Prepared to Be Scared: Get Your Own Paranormal Experience on the UK Release of Paranormal Activity.

Attention filmmakers, scaredy cats and fans of Paranormal Activity! I just got wind of an exciting contest taking place on Youtube that offers one of the most exciting prizes in a while. The Prepared to Be Scared channel on youtube is offering the chance to be highlighted and introduced by none other than Oren Peli- the writer and director of Paranormal Activity. Details are as follows...

· An exciting promotion whereby users can win the chance to have their film included on the Paranormal Activity DVD & Blu-Ray

· Films restricted to 3 minutes in length and can be shot on camera or mobile phone.

· Entries are open to interpretation - Just make sure they're scary

· Users upload their films to YouTube and then submit their entries to the PrepareToBeScared You Tube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/PrepareToBeScared

· The best will be shortlisted and shown to Oren Peli to judge the final winners. We’ll leave it open as to how many to make people feel they have a better chance to be included on the DVD/BD.

I have to say I'm loving the idea for this contest. Paranormal experiences caught on tape are one of the most chilling things you can see. Of course, ever since Unsolved Mysteries and my ignorance of the word "reenactment" I've been dubious of their presence. This contest however certainly keeps it open and I especially love how you can also just upload a video of people being set up to be scared.

I do have a few personal ghost stories in my repertoire (involving ghost babies and ghost midgets don't worry I'll spare you the gruesome details) but I will definitely be subscribing to the channel to get a look at what the contestants are submitting.

So get your creativity pants on, tell your boyfriend Micah to set the video camera up- and get those paranormal experiences caught on tape!

Something Wicked This Way Comes: A Photo Journal of My Experience.

It's pretty rare occurrence when I watch a movie and then realize by the end that I had no idea what was happening the entire time. So far I got; weird old man, lots of midgets and a really scary spider scene. There are a few scary moments that were even scary for me- so I can only imagine what it must have been like watching this as a child. But for the most part kind of a let down. So without further ado I will take you on a magical journey through my experience of Something Wicked This Way Comes.

This is the movie as I understood it.

The crazy old man from Killer Klowns from Outer Space- plays a boy scout who sells lightning rods.

The bartender is missing an arm AND a leg- yet he can still run a bar and sweep the sidewalk. Also I forget how he lost his arm and his leg.

A carnival comes to town advertising exotic dancers with no pants on. But later we find out...

That they do wear pants! False advertising.

There also seems to be a surplus of Midgets in this movie and it's really hard to keep track of them.

See? Serious midget overdose. And too many midget props too now that I think about it.

This was the most horrifying spider scene I have ever seen. You'll have to find this on youtube if you want to see it in full, but here are a few examples. I read that they used 200 live tarantulas in this- and let me tell you....I'm going to have nightmares about this scene for the rest of my life.

There are more but I couldn't watch the scene twice. Things like grabbing a door knob where a tarantula is curled, stepping on a tarantula, and having tarantulas under your covers. It was seriously the worst thing I have ever seen. And this is coming from someone who watched people eating poop.

After the spider scene, things got a little fuzzy because I think I fainted. Fear not- I was suddenly revived when this happened.

Yup. That's right- it's the Killer Klowns guy running through a mirror maze with a light saber.

Then there was some battle with love and happiness against evil or something...blah blah and THEN the most important life lesson is revealed at the end...

Midgets never leave a fallen comrade behind.

So there you have it. Quite a journey. I think there was also a scary carnival that involved giving people their deepest wishes in exchange for their soul- but who knows these days. I guess I just never remembered this one from my yester years. I hear the novel of the same name is way more terrifying though. Can anybody confirm that? There were a lot of startling things that I never thought Disney would put in in their movies- for instance that gross skeleton guy up there-very creepy...yikes.

Orphan: And So The World Loses Another Great Artist Of Our Time.

I've been very worried about seeing this movie despite all the positive reviews I had been hearing. I was worried because I am one curious cat and therefore enjoy spoiling the end of movies that I don't think I will ever see. Of course I didn't realize that this movie would actually be pretty decent and that I would have to see it! Damn. Damn. Damn. So last night I tried to tuck away the twist and enjoy the ultimate creepy and uncomfortable-ness of Esther. Turns out she is even creepier when you do know the twist!

The movie opens with a dream sequence that gives us insight into a great tragedy in John and Kate's life (get the proverbial Jon & Kate jokes out now before I continue). Their third baby died in the womb- and while Kate seems to be harboring a darker secret inside- the couple agree to adopt their third child. While at the orphanage the couple meets Esther. A well spoken, authentic Russian gal with a talent for painting. John and Kate agree that Esther would be a terrific fit to their family of an already existing 10 year old-ish early douche bag and a cute deaf girl. It is not long before strange tragedies start to happen and the funny thing is that Esther is always around when they happen. Clearly as the movie's poster says, something is wrong with Esther.

So let's get what everyone is talking about out of the way. Did they pick the names John and Kate on purpose?! What? Oh right. wrong thing everyone is talking about. Esther IS the best part about this movie. Coming from someone who just watched The Omen, The Village of the Damned and The Children all in a matter of a week- I was genuinely terrified of Esther. I think it was a combination of her creepy Russian accent and her remarks about the son's hairless prick that really set me off but then again I'm not sure. No no it was definitely the hairless prick comment. Not to mention she likes to watch John and Kate have sex....in the kitchen! Sex in the kitchen is really only acceptable when you have children that are babies- god John and Kate what were you thinking? So by far Esther's performance is what makes this movie.

Now other than Esther, the movie has some pretty valid points. The dream sequence although a previous annoyance with me was actually pretty effective. The disgusting and bloody swaddled baby comes to mind, and the blood that seeps out when Kate is getting rolled away in the wheelchair. I also enjoyed the impact of Esther on Kate's psyche. The part where she chops all the roses off from the bush was jaw dropping and how Esther cleverly manipulated Kate's alcoholic past with everything that was going on--so evil! I also loved that first scene with the pigeon- it really served up Esther's cruelty and put it right into your face. Whoops I just realized all the valid points were about Esther! Damn this!

Something I definitely wasn't crazy about was the length of the film- running about 2 hours. 2 Hours for this kind of horror movie is way too long. The perfect length for a horror movie is an hour and 30 minutes- anything longer that isn't a Stanley Kubrick or an insanely artistic and provocative movie just drags on and starts churning out boringness. As a result I found the end of Orphan to be a bit formulaic. It soon almost turned into a joke- how many times will Esther rise from the dead?

Peter Sarsgaard and that other woman were ok, but sometimes I really can't stand P. Sarsgaard's twangy voice. I also loved the deaf girl. Those sign language sub titled scenes were surprisingly moving to me. And as much as I dig hysteria and things not going according to plan- all the Kate is an alcoholic with psychological problems geared towards Esther grew kind of tiring. Any Doctor that was convinced Kate could break Esther's arm that badly needs to get a new license. Speaking of which that arm breaking scene...holy mother of Christ.

Overall the movie provides an original take on the classic devil child story. Esther's performance alone is enough to warrant a viewing of this movie- but don't be surprised if your attention starts to wane at parts. Another very interesting thing I encountered was reading the trivia about the earlier drafts of the script- which in my opinion are far superior to the final draft of the script. SPOILER P. Sarsgaard's death for one was much more violent and amazing and creative., also the son is suppose to have died in the hospital, AND the final fight in the ice never happened and originally ended with Kate shooting Esther between the eyes with the final "you are not my daughter you bitch" (or however it went) line of the century. There's also an extensive history behind Esther's persona involving sexual abuse, incest and prostitution. All very interesting spins on the movie that probably could have made me like it more. Poor kid that played Esther though. I bet she's suffering from Linda Blair syndrome- surely if I saw her in public my first impulse would be to jump out a window or maybe to kill her- I guess it would all depend on my mood.

Other notable freak out scenes- the discovery of Esther's nudie black light paintings, her transformation, and her seduction scene(ahhh!) Where did she get black light paint anyways?