Horror Block Unboxing and Review for April 2015

I do so love doing these super-late unboxing-and-review posts, but until I can convince all of the subscription box companies to ship around my work schedule, this is what we’ve got to deal with.

Today it’s the Horror Block for April 2015, and it wasn’t half bad if I do say so myself. Why not check out the unboxing video?

Not too shabby, right? Let’s go to the breakdown:

I <<Whatever>> Evil shirt: As I’ve mentioned, the hubby and I haven’t been terribly impressed with lots of the Horror Block t-shirts, but this one isn’t too bad. Evil Dead is one of my hubby’s favorite horror movie series, so you can’t really go wrong. Assigning this shirt my standard value of $15.

“Dr Peter Venkman” Funko Pop: Ya’ll know I loves me my Funko Pops, and though I do already have a Venkman Pop, I will happily accept this one as part of my Horror Block since it’s technically different from the one I have. The price of Funkos can be pretty random depending on where you’re getting them and how rare they are, but as this is a common Pops I’m going to assign it the value that it usually costs me to buy Pops when they show up at the local shops: approximately $13

“Killer Shots” Skeleton shot glasses: These are actually super-cute, and it’s always nice to get something in these boxes that is useful. That’s not to say that I use shot glasses on a day-to-day basis, but it’ll be fun to make some bright white shots in these glasses when we have friends around. Two thumbs up, Horror Block. You can get a four-pack of these little guys for about $14, so I’m calling to the 2-pack worth $7.

“Bates Motel” mug: Sometimes getting mugs in these boxes is cool, but I’m not terribly impressed with this one. It’s pretty plain, and actually kinda looks like something someone would make on CafePress using a stock image. Couple that with the fact that we just have so many mugs already, and I’m not horribly happy with this item. I half-heartedly allow it a standard mug value of about $10.

“Overlook Motel” coasters: I’ll admit it…these are kinda funny. It would be interesting to just throw them down during a party and see if anyone realizes what the pattern is that’s holding their beer. But they’re not exactly a game-changing addition to the box. Just a junky little thing that’s kind of amusing. I can’t find these online, so I’m estimating based on the fact that they’re paper coasters, and come in cheap plastic packaging. Let’s say…$3.

Rue Morgue magazine: Finally, as always, the magazine that I never read. Maybe someday when I’m bored I’ll actually take a look through some of these magazines, but for now I personally see them as an item that could be something a lot cooler for the same value. These go for $10 a piece.

Total approximate value of box: $58
Total cost to me: $38

So a couple of things… One, the value wasn’t too shabby. There have been a couple on the low end the past few months, so it’s nice to see that number work its way back up a bit. Second, though I technically don’t much care for the last three items in the box, the first three make up for it. Every box with a Funko is an almost instant win for me, and the shot glasses might not be a high value but they’re still pretty awesome. Couple that with a t-shirt that might actually get worn around here, and I’m happy.

Unfortunately, when you take those three items that I like and combine their values, you’re hardly getting what I paid for the box, which is a big downer and the main reason that I’m going to be cancelling Horror Block. I’ll be getting the box for May (probably sometime after I’ve gone out West), but that will be the last one because I just can’t justify the amount of money I’m spending for the number of cool items I actually end up getting.

Impress me in May, Horror Block. It’s your last shot.

What did you think? Did you receive a Horror Block for April 2015? What was your favorite item? Least favorite? Do you feel the cost is worth it? Please share!

Macabre Movies

It doesn’t always work out so well (especially when I’m working out West), but my husband and I have a bit of a Halloween tradition. We try – to the best of our ability – to watch a horror movie every night for the entire month of October. Sometimes it can be very difficult to work one in at the end of a busy day, but it’s never difficult to find a movie to watch, because we own well over 400 of them.

What’s REALLY scary is that this is an old picture, and we’ve had six years since to add to it.

Yes, we’ve seen our share of scary movies, so today I’m going to share a few of my favorites.

Depending on your personal disposition you might not think of the original Evil Dead as being a particularly scary movie, especially since it’s a little older and doesn’t exactly scream “realism!” But it’s one of my favorites because once you know the story behind it’s production you realize that the cost and crew did an amazing job with very limited resources. Evil Dead tells the story of a group of young people who drive out into an old cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release an ancient evil that will never let them go. All of the special effects are done the old fashioned (*cough*fun*cough*) way, and the way that the “evil” is portrayed is both extremely simplistic and totally creepy. It may not scare you half to death, but if you’re a fan of horror movies and you haven’t seen this one, you really should.

Come on…doesn’t that just look like something you gotta watch?

I’m a big believer that Americans should pretty much stay away from the impulse to redo Asian horror films, and the reason is that Asians are way better at the genre (when they’re actually, genuinely trying to be scary). An excellent example of this is a spine-tingling ghost story called Shutter. It’s the tale of a photographer and his girlfriend who get into a car accident and thereafter begin seeing strange shadows and faces in all their photographs. But of course, it doesn’t end there. It is creepy as hell, and there were more than a few moments that made me literally yelp out loud. It’s the kind of movie that, once it’s over, you’re scared to get out of bed because you’re imagining all the things that are going to reach out and grab your feet. But if you’re going to watch, make sure you’re looking for the 2004 original, because the 2008 American remake does not do justice to the ghostly eerieness.

Sh*t like this never ends well.

Okay, I have to admit right off the bat that this one isn’t exactly scary, but I have to mention it in this post because it’s been one of my favorites since I was about ten years old. Hocus Pocus tells the story of three evil witches who are accidentally brought back to life by an idiotic teenage boy in an attempt to impress a girl. The witches have been brought into the future by the spell and must drink the life from a child before sunrise in order to stay alive and young. Honestly, it’s more of a comedy than a horror, but it has crazy evil witches, a zombie, and a talking cat, and that is plenty enough for me. I watched this movie dozens of times as a kid and continue to watch it every Halloween as an adult. It’s a great one to share as a family!

No, really, they’re evil…honest.

Now if you want something that’s Halloween-y and can give you a couple of chills, I definitely suggest Trick ‘r Treat. This film is a kind of anthology that moves from story to story as it reveals the Halloween hyjinx of a variety of characters. Each of the stories is delightfully creepy, and the movie has one of the straight-up freakiest little characters of all time. ‘Sam’ looks like a trick-or-treater with a dirty sac over his head as a mask…but oh, he is so much more. I’m not that easily frightened these days, but I’d be lying if I said that I’d never had a creepy dream or two about Sam. Want to experience the wiggins (or, alternatively, let me know that I’m a total wuss)? Check it out! It’s a great Halloween flick to watch during the holiday.

Tell me you wouldn’t run the other way if you saw that coming up the street.

Do you enjoy super-scary movies, or do you prefer the tamer ones? What are your favorite horror movies? Have you ever had a horror scare you so badly that you couldn’t sleep afterward, and how old were you when that happened? 😉 Please share!