October '24
Monthly design roundup for October 2024.
Hi everyone Happy Halloween!! Best day of the year in my opinion… anyway that also means it’s the end of the month, so I get to send you a big email I write hours before you get it. Let’s delve in shall we…..
DESIGN
A few months ago I got asked to contribute a poster for The War On Drugs on tour, which resulted in the design below! Inspired by their tour being named “Zen Diagram Tour”, I wanted to create something kaleidoscopic and referential to blacklight posters. I have some 18x24 prints for sale now in my shop, hand numbered and signed by me. I never get to sell my work so this is a rare opportunity to own something of mine!
Another poster I got to design this month was for the Fillmore, for Royel Otis. These were printed and handed out at the event!
I don’t usually share my sketches or rough drafts, but thought it could be cool to include one of them here. Usually I prefer not to do sketches if possible, since my usual subject matter is just geometric based and nothing super illustrative. It’s much better for my process to just work it out on the canvas.
Had the privilege of doing the design and packaging layout for Current Joy’s new album East My Love, featuring illustrations by Llewellyn Mejia. Nick’s music has been a huge part of my early 20s, so getting to work on art direction for such an incredible record felt special to me. Below are the vinyl, CD, and cassette details!
MOVIES
October is always the month I watch the most movies because Halloween enables me to really embrace my love for all things horror. It really truly feeds into my hyperfixation. I’m watching horror movies year round, but this month I went a little crazy with 28. (29 actually, I’m re-watching Texas Chainsaw Massacre right now) I don’t even know how to review 28 movies in this email so I’ll try to pick my favorites to talk about and then list some for you to check out if you’re interested! But for now let me indulge….
Pulse ☆☆☆☆☆
NOT the American remake, the original Kurosawa one…. I truly LOVED every second of this movie I can’t emphasize this enough. I’ve seen so many scary movies that nothing truly affects me anymore, but the imagery in this movie is some of the best I’ve seen in a long time. Truly eerie, spooky stuff. One of the most interesting and original stories I’ve seen as well. Kiyoshi combines early 2000s internet age/old tech and the concept of isolation into a horrific ghost tale that begins with a simple message on a computer screen — “do you want to meet a ghost?”. It’s a fascinating look at debilitating loneliness during a time where the introduction of the internet is supposed to make us all feel connected. If you end up watching this one please let me know, I’d love your thoughts!
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum ☆☆☆☆
I put off watching this for over a year after it was recommended to me because it genuinely looked terrifying…. yeah it was! Some extremely frightening visuals in this, I can always count on Korean horror to be terrifying (The Wailing…). I’m a big found footage apologist so I love that this was all recorded on Go Pros, hand held cameras, etc. since our main characters are Youtubers making content for their channel. If you’ve seen Grave Encounters this is nearly identical and just as much of a wild ride.
An American Werewolf In London ☆☆☆☆☆
Maybe the best prosthetic makeup and practical effects I’ve ever seen?? The transformation scene was so grotesque and surreal I have no idea how they achieved that. Also very funny when it needed to be, I enjoy horror comedy however it’s not something I usually go for, but this was a perfect mix. There are a few really standout scenes in this that are just so frightening honestly, the subway scene……. incredible camera angles, the fear is palpable.
Tetsuo: The Iron Man ☆☆☆☆☆
Literally first 15 minutes in I was just thinking wow this is honestly just..so awesome. Maybe the craziest and most impressive body horror movie ever made. This is Eraserhead’s nightmare. It’s one big mess of clanking metal, flesh and steel with an amazing droning industrial score. The human body is a natural machine, but what if it mutated into something more directly representational of that, with metal pipes sticking out from under the skin and tangled wires that remind us of intestines? The body’s transformation throughout the film just evolved into something so horrific yet fascinating, you truly can’t look away. No idea how they managed to make something like this. At some point it stopped being extremely disturbing and became very beautiful to me idk…
From Beyond ☆☆☆☆☆
What if you could flip a switch and see creatures that exist all around us that aren’t visible to the naked eye? This is what happens when you flip the switch of the Resonator, a device that stimulates the pineal gland but also exposes you to some pretty terrifying creatures that live among us. So much goo is in this movie I can’t even really begin to describe how cool the practical effects are. Another banger sci-fi body horror from the mind of Lovecraft, directed by Stuart Gordon.
Re-Animator ☆☆☆☆☆
Speaking of campy gory 80s sci-fi body horror and Stuart Gordon, this movie is also perfect. Extremely gross and fun time. I love that in order to get the re-agent to glow they used the same contents as glow sticks. Watching From Beyond directly before Re-Animator really made them feel like they existed in the same timeline, since they both deal with similar themes and cast members. My friend Raine wrote a really great piece about Re-Animator’s homoerotic history which is worth the read, and delves into this far better than I can so I’ll leave you with that!
Hellbound: Hellraiser II ☆☆☆☆☆
Like most of these movies it’s hard for me to find appropriate gifs I can actually include in these emails… anyway I love Hellraiser. I love the first one, it’s one of my favorite horror movies. There are so many quotable and iconic lines from this franchise. Pinhead is one of the best character designs of all time. The Cenobites are icons. Anyway… this second follow up movie was so icky, fun, and I genuinely was smiling the entire time which is depraved, but the kills were so good and the practical effects so surreal I was just having a complete blast. We do lose the plot a little towards the end (feels like it kinda drags out forever) and we could’ve used more of Pinhead/Cenobites but I still had a good time watching this so all of that feels irrelevant to me. Your suffering will be legendary, even in hell!!!! Idk are you guys still here are you reading any of this.
Okay I watched more movies than this but can’t write fleshed out thoughts for all of them so here are some brief ones:
A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge ☆☆☆☆: surprisingly really liked it, extremely funny and gay
Daddy’s Head ☆☆☆: a Shudder original I’ve had on my radar for awhile, watched it and was absolutely spooked by some moments in this. If you’re scared of mimics and doppelgangers you might find this one freaky.
The Fly ☆☆☆☆☆: classic obviously, this was a rewatch but I remain firm in my belief that it’s so vile and disgusting… also kind of made me sad?? idk
The Coffee Table ☆☆: the premise of this story is extremely disturbing and it might be subject matter that’s too off limits for some, but I unfortunately saw where it was going and the journey after didn’t feel that interesting to me (the comedy angle simply wasn’t working for me after the first 30 mins)
Terrifier ☆☆: I’ve been watching these out of order but I watched the second one when it came out and found it more impressive than this with better kills
Mirrors ☆☆: Genuinely terrified of seeing this cover at Blockbuster as a kid and remembered watching That Bathtub Scene on Youtube back in the day but overall not much going for it besides that ICONIC bathroom scene.
The Stuff ☆☆☆☆: Actually I should’ve written an entire review for this but I don’t feel like going back now, very fun campy 80s movie about people eating what looks like marshmallow fluff and then turning into monsters. Loved it
The Dyatlov Pass Incident ☆☆☆: Okay I REALLY REALLY loved this up until the last 20 minutes or so, this is basically Blair Witch Project but in the isolated snowy mountains which makes for a very tense horror atmosphere. It was very effective up until we actually see the creatures, which just felt like a CGI mess. Should’ve gone into the route of The Descent.
Frankenhooker ☆☆☆☆: No way to watch this except buying the DVD on Ebay which I did (I’m sure you could find it online somewhere I just like buying physical media). Fits in perfectly with all the other campy 80s horror I’ve been watching, and Elizabeth’s final transformation is actually such a memorable character design. Definitely the inspiration behind Poor Things, I’d love to hear if Yorgos watched this.
MUSIC
Albums I’ve had on repeat:
Psychedelic Jungle — The Cramps
Only One Mode — Speed
Last Splash — The Breeders
Cool World — Chat Pile
That’s all! Thanks for reading, enjoy your Halloween
