Benjamin Perez Blog: LMST 345

There are many different genres such as romance, horror, suspense, etc. However, the idea of a weird genre, as Michael A Moir Jr. says, is basically a subset. These weird fiction stories often contain many elements including horror and science fiction. Annihilation is very much unlike most novels, as are many stories, for example H.P. Lovecraft novels. What makes Annihilation fit into this subset of genres is that it combines multiple elements of various genres and nothing is fully explained in the story, but in such a way that the strange source of interest is beyond human understanding. There are no victorious heroes who present a successful outcome of Area X. Perhaps there is a bad character, like the psychologist, but even that seems a little grey because ultimately everything falls under the influence of the presence in Area X. The story itself sets kind of an idea of what to expect from the outcome. Even while the four women observed the environment and creatures, there was never...

Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things is a collection by Lafcadio Hearn that is made up of various short stories gathered from various sources. Each story itself is quite different from the last, like Yuki-Onna and Oshidori. It is interesting because the stories in this collection are very different from Western stories. More often than not, stories are made with forces battling against each other, often good vs evil, the good guy vs the villain. However, the stories in Kwaidan are very different. Rather than being seen as black and white, the stories tend to blur the lines and take on greater meaning. In The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hoichi, the first short story of Kwaidan, a blind musician ends up performing for a great audience. The audience turns out to be the spirits of a long-deceased court. Normally, the spirits might be seen as the bad guy because one does harm Hoichi, and a priest says that Hoichi is in danger. For this story, the spirits were simply a result of circumstan...

 A Wild Sheep Chase is as fascinating and bizarre a story as they come. The noted horror element in this story is supernatural. Throughout the story, there are unsettling moments that kept me at the edge of my seat. Perhaps this is because after seeing a movie like the Grudge, I had certain expectations of this read. However, the novel, although not quite taking on a voice like the Grudge, definitely had a slightly unsettling feeling about it. The mention of death was one of the more unsettling parts. This occurred often, perhaps hinting that the main character was going to experience some form of loss such as Rat. Perhaps the most unsettling, and fascinating thing in the story was the sheep. But first before I delve into that, a brief summary. A man shows up to the narrator's business to find the person responsible for displaying an article along with a photograph. The man represents a dangerous individual that could threaten his life if he did not comply with their wishes. So, th...

       Only Lovers Left Alive is often described as an "artistic" or "artsy" movie. At first sight, this might be confusing because it is a story of Vampires. This movie is not like most other Vampire movies. It does not have some elaborate plot between heroes and Vampires, nor some Dr. Van Helsing pursuing them. Instead, this movie focuses on two Vampire lovers who have lived practically since the dawn of time, both with appreciation with everything from music, books, and studying everything around them. They live a fairly secluded life apart from the rest of the world. The Vampires themselves do exhibit necessary qualities of Vampires; they do have sharp canines to sink into victims, they drink blood to live, and they live practically forever. Although this is not a film soaked in blood and gore, the Vampire thirst is quenched through the characters obtaining medically donated blood for them to feast on. The interest is especially created on inspection of Adam...

 Byzantium is a new kind new kind of Vampire movie that does not follow many of the similar styles of the past. First of all, the Vampires in Byzantium are not as powerful and impressive as classic style Vampires. They do not have the fangs and do not bite into their victim's necks. They do not possess super speed or hypnotic abilities. They do not change shape, and they do not have another true form. But what these Vampires do have is a nail that lengthens into a claw, which they use to pierce flesh and drink blood. The story itself itself seems to be addressing a real life issue. In the story, we see a mother who was terribly mistreated and abused, as is her daughter. This is often the case in real life, women suffering at the hands of men. However, throughout the movie, we see the strength of the mother and daughter. By the end of the movie, the mother becomes a complete force of nature. Perhaps the movie did not focus so much on the supernatural and impressive Vampire qualities...

      The 1922 movie Nosferatu is almost a copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula, and so much of the story was very similar. However, what is quite intriguing about Nosferatu is that it introduces a style of Vampire that does stand almost in a category all it's own apart from Dracula. Nosferatu is a being that not only can't handle the sunlight, but will be destroyed by it. His posture is that of a man who hunches over. He contains features similar to that of a Vampire Bat such as long ears, more like the ears of a goblin or elf, and long pointed front teeth.  These physical differences greatly distinguish this being from other Vampires. However, there are some elements of similarity between Nosferatu and other Vampires. The biggest similarity is that Nosferatu must consume blood. Another is that he sleeps in a coffin filled with cursed dirt. All things considered, Nosferatu is a different type of Vampire unlike the common images associated with Vampires. However, he is a ty...

     Interview with a Vampire introduces a new age of style of Vampire. The Vampires of past literature and films were often charming but also deadly Vampires. They showed a style of Vampire that suited the times. However, the Vampires Anne Rice writes about set a new style of Vampire. These are Vampires who are romanticized; they are elegant, graceful, and highly intelligent. Beauty is the quality of these Vampires, but Vampires they are. These Vampires do still contain many qualities that distinguish them as such including: they have fangs, they drink blood to survive, they avoid the sunlight because it can harm them, they sleep in coffins, they can move quickly and even perhaps have somewhat hypnotic abilities.            Fascinating, though, is that the death of Vampires in the novel is not fully explained for much of it. Unlike most novels with Vampires, Vampires cannot be killed by a stake to the heart. Garlic does nothing, and cru...

 This is a very unique story not only for the story itself, but in how it is told. The story of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a bizarre tale. But what makes this story so fascinating is the perspective. The story is being told through the perspective of a friend of Henry Jekyll, Mr. Utterson, a lawyer. The focus of the story does surround Dr. Jekyll, however there is no proof right away of his affliction due to the perspective. Even though Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are the points of interest, the perspective of Mr. Utterson leaves us almost fully unaware of the happenings of the two individuals because he does not see right away what is happening. He only notices strange behavior from Dr. Jekyll and the strange encounters with Mr. Hyde, a man of significantly different a build from Dr. Jekyll. It is only near the end of the story that a letter from Dr. Lanyon reveals what is happening with Dr. Jekyll. Furthermore, the final pages of the story reveal more perspective ...

The story of Frankenstein is a classic novel today that has many gothic elements. However, the gothic element I would like to focus on for this writing is the monster. The monster created by Victor Frankenstein contains the characteristics of what defines a monster; large, ugly, and frightening. I will just quickly add that although the monster is often portrayed as ugly, Victor had sought to beautify it by giving it long luscious black hair, and other fine features as he could. But the monster was a monster nevertheless. The monster in Frankenstein is interesting, because it did not just go rampaging the moment it was created, it tried to communicate with him. But instead of dealing with the issue at hand, Victor was so frightened that he ultimately fled. The monster, not having any moral sense, does kill people, especially those close to Victor with almost like a childish response. The monster's very existence and the choices it makes are consequences of Victor's naive desire...

 I am looking forward to the readings for this semester, and to discuss and write about them.