge of your seat is very much there. It's another well created horror movie having all the right elements of what should be scary, keeping the cheese away and for the most part a good acting and cast crew which is always a plus point in horror as horror tends to go down the drain if the cast are as believable as a yeti wearing Madonna's fashion line.

This movie also has the whole 'going mad' and self destruction element going on showing people are as dangerous as anything else out there trying to get you.

Pandorum is much newer 1t 2009 filling the gap between the old school and the newschool of the genre, again another good movie, not as awesome as the movies before it but it was again something of a good watch, the aliens weren't as 'alien' as before or as 'unseen' as before but it's worth a watch.

The newest space horror that has come to the worlds attention is Apollo 18 and I can't say much on this as it is on my ever growing pile of 'TO WATCH' DVD's so it'll more then likely get it's own spiffy review when I get around to it.

I still think instead of making SAW 10000 or another bull shit 'haunting of' 'paranoaml..' why don't we fill the gap in the market? it's shown that space horrors have something good and awesome in them.

Now I think the biggest game that comes to mind for a space horror is DEAD SPACE. I enjoyed the game, the aliens.... um not aliens were awesome. The story goes our main man is going to see his wife, girlfriend whatever on another ship and a crazy region has sprung up and so have these horrid things called 'Necromorphs' the designs are fantastic and there is nothing as unsettling as a baby with tentacles and going through a kids nursery to see exploding babies.

Game play is easy to get on with, very good plot in the first, not as much in the second but these games are a fantastic add on to the space horror niche. Also with it's own rather enjoyable anime prequel I think DEAD SPACE deserved a mention up here.

X6XJIGSAWX6X