¡QUÉ HORROR! 2018

Candidate #4

TRAGEDY GIRLS

(March 2017)

"I'm not a CSI person, but it looked like he was murdered."

This was a tricky one, in that for the most part, Tyler MacIntyre’s Tragedy Girls is a biting satire of today’s social media-obsessed youth.

But what convinced me that the film deserved a candidate’s spot on this year’s ¡Qué horror! list, is the persistent streak of vicious, vicious Vantablack humour that rushes with gleeful malice through its runtime.

For its initial three and a half minutes, Tragedy Girls plays like your standard slasher piece, as we bear witness to a teen couple making out in a car in a lonely isolated locale.

But just before we’re treated to the oh-so-elegantly-‘80’s title card, Tragedy Girls lifts its mask and reveals its subversive, blackly comedic self.

This is a world where the only things that truly matter are hashtags, retweets, and Followers, where the monsters can be found in classrooms, on the football field, and on the screens of your laptops and phones.

Where the adults are incompetent and oblivious, and the youth are at best, callow, self-involved sheep and at worst, sociopathic, narcissistic murderers.

It’s telling that the households of the titular Tragedy Girls aren’t run by abusive parental units from Hell, but rather, well-meaning adults who nonetheless have no idea what their kids are really up to.

It’s like the film is saying, it doesn’t matter how a child is raised anymore; they will be exactly what they choose to be, paving the road to their own personal damnation, one retweet at a time.

"Okay. Well... ummm... if, if Sadie needs like an alibi or, or something just to get her out of a jam, just tell her she can say she was with me watching some Dario Argento movie, okay?"
"Dario DiGiorno."
"Da... Dario Argen... Argento."
"Dario Arpeggio. Mario Wario. I don't know. I don't care. Byezies."

Parting Shot:

There’s a bunch of genre faces in this one, among them: Brianna Hildebrand, Kevin Durand, and an uncredited Josh Hutcherson.

(Tragedy Girls OS courtesy of impawards.com.)

¡QUÉ HORROR! 2018

Candidate #3

THE RITUAL

(September 2017)

"Makes you feel insignificant, right?"

"Speak for yourself.”

“Come on, man, where’s your soul? These mountains were smashed out by Nordic gods with big bastard hammers!”

David Bruckner’s The Ritual is the latest in the long and (un)hallowed line of horror films that warn us that man was not meant to traipse through the deep, dark woods.

You may recognize Bruckner as a ¡Qué horror! regular, having been on the rundown three previous times--in 2008, on the inaugural online ¡Qué horror! list (for his “transmission” in The Signal); in 2012 (for his contribution to V/H/S, “Amateur Night”); and in 2016 (for his contribution to Southbound, “The Accident”*).

So if you’re keeping tabs, then it becomes quite clear that The Ritual is Bruckner’s first feature film that’s in the running for a ¡Qué horror! slot, and a solid title it is.

Working with a script by Joe Barton (who’s written for Humans), based in turn on the novel by Adam Nevill, Bruckner gives us a tense nailbiter that follows four friends from university, as they hike Kungsleden (“King’s Trail”), running between Sweden and Norway, a vacation that turns out to be a terrible decision, as indicated by the tagline displayed on the quad above.

Bruckner and company** kill it with this one…

“Well, this is clearly the house we get murdered in.”

* Or, alternately, “Accident”. (Even on the official Dark Sky Films website, it’s referred to by both titles…)

** Amongst the film’s executive producers, the one and only Andy Serkis.

(The Ritual UK quad courtesy of empireonline.com.)

SILVER LIKE DUST - Digital

Yes, indeed.
The mighty fine Reno Maniquis has made the Maskarado / Dakila crossover we cooked up to celebrate Maskarado's 25th anniversary, Silver Like Dust, available in digital format on gumroad.

Silver Like Dust

By David Hontiveros and Reno Maniquis

Two kick-ass heroes.

One awesome team-up.

Dakila finds himself in another dimension, in another Philippines, where he meets “Manila’s Masked Marvel,” Maskarado.

Together, the heroes face an enemy driven by madness and greed.

An enemy who hungers for all the power in the world.

Including theirs.

(See the complete sneak preview pack--including 2 lettered pages--at the Maskarado FBpage, here.)

So if you haven't checked it out yet, please feel free to do so!

you can’t drink just six,

Dave

¡QUÉ HORROR! 2018

Candidate #2

THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER

(May 2017)

While Yorgos Lanthimos' Kynodontas (Dogtooth) was a ¡Qué horror! Auxiliary in 2011, his latest, The Killing of a Sacred Deer (again co-written with Efthimis Filippou) pointedly veers into psychological horror territory, as we bear disquieting witness to all the horrible things we are capable of doing, not just behind the backs of the ones we love, but to the ones we love as well.

As with Kynodontas, there is an odd sense of absurd logic and terrible inevitability to the proceedings, as the privileged Murphys, led by Steven and Anna (Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman) become prey to machinations that threaten to tear their family apart.

There is much here that is uncomfortable and disturbing to watch, but if your horror veers away from your standard Hollywood creepy set pieces and jump scares, then The Killing of a Sacred Deer comes with a sparkling ¡Qué horror! recommendation.

 

XS: For any Clueless fans out there, a borderline unrecognizable Alicia Silverstone is excellent here in her brief appearance.

(The Killing of a Sacred Deer OS’ courtesy of impawards.com.)

¡QUÉ HORROR! 2018

Candidate #1

CHANNEL ZERO: NO-END HOUSE

(September 2017)

"God! I keep... waiting for one of you to understand how magnificent this place is!
"All the gifts that it can give you! Because memory is a disease!

“And then this house is the cure! How can you not see that?!”

One of the most amazing things about Channel Zero’s sophomore season is that, though it still fundamentally feels like a Channel Zero story (in so much as the Channel Zero logo doesn’t look out of place in the opening credits), it does so despite the fact that it has a different kind of horror at its core, compared to the horror of Candle Cove.

With its central themes of memory and loss and instinct and co-dependency, No-End House is also surprisingly moving, balancing out the horror with genuine emotion, thanks in no small part to a commendable cast, which includes the excellent John Carroll Lynch.

Probably the only drawback here is, the bar is now subsequently so much higher for the third season, Butcher’s Block (airing next year), which counts among its cast, It Follows’ Olivia Luccardi, Teen Wolf’s Holland Roden, and the one and only Rutger Hauer.

(Channel Zero: No-End House OS courtesy of impawards.com.)

2017 NOVEMBER KOMIKON POST-KON POST

A huge round of thanx for all you mighty fine folk who dropped by the Capsule-Alamat table over the weekend to show your deeply appreciated support by picking up the latest 'Verse releases:

The wrap-up to the Dakila / Kadasig crossover, Balat (art by Romnick Magbanua; colored cover by Kadasig co-creator Ian Sta. Maria):

The wrap-up to the Makadaot story arc (art by Carl Corilla):

And for helping us celebrate the 25^th anniversary of Reno Maniquis’ Maskarado with Silver Like Dust (art and colored covers by Reno)…

Thanx so much again.
Your continued and enthusiastic support means the world to us, and we hope to see you all at next year's Summer Kon!

you can’t drink just six,

Dave

2017 NOVEMBER KOMIKON MAP

Three more days till NovKon; this coming weekend, Saturday and Sunday, November 11 & 12, at the Bayanihan Center on Pioneer.

Details on the new 'Verse releases can be found here.

And more details about the Maskarado / Dakila crossover, Silver Like Dust, can be found here.

Plus, Reno will have all sorts of goodies available as well, details for which you can find at the Maskarado FB page.

Just look for us at the Capsule-Alamat table here:

 

 

Set the dates: November 11 & 12, at the Bayanihan Center on Pioneer.

#komikonph

Hope to see all you mighty fine folk at NovKon!

you can’t drink just six,

Dave