Released: 1992 Developer: Probe Software Also Available For: DOS, Game Gear, Master System, Mega-CD, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
A Brief Background: The Terminator (Cameron, 1984) was a massive box office hit, catapulting star Arnold Schwarzenegger to superstardom, and making nearly $80 million at the box office against a paltry $6.4 million budget and quickly becoming a cult classic. Its incredible success not only led to numerous sequels and spin-offs at the cinema and in comic books but also a number of videogame adaptations, despite the film’s violence and mature content, released for virtually every home console available at the time. The Terminator was generally well-regarded at the time, with critics praising its digitised graphics and catchy music, although the game’s length and difficulty have drawn criticism.
First Impressions: The Terminator begins hopefully enough; it features the opening text of the movie alongside a pretty decent recreation of the iconic Terminator theme and opening credits. It even includes a further piece of introductory text and dialogue between main character Kyle Reese and his commanding officer that gives the player the rundown on the game’s first mission. Once you move past these opening sections (and choose from a range of difficulty options in the game’s main menu), you’re dropping into the role of Reese in the middle of the war-ravaged Los Angeles of 2029. The controls are just about what you would expect from a run-and-gun title like this; the directional pad moves Reese around and allows him to duck to avoid incoming fire and scale ladders, the A button has you drop and detonate one of your few smart bombs to break down certain walls, B will cause you to either toss an infinite number of grenades or fire your weapon, and C performs a jump. You can alter these controls in the game’s options but, sadly, the controls aren’t the issue here; it’s the game’s literal immediate difficulty spike as, after a few steps to the right, you’ll immediately be fired upon by a Hunter Killer (HK) Tank! Touch its treadmills or get hit by its diagonal blasts and Reese will lose health; since you don’t have a gun, your only option is to lob grenades and it takes a shit load to finally put it down.
Once you enter the complex, you’re beset by an endless swarm of Terminators.
After that, a couple of steps after this, a HK Aerial will fly overhead dropping bombs on you! This one can’t be taken out so you’ll have to desperately try to avoid its bombs to make it down the ladder and into the Terminator base. Once in the underground base, you’ll be faced with an endless swarm of what appear to be T-600 model Terminators who blast at you with Plasma Rifles. Luckily, they’re quite slow and you can generally duck beneath their shots but they’ll also duck and shoot at you, which can be tricky to avoid as the ceiling’s quite low and stunts your jump. The main issue is the fact that the Terminators just. keep. coming without end; add to that the little mini tanks that are also in the area and that fact that you only get one life to complete the entire game and you’re in for a troublesome time right off the bat.
Fight through the maze to plant a bomb and get yourself off to the past.
The absolute worst thing, though, is that this opening stage is a bloody maze! It’s almost impossible to figure out where you’re supposed to go as everything looks the same. Sometimes you’ll reach a wall you can’t pass and will need to blow it up but if you waste your smart bombs, you can’t progress; other times, you’ll run around in circles being whittled down by the endless onslaught of Terminators desperately trying to find some health and ammo only to be gunned down. Eventually, you may stumble upon an orange section of the environment (the “Time Displacement Reactor” according to the manual) where you’re supposed to place a smart bomb to blow the facility but there’s no indication that you have to do this and, once you do, you’ll have to run out of the complex before it explodes! If you try to run to the right on the top level before doing this, you’ll be immediately killed by Skynet’s defence systems but you can just as easily be killed trying to escape.
My Progression: If you’ve read some of my shorter features before, and the text above, then you know where this is going. I couldn’t even get past the first damn mission! A longplay I watched actually made this first mission seem pretty simple but, when trying to figure it out for myself on “Easy”, I kept getting turned around, running out of smart bombs, and trapped in the underground complex.
Get past the first mission (if you can…) to recreate more iconic scenes from the film.
From what I can gather, The Terminator isn’t an especially long game and can be beaten fairly quickly; sadly, I cannot comment on this as the developers sought to artificially extend the playtime of the game by making it a right ball-ache just trying to get through the first mission. Seems to me that they could have just as easily taken inspiration from the likes of Contra (Konami, 1987) and other run-and-game games available at the time. Endless swarms of enemies and a bit of a puzzle/maze layout aren’t necessarily bad gameplay mechanics in-and-of themselves but, here, they made the game needlessly frustrating and, even worse, the PAL version of the game doesn’t even include any cheat codes to help bypass these issues, meaning I’ll have to actually get good in order to progress!
I was super excited to play The Terminator and pretty damn disappointed to find that the first mission is all-but impassable without knowing exactly what you have to do, where you need to go, and was full of endlessly spawning enemies. Add to that the fact that you only get one life for the whole game and it was a pretty dissatisfying experience. Still, have you ever played The Terminator on the Mega Drive? If so, were you able to get past the first mission and complete the game? Do you think I need to suck it up and give it another go or would you recommend playing a different version of the game, perhaps the Mega-CD version? Have you ever played a videogame where everything about it was really good and appealing but you just kept hitting a wall and couldn’t progress? What is your favourite Terminator or run-and-gun game? Are you excited for Judgment Day later this month? I have a few more Terminator articles coming to celebrate it so be sure to check back in next Sunday for more Terminator content.
Long considered to be an unlucky day due to superstitions involving the number thirteen and religious connotations, Friday the 13th is perhaps equally as well-known as being the title for a long-running series of slasher movies. As a result, this is clearly the best opportunity to take a look at the Friday the 13th(Various, 1980 to 2009) horror series and to commemorate this unlucky and dreaded date.
Released: 9 May 1980 Director: Sean S. Cunningham Distributor: Paramount Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures Budget: $550,000 Stars: Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Jeannine Taylor, Kevin Bacon, Peter Brouwer, and Betsy Palmer
The Plot: Camp Crystal Lake is attempting a reopening some twenty-odd years after a series of grisly murders and unfortunate events. However, when the enthusiastic crop of would-be camp counsellors begin dying in gruesome ways, the few survivors are left at the mercy of a relentless serial killer out for revenge…and blood!
The Background: Inspired byJohn Carpenter’s Halloween(Carpenter, 1978), which is generally regarded as giving birth to the “slasher” sub-genre of horror cinema, filmmaker Sean S. Cunningham desired to make his own slasher film, one that would be visually striking and brutal in its execution. Though Cunningham thought up the basic concept, the screenplay was completed by Victor Miller, who delighted in crafting the vicious and surprising twist for the film’s antagonist. Although Betsy Palmer famously only took this role to buy a new car and found the experience to be somewhat degrading and embarrassing, she later shared some interesting insights into the character’s psychology and motivation that would come to inform the film’s many sequels. Friday the 13th eventually made nearly $60 million at the box office, a financial success that was mired only by scathing reviews that attacked the plot, its derivative nature, and excessive violence. Over time, opinions haven’t really changed much but, regardless of this, the numbers spoke for themselves and Friday the 13th soon inspired one of the longest running and most iconic, influential, and successful slasher franchises in horror history thanks to the iconography of later antagonist, Jason Voorhees (Various), and the gruesome punishment of a slew of horny teenagers for engaging in debauchery.
The Review: Friday the 13th begins in 1958 where an unseen killer stalks and brutally murders two camp counsellors right in the middle of having sex; the influence of Halloween can immediately be felt as Cunningham borrows wholeheartedly the first-person perspective used by Carpenter at the start of his film. However, while Carpenter did this to hide the fact that his killer was a young boy, Cunningham maintains the perspective throughout the majority of Friday the 13th’s kills. The mystery of the killer is maintained throughout the movie, with only brief glimpses given on the assailant’s hands; we never hear their voice or name and all we really know is that they’re at least the size of a full-grown adult and driven by a vicious obsession to punish all who dare try to reopen the camp. This mystery permeates the film and lingers in the air like an ominous cloud when the story jumps ahead to then-present day; it helps that the film is stuffed with characters, many of whom are intentionally set up as red herrings and to fool us into thinking they are the killer, like “Crazy” Ralph (Walt Gorney), who desperately tries to warn the unsuspecting kids about the camp’s “death curse”.
Steve is a hard taskmaster with a killer moustache and a hands-on attitude.
Indeed, the legend of Camp Crystal Lake is a horror story all unto itself; the townsfolk refer to the camp as “Camp Blood” and are largely distrustful and fearful of the site. Annie Phillips (Robbi Morgan) is told the tragic story of how a boy drowned in the lake in 1957 and how mysterious fires and poisonings have contributed to the camp’s notorious reputation. However, the new crop of camp counsellors are, for the most part, oblivious to the camp’s storied history thanks to the owner, Steve Christy (Brouwer), attempting to maintain order around the camp by intentionally leaving out Camp Crystal Lake’s more gory details; a rugged, hands-on kind of man with one hell of a moustache, Steve is a hard taskmaster who is determined to get the camp refurbished and ready to go and to silence the naysayers from town. Despite this, he disappears for most of the film, leaving his new counsellors to fend for themselves, thus setting himself up as another potential suspect.
She might be one of the original “final girls” but Alice isn’t the most interesting protagonist.
In Steve’s absence, the camp is kept ticking over by his, right-hand woman, Alice (King), an aspiring artist who seems to have a bit of an unresolved or troublesome relationship with Steve; Alice is just as hands-on as Steve and generally acts as his go-between, ferrying messages and jobs to the other counsellors. Despite being the default authority figure, Alice is no more prominent or outstanding than any of the other characters, who are actually slightly more interesting and dynamic thanks to their more memorable, if cliché, characteristics. They might be horny goofballs at times, with few complexities to them, but Alice is a comparatively bland and boring character by comparison; retroactively, of course, her more grounded and responsible nature make her the ideal “final girl” but, unlike some of her contemporaries and counterparts from around the same time, Alice still falls short for me and, even in the finale, is little more than a screaming wreck who gets lucky rather than being an adaptable and capable young woman.
Despite the presence of Kevin Bacon, the counsellors are all largely disposable victims.
To be fair, most of the counsellors are far more interested in mucking about setting the place up, flirting, and shagging; Ned (Mark Nelson) is especially interested in the prospect of hooking up while at camp, mainly because of how brazen and affectionate his friends, Marcie (Taylor) and Jack (Bacon) are. The teens, who are rounded out by Bill (Crosby) and Brenda (Laurie Bartram), quickly bond, finding plenty of time to sunbath, relax, and play lewd pranks on each other all while largely unaware that they’re being watched and stalked from the dense forest. You might think that, maybe, future star Kevin Bacon stands out from the pack but, to be honest, he simply blends in as another disposable victim for the film’s killer and only a die-hard Kevin Bacon fan would say any different. In the end, he like his peers, exists to get laid and then meet a hauntingly gruesome end.
The Nitty-Gritty: Like any good horror film, Friday the 13th is bolstered by two things first and foremost: the brutality of the kills and the haunting nature of its soundtrack. Just as Carpenter’s iconic Halloween theme helped to increase its dread and horror, so too does Harry Manfredini’s memorable “ki-ki-ma-ma” chant help to personify and represent the largely-unseen killer and takes on additional significance once the killer’s identity and motives are revealed as it represents the desperate pleas of a wronged son for vengeance.
Gruesome special effects and gory deaths are the order of the day in Friday the 13th.
Of course, you can’t talk about any horror film, much less a Friday the 13th, without mentioning the special effects; born from the mind of effects maestro Tom Savini, Friday the 13th’s practical effects and horrific kills might be some of the more subdued in the franchise but they’re still an undeniable highlight of the film. Friday the 13th features such gruesome moments as Annie getting her throat slit (and Ned’s similarly mangled corpse), Marcie taking an axe right to the face, and, of course, the iconic visual of Kevin Bacon getting an arrow thrust through his throat from beneath his bed! Later, Alice is traumatised when she stumbles upon the bloodied and desecrated corpses of the counsellors (with Brenda’s body being launched through a window as she attempts to hide) and the film concludes with a pretty impressive, if now somewhat preposterous, decapitation effect.
Pamela was driven to a murderous rage after her son, Jason, apparently drowned in the lake.
Naturally, with the killer’s identity remaining a mystery throughout the film, the reveal of the killer for the film’s finale is probably one of the most memorable moments of Friday the 13th beyond the score and the gore. As I mentioned, many characters are set up as red herrings throughout the film but the killer is, eventually, revealed to be Pamela Voorhees (Palmer), an old friend of the Christy’s and the camp’s former cook. While this is a shock (mainly because it appeared as though the killer was a male, judging by the hands), it’s also pretty damn obvious that she’s the culprit as she appears literally out of nowhere right at the end of the film after everyone else but Alice has been brutally murdered, although this may still come as a shock to many newcomers or those ignorant to the franchise who believe that the more iconic Jason was the killer all along. Pamela, though, was the original killer of the franchise; driven to a murderous rage after her son, Jason (Ari Lehman), drowned in the lake years ago due to the negligence of the camp counsellors, Pamela is revealed to be the one behind all the killings and unfortunate events that have plagued Camp Crystal Lake ever since. Unlike Jason and Michael Myers/The Shape (Nick Castle/Various), Pamela is an articulate and deviously calculating villain, mimicking the cries of her child to lure Brenda to her death and initially fooling Alice with her affable nature. It doesn’t take long, though, for the extent of Pamela’s psychosis to be revealed and, much like the finale of Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960), she spells her motivations out as plain as day and pursues Alice with a crazed aggression. Luckily for Alice, Pamela becomes massively inept and far less efficient with her final victim, which ultimately leads to her grisly decapitation at Alice’s hands.
The Summary: While Pamela’s eventual reveal makes for a frantic and exhilarating finale, it comes all-too late to really make up for the tedious monotony of the rest of the film; Friday the 13th does almost too good a job of building tension towards its dramatic conclusion as we’re forced to follow a group of largely uninteresting and dull characters through plodding scenes devoid of energy or intrigue. It’s one thing to establish a foreboding mood but it’s quite another to just be out-right boring and, with a surprisingly low body count and few instances of sex and debauchery, Friday the 13th is largely a chore to get through until Mrs. Voorhees enters the proceedings. The film then pulls a shock twist completely out of nowhere, purely becauseCarrie (De Palma, 1976) pulled a similar trick, by having Jason’s mangled and monstrous form attack Alice right at the end of the film…only for it to be revealed as a nightmare…or something. The Friday the 13th franchise is full of clunkers and poor efforts but, honestly, one of the weaker entries has to be this original film; while it’s memorable and influential for taking the concepts and troupes of Halloween and largely mapping out the template for slasher films for years (even decades) to come, it can’t be denied that it’s a bit of a slog to get through. Sadly, even for a someone who is as big of a fan of the franchise as myself, all the superbly gory special effects and crazed performances by Betsy Palmer in the world can’t change my aversion towards this first film which, while a classic to be sure, is more of a snooze-fest than anything else.
My Rating:
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Could Be Better
How do you feel about Friday the 13th? Do you believe it to be a horror classic or do you agree that it’s largely unspectacular, especially now after the film’s many sequels? Which of the camp counsellors was your favourite and why, and do you think Alice made for a compelling character or would you have preferred to see someone else survive to the finale? Who did you think the killer was the first time around and what did you think to Mrs. Voorhees’ dramatic reveal? Were you even aware the she was the original killer or have I just spoiled the film for you? Which of the Friday the 13th movies is your favourite? Perhaps you prefer a different slasher film or franchise; if so, what is it? Do you consider Friday the 13th to be unlucky? Are you watching a Friday the 13th movie today? Whatever your thoughts on Friday the 13th (the movie, franchise, and day), go ahead and leave a comment down below and be sure to check in again for more horror content in the near future!
Released: 13 February 2018 Originally Released: 4 March 2014 Developer: Obsidian Entertainment Also Available For: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360
The Background: Back in 1992, Matt Stone and Trey Parker took some glue, construction paper, and an old 8 mm film camera and created The Spirit of Christmas, a short animated film in which four young boys accidentally bring to life a killer snowman. A Fox Broadcasting Company executive then commissioned the duo to create a follow-up short, Jesus vs. Santa, in 1995, which quickly became one of the first viral videos and led to the commission of a full series airing on Comedy Central. Originally entirely hand-animated, the duo (now joined by team of around seventy employees) soon switched to replicating their cardboard cut-out aesthetic using computers and managed to produce episodes within just a few days to stay right on the pulse of current events. Since then, South Park has expanded not just in its animation and cast but also into a whole host of other media, however South Park’s history with videogames has been…tumultuous, to say the least. Unlike previous games inspired by the show, The Stick of Truth was created with the direct involvement of Stone and Parker, who insisted that this new title actually mirrored the look of the show and would be a role-playing adventure game that utilised the duo’s script and ideas.
South Park had a number of videogame spin-offs, most of them ugly and pretty bad.
Unfortunately, however, the game ran into difficulties after THQ (who had agreed to help work on the game) filed for bankruptcy in 2012; the rights to the game were then bought by Ubisoft, who delayed the game’s release date to make significant changes to its direction. South Park: The Stick of Truth finally released in March 2014; although the game was heavily censored in Europe, it became the best-selling game available within its first week of release here in the United Kingdom and, by February 2016, had shipped over five million copies. Reviews were generally favourable, despite some criticism of the game’s mechanics, but the game performed well enough to earn a sequel in 2017. I, personally, first played through The Stick of Truth on the PlayStation 3 and loved its simple, yet surprisingly deep mechanics, its graphical fidelity to the source material, and its outrageous sense of humour so I jumped at the chance to cash-in a free download code for the Xbox One version to relive the original title in all its sardonic glory.
The Plot: A new kid has moved to South Park and quickly finds himself drawn into a fantasy role-playing game the kids are playing involving control of the all-powerful “Stick of Truth”. However, after an alien spacecraft crash-lands in the small mountain town and toxic waste from the ship begins infecting citizens and wildlife, the new kid and his newfound friends suddenly find themselves embroiled in a very real fight for their very lives!
The Gameplay: South Park: The Stick of Truth is a 2.5D, sidescrolling action/adventure game with heavy elements of role-playing mechanics and an emphasis on story, character interactions, side quests, and acquiring new weapons, armour, and buffs. When you first start the game, you’re tasked with creating your avatar, the otherwise-entirely-silent “New Kid”; here, you’re given a few options to customise the New Kid’s hair, skin tone, clothing, and other elements before you’re thrust into the game’s story and tasked with exploring the quiet little mountain town of South Park.
Customise your avatar and choose from four classes, each with their own unique abilities.
Luckily, you live next door to one of my favourite characters in the series, Butters Stotch, who introduces you to Eric Cartman and the game the kids are playing; a role-playing fantasy game very much inspired by the likes of Dungeons & Dragons. As a result, you’re quickly asked to pick from one of four classes: Fighter, Thief, Mage, and Jew. While each has its own specific abilities, positives, and negatives, weapons and armour and such aren’t limited to each class so you can pick a Fighter and still focus on Mana-based attacks like a Mage if that’s your bag. However, unlike in the sequel, you cannot switch or mix and match classes in this game so, once you pick a class, you’re locked into it for the rest of the game.
Be sure to explore thoroughly before a new day starts or else you might miss collectables.
Stick of Truth divides its story up into days, rather than chapters; you’re free to explore the town as much as you wish but certain areas and houses and such are either locked or barred off until you complete story quests, side quests, or learn new fart-based magic. As a result, it’s entirely possible to explore a good percentage of the town on the first day, meeting people and getting side quests going, uncovering loot and as much as you possibly can before night falls and you enter certain areas that can’t be revisited. This means it’s advisable to explore every inch of your environment in case you miss something because you might not be able to go back and grab it when the sun rises.
Combat is a simple, but surprisingly deep, affair.
The game has a difficulty slider for you to utilise but there are no Achievements associated with playing the game on a harder mode so the only reason you’d turn this is up is if you found the game’s combat too easy. And, to be fair, that’s entirely possible; as you explore, you’ll come up across fellow kids, rabid dogs, drunken vagrants, and Nazi zombies (you know, the usual) around town; you can easily bypass them but then you won’t earn experience points (EXP) or level-up. Luckily, though, you can strike them on the overworld to gain an advantage in combat. Battles take place on a traditional 2.5D battlefield and are entirely turn-based; you can wait as long as you like to take your turn without fear of being attacked, which is nice, and can select your character’s abilities or use an item as well as cast magic or attack, meaning you generally always have the advantage. Battles usually boil down to selecting an attack and pressing either A, X, Y, rotating the analogue stick, mashing buttons, or a combination of all of these elements to land attacks. Before you strike, your weapon will flash; pressing the right button at this time will unleash a stronger attack, or allow a combination of moves to be performed. It’s pretty simple to get the hang of and you can buff your attacks with equipment patches and farts to deal additional damage.
Each of your buddies has their own attacks and abilities to help you in and out of battle.
Generally speaking, though, combat comes down to how easily you adapt to the wheel-based menu (which can be a bit janky at times) and how accurate you are at pressing A; when an enemy attacks, you’ll have a small window to press A to defend yourself and reduce the damage done to you or keep yourself safe from status effects. This window can be very small at times so you’ll need to have your wits about you but, luckily, you are joined by a number of buddy characters in battle who have abilities and capabilities of their own (or act as a punching bag, if necessary). Butters, for example, can heal you without you having to waste an item, while Kenny McCormick continuously resurrects after death and Kyle Broflovski can increase your attack power. Additionally, you can switch your buddy at any time in battle at the cost of a turn, instantly allowing you to have a fresh buddy ready to lend a hand.
You can inflict multiple status effects on your enemies to aid you in battle.
Combat is simple to learn, easy to master, and fun to experience; with patches and perks, you can make your character incredibly overpowered in a very short period of time, dealing multiplier status effects to your enemies (such as bleeding, burning, and grossing them out), regenerating health (HP) or Power Points (PP), and dealing additional damage or upping your abilities or defences. It’s pretty easy to double up these effects with the natural abilities of your weapons to wipe out your enemies, even when they armour up or reflect and deflect your ranged or melee attacks.
Interact with your environment to take out enemies quickly and efficiently.
The New Kid has quite a few resources at his disposal to make things even easier as well; often, you can shoot or fart on objects in the overworld to either damage or defeat enemies and you can learn various types of fart-based magic to open up new areas or aid you in battle. These are sometimes cumbersome, however, as they require some tricky or imprecise movements of the right analogue stick to pull off and are made even more inconvenient by the fact that your Mana Meter doesn’t automatically refill after a battle like your HP and PP. This means that you have to buy and consume Mana-restoring food to keep it up (but not too high, lest you shit your pants in battle); luckily, though, as I said, HP and PP are restored and all status effects wiped away once a battle ends, allowing you to keep HP and PP restoring items for the more difficult boss battles.
Use your hard-found cash to buy weapons, armour, and other wares.
As you explore South Park, it’s recommended that you attack and interact with everything you see to find new armour, patches, weapons, items, junk, and cash. Fittingly, the game’s money is measured in small amounts; you’ll generally find a few cents lying around and resources only cost a few dollars or so but you can sell your useless junk or unwanted items to make more money. When you venture to Canada, though, you’ll have to contend with their higher prices and exchange rate but I never found myself strapped for cash or wanting for resources; if your inventory is full, you can usually return to the item chest or location and pick up whatever you couldn’t carry later on if you really want to.
The New Kid gains numerous abilities to help him progress further and access new areas.
The New Kid also gains access to a few additional abilities to help him out; when you’re abducted by aliens, you’ll get an anal probe inserted into you that allows you to access alien tech to open doors or teleport around the map. Later, when you meet the Underpants Gnomes, you’ll also gain the ability to shrink to access new areas, in addition to using the New Kid’s fart abilities and various buddies. This latter aspect was significantly expanded upon in the sequel and it can sometimes be unclear exactly what you need to do and with which buddy. The entirety of the town in accessible and faithfully recreated, though (except for Mephisto’s laboratory and the Mall…), which really adds to the game’s level of detail and fidelity and you can use Timmy to fast travel across the map (though I found myself running about the place more often than not to find more loot and level-up through battling).
Talk to, and befriend, everyone in South Park.
You’ll also gain EXP by completing the many and varied side quests that The Stick of Truth has to offer; at any one time, you can have as many as ten quests on the go at once, including those that are story-based, and you can keep track of these at all times using the New Kid’s phone and Facebook feed. Much of the game’s plot revolves around rallying others to your cause or making Facebook friends with the townsfolk so you’ll need to talk to everyone you see to gain followers and be given side quests to complete to earn EXP, get more followers, and even acquire certain iconic South Park characters as Summons to help you out in battle.
The story is as wacky and crude as you would expect from South Park.
The game’s hilarious and multi-faceted story, which involves all the familiar faces of the show and even recycles or addresses jokes and loose ends from the episodes, is just as wacky and insane as the show has become over the years; what starts as a simple (yet surprisingly elaborate) war between Cartman’s human forces and those of Kyle’s elf-kind quickly escalates into a battle against Nazi zombies and gun-toting government agents looking to destroy the town. After both groups are betrayed by Clyde, the New Kid has to travel to Canada to translate a message; this is where the game’s presentation takes a sudden and hilarious left turn as Canada is rendered through traditional 8-bit graphics, complete with an 8-bit rendering of “Blame Canada” and the Canadian national anthem. It’s a hilarious and mental detour that, sadly, doesn’t last as long as it could do (though, thankfully, you can return to Canada to fight Dire Wolves whenever you want). Ultimately, all of the kids you’ve befriended lay siege to Clyde’s elaborate dark tower and you end up having to disarm a nuclear bomb inside of Mr. Slave’s ass, battle a zombified Chef, and finally defeat Kenny after he claims the Stick as his own and transforms into a Nazi zombie himself.
Graphics and Sound: The Stick of Truth is beautiful in its simplicity; in every respect, it looks exactly like an episode of the popular cartoon show, with the entirety of the town and its many houses, areas, and districts rendered in the finest cardboard cut-out-style 2.5D available. It’s literally like you’re playing an extended episode of the show as you’re able to visit the school, the houses of all the show’s popular characters, and the many businesses and iconic locations South Park has to offer.
The entirety of South park is recreated in stunning detail.
I honestly cannot gush about this presentation enough; too often, videogames based on cartoons (especially the South Park titles) slap an ugly, polygonal 3D effect on the presentation that ruins the game’s look and feel. Here, though, everything is just as crude and charming as in the cartoon; weapons and armour all look distinctly child-like, as though cobbled together by kids, and the way the game incorporates its more elaborate elements into the show’s aesthetic is impressive. Add to that the fact that the game not only uses music from the show but the voices of the entire cast and you’ve got a really special package and the result is a game adaptation that is more than 100% faithful to its source material, utilising so many jokes, characters, and words of dialogue that it’s actually quite mind-boggling.
Enemies and Bosses: As you explore the town, you’ll get into fights with other kids and wild dogs in the game’s early going; these battles generally take place in a two-on-two format but you’ll face groups of about six at some points as well. Each of your enemies has similar abilities to you, meaning they can cast magic to slow you down, cause you to bleed, set you on fire, or gross you out but enemies will also enter a “Riposte” stance to automatically counter a melee attack or a “Reflect” stance to automatically parry ranged attacks. Enemies can also armour up and erect shields, which must be broken through with regular attacks before you can deal real damage, or have healers on hand to replenish their HP or remove status effects.
Enemies soon become hilariously ridiculous.
Later in the game, the townsfolk become infected with alien goo and become Nazi zombies; unlike other enemies, these guys will resurrect after a few turns, meaning you need to either end battles against them quickly our utilise attacks that hit multiple foes to clear their corpses from the field. When you reach Canada, you’ll have to contend with Dire Wolves, Bears, and Snakes, all of which are a bit more formidable than the town’s usual foes and can infect you with “Dire AIDs” if you’re not careful. Generally, though, battles against common enemies are pretty much a foregone conclusion; you’ll be so overpowered and have mastered the battle system so well that even groups of difficult enemies will be no match for you with the right setup.
Watch out for your Dad’s swinging balls when you’re battling the Gnome Warlock!
Of course, you’ll also have to take part in a number of more challenging boss battles throughout the game’s story. Stick of Truth’s boss battles involve a lot of variety compared to regular battles and have you performing slightly more complex actions, such as resisting the sleeping effects of Jimmy Valmer’s stuttering limericks, keeping the Hallway Monitor from calling your parents, and dodging the swinging testicles of your father as you battle the Gnome Warlock.
Al Gore is a serious pain the ass as both a character and a boss.
One of the game’s more difficult and annoying bosses is former Vice President of the United States Al Gore; after a long side quest involving Gore’s vendetta against “ManBearPig”, you’ll enter a lengthy and difficult battle against Gore and his bodyguards where the former Vice President will try to put you to sleep with a presentation on global warming, up his attack and regenerate his health, and bombard you with rapid slaps all while his constantly-respawning bodyguards take shots at you. It’s a tough fight but one that can be completely avoided (though you’ll lose out on Achievements if you do skip it) and made easier by having Jimmy as a buddy. You’ll battle Al Gore again later on, this time when he is under the guise of ManBearPig, but this is a walk in the park compared to the first fight.
Despite the censoring, Stick of Truth goes above and beyond to shock and entertain.
Things continue pretty smoothly until a breakout of the Nazi zombie virus as the Unplanned Parenthood facility; here, you’ll have to battle a gigantic Nazi zombie foetus, which has a staggering amount of HP and comes alongside an umbilical cord that leeches your HP. Because of this, it is absolutely essential that you destroy the umbilical cord first and remove it from the battlefield, avoid trying to gross the foetus out (as zombies are resistant to that), and focus on chaining bleeding and burning multipliers while swapping out your buddy.
The Sparrow Prince can present a real challenge.
Later, when you venture inside of Mr. Slave, you’ll have to face another annoying boss: the Sparrow Prince. As a spirit, the Sparrow Prince is immune to the bleeding status effect and is accompanied by constantly-respawning globs of Nazi zombie bacteria. It’s not an impossible battle with the right class type and setup but it can be frustrating since the Sparrow Prince’s attacks deal high amounts of damage and hit quite quickly, making it difficult to defend yourself in time.
In the finale, you’ll run a gauntlet against Nazi zombie versions of your friends and allies.
The game’s finale sees you run a gauntlet, of sorts, of tough enemies in Clyde’s fortified tower and then a number of bosses, the first being against a reanimated, Nazi zombie Chef. This isn’t much of a hassle, though, and you’ll eventually face off with Kenny in quite a long-winded battle that sees your damage carry over between Kenny’s different phases and you automatically swap between buddies as the story dictates. It’s not especially difficult (especially compared to Al Gore or the Sparrow Prince) but it can get frustrating as you’re right at the end of the game but Kenny keeps getting back up and regenerating until you fart on his balls and bring the game to an end.
Power-Ups and Bonuses: As an RPG, you obviously have access to a wide variety of weapons, armour, and power-ups to aid you in your journey. Levelling-up generally allows access to battle abilities rather than affecting your stats and the game caps your level at fifteen, though by the time you hit that you will be massively over-powered if you have equipped the right gear.
Attack up close or from afar, buffing your weapons with various patches and abilities.
You have access to two weapons: a melee weapon (swords, staffs, crutches, dildos, and the like) and a ranged weapon (dodge balls, darts, crossbows, and so forth). As you explore, you’ll find more powerful variations on these weapons, or you can buy them from various merchants about town. Each weapon comes with various buffs (such as causing an opponent to bleed, leeching HP, or powering up your abilities) can be assigned up to two equipment patches to increase your buffs further (this can add additional damage, leeching, or regenerative properties, among other options).
Weapons and armour can all be powered up to make battles a walk in the park.
Similarly, your helmet, armour, and gloves can be equally powered up by equipment patches to make your avatar quite the formidable fighter; thanks to patches and buffs, you can combine status effects and other buffs to ensure you always have the edge in battle and you can even customise the colour scheme of your equipment with various dyes.
Learning new fart magic can be a tricky task to master.
Completing side quests also nets you the ability to use Summons; while these can only be used once per game day and are useless in boss battles, they can turn the tide further in your favour if you’re struggling against certain enemies. As the story progresses, you’ll also unlock additional fart powers to use in and outside of battle; these can be awkward to learn and to use in the field, requiring vague movements of the analogue sticks to pull off, and frankly are nowhere near as user-friendly or as prominent as in the sequel.
Additional Features: South Park: The Stick of Truth comes with fifty Achievements for you to earn, the majority of which are pretty standard fare (defeating certain numbers of enemies, completing story-based tasks, using certain attacks and so forth) but others can be easily missed or will require a bit of preparation on your part. There’s one that requires you to wear a bald cap and a goatee or ginger freckles to battle certain enemies, for example, another for completing the game without selling any items or wearing certain outfits, and even one for finishing the game without a single buddy being knocked out.
You’ll need to search high, low, and all around to find all thirty Chinpokomon.
The game is absolutely packed full of content but, unfortunately, most of this is confined to the main game rather than the post-game; as many areas become inaccessible after you complete them, you may find you have to restart from a previous save (or start a new game entirely) to find everything you need or befriend everyone in town. Scattered throughout the game are thirty Chinpokomon for you to find, for example, and 121 people to become friends with on Facebook. Talk to the wrong people at the wrong time or fail to explore your surroundings properly and you may find that you miss your one and only chance to tick these off your to-do list, meaning you’ll have to start all over again.
Side quests will take you all over town and even to the chilly mountains of Canada.
There’s so much to do around town thanks to the game’s side quests; you’ll be finding kindergarteners in a game of hide-and-seek, tracking down Mr. Hankey’s lost pooplings, ferrying messages between South Park characters, attacking Mongolian children on behalf or Mr. Kim, and you can even have surgery performed to look like David Hasselhoff! Jimbo and Ned send you on a side quest that sees you battling a number of option bosses as well, such as a rabid dog, the iconic mouse-penis, and the Canadian Barking Spider of the Queefing Caverns.
The Summary: South Park: The Stick of Truth is a great little RPG; it’s not especially difficult, and this will probably turn off hardcore RPG players, but there’s a surprising amount of depth to its simple presentation and battle system. There’s a lot going on in the game but it never feels like you’re overwhelmed or can’t remember how to do stuff; it’s very intuitive and user-friendly, for the most part, and the story is hilariously crude and quite long.
The game won me over with its many quests, outrageous humour, and fidelity to the show.
The game’s length is padded by the sheer amount of side quests and things to do, see, and collect; it’s easy to waste a lot of your time veering away from the main story mission to beat up homeless people on behalf of the Mayor or transport messages across the length and breadth of Canada. Battles are quick and fun, requiring a bit of strategy at times but nothing that’s going to cause you game-breaking frustrations (with the possible exception of learning the “Sneaky Squeaker” from Randy Marsh), and I never found myself bored while playing. Quite the contrary, in fact, as I constantly found myself being immersed in the South Park world thanks to the game’s top–tier presentation. For as long as it is, though, the game is quite short but, thankfully, the sequel offers more of the same, expanding and improving upon it where necessary and, between the two of them, both games really exemplify the right way to adapt cartoons into a videogame.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Fantastic
What are your thoughts on South Park: The Stick of Truth? Did you enjoy the game or do you prefer a bit more challenge in your RPGs? Which character class did you choose, and did you side with Cartman or with Kyle when the story asked? Which parts of the game were your favourite, or least favourite, and which of the two did you prefer? Perhaps you prefer a different South Park videogame; if so, what is it, and which South Park character or episode is your favourite? How are you celebrating South Park’s anniversary this year? No matter what your thoughts on South Park: The Stick of Truth, or South Park in general, I’d love to hear from you so feel free to leave a comment below.
Easily Marvel Comics’ most recognisable and popular superhero, unsuspecting teenage nerd Peter Parker was first bitten by a radioactive spider and learned the true meaning of power and responsibility in Amazing Fantasy #15, which was first published in August 1962. Since then, the Amazing Spider-Man has featured in numerous cartoons, live-action movies, videogames, action figures, and countless comic book titles and, in celebration of his debut and his very own day of celebration, I’ve been dedicating every Wednesday to talk about everyone’s favourite web-head!
Air Date: 14 September 1977 Network: CBS Stars: Nicholas Hammond, Lisa Eilbacher, Thayer David, David White, and Michael Pataki
The Background: Following his debut in the pages of Amazing Fantasy #5, Spider-Man soon graduated to his own solo comic series and, by the mid-1970s, had become an icon of mainstream pop culture thanks to numerous merchandise and adaptations in other media such as the 1960s cartoon. It was during this time that CBS bought the rights to produce a live-action show for prime-time television; however, rather than debuting as an episodic series, The Amazing Spider-Man first aired as a feature-length episode that served as a back-door pilot. The pilot actually received a theatrical release outside of the United States, though I only remember seeing it on TV here in the United Kingdom once as a kid; regardless, the pilot was a success and led to the commission of a thirteen episode series that aired between 1977 and 1979.
Spider-Man’s feature-length pilot led to a thirteen episode TV series.
Despite drawing favourable ratings during its airing, CBS were reluctant to continue the show as it was expensive to produce and underperformed with older audiences. As a result, the show was eventually cancelled and has never seen a re-release outside of a few VHS tapes back in the day. Although the series was lacking in any of Spider-Man’s recognisable rogues gallery, it’s rumoured that there were tentative plans to produce a crossover with the long-running Incredible Hulk series (1977 to 1982) but these, obviously, never came through. Today, the series is largely forgotten, having been long overshadowed by Spider-Man’s big budgetlive-action ventures but Peter’s likeness in the 1994 cartoon always reminded me of Hammond’s.
The Plot: When freelance photographer Peter Parker (Hammond) is bitten by a radioactive spider and gains the proportionate strength, speed, and agility of a spider, he adopts a crime-fighting persona dubbed Spider-Man to oppose the aspirations of the malicious Edward Byron (David), who plans to hold the city to ransom with his mind control technology.
The Review: After the introductory titles (which features both a glimpse of the spectacular stunt work that the pilot and series was known for and the show’s super funky seventies theme music), Spider-Man immediately introduces the central antagonistic force of the plot as a doctor and a lawyer are inexplicably compelled to walk out in the middle of their jobs and perform a bank robbery, with the only thing relating the two being mysterious pins attached to their suits.
Peter struggles to sell photos to, or get assignments from, the grouchy Jameson.
Next, we’re introduced to Peter Parker, a freelance photographer who suffers from allergies and is attempting to work his way through college by selling photographs to J. Jonah Jameson (White), to little avail. While Jameson is far less as explosive and grouchy than his usual iterations, he’s still volatile and a natural cynic at heart, especially when faced with the seeming randomness of the opening crime and the subsequent threat for further crimes to follow.
A lone spider is bathed in radiation during one of Peter’s experiments…
While Peter can’t catch a break with Jameson and is thus constantly low on cash, he’s intrigued by the threat of mass mind control that has been levied against the city and has far more luck in the field of science. Peter works in a laboratory alongside his friend and fellow student Dave (Larry Anderson) and the two of them are conducting experiments on radiation. However, while dealing with some radioactive waste, a lone spider is bathed in over 400 rads’ worth of radiation and, in its last desperate act, bites Peter’s hand.
Peter is exhilarated to find he can cling to walls and surfaces just like a spider!
I’m not entirely certain but I think this is the first time the spider bite was indirectly caused through Peter’s own actions and it’s an interesting change. Rather than going through any kind of adjustment period or troublesome transformation, Peter experiences the effects of the spider bite almost instantaneously, being aware of incoming danger thanks to his spider-sense and racing up a wall with ease and on pure instinct. It’s not until later, after a particularly gruelling night’s sleep, that Peter pieces together the fantastic event and realises that he has been genetically altered; this leads to a montage in which he explores the lengths of his new abilities on the outside of his Aunt May’s (Jeff Donnell) through the use of camera trickery.
After being dubbed “Spider-Man”, Peter throws together a costume to sell pictures to Jameson.
It’s not a great effect, and certainly nothing on the practical wire work seen later in the pilot, but it’s certainly ambitious for the time. Peter first puts his powers to good use while clambering up a wall in the city, which is startling enough to stop a purse snatcher (Barry Cutler) in his tracks. This leads to eyewitnesses dubbing him “Spider-Man”, which piques Jameson’s interest and, in that moment, gives Peter the inspiration to construct a colourful outfit and persona befitting of such a name and to explain Spider-Man’s logistics and capabilities to the pessimistic Jameson (and, in the process, the audience). While Peter acts on instinct to stop a criminal, his primary motivation for becoming Spider-Man is to sell Jameson pictures; there’s no Uncle Ben or lessons about power and responsibility here (which, I’m sure, today’s Spider-Man “fans” would throw a fit over!), just a regular kid trying to do the right thing and make some money out of little more than an ingrained sense of right or wrong.
Captain Barbara’s cantankerous, gruff demeanour was a real highlight for me.
In the course of the pilot, Peter runs afoul of the temperamental Captain Barbara (Pataki), a grouchy, cantankerous, and suspicious police captain who is kind of like the Jack McGee (Jack Colvin) of the show; perhaps because of his jaded nature, he is almost immediately suspicious of Peter and becomes even more so when Peter continues to show up at the scenes of the inexplicable crimes. Barbara is equally unimpressed with Spider-Man’s debut, believing (with little reason) that the wall-crawler is somehow involved in the mysterious events and voicing many of the more aggressive objections to the vigilante that are usually attributed to Jameson, who is skeptical of Spider-Man but never exhibits the hatred normally associated with the character.
Peter and Judy attend one of Byron’s aggressive seminars on the futility of life.
When covering the aftermath of another of the incidents in which Professor Noah Tyler (Ivor Francis) randomly committed a robbery and then crashed head-first into a wall, Peter meets his daughter, Judy (Lisa Eilbacher). Judy confides in Peter that her father has been attending a special group to teach people the “true meaning of themselves” through unusually aggressive lectures. This group, which is more like a cult or twisted church, is led by the pilot’s big bad, Edward Byron; Byron uses specialised radio signals to compel his victims to commit their crimes and is basically able to force anyone wearing one of his pins and subjected to his mind control device to follow his explicit instructions. Specifically, Byron has them commit robberies and then kill themselves and his end goal is extortion, as he threatens to kill several citizens unless he’s paid a ransom of $50 million. Byron exhibits a disdain for those in his group, and humanity in general, and believes himself to be above them both in terms of intelligence and stature; for all his grandiose speeches, though, he’s little more than a madman who wishes to exert and abuse his power and technology purely to satiate his greed.
Peter’s far from the hapless nerd from the comics and his ingenuity is heavily emphasised.
While Peter has some bad luck in the pilot, it’s generally more around trying to make money off the pugnacious Jameson and he’s far from the hapless, down on his luck nerd he is often pigeon-holed as. Instead, he’s a relatively well-adjusted young man who bonds with Judy extremely quickly and a central theme of the pilot is Peter’s intelligence and scientific acumen. Not only does he put together an impressive costume for himself but he quickly cobbles together his patented web-shooters and not only stumbles upon Byron’s hypnotic signal with his microwave emitter but also puts together a gadget to led him to the source of the signal.
Stuntman Fred Waugh took over once Peter donned the suit to perform the pilot’s dangerous stunts.
When in the costume, Spider-Man duties mostly fall to stuntman Fred Waugh, who adopts an agile grace and insectile posture that, possibly, was a conscious decision on Waugh’s part to emphasise the physicality of the character. The pilot features a number of complex and incredibly dangerous stunts achieved through the use of wire work, cables, rigging, and rotating sets; though you can make out some of the wires here and there, that doesn’t take away from the ambition of those involved and it’s because of this practical approach that, for the first time, we get to see a live-action Spider-Man literally climbing up the sides of buildings, leaping to ceilings and walls, and swinging across rooftops (something, even now, which is more likely to be achieved through CGI than traditional filmmaking techniques).
Spidey’s intelligence wins the day as much as his incredible strength and agility.
While these instances showcase Spider-Man’s agility, a protracted fight scene between the web-head and Byron’s three mind-controlled goons does a decent job of showing how formidable Spider-Man is (and, in a follow-up confrontation, his amazing recuperative powers); it’s not an especially thrilling fight scene as it’s a very slow and co-ordinated affair but, nevertheless, he’s easily able to outmanoeuvre and overpower the three. This also gets paid off at the conclusion of the pilot in one of my favourite scenes where Spidey, in the quest to bring Bryon to justice, makes friends with the three. Indeed, in the end, it’s not strength or agility that wins the day but a combination of luck (Peter’s control pin gets dislodged from his jacket) and intelligence as he not only discovers but also decodes Byron’s hypnotic microwave technology. This allows Spider-Man to tear down Byron’s control antenna and turn his technology against him, rendering him little more than a mindless puppet to face Barbara’s not-inconsiderable-wrath.
The Summary: I’m well aware that I’ve used the word “ambitious” a lot in this write-up but it’s the best word I can think of to describe Spider-Man; it’s impressive how much the filmmakers were able to pull off given the limitations of the seventies and I would argue that, despite a lack of recognisable characters and villains, Spider-Man is actually a far more accurate adaptation of the source material, in many ways, than The Incredible Hulk. They’re both relatively grounded and far more realistic takes on Marvel’s colourful heroes but Spider-Man features far more innovative special effects to bring the character to life.
Despite the lack of Uncle Ben and May’s reduced role, Peter still uses his abilities responsibly.
I have to say, even now, that the Spider-Man costume is pretty impressive; it’s kind of like an all-in-one body suit but the colours are suitably bright and vibrant and I love the simplicity of the design, which includes reflective lenses and, in time, mechanical web-shooters of Peter’s own design that allows him to swing between buildings and stop crooks with a variety of webbing. It’s rarely, if ever, Hammond in the suit but the plus side to that is that Spider-Man is pretty much always wearing his mask and fully capable of performing the pilot’s complex and ambitious stunts and fight scenes. Thanks to the alterations to the character’s origin, Uncle Ben is no longer a factor (he’s not even mentioned or even hinted at) and Aunt May has a much smaller, inconsequential role where she’s a doting matriarch rather than a decrepit, fragile figure (something subsequent live-action movies would emulate). Regardless, Peter is still compelled to use his powers for good (…and to make a little money at the same time) simply because he’s a good kid; he may lack the tragedy and pure motivation often associated with the character but he’s nonetheless as determined to help others.
I’ve got a lot of nostalgia for the pilot and I’ve love to see the show made more accessible.
Neither the Amazing Spider-Man or Incredible Hulk TV shows were on when I was a kid so the only exposure I had to either was in their feature-length spin-offs and, for the longest time, Spider-Man was about as good as you could get for a live-action adaptation of the character. I remember preferring the subsequent features that were produced some time after this and were comprised of combined episodes of the show but, revisiting this pilot episode after a good twenty years was an entertaining experience, to say the least. Sure, many of the effects haven’t aged too well and it’s disappointing that it doesn’t adhere more closely to the source material but I am very forgiving of this pilot and have a real fondness for it, and Hammond’s portrayal of the character, so I can only hope that, one day, the entire series gets a much-needed release on DVD so more people can experience this early and ambitious take on the character.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Have you ever seen Spider-Man or the Amazing Spider-Man TV show? What did you think of them at the time and how do you think they hold up today? What did you think to the show’s costume, stunt effects, and Hammond’s performance as Parker? Were you a fan of original characters like Captain Barbara and Edward Byron or would you have preferred to see more comic-accurate characters and villains in the show? Would you like to see a release of the series on home media or Disney+ or do you think it’s best to leave the show to obscurity? Whatever your thoughts on the seventies Spider-Man adaptation, go ahead and leave a comment below and be sure to check in again next Wednesday for more Spider-Man content!
In the absolutely bonkers science-fiction film Pacific Rim(del Toro, 2013), the monstrous Kaiju first attacked humanity on 10th August 2013. The attack ended a few days later on August 15th but, in that time, San Francisco, Sacramento, and Oakland were completely devastated and the Kaiju War officially began. Accordingly, August 10th became known as “K-DAY” and is, for me, a fantastic excuse to talk about some giant monster movies!
Released: 7 April 1933 Director: Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack Distributor: Radio Pictures Budget: $672,254.75 Stars: Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot, and Frank Reicher
The Plot: Renowned filmmaker Carl Denham (Armstrong) charters a ship to Skull Island in search of an elusive, prehistoric creature known as “Kong”. When Ann Darrow (Wray) is captured by the creature, Denham and first-mate Jack Driscoll (Cabot) resolve to rescue her and capture the beast to showcase it as a Broadway attraction.
The Background: It’s hard to believe now but it was nearly a hundred years ago that filmmaker, adventurer, and former World War I aviator Merian C. Cooper first conceived of the iconic visual of a giant gorilla climbing to the top of the Empire State Building and being felled by modern technology. Initially wishing to produce a semi-documentary piece depicting a fight between actual gorillas and Komodo dragons, Cooper was inspired by the cost-cutting appeal of stop-motion technology to retool his concept using existing sets, props, and filmmaking techniques. The various dinosaurs of Skull Island, and King Kong himself, were designed by Marcel Delgado and brought to life using painstaking stop-motion techniques under the supervision of Willis O’Brien. A revolutionary filmmaking technique known as the “Dunning process” was employed to combine stop-motion and miniature shots with live-action actors and a huge animatronic bust of Kong’s head and body was constructed to capture close-ups of the creature. Audiences were in awe of the film and its ground-breaking effects, lining up to see the film upon its release, which was both staggered and somewhat limited but still brought in a profit of $650,000, with subsequent re-releases bringing King Kong’s total gross closer to $5.3 million. King Kong’s legacy, of course, speaks for itself, as it is widely regarded as one of the most influential movies of all time, has been preserved in the United States National Film Registry for its cultural and historical significance. It also spawned a few remakes and was one of the first and most prominent of the giant monster movies that would later be popularised by the Kaiju films of Japan.
The Review: The first thing to note about King Kong is that, yes, it is filmed in black and white; while colourised versions of the film do exist, I recommend sticking to the original monochrome version for the true authentic experience. I understand, however, that black and white films can be off-putting for some but you’re simply robbing yourself of a true piece of cinematic history. 1933 was also a very different time in human history, to say nothing of cinema; as a result, dialogue is often loud, full of clunky exposition, and largely a product of its time. This means there’s a great deal of conveniences, contrivances, and sexist comments levelled in the film towards Ann; as the only female on the Venture, Denham’s chartered ship, she’s seen as a fragile and desirable object by many and little more than a prop for Denham, who needs a “pretty face” for the public to look at.
A gruff and cynical first-mate, Driscoll’s love for Ann comes against his better nature.
Denham is an unscrupulous and demanding egotist whose obsession with creating spellbinding films and content drives him to launch an expedition into the dangerous unknown; seemingly blind to the risks that the journey may bring, he cares only for capturing amazing sights on film and purposely misleads his cast and crew regarding their destination. Upon seeing Kong, Denham’s curiosity and greed are inspired and, regardless of the lives that have already been lost and the immense danger to Ann, he is driven to a crazed obsession at capturing the beast simply to string it up for the amusement of the paying public. Annoyed at backlash from the critics and the public for never featuring a girl in his films before, Denham is determined to silence his detractors but isn’t happy about it; he, like many of the Venture’s crew, see women as little more than a distraction. Driscoll echoes many of these sentiments, believing women to be a nuisance, especially out at sea. Despite his gruff demeanour and cynicism and believing her mere presence troublesome to the attentions of himself and the other men, he can’t help but be attracted to her and concerned for her well-being considering Denham is being disconcertingly secretive about their destination and intentions for them all. This, as much as anything, makes him incredibly protective of Ann and compels him to, begrudgingly and awkwardly, admit his love for her after her safety is threatened by the island’s natives.
Ann is the original damsel in distress, though she does exude a modicum of personality at times.
Ann, for her part, is a gorgeous and fiery girl but does little to really assuage such preconceptions; driven to stealing to survive, she’s overwhelmed by Denham’s proposal for “money, adventure, and fame” and with little other choice, she signs on to the Venture out of desperation as much as the thrill. Her demeanour, however, is something of a handicap at best and a distraction at worst as she’s prone to swooning, screaming, and flights of emotional fancy. When captured by Kong, she’s, obviously, largely defenceless and helpless against his might and, yet, despite her traumatic experience with the creature, is truly heartbroken when he is killed at the film’s conclusion. Indeed, the savagery and primal nature of the beast may be frightening to Ann but she still has a respect and admiration for Kong’s uniqueness and the ferocity with which he fought to protect her. The remainder of the Venture’s crew is largely expendable and inconsequential; of them all, only Captain Englehorn (Reicher) plays a notable role since he’s…well, the captain of the ship and acting as an interpreter to the island natives. The other crew members are simply bodies to cast lewd aspersions towards Ann, question their mission, and to fall victim to Skull Island’s many hazards and dinosaurs. Speaking of which, Skull Island is home to a primitive tribe who live in fear and awe of Kong, offering him sacrifices and keeping him at bay with a gigantic wall, and, enamoured by Ann’s stark contrast to their women, kidnap her in attempt to appease the God-like creature.
Skull Island is home to many monstrous creatures that have escaped the ravages of time.
Kong’s presence hangs in the air like an ominous cloud; his mere name piques Denham’s curiosity and he and the crew are puzzled by the constant chanting of his name when they reach the island. This builds the tension to the creature’s eventual, memorable reveal to a crescendo since the size of the walls imply a gigantic creature but the result is somewhat almost unimaginable: a monstrous, twenty-foot-tall ape who becomes besotted by his latest prize and flees deep into the jungle with Ann as his “bride”. As protective and smitten by Ann as Jack, Kong exhibits a playful curiosity towards her and is especially taken by her golden hair; so infatuated with Ann is Kong that he rampages through the natives’ village after she is taken from him, destroying their homes, crushing them beneath his massive feet, and biting them in two and also engages in brutal combat with the dinosaurs of Skull Island to both keep her safe and to assert his unmatched dominance. Indeed, as impressive as Kong is, he’s not the only giant on Skull Island; dinosaurs still walk the Earth on its hidden lands, challenging Kong’s position as “King” and killing many of Englehorn’s crew. Even traditionally omnivorous creatures like the Stegosaurus and Brontosaurus are monstrous, dangerous killing machines on Skull Island but, of course, none are more formidable than the Tyrannosaurus rex. The battle with the T-Rex is especially brutal and impressive and shows off not only the film’s impressive stop-motion effects but also Kong’s versatility and unnatural capability as a fighter by overpowering the T-Rex and snapping its jaw. Clearly, Kong is not just a giant gorilla as his dimensions, form, and movements indicate he’s something truly unique even on an island of giant monsters!
The Nitty-Gritty: One of the things I enjoy about King Kong is that it, like the old Universal Monsters films from back in the thirties, is a brisk and entertaining film; clocking in about around one hundred minutes, the film wastes little time in getting to the meat and potatoes of its concept (Skull Island). This is in stark contrast to Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake, which spent what felt like two ice ages aboard the ship (I still feel like they’re travelling there even now…), and which convoluted the simple premise of the original by trying to be bigger and better. In truth, this had already been accomplished by the impressive John Guillermin’s 1976 remake, which sported an incredibly extraordinary animatronic version of Kong, but even that has its slower, more laborious moments. The same can’t be said about the classic original, which establishes the suggestion of personality for its three leads and then promptly focuses on the remarkable creatures of Skull Island.
Impressive filmmaking techniquesmerge stop-motion effects with live-action shots.
Naturally, King Kong’s biggest appeal is in the painstakingly realised stop-motion effects that are used to bring these to life; thanks to arduous time, effort, and clever filmmaking techniques, the film is able to blend together stop-motion models with live-action shots or depict battles between monstrous creatures while characters look on in awe and fear. Obviously, some of these aren’t as impressive as they once were and it’s easy to see how the shots have been blended or merged together; the stop-motion is also noticeably jerked and somewhat crude at times, especially when depicting Kong’s facial expressions and emotions, and yet it’s still an incredible achievement for the time, impressive to behold, and extremely ambitious considering the restrictions and that the techniques were still new and being developed during this era. It would have been easy to simply focus on one beast, the titular Kong, but the filmmakers opted to go all-in and showcase a variety of complex dinosaurs on Skull Island, which really adds to the mystery and otherworldliness of the location, and the film does a pretty decent job of showing Denham, Driscoll, and the Venture’s expendable crew members battling with the various monsters of the island.
Though a king in his native land, Kong is overwhelmed by the ferocity of man.
Of course, it’s one thing to see Kong in the deep jungles of a fantasy island that time forgot but it’s another thing entirely to see him first bound and then tearing through the streets of downtown New York City! Once a king, now reduced to a mere spectacle to be ogled at, Kong’s escape and subsequent rampage is a stark reminder of the brutality and fierceness of nature as Kong steps on pedestrians, crushes cars, destroys trains, and even devours humans in his relentless pursuit of the object of his affections. Love, tragedy, and the brutality of nature are prominent themes throughout the film; Driscoll is driven to read head-first into the unknown to rescue Ann, just as Kong is when he ends up in New York. As iconic and timeless as King Kong is for its effects it is, perhaps, equally as memorable for its tragic ending; so obsessed with holding on to Ann is Kong that he is forced into climbing the Empire State Building in an attempt to get up high and in a position of dominance. Unfortunately, while the human characters are able to adapt to and conquer Skull Island with their weapons and fortitude, Kong is ultimately overwhelmed by the modern world and unable to probably navigate, respond to, or combat it and, as a result, he is gunned down and meets an inauspicious, tragic, and unforgettable end in his efforts to protect his “bride”.
The Summary: Undeniably, King Kong is an absolute classic and near-timeless movie; it’s one of those films that everyone should take the time to watch simply for its contribution to cinema through its ground-breaking and incredibly ambitious special effects. Obviously, there are elements of the film that haven’t aged too well thanks to how society has changed and the effects look rather primitive compared to what Hollywood is capable of today but many of those techniques would not have been possible without King Kong, which still holds up remarkably well thanks to the impressive way that it blends live-action shots, sets, and stop-motion techniques together to create a truly moving and emotional tragedy about a misunderstood and savage beast being smitten by a gorgeous and emotional beauty. As creative as subsequent Kong films as been, and for all the monster movies that have followed, few have the spectacle and timelessness of King Kong, which continues to impress through its ambition and is well recommended not just for fans of monster movies but for fans of cinema in general.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Great Stuff
Have you ever seen the original 1933 version of King Kong? If so, what do you think to it and how do you think it holds up today, especially compared to other monster films and subsequent remake sand interpretations of Kong? What did you think to the stop-motion effects? Do you think they were the best option available or would you have preferred to see a man in a suit or some other technique used? What’s your favourite version of Kong, or your favourite Kaiju movie, and how are you celebrating K-Day today? Whatever your thoughts on King Kong, Kaiju, or monster movies in general, please do leave a comment below and be sure to check back in for more giant monster content in the near future!
Released: 30 July 2021 Director: James Gunn Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures Budget: $34 million Stars: Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, John Cena, Sylvester Stallone/Steve Agee, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Joel Kinnaman, Peter Capaldi, and Viola Davis
The Plot: After Colonel Rick Flag (Kinnaman) and Doctor Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn (Robbie) are captured and presumed killed during a mission into the war-torn nation of Corto Maltese, Amanda Waller (Davis) blackmails former mercenary and marksman Robert DuBois/Bloodsport (Elba) into leading a new Task Force X team on a suicide mission into the nation to acquire Gaius Grieves/The Thinker (Capaldi), who has vital information regarding the mysterious and potentially cataclysmic “Project: Starfish”.
The Background: Task Force X, otherwise known by the more colourful sobriquet of “The Suicide Squad”, is a team of supervillains, anti-heroes, and convicts that first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #25 in September 1059. Created by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru, the team’s initial six-issue run was later expanded upon exponentially by writer John Ostrander in 1987; Ostrander defined many of the elements that are now closely associated with the team, such as them being commanded by Amanda Waller and forced into behaving under threat of remote execution. Due to the very nature of the team (the clue’s in the name after all), the Suicide Squad has seen many different incarnations over the years and has featured in a number of adaptations outside of the comics. They made their live-action debut in Suicide Squad (Ayer, 2016), a film that arguably was the DC Extended Universe’s (DCEU) attempt to emulate the success of Guardians of the Galaxy(Gunn, 2014); despite heavyweights like Will Smith and Jared Leto attached and bringing in nearly $750 million against a $175 million budget, Suicide Squad was a critical disaster. However, Suicide Squad did give us Margot Robbie’s fantastic portrayal of Harley Quinn, which received significant praise (and her own spin-off), and there has been a major fan demand for Warner Bros. to release the director’s cut of the film. Still, Suicide Squad made money and had a bankable star so a sequel (and several other spin-offs) was put into development. Perhaps because of Ayer’s public lambasting of Warner Bros.’ interference with his film, a new director was courted for the follow-up, with James Gunn being hired after he was briefly fired from Disney and Marvel Studios. Given complete creative control of the project, Gunn decided to produce a standalone sequel that featured some of DC’s most ridiculous villains and mashed them into a team of losers, misfits, and combustible personalities. Delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Suicide Squad was eventually released to overwhelmingly positive reviews that praised its action, gore, and humour. As of this writing, the film has only grossed $7 million at the box office but is projected to bring in $35 to 60 million and Gunn has already completed a spin-off series for HBO Max starring Christopher Smith/Peacemaker (John Cena).
The Review: My experience of the Suicide Squad is basically almost zero; they rarely appear as a team in the DC Comics I read and usually just kind of crop up as a team of misfits for DC’s superheroes to fight with. As a result, when I heard that Warner Bros. were going to be putting time, effort, and money into a big-screen version of the team, my first question was…why? Why are we getting that and not a standalone Batman movie for Ben Affleck, or a Flash movie, or a Cyborg one…anything but randomly tossing out a Suicide Squad film. To this day, I’ll never understand why Warner Bros. didn’t retool the script to have Batman battling against Waller’s team that acted as a prequel to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice(Snyder, 2014) and showed exactly how and why Batman has fallen so far into the dark by explicitly centring around the Joker (Jared Leto) killing Jason Todd/Robin. Instead, the film didn’t really add all that much to the DCEU; it completely wasted Will Smith on a nobody like Floyd Lawton/Deadshot (he really should have been Slade Wilson/Deathstroke) and was so cut up by the studio that it’s basically been swept under the carpet now, and that’s a shame as its cast and concepts could have been used to far greater effect in a Ben Affleck-led Batman film.
Blackmailed by Amanda Waller, Bloodsport is forced to lead the new team to spare his daughter.
Thankfully, The Suicide Squad doesn’t go out of its way to retcon or erase the original film form continuity; I never expected that it would since Flag, Quinn, Waller, and Digger Harkness/Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) all returned to the film but you wouldn’t believe the arguments I had online with people who insisted that this wasn’t a sequel…when it clearly is. Sure, Harley’s reasoning for being back on the team is kind of hand-waved away and they don’t explicitly refer to events of any prefers DCEU films, but there’s an obvious and oft-stated familiarity between these characters, which is enough for me. Of course, we have a slew of new characters here, many of whom I am completely unfamiliar with, such as Bloodsport and Peacemaker. Although Gunn stated that he wrote the script specifically with Elba in mind for Bloodsport rather than a replacement for Deadshot…he basically is Deadshot but with a fancier suit. Like Deadshot, Bloodsport has a strained relationship with his daughter and is an expert marksman but he’s made a character all his own through his disinterest in joining the team, working with others, doing good, and his high-tech, quasi-alien suit that allows him to generate and assemble a wide variety of weaponry.
Peacemaker loves peace so much that he’s willing to kill for it!
Bloodsport not only immediately clashes with Waller when she threatens his daughter to coerce him into leading her new Suicide Squad, he also forms a fast rivalry with Peacemaker; another character I’m not too familiar with, Peacemaker is a unit of man who is so obsessed with peace that he’s willing to kill anyone to attain it. A psychopath hiding behind patriotism, Peacemaker is adept with melee weapons and guns but his presence by no means makes Bloodsport redundant as their personalities and methods are entirely different. Garbed in a ludicrous comic-accurate costume and built like a brick shithouse, Peacemaker is seemingly willing to align with the team to achieve peace but continuously grates against his teammates. He and Bloodsport often engage in a silent, unstated competition to see who can kill the most people in the most flamboyant or impressive ways but he does find common ground with the team when they share a few drinks while staking out the Thinker’s favourite night club.
Flag is a far more amiable character this time, while Harley’s crazy has been dialled up a notch.
Returning from the last film are Rick Flag and Harley Quinn; unlike in the first film, Flag has, apparently, lost the rod up his ass and is a far more laid back and amiable character. Rather than seeing commanding Task Force X as his duty or a punishment of sorts, he treats them like friends or comrades and strikes up a camaraderie with most of them. While he also butts heads with Peacemaker, he has a former relationship with Bloodsport that allows the two to work as a more cohesive unit and, in turn, help galvanise the team of misfits into coming together in a workable strategy. Harley, by comparison, is largely the same character as before except her craziness has been dialled up somewhat. Still a bit of an odd choice for such a team, Harley proves that appearances are deceiving as her craziness makes her a formidable and unpredictable opponent who is just as likely to bust out a rocket launcher as she is to strangle a man to death with her legs during severe torture. Harley has a bit of a side story where she’s courted by President Silvio Luna (Juan Diego Botto) and provides much of the more explicit comedic moments thanks to her trademark mad-cap nature and her gunning down countless soldiers while animated flowers and birds fly around in the background.
The team is rounded about by some of DC’s most ridiculous characters.
The team is rounded out by a couple of new characters, most notably Cleo Cazo/Ratcatcher II (Melchior), Nanaue/King Shark (Stallone/Agee), and Abner Krill/Polka-Dot Man (Dastmalchian). While we learn a bit about Bloodsport and his relationship with his daughter and there’s a bit of character development for Quinn in her vow to not let men use her again, we don’t really learn too much about Peacemaker’s background and these three latter characters get quite a bit of play and have quite an impact on the film. We learn all about Ratcatcher II’s childhood, for example, and her fondness for rats (which Bloodsport is deathly afraid of); despite her lethargic attitude and borderline narcolepsy, she is also the only one of the team to actually befriend and treat King Shark like an actual person rather than a burden. King Shark looks absolutely fantastic and is characterised as a ravenous, child-like creature who is often the butt of the team’s mistreatment, though he is also responsible for some of the film’s most humorous moments. And then there’s Polka-Dot Man, a ridiculous character on paper who is given new life as a bat-shit insane psychopath who is constantly spawning and at threat from cosmic polka dots thanks to his mother’s experimentations. By the finale, his character arc becomes a tragic story of redemption, of sorts, since he begins the film literally hoping for them all to die and end sit ready to sacrifice himself to save Corto Maltese from a rampaging monster.
Waller is determined to use the Thinker to keep America’s role in Project: Starfish under wraps.
Behind the team, safe in the United States, is the ice-queen herself; Amanda Waller is just as impassive and manipulative as ever, fully prepared to use any means necessary to coerce the convicts into getting bombs implanted into their necks and heading out on a suicide mission in the hopes of shaving ten years off their sentences. Once they’re out in the field, Waller tells them only what they need to know and, the moment they go off-mission, doesn’t hesitate to remote detonate the bombs and blow their heads off. Similar to the last film, Waller’s motivations for the team’s excursion into Corto Maltese are shrouded in deception and revolve more around trying to cover up America’s part in Project Starfish rather than destroying the weapon but, this time around, her control staff are aghast at her extreme methods. Also similar to the first film is the fact that the team is battling against an army of foes rather than tackling a singular enemy head-on; the Thinker fills the roles of a secondary antagonist to a degree, being a maniacal scientist who has gleefully spent the last thirty years experimenting with Project: Starfish on humans in a variety of gruesome and reprehensible ways though, in the end, his role in the story is quite small beyond the team forcing him to get them into Jötunheim, the Nazi-era bunker where the project is based.
The Nitty-Gritty: Like the first film, The Suicide Squad (terrible title, by the way; adding a “The” to a sequel’s title is always a red flag for me and smacks of laziness) uses music to punctuate many of its scenes. Unlike that film, though, it benefits from far better editing and pacing; where Suicide Squad was like a frenetic music video (especially in the first ten minutes or so, which bombard the viewer with so much sensory input that it’s nearly impossible to know what’s going on), The Suicide Squad is far more deliberate and conservative with its use of music and edits. The film begins in media res and then flashes back to show us how Waller’s two teams ended up being recruited and sent off to Jötunheim and, at various points, the film cuts off a dramatic reveal or moment to skip over to the other characters and show us what they’ve been up to. The film also contains a number of creative on-screen titles, presumably to make the film easier to watch when on HBO Max or simply to add to the zany nature of the film.
The Suicide Squad trumps its predecessor by upping the action, violence, and destruction.
Where The Suicide Squad really stands out from, and trumps, the last film is in its use of gore, copious swearing, violence, and explosive action. The first film felt like it was holding back by having the team battling glorified zombies but this one pulls absolutely no punches; the opening scene alone sets the tone by showing Flag lead a doomed beach-front assault that sees members of his team getting immolate, shot to pieces, and blown into bloody chunks. King Shark is responsible for many moments of bloody violent thanks to his ravenous hunger and the competition between Bloodsport and Peacemaker lead the two to murdering numerous members of the Corto Maltese rebellion. Hell, Harley gets an entire side plot where she fights, shoots, and kills her way out of Luna’s mansion and the film’s hard-hitting action scenes are punctuated by endlessly entertaining explosions, gore, and over the top violence that finally does what the first film so desperately tried to do (i.e. take what we saw in the first twoDeadpool films(Miller, 2016; Leitch, 2018) and ramp it up a few notches).
Based on the team’s nature, not every character survives, especially when Starro goes on a rampage!
Gunn packs the film with all kinds of C- to G-tier characters from DC Comics’ vast library; given free reign to use, and kill, whichever characters he wanted, no character is safe no matter how powerful they are or how established they are from the first film. This is exemplified in the gory opening but continues throughout the film as the team are constantly against the odds, and themselves, and comes to a head in the finale. I don’t think it’s really a spoiler to say that the team end up battling against Starro the Conqueror since trailers and interviews have already shown this but seeing Starro, of all things, onscreen is just…exhilarating. Reminiscent of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, Starro goes on a rampage through Corto Maltese, spewing out tiny Facehugger extensions of itself to instantly create an army of brainless zombies to spread its influence and oppose the Suicide Squad. Even better, Starro is presented in full daylight and looks equal parts incredible and ludicrous, which is entirely the point, of course. Still, I am a little confused as to where these Suicide Squad films feel they have to pit the team against armies of zombie-like enemies and cosmic-level threats when they’re arguably better suited to black ops missions and such but seeing the remnants of the team come together as a unit to try and take Starro down is something that appeals to the comic book, action, and Kaiju fan in me and it was massively entertaining as a finale. It’s just a shame that we’ll probably never see these characters interacting with the Justice League given the state of the DCEU.
The Summary: While I don’t agree with the state of the DCEU, or Warner Bros. decision to funnel funds and certain actors into projects like The Suicide Squad when they should be concentrating on bringing some of their more well-known heroes and properties to life, and while I had some problems with the film’s presentation (those titles, for example, were a little distracting at times), The Suicide Squad was an absolute blast. Clearly evoking the bombastic action movies of the eighties and nineties and embracing the most ridiculous aspects of the source material, it presents its over the top characters and premise without shame or embarrassment and goes all-in with the concept of a team of disposable misfits being in over their heads. Punctuated by some amusing moments and character beats, copious amounts of gratuitous gore and violence, and a surprising amount of poignant heart and characterisation (to say nothing of a few unexpected twists along the way), The Suicide Squad more than makes up for the failings of the last film. Again, it’s just a shame that it’s so unpredictable as to whether or not these characters will actually interact with their respective heroes in the wider DCEU as I’d love to see more of them and for the DCEU to actually, properly bring all these disparate threads together but if all you’re looking for is a kick-ass action film that isn’t shy about pulling its punches then The Suicide Squad has you well covered!
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Great Stuff
Have you seen The Suicide Squad? If so, what did you think to it and how would you rate it compared to the first film? Which of the new characters was your favourite? Who did you think was going to die and who were you surprised to see survive? Are you a fan of the Suicide Squad concept and comics? Would you have preferred to see the villains appear elsewhere, like in a solo Batman or Flash movie or do you think it’s a good thing that the DCEU is so sporadic? Are there any villains you’d like to see included in another Suicide Squad film and are you going to be watching the Peacemaker spin-off? Whatever your thoughts about The Suicide Squad, feel free to leave a comment below.
1. First, introduce yourself a bit. What is your name (or pen name) and where are you from?
My name is Shantel Brunton, and I’m from Alberta, Canada. I was born and raised here and I just never left. I’m going to run the risk of quoting country songs but I’m Alberta bound.
2.Next, tell us a bit about your most recent work. Is this your first published book? What is it about and what genre would you classify it as?
My book is called Tortured Innocence. I just published it again. I relaunched it August 1st of 2020 and I initially published it back in 2017.
3. Tell us a bit about your main character; what are they like, how did they come about, and what are some of their strengths and weaknesses?
My main character, my victim, my fictional voodoo doll puppet is named Nicole. I put Nicole through hell, but she keeps on fighting. She’s got this internal fire that keeps on burning, and despite her suffering she really keeps everything together. Then there’s my villain/ anti-hero Twenty. Twenty is intelligent, dark, sadistic, cruel, kind, and confusing. I think that’s his biggest weakness is that he’s just confusing, and sometimes I don’t know what to do with him. His character has so many opposing aspects of kindness and cruelty, and it leaves people questioning is he good or bad.
4. What was your hardest scene to write in this (or any) book?
A really hard scene for me to write involves Nicole and a nasty character Kyle. I don’t want to give away spoilers.
5.Did you go the traditional route when publishing your book or did you choose to self-publish?
I self-published the book.
6. What would you say is the most difficult part of your writing journey and what advice would you give to other writers?
The most difficult part of the journey has been receiving low reviews and doing my best to separate myself from my art, and not view a low review as a personal critique on my character. My piece of advice for authors is do your best to focus on the positive and know you can’t please everyone.
7. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I want to do an entire body of work for Tortured Innocence and build the dark and dreary lands of the Shadowlands. I’m talking prequels, sequels, character backstories.
8. What are some of your favourite authors and books and what inspired you to become a writer in the first place?
Some of my favourite authors… hmmm there are so many. I love the classics like Dracula, and pretty much everything Edgar Allan Poe wrote. I had some Young Adult books that really inspired me such as Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers, and Cut by Patricia McCormick. The book Cut was the one that really inspired me to get into writing, because I saw in the back of the book an ad for a novel writing contest, and I thought “I can write a novel”.
9. What would you say has been the best way to market your books?
Instagram has been fantastic for marketing my book.
10.Are there any tropes, clichés, or writing styles that you dislike and, if so, what are they and why?
In terms of writing styles I don’t like, I don’t like writing where I can’t picture things. I’m not a fan of minimalistic writing and I prefer long flowing prose.
11. Do you read reviews of your book and, if so, how do you handle negative feedback?
Yes, I’ve read all my reviews. The low ones do sting, but I try to tell myself it’s a critique of a piece of work and not of me.
12. What are some of your quirks as a writer? Do you like to plot everything out or do you prefer to just “wing it” and see where the story takes you? Do you listen to music when writing and, if so, what do you listen to?
I’m obsessive about my plotting and I have to have an outline or else I get stressed and I can’t write. I listen to a lot of Aesthetic Perfection, Disturbed, Three Days Grace, and classical music such as Swan Lake when I’m writing.
13. What is the best advice you’ve ever had when it comes to writing and what advice would you give to new writers?
I think the best advice about writing is if you want to be a writer, then write. Try to write something everyday. Even if you’re extremely busy, jot down a couple of sentences. If you’re writing then you’re a writer. I would also advise new writers to be reading as much as they’re writing. There are so many good books out there and the more you read, the more you’ll improve your vocabulary and learn all kinds of techniques.
14. What’s next for you? Are you currently working on any new books or stories?
I’m working on the backstory for my villain Twenty and I’m so excited about it.
15. Finally, feel free to plug your social media, website, and links to Amazon, GoodReads, and other relevant sites below, and detail any current offers available for your book/s:
Feel free to follow me on Instagram and the book is 99cents USD for the ebook version. I’m keeping it like this most likely for the month of August.
In August 1962, Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby introduced readers of Marvel Comics (specifically Journey into Mystery) to Thor Odinson, God of Thunder and mightiest of the Asgardian deities. Through associations with Marvel’s premier super team, the Avengers, and a number of cosmic, mythological adventures, Thor has gone on to become another of Marvel’s most successful and versatile characters, with appearances in cartoons, videogames, and a number of incredibly profitable live-action movies. Being as it’s the first Thursday (or “Thor’s Day”) of the month, what better way to celebrate the God of Thunder than to take a look back at his debut appearance!
Story Title: Thor the Mighty! and the Stone Men from Saturn! (also comprised of “Part 2: The Power of Thor!” and Part 3: Thor the Mighty Strikes Back!”) Published: August 1962 Writers: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby Artist: Jack Kirby
The Background: Following the creation of Doctor Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk, legendary Marvel writer, editor, and creator Stan Lee was inspired by Norse mythology and legends to create an even more powerful superheroic character, one who was more than human…a literal God among men! In collaboration with Larry Lieber and the renowned Jack Kirby, Lee crafted a version of the character quite different from those that had appeared before, one who debuted in Journey into Mystery and effectively took over that title until eventually replacing it with a self-titled comic in 1970. Thor would go on to become a founding member of Marvel’s premier super team, the Avengers, and his stories became increasingly elaborate and over the top, with the character undergoing numerous changes throughout the years whilst also taking on more of the mythological aspects of his inspiration. Adopting flamboyant, archaic speech patterns and wielding the indestructible, all-powerful, magical hammer Mjölnir, I’ve always enjoyed Thor’s aesthetic and unique qualities and he’s one of my favourite characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but his comics can be a little impenetrable for me due to their dense and complex nature.
The Review: “Thor the Mighty! and the Stone Men from Saturn!” introduces us to Doctor Donald Blake, a frail and lame figure who walks with a cane and is vacationing in Norway at exactly the same time as the titular Stone Men from Saturn arrive on Earth. Like Clark Kent/Superman, the Stone Men find that Earth’s vastly different atmosphere affords them incredible superhuman strength in addition to the relative invulnerability of their stone bodies. As if that wasn’t enough, the Stone Men are also packing advanced weaponry that can vaporise objects in a flash of light, as witnessed by a stunned old man. Though the aged fisherman’s stories of stone creatures from outer space are met with ridicule and mockery by the local villagers, it catches the attention of the curious Blake, who heads out to the coastal region to investigate and soon stumbles upon the Stone Men! Unfortunately, Blake steps on a twig and gives away his presence and, thanks to his unexplained lame leg and losing his walking stick after a trip, has no hope of escaping from the aliens.
Blake discovers an enchanted cane and is imbued with the power of the mighty Thor!
Blake finds refuge in a nearby cave but is disheartened to find that it’s a literal dead end; trapped, he begins to despair but is awestruck when a hidden stone wall suddenly opens and leads him to a secret chamber that houses a “gnarled wooden stick”. Ever the innovator, Blake attempts to use the cane as a lever but is unsuccessful and, in helpless anger, strikes the cane against the boulder which blocks his only viable exit. In a flash of blinding light, Blake and the cane are magically transformed into a heavily muscular, elaborately garbed form and an enchanted hammer, respectively. Overwhelmed by the power courses through his body, the figure observes the hammer’s iconic inscription (“Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of… Thor”) and quickly realises that the hammer is Mjölnir, the weapon of the mythological God of Thunder, and that he is now Thor!
Much time is spent explaining Thor’s powers in a way that interrupts what little plot there is.
Now possessing the power of a God, Thor easily lifts the boulder that was blocking his exit and, now safe and free from his prison, ponders the mystery of his newfound power. You’ll notice that, when he’s Thor, Blake retains his speech patterns and personality rather than switching places with the Norse God or having his personality fundamentally altered by the transformation; it’s basically a Billy Batson/Shazam situation where he magically transforms but retains his personality. Using what little he knows of Thor from Norse mythology, Thor walks us through the “rules” of the character’s early days: Blake transforms into Thor when he touches the hammer but, if he is separated from it for more than sixty seconds, he magically reverts back to Blake. In addition, Mjölnir is magically enchanted so that only he can wield it, it always returns to his hand after being thrown, and is functionally indestructible. Finally, by stamping the hammer on the ground twice, Thor can conjure storms or rain or snow and whip up a raging tornado, all of which can be dispelled with three hits of the hammer on the ground.
Despite the Stone Men’s threat, they are absolutely no match for Thor, who bests them with ease!
Before Blake can warn the world of the presence of the Stone Men, the aliens unleash a “three-dimensional picture” (basically a holographic projection) of a fearsome dragon to scare off incoming armed aircraft and shield themselves and their ship from reprisals and attacks with their advanced forcefield. Blake observes this with horror and, resolved to oppose the invading alien forces, he showcases one of his most iconic abilities: by swinging around Mjölnir as fast as possible, he can fly through the air and cover vast distances by hurling the hammer but holding on to the handle. It’s not quite flying and not quite the Hulk’s massive leaps but it’s something unique that no other hero can replicate. Astounded by Thor’s abilities, the Stone Men attempt to capture him but Thor is easily able to fend them off, break free of their prison, and use Mjölnir to disarm the aliens. In response, the Stone Men unleash their “Mechano-Monster”, a robot enforcer of theirs that is immediately and anti-climatically smashed to junk with one swing of Thor’s hammer. This is enough to scare off the Stone Men, who immediately flee alongside their entire fleet to avoid having to battle Thor and, possibly, more like him. The issue ends with the military dumbfounded as to what drove off the alien invaders and Blake resolving to head back to the United States with his newfound power.
The Summary: “Thor the Mighty! and the Stone Men from Saturn!” is an absolutely bat-shit crazy story; much like the Hulk’s debut, Thor’s first appearance isn’t a typical superhero story, being more a tale of random alien invasion that just so happens to feature a guy stumbling upon a magical weapon. The Stone Men get a lot of time in the comic but we’re not really told much about them; they simply arrive as a superior alien force and prepare to use their advanced weaponry and augmented physical abilities to dominate the planet.
The Stone Men seem to be a formidable threat but are easily scared off by Thor’s power.
Yet, despite how formidable they seem to be, they’re actually some of the most ineffectual villains I’ve ever seen; they utilise holographic technology and laser weapons and have an entire fleet of ships ready to attack but they’re no match for Mjölnir, Thor tears through their weapons like they’re paper, and their ace in the hole, the Mechano-Monster is an absolute joke. Of course, the Stone Men would later be retconned into the Kronans and one of their race, Korg, would become an important ally of the Hulk many years later.
We don’t learn much about Blake but he’s morally pure enough to put Thor’s power to good use.
Perhaps because of the presence of the aliens, we don’t really get to learn anything about Donald Blake; it’s not said what kind of doctor he is, why he chose Norway for his vacation, or what caused his lame leg. All we really learn about him is that he appreciates the beauty and ambiance of Norway and that he’s curious enough to investigate the claims of aliens nearby. When he’s on the run and hiding from the Stone Men, Blake fall into despair and is all but ready to accept what he sees as his inevitable death until he stumbles upon the power of Thor. Once he becomes Thor, he immediately proves why the hammer deemed him so worthy as he leaps into action to oppose the aliens but, again, we don’t really get a sense of why Blake is so morally inclined towards using his awesome power for the benefit of mankind. Obviously, as with many debuts of superheroes, much of Thor’s backstory and motivation would be revealed in time but, even with that in mind, “Thor the Mighty! and the Stone Men from Saturn!” is surprisingly light on characterisation for its debuting protagonist; even Tony Stark/Iron Man got a brief mention of his carefree ways before his life-changing transformation but Blake, instead, is a bit of a blank slate compared to Lee’s previous heroes.
My Rating:
⭐
Rating: 1 out of 5.
Terrible
What are your thoughts on Thor’s debut appearance? Do you like that Marvel constantly tried to mix up all their new superheroes and characters with vastly different origins and backstories? What did you think to the Stone Men and the pacing of the story? What is your favourite character, arc, or era in Thor’s long publication history and where does Thor rank for you against Marvel’s other superheroes? How are you celebrating Thor’s debut this month, if at all? I’d love to hear your thoughts on Thor in the comments below so be sure to drop a line down there.
Easily Marvel Comics’ most recognisable and popular superhero, unsuspecting teenage nerd Peter Parker was first bitten by a radioactive spider and learned the true meaning of power and responsibility in Amazing Fantasy #15, which was first published in August 1962. Since then, the Amazing Spider-Man has featured in numerous cartoons, live-action movies, videogames, action figures, and countless comic book titles and, in celebration of his debut and his very own day of celebration, I’ve been dedicating every Wednesday to talk about everyone’s favourite web-head!
Released: 1991 Developer: SEGA
The Background: Having achieved success with the creation of the Fantastic Four, Marvel Comics editor and head writer, the immortal Stan Lee, was searching for another title to match the success of Marvel’s first family. Inspired by a spider climbing up a wall, influenced by pulp vigilante the Spider, eager to capitalise on the surge in teenage demand for comic books, and working alongside artist Steve Ditko, Lee conceived of Spider-Man and was granted permission to feature the teenage superhero in the final issue of Amazing Fantasy. Marvel publisher Martin Goodman was shocked to find that Amazing Fantasy #15 was one of the publication’s highest-selling comics and a solo Spider-Man series soon followed, with Spidey quickly becoming Marvel’s most popular comic book character. Since then, Spider-Man has seen success in numerous other media; in 1967, he featured in a self-titled animated series, he famously appeared as a guest character on The Electric Company (1971 to 1977) and starred in his own live-action series in 1978, and heavily influenced my childhood through the fantasticSpider-Man cartoon (1994 to 1998) before eventually featuring in a numberof live-action films. Furthermore, Spider-Man has also featured in numerous videogames, the first of which was the aggravatingSpider-Man (Parker Brothers, 1982) for the Atari 2600. Before debuting in arcades, the majority of Spidey’s videogame efforts were sidescrolling action/platformers but this was the early nineties and button-mashing beat-‘em-ups were all the rage thanks to titles like Double Dragon (Technōs Japan, 1987), Final Fight(Capcom, 1989), and The Simpsons (Konami, 1991) so Spidey’s arcade debut naturally came in the form of a sidescrolling beat-‘em-up.
The Plot: Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime in New York City, has sent his minions out into the city to retrieve a mystical artefact and only Spider-Man and his allies (Prince Namor McKenzie/The Sub-Mariner, Clint Barton/Hawkeye, and Felicia Hardy/Black Cat) can hope to defeat some of Spidey’s most powerful and iconic villains and oppose the Kingpin’s plans for domination.
Gameplay: Spider-Man: The Video Game is a fairly standard sidescrolling beat-‘em-up in which players can pick from one of four characters (Spider-Man (obviously), Sub-Mariner, Hawkeye, and Black Cat) and make their way from the left side of the screen to the right beating up wave-upon-wave of nameless thugs. The game allows any player to select any character and allows for up to four players to play simultaneously, which is always an appreciated feature of such titles.
Each character is sluggish andgameplay is shaken up by some ugly platforming sections.
Upon selecting your character, you’re dropped into the streets of New York and quickly learn that the game is quite limited in terms of the moves available to you. Each character controls in exactly the same way, with a few subtle differences: Spidey and Black Cat can swing from webs/lines to attack enemies (if you can pull off the attack, which kind of requires a very specific combination of jumping and attacking) and each has a slightly different jumping attack (Namor dives fist-first down into enemies, for example) and melee attacks (Black Cat is much more about the fancy kicks than Hawkeye). While you can perform a signature special attack (shooting webs or arrows, for example) at the cost of some health points, each character is just as sluggish and apathetic as the next thanks to a lack of a dash function. However, after beating up a few thugs and taking out a sub-boss, the game suddenly shifts to an entirely different perspective; the camera zooms out and the game becomes more of an action/platformer as your character must scale a vertical and horizontal map taking out more goons as they go. In this zoomed out mode, your characters are no longer able to perform melee attacks and must rely on their projectile attacks: Spidey shoots webs, Hawkeye shoots arrows, Black Cat attacks with a grapple hook, and Namor….shoots lightning…? Spidey and Black Cat can also scale and climb walls to navigate these areas faster and Hawkeye and Namor can hang on to overhead platforms to shoot at enemies but it’s a bit weird that you’re not given full access to each character’s abilities in this mode.
Your health drains constantly and players are rated after each stage.
Unlike many videogames and beat-‘em-ups, inserting coins not only allows you to continue from death but also boosts your health, which is represented by a series of numbers under your character’s name. Your health numbers also double as a time limit as they’re constantly ticking down and this is quite a unique and clever way to get kids to waste their hard-earned pocket money as, while you can find health (in the form of hearts) strewn around the game’s stages at various points, you’ll quickly be pummelled into submission by the game’s enemies and forced to drop more coins to pump up your health and continue on a little further. Sadly, in a marketplace crowded by fantastic beat-‘em-ups, Spider-Man: The Video game fails to stand out in a lot of ways; you can attack and destroy parts of the environment but there’s not much motivation to do this as there are no weapons to find and use and no items to pick up to increase your score. Your score isn’t even displayed onscreen as you play, for God’s sake, which is really unusual, despite the fact that your progress is rated at the end of each stage. Instead, the game’s primary selling point appears to be exclusively the Spider-Man brand and the odd inclusion of action/platforming sections.
Graphics and Sound: For the most part, Spider-Man: The Video Game looks serviceable enough; sprites are large and colourful but, like the backgrounds, are a little lacking in variety and detail. None of the playable characters have an idle animation, which lets the game down somewhat, and Spider-Man, especially, just looks bored and depressed as he plods around at a sluggish speed. When the game zooms out for its platforming sections, sprites take on a largely pixelated appearance but the backgrounds become much bigger and more detailed. Stages initially seem quite short as you come up against your first sub-boss in almost no time at all and, after defeating them, you’re tasked with climbing up to the rooftops of New York’s skyscrapers and the stages really open up.
Platforming sections expand the game, with “Latvelia” being the most visually interesting.
As you attack enemies, and are attacked, big comic book-style sound effects appear onscreen (as is pretty standard for comic book beat-‘em-ups) but I found sprites go a bit transparent when they pass over other sprites and graphics (though this could be due to emulation issues rather than a flaw of the title itself). The game does feature some limited voice acting but, despite featuring a female voice (who just loves to cry out “Spider-Man!” every time you insert a coin), no female voice work accompanies Black Cat. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as the male voice acting is the same for every character and hardly of a high standard and when you realise that Namor and Black Cat’s attacks are accompanied by some really weird sound effects that make them sound like they’re drowning or a robot, respectively. As you might expect, comic book-style cutscenes tell the game’s story; these take the form of still images with some accompanying text (though these don’t change depending on your character and mostly just feature Spidey by himself) and in-game cutscenes with some fitting word balloons. Finally, while the game’s stages are fairly standard (the streets, the rooftops, flying through the skies, construction sites and the like), they don’t really stand out much until you crash-land into the hellscape of “Latvelia” and the game suddenly busts out some decent fire effects. Finally, the game’s music, while interesting and serviceable enough, doesn’t really feel very unique to the Spider-Man brand or compared to other beat-‘em-ups.
Enemies and Bosses: The majority of the enemies you’ll encounter throughout your journey are literally nameless, faceless goons; weird kabuki-mask-wearing, purple-spandex-clad thugs are the order of the day here but they are soon joined by such cliché beat-‘em-up enemies as martial artists (who can duck your attacks), rotund enemies (who can belly flop you), and robots (which shoot projectiles). Spider-Man: The Video Game honestly doesn’t have much going for it in terms of enemy variety; you’ll fight the same enemies over and over and only encounter some weird and memorable foes with you reach “Latvelia” and encounter some weird ape-like monstrosities. However, Spider-Man: The Video Game is absolutely loaded with some of Spidey’s most iconic villains; after only a couple of minutes into the first stage, you’ll encounter Mac Gargan/Scorpion and, just as you’re getting into that fight, a massive containment unit opens up and Eddie Brock/Venomemerges.
You’ll face Spidey’s most iconic foes while swarms of enemies pile in on the action!
Although Scorpion soon runs off after a few hits, you’ll have to endure a handicap situation for a while as enemies spawn in, Venom teleports around the arena and chokes you with their goo, and Scorpion attacks you relentlessly. Once you whittle down Venom’s health, they use a mysterious artefact to grow to monstrous size and you’ll have to chase them to the rooftops for another encounter. This becomes the basic set-up for the majority of the game’s sub-bosses and bosses; you’ll fight them at one point and then have to give chase and battle them again in a slightly different situation after navigating the game’s zoomed out sections. You’ll battle Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard (who has a nasty tendency to chomp down on your crotch), Flint Marko/Sandman, and Venom in a pretty standard beat-‘em-up format where you’ll be confined to an arena and have to fend off waves of additional enemies. Each boss reappears for a rematch later in the game but the strategy remains largely the same; keep your distance and land attacks while dispatching their support and things only really get hairy when Venom spawns a bunch of symbiote clones to fight alongside them!
While Kingpin is a marginal threat, Electro and Doc Ock really get the shaft!
Boss battles are mixed up a bit when you take on Norman Osborn/Green Goblin and Jason Macendale/Hobgoblin; while you’ll battle the Green Goblin on the ground, dodging his weird glowing hand attack, these two bosses stand out by taking to their iconic gliders and rushing at you from the air while tossing pumpkin bombs at you. These can be troublesome encounters as it’s difficult to judge where the Goblins are positioned to land your attacks or to successfully hit them with your jump attacks. Plus, when you battle Hobgoblin, you’re limited to your zoom-out attacks and will have to blast him with your projectiles and destroy large cannons to make things easier. You’ll also do battle with the Kingpin in a standard beat-‘em-up encounter; Kingpin’s attacks are limited to headbutts, swipes, and a shoulder barge, making him little more than an inconvenience than a formidable boss fight even in his second phase. Still, at least he actually gets a proper boss fight; Max Dillon/Electro and perhaps Spidey’s most famous foe, Dr. Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus are relegated to mere semi-sub-bosses who randomly appear as you’re navigating the game’s later platform stages and they’re little more than a joke as you can easily damage boost through their attacks and pummel them into submission.
Doctor Doom is the game’s final boss and takes numerous forms.
After defeating the Kingpin, though, Dr. Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom randomly appears to claim the mysterious artefact and reveal himself to be the game’s true big bad. When you reach Doom’s Castle, you’ll have to dodge mines and battle through the game’s previous sub-bosses and bosses to confront Doctor Doom…only to find you’ve battled a Doombot all along! However, when you finally do get your hands on the real Doctor Doom, the fight is still little more than a standard affair once you take out Doom’s nifty floating battle craft: Doom is fast and slippery but doesn’t attack with magical bolts until the final confrontation and even then he’s not much more of a threat than the likes of the Sandman or the Lizard.
Power-Ups and Bonuses: As mentioned, there’s pretty much nothing on offer to spice up your gameplay in Spider-Man: The Video Game. You can’t pick up and use weapons or power-ups and the only thing for you to pick up is hearts to increase your health, making gameplay decidedly more repetitive and monotonous compared to other beat-‘em-ups.
Additional Features: Again, there’s basically nothing here (as is pretty much the standard for most arcade games). However, the fact that you can select any character to play as and play with up to four players, each who accumulate their own separate score at the end of each stage, does add some replay value (if you have friends to play with, of course…)
The Summary: Spider-Man: The Video Game is a decent enough beat-‘em-up; it’s bright and colourful and includes all of Spider-Man’s most iconic villains but it doesn’t really offer a whole hell of a lot when it comes to gameplay or variety. Beat-‘em-ups are generally quite monotonous as a rule but they usually compensate for this with kick-ass music, detailed sprites, and some cool weapons and super moves; Spider-Man: The Video Game has none of these attributes, meaning it’s a step behind other arcade titles released at the same time and even ones released years prior. The game’s unique selling point of having action/platforming sections incorporated into the usual beat-‘em-up formula is interesting but its execution is flawed thanks to the graphics taking a hit. Throw in an odd assortment of playable characters (I get why Black Cat is there but why are Namor and Hawkeye here?), some repetitive boss battles, and disappointing use of some of Spidey’s more visually striking foes and you have a gameplay experience that is fun enough (and probably better alongside friends) but hardly worth choosing over the likes of Final Fight or even Double Dragon. Put it this way: X-Men(Konami, 1992) released the very next year and is everything Spider-Man: The Video Game wishes it could be; hell, even Captain America and the Avengers(Data East, 1991) offers more in terms of gameplay variety and character abilities despite being graphically less impressive and that’s really saying something.
My Rating:
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Could Be Better
Did you ever play Spider-Man: The Video Game out in the wild? Which character did you pick, or get lumbered with, and which did you think was the best or the worst? What did you think of the game’s unique incorporation of platforming elements and the way it handled Spidey’s villains? Which characters do you think would have been more suitable to play in place of Namor and Hawkeye? Which Spider-Man videogame, or arcade beat-’em-up, is your favourite? Whatever you think, feel free to drop a comment below and be sure to check out my other Spider-Man content.
The Synopsis: Nicole faced a horrific tragedy at a young age. Ten years later, everything seems to be okay. She is happy with her life and she feels content. This quickly begins to change when she receives disturbing letters that appear from nowhere and voices haunt her waking thoughts. The voices say the most disturbing things. Her nightmares feel more and more real. She has no idea why this is happening to her.
What is lurking in the shadows? Maybe the better question is who?
The Review: Tortured Innocence is the debut novel of Shantel Brunton; interestingly, the book actually first released in 2017 but, after learning more about writing and marketing, Shantel has revisited the text and re-released it with a new cover and to a wider audience.
Tortured Innocence is written from the first-person perspective of its main character, Nicole (or “Nikki”), a young girl who witnessed a traumatic event as a child and has a strong bond with her father. Growing up idolising him and mostly alone, she suffers from both a bit of social anxiety around others her age, terribly explicit nightmares (which begin to bleed into her waking life), and comes to hear voices that taunt her at every turn.
The book is very much like reading an unending nightmare of various different complexities and layers. Shantel makes a point to warn readers beforehand (both in the book and on social media) of the book’s explicit content and make no mistake, there is a great deal of uncomfortable imagery and situations in Tortured Innocence. These elements of the book really made me think of the Hellraiser film series (Various, 1987 to present); the use of knifes, whips, bondage, and imagery of flayed skin and Shantel’s vivid descriptions of blood and suffering conjured this imagery to my mind and it was intriguing seeing how unrelenting these sections of the book are.
Personally, I don’t have a problem with this; Shantel is scarily good at describing the ghastly torture and abuse that Nicole comes to endure throughout her tumultuous life but, for those easily triggered by scene imagery, it may be better to exercise some caution before starting Tortured Innocence. Others who had lived through similar trauma, however, maybe find that they connect with the book on a deeper, more emotional level; Shantel’s themes of loss, torture, abuse, and mistreatment are potent and near constant and assault Nicole (and, by extension, the reader) in a barrage that she is forced to endure.
Tortured Innocence has a bit of a disjointed flow and pace but this actually factors into the book’s overall, surprisingly surreal conclusion. Despite the isolation and trauma of her childhood, Nicole is a relatively normal young girl at the start of the book who continually becomes targeted by more and more reprehensible individuals seeking to use and abuse her. Add to that the semi-supernatural elements of the story, which taunt and haunt Nicole with words and nightmares of great loss and torture, and the book ends up taking numerous unexpected twists and turns.
“Unpredictable” is actually a perfect way to describe Tortured Innocence; every time I thought I had a handle of where the story would go, Shantel throws a sharp turn into the macabre or the bizarre before finally embracing that latter thread with the introduction of her own, unique supernatural entities, the “Mecrathin”, and the surreal, nightmarish nature of their ways and world. This was an intriguing twist, one that turns a lot of the book’s previous direction and not only ups the ante of the book’s explicit content but also serves as a significant turning point for Nicole as a main character and a woman.
Startling and unrelenting in its escalating, grisly content and subject matter, Tortured Innocence is a hell of a debut for Shantel Brunton and positions her as one of the more macabre-minded independent authors I follow. I never knew what to expect from the book as I read it and it felt as though there was never a safe moment to stop and process what was going on, which is a great reflection of the chaotic and horrific events that the main character has to endure. It may be a difficult, almost traumatising read for some but I do think it has a strong underlying message of perseverance through harrowing events and maintaining the fortitude to stand up to that adversity wherever possible.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
If you’re interested in checking out Tortured Innocence, the book is available to purchase on Amazon. To learn more about Shantel Brunton and her journey as an author, visit the links at the top of this review.
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