Playtime Is Over!

NOTE: Please be advised this post contains partial nudity.

Here at TrueHorror.net we make no secret about our love for Chucky and the Child's Play films. The release of last years "Curse of Chucky" played a huge part in the successful relaunch of this site. We have Good Guy doll inspired prints and stickers in our webstore, and our two most popular photo sets to date are both Good Guy Doll related. When debating what new content to come up with next for the site, it dawned on me that Chucky himself has not made an appearance in one of our featured sets.  So I decided I wanted to change that, and found a way to do so rather quickly when I came across some photos from years ago that were never used for anything. I decided to re-edit them and shoot some additional ones to compliment the existing material.

"A True Classic Never Goes Out Of Style!"

Chucky admires his handiwork.

Up Close and Personal with Charles Lee Ray

First off I have to thank an old buddy of mine Kal Michael who helped a great deal with shooting a few of these photos, they were done when I was just getting into photography, he had all the good equipment and was kind enough to collaborate with me on these back in the day so that they would turn out well. Also have to extend thanks to the model Heidi who was actually visiting all the way from Norway and was a great sport when it came to being one of Chucky's victims. These are the only photos I have done that display some sort of nudity, normally I don't feel the need to include nudity in photos when its not part of the story telling I am trying to achieve through the images. However in this instance I feel it fits well, and if I recall correctly she wanted to do her dead scenes nude due to the fact that she said thats how she actually sleeps and since the idea of the photos was Chucky sneaking into her room in the middle of the night and murdering her, it made sense to her to do it like that. So that is what we did.

Chuckys Latest Victim

On the editing front I went for a nighttime look with a slight bluish hue which is prevalent in the Bride of Chucky film, as I wanted it to seem like the lights were off and maybe just ambient light from outside is lighting the room, I think I achieved it well enough to the point where it gives that vibe yet the subjects are still visible.

I feel in these photos Chucky  looks particularly scary and menacing, which really made these photos a new favorite of mine once I edited them accordingly. After doing the previous Good Guy Doll shoots with Holly and Krystal, that were much more lighthearted, sexy and fun, it was a nice change of pace to be able to showcase Chucky in his true form within a photoset that was much more grim in nature. I hope you all enjoy this look at the other side of everyone's favorite Good Guy.

Chucky In All His Glory

Alternate Bonus Color version

Alternate version. 

Review: GODZILLA

GODZILLA (2014)

Bring up the name Godzilla to anyone and you will undoubtedly get a wide array of reactions and responses. Some will speak fondly of childhood memories of Saturdays spent watching the giant monster slug it out with other giant monsters, others will dismiss it as nothing more than a cheesy man in a rubber suit with badly dubbed acting, and there are even a small unfortunate bunch who sadly associate the big G with the atrocious farce of a film vomited out onto the public in 1998 which soiled his good name for years. Regardless of ones opinion on Godzilla and his films, the fact remains everyone knows who Godzilla is and that in itself is a testament to the character.

Before I review the film, I need to explain which group I fall into and how I got there. Myself? I fall into the camp of big time Godzilla fan. I can’t sit here and say I have seen every single Godzilla movie, especially the newer ones, but I definitely have had my fair share of vhs tapes full of his classic films (Godzilla vs Hedorah aka the Smog Monster) while growing up. I can name the majority of his classic kaiju rivals (Gigan was always my favorite) and I had plenty of Godzilla toys and merchandise too. The point I’m trying to make here is that Godzilla matters to me. We all hold things from our childhoods that were special to us close to the heart and the King of the Monsters is still one of those things for me. From my earliest memories of watching them with my big brother, it was a way we could connect and something we always shared a bond about. I always looked up to my brother and a lot of his interests and fandom’s informed my own. To this day about half of my favorite fictional works and characters were introduced to me by him, the other half of them certainly discovered through my fathers introductions, he was also a big Godzilla fan and encouraged my interest by making sure I knew whenever they would be showing one of his films on tv and recording it so I could watch it over and over again. 

I remember being taken BOTH Forbidden Planet stores in Manhattan (when they had two different locations) throughout my youth and marveling at all the Toho (the company that created and owns Godzilla and all related characters) figures and was always extra happy when I was lucky enough to take one home. I especially remember my brother had this one particular really awesome figure of Godzilla that I was always jealous of and I eventually got one of my own, it wasn’t AS good or large as his, but it was still from the same company and still one of the more top notch versions out. Sadly as of today I have no clue what happened to that figure, it must have been lost or misplaced in one of my moves throughout my life. Regardless I still remember it fondly and will always remember what it meant to me and what Godzilla means to me. While I love watching the big green lizard destroy cities while fighting other giant monsters, and that’s a major part of his appeal, the real value of Godzilla for me, is the connection it provides me to my brother and my father, a shared appreciation for a fictional character that created so many fond and lasting memories. This brings us now to the latest Godzilla film. Would it honor the character and those fond memories as well as validate a fandom to the masses that still have a bad taste in there mouth from the 1998 fraud masquerading as our hero? The answer is an emphatic yes.

From the moment this film was announced all Godzilla fans hoped for was a film that at the very least gave us a faithful interpretation of the character. Hollywood is littered with the bastardized corpses of our childhood icons. From Transformers to G.I. Joe to the likes of Ghost Rider and numerous other comic and cartoon inspired films, plenty have missed the mark and arrogantly omitted the heart and soul that made those properties work in the first place. So most feared it could happen to Godzilla for a second time and bury and hopes of ever seeing him done full justice on a large scale by a U.S. studio ever again. 

The announcement of “Monsters” (2010) director Gareth Evans was an interesting one yet still didn’t do much to settle any nerves about the film. The Casting news of Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad fame was an eye raiser and little by little it seemed like maybe this could hopefully have potential. Then the marketing campaign started to hit, there was a superb test footage teaser released that most people didn’t get to see, I was lucky enough to see it and immediately was blown away. It didn’t feature much if any footage from the actual film, but it definitely set the tone for something extremely serious, which is how most fans want there beloved properties handled. After that we received what I consider one of the best official teaser trailers I’ve ever seen. Set to Gyorgy Ligeti’s haunting “Requiem” composition made famous in Stanley Kubrick’s “2001 a Space Odyssey “ we are treated to a horrific vision of an apocalyptic landscape where San Francisco once stood and Godzilla is only seen in quick glimpses obscured by smoke and debris and its absolutely terrifying. After seeing this I was all in and Godzilla quickly became my most anticipated film of the year.

So last night while in an Imax theater filled to capacity with hopeful fans,as the lights dimmed and the newest Godzilla chapter began to unfold, something incredible happened. Little by little this film began to live up to the hype; everything on screen was being handled with care and taken seriously. Bryan Cranston’s excellent performance draws you in and sets the stage for what’s soon to come. The human side of the story as in all Godzilla films before it is necessary and serves the film well enough. As you have seen in the trailers it’s a very military centric plot and that works just fine. When your films star doesn’t speak, it is important that the cast convey the severity of the situation and provide insight into what is happening and its filled with enough likable characters and solid actors so that it isn’t tiresome and you aren’t simply waiting for Godzilla to show up. 

The film unfolds like any great monster film, slowly. Just as in the classics such as Jaws and Alien, we have to earn our first full look at the monster and at the moment we get our first full glimpse of Godzilla, the crowd erupted into applause, myself included. I’m not talking about a few people clapping here and there or some awkward slow clap, I am talking about full blown cheering and applause. Godzilla was back; OUR Godzilla was back and from that moment on, everyone was hooked. The FX featured in the film are astounding and bring him and the carnage that follows him to life like never before. The trailers and marketing campaign were excellent in that believe me when I say, you haven’t seen anything yet! 

There would be several more instances of the crowd cheering and clapping for what was transpiring on screen and it was during these moments that I realized it had been a while since I had felt the true power of film so strongly. Those moments are what going to the movies is all about, to escape and not bicker or nit pick the little things or go into a film ready to not like it. It’s about investing yourself in the story just as you would a good book and taking the ride. I had recently watched Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, both featuring characters I love (especially Spider-Man) both which gave me plenty of moments of excitement and chills, however neither filled me with the sense of pride and enjoyment that seeing a character I have cared about for most of my life, make a triumphant return to the masses and showing everyone why he is and always will be the King of the Monsters.

I realize this review doesn’t really give you much to go on as far as plot, etc. But I have never been one to go into detail when reviewing a film, as spoiling things is not in my nature. I will say that the first thing I did when I got out of the theater was call my brother and then my dad and simply told them “They got it right!” which is the highest compliment one can give a film based on something that has meant so much to them and still does. All Hail the King.

NOTE: I highly recommend this film and cannot stress enough how important it is that you see it in Imax 3D. This is exactly the type of film that Imax was made for and to truly witness the size and scope it’s the only way I would recommend seeing it.

Get Lost In Silent Hill w/ Mirkala

Throughout the years, Silent Hill has been one of my favorite horror franchises. Since the moment I played the first game, I was hooked. I loved the overall horror experience the games provided. With every sequel that followed I became more and more obsessed with every aspect of the games, from the design aesthetic to the music. The movies are a bit of a mixed bag-- the first one does a solid job capturing the look and feel of the games while treating the material with respect, but never manages to fully capture that feeling of isolation and dread that is so important to the games. The second film is a complete mess and is full of wasted potential by bastardizing the 3rd games story (my personal favorite).

For all my interest and fandom of the Silent Hill lore, I never got around to doing any Silent Hill themed projects. This shoot concept went through many stages of planning and different iterations until it got where it now stands. The main concept of the shoot revolves around the poster for the Silent Hill Lakeside Amusement Park created by myself and an illustrator buddy of mine Cole Roberts (check his instagram account @lifeofcole to check his other fantastic work). The poster features the fictional amusement parks genuinely creepy mascot “Robbie the Rabbit” in a blood splattered, deteriorated advertisement which I had professionally printed for use in this shoot. I knew I wanted to plaster the posters on a wall and make it appear as if this shoot was taking place IN Silent Hill itself. After various concepts, I settled in on the idea of the model acting as if she was lost in Silent Hill. 

Mirkala was up for the task of playing the tortured soul trapped in the haunted town. She was a joy to work with and did a great job emoting on all levels. It’s always great when the model believes in the project and gives her all, and Mirkala did that from the very start. These initial photos of her sitting against the wall seemingly giving up on trying to find her way turned out exactly as I envisioned it, which was a great overall sign for the shoot. We were able to take advantage of our location and shoot a completely different scene that expanded on the concept of being lost in Silent Hill. The interior location of the shoot was a perfect setup to what I’ll refer to as the “exploration/revelation shots” where we were able to recreate the moody dark hallways that are so prevalent in the game. Special thanks to Mirkala’s good friend, Karla, for playing the part of one of Silent Hill's infamous nurses. Because of her we created a shot I have wanted to do for a long time. 

While the shoot concept started out different in concept and went through a few variations before landing on the final concept, I am thrilled with the outcome. The exterior shot with the poster covered walls did pose a dilemma as far as being faithful to the source material and made me question adding a layer of fog that the game is famous for or to keep it clear to better see the photo. In the end, I think we struck a good balance with the two pulled back shots having the fog whereas the close up benefits greatly from removing the fog layer and keeping the contrast and shadows to highlight her frightened expression. 

We put in a lot of time, effort, and sweat into shoot and hope it shows in the final product. Enjoy!

As an added bonus I've included a free downloadable mix of choice tracks compiled from the various Silent Hill soundtracks. Just click the link below to download and listen!

Download the Silent Hill Mix