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We find ourselves with Pam at the beginning of the episode attempting to halt Tara’s suicide attempt in the tanning bed. Pam can only get her to stop when she commands Tara to never try something like this again. And let me say, Tara ain’t looking too amazing after all that – bubbly oozing skin and all.

Sookie confesses to Jason that she murdered Debbie. Jason wants to help her make it go away, not put her in prison. Jessica happens to be at Jason’s and hears Sookie’s confession as well.

Sookie and Lafayette argue about Sookie’s openness and inability to keep her mouth closed. Lafayette gets heated and calls her the “Angel of Death.” Sookie is torn up over it. Later on, Lafayette is outside and sees Sookie’s car. His demon rears its head and curses her car. When Sookie drives home that evening, the car drives itself on full speed and will not let Sookie use the brakes. She jumps from her vehicle narrowly missing a nasty collision.

Bill and Eric are dropped off at Fangtasia with their iStakes strapped around their chests. It seems that only four people knew what happened with Russell, so the pair are trying to figure out who broke Russell Edgington out. Eric and Pam have an emotional fight when he accuses her of being the rat. Pam isn’t the rat, but Eric ends up releasing her from his maker bonds as he doesn’t want her to die if he dies trying to fight Russell and the Authority.

Back at the Authority, Salome and Roman finally get Nora to give them the name of the other traitor in their midst who is a Sanguinista. It turns out to be the kid, who has a video of himself saved feeding on a human saying that humans are just food. Wow, what a bad thing for the Authority to find while searching your room. Roman stakes the kid and that is that.

Sam’s friends stop by Merlotte’s and get him to agree to go running with them again, no matter what happened with Luna. He agrees, but when he gets to their place that night he finds both of them with bullets in their heads.

The judge stops by the police station and thanks Andy for getting his son’s ticket cleared. He invites Andy and Jason to a party. They travel to the party in a limo with three women who blindfold them to take them where they are going. We quickly see that these women are fairies and take the judge, Jason, and Andy to fairyland. Jason sees Hadley and pieces together where they are after speaking with her. Andy runs into Morella again.

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Jason begins to cause a scene and Jason and Andy are both kicked out of the party via portal. The last shot we see of these two are two fairies back on Earth about to blast light at Jason and Andy lying in the grass.

Alcide drops by to speak to Debbie’s parents. He confesses that he knows what happened to Debbie and that she is dead. He tells them that Marcus killed her and bragged about it, but that he killed Marcus with his bare hands and that anyone would back that up. The Pelts find sufficient answers in what Alcide tells them and leave town, returning home.

Terry and Patrick travel to South Dakota to find Eller. We see flashbacks of combat in Iraq and about how Eller shot a civilian for no reason. Terry and Patrick find his lair in the woods that has an underground bunker with drawings and scribbles of fires. The two turn around to see Eller with a gun in their faces.

Sookie goes home after her accident and begins drinking heavily. Lafayette calls when he comes upon her smashed car. Sookie explains what happened and Lafayette seems to piece together that this is his fault. Sookie asks Lafayette to get her car towed if he wants to help and hangs up because Alcide shows up at her door.

Sookie offers Alcide a drink and the two begin making out, just as Bill and Eric come to Sookie’s house. They can see her through the window. Bill and Eric seem to think that Sookie will be useful in their search for Russell Edgington and decide to bring her with them, even against her will.

Sarah Moon is a stone-cold sorceress from Tennessee whose interests include serial killers, horror fiction, and the newest dystopian blockbuster. Sarah holds an M.A. in English Literature and an M.F.A. in Fiction Writing. She works as an English professor as well as a cemeterian. Sarah is most likely to cover horror in print including prose, poetry, and graphic forms. You can find her on Instagram @crystalsnovelnook.

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Movies n TV

Grave Encounters

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Released in 2011, Grave Encounters is one of the better-liked-found horror movies by both critics and horror fans alike. At least, that’s the opinion of the few who’ve seen it. For some reason, itā€™s not as well known as many others in the genre. So today, letā€™s spread awareness for this overlooked spooky gem.

The story

We begin our story with a TV executive, talking about an ill-fated reality show named Grave Encounters. He explains that everything went south during the taping of episode six. While the footage was retrieved, the ghost hunters were not. Our TV executive assures us that what we are about to see is not a movie, and has only been cut for time.

We then dive into the footage collected from episode six. The ghost-hunting team will spend the night in an old mental hospital called Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital.

During the night, the team does see a few eerie things. A door slams shut. A wheelchair moves on its own. Fairly standard ghost-hunting fair.

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The real horror starts when the team isnā€™t released from the hospital in the morning. Because morning doesn’t come. The sun doesn’t rise and the doors don’t open to the outside world. Lance, TC, Sasha, Matt and Houston are all trapped inside an ever-changing hospital, with the patients who remain even in death.

Alex Timmer in Grave Encounters.

What worked

The first thing I want to talk about, and the part that attracted me to the film in the first place, is the parody element. Fans of ghost-hunting shows like Ghost Hunters will recognize many of the same elements. The title even has a very similar font. As someone who loves a good ghost hunt, but often finds that these shows take themselves a little too seriously, this was quite enjoyable.

Another thing I loved about Grave Encounters was the effects. The ghosts were shocking, not just the first time we saw them but every time. This is even more impressive when we remember that this movie had a budget of $120,000. The creators taught themselves how to do these effects, and most of them are practical, not CGI. This would have been impressive if the effects were just passible. And they were far more than that.

Finally, I want to talk about the character development. We start the film without much sympathy for our characters. Especially Lance. Lance was so punchable at first. He was flippant about others’ pain. He was clear that he’d make up evidence if he couldn’t find any. And he didn’t seem too interested in listening to his team.

Sean Rogerson in Grave Encounters.

By the end of the movie, though, we care about him and the rest of the team. And it takes so little time for us to change our minds. We see TC talk to his daughter, and realize he’s never going to get home to her. We see Sasha care about the people lost in the hospital. We see Lance protect Sasha and the rest of his team. We see that these people, as willing as they are to financially benefit from other peopleā€™s pain, actually do care about each other. No one is a coward. No one is leaving people behind. Thatā€™s admirable. And that makes me give a damn about them.

What didnā€™t work

All that being said, it wasnā€™t a perfect movie. To start with, there are some questions we don’t get answers to. And not in an acceptable way. It’s okay that we don’t know what really happens in the end. It’s okay that we don’t know how the spirits manipulate time. It’s not okay that one character is simply eaten by fog. That scene, close to the end, just felt lazy.

I will also say that some of the acting wasnā€™t great. Especially from Sasha, played by Ashleigh Gryzko. I wonā€™t say she was terrible. But her acting was overdone. She was also a bit of a scream queen. We didnā€™t learn much about Sasha, except that sheā€™s the token girl. Her character could have been fleshed out a bit more.

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Overall, Grave Encounters is a great film. Whether youā€™re a fan of found footage, ghost hunting, or just spooky stories well told, this is one to put on your TBW list sooner rather than later.

For Haunted MTL, this is Nicole signing off.

4.5 out of 5 stars (4.5 / 5)

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Movies n TV

Agatha All Along, If I Can’t Reach You Let My Song Teach You

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Episode four of Agatha All Along started on a sad note and ended on a shocking reveal. Can we really ask for anything more?

The story

We begin this episode, as mentioned, at the graveside of poor Sharon. Sheā€™s the first to pass away on The Road, but Iā€™ll be quite surprised if sheā€™s the last.

Itā€™s one thing to have died. But itā€™s quite another to have died surrounded by people who donā€™t really care and wonā€™t really mourn you.

After that, we continue down The Road to find another house. This one appears to be familiar to Alice. She tries to turn around and go the other way, but The Road won’t let her escape that easy.

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Patti LuPone, Kathryn Hahn, Ali Ahn, Sasheer Zamata and Joe Locke in Agatha All Along.

What they find inside is the home Alice shared with her mother. They also find a record of Aliceā€™s motherā€™s version of the Ballad. After the coven starts experiencing Aliceā€™s family curse, they realize the only way out is to sing The Ballad that can protect them. One thatā€™s been protecting Alice for most of her life.

They do escape the house, but not unscathed. Teen is badly injured. And we see another side of Agatha. Maybe even one she didnā€™t know she had.

What worked

This aspect shocked me, but Agatha is a good team leader. This is undercut because we all know she doesn’t care about her team. But twice now she has stepped in and helped when a member of the coven was struggling. She didn’t do it with love but with honesty. And sometimes that’s what we need.

Another thing I want to draw attention to is the sexual tension between Agatha and Rio. However, they’re doing a fine job drawing attention to it themselves.

It is killing me.

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Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey Plaza in Agatha All Along.

There is so much history between these two characters that we just don’t know yet. But we want to know. This is one of the biggest drives to watch the next episode, at least for me. While at first, it seemed like Agatha was to blame for their riff, it appears after this episode that it might have been Rio. Or, frankly, it might have been both of them. All I know is that I am constantly reminded of Rio’s question to Agatha from the first episode.

ā€œDo you remember why you hate me?ā€

Finally, I thought the 70ā€™s vibe of this episode was very fun. I especially liked the camera shots that were quite reminiscent of old 70ā€™s show. The split screens, the quick gasp shots. It reminded me of Scooby Doo and Jabber Jaw in the best way.

What didnā€™t work

I donā€™t have much negative to say about this episode. The only real complaint I have is that I didn’t like this new version of The Ballad. It’s fine, but it isn’t nearly as cool as the first.

All in all, this was a great episode. I have so many questions about Teen, about Rio, and about what The Road has in store for the rest of them. And I can’t wait to see what’s next.

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4.5 out of 5 stars (4.5 / 5)

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Evil: ā€œA is for Angelā€ (S2E2)

ā€œA is for Angelā€ is an episode of the supernatural drama, Evil. The assessors investigate a potential angelic possession.

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ā€œA is for Angelā€ is an episode of the supernatural drama, Evil, created by Michelle King and Robert King. The central cast includes Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Christine Lahti, and Andrea Martin. It originally aired under CBS before moving to Paramount+. As of this review, itā€™s available through Netflix and Paramount+ and its add-ons.

The assessors investigate a potential angelic possession. David (Mike Colter) meets a helpful nun (Andrea Martin as Sister Andrea). Kristen (Katja Herbers) talks to the police. Sheryl (Christine Lahti) takes out her frustration on someone who deserves it. Leland (Michael Emerson) makes a haunting confession.

A winged creature painted on a wall, emerging from the dark etchings around it. On its chest rests a trumpet
Archange Michael, apparently

What I Like about Evil: ā€œA is for Angelā€

While ā€œA is for Angelā€ fears depicting a biblically accurate angel, it still evokes a haunting terror such angels evoke. Brandon J. Dirdenā€™s Raymond/Archangel Michael provides an unsettling performance that directly comments or alludes to actions that angels take in the bible.

This episode introduces Sister Andrea, who will become a key character of the series, acting as a spiritual advisor and mentor to David specifically. Sheā€™s interesting enough to evoke lasting memorability, given more attention than debut characters in their introductory episodes.

Lelandā€™s confession to David gets dark, revealing much of the personal relationship the two had before the series began. While nothing remains confirmed, and Leland clearly aims to antagonize David, Davidā€™s reaction suggests that some truthful admissions linger within the deception. However, itā€™s ultimately a viewerā€™s decision to weigh these claims.

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ā€œA is for Angelā€ creates a rather terrifying dynamic that evokes a haunting narrative. Where the previous episode focused more on what comes next, ā€œA is for Angelā€ dives into the horrific implications of the procedural plot.

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Disclaimer Kimberley Web Design

Tired Tropes and Triggers

As mentioned earlier, the procedural plot involves an angelic possession and some Old Testament godliness, which might upset some viewers. Some points suggest sexism and abuse, but little of this receives attention beyond the claim.

A character potentially murdered their wife, suggesting spousal abuse, but the reality of the situation seems blurred. Regardless, the victim tries to leave their abuser, which is a common source of abuse in domestic violence.

While nothing remains confirmed, a child molester apparently receives angelic punishment. The viewer takes the word of the angelā€™s supposed host on this claim, which hardly means an absolute confirmation.

Suicide, potentially assisted suicide, is another plot point alluded to in the episode. Little remains a proven fact, but the suggestion seems plausible considering what the viewer knows of the situation. As this remains the only confirmation, the claims seem interpretable.

A winged beast with several wings layered atop each other. At the center are several eyes looking at the viewer
Spare an Eye for a Seraphim

What I Dislike about Evil: ā€œA is for Angelā€

Again, ā€œA is for Angelā€ puts a lot of focus on the horrifying concept of an angel but doesnā€™t try to depict a biblically accurate angel. Frankly, itā€™s a wasted opportunity, considering the haunting nature of their descriptions. Such descriptions rival that of Lovecraftian abomination in horrifying potential. It seems like a perfect opportunity for a show or film like Evil. Even as ā€œA is for Angelā€ challenges the depictions, it hesitates to open itsā€™ trillions of eyes to the opportunities available.

Leland allows the assessors into his home and leaves valuable evidence for the team to find. For such an intelligent character, these oversights seem uncharacteristic. Viewers might assume this frantic response is a ploy, but his reactions suggest otherwise.

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Final Thoughts

ā€œA is for Angelā€ returns Evil to the horror roots that the previous episode hadnā€™t lingered on. The episode unravels some mysteries of the past that better contextualize relationships. If youā€™re eager for Old Testament godly intervention, this episode brings out a proper dose of it.
3 out of 5 stars (3 / 5)

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