The blog of author Stacy Kingsley

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8/31/2016

I hope soon I will have a story out for all of you zombie readers. I have been working on the cover and so far it hasn't looked quite right to me.

I have been slowly working on the final book in my series ZOMBIMERICA. I am having trouble with one of the characters, who has suddenly decided they don't want to die in the way I had planned so I have had to rewrite a bunch.

September 10th I have an event coming up where I will be signing books, and I am looking forward to it. The event is the Southern Authors Expo. And here is the link if you are interested in going https://hmcpl.org/sae

There will be a lot of authors in attendance, so I am sure there will be several genres there for all of you who like a wide variety to read.

So excited to be working! It means I am past the worst of the writer's block, yay!

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Movie Review - SUICIDE SQUAD

8/16/2016

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There have been several bad reviews of this movie, and I am guessing it is mostly due to the fact that it is based on a series of comic books, and those people who wrote those bad reviews have read the comics. Of course, I am not going to make any assumptions as that is just not a smart thing to do, and yes I have read reviews that complained about the plot and the scenes missing from the movie that were in the trailer, and the flat characters, but that wasn't a problem for me.

If you go into this movie thinking of it as a movie based on a series of comic books, and that it may be mostly about the fun and games of action, witty repertoire, and guns blazing, then you might actually enjoy it.

I enjoyed this movie. The characters were interesting, especially Deadshot (played by Will Smith) and Harley Quinn (played by Margot Robbie), while El Diablo was very interesting as well when the viewer learned about his history and why he refused to use his power if he didn't need to.

A lot of people were complaining that the Joker didn't get much air time, but after watching the movie I thought his time was adequate, especially if they are going to use Jared Leto's Joker in other movies. He actually did a really good job playing the Joker. And the emotion some of the characters acted out actually gave them a deeper sense of being. I actually enjoyed seeing the characters be total badasses and I enjoyed seeing them develop and learn.

This isn't an in depth review, a lot has already been said, but I wanted to say ignore the bad reviews, just like you should ignore the good reviews. Who needs reviews (she says while writing a bunch of reviews on her blog) when we can go out and make up our own minds about whether we do or don't like things. I like making up m own mind about things, and sure I will continue reading reviews just to see what others are saying, but most of the time those reviews won't matter. If I want to see a movie I am going to go see it, no matter what anyone says, and if I don't I won't.

It's that simple.

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Movie Review - LIGHTS OUT

8/16/2016

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Horror movies seem to be a dime a dozen, to use a tired cliche. They almost always have the same things in them too, like jump scares, gore, needless animal slaying, scary old people, this movie only had the jump scares, and some of them actually made me jump.

This movie follows a young woman who has disengaged from her family due to her mother's mental illness and issues from when her father disappeared. The mother (played wonderfully by Maria Bello) is haunted by demons from her childhood and is supposed to be on meds to reduce her psych issues. The mother has in her care a young eight year old son, the step-brother of the young woman who ran away. When something happens to the boy's father the boy seeks his sister's help in helping him and helping there mother.

If you believe in ghosts, demons, and other supernatural beings this movie was very interesting. The supernatural element was never really explained, so the viewer has no idea why it is there or how it came to be, unless it was through trauma suffered by the individual who the supernatural being is bound to. However, that being said, the supernatural being was very interesting in the form it took and the fact that it could only appear in dark areas (hence the name of the movie LIGHTS OUT). Now, if you watch a lot of horror movies this is not something new, but seeing it developed this was is. In the movie BOOGEYMAN the supernatural being hides in the dark, so there are other monsters who hide in the dark of a closet or under a bed. Yet there was something about this idea that did make it a little creepy.

Now, that being said. there were issues with the movie too. The young woman kept doing stupid things which caused her to become a victim to the supernatural being, for example, she kept a flashlight pointed in front of her but she kept walking backwards into the dark. Very dumb, and several members of the audience even shouted at her. The young boy is told a terrible story that would frighten any young child and he didn't even really react, which disturbed me. He should have shown some fear or emotion in all of this, but instead he just asked more questions.

The last issue I had with this movie was the ending. It was too predictable for me, although the person I went with did not see it coming. I felt that it was a little too contrived and would have liked to see it end another way. It was a little disappointing.

If you already have a fear of the dark, see this movie and you will sleep with the lights on for a month or two. If you don't have a fear of the dark this movie might put some in you. It isn't a bad movie, and there were some good scares or intense moments in it.

So, go see it. You might enjoy it.

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Movie Review - THE ABANDONED (2015)

8/14/2016

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This is the summary on IMDb - Take a terrifying plunge into the warped mind of a disturbed young woman. Desperate to get her life back on track, the unstable Streak takes a job as a security guard, working the graveyard shift at a once upscale, now abandoned apartment complex. But on her first night on duty, she discovers a horrifying presence lurking deep within the bowels of the decaying building. With her nerves already on edge, Streak must confront demons both real and imagined as she struggles to keep a grip on her sanity.

This is a basic summary and after watching this movie it is so much more. A young woman, Streak, discovers the truth about what is behind a locked door in an abandoned apartment complex. She struggles to fight through her own delusions and the issues she is struggling with. In reality, she is the person with the answers, all she has to do is realize who she is.

This wasn't a great movie, I will admit that there was a bunch of stuff which could have been explained. The entire reason for part of the building to be locked was not really explained, and neither was the reason behind the bad thing that happened to all of the people who were residing in the area behind the locked door.

The stand out performance in this movie was by Jason Patrick, who I haven't seen in much since he was in THE LOST BOYS (I know there was more stuff but I haven't watched him in a lot of stuff). He portrays a security guard with physical disabilities very well. There was some humor with Patrick's character, which was a welcome break in a movie that took itself a little too seriously.

I wouldn't say I disliked this movie, it was an okay, it had few new scares. I enjoyed the plot of the movie, and didn't see the twist coming to the end, this was the only redeeming factor and the only reason I liked this movie.

In all honesty, it is hard to come up with new ideas for a horror movie. Most movies recycle the thrills and scare tactics. This movie was no different.

Now onto SHARKNADO 3, and tonight I am off to see the movie LIGHTS OUT so I should have a review of that tomorrow. Then back to work.

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Movie Review - CONJURING 2

8/1/2016

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Let me start this review off not with a review of the movie, but a review of my fellow moviegoers.

To the two large women sitting next to me: if someone is bothering you say something, don't keep whispering back and forth like no one can hear you.

To the teenagers next to me: Sure if you want to make out in a dark theater, go for it, just stop talking about it. I mean seriously teenage girl just freaking kiss the boy, stop asking "will you kiss me" and "kiss me now" it's stupid. Also, if you want to text and play snapchat in the theater, don't. Even if you turn your phone the other way so it isn't glaring in my face I can still see the little glowing light, so go outside if you MUST text. But you're in a movie, so why are you texting? It isn't that important since you didn't rush out of the theater for an emergency.

To the grandparents in front of me with three children only one of which was probably in the theater appropriately. First turn your stupid cell phone off. I get it, you don't get technology by the look of your old flip phone, but I am sure you can still turn it on silent, so it really shouldn't be ringing in the theater. And honestly it shouldn't be given the chance to ring twice, that's just dumb. Also, if you are bringing kids to a horror movie and they are going to talk and laugh the whole time, maybe choose a different movie. During quiet scenes it is very annoying to have two little boys chatting and laughing right in front of me. If you tell them to be quiet, then freaking make them be quiet, or leave the theater. Some of us want to watch the boring horror movie.

Lastly to the couple who decided to sneak into the theater when the movie was already an hour and forty minutes in, if you are going to sneak into a theater do it quietly. I don't want to hear you playing with your popcorn, or discussing which seats to sit in, or trying to figure out if there is gum on the floor. Plus, if you are going to sneak into a theater maybe don't dunk yourself in an entire bottle of perfume. I mean seriously, I am pretty sure the actors on the screen could smell you and were distracted.

Now let's get to the movie review. Okay, this movie relies heavily on jump scares, things popping or jumping out at you to scare you. There were some creepy moments and I felt that they could have done more with those and maybe frightened the viewer a little more slowly. The movie begins with the Warrens doing a reading in the Amityville house and walking through the house reenacting the moments of the murder. Then we head to England where another family is slowly haunted and tortured.

Okay, so as a horror movie this was boring, the scares were so planned and obvious that only one got me. It also had a very slow buildup and took forever to get anywhere. I actually almost fell asleep in the theater, which I have only done once. I love horror, so if this tells you anything it has to be how dull this movie was.

As for the story, it is hard. We don't know how long the family was in the house before things started happening, which bothered me. I wanted to know why this poltergeist was suddenly after this family and why it chose the one child it did to influence or attack. The lives of the Warrens weren't sympathetic to me and I questioned what this movie was really about. None of the haunted characters were really portrayed with any depth, they all seemed two dimensional. The mother Peggy was so flat I didn't know anything about her, even if she had a job. All of the characters were pretty much the same, and the only one who stood out was Morris, a man trying to prove that the afterlife exists, and he had very few scenes.

I can't say I would recommend this as a horror film. If you have watched the first CONJURING movie or ANNABELLE you will know what to expect, a slow buildup, lots of jump scares, and not a lot of backstory, or plot, or story.

I hate to say skip it, but skip it. If you want a good horror movie that is quiet with a slow build up, go watch SESSION 9, one of the best horror movies I've ever seen.

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Updates

Movie Review - SUICIDE SQUAD

Movie Review - LIGHTS OUT

Movie Review - THE ABANDONED (2015)

Movie Review - CONJURING 2

Stacy Kingsley

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