Sober Horror Fan

Day 14 of Sobriety.   When I heard that a new Omen movie was coming out, my first reaction was just to sigh and mentally relegate it to the ever-growing garbage heap of unnecessary and unwanted remakes and reboots, where it could fester together with the recent Halloween and Exorcist debacles. No way was I going to see it—ignoring is always the best option with these things. But then, gods forgive me, I started paying attention to the reviews, which were almost all positive. So, I paid my money, bought my popcorn, and sat in the theater with about ten other mugs—mostly very young people—on a rainy Monday night. I went in optimistic, and it had me at first. The opening scene was of a dialogue between two priests, played by The Witch star Ralph Ineson and his Game of Thrones co-star Charles Dance—two actors that I like. It was an effectively shot opening punch that was also a homage to the original 1976 film. Then the action shifted to beautifully shot 1971 Rome, accompan...

Day 31 of Sobriety.   Sister Death is a prequel to Spanish director Paco Plaza’s 2017 film about haunting and possession Verónica , which I have seen, but only very vaguely remember. The nun, named Narcisa, around whom this film revolves features in Verónica as an elderly blind nun whose own experience of the supernatural resulted in her intentionally blinding herself. This film covers that back-story. The film begins in 1949, with Narcisa arriving at a convent, which is also an orphanage and school for girls orphaned in the second world war. Narcisa has had visions of the Virgin Mary since she was a child, and begins having supernatural experiences of a more sinister nature soon after arriving at the convent, and she learns from the young girls in her charge that the place is haunted.   The first three-quarters of the film is a slow-burn build-up of Narcisa’s unsettling experiences, and it's quite effective. Nothing really new, but well enough executed, with some...

Day 21 of Sobriety. The last time I saw Alan Parker’s Angel Heart was as a teenager back in the 80s, shortly after it came out. I enjoyed it a lot back then, and it has been on my subconscious “must rewatch” list for a while now. Fortuitously, a friend’s son was kind enough to lend me his blu-ray of the movie while I was visiting their house a few days ago. As an aside, that visit to my friend’s house was the first time have really been out socializing since I stopped drinking. There were a few people there and most others were having a few beers or whatnot. Drinking normally—not to excess or getting intoxicated. I was sticking to my alcohol-free lager. I enjoyed myself, but I can’t say it was a breeze, exactly, and thoughts of caving in and having drink crossed my mind several times, but it was more like, “Imagine if I did that...” rather than a real craving, so that, at least, is encouraging.   I remember also being encouraged when my friend’s son came home part wa...

"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...