In April of 2022, I typed the words Dexter is Dead. And I thought I meant it. By that time we had seen 96 episodes of the original show, eight novels, and a ten-episode mini-series. The series broke my heart three times over one wild year, with three horrible endings over the original series, novels and mini-series.

I thought that was the end of things. Dexter was dead.

Except that he’s not. Dexter lives, and so I return.

Tonight’s the night.

The story

Our first episode of Dexter Original Sin retells the story of Dexter’s first kill. After his adopted father Harry has a heart attack, Dexter notices he’s not getting better. He eventually realizes that Harry’s nurse is poisoning him. And so, he allows his Dark Passenger out for the first time.

We also see a classic Dexter flashback that adds some startling new information about Harry. He had another son before Dexter, Harry Junior. Sadly, Harry Jr. met a sad end.

In short, this first episode of Dexter Original Sin was an emotional rollercoaster.

What worked

I want to begin by praising the framing of this series as a whole. Dexter, lying on Death’s door after being shot by his son, is experiencing his life flashing before him. This gives us a chance for a more satisfying ending after New Blood. It allows us to keep up with the inner monolog from Michael C. Hall, the OG Dexter. And it gives an understandable reason why we’re going back in time to the start of Dexter’s bloody journey with his Dark Passenger.

I also love that this show seems to be carrying over so much from the original show. We have the monologs, as I mentioned. We have most of the original gang back together, including Batista and Masuka. And we have a new intro that is so reminiscent of the original that it made me tear up a little.

Finally, I really appreciated that we started this series with Dexter’s first kill. This was an established storyline. Which was both a safe and dangerous decision. We saw a lot of this in the third episode of season one of Dexter. And so, a lot of the stage was already set. However, it was important to fans of the OG series that we got this right. We needed not to try to retcon anything from the original series. And I’m happy to say that they got this just right. All the moments that were seen in the flashback in the original series were included there. Even the touching moment when Deb spins Harry around in his wheelchair. As a fan of this series for almost two decades, I appreciated this.

What didn’t work

While this episode was fantastic, it wasn’t perfect. Nothing ever is. And unfortunately, this episode has one glaring problem.

While most of the casting was fantastic, I was saddened to see that Sarah Michelle Gellar is going to be a regular character.

Now, I might be biased. But as a horror fan, I have never liked Gellar. I thought she did a terrible job as Buffy, even though I liked that show. (Angel was way better.) I thought she was terrible in Cruel Intentions, even though that movie was fantastic. She just isn’t a good actress. She has one note, and all of her characters feel exactly the same. And Tanya, her character in this episode, just feels like Buffy with a facelift. I keep waiting for her to whip out a stake.

If we were going to include another Buffy actor after Julie Benz’s character died, I could think of a dozen more I’d rather see. But no, we got stuck with Gellar.

Further, while I was happy to see that Batista, Masuka, and even LaGuerta were included in the show, it did feel a little unbelievable. If this first episode is to be believed, they were all working at Miami Metro when Dexter joined the force as an intern. But it doesn’t feel like this is where his relationship with these people started. He is a tiny college student intern. How did he get to the point of being an equal to all of these people? Was it the donuts? I bet it was the donuts. But it still feels a little forced to include them.

Original Sin started very well. It was a great first episode. I find myself optimistic. But haven’t we been there before, three times? So while I greatly enjoyed this first episode, I still find myself bracing for a big disappointment.

However, it likely doesn’t matter how this series ends. Because another mini-series, called Dexter Resurrection, is coming in June. So buckle up. No matter how this series ends, our Dark Passenger is not done with us.

(5 / 5)

So I can’t believe I’m writing about Rocky Horror Picture Show, because this movie used to be such a huge phobia of mine.  I know that this probably seems weird, or at least over-reactionary, but it has to do with a particular incident from my youth.

When I was growing up, late-elementary-school-ish (the exact timing when this happened isn’t as important as how), my dad and stepmom were watching the film with a couple of friends of theirs who had come over for dinner and to visit.  All the adults were draped over various living room seating glued to the oversized television.

This wasn’t atypical, and my stepsister and I would pass through on occasion as the adults were watching movies.  Sometimes we’d flop around ourselves and join in the voyeurism.  Movies were my father’s life, they offered up some alternate reality in contrast to his illness, which kept him housebound.  So the television was always on, either as a focus or as background noise.  Mostly campy B-rated sci-fi movies abounded with other weirdness and pop culture thrown in.

But in this particular incident, the adults were engaging with the Rocky Horror movie itself, even more than the usual pun-induced banter.  They all acted all together in response to certain scenes, in an orchestrated way, as if they were part of the script.  The result was both alienating and a little frightening, like some in-crowd joke that I was too young to understand, and from what little I caught of the screen, said joke seemed to be of a sexual nature.

So I was avoiding the entourage, a bit more than usual, while also trying to catch glimpses of whatever it was that had their attention.  You know, passing through the living room en route to the kitchen for a glass of tea, or another, or to use the bathroom, or looking for one of the cats to bother… the usual kid lurker stuff.

I happened to be thusly passing through the room when the scene of Rocky’s creation captured my attention.  Between seeing his half-naked, gold spandexed frame playing off of Frank N Furter’s gender-bending glory, I was entranced.  I stood there bug-eyed, mouth agape, and just stared.  That is, until my parents’ friend pointed me out for it, directing all the eyeballs in the room to rest upon me in my bewildered strange sexual awakening.

I was horrified.  I instantly retreated from the room and made a mental note to never ever watch the film under any circumstances, so as to not appear so hypnotized by whatever it was that had captured me.  For.  Over.  Twenty.  Years.  Despite posing nude within my figure-drawing group, making artworks utilizing my own menstrual blood as media, and showing my works in erotically charged and socio-politically themed exhibitions.  That particular movie remained off-limits.

Fast forward… a photographer friend of mine was giddy with anticipation.  Her son was going to be playing Frank N. Furter in the live action version of the film at the local community college and she was inviting everyone she knew.  She got me two free tickets, and good seats at that.  I had to overcome my irrational childhood fear.  I had to give myself over to my vulnerability.

I don’t remember much of the show itself except that my fears were irrational and I rather enjoyed it.  My friend’s son did a brilliant portrayal, capturing the character beautifully.  The show was totally up my alley based on my sense of humor, spectacle, and love of 4^th wall breaking cinema and writing.  It was an experience, and a pleasant one at that.

There was even a young girl in attendance, of about the same age I had been when I first encountered the film, there with her parents and gleefully part of the proceeding.  Her parents explained that Rocky Horror Picture Show was her favorite movie, and I could easily picture myself as that girl in another time and place.  It wasn’t even a stretch considering the fact that I had a thing for Tim Curry and my favorite movie was Clue.

And, even more importantly, it got me talking to my partner about sexual fantasies, fears, and vulnerabilities, which sparked a sexual awakening in our relationship in ways we had not previously known that stayed with us for months afterwards.  In fact, it nearly saved our marriage (though sadly it was doomed to fail due to our having grown apart spiritually and emotionally, and no amount of physicality was going to repair that).

So I guess I’m writing this to point out the incredible power of Rocky Horror Picture Show and its ability to redefine gender and sensuality according to its terms.  This is the energy that I want to embrace, to encourage, to nurture in some of my own work.  For in the flicker of the cinematic circumstance, we can emerge from our own vulnerabilities to express our true selves on our own terms.  We can shiver with anticipation as we open up the time warp into our own wants and desires, to eschew traditions and roles that we never felt connected with.  And we can revel in sharing that experience with others who feel need to do the same.

The photographs are from more costume-based figure modeling sessions, but I thought we may as well do the Time Warp again again while we’re here. If you want to see some of the previous posts featuring identity costume art, here’s Time Warp 1 and Rock-y the Vote 2… Or feel free to read my other personal essay about The Spooky Dentist…

And feel free to check out more of Jennifer Weigel’s work here on Haunted MTL or here on her website.

There are a lot of holiday horrors with the phrase Silent Night in their title. So, to help keep things straight, Silent Night Bloody Night is the one that no one should waste their time watching.

The story

Released in 1972, Silent Night Bloody Night is the story of an abandoned house. When it’s inherited by a man named Jeffrey Butler, the town tries to buy it from him. He sends his lawyer, John Carter, to negotiate. What follows is a Christmas-time revenge killing spree in the house that used to be an insane asylum and is now just a gross eyesore. Much like in Halloween, a prodigal son came home and started killing. Unlike in Halloween, viewers can’t bring themselves to care.

What worked

I would like to give credit where it’s due when I can find it. There were some legitimately creepy scenes in this movie. Two of them, to be precise.

The shots of the escaped inmates are well done. The makeup, dull facial expressions, and zombie-like movements were truly unnerving. In what is maybe the only well done scene in the whole movie, an inmate walks into the dining room and slowly drains a glass of wine. He then breaks the glass and uses the broken piece to rip out a doctor’s eye.

I also enjoyed or was at least unnerved by, the phone calls the killer makes from the house. They were great little eerie moments.

What didn’t work

I first need to point out that the production value of this movie is ass. I’m sure I could have shot a better movie on a Tamagotchi.

The whole thing is grainy, dark and dull. Even scenes with bright colors have all the brightness of a mechanics wash rag. And there are parts where the physical film was corrupted, leaving big black splotches.

Maybe I’m being too hard on it. I mean it was released in 1972. It’s not like they had access to advanced filming equipment. Like, for instance, The Godfather or Deliverance.

Oh, wait. Both those films also came out in 1972. And they sure as hell don’t look like this. Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory and Twelve Chairs came out the year before and they look great.

Granted, those films were preserved, digitized, and treated like the works of art they are. Silent Night, Bloody Night was apparently kept near a furnace, in the hopes that it might catch fire and never trouble anyone again.

None of that would matter, though, if the movie was any good. But it’s not. Let’s start with the voiceovers because that’s what the movie starts with.

Voiceovers are great when they add context or interesting commentary. A Christmas Story has voiceovers through the whole thing, and that’s great. This commentary, however, is a cautionary tale against telling not showing. It fails to be interesting or give additional information. It’s just bad.

What bothered me most is that not one shred of joy seems to have gone into this film. Unlike Mercy Christmas, which we talked about last week, nobody is having a good time.

The music is morose rather than eerie. The acting is lazy and half-hearted. Even in the most dramatic scenes, everyone delivers their lines like they’re reading off a list of instructions to build something they don’t care about building. And the effects are just horrific. We don’t see a single blow in any of the fight scenes. We see people wincing in pain, and weapons being raised. And that is it.

I suppose we might say this is to stave off the censors. But my God, that’s not what a Christmas horror movie is for. And it still has an R rating, even though we see neither boobies nor an axe biting into flesh. If you’re going to get stuck with the R rating, earn it.

Overall, Silent Night Bloody Night was devoid of anything joyful. It wasn’t fun to watch, it didn’t leave me with anything to ponder or savor. It was just a bad movie, from start to finish. (1 / 5)