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A warm and festive hello to you <<First Name (optional)>>! Have some mulled wine. This month in The Necronoppicon, I...
  • round-up the 15 horror movies I saw in November
  • tell you how you can get a Christmas card from me or Jack Sparks
  • review the new Metallica single
  • tell you where I might be going post-Twitter
  • and share the first YouTube video I've made in four months. Let's go!

All the horror films I watched in November

Georgina Campbell's character looks suitably surprised in the film Barbarian (2022)
You may recall me saying last time that I was getting back into watching horror films again. This trend very much continued into November. Here is the full list of horror movies I saw, complete with ratings out of five (expressed as K's for old school fans of Kerrang! magazine, for which I worked 1988-2002) and with more of a potted review than was the case last month.

Barbarian (2022) - MOVIE OF THE MONTH!
This film has been celebrated for a reason. Brilliantly unpredictable and reminiscent of early Tarantino's playful structures. Funny and foul at the same time! Loved it. Do not read reviews in advance of watching. (Actress Georgina Campbell, pictured above)
KKKKK

Inbred (2011)
Alex Chandon's hilariously nasty backwoods horror movie, with some great gruesome effects and a mean streak a mile wide. 
KKKK

The Collector (2009)
Revisited this sadistic gem - a really tense and vicious piece of work, with great central performance from Josh Stewart. 
KKKKK

The Collection (2012)
This sequel is Aliens to the original film's Alien. It's more outrageous (check out that opening club scene!) but still a nasty blast.
KKKK

Dark Glasses (2022)
Dario Argento's latest, about a woman and a young boy terrorised by a serial killer. Great to see Argento still making films, but I'm sorry to say this is pretty weak by his own lofty giallo standards. 
KK

Speak No Evil (2022)
Jesus Christ, what a film. When a Danish family meet a Dutch family on holiday, they're invited to visit the latter's Holland home. Matters then escalate from subtle cultural differences to climactic evil that will scar your brain. 
KKKKK
The Sadness (2021)
Yes, this Taiwan entry is yet another zombie virus movie, but more interesting because it seems more inspired by Garth Ennis' Crossed comics than by George A Romero. Really quite sadistic and OTT in places! (The movie's finest villain, pictured above)
KKKK

Smile (2022)
I loved to be creeped out by a movie and Smile definitely pulled that trick a few times, with the odd Hereditary-esque moment. Not quite a slam dunk, but dammit, so very close. 
KKKK

Baskin (2015)
A Turkish film about a police team who end up infiltrating a house where some very messed-up occult behaviour is going down. A striking piece of work with a nicely bizarre ending.
KKKK

Men (2022)
Comedy actor Roy Kinnear plays various roles in this British film which flirts with pretention, but has been very well made, does have interesting things to say and doesn't shy away from body horror. I felt quite pleased with myself when I figured out what the outlandish climax was supposed to mean... 
KKKK

Two Witches (2021)
Quite an odd, old-school film that takes a few pages from the book of Dario Argento. There are some cool witchy moments and unpleasant events. Plus a sexy witch. Always good. 
KKK

Significant Other (2022)
Loved the twisty nature of this film, on the Paramount+ channel here in the UK. See it without knowing anything about it! 
KKKK

Deadstream (2022)
This found footage movie about a YouTube-type star livestreaming his visit to a haunted house outstays its welcome, and misses opportunities. Still, it's a lot of fun and has a great Evil Dead lo-fi vibe going on.
KKK

The Rental (2020)
Ultimately unfulfilling horror-thriller about two couples who go on holiday, where secrets and lies build between them. There's some good writing and acting, but the whole ending is rushed and just... weird.
KK

The Furies (2019)
Let's end with a great one! Had a good time with this Australian slasher which puts various women in peril in the outback. Some of the gore effects made me exclaim out loud! That's a recommendation, then. 
KKKK  

Do you like this type of mini reviews in the newsletter? Let me know by replying to this email. 

Limited-time Christmas card special offer!

Last December, I designed my very own Christmas card and sent it to my Patreon supporters. 

Now, this was no half-hearted digital-only Christmas card. Oh dear me no. 

This was a physical, glossy, full-colour Christmas card. Designed by me, signed by me, then sent off into the scarily unreliable postal system. 

This year, the postal system has become even more scarily unreliable, but DAMMIT I'M GONNA TRY TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN.

So, once again I've designed a custom Christmas card, whose front cover you can see above.

On Monday, a box-load of these professionally printed cards will land on my mat. I will send one to each of my eligible existing Patreon backers who opt-in to receiving it.

And of course, cards will also go to anyone who becomes a patron at an eligible level, between now and next Friday! Could that be you?

Not already a patron? Here's how to get yourself an envelope full of good cheer:
  • Pledge to support me at Patreon at the Oh Dear God, What's That At The Window? tier or above, by the deadline of 6pm GMT on Friday 9 December. You'll be charged for your first month of patronage in advance, after which you'll be billed again on the same day the following month, as with any standard subscription service. (I have chosen to move away from Patreon's previous confusing billing model. Matters are now far more straightforward!)
  • By default, your Christmas card will be dedicated and signed by me. However, you can choose to have the card written by Jack Sparks - or by any of my other fictional characters! Just be sure to let me know, by sending me a private message at Patreon after you sign up.
  • If you sign up at the Cardiac Arrest level or above, I'll show my extra gratitude by including a special bonus item in your card! This will be either a unique red-pen proof page from the Jack Sparks or Ghoster edit phases, or one of the unique index cards that I used to outline and plan these novels. 
When you sign up at any of the eligible four tier levels, you will also receive my regular Patreon perks, such as a welcome video from me and receiving a regular thank-you postcard from me.

You will also bring me closer to achieving my personal goals, each of which will unlock a reward for backers. Here are the next two goals and their associated rewards:

NEXT GOAL: £666 per month. This will bring me closer to achieving my personal goal of moving back to London in 2023, to be closer to key family members.
THE REWARD: To celebrate this awesome feat, I'll make a video in which I read the entire exorcism sequence of my novel The Last Days Of Jack Sparks - for patrons only!

THE GOAL AFTER THAT: £1000 per month. This unlikely feat would allow me to actually make that big and expensive move to London. 😲
THE REWARD: To celebrate, I will privately share a deleted chapter from The Last Days Of Jack Sparks with patrons. So your pledge - even if you back me at the Chilling level for £2 per month - will lift me closer to unlocking those hidden words! (I mean, obviously, this chapter was deleted for a reason, but it should hopefully still be interesting to read, and I'll explain to patrons exactly why it was deleted. I'll even make a patron-only video in which I read this chapter to you.)

Here's the breakdown of the perks associated with the first two of the four eligible pledge tiers:
  • SPECIAL OFFER TILL DECEMBER 9 - You will receive my specially-designed, glossy Christmas card before December 25 (I hope!), dedicated to you and signed by me OR one of my fictional characters, including Jack Sparks, on request! (Just let me know if you'd like it to be from a fictional character, by sending me a private message at Patreon.)
  • You will receive a thank you postcard from me every 12 months. OR from one of my fictional characters (again, let me know), for as long as your patronage continues.
  • Your name will appear higher up the thanks list at the end of my YouTube videos, and on my website, and remain there for as long as you're a patron. 
  • If you include your Twitter handle on your new Patreon profile, I will give you a grateful shout-out on the Twitters!
  • You will really be helping me achieve my personal goals! Thank you so much. 
  • Plus even more perks! See the full list under the Oh Dear God... heading here
  • SPECIAL OFFER TILL DECEMBER 9 - You will receive my specially-designed, glossy Christmas card before December 25 (I hope!), dedicated to you and signed by me OR one of my fictional characters, including Jack Sparks! (Just let me know if you'd like it to be from a fictional character, by sending me a private message at Patreon.)
  • Your Christmas card will contain a special bonus item! This will be either a unique red-pen proof page from the Jack Sparks or Ghoster edit phases, or one of the unique index cards that I used to outline and plan these novels. 
  • I will thank you in the acknowledgements section of any novel or book of mine that is published while you've been a patron at this level for six months or more!
  • You will receive a thank you postcard from me (or one of my fictional characters - just let me know via PM here at Patreon) every SIX MONTHS, instead of the regular 12 months for the previous tier, for as long as you remain a patron. This postcard can also be written by one of my fictional characters (again, let me know).
  • Your name will appear close to the top of the thanks list at the end of my YouTube videos, in this very newsletter and on my website
  • I like to do random stuff for patrons at this level. In the past, I've sent them horror DVDs from my collection and unique proof pages. Who knows what will happen next?
  • This is a really solid pledge, which will make a real difference in helping me achieve my goals! You are awesome. Thank you.
  • Pledge at the Cardiac Arrest level here and surprise the hell out of me. :-)

Now, there are two higher tiers, but I genuinely don't expect anyone to ever pledge at those - especially the last one! Still, if you're curious and/or an eccentric millionaire, you can read details for the SCARED TO DEATH tier or the utterly ridiculous PARTYING WITH JACK SPARKS IN THE AFTERLIFE tier on my Patreon page. 🤣

In case you had wondered, anyone worldwide can become a patron and claim this offer. I'm lucky enough to have kind patrons across the globe, from the UK to the US to Norway to Switzerland to Australia. You can select your own local currency when you join, to save on currency exchange fees.

Remember, you have until 6pm GMT on Wednesday December 9 to claim your Christmas card, plus all the other giddy perks that come with Patreon membership. One of the main things I love about Patreon, by the way, is the community aspect. I can chat with patrons directly, without having to bypass social media algorithms or dodge spam folders. 

I regularly run Ask Me Anything Q&As, and polls, and let patrons in on aspects of my life that I would be unlikely to discuss in public. Over the past year, I've made a monthly vlog called Walking With Patrons, exclusively for - you guessed it - my patrons. Last summer, I recorded a 50-minute video chat about writing with Doctor Who writer James Moran, which we recorded exclusively for our Patreon backers! 

JOIN USSSSSS, right here at Patreon. I hope to make your personalised greeting video soon, and then write and sign your Christmas card! 

Any questions? Please do reply to this email and ask away. I mean, obviously, try hard not to be the guy who replied last year to offer verbal abuse and tell me to get a job. The hilarious thing is, I don't believe he ever unsubscribed. (Merry Christmas, mate!)

P.S. All my patrons on the above tiers, plus the Terrifying tier, get thanked in my newsletters. Soooo, a big thank you to (deep breath):

Francine Hibiscus, Christine Blake, Sarah Beauchemin, Matthew Hine, John Matthews, Barry Pook, Megan Schlicht.

Cindy Leschaud, Lisa Golmen, Peter Munro, Harry Palmer, Kathy Lanzarotti, Kristy Ryan, Paul Walker, Shel Hodges, Sara Karle, Tiffany Sullivan, Jason Fisher, Jessica Ault, Jane Louise Atkinson, Stephen McMullin, Cliff Shelton, Jay Lyons, Carrie Durkee, Charlotte Cowles, Jessica Ault, Jay Lyons, Sara Karle, Gage, Andi Boulanger, Marissa Adams.

James Phillips, Vicky Brewster, Matt Ebbs, Helen Thompson, Sheena Perez, Marjorie Taylor, Chris Limb, Rhiannon Marshall, Scott Forte, Mark Garcia, Jay Gent, Frank Smith, Craig Tucker, Jonathan Hedley, Ian Butler.


P.P.S. Need more convincing? Here's my blog list of 12 reasons to support me at Patreon. Oh, and here's the post I made for my patrons a few days ago, to break the news of these Christmas cards for 2022. 

New Metallica single - any good? 

This week, Metallica dropped Lux Aeterna, the lead single from their forthcoming 72 Seasons album. If you haven't heard it yet, you can watch the video above. 

What do you think? For me, the cons outweigh the pros.

PROS: it's quite fast, pretty metallic and it's short at 3:30 mins. Plus, it's always good to hear new Metallica. Well, almost always. 

CONS: The riff just isn't heavy enough for me. In fact, the whole song sounds like the kind of New Wave Of British Heavy Metal anthem that Metallica used to cover as single B-sides or for their Garage Days EP. This saddens me, given that Metallica's own music used to set the agenda for metal in the mid to late 80s. People used to wait and see what state-of-the-art moves the band would make on their latest records. These days, however, it seems the best they can do is try to emulate their old heroes. Still, I'm looking forward to hearing the rest of the new album.

In other news: what kind of title is 72 Seasons for a Metallica record? 

Where to go, post-Twitter?

What with Twitter having become even more of a fiery hell pit than it already was, I figured I'd set up profiles on other social sites, in an attempt to hedge my bets. Actually, as it turned out, I had created a Mastodon profile back in 2019.

It's possible that I may never post on any of these sites. On a personal level, I really don't know if another social media hub is the answer we need. Still, in case you'd like to follow me anyway, for the hell of it, here's how to do so:

My Mastodon profile

I also created profiles on Hive Social, Countersocial and Tribel. None of these apps make it easy to figure out your own profile URL, but my username is @jasonarnopp on all of them. Always good to grab your preferred username in these places!

Maybe see you on one of these platforms! At the moment, who knows? 

My return to YouTube!

This week, I made my first YouTube video in months! As I mentioned before, family illness has thrown my schedule out of whack since July - but when BBC Studios sent me their new Doctor Who Season 2 The Collection Blu-ray box set, how could I possibly not have unboxed it on my main YouTube channel? For good measure, I got the Christmas tree up and created some festive ambience. Enjoy!

Farewell, dear reader!

Did you enjoy this vaguely festive edition of The Necronoppicon? I would be lying if I said I felt especially festive so far, but perhaps that will change as the month progresses.

Hope you're feeling great, anyway. And thanks so much for reading this far and for (hopefully) staying subscribed.

See you in four weeks!
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Here's where I can mainly be found online these days...
My retro variety YouTube channel. Lots of Doctor Who!
My metal specialist YouTube channel
My website
Instagram author account
Instagram rock journalist account
Instagram retro fun account
My Twitter account
My author page at FB
Medium
Copyright © 2022 Jason Arnopp, All rights reserved.


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