NOC Review: ‘The Last Voyage of the Demeter’ Sinks More Than It Scares

In my review of The Boogeyman, I talked about how we’ve been lucky to have such good horror entries to come out in recent years. Even this summer alone, we were treated to A24’s sleeper hit, Talk To Me, and even fans of Insidious came out to support The Red Door. And The Last Voyage of the Demeter seemed like a worthy candidate to follow in those footsteps with a slam dunk for August horror. But alas, this faux-Dracula tale still winds up second (as far as Dracula films this year go) behind Universal’s previous Dracula-inspired story this year, Renfield. And that’s actually pretty sad.

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More AAPI Supernatural Recommendations for Fans of Disney’s ‘So Weird’

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month everyone! Last year, to acknowledge both this annual commemoration of contributions from the AAPI community and the ever-present following of the ’90s Disney Channel original series, So Weird, I compiled together a list of supernatural recommendations, created by and about people of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

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NOC Interview: Debby Ryan Talks Her New Film, ‘Night Teeth’

Debby Ryan stars as Blaire in Netflix’s new vampire thriller, Night Teeth. The actress did a majority of the stunts and fights herself, putting her real-life boxing skills to work in the fight sequences. The film, which is an 42 and Unique Features production, begins streaming on October 20.

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The Haunting History of Vampires and Blackness is Captured in ‘Black as Night’

In the film Black as Night, screenwriter Sherman Payne pens a haunting and alluring tale of vampires and their victims through a lens not much often looked through. Crafting a story that centers Shawna, a 15-year-old African American woman, as she battles vampires in a modern day New Orleans against a backdrop of not only the history of Hurricane Katrina but also the generational and systemic trauma of being Black in America. 

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Jacob Batalon to Star in SYFY’s ‘Reginald the Vampire’

Our favorite web-slinger guy in the chair is making his way into the world of vampires! Jacob Batalon, a fellow Filipino brother from another mother, has nabbed the lead role in a SYFY Channel original series called Reginald the Vampire.

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‘Growing Fangs’ Director Anne Marie Pace on Finding Your Place in the World

Growing up Mexican American and bisexual in a family of anthropologists, Pace wanted to showcase what it meant to be an outsider and finding your place. She also is a huge fan of the supernatural. So, why not put the two and two together? That’s exactly what she did.

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Reviewing Netflix’s ‘Castlevania’ from a ‘Castlevania’ Junkie

Recently Netflix has released the first “season” of Castlevania, a gory, animated version of the beloved Konami series featuring our favorite vampire killers trying to take down Dracula. I am a huge fan of Castlevania, from the platformer NES days to its Metroidvania-style games on the DS; I was curious to see how they would portray the game in a show format. There is definitely some potential if given to the right people. With only being four episodes long, how does show fare with the original material?

Long story short, some work is required but it is a good start.

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Here’s To You Bonnie Bennett

Last night The Vampire Diaries came to an end after eight seasons. In saying farewell to the gang from Mystic Falls, it seemed only right to take this opportunity and give the spotlight to the series’ most valuable player.

You guessed it, Bonnie Bennett, played flawlessly by the beautiful and immensely talented Kat Graham.

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And the Nominee Is…..

With October being LGBTQ History month — as well as Black Speculative Fiction Month, the following news seems almost provident.

My sophomore novel, West of Sunset, has been nominated for 2015 Gaylactic Spectrum Award in the best novel category. I’m immensely humbled by this honor. It’s wonderful to be reminded that if you’re willing to dream and put in the work, opportunities manifest as a result.

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NOC Recaps Penny Dreadful: Attack of the Naked Witch Groupies

This will be the very first NOC recap for the Showtime horror show Penny Dreadful, which just premiered its second season on Sunday. And what a relief it is to have it back as I very much miss this delightfully dark show with freaks and ghouls that have a penchant for murder. For those who are just catching on, season one focused mostly on revealing dark secrets for the main cast, which includes Vanessa Ives (Eva Green), Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton), Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadyway), his creation Caliban aka The Creature (Rory Kinnear), and Ethan Chandler (Josh Harnett) whose big secret was that he’s a hairy rampaging werewolf.

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