Phantoms by Dean Koontz

Review of Phantoms by Dean Koontz

     Not all of Dean Koontz's books are of the horror genre.  But most of his books have a monster feel to them. He is very good at making humans appear as monsters.  His book Intensity scares me immensely.  It probably was the first book, and maybe only, that had parts that made me sick to my stomach.  It wasn't the gore that made me sick but the acts that one man could do.
      Phantoms is more of a science fiction book.  A whole town in California has disappeared.  Jenny is a doctor who has picked up her sister to bring back to Snowfield, California to live with her after her mother has passed on.  The whole town is either dead or missing. Jenny cannot even come up with a cause of death for the bodies they can find.  The local Sheriff in Santa Mira is called to come investigate.  Lisa and Jenny do not leave because they are unsure if a biological agent or disease has caused all of these deaths. 
       The first half of this book is truly frightening.  You don't know if the devil or a man-made disease has caused the death of a whole town.  It truly has a creep factor and at times I was actually scared while reading it.  The last half wasn't as scary as the true monster is brought into life.  I do not want to give any spoilers to this book so I won't go into that. 
      This book closely resembles The Mist, which is a 1980 novella by Stephen King.  I have not finished this novel but the vibe is kind of equivalent.  I think the ending could have been better but overall Phantoms was a very enjoyable read.  I recommend it to any Dean Koontz fan or horror fan.

Season 3 Episode 6

 
   This was an intense episode.  I think this episode was intended to open the flood gates.  We were all wondering how and when the Governor would be introduced to Rick's group.  This was the episode that brought that together.
     I think we all new that Michonne would be tracked by the Governor's men, a.k.a. Merle.  Michonne doesn't hesitate to kill all of them men except for Merle and the other guy (who Merle kills to protect his own ass).  Michonne is shot in the leg and we don't know how serious the wound is yet.  But we do get to see Michonne's revelation that when one wears walker guts, one is invisible. 
      Glenn and Maggie go to a town near the prison to try and find more formula for the still nameless baby.  While in this town they run into Merle.  Michonne is in hiding and observing the events.  She knows she cannot save these two at this moment but she takes the baby formula and find the prison that Glenn and Maggie were living in. The episode ends with Michonne at the gates surrounded by walkers. 
     I think Michonne is my favorite character now.  She really is the one with the most survival instinct.  She is one bad ass and I hope they keep her around for a while.  Next week's episode should really be interesting as we see Michonne brought into the group and her telling them that Merle has taken Glenn and Maggie.  I am personally really interested to see what Darryl's reaction will be to this news.  I think he's known all his life that he isn't as bad as his brother, but where will his loyalties lie?

Season 3 Episode 5

(http://www.rickey.org/the-walking-dead-season-3-episode-5-recap-video-and-review-say-the-word/)

     Wow Rick has really flipped his lid!  But who can blame him.  His wife, who he has ignored for the last 7 months, had his baby ripped out of her and his son had to shoot his mother.  A normal reaction is probably what he did by going into the prison and killing some walkers.  I can also understand to a point wanting to see Lori's body.  But cutting into a walker's belly to find his wife? That's taking things to an insane level I think.  The zombie's engorged belly was almost too much for me.  But it was a very important visual for Rick I think.

     Michonne leaves the Governor's little town in this episode.  I hope they keep this character around because Michonne really is pretty awesome.  How great is it to slicing up zombies with a ninja sword? Brilliant!  She has amazing survival skills and the Governor knew that. I'm afraid of what he might do to her and just because she has left the gates I would not be surprised to find out the Governor had someone go retrieve her after Andrea leaves the gate.

     So, the Governor has a zombie daughter.  I think we all kind of wondered if this was the case.  The visual of him brushing his daughter's hair and the flesh breaking away from her head was amazing.

  Who the hell was calling Rick on the phone in the prison?  His sanity? Was his sanity calling to check in on him?  Lol.  I don't know but I'm really interested to see how far Rick goes!

     This is a picture of the Governor in the comic book. I got it from (http://collider.com/walking-dead-governor-david-morrissey/171828/).  Does he look like Danny Trejo to anyone else?

   

Season 3 Episode 4

(http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/tv_club/features/2012/the_walking_dead_season_3_recaps/week_4_1/the_walking_dead_recap_season_3_episode_4_review_recap.html)


     Okay I'm a bit behind and I apologize for this.  Episode 4 was a hell of an episode. You couldn't get more action packed then this episode.

     I think it really came to a point where everyone had to make life altering decisions.  The Prisoner, not sure of his name, who opened that gate cost the group several lives.  T-Dog's death was tragic.  He sacrificed his life for the group, especially Carol.  We still don't know what actually happened to Carol or where she is.
   
     Lori's death was absolutely awful.  I had probably spent the first two seasons wishing they would kill her off but the way she went was really sad to me.  You can't get more brutal then dying by a knife and having your baby ripped out of you.  Her message to Carl before dying was very heartfelt. She wanted to make sure that he would be able to survive.  Lori knew that the boy's psyche is very fragile.  He is growing up in a world that has been destroyed by zombies.  Now he has to shoot his mom in the head so she doesn't come back as a walker.  We never really see him shoot her and I've seen a lot of people questioning that but I think anyone who thinks she could have survived is foolish.  I think this is a breaking point for Carl.  Actually more of a rite of passage. I think having to shoot someone he loved, especially his mother is really going to make Carl grow up.  His psyche could be really damaged or it could make him make wiser decisions.  I'm all for that since he's spent the last two seasons not listening to what he's told and endangering people's lives.

     The fact that Lori had no closure with Rick really bothered me.  I know Lori made bad decisions but she was ready to give birth and with so many unknowns that could have occurred during the pregnancy, I think she deserved more from Rick. Everyone makes poor decisions sometimes and I'm sure even more in an apocalyptic word because when we are scared we do things that we wouldn't normally do.  I appreciate how  much Rick has done for the group but he had a responsibility as a father and husband and he neglected it.  Now with Lori's death he is obviously going over the edge.  I haven't read that far into the comic so I'm unsure of how far Rick will go.

The Dead

   

     Happy Halloween!  This is my absolute favorite holiday.  Starting November 1st I, get a bit depressed because I know my 24hour horror marathon won't be on AMC anymore.  And tis the season to be playing Rambo from now on.  UGH.  We didn't do anything this year except go to SeaWorld a couple of weekends ago. I thoroughly enjoyed their Halloween Scarefest.

      So, I'm a bit of an insomniac and knew I would be up late. I decided to go to Redbox and rent a movie.  I picked out a movie called The Dead.  I figured it would be a horrible B movie like a lot of zombie movies. Boy, was I wrong. I have to say that I enjoy just about any zombie movie regardless of quality.  This one really surprised me though.

     This zombie flick takes place in Africa. There is no background story to really know how the outbreak occurred and how far along it is. One can gather that it is probably fairly early in the ordeal but you aren't sure what countries, outside Africa, are effected.  

     The zombies in this film are different from your normal zombies.  It's obvious that the virus or zombification is spread by bites.  Their eyes are what is really interesting and separates them apart from other people. Their eyes are a very light and electrifying blue that could be compared to some vampires in certain movies.  These zombies also aren't very decomposed looking.  They are quicker and almost seem more intelligent than most zombies.  These zombies honestly don't look like they are torn apart before they turn.  Some have a few puncture wounds and broken bones, but the ones that have turned really only have a small wound.  This is very different compared to a George A. Romero or The Walking Dead type zombie.  I think this is the only part of the movie that doesn't come together so well.  Whenever you see one of these zombies eating a human they seem to chew for a while, tear into the person a bit and then move on.  It isn't a gore fest.  Maybe these zombies don't have the hunger level or maybe they are just trying to spread the virus or whatever this thing is.

     If I had two people over, one wanting to watch a zombie flick, the other wanting a movie with a good story and purpose, I'd have to recommend this movie.  It has all the classic elements that a zombie horror film lover will get excited for. but it also has a really good plot and purpose.  The overall message is one of hope.  I'm not saying this film didn't have a couple of moments that were like uhh really guys.  But, I thoroughly enjoyed this film and it has to go in my top 5 favorite zombie films of all time!  Check it out and let me know what you think!

WARNING: There are a couple scenes that will tear into your heart. Pun intended.