Little Snippets

“They’re going to find out about you.   It’s just a matter of time.”  That soft voice whispered.

Time…hmm…he always thought he’d have all the time in the world, now it would seem his days were numbered.

He shook his head in disgust.  For years, his dirty, little secret remained hidden, burrowed deep in the woods, rotting away like the corpse inside it. only to be accidently stumbled upon  by hikers seeking truth to a hundred year old ghost story.

Michael snorted at the thought.  He knew what they found, flayed pieces of flesh scattered across the dusty, wooden floor, like some macabre Picasso for all the world to see.

He closed his eyes, the nostalgia washing over him like a tidal wave.  Those eyes, the softest blue eyes, begging, pleading…

A knock on the window interrupted his thoughts.

“Lieutenant?  They’re waiting for you inside.”

“I’ll be there in a minute.” Michael replied.

He took a moment to replay the scene over and over again in his mind.  They weren’t going to find anything, of that he was sure.  After all, it’s been many years since his first kill.  He’s had plenty of time to perfect his craft.

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Glowing shades of amber pierced through the haze, revealing the remnants of what was once a thriving city, reduced to piles of metal and stone after the dust storms receded, billions had perished.

Those who survived were exposed to the poison, which flooded the earth’s water supply.  Most had succumbed to a slow and suffocating death, but there were those who showed immunity.

Some said the government knew what was coming and they had implemented precautions, preparing a series of underground missile silos, housing a handful of scientists working day and night, trying to find a cure.  Daniel couldn’t be sure if it was true, they hadn’t seen or heard another soul for eighteen months.

He watched as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.  He would have to make his way back.  They learned to stay underground when twilight started to spread as black as ink across the sky.  That’s when they came out to feed.

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Secrets are never lost.  They become twisted and distorted over time, but never lost.

Mr. Horace Bradford’s secrets were now buried with his corpse, weighed down by fifty pounds of granite, chiseled to form the shape of an anchor.  It was bigger than it needed to be in Savanna’s opinion, but she imagined it would have to be to house a man with such a big ego.

It was, of course, his third wife’s idea, something to epitomize his role as “her anchor”.  She thought he was the perfect father and husband.  She was wrong.

Savanna imagined she could almost feel the earth blistering under her feet as she stood over his grave, visions of him flailing helplessly in a fiery lake burning beneath the surface.  If it was hell, she couldn’t imagine anyone on earth more deserving of spending an eternity in it.

She looked up, the clouds were starting to swell and darken.  There was a storm coming.

‘Would  this town survive once the floods recede?’ she wondered.

Director Spotlight: Lucio Fulci

I met a priest one dark and stormy night.

His name was “Father William Thomas” (Fabrizio Jovine), I believe.  This, of course, was before he hung himself in a cemetery and opened “The Gates of Hell” a.k.a. “City of the Living Dead” (1980)

That was my introduction to Italian film writer, director and actor Lucio Fulci.  They call him the “Godfather of Gore”, and if you have seen any of his horror films, you’ll understand why.  If you ever wanted to know what a drill looks like going through someone’s skull, or what a piece of wood can do to someone’s eye, he’s the man.

Oddly enough, he started out in the field of comedy, writing and later directing films starring the famous Italian comedy team Franco and Cicci.

He didn’t make the transition into horror until the late 60’s, where his films gained notoriety for their depiction of violence and religion including:

The special effects and makeup in his films were amazingly realistic, so realistic in fact, he was dragged into court and charged with animal cruelty due to a scene involving mutilated dogs in a vivisection room, until he showed the judge his artificial canine puppets (created by special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi)

It wasn’t until the late 70’s to early 80’s when his films started making it into the mainstream, when “Zombi 2” a.k.a. “Zombie” (1979) went international.  Aside from “City of the Living Dead”, some of his other well known films were “The Beyond” (1981), “The House by the Cemetery” (1981), “The Black Cat” (1981) and “The New York Ripper” (1982)

After a number of emotional and physical health problems, the quality of his work started to decline into lower budget horror, but he met Dario Argento (The website is in Italian, but it allows you to view it in English and the music is kind of creepy) in 1995 and agreed to collaborate on the “Wax Mask” (a remake of Vincent Price’s 1953 classic “House of Wax”)  He wrote the synopsis and screenplay but died before filming began.

Lucio Fulci was my introduction to horror, and as a horror enthusiast I feel it is my duty to pay tribute to the man they refer to as the “Godfather of Gore”. R.I.P