October Horror Challenge - Return to Silent Hill (2026)

Synopsis

James is an alcoholic with a troubled mind. A letter from his lost love draws him back to the mysterious town of Silent Hill.

Review

To say that I was greatly disappointed with this one is a gross understatement. I loved 2006's Silent Hill and even enjoyed he often maligned sequel, Silent Hill: Revelation. I thought they did an excellent job and capturing the spirit and the looks of the games. Return to Silent Hill just looks like a cheap imitation of the games. The two biggest disappointments were Pyramid Head and the nurses. Pyramid Head is supposed to look intimidating, but it just fell flat. This may sound weird, but the nurses are also supposed to be strangely sexy and they are not. Overall the film had a fake look to it. There was something about the way its shot that makes the characters look fake. I don't know I got an uncanny feeling vibe. Storywise, the movie tried to imitate Silent Hill 2, arguably the best in the franchise, but it kind of fumbles it. While James is the protagonist of the game and film, he's not supposed to be the hero. Because we don't get to spend as much time with the characters the connections and things just feel off. It feels like it just goes from one game set piece to another. The movie isn't all bad. It used the iconic Silent Hill soundtrack. Also the final monster of the film actually looks great. Unless you're a fan of the game franchise, I'd pass on this one. Even if you are a fan of the franchise, lower your expectations before going in.

Your Game

Silent Hill is a cursed place that often serves a a dark reflection to a protagonists psyche. However, that doesn't mean you can't just use them as creepy (and strangely sexy) foes to through at your party. If you want to add the nurses to your SURVIVE THIS!! game you can use the stats below.

Dark Nurse (Humanoid)
Armor Class: 13
Hit Dice: 3 HD
Move: 8
Actions: 2
Attack:  Rusty knife (1d6)

Special: Toughness +2, unobservant, 
Bonuses: +3 to melee attacks, +2 to melee damage

Alignment: Evil

Morale: 9

Madness: -
Terror: 13

HDE: 2

Unobservant: A Dark Nurse have disadvantage on Spot & Listen checks to notice creatures being stealthy. Additionally any successful surprise/sneak attack against it is an automatic critical hit.   

October Horror Movie Challenge 2026

Viewed: 3
First Time Views: 2

October Horror Challenge - Necronomicon (1993)

    

Synopsis

This Lovecraft anthology includes three different tales with a wrap-around story. The wrap-around framing story features H.P. Lovecraft (played the legendary Jeffrey Combs). "Rats in the Walls," "Cool Air," and "The Whisperer in the Darkness" are adapted for the other three tales.

Review

My favorite Mythos director, Brian Yuzna, directed much of this flick. Additionally some of the effects were done by Tom Savini. Here are my thoughts on the stories.

Library: The wrap-around story is a lot of fun. I mean Combs as Lovecraft is just inspired. Also Yuzna makes a cameo as the cabby at the end.

The Drowned (Rats in the Walls): This tells the tale of Jethro and later his nephew Edward. Both lost their loves and sought to bring them back via a ritual in the Necronomicon. The deep one that brings Jethro the Necronomicon is the best live action one I've seen, even better than all the fish folk of Yuzna's later flick, Dagon. Bruce Payne's portrayal of Edward is full of heart and sorrow. He might not be in the film long, but his performance rally stands out.

The Cold (Cool Air): The story is about a series of missing persons being investigated by a reporter. A woman tells her tells him the story of her mother and they came to live there. An eccentric doctor, played by David Warner (who I know as the scientist from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze) has found a way to prolong his life, though it has changed him. I like the story, but the effects in this one aren't as good as those in The Drowned.

Whispers (The Whisperer in the Darkness): Two Philadelphian police follow a suspect known as "the Butcher" into an underground cavern.  For me the highlight of this is Don Kalfa (Ernie from Return of the Living Dead). The story is kind of meh, the monsters look silly, and the twist also felt dumb. It's not awful, but is just kind of mid. If you want to see a better film with a similar plot, I recommend Midnight Meat Train.

Of the four stories, Library and Drowned are my favorites. This one isn't in print in the states and I had to grab my Jolly Roger to watch it. Still if you're a Stuart Gordon fan and haven't seen it, you should check it out. 

Your Game

While it was the least favorite of my stories, the bat monsters from Whispers would be great monsters for a SURVIVE THIS!! game.

Extraterrestrial Bat Monster (Aberration Beast)
Armor Class: 13
Hit Dice: 2 HD
Move: 6, Fly 24
Actions: 1
Attack: 1XS sawtooth beak (1d6)

Special: Marrow frenzy
Bonuses: +3 to melee attacks, +2 to melee damage

Alignment: Evil

Morale: 8

Madness: -
Terror: 8

HDE: 2

Marrow Frenzy: Once the bat monster gets a taste of human bone marrow it will ignore all other targets in order to devour the marrow. It automatically hits the target on its turn.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2026

Viewed: 2
First Time Views: 1

Classic Horror Covers

Frederik Hornung has created several awesome horror/classic comic cover mashup. My favorite is the Kevin Maguire tribute one.

October Horror Challenge - Obsession (2026)

   

Synopsis

Bear, a hopeless romantic (emphasis on hopeless), uses a "One Wish Willow" to get his crush to fall for him. As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for...

Review

Many folks have said this is the best horror movie of the year, which is a lot of hype to live up to. I won't say that, because the year hasn't ended, but this it is a phenomenal horror film. I'm a huge fan of Curry Barker's comedic shorts and I wondered if he could make the leap to horror. The film's score is phenomenal and at times, haunting. 

The movie brought back a lot of old feelings for me. Bear, played by Michael Johnston, is the quintessential "nice guy" who really isn't. While in the beginning  he doesn't seem all bad, his true colors and lack of actual character eventually come out. I definitely went through a "nice guy" phase myself. I'm not saying this to say that I relate to Bear. He's definitely the villain of the story. I'm just glad that I was able to grow as a person. I feel like that's a random odd confession, but seemed relevant.

Bear isn't the only villain of the story though. While some might say it's Nikki, I would argue that Ian is the secondary villain. I don't want to spoil anything, but Bear's best friend is manipulative. Side note, the actor, Cooper Tomlinson, is also in a lot of Barker's comedic shorts.

Inde Navarrette was amazing as Nikki. Her performance is manic, vulnerable, and frightening. She's truly unnerving and terrifying at times. She's also absolutely sympathetic. I can't praise her performance highly enough. I'm excited to see her portrayal of Rogue.

I didn't expect Conan's sidekick, Andy Richter, to appear in the film, but that was cool. Barker, himself, also has a role in the film as the One Wish Willow call representative. 

Overall, I have to say this one does live up to the hype. The direction and atmosphere is tense and the performances are fantastic. I hope Barker continues to make his comedy shorts, but I also want him to make more horror flicks. He seems like an artist that sticks to his vision. I saw an interview where he stated the studio offered him a ridiculous amount of money to make Bear the hero of the story and he turned it down because it didn't fit his vision. We need more directors like that.

Your Game

You can easily do a Monkey Paw style adventure in your game. However, according to the director the One Wish Willow doesn't maliciously grant wishes. 

October Horror Movie Challenge 2026

Viewed: 1
First Time Views: 0

Sweded Die Hard

Subject to Change Entertainment is a local film making group here in southern Ohio. A few years ago the founder and director, Vincent, filmed a passion project, Sweded Die Hard. If you aren't familiar with Sweded movies, they are DIY recreations of big name films. Vinnie is a huge fan of Bruce Willis and Die Hard. He recruited folks from the area, scouted sets, and put together a fun (and goofy) version of Die Hard. 

Music Monday - Netherwilds

Netherwilds is a Canadian peasant metal band (Peasentcore?). There tracks mix fantasy and feudal rebellion.

Several friends sent this to me on Facebook and I can understand why. I'm ready for some class solidarity and a time when my fellow peasants rise up. The song is dope and I hope there's a full video soon.

I saw someone say Return the Goat sounds like the beginning of a DCC funnel. I agree. 

This last track is different, but is fun as Hell.

Some Updates and Reavers (For DCC)

It's been a bit. Things have been fine in the world of Pun. Had some recent disappointments in my quest to get back into public library work.  My 5E game is up in the air. We haven't played in three weeks. Folks canceled the first week. I canceled the second week. I was waiting last week and confirmed we were playing with one of the players, but no one showed up last week. 

In my house it's been spooky season for the past few months, but it officially starts on Thursday. I will be doing the October Horror Challenge again this year. Going to try to come up with game stats for all the posts, but I'm sure that won't always be possible. 

I'll be heading to Louisville in a couple of weeks for the Goatman Fest. I'll be staying with Eric and working the Bloat Games vendor table. It should be a fantastic time.

I recently started playing Insomniac's Wolverine on my Playstation 5. It's definitely a cool new take on Wolverine and mutants. The reviews haven't been great, but I'm loving the game. If you haven't checked out my DCC Wolverine stats you can find them here. Logan needs someone to fight. In the game, he fights many Reavers. Here are base Reaver stats for DCC.

Reaver: Init +3; Atk +5 electrified armblade (1d8+1) or +3 assault rifle (1d10, range 100/200/300); Crit 1d14/III; AC 14; HD 3d8+3; Mov. 30'; Act 1d20; SP cyborg, infravision 60'; SV Ref +3; Fort +5; Will +0; Path PoV +1

If you have Evolved: Super Heroic Time Travel Roleplaying Game you can customize your Reavers using Un men's forgotten tech chart found on page 444.

Happy International Batman Day!

In honor of International Batman Day I wanted to share some fun Batman art by Frederik Hornung

Kaiju-sized Mothmen?!

I'm not going because the whole event is too crowded and it's too hot out, but the Mothman Festival is this weekend. I've been to the Mothman Museum a few times and it's a cool place. Have you ever been to the festival or the museum?