Sunday 1 April 2018

AtoZ2018 - A is for ... #MovieMonsters #AtoZChallenge


A is for ...

Hello and welcome to the first day of the AtoZChallenge. My theme this year is movie monsters and I will be introducing everyone to some of my favourites. Some will be scary monsters, some monsters who wish they were scary and others will be simply silly. Happy AtoZ to one and all, let's have a great April.

Scariness Rating


The little skulls by their name are my scariness rating as to how monstrous and scary I think the creatures are when seen in their films.
  •  1 skull (not scary at all) - 5 skulls (very scary)
  •  and there is a special rating for a few - 5 red skulls (utterly terrifying)

Anders Raeborne (Darklight - The Legend of Lilith)

The anti-hero and then hero of Darklight is Lilith (Shiri Appleby), a demonic entity who hates the pious and kills at will. She is captured by The Faith, an organisation set up specifically to destroy her. When they capture her, however, they don't kill her, they block her memories and turn her into a good guy.

However, Anders Raeborne (David Hewlett), a mad scientist, helped by a traitor to The Faith, uses an extract of her blood because he wants to become immortal. It turns him into the Demoicus, a terrible demonic creature who spreads plague with his bite. Elle, the persona The Faith created for Lilith, is the only one who can stop him.

This film is fun and terrible all at the same time. It has some of my fav TV actors, with John de Lancie (Q from STNG), David Hewlett (Stargate Atlantis), Shiri Appleby (Roswell) and Richard Burgi (The Sentinel), and the plot is entertaining, but the special effects are terrible. The CGI is plain bad. This is a monster movie for those who prefer their monsters PG.

Agent Smith (The Matrix)

He may have a human guise, but Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) is definitely a monster. His sole motivation is the protection of the matrix and the suppression of all resistance within.

Being a machine he never tires, never sleeps and can be anywhere at anytime. He is unbeatable and kills without a second thought. He is also insidious, turning enemies into tools.

The Matrix is a modern classic, with its bullet time special effects, and Hugo Weaving's sinister Agent Smith is a perfect villain.

Athan (The Lair - season 3)

The Lair is a gay-themed vampire show from the here! production company. It had three seasons and I love it to bits. The Lair is a gay sex club that the vampires use to find victims, so this is a very not PG show.

Athan (Steven Hirchi) appears in season 3. He is an antiquities expert who is looking for an artefact because he is under the curse. Within him is the spirit of a male gorgon and he can turn people to stone. In fact, he has to. All he wants is to live a normal life, which is what the artefact can give him, if he can only find it. Meanwhile the body count grows.

There are no two ways about it, The Lair is wonderfully terrible in places. Some of the actors were also definitely not hired for their acting ability, but because they look good without their clothes on. However, I think it's awesome. Also one of the lead vampires is called Colin, which makes me laugh because Colin is so not a sexy name in the UK.

Anubis (The Pyramid)


Anubis is the most monsterly monster I have for you today. He's ancient. gnarly, very, very evil and enjoys slaughtering people to weigh their hearts and see if they are worthy of the after life. He doesn't seem much interested in whether they were dying before he got to them.

The Pyramid is something of an average supernatural slasher movies. An archaeological team uncover this pyramid during the 2012-13 uprising in Egypt and, even though they are told to leave, they go in anyway. Then they start dying in lots of nasty ways.

The effects are pretty good and Anubis is a reasonably scary monster. At least he looks evil.

P.S. I'm sorry, I probably won't be around today to chat because it's Easter Sunday and I won't have much time, if any, online, but I promise I will get to is as soon as I can. Mostly today I will be cooking :).

Q. Do you have any favourite monsters that would fit in to the letter A? If you watch monster movies, do you watch them from behind a cushion like I have been known to do? :)


AtoZ List of All Participants

39 comments:

  1. Fun theme. I always keep my eyes open during scary movies! I like your skull rating system.

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    1. Thank you :) When I first planned my posts I wasn't going to rate the monsters, but then on theme reveal people mentioned some don't like scary monsters so I came up with the skulls.

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  2. I love the little skull ratings! :D
    Also, now I know that "gay-themed vampire show" is a thing. Sounds fun!
    Happy A to Z!

    The Multicolored Diary: Weird Things in Hungarian Folktales

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    1. Thank you - when people mentioned they didn't like scary monsters in the theme reveal I decided to add them in so people could tell if the monsters would be their cup of tea or not.

      The Lair is low budget fun - I love it. :)

      Thank you so much for dropping by.

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  4. I'm not a massive fan of monster moives, though I want to watch more. I think I'll have to start with The Matrix, as it's been on my list for so long. Happy Easter!

    Most Played Songs on my iPod - Animal

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    1. The Matrix is well worth seeing - it has some awesome moments. I, unfortunately, do not feel the same way about the sequels. Happy Easter to you too, hope you had a good one.

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  5. Love your rating system for the monsters! Thumbs up for a great A. Happy Easter and A-Zing.

    Nilanjana
    Madly-in-Verse

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    1. Thank you - I hope the skulls can let people who don't like scary monsters know that monsters don't have to be scary to be fun :) Happy Easter to you too.

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  6. Hari OM
    Hi Tasha - and Blessed Easter to you! I do not watch horror or any 'gratuitous' film/tv. That does not mean that there are not 'monsters' in some of the things I do watch. I am interested that you included Agent Smith (I adore Hugo Weaving!); the Matrix is a film in which much about Vedanta can be found (my subject) - the search for what is real and what is not. As a sci-fi fan, I would not watch Alien, for example, but I do count Enemy Mine as a favourite, where the 'monster' is prejudice. I know, nothing to do with 'A', but just letting you know I'm engaged in the conversation! Come on April... YAM xx

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    1. I love Enemy Mine - I saw it in the cinema when it first came out. I also have the novel of the film. Great story.
      Thank you so much for visiting.

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  7. I too loved loved dark light for the story line. I also liked sentinel.

    The ants in Them( I think that's the right movie). Ginormo bugs. Ew!

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    1. I like the Sentinel, but I have to say, the fanfic is better :) Because it was so hard to get when it first came out most of the fandom was built on the fanfic :)

      Oh yes, I remember Them! They were indeed ginormous! :)

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  8. Ha! Great list. Not a fan of typical sci-fi monster/alien films, but monsters do exist in lot of different forms. Look forward to seeing what else is on your list.

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    1. I hope you like some of my further pics :) Many thanks for visiting.

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  9. Cool topic and I love the skull ratings!

    Dena
    https://denapawling.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thank you :) I thought the skulls would add a bit of fun.

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  10. I think what made Agent Smith a good monster if his lack of emotion despite looking human. That always gives me an extra chill.

    ~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
    My A to Z's of Dining with IC
    Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

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    1. Yep, I think you are definitely right about that. It's what makes psychopaths so chilling too.

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  11. What a great selection of A-listers, ha ha. The only other I can think of right now is Alien, and maybe she had a different name...?

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    1. Love the pun ;) Look out for Alien under X :D
      Thank you so much for visiting.

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  12. I'm with Patricia Lynne - Agent Smith falls into that "uncanny valley" of things that look almost-human but are slightly off, things that make our skin crawl even if we can't quite articulate why. Something about the alien-ness of human simulacra - it's the stuff that used to give Philip K. Dick nightmares and inspiration.

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    1. It's like watching some of the CGI animated films that are so realistic, but there's just something off in the eyes. Gets me every time :)

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  13. Not bad! Anguirus from Godzilla might have been a decent addition, but I know I never would have come up with some of these dude. Great post! Can't wait to see what you have coming tomorrow.

    Song a Day
    A is for Avatar

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    1. Runs off the look up Anguirus - Oh yes, you definitely have a point there - thank you for the suggestion and thank you for visiting.

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  14. So glad that Agent Smith made the list. He kept me on the edge of my seat when the Matrix came out. (www.dragonsandspaceships.com)

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    1. He definitely helps make the movie. Thank you for visiting.

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  15. Great rating system - a touch of skullduggery.

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  16. Those are some good monsters! :)

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  17. I'm going to love your posts this year! Movie monsters are right up my alley. @mirymom1 from
    Balancing Act

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  18. This is a fun theme. I haven't seen most of these film you named, but I like your ranking system. I can't think offhand of another one, but I'm sure there have been a few that started with the word "Atomic"--that was popular back in the fifties.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out (A)

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    1. You have a point :) Thank you for dropping by.

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  19. Great start. Adam from Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

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  20. I think I want to watch The Pyramid. It sounds scary, but okay in daylight and with a rottweiler cuddling with me and maybe a cushion to block out the screen...

    Ronel from Ronel the Mythmaker A-Z road-tripping with Everything Writerly: A is for AuthorToolboxBlogHop

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