Trust no one - The Host (2006)

In 2000 a military civilian was ordered to dispose of large quantities of the dangerous chemical Formaldehyde in to the public sewerage system. It then found it's way in to the Han River. The beginning of The Host dramatises this incident with a creepy American scientist making a scared South Korean assistant pour hundreds of litres down the sink. Years later, a man jumps from a bridge in to the Han River, to his death. "I'll see you in Hell" he says as he goes.

Gang-du runs a snack bar by the river with his father and they both look after Gang-du's 13 year old daughter, Hyun-seo. The creature finally shows itself and begins to run up and down the river bank, eating up all the onlookers. Gang-du runs and grabs his daughter's arm, only to realise minutes later that it was not his daughter, but another schoolgirl. He turns to see the monster scoop her up and take her in to the sewer. The family are taken in to custody then hospital after fears their contact with the creature may have infected them with a virus. Gang-du receives a phone call from his daughter that night who has survived the attack and is stuck down the drain.

Despite the obvious political themes and referring at times to the American military presence in Korea, the humour brings a bright reality you wouldn't expect from this type of film. The not so sociable family, all with their foibles, work together to defeat the creature and in the vain hope of saving Hyun-seo.

The scariest part was the authority's tunnel vision and their method of killing the problem regardless of the amount of fatalities. When Agent Yellow is released, a yellow box suspended by a crane omitting a dirty yellow gas, to destroy the possible virus, (like Agent Orange used in Vietnam) you feel like you are caught in the middle of a biological attack. Never before have I been so amazed by a monster movie, it was made with such elegance and charm. Yes, I'm sure there are others around with far superior SFX but that's not what I'm interested in. I don't need a monster to look realistic. I mean, what does a real monster look like anyway?

All work & no play makes Jack (Sarah) a dull boy (girl) - Contest!

Oh, how art imitates life. Or is it the other way round? Scare Sarah has been all about the work lately and a bit short on the old play. So I thought, it's right about time for a new contest! And look at what I have for you! A mug! A Shining mug! Beautiful.

I've decided to make the rules even simpler as you're a lazy bunch. Well, I am lazy and I judge everyone by my own standards. To be in with a chance of winning, do the following.

Rule 1: You must be a follower of Scare Sarah. So if you haven't already, click Follow up there on the right.

Rule 2: Comment once on this post telling me you want the mug/cup/vessel.

Rule 3: This is optional. If you spread the word I will give you 1 extra entry. Just tell me where you did your word spreading.

That's all. Enter by 22:00 GMT on the 10th July 2010. One winner will be picked at random. All entries consent to me publishing their first name or screen name on this site if they win. Open internationally. Fill your boots. Or the mug. If you win.

**This contest is now closed. Keep a look out for more free stuff!**

Shall we burn her? - Zombie women of satan (2010)

Leave your high-horror-brow at the door and have a laugh for 90 minutes.
A group of circus type nightclub performers are doing their set among the strippers and the burlesque dancers. Meanwhile Daddy is getting his daughter to kidnap young girls to help with his sick experiments.

The supposedly up and coming group arrive at a farmhouse for their first big interview. Unfortunately for them, this is where the zombie experiments are being carried out and they are forced to fight their way through naked zombie women.

What some people may miss here is the typical subversive British humour. ZWOS is just like the creepiest and sickest parts of the brilliant TV series The League of Gentlemen. Far fetched? Completely. Is a non-zombie form of this dark world really happening somewhere in Britain? More than likely. While this film made me feel a little uncomfortable, apart from the toilet humour that I really didn't need, I couldn't help but feel a little impressed.

After its run at Cannes, Zombie Women of Satan is out now on DVD.

Aaron hates parasites - SS Delegated (1)

Everybody knows the secret to good management, and horror blogging it transpires, is Delegation. Scare Sarah began in the hope of sharing a few scares because we are all here for the same reasons; to be scared! A select few will be sharing their inner most horrors with us and to start we have blogger, (Zed Word: Zombie Blog, Monster Chiller Horror Theatre) and podcaster (Screamwave) Aaron. Busy boy!

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Are horror fans, in general, more or less fearful as a fandom? Do we watch such terrifying depictions of slaughter and psychological trauma because we're desensitized to it and can revel carefree in the blood and tension? Or do we experience fear too strongly and therefore feel drawn to horror as a way to constantly externalize our dread? I can't speak for the fandom, but I can speak for myself. While I may be desensitized to certain things, there's one thing that -- without fail -- will reduce me to a trembling mess. PARASITES!

In fiction or reality, anything dealing with parasites (especially parasites that burrow into the body and squirm around under the skin or cause deformities like elephantiasis) will fill me with an unrelenting repulsion. Films like Shivers, Alien, Infested (aka. Ticks), Parasite, and more all rely on the fear of bodily invasion to create chills. Even the cheesiest of movies (like Infested), however, will make me squirm if parasites are involved. Parasites can swim around in your eyes. They can infest your brain. They can stream through your intestines. Not part of your body is safe from parasites. Cochliomyia hominivorax. Necator americanus. Wuchereria bancrofti. These are the names of demons!

In my real life, parasites also plague me. On a recent trip to Ottawa, I woke up in my hotel room and turned on my bedside lamp. In the dim light, I saw the worst possible thing: a bed bug crawling slowly toward my face over the hills of my pillow. I killed it and squished blood out of the little bastard, which means it may have been feeding on me already. The hotel gave me a new room and complimentary breakfasts, but for the rest of the night I slept above the sheets, with a sweater tucked in tightly at the waist and wrists. I also wore sweatpants tucked into a pair of thick socks. I just could not rest easily thinking something under the covers might be crawling silently over my bare skin in the dark and seeking out my blood.

Uggh. I feel sick just writing this. Parasites are out there people, and nature is more terrifying than anything in horror movies. So, if you're ever walking with me in the park and you see that I keep touching my head and arms, you now know it's because I'm checking for ticks. Although I am a horror blogger and have seen a lot of horrifying and extreme things in my horror films, encountering something as small as a bed bug will keep me up at nights in a cold sweat.

I am afraid of parasites.

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Eew, creepy, right? Thanks Aaron.

"You've got red on you" - Shaun of the dead (2004)

It's been 6 years since I first saw this film and I know it inside out. And before I'd seen it I knew the actors from off the telly pretty well too. It had a matey feel, it was familiar and it showed Britain Britain Britain off, just as it is in the real.

Shaun is a bit of a loser, stuck in a rut. A rubbish boyfriend, rubbish son. After getting dumped by his girlfriend he becomes determined to sort his life out and prove himself. Luckily for him, the whole population has started turning in to zombies. The dead are waking up and attacking the living!! Nothing like a crisis to bring people together.

At first they don't see the horror all around them. Most people they come in to contact with are zombified anyway. Expressionless commuters, colleagues and family members. It isn't until Ed utters the haunting words, "There is a girl in the garden" that they get their first glimpse. After having to kill the zombie girl they retreat back inside to watch events unfold on the news, just like we all do when there is a global catastrophe. But here is Shaun's chance to show his girlfriend there is more to him.

Never has a RomZomCom, as it is self proclaimed, been so accurately set, so well balanced between smart, scary and a little sexy. It made you feel like you could do anything. No matter how crap your life is right now, just given one opportunity, you can make things happen and change things. Would I go out whacking zombies over the head? Maybe. I don't have a cricket bat but I do have a very big vacuum cleaner that I'm certain would do the job.

"We are going to live in the abandoned barn outside of town" Er, okay! - Village of the damned (1995)

I know it's not the original but it still has a certain quality, an authenticity that comes with this kind of story. And all the best scary films have a good story. It starts with the most nonchalant music I've ever heard but some of the villagers can hear a whispering. All is not well here. There's something in the air and one sunny afternoon everyone passes out. A couple of hours later they all wake up. All except the ones who happened to be driving or BBQing before falling asleep. Well, shit happens.

Not long after this incident, most of the women in the village find they are pregnant, with conception dating back to the blackout and a mysterious doctor arrives to offer financial rewards to those who go through with the birth. This prompts some hilarious, almost Exorcist like dream sequences.

Soon the children are born and we fast forward about 8 years. I mean, it should've been obvious that something was up with them; bad hair, oversized coats, sinister grins and nods that lead to sudden, violent suicides. Seriously creepy effing kids. Anyway, it becomes common knowledge that they are reading and controlling the minds of the adults.

Rather slow in parts, it runs much like a Stephen King TV screenplay. Not necessarily a bad thing, just a thing. I did love the suicide scenes and the kids are adequately superior. The boy who began to learn empathy made me feel a bit sad. Wait. Do I have empathy?! Regardless of what horrors the kids committed, the overwhelming moral of the story is the horrors the grown ups allowed to happen due to their selfish needs. Adults aren't nearly as clever as they think they are. Damn it.

Where do I sign up? - Miss zombie queen UK 2010

New Brit horror flick, Zombie Women of Satan gets its DVD release on the 21st June. To celebrate, Revolver Entertainment are hosting the biggest zombie pageant ever seen in the UK!

Held at The Cobden Club in West London on 16th June, it should be an amazing evening with burlesque and fetish performances from Betty D'Light, Violet Eyes and music from Killer B-Movie. Click here for more info on the pageant and movie.

Don't know what the film is like yet, hopefully be reviewing it next week, but this sounds like fun. In fact, I won't be needing any makeup for my entry. All natural. I always have blood dripping from my mouth. What?