MY 14TH FAVORITE MOVIE VILLAIN

ESTHER(ISABELLE FUHRMAN)


FROM "ORPHAN"

WARNING:THERE WILL BE SPOILERS

Boy do I want to punch her! Out of all horror movies made in the 2000 decade this one is one of the best horror films made that time. Esther is a 9 year old Orphan girl from Russia who now stays in an American Orphanage due to the death of a family who had adopted her and brought her to America. Esther is a sweet girl; is very smart and mature for her age; and is very creative at painting pictures (Which by the way her pictures tell a story) while humming the "Glory of Love". With all that aside, she's very different from the rest of the people in her age group by not only by being intelligent, but she also wears old fashion dresses and never takes off her ribbons on her wrist and neck. She has now been adopted by the Coleman Family and ever since she moved in, all of hell breaks loose. I'm going to talk about her relationship with each of the family members because each member is a victim.


I'm going to start with talking about her life in School because don't we all have a miserable life or go through something tough at School? Esther is mostly being bullied by a little brat named Brenda. She makes fun of her dress ("Oh look, Little Bo Peep text me-she wants her outfit back."); destroys her Bible; and tries to rip off her ribbons. In those scenes I kind of feel bad for her, even if she herself is the real Villain. Her scream also shows her pain by also making the audience feel her pain. When the scene came when she pushes Brenda off the slide which also causes her to break her leg, you feel happy for Esther thinking "The little bitch got what she deserved", but at the same time feel bad for Brenda. Not only is she different in school, but a lot of kids have gotten hurt whenever she's around. Did she do it or was it just a coincidence?
 
 



Max is a little girl who's deaf and can only speak in sign language and wants a sister to play with. When Esther becomes part of the family, you feel happy for Max and enjoy watching her and Esther play together; sadly, that all ends fast. Esther treats Max as an assistant by tricking her into helping her murder people and hide the evidence. She also tells her that she'll be just as guilty as her if she tells anybody. There are also scenes that show and hint that she wants to kill Max such as playing on top of a frozen Ice Pond; throwing her in front of a car to stop her victim sister Abigail (from the Orphanage); strap her in a runaway car; and even wants to play Russian Roulette with her. Poor Max, I hope she doesn't go insane.


 



Boy does Esther hate her step brother Daniel. When they first meet, already he hates her and finds her weird. He's kind of like Brenda only he's likable. He's an ass, but he serves as the second hero in the movie by spying on Esther; finding the evidence of her crime; and even getting Max to help him. Esther however tries to kill him three times in the movie. The first attempt was to lock him up in his tree house and set the tree house on fire which will burn him and the evidence. Her second attempt was to crush his head with the same boulder she used when she killed the bird that Daniel shot with his paintball gun. Her final attempt was to suffocate him with a pillow while he was recovering in the hospital. Every scene with the two of them together is a battle of hatred. My favorite moment with them together is when Esther threatens to cut off his "Little P---k" if she finds out that he is lying of not seeing the crime she committed which causes Daniel to "Piss Himself". Daniel maybe an ass, but he knows the right thing to do.

Since I talked about her relationship with her step brother and sister, let's talk about her relationship with her step parents. Esther is very close to her step Father John and is probably a little too attached to him. When the two first meet it looks normal, but once we get to the house you can tell Esther has the hots for him. She spends more time with him; hugs and kisses him longer than any of her new family members; and even sits a little to close to him when they're together like in the scene when Max and Esther sleep with the parents because of the storm. She also has the father on her side by making him think her step Mother is abusing her (Which will get to later). The scene that sums everything up of Esther's lust for him is the scene when she tries to seduce him. She dresses up slutty; puts on make up; gives him a snack; tries to make out with him; sweet talks him; and this is all happening while John is drunk. John if I were you, I'd keep my distance from her unless if you want to be on the News the next day.

 

Kate (Our hero in the film) is a Mother who recently had a stillborn child and is recovering from Alcoholism. Whenever she's around Esther (Just like the audience watching this film) she learns something new about her. Like in the scene when she finds out she can actually play Piano, while she was giving her Piano lessons; or in the scene when she knows what a Mommy and Daddy do when they're alone together....in the Kitchen (Won't be eating at their house anytime soon). She also goes into Esther's history while Esther goes into Kate’s history and tends to use it as blackmail. She frames her for breaking her arm (Which by the way she did it to herself); makes her look like a child abuser in public; and picks the flowers with stillborn child's ashes on it (Which the child will live in memory as long as the flowers grew). Esther will do whatever she can to get Kate out of the way so she can seduce John.

There's a plot twist at the end of the film I did not see coming but I won't spoil it for you. All I'll say is she's not what she appears. Esther keeps me off guard every time I watch the movie. Her mood swings of being sweet and innocent to a crazy little bitch gives me mixed emotions about her. When I first saw her I was thinking to myself "She's so sweet, how can she be a Villain?" Towards the middle of the film not only did she creep me out, but I also wanted to get her for everything she's doing. I also think she has the creepiest Russian accent ever; it sounds really cold and makes me shiver. I bet after when people saw this film, they didn't want adopt a child, which gave this film a bit of controversy especially the line (That was cut out of recent Trailers)  "It must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own". "There's Something Wrong With Esther", you better believe it.

"MY NAME IS ESTHER"-Esther

ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK SEASON 1

  Every kid who grew up watching 90's Nickelodeon probably remembers this show. The show is like the show "Tales from the Crypt", it had good scary stories, scary moments and was a lot of fun. The show's prologue and epilogue took place in a secret spot in the woods with a group called "The Midnight Society" that would sit around the campfire and tell scary stories and even sometimes stop the story for a few seconds to make comments or ask questions.


A new member of "The Midnight Society" named Frank is about to join the group if he can tell a good Scary story, is it Scary?  "Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society", here's my review on...

THE TALE OF THE PHANTOM CAB




Two boys get lost in the woods, but come across a mysterious man and a crazy doctor who won't let his victims go unless they can solve his riddles. Can the boy's solve it?

The episode started off creepy as we are introduced to "The Midnight Society", the kid actors who play the members of the society are good and can be really creepy at points. When the story started, the acting began to stink. The kid actors who play the two boy's are annoying and act like they haven't acted before. The actor who played Dr. Vink (For some reason looks like the inspiration for Hagrid from "Harry Potter") was just as annoying as the kid actors, but I will admit there were a few scenes of him that made me feel uncomfortable like the scenes when he shows dead body parts including a fake looking hand. 

The actor who played The mysterious man, however, gave me the creeps. Sure, he can be over the top like most of the actors in this story, but that's the fun of his character. Without giving away what he is in the ending let me just say he knows how to bring a good mix between being scary and fun to watch at the same time. Is it just me or is his performance similar to Thomas F. Wilson's performance in the "Back to the Future" Trilogy?

Aside from the lame acting from the main characters, the episode knows how to be scary. It's got a nice creepy setting, has good build up to the ending, and has a good story. It was not what I think should be the first episode of the series, but it was satisfying.

RATING  3/5

Tonight it's Betty Ann's turn to tell a scary story....a scary clown story. Kristen is afraid of clowns. Can she sit through it? "Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society", here's my review on.....

THE TALE OF LAUGHING IN THE DARK
 

A kid named Josh goes into a haunted fun house to steal the nose of a clown who haunts the place named Zeebo. He succeeds by stealing the nose from the dummy clown of Zeebo, but one night, Zeebo pays the kid a little visit to get his nose back.

This episode I personally think should have been the pilot for this show. The story is amazingly scary from beginning to end. The idea that the story mostly takes place in a cheesy theme park haunted house that actually is haunted is very cleverly because kid's when they are younger are afraid of those cheesy attractions, but having the attraction actually being haunted makes the younger viewers even more afraid to enter one. A part of the story I really enjoyed even though it's told in dialogue instead of being shown is Zeebo's backstory and why the Funhouse is haunted. The story also leaves the audience (including "The Midnight Society") into thinking.

One of my favorite things about the episode is the cinematography. When our main character enters the Funhouse the cheesy dummies that pop out of the shadows catches you off guard, almost as if you're really in there. The scene when Josh is about to steal Zeebo's nose is thrilling because you're seeing through the eyes of the clown and his nose sticks out like a sore thumb. The best part that tops all of those scenes is when Zeebo enters Josh's house. You don't see him, but you see the evidence that tells you he's there, which makes the episode thrilling. The creepy clown music to the episode also sends out chills.

How's the acting? Better than the pilot episode. The kid who plays Josh is believable and is one of the reasons the episodes so scary because he helps make the audience believe that Zeebo is after him. His acting isn't the best, but he did a very fine job. I also love the performance of the guy who plays the Carney being over the top and mysterious and the less you know what's so scary about him, the better. All I'll say is he did a better job in this role than he did as Dr. Vink in the pilot episode.

One of the best episodes of the season and is probably one of the best one's in the whole series.

RATING 5/5

Next week is Kristen's Birthday and David has a little present for her, will she like it? It's David turn this week to tell a story at the campfire. "Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society", here's my review on....

THE TALE OF THE LONELY GHOST
 

 It's summer and Amanda Cameron has to stay at her snotty cousin's house. She wants to be friends with her cousin and her cousins friends, but the only way for her to be accepted is for her to spend the night in an old house next door. She agrees to spend the night there, but once she does, she meets a ghost of a little girl died in the house.

The girl who played Amanda started out as a boring character, but as I let the episode play on she became a character I was attached to. Like most of the acting in this show she isn't great, but she did enough to make the main character believable and likable. As for the actress who played her cousin, she played the role so well that I just want stand up to her and yell "Hey, quick picking on your cousin, she's going to be with you all summer long, learn to live with her and if you two can't get along I'll destroy your beautiful stuffed animal collection". Let's just say, what happens to her in the end was something she had coming to her.

The woman who plays Nanny gives a really emotional performance. Even though we don't spend too much time with her, we do know that something is bothering her, and her acting and facial expressions really show it. The other best performance goes to the little girl who plays the lonely ghost. Out of all the characters in this story, I felt most of the emotion from her. Instead of her being scary, she looks sad and depressed and looks like she's looking for someone to love her. She has no dialogue at all and still has me moving throughout the entire episode. Her backstory, even makes me shed at least one tear drop. Her performance sort of reminds me of Robert Duvall's performance in "To Kill a Mockingbird" as Boo Radley. Doesn't have much screen time; only shows up towards the end; has no lines; and when you see him you feel for the character and love him right away.

The episode isn't one of those scary episodes, it's actually one of those episodes about a lost spirit who wants something. The story is heartwarming, the characters are likable, the acting's emotional, and the special effects are decent.

RATING 5/5

Eric just told a story that wasted the first few seconds of the episode filled with a kid who can't act for Pineapples; A monster who looks like a guy dressed up; a plot twist that wasn't scary; and ends with a freaking cliff hanger, all in a minute. It's so bad that it's not worth rating. However, David has a story to tell and I hope it's not as lame as Eric's story."Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society", here's my review on....

THE TALE OF THE TWISTED CLAW
 
Two boys who pranked an old lady on "Mischief Night" receive a magic claw from her on Halloween night that can grant them three wishes a piece. However, whenever they make a wish something awful happens.

This story is obviously a twist of the story "The Monkey's Paw", that uses its own creativity, such as having two boys instead of a married couple; get three wishes a piece, instead of three wishes for both of them; an old woman gives the claw to them, instead of a British armed Forceman; and it's a wooden vulture claw. The story does have a lot of similarities to the original story, such as their wish coming true with consequences; A boy's parents get killed in an accident like the son in the original story; and the ghost of a loved one comes to their door as the climax of the story.

The stories good, but is the acting good? The two boy's are good at showing their characteristics, one being good, and the other one being adventurous, but in the scene when they're being dramatic about a ghost coming to them and are fighting over the claw, I didn't feel the fear they had, but still they're better than the kid in the first 36 seconds of the episode. The actress who plays the old lady is one of the reasons why I enjoy this episode. She acts like a regular old lady, but there's something about her that gives you the creeps. When she invites the boys into her house you know she's going to give them the claw, but you can't help but feel that something's not right with her. Without giving away the ending let me just say it was a bit predictable. By the way, she also has an insane laugh, that's not only creepy, but also hints what she is at the end of the story.

The cinematography is good and brings the atmosphere of the episode. My favorite scenes with the cinematography are when the boys meet a bunch of creepy punks on Halloween; the scene with that unfriendly looking tree; and when the ghost walks to their door. The effects however, are lame. Whenever the monkey paw turns green or moves it looks like an added effect; and the fact that we never see the ghost seems like they're being lazy with the effects.

The episode has its flaws, but it's good retelling of a classic horror story.

RATING 4/5

The member's of the "Midnight Society" are hearing strange noises in the night. Kristen has brought her dog Elvis to help her with the sound effects for her story."Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society", here's my review on...

THE TALE OF THE HUNGRY HOUNDS


 Amy is visiting her cousin Pam. Pam wanted to learn how to horseback ride, but her mother forbids her too. One day Pam opens a box that's been locked for years and tries on a horse-riding uniform that belonged to a dead relative. Pam is now possessed by the spirit and takes Amy to a ghostly dimension to feed the hungry hounds in order for her to rest in peace.

The actress who played Amy started out as the only interesting character in the story, but once I got to the middle of the story she stops being interesting and becomes annoying. She may be good looking, but that didn't hide the fact that she can't act. The actress who played Pam started out as a boring and uninteresting character, but once she was possessed, she stopped being boring and became the only actress in this story that can act. With that being said. I didn't really believe she was really being processed, but I can see that the actress is trying to make the audience believe she is by changing from being extremely boring too weird, and to me that's enough to pass her on the acting. The acting's bad, but at least it's not as bad as the few seconds from the beginning of "The Tale of The Twisted Claw" or the kids in "The Tale of The Phantom Cab".

The story didn't really grab me or made me feel scared. I didn't feel for the spirit that has possessed Pam; the build up to the hungry hounds didn't catch my suspense; and the hungry hounds themselves are not scary and don't look hungry either. The only scene I found chillingly realistic, but  was only shown in the episode for a short time is when the two girls contact the ghost with the Ouija board.

This was a very boring and not scary episode and if it wasn't for the Ouija board scene and the effort from the actress who played Pam it would have gotten a lower rating.

RATING 2/5

 Gary hasn't told a good story in a while (Even though he hasn't told one yet this Season), tonight, it's his turn to tell a story around the campfire. Can his story make up for his other stories (What Stories? I haven't heard one from him yet. Were his stories worse than Eric's short story? We're they so bad that they couldn't be aired?)? "Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society", here's my review on....

THE TALE OF THE SUPER SPECS
 

A prankster named Weeds buys his girlfriend Marybeth a pair of "Super Specs" from a Magic shop owner named Sardo. Whenever Marybeth puts on the glasses, she sees mysterious people from another dimension. Meanwhile Weeds is having fun pranking everybody on April fools day, but also has a bag of Magic Dust, which he doesn't know is really Magic.

Most of the acting is over the top, but in a good way because it helps gives the April first feel to it. The actor who plays Sardo gives a bit of a Willy Wonka performance by being weird and funny at the same time. Every scene you see him in is fun to watch, especially when he constantly corrects his customers about his name. Even when something's scary he still manages to be funny. The kid who plays Weeds is just as funny as Sardo, every time he pulls a prank or messes with the magic dust is something you can't help but laugh. When I first met the character already he's pullin pranks and I'm laughing my butt off. Those two characters are funny, but is this episode scary?

The girl who played Marybeth is the only serious character in the episode. Her performance is believable, well acted and is as likable as Weeds and Sadro. My only problem with her performance are the scenes when she's wearing the glasses. Whenever she screams when she sees the mysterious people, the glasses make her look goofy instead of scared. I bet she has a great scared face without those glasses, but whenever she's wearing them it hard for me to take her seriously or be scared with her. Another problem with the glasses is when see right through them it feels like an acid trip then something scary.

The episode is goofy, but it still has a good plot and scary moments. Even though the glasses are dumb looking they're still creepy in a way, especially when they keep coming back to Marybeth no matter how many times she tries to get rid of them. The Mysterious people from another dimension are a bit frightening, especially the leader of the group, but what makes the Episode totally scary is the ending and without giving it away, let me just say it's totally different then the endings we are use too in this series.

A good mix between being funny and scary.

RATING 4/5

Kiki is taking various pictures of the "Midnight Society". Tonight is her turn to tell a scary story."Submitted for the approval of The Midnight Society", here's my review on....

THE TALE OF THE CAPTURED SOULS


A girl named Danny and her family stay at an old small house for the summer. They befriend a kid who stays at the house for the summer while his parents are on a cruise. As the family stay in the house, Danny's parents are ageing and are getting weaker by the second.

The girl who played Danny is a lot different from most of the girls in this series. Instead of her being just a frightened curious character she's more tough. The fact that she doesn't like to be called Danielle already shows that she's going to be different than most of the female characters in this series. She's brave, wants to save her parents and doesn't take any crap.

The actors who played her parents are also good. At first they act over the top like most adult characters in this show, but one they start ageing they become believable and make you worry about them. They act totally different then they were in the beginning of the episode. The old make-up they put on them also makes you believe they are aging and sometimes made me wonder if they're played by the same actor.

The best performance out of all the characters in this episode is the kid who plays Peter Kirlan the third. When you first see him, he looks nice and welcoming, but there's still something not right about him. When we get near the ending we get to see his true colors. His performance and the character itself is kind of similar to Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates from Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho". Being friendly but yet creepy at the same time; owning a place for people to stay; has a weird obsession; spy's on people; having a huge secret; and having a creepy smile.

The actings good, the stories creepy, and the effects are nice.

RATING 5/5

Kristen asks one of the worlds dumbest question. Her question is "Why do we tell scary stories at night? If they're scary, they should be just as scary during the day right?" Here's a better question, "What the Hell is Goofy?"  Well it's Betty Ann's turn to tell a story around the campfire tonight. Eric however, says her stories are "Kind of gross and they all live happily ever after". First off Betty Ann only told one story so far this season and her story "The Tale of Laughing In The Dark" in my opinion is the best story in the whole season. Second, what was Eric's story again? Oh yeah the one that only lasted a few seconds. In fact, he didn't even finish his story, so Eric SHUT UP! However, his comment does speak for most of the episodes in the whole series. Is Eric right, is this story going to be predictable?"Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society", here's my review on...

THE TALE OF THE NIGHTLY NEIGHBORS
  

New Neighbors move into Emma and Dayday's Neighborhood. The family that moved in are from Eastern Europe, wear black clothes, and only come out that night. Emma suspects that they are vampires, not only by their appearance, but also a mysterious disease has spread around the Neighborhood ever since they moved in.

The Plot for the episode is very cliche. The story has been overdone a million times, it's predictable, and the plot twist at the ending didn't surprise me. In fact, it's not even scary, it's all played out in an extremely dull way. There was no atmosphere, no character development, and no suspenseful build up.

The actors who play the kids match their characters alright, they're boring, predictable, and bland. The actors who play the weird family are lifeless, not scary, and have very bad accents. I will admit I found some scenes seemingly frightening, but at the same time predictable, such as Emma's nightmare and the part when they're hiding in the most obvious hiding spot from a guy who's dumb enough not to notice that they're right in front of them.

Sorry Betty Ann but your story is poor and Eric is right, her story is predictable only this time without a happy ending.

RATING 1/5

Frank and Kiki had just pulled a freaky prank on the "Midnight Society". Tonight it's Betty Ann's turn to tell a story around the campfire (It better be better then her last story). "Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society", here's my review on...

THE TALE OF THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE


Not that one.



That's more like it.

A school outcast named Dean looks at a snake staff brought in by Archaeologist Dr. Oliver and Hypnotizes him and the people around the school to bring back an evil Sorcerer named Goth. It's up to Deans only friend Alix to stop Dean from releasing Goth.

When the episode started, it had a bit of a dark beginning. The story starts out with a flashback of the school in 1966 with a dark person with snake tattoos on their arms and hides something that the audience can't see, plus you got guards chasing that mysterious figure around. With an opening like that, not only does it give you chills, but also makes the audience eager to know what's going on, who is that person, and what was that thing the person was hiding. After that creepy opening we then bounce forward to the present where the story really takes place.

The actress who plays Alix makes the character likable by showing her feelings by sticking with her friend even when he's turned bad. Instead of being scared with over the top facial expressions, her scared faces look realistic. Still, there's something about the character I found kind of either boring or uninteresting, but I can't really think of the reason why. The kid who plays Dean, however, is not interesting. Betty Ann (Narrator) explains his character, but the actor doesn't really show it, he just looks like someone you'd see as an extra. When he becomes hypnotized, he stops from being uninteresting to an actor who looks confused with his role. Yeah, he's bad, but I do think he did a decent job in the climax, but that's up until the real villain appears.

The build up to the villain was good, but I felt like it was sort of rushed. When you first see him when Dean's contacting him, he looks like he's going to be a cool and scary villain. When we see the villain again, he looks a bit threatening, but to be honest, he really wasn't as villainous I hoped he'd be. He's not scary; he focuses on stopping Dean then stopping the hero Alix; he doesn't do much with his powers; and his acting is a bit off especially when he says "Stop her." The actors that play the hypnotized people are creepy, but at some points they look like they're about to shout out "Just kidding, we're just acting", like in the scene when we find out the teacher is hypnotized too. I'm not going to say much about the actress who plays Dr.Oliver because she shows up for a short time, but let me just say she's not what she appears to be.

Even though the story does have a few gaps, it's still written well.The acting's ok, it could have been worse.I think what brought out the episodes darkness are the visuals.The dark setting for the secret room in the school is awesome; the special effects for the cauldron scenes are cool; and the design for the snake staff is neat. The ending also hints a sequel and "The Midnight Society" thinks there might be one, so maybe the sequel will be better than this episode.

RATING 3/5

Frank agreed to let Eric tell a story around the campfire tonight since his grandfather just died. His grandfather gave him a hat that he got from the pixies and he's going to tell a story that his grandfather told him. "Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society" here's my review on...

THE TALE OF JAKE AND THE LEPRECHAUN


First minute of Eric's story, already we're seeing an over the top low budget background, a goblin who's not scary and looks like a dude in a costume, a clumsy kid who can't act and we're right smack in the middle of the story. Wow, this is worse than Eric's first story...actually this was a rehearsal for a play (Thank God). The real story is about a kid named Jake who wants to be an actor is in a play about Leprechauns and goblins, but during rehearsal weird things are happening to him. Jake and a little man named Sean must find out why this is happening.

The kid who play's Jake is a decent enough actor...well with the exception of his performance from the first minute of the story. There are times when I believe he's feeling weird like the scene when his voice changes, or when he see's he has pointy ears. There are however other times when I don't feel like he's in trouble. In the scene on stage at the climax of the episode when he's yelling for help, I didn't believe he was in trouble.

The man who played Sean is the one I found more believable. In the scene when he finds out the ingredients Jake needs for his play director's(Who's also in the play) tea his voice makes you nervous as he tells Jake to leave. He can also be funny and over the top at some points like the character Sardo from "The Tale of the super specs". I think his best scene is at the climax of the story when we find out who he really is(Which by the way is pretty obvious).The Villain in the story is scary enough to frighten the younger viewers and when you first meet him he's the last person you'd suspect to be the Villain.

The story for the episode is good, but is very predictable, but it does a better job on catching your suspense than the other predictable episode "The Tale of the Nightly Neighbors". The characters are likable, the special effects are passable, but my real praise goes to the climax of the episode and the scene when our characters sneak into the villain's room.

RATING 3/5

It is revealed that some members of the "Midnight Society" are afraid of the dark. Tonight it's Eric's turn to tell a scary story around the campfire. "Submitted for the approval of the "Midnight Society", here's my review on...

THE TALE OF THE DARK MUSIC
 

A boy who lives with his divorced mom and bratty little sister move into a house that was inherited by his weird uncle. Andy finds something hidden in the basement, which is a monster who only appears when music is playing.

I found this episode completely terrifying. The fact that a monster behind a door in the basement who only appears when music is playing is very creative. Before the monster appears we see the door's lock shaking and then the door opens up by itself, and every time that happens, you can't help but be petrified because you don't know what the monsters going to do. Another cool thing about the monster is, it changes its form to try to lure Andy to it. It can even hypnotize Andy to its trap. The thing I found scary about the monster is we never see it, all we see of it are its red eyes and the forms that the monster changes into. The monsters deep voice sounds friendly, but also sounds like something from Hell. My only criticism is, we don't what the monster is or where it came from, all we know is it's there. A bit of lazy writing there, but is still a creative monster.

The Music in the episode adds to the atmosphere of it. Whenever the monster becomes something, it plays music that blends in with the character it's become. The music for the scenes when Andy enters the basement are eerie and makes your heart pound. Every time we meet the punk neighborhood bully Koda we hear heavy metal rock that help adds to the character's personality.

The kid who plays Andy shows the character's fear of the dark and his struggles to face his fears to help his mom. His facial expressions when he gets hypnotized or gets tempted by the monster, do look a little bit awkward, but makes you believe he's under the monsters control. The kid who plays Koda is very convincing, he looks like someone you better not mess with unless if you have a plan. Sometimes he can be funny and sometimes he can just look like an average everyday person who looks like he's being bad for a reason. What I really loved in the casting is they got the girl who played the lonely ghost to play Andy's little sister. In "The Tale of The Lonely Ghost" I want to hug her, but here I want to spank her for being such a naughty little girl. That girl is a good actress, I really wish she did more.

The special effects in the episode are cheesy, but still look frightening. One of the many examples of that is when the skeleton tries to grab Andy, it looks like a plastic skeleton wearing clothes, but the voice, the strong wind blowing, the skeleton hand that's reaching for Andy's leg and the idea itself is scary. Let me just say the ending to the episode is scary and is one of the rare times when they actually show someone getting killed on the show.

Great Episode, this totally made up for Eric's short story, and not only am I going to give this episode a good rating, but I'm going to stop making fun of Eric's short story for the rest of the review.

RATING 5/5


Kristen is in a Prom dress as the character of the story she's about to tell. "Submitted for the approval of The Midnight Society" here's my review on...

THE TALE OF THE PROM QUEEN


Two boys befriend a girl named Dede to help them find the legend of The Prom Queen ghost that comes every once a year.

The boys who play Greg and Jam are just as fun as the two boys from "The Tale of the Twisted Claw" and basically have the same characteristics as them, one being good (Greg) and the other one being adventurous (Jam). The kid who plays Greg acts like a regular person and isn't over the top like most of the actors in the show. When he gets scared you actually believe he's scared. The kid who plays Jam is another one of those over the top fun characters that we enjoy watching on the show. I enjoy the scenes when he keeps frightening our main characters, it shows what a fun loving jerk he is and how much fun the actor is having. With that said I still thought his acting is a bit off. The Girl who plays Dede (Who you might recognize her voice as Raye from the anime show "Sailor Moon") does an outstanding performance. When you first meet her, she acts like your average everyday person, but once we get to the middle of the episode there's something weird about her. The scene that gave me goosebumps is when she tries to contact the spirit with Greg and Pam.

The story is written well, my favorite part in the story is the Prom Queens backstory on how she and her date died, making it tragic and having a spooky ending to their backstory. The only flaw I noticed however is the ghost only comes out on prom night, but yet the ghost has been seen for two days in a row? The story also has great build up to the ending, it just makes you want to know if the legend is true.

There are some thrilling scenes in the episode, my favorite is the bubbles popping out of the river because the characters and the audience assume it's the Prom Queen's Date ghost driving his car under the water where he died. As the characters try to row away the bubbles are following them. The idea is scary, but if you listen carefully to the last bubble you can hear a fart like noise. The ending to the episode was heartwarming and brought a smile to my face, but I did find it a little bit predictable. I was happy that they at least ended the story with a classic 50's song "In the Still Of The Night" by The Five Saints to bring its romantic feel when you see the two ghosts.

RATING 4/5

The "Midnight Society" members are hooked on a video game except for Gary. Tonight it's Gary's turn to tell a story to close the season. "Submitted for the approval of The Midnight Society", here's my review on...

THE TALE OF THE PINBALL WIZARD
 

Wish it was that Pinball Wizard

 

 A teenage boy named Ross watches over Mr.Olson's store at the Mall. He finds an unusual Pinball Machine that Mr.Olson clearly warned him not to play and when he starts playing it, he's in the game. Can he survive and win the game?

This is another creative story, but yet again kind of reminds me of the Disney movie "Tron". I like that the game characters are resemblance to people Ross has encountered such as the Bag Lady is the witch in the game; a waxed executioner that is seen in the window of Mr.Olsens shop is a villain in the game; and the girl Sophie, whom he briefly met, is the princess. I also love the colorful sets and cheesy sound effects because that's what help make the audience believe he's in a game. The only downside is it takes place at the Mall then in a fictional world.

Ross, however, is a bland character and doesn't really show too much emotion or personality. I just felt like the actor was only doing this to be on TV. Sophie same feeling, but when she became the princess that's when I started liking her stereotypical damsel in distress game character. The actors who play the game characters are creepy, villainous and fun to watch. The person who I thought was creepy and was enjoyable from beginning to end is Mr. Olson. He seems like a regular weird over the top store owner (Like Sardo from "The Tale of the Super Specs") but there's something about him that doesn't feel right. You don't know if he's planning on making Ross play the game, or if he's just a friendly shop owner who's just trying to stop Ross from playing it. We don't for sure until the ending.

 I thought this episode concluded the season very well, it has a good moral about Video Games, has a good storyline, visuals and effects and ends with Gary breaking the fourth saying Goodnight to the audience.

RATING 4/5

The show does use cheap effects and sometimes have either bad or over the top acting, but it's still scary. The monsters are scary, the actors for the "Midnight Society" are good and are likable and the stories are not only scary, but are very creative and ends with a moral or an ending to make you want to change the channel. I miss this show and I wish they would show this show on Nickelodeon again or at least show it during the month of Halloween.

THE SEASONS RATING 5/5

"I DECLARE THIS MEETING OF THE MIDNIGHT SOCIETY CLOSED"

DR. SEUSS' HALLOWEEN IS GRINCH NIGHT

We all know the classic animated Christmas Special "How The Grinch Stole Christmas". Having a good Villain voiced by Horror actor Boris Karloff; nice animation; memorable songs; and a great story with a great message. In 1977, a Holiday spin-off with the Grinch was made called...



Yup, this is no phony, Dr.Seuss gave The Grinch a Halloween Special and if you haven't noticed, it's not shown on TV during the month of fright. Does this mean this special’s a failure in trying to make a Halloween Special with a creepy Christmas icon, or is it a hidden underrated gem that is not looked at enough? On with the review....

The "Sour-Sweet Wind" is blowing in "Whoville" again and when that wind blows every Who knows, it's "Grinch Night". On "Grinch Night" the Grinch comes down from Mount Crumpit with his "Paraphernalia Wagon" to release his spooks on the Who's at "Whoville". A young Who boy named Euchariah gets swept away by the wind and is now lost, but not alone because he bumps into the Grinch. It's up to Euchariah to stop the Grinch from arriving to "Whoville". Can he stop him in time?



Since Boris Karloff died, the creators had to find a replacement voice actor. How can anyone replace Boris Karloff's eerie and menacing voice for the character? Surprisingly, they found a perfect actor who matches the tone of the character and that voice actor is Hans Conried who you might recognize his voice from cartoons such as "The Duddley Do Right" cartoons as Snidely Whiplash or as Captain Hook from the animated classic "Disney's Peter Pan". His voice isn't as eerie as Karloff's, but he still makes the character sound menacing. The Grinch in this cartoon is more evil than he was in the Christmas cartoon. He not only has spooks, but he also likes to destroy everything that's beautiful; abuses and insults his dog Max in an unfunny way; and he even has powers that can change his size, make things appear, and even uses them to frighten Whos. Why didn't he use them in The Christmas Special? Han Conried is no Karloff, but he makes for an excellent substitute. Our main character and hero Euchariah however, kind of ruined it. The character can get annoying from time to time; he's very bland; and to be honest, he feels more like a footnote to this special then he does as a hero. Why can't Cindy Lou Who be our hero instead of this undeveloped Who?




It's not just the hero that ruined the special it's also the dialogue. Most of the dialogue sounds so boring and pointless that you'd wish that they didn't say anything at all. Even the lines that you hear most of the time are usually repeated throughout the special. There were even times when we didn't need a narrator, but yet they throw his voice in anyway. This special doesn't even have much rhyming as you usually hear in other Dr.Seuss stories and cartoons. With all that said, even though the dialogue is off, Hans Conried still does a fine job of being the Grinch and making the character interesting and he does an excellent job with the narration.




Since the dialogue is bad I guess the songs are going to be just as bad. I mean, come on the songs from The Christmas Special are timeless, catchy, and unforgettable. To my surprise the songs in this special are just as good as the ones from the Christmas special. Songs like "I Wouldn't Go Out On A Night Like This" and "Wandering In The Wind" give great build up to The Grinch's "Paraphernalia Wagon" and makes the audience fear what the Who's are fearing. The songs for the Grinch are just as eerie as the song "You're a Mean One Mr.Grinch", in fact they even got Thrul Ravenscroft's voice (Who sang "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch") to help with the backup vocals. The Grinch even sings a few times being fun and scary at the same time. A song that makes me emotional in the Special is Max's song "What Am I Doing Here?". You hear his song through his thoughts, singing about why he's with the Grinch and seeing his sad face and hearing The Grinch tease him throughout the song makes you feel sorry for him. The songs are good, but sadly they're not as memorable as the ones from the Christmas Special, but they still help add to the tone that this Special is going for. The score itself also gives the special its atmosphere and is very powerful to hear.




The animation is incredible. It has great atmosphere of bringing the beauty of "Whoville" to showing the Gothic darkness on Mount Crumpit. The designs for the animals that make the noises that annoy the Grinch are very creative, and The Grinch himself looks as creepy as he did in the Christmas special. The real applause for the animation, Hans Conried's voice acting, the music, and the songs goes to the whole sequence when The Grinch releases his spooks out of the "Paraphernalia Wagon". This sequence is so dark that it looks like Dr.Seuss's vision of hell in his world. Monsters and Ghosts are popping out of nowhere chasing after you, the song's scary enough to make kids hide under their beds, the score for the number is out of this world, and we even hear The Grinch's creepy voice echoing, asking if you're "Enjoying yourself"? The designs for the spooks are so creative that you can't help, but praise the work of Dr.Seuss. This whole sequence literally stole the whole special.


My biggest issue with this special is I'm not sure if this is a sequel or a prequel. In the ending of "How The Grinch Stole Christmas", his heart grew three sizes and became nice; and in the cartoon "Horton Hears A Who" you see him in a cameo of him now happily living with the Whos. What made him suddenly live back on Mount Crumpit and make him villainous again? It's never explained. Could this probably be before he stole Christmas, if that's the case that would explain why he's evil and why we don't see Cindy Lou Who, but look at Max he was practically a puppy when he helped The Grinch steal Christmas, in this he looks more like a grown dog instead of being a puppy. They say he's a puppy, but comparing him to the original cartoon, he really doesn't look like one; he's just as big as our main character. In fact, what happens to Max in the ending makes no sense at all of when this story is taking place. Whatever the reason is will never know. I also might as well add that this special has nothing to do with Halloween at all.

Even though the special has a boring main character, bland dialogue and a confusing setting filled with plot holes, you can tell they tried to create something new. It's very creative and brings it's Halloween feel even if it doesn't take place on Halloween. In fact, the special won a prime time Emmy for Outstanding Children's Special and the "Paraphernalia Wagon" sequence is put as the number 8 "Top 11 Nostalgia Mindf--k Moments" by my favorite critic Doug Walker (Aka That Guy With The Glasses). Is the special as good as "How The Grinch Who Stole Christmas", no but it's defiantly worth a look and something I personally think should be shown on TV during the Month of Halloween. Even though it's also a childhood favorite of mine and still holds up the memories it gave me as a small boy I'm still giving this special a low rating. It's not bad, but it's not nearly great as the Christmas Special that this special spun-off from.

RATING 2/5