BLOOD WORK

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

THE HORROR HARVEST: TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2022)

TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2022)

Why do we love horror? That's a complicated question with a multifaceted answer. Depending on who you ask you'll likely get different answers. For this case, we're going to focus on one particular answer: The Villains. Horror has the honor of having perhaps the largest cast of villains of any genre, a striking imbalance in the hero/villain ratio. Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolf Man, Im-Ho-Tep, the Blind Dead Templars, Dr. Freudstein, and countless more. And usually these villains and monsters are infinitely more interesting than the protagonists... mostly.

I'm going to go out on a limb and speak for some of us saying that we watch certain horror movies to see our favorite villains do what they do best: wreak unholy mayhem and terror!

When I first entered the world of modern horror, it began with the Mount Rushmore of horror icons: Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and Leatherface. I remember it like it was yesterday when my mother staged my first intervention; I was in junior high and had told my mom that I wanted The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original) for Christmas. Her response: "Son, sit down. We need to have a talk." Clearly I took a lot from that talk...

Leatherface has been a favorite of mine for a long time. I started with the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, back when there was only three in the series. I remember when Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation came out, being super stoked to see it, and subsequently disappointed beyond belief. I remember dragging my friends to the 2003 remake and the 2006 prequel (and loving both! Well, I did, at least). I went with friends to the 2013 reboot as well and loved that one too! And, I actually thought the 2017 origin story wasn't half bad either.

When news hit last year that the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise was being revived yet again, I was already sold. Debuting last Friday, I gave it a watch... and loved it!

THE PLOT

A quartet of idealistic twenty-somethings from Austin, Texas purchase the ghost town of Harlow, Texas with grand plans of creating their own utopia. But every paradise has a serpent lying in wait. Leatherface, having been dormant for nearly 50 years, is triggered when his caretaker is accidentally killed by the kids from Austin. Recovering his chainsaw and donning a new mask, Leatherface embraces his calling once again. But an old enemy returns to exact revenge on him, an enemy who has waited patiently for this day.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

SPOILERS AHEAD!

When I first saw the trailer, it reeked of Halloween 2018. So much so that it felt off-putting. I did not need to see the character of Sally Hardesty back nor pulling yet another Sarah Conner imitation on us. On top of that, I wasn't sold on Leatherface's look either. The beginning of the movie, when we're introduced to our "protagonists" I wasn't particularly won over. But as the movie progressed it made twists and turns that surprised me. By the end of the movie I was all in and loving it.

This is the ninth film the franchise that will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in two years. So, at this point I guess the question becomes, Why do we keep coming back? For me, and I'm guessing many of us, it isn't to see the people running away. I watch these movies to see Leatherface do his thing. I don't even need his family. I just need Leatherface. And, more than anything, I want to see him treated right. Just like Michael Myers, Jason, Freddy, Chucky, and Pinhead, I don't watch to see them defeated or get their asses kicked. There are some truly despicable movies out there where I cheer to see the villains annihilated, but Leatherface isn't one of them.

Leatherface, by the end, I felt was treated very well, with reverence and care. Even his mask, which I wasn't enthusiastic about based on the still photos, works very well on film. And the filmmakers give him the moment I wish would be given to Michael Myers: Leatherface finally kills Sally! And everyone who needed to get killed got their just dues. The one character that survives was the only character I really liked from the protagonists. I was gonna be pissed if Sarah Yarkin (Melody) survived! Luckily she received one of the best kills in the movie (god, I hated her character. Although, I enjoyed Sarah Yarkin in the Happy Death Day films).

And Sally... 'sigh' I was dreading seeing her return. And doing exactly what Laurie Strode was doing in the 2018 Halloween. But it didn't play out like I expected. And when she was on screen, it reminded me less of Laurie Strode and more of... DENNIS HOPPER?! Instead of leaning into the Halloween 2018 comparison, I approached this movie from a Texas Chainsaw point of view, looking for the nods and references to the previous films in the series. One of the most surprising nods was Sally evoking Dennis Hopper's character from Chainsaw 2; Lieutenant Lefty Enright. Once I started seeing Sally through that lens, and not as a repeat of H40 Laurie Strode, I was onboard with her character. And the filmmakers having the balls to kill her off too was perfect! I didn't want her back. I didn't need her back. So the way her character was handled was satisfying for me.

The movie plays mostly like an old school slasher and I feel that worked in its favor. If the filmmakers would've modernized it for the 2022 era, playing on all of the troupes that have dominated cinema for the last seven years, I don't think the film would've played well. It didn't lean nearly as hard on the nostalgia references either, as H40 did, which again I feel was a benefit. And it delivered on the namesake... AT LAST! Finally there is a genuine massacre, wholesale slaughter, sequence in the series where at least a dozen or more people are eviscerated at once (something the series had never done before). I couldn't help but compare this sequence to the mass slaughter sequence in Halloween Kills and... I gotta give it to Texas Chainsaw Massacre. They did it better and, I daresay, hold the title now for best kill sequence. Although... Hellraiser III is still a contender.

With the exception of just one, I have enjoyed all of the films in the series (and some I completely love). I was worried that this film was going to suck hard given how most classic franchises are treated these days. But this one nailed it!

Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10

Nude-O-Meter: 0 out of 10

The only bad part about this is that it was released on Netflix, and by that I mean the lack of a physical media release for this film. As someone who owns the entire franchise, I would love to own this on home video. Maybe they'll give it a legit physical release someday, in a boxset or something, but that will probably be years down the road. Time will tell.

Anyway, I enjoyed the hell out of this movie! And hopefully we will continue to receive quality sequels in the future.

For more of my twisted views on horror and other entries in the Texas Chainsaw series, check out the posts below

THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974)

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE PART II (1986)

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2003)

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING (2006)

HALLOWEEN (2018)

HALLOWEEN KILLS (2021)

TOP TEN MODERN HORROR MOVIE MANIACS

THE HORROR MOVIE MASTER LIST

Saturday, January 29, 2022

KEEPING THE BLOOD FLOWING ~ A BLOOD WORK UPDATE

A Blood Work Update...

Hello to all of my fellow Blood Workers! First off, let me thank you all for the kind support you've all shown Blood Work over these many years! It's hard to believe that in only two short years this space here will reach it's TENTH ANNIVERSARY! That's an insane thought... So, once again, from all of us here at Blood Work, a big thanks to all of you, whether you're just getting here or an eight year veteran!

As you've all probably noticed, it's been getting a little quiet here, exponentially as the months and years continue. Rest assured that the quiet only means that we are diligently working on future projects such as the recently published full length novel:

A big thank you to everyone who has supported this project of ours! Defacer was years in the making and ton of hard work! And if you haven't yet had the chance to get your hands on a digital copy of Defacer, just follow the link below! Every purchase helps keep Blood Work alive, helping fund future projects!

Follow this link to purchase Defacer

Speaking of future projects...

The writers here at Blood Work haven't stopped working, even after publishing Defacer! Here's a little sneak peak at what they're diligently working on...

Work is well underway on the sequel! The first draft is already finished and we've been hard at it editing and refining, trying to make this next book the best it can be. So, if it seems a little quiet here that's only because we're tirelessly working away. And the sequel to Defacer isn't the only project we have in the works either...

There's another all original project that has taken much of our time. This project is another full length novel focusing on one of our favorite subjects: NINJAS! If you've been frequenting Blood Work over the years then you well know that we here love ninjas! We've always wanted to tell a story about ninjas and samurai set in historical Japan. This novel does just that. The fine writers here at Blood Work have their hands full, but this, like Defacer, is a pure passion project that will hopefully see release in the next year or so! More on that later...

Back to Defacer; while the book is still only in digital format at the moment, we hope to have a print hardcopy available sometime this year. We're still patiently waiting for an official cover to use for the hardcopy. When that cover finally comes in expect a big announcement right here! Until then the digital version is readily available!

PURCHASE DEFACER HERE!

THE GENERAL STUFF (or "how we've been keeping our sanity")

Movies

It's important to temper work with pleasure and make time for the things that bring us joy, especially during the hard times in life. While we've been hard at work on our various projects, we need to refuel our creativity with things that inspire us. Movies, television, comics, books, video games, and more. We haven't seen a new movie since SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, which we still feel is the best chapter of the MCU since 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home. We are hoping to get out to the movie theaters again soon though, to see the new SCREAM film! Beyond these we've been watching old Christopher Lee horror films from the Severin Films box set; The EuroCrypt of Christopher Lee. Every film in the set was new to us and each one greatly anticipated! The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism perhaps shines brightest among the set!

Television

On the home entertainment front, we've been really losing ourselves in some fantastic animes! Always late to the party, we only recently started watching the anime FAIRY TAIL. More than 50 episodes into this 328 episode epic, we can confidently say that we're hooked! We're loving the main cast of characters; Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, and Happy! Such a fun show in the vein of Dragon Ball! Hopefully as the show continues, it will only get better and we'll completely fall head over heels for this show! That's the way it's looking so far!

Then we've also started watching another anime classic: CODE GEASS - LELOUCH OF THE REBELLION, the original series! I remember being told to watch this show ten years ago and am only now just getting to it. Better late than never, right? Again, I am really getting into this one as well! I have a strong fondness for GUNDAM WING, ESCAFLOWNE, EVANGELION, and other giant mech shows. Code Geass feels like a slightly more mature version of these and we're loving it! The character designs are by the group CLAMP who have also designed another anime we love; X 1999.

On top of that, we're going through the anime FOOD WARS: SHOKUGEKI NO SOMA! This is a show that has brought us much joy over the last year! Again, we discovered Food Wars rather late (albeit not as late as the previously mentioned shows), but have come to absolutely love this show! No hyperbole, we've watched this show through three times already and are currently going through it for a fourth time. This show is so well done and uplifts our spirits more than most shows have of late. We can't speak highly enough of this show, truly a new classic and top favorite!

We're even attempting to start the endless epic, ONE PIECE, as we've heard so many good things about it!

Reading Material

As far as comic books go, yes, we swore off current comic books and, for the most part, we're keeping fairly true to that proclamation... with a few exceptions. Peter David's Symbiote Spider-Man and Maestro mini series have been excellent and perhaps the best comics we've read in a long time. Death of Doctor Strange by Jed MacKay was pretty good despite neglecting that seminal Doctor Strange story by Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner where Dr. Strange is killed by Silver Dagger, battles and defeats Death herself, and resurrects with the Ankh of Life fused with his body (Doctor Strange #1 June 1974 thru #5 ), only one of the greatest Doctor Strange stories EVER! Silver Surfer Rebirth also looks promising. Other than this... current comics continue to disappoint us personally.

We're still very invested in comic books though. Back issues have become our main focus now (you know, I guess they always have been our main focus as every year I've been collecting I think I've purchased more back issues than current because... well, there's obviously more back issues in existence than current issues! So, I'll rephrase by saying our sole focus is on back issues now... with the occasional mini series here and there). The back issues we've been focusing on lately have been the 1968 volume of Sub-Mariner (which is a huge undertaking!). I've read most of this volume and it is excellent! The print run on these issues were low throughout its entire lifespan so tracking these issues down has been a quest for sure!

Then there's the Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu omnibuses that are slowly going out of print (not surprising really as Marvel seems to want to distance themselves from this book they deem "problematic" ). Shang-Chi has long been a favorite character and I had been meaning to pick these up for a while, but there are SIX BLOODY VOLUMES of this! I don't know about you, but purchasing six omnibuses is no small feat! So far I've collected four of the six, both volumes of The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu being the sole remaining volumes I need. It's been a joy rereading these issues, spies, espionage, badass action, and intrigue along with an amazing cast of characters!

In regards to reading in general, I finished two novels recently; Shinju by Laura Joh Rowland, a period piece mystery thriller set in 18th century Japan and the beginning of the Detective Sano Ichiro series. I enjoyed it and look forward to continuing with the series (these books have been and will hopefully continue to be great sources of information for our own period piece Japanese based novel!). In addition to that, we just finished reading the first book in the Forgotten Realms: Legend of Drizzt series: Homeland by R.A. Salvatore and have already begun reading the sequel; Exile. Again, I'm late to the party but glad I started this series as it's proving to be an excellent read!

Video Games

And lastly who can forget about one of our longtime favorite hobbies: video gaming! Lately we've been playing Shantae and the Seven Sirens and loving it! This is the first Shantae game we've ever played and let me say that this is a wonderful Metroidvania style game from top to bottom! The gameplay, the music, the characters, the graphics, all of it are absolutely terrific! It's a light-hearted and uplifting gaming experience that just makes you feel good. I'm looking forward to tracking down the other games in the Shantae series now! For a more challenging gaming experience we've been working our way through the higher difficulties of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon trying to unlock everything in the game. We absolutely love this game as it is essentially the spiritual successor to Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse for the NES! Another great, yet challenging, game!

For fighting games (because we can't live without this genre of gaming) we've been digging deep into King of Fighters XIV Ultimate Edition and Soul Calibur VI, both fantastic games in two of our longtime favorite franchises! We played a little bit of Dragon Ball FighterZ as well and that may be one of the best new fighting games released in a long time (it's Arc System Works, is it any wonder?)! I can't stress how important it is to support Arc System Works and their fighting games as they have truly reinvigorated and mastered the genre!

And that about brings you all up to speed with us!

As more things develop and more projects reach fruition, rest assured, you'll be the first to know, right here!

And as always

Keep the blood flowing!

Monday, December 20, 2021

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE: SPIDER-MAN - NO WAY HOME (2021)

MCU CHAPTER 32

Not too long ago I felt that Sony's approach to their Spider-Man films (Venom included) were outdated, somewhat stuck in the 2000's while Marvel Studios' films were forging ahead and paving the way for the future of the genre. When a deal was made between Sony and Marvel Studios, and Marvel Studios had a hand in crafting this latest Spider-Man trilogy, I thought that Marvel Studios had "saved" Spider-Man. I loved Homecoming and Far From Home, attributing their success more to Marvel Studios than to Sony.

Then Marvel Studios' 2019 slate came along and, while fine, began declining in quality. I'm in the minority here, but Captain Marvel was rather bland with some questionable story choices and muddying the continuity. And then Avengers: Endgame came along and, while sticking the landing (if only just barely), my opinion of it has only worsened with age. But then Far From Home came and was excellent through and through. My faith wasn't shaken in Marvel Studios, I just felt they had a bad year with the exception of Far From Home.

Phase 4 of the MCU began in earnest this year with WandaVision, Falcon & Winter Soldier, Loki, Black Widow, What If...?, Shang Chi, Eternals, and Hawkeye. The first two Disney + shows I did not enjoy and so I quit watching them (I haven't seen Loki, What If...?, nor Hawkeye and, quite frankly, I haven't heard much to convince me to watch them). I was tepid to the three feature films from Marvel Studios this year as well. Combined with their two films from 2019, my faith in them was shaken. And from everything I'm seeing from their plans, the future of Marvel Studios seems uncertain to me, approaching their content with caution rather than enthusiasm.

Weirdly, I went back and rewatched Venom, finding my original assessment of the film to be a little harsh. I actually really enjoyed Venom upon my second viewing. This last week I have been giving a lot of money to Sony it seems. I saw GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE and loved it! I blindly bought VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE and really enjoyed it too! The action scenes in particular were well done I thought.

And this last Friday I saw SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME. Given my feelings toward the MCU that I outlined above, I was understandably suspicious. After that first trailer for the film, I was worried that Doctor Strange would be turned into an ineffectual moron (which, the MCU has been doing to many of its characters of late). That, and the whole premise of No Way Home could've been instantly solved by the shapeshifting Talos of the Skrulls (who was present at the end of Far From Home). I liked the idea of bringing back the villains from the previous films, but I was worried the entire plot was going to be founded on a terrible idea. The writing in the MCU has been declining sharply as of late and I had all of Phase 4 as evidence to backup my trepidations.

Please don't mistake my ramblings as "hating" on the MCU. I've supported the MCU for well over ten years, enthusiastically and passionately (just check out the links below for my previous MCU reviews). I'm critical because I care a lot about this franchise, its characters, and the source material. If I become apathetic towards the MCU then that means I truly don't care anymore. Clearly I still care or I wouldn't be writing this. But from the trailers of No Way Home I was led to believe this decline in writing and general quality dip would continue here.

I WAS WRONG!

I loved Spider-Man: No Way Home!

My worries were put to rest (the trailers were misleading) and I loved the way everything was handled herein. Spider-Man has a quality trilogy at last! And this is far and away the best chapter of the MCU since Far From Home (and handled far better than Endgame i.e. no rats that save the day).

And here's the weird part; I think Sony may have been the reason why this movie landed as well as it did as opposed to Marvel Studios (something I never would've said or even fathomed a few years ago). Since 2019, I personally feel that the best parts of the MCU have been the films coproduced with Sony.

Without getting into specifics, I loved how they handled everything. The movie did a lot but it never felt frenetic nor scatterbrained, giving scenes time to breathe and powerful moments to linger. The quotient of bathos was low too, which was a relief and very appreciated. All of the actors from the different films arrive on the scene feeling nigh picture perfect from how we last saw them (some almost 20 years ago!) both in terms of appearance and personality (albeit with one exception, which was an improvement in my opinion).

And the filmmakers give you exactly what you want. There's no pointless subversion of expectations or needless deconstructions of characters. The characters act and feel like they should, they are put through ordeals that challenge them and change them, and it feels natural and in keeping with who these characters are. There are moments that pay off beats from films that have been dangling for nearly ten years or more, which for someone whose seen all of these past films when they came out originally, felt shockingly satisfying.

THE IRON BOY AND THE PROBLEM WITH THE MCU SPIDER-MAN

I've liked Spider-Man since I was a kid and always felt he was a good character, but Spidey has never been a favorite of mine personally. I know and recognize that he may be the greatest super-hero of all-time, but my heart has always belonged to other characters. I've enjoyed each one of the MCU's Spidey appearances, loving how well he was integrated into the MCU as a whole, demonstrating some of the best execution of MCU continuity. I liked how connected he was with Iron Man, Happy Hogan, Doctor Strange, and the others.

But remember, I'm not a big Spider-Man fan. I've heard criticisms laid against the MCU's (Tom Holland's) Spider-Man from legitimate Spider-Man aficionados, many of which despise what Marvel Studios were doing to the character. In a nutshell, the core of Spidey was wrong. Instead of the guilt of Uncle Ben hanging over him, he was a charmed boy who succeeded and often got what he wanted. He did not live by his creedo nor seem to struggle much. He had inherited the wealth and resources of Tony Stark and was a team player on the Avengers. All of these things, more or less, are not who Spider-Man is in the eyes of many. To many in the Spider-Man community, he was Iron Boy rather than Spider-Man.

I am not unsympathetic to this. I feel many of my favorite characters from the comics have been bastardized with the MCU incarnations to the point that they scarcely resemble the characters I loved from the comics. And perhaps the greatest achievement of No Way Home is that, by the end, they fix Spider-Man. By that I mean Peter Parker ends the film in a place that more closely resembles a comics accurate Spider-Man (or Spider-Man as he should be).

No Way Home still functions and feels similar to Homecoming and Far From Home, yet pays homage to the Spider-Man films that came before them and the legacy that began in 2002 with Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film all the while moving Tom Holland's Spider-Man forward with genuine character growth. By the end of this film, Tom Holland feels more like Spider-Man than he ever has before. The journey that the MCU's Spider-Man has undertaken may have been backwards and, at times, anathema to how the character should be. But at the time of its release, such an approach felt necessary to a degree. At last though he is finally where he should be (if only they'd "fix" all of my favorite heroes in the MCU too. I highly doubt it).

All in all, the more you know about the Sony Spider-Man movie legacy the more No Way Home gives back to you.

Overall Ranking: 9 out of 10

I loved it. The best chapter of Phase 4 with a bullet and easily among the top five best MCU films. Sony has been batting a thousand of late in my opinion. I hope they can keep this going with Morbius and Across the Spider-Verse (especially Morbius because, unlike Spidey, I actually do love Morbius).

I can't wait for Morbius in a month! And I'm cautious and a bit nervous about Doctor Strange 2 (worried Marvel Studios will continue down their current path and ruin another of my favorite characters in the name of character deconstruction and the subversion of expectations). Even so, Doctor Strange 2 is the only slated film from Marvel Studios that I'm most excited for coming up. Not to be pessimistic but I honestly feel Doctor Strange 2 is going to be straw that breaks my back and be where I get off of the MCU train... to paraphrase what MJ keeps saying in No Way Home, "If you expect disappointment then you'll never be disappointed."

Fingers crossed that Marvel Studios nails Doctor Strange 2 and that Sony continues their hot-streak with Morbius!

And for more of my thoughts on comic book films, Sony super hero films, and the MCU, check out the posts linked below!

And always leave a comment below and let's discuss!

THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

The Best and Worst list of Phase 1

The Best and Worst list of Phase 2

The Best and Worst list of Phase 3

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Ant-Man (2015)

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Doctor Strange (2016)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Black Panther (2018)

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

Captain Marvel (2019)

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

WandaVision (2021)

Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)

Black Widow (2021)

Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

Eternals (2021)

Agents of SHIELD Seasons One thru Five (2013-2018)

Daredevil Season One (2015)

Daredevil Season Two (2016)

Daredevil Season Three (2018)

Jessica Jones Season One (2015)

Jessica Jones Season Two (2018)
Luke Cage Season One (2016)

Luke Cage Season Two (2018)

Iron Fist Season One (2017)

Iron Fist Season Two (2018)

Defenders Season One (2017)

Punisher Season One (2017)

Inhumans (2017)

Fox-Marvel, Sony-Marvel, and other stuff too!

X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014)

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Venom (2018)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (2014)

Snowpiercer (2014)

Atomic Blonde (2017)

Hellboy (2019)

THE DC EXTENDED UNIVERSE (DCEU)

Man of Steel (2013)

Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)

Suicide Squad (2016)

Wonder Woman (2017)

Justice League (2017)

Aquaman (2018)

Shazam! (2019)

The Joker (2019)

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Justice League ~ The Snyder Cut (2021)

Sunday, November 28, 2021

DEFACER ~ An Original Novel from Blood Work

An Original Novel from Blood Work

Blood Work, since its very first post, has been a space dedicated to the appreciation and critique of film, comic books, video games, and more (basically where we can discuss all of the things we love). While we don't always gush over everything, we're always honest and sincere. This space has always meant to be a place for an honest and true celebration of the things we love. This space only exists because we want it to, born of the love and enthusiasm we have for these movies, video games, comics, and more.

For some time now, we here at Blood Work have been shaping and crafting an original story of our own. With the same spirit that this space was created, DEFACER was born out of our love for the horror genre. While we love to provide commentary and appreciation for the mediums we enjoy, we have always longed to contribute to these worlds and stories. Just as with this blog, the intention behind this was to be honest and sincere in our efforts, no agendas or disingenuous motives, but no grandiose plans or world-changing intentions either.

Briefly, here's what you can expect to get in DEFACER:

"Jeremy's life wasn't always drenched in blood and littered with corpses. He led a quiet mundane life until becoming possessed by the Defacer; a dark entity with a desire to kill. When night comes the Defacer takes over, leaving him no choice but to obey. And someone dies. Every day since, he has been haunted by vengeful spirits and pursued by clawed shadowy creatures.

Jeremy's only wish is for the killing to stop, for the Defacer to leave, and for an end to the nightmare. As his hope and sanity slip further away, three people enter his life that could change everything. One of them could save him while another could bring an end to his suffering. And the third could unleash far worse horrors upon him.

As the body count rises and the creatures in the dark slither closer, a new terrifying threat looms over him. Jeremy's fate lies with these three strangers. Which of them will lead him to salvation? And which will lead him to damnation?"

Follow this link to purchase Defacer

Defacer is meant to be pure escapist entertainment. It is meant to be a love letter to the horror genre, yet infused with our passion for comic books, super heroes, video games, movies, and music. It is an amalgamation of everything we hold dear.

Defacer is an original story of our own design with the hope and desire to convey our love and passion for these mediums to the reader. And, with any luck, generate the same feelings of love and enthusiasm for the story and characters within from the readers. If Defacer can do that or, at the very least, provide a few hours of escape from someone's daily grind then it will have served its purpose.

A little history on the evolution of Defacer:

Defacer has been a long time in coming. When pen was first set to paper, and the ideas were beginning to take shape, dates back to the fall of 2009 and first shared with others in 2010. The first iteration was a rough prose format written "20th Century" style on a physical piece of paper. The title and moniker "Defacer" was there from the very beginning. The original prose piece has only ever been seen by we here at Blood Work.

At the time of the idea's inception, there was a longing to create comic books. Gears were switched from prose to a comic book script format. The very first iteration to be shown to people outside of Blood Work was in this comic book script style. With firm determination to be a comic book writer (even though a graphic artist we are NOT), we set a monthly schedule for ourselves, producing a fully scripted serialized story each month set in the world of Defacer. This was in an attempt to train ourselves under the conditions with which a writer in the comic book medium would likely work under. We even practiced writing two separate ongoing series simultaneously, like many writers in comics do (some writers produce as many as four titles a month!).

We produced two years worth (24 issues) of both titles before realizing no company would hire us to write comics without an artist or prior publishing credits. So we returned to the prose format in which those first ideas for Defacer were transcribed with the thought that, in prose, only a writer is needed and not dependent on an artist. Rather than start at the beginning again, we decided to continue chronicling the story of Defacer in this format, meaning that chapters 25, 26, 27, and 28 were novella sized. We did this because we didn't want to stop moving the story forward. We were so enthralled with the story we were telling that we didn't want to stop.

As we neared the end we realized that there was no way we could properly present this story without going back and rewriting those first 24 issues in prose format. So, after a few years of building the story of Defacer, the characters, the arcs, and the plot, we at last went back to the beginning to adapt the comic book scripts into novels. Having already written much of the story already, knowing the greater arc and endgame, getting feedback from the few readers we had, even knowing what worked and what didn't, the adaptation process began in earnest.

Naturally, the story and characters changed and evolved in various ways, but the intention and goal remained. Many years and many drafts later, Defacer was at last in a place where I felt it was ready to be shown to the world.

In today's world there are many avenues to distribute and publish one's work. Self-publishing on Amazon.com is very easy and user friendly. With a logo and cover in place, and a burning desire to release Defacer into the wild, to grow or die, we pulled the trigger and finally published it.

This leads us to the hear and now. Published only as an eBook at the moment, Defacer is available for purchase at the price of $2.99 or FREE if you have subscribed to Kindle Unlimited. Once we receive a bigger cover with not only the front, but the spine and back as well, we'll move to self-publishing a physical copy (a prospect that excites us beyond words). Until then, at the very least, the digital version will have to suffice.

Whether something comes of Defacer or not, it is at least out there for one or more readers to stumble across. And who knows what the future may bring. We're keeping our hopes modest and, for now, are keeping our noses hard at work on the next story.

Defacer was a story that we HAD to tell. We here at Blood Work love this story and these characters. And we hope you will too.

To everyone who takes a chance with this story, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. And we hope you stick with us as we have a few more stories to tell!

Follow this link to purchase Defacer

Thank you so very much for your kindness and support!

We'll see you soon!

Thursday, November 11, 2021

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE: ETERNALS (2021)

MCU CHAPTER 30

I barely made it through writing the SHANG CHI review (my feelings have gotten worse towards that film, if you can believe that. Ask yourself, is Shang Chi actually heroic? Think about it). I just don't have the enthusiasm for the Marvel Cinematic Universe anymore. There are projects that still pique my curiosity here and there, but my faith and trust in the MCU has been shaken and it hasn't been repaired yet. Although, the second MORBIUS trailer has dropped (Sony Marvel as opposed to Disney Marvel) and it looks GREAT!

ETERNALS was, and remains I think, Marvel's biggest question mark. The trailers did no favors for this film, nor the marketing or promotion. If you thought Marvel Studios' films were designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator, Eternals achieves a new height by literally trying to appeal to absolutely everyone the world over (except actual comic book fans). Yet, in doing so, they've made a film for everyone and no one.

I'm gonna keep this review short (as short as I can) because I just don't have the drive for the MCU like I used to. SPOILERS AHEAD so beware.

THE PLOT

The Deviants, long thought extinct, have returned, prompting the Eternals to come out of hiding. Battles rage across the globe as Eternals are being targeted and killed by the Deviants. Meanwhile, a cryptic message from the Celestial, Arishim, warns the Eternals that their mission on Earth is nearing its end. Will the Eternals survive against the Deviants long enough to see the end of their mission? And what is the end of their mission exactly?

INITIAL REACTIONS

You know what? I actually enjoyed this movie! Specifically, I like how it deviates from the typical MCU feel and formula. I liked the cosmic elements and grand scope of the film. I feel this was reactionary though as I am so sick and tired of the standard MCU formula. That, and I haven't really enjoyed anything from Marvel Studios since ANT-MAN AND THE WASP (counting Spider-Man: No Way Home as a Sony Marvel film, so separate). I think I needed to know that something "different" was possible and seeing that was a sigh of relief.

As a whole the film tries to do way too much, so much that it can't really find its footing. The story is constantly jumping through the ages of time but only for a little bit. It feels like a six episode television series without the benefits of a six episode series, that being six hours of runtime to properly explore the time periods, places, ideas, and characters. There's just too much going on and not enough time dedicated to anything here. In this regard, it feels like a typical DC movie, not a Marvel movie (which may account for the different flavor this movie presents, but probably not in the way Marvel Studios had intended). As a result, nothing really stands out, either good or bad, because we just didn't get enough time with anything.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

However, there is one MAJOR issue I have with this film: IKARIS. Okay, I'm not the biggest Eternals comic book fan, but I do have some knowledge of them from the comics. Now, if there was one Eternal that stood out from the rest and was the "main" Eternal, it is Ikaris. Ikaris is the anchor and symbol of the Eternals, their greatest champion and stalwart hero. This movie turns him into a familicidal zealot. Luckily, I was forewarned of this ahead of time, otherwise I would've walked out of the theater saying, 'EFF THIS MOVIE!" It is still my most hated aspect of the film, made all the worse as it is completely unnecessary as the film already had a villain (which, in typical MCU fashion, they wasted and did nothing with). It is a major disservice to Jack Kirby's work and the comics, displaying yet again what Marvel Studios thinks of the comics and the fans.

I enjoyed both post-credits scenes immensely! Never did I ever think that I would see PIP THE TROLL in a movie, looking and acting comic accurate to perfection! Having Pip introduce STARFOX a.k.a. EROS (Thanos' brother) was pretty amazing. And I actually thought Harry Styles looked pretty good as Starfox as well. Then, during the second post-credits stinger, seeing Dane Whitman receive the Ebony Blade and then hearing the voice of the vampire hunter, BLADE, was pretty amazing too. These two stingers helped ease my feelings toward the pointless Ikaris turnabout and help me leave the theater feeling positive.

THE VERDICT

While I liked the movie, I think those feelings stem from the film feeling different than the rest, not necessarily because it was a good movie. I'm interested in watching this movie again, although this is another MCU film that I feel would strongly benefit from a longer "SNYDER CUT" style extended edition. I feel that way about the Thor films and a few of the Avengers films as well. I will say that I enjoyed this film far more than Shang Chi and Black Widow (admittedly not high bars to surpass), but this movie is far from the solid films of the MCU's distant past.

Eternals' concept is far more ambitious than what could be achieved in a single film under three hours. Eternals attempts to tell a Lord of the Rings sized epic, and all three LOTR films at that, in a single two and a half hour long film. Remember when the MCU used to take six films to introduce six characters? Well this film tries to introduce twelve characters in one movie! And we thought Marvel knew better...

Overall Ranking: 6 out of 10

It's not the worst of the MCU films, but it's close. That being said, it is refreshing to see a movie in the MCU break the formula. And for someone who is so sick of the "Formula," this alone was worth it. But with how Ikaris was portrayed, it makes me fear for what Marvel Studios will do with Adam Warlock and other favorites from the comics. Again, my faith in the MCU remains, as Gamora put it, "FAITHLESS."