Sober Horror Fan

 Day 1 of Sobriety. This TV movie had been on my radar for a long time. Largely because I am a bit of a fan of Nigel Kneale, who wrote the screenplay (adapted from a novel by Susan Hill).  Kneale is probably best know to horror fans as the man who created Prof. Bernard Quatermass, for writing the screenplays for several excellent Hammer films, and also for writing the screenplay for Halloween III . Those who have taken a deeper dive may also be familiar with his very strange short-lived "animal-horror"-themed TV series Beasts and his witchy folk horror TV Play for Today Murrain . I was prompted to shell out for the blu-ray of The Woman in Black after hearing it discussed on the excellent Discover the Horror podcast. The film was originally broadcast on British TV on Christmas Eve 1989, and, as one of the Discover the Horror presenters rightly pointed out, it can, to a large extent, be positioned as part of a UK tradition of showing ghost stories on TV around Christ...

Day -1 of Sobriety (that's minus one!). So I drank eight beers while watching Leprechaun , and It was right after that, while still drunk and filled with remorse as usual, that I decided (yet again) that I really had to end my habitual boozing, and I started thinking about creating this Sober Horror Fan blog. So this is really a kind of "prelude to Sober Horror Fan." I'm not saying the movie itself was in any way significant in that respect, because god knows—I've sworn to myself that I'd never drink again, oh, about 5000 times before. But in a way though, Leprechaun was a fitting send off  to my days of being the "Drunk Horror Fan." Why? (1) Well, because it is a classic example of a dumb "watch while getting buzzed" horror movie, and (2) Ironically, I probably would have enjoyed it much more if I was sober. I at least would have been able to more clearly assess and understand the inanity that I was watching. I will spare yo...

"The look of horror on his daughter's face was enough to stop his heart. The drink had beaten him at last, taken all that was good from him." "He was the very image of a broken man—with only a lifetime of self-pity and recriminations to look forward to." From Eeny Meeny by M. J. Arlidge So, why "Sober Horror Fan?" I have a drinking problem. The main problem being that I like it too much. In fact, I love it. I won't go into too much detail, but suffice to say if left unchecked I will easily (and frequently) drift into the habit of drinking alcohol every day, and a lot too. Drinking, in fact, until I am thoroughly drunk. I have been concerned about this problem for well over a decade now, maybe even more than 15 years. And while I worry and fret, I have been unable to stop, or even significantly reduce, my excessive drinking—numerous promises and proclamations to myself, and just as many false starts on plans and rules for moderation or...