Octoberfest Five: 5 Fab Men of Current Horror TV

The Creature - PENNY DREADFUL

While there are a plethora of really interesting characters on Showtime's ode to Victorian horror literature, when pressed I would have to choose the mournful and melancholy - yet extremely dangerous - John Clare, a.k.a. The Creature (Rory Kinnear).  His torturous existence by the hands of Dr Frankenstein has brought him nothing but confusion, sadness, and hardship.  Fitting into the world when you are essentially a monster has not been easy for our Mr. Clare, but there have been wonderful "normal" moments, particularly when he ound a friend in Miss Ives, reciting poetry and commiserating together about the cards they have been dealt.  The clarity of his anguish is ever-present, which makes his character one of the most intriguing and magnetic on television today, regardless of genre.

Bennet Drake - RIPPER STREET

Ripper Street is the one show you're not watching, but should be.  Set just a year or so after the Jack the Ripper case, it surrounds detectives working the Whitechapel beat, trying to deal with the sordid and horrific memories of the Ripper while attempting to keep up with the current state of dismal life in Victorian London.  With impressive performances from its three male leads, it was tough to choose one to highlight. But I feel the layers of Detective Inspector Bennet Drake (Jerome Flynn) make him the most interesting character of the lot.  As a former street thug who boxed his way into paying his rent and was married to a former prostitute,  he was devastated when his wife died.  Hence he rededicated himself to his career and tries to be the voice of reason of the three partners.  But sometimes that fails him and he has to take matters into his own, rough hands.  Falling in love again has helped steer him back on track, and his promotion in H Division has finally found him peace. He really is one to watch.

Daryl Dixon - THE WALKING DEAD

I'd be remiss if I forgot Daryl, and though he seems like a really obvious choice, I have to give credit where credit is due.  Daryl somehow ended up being the heart of TWD.  Fans adore him, enough to threaten anarchy if he were to be killed off.  With his trusty crossbow on his back, Daryl started out being a nasty redneck unsure of whether or not he wanted to fall in with the group and stick together. But once his brother Merle is killed off by zombies, he starts to come out of his shell and becomes a vital member of the core assembly of misfits fighting the walking dead.  These last few seasons we have witnessed true emotion from Daryl, as he grew close to Beth and lost her, and his almost inevitable relationship with Carol unfolds.  Brutal when he has to be, mysterious when he needs to be, and dependable - always.  For me, it's true when they say "If Daryl dies, we riot!"

Norman Bates - BATES MOTEL

I simply can't believe how much this show has grown on me in the last few years.  Psycho is one of my favorite movies (sitting at #2 with me and going nowhere soon), and Norman Bates is my favorite character in horror, hands down, so to expect a lot from another series plucked from Robert Bloch's masterpiece novel is asking quite a bit.  But the casting in this show is sublime.  Freddy Highmore as Norman is a revelation.  At this point of the series, he has everything down - the straight-backed walk, the nervous laugh, the stuttering speech, the uptight and agitated personality...and now he is morphing right into Anthony Perkins, with the last few episodes being his best yet.  When he does things like peeking into one of the motel rooms as someone takes a shower, hanging out in the basement perfecting his taxidermy, or when he gets up and makes blueberry pancakes at the ass-crack of dawn - in his mother's housecoat...he is Norman personified.  And I can't wait to see what's next!!

Tate Langdon/Kit Walker/Kyle Spencer/Jimmy Darling/James March
AMERICAN HORROR STORY

It may be a secret, but I'm letting the cat out of the bag.  I love Evan Peters. From the first season with the show playing a tormented and eventually homicidal teenager to his most recent turn on the Freak Show incarnation as "lobster-hands" Jimmy Darling, he transforms himself into someone different. Someone who always seems to have a heart of gold.  Even when he shoots up his high school in Murder House, he is still able to find love with the young Violet Harmon and shows an affectionate, yet melancholy side to his persona.  It's hard not to fall for the young Peters, able to warp into totally diverse characters and charm his way into our hearts. Even though he is seemingly playing a version of a monster in each season, you can't take your eyes off him in every scene - he's magnetic.  I can't wait to see how all the colors of his personality shine in AHS: Hotel.

The Pros And Cons Of Dating A Psychopath: My Love Affair With Norman Bates

When I was a teenager, my grandfather told me to try to marry a man who treated his mother well, because that was an indicator of how he’d treat you.

And even though I’d like to tell you he was the guy who introduced me to Norman Bates, he wasn’t. I found him all on my own.

While other fan-girls are obsessing over a trifecta of loonies: Michael Myers (the strong, silent type is all well and good, but come on!), Freddy Kreuger (who apparently never trims his fingernails and keeps you awake at night for all the wrong reasons) and Jason Voorhees (seriously, you know what’s under that mask, right?) – I’ll just stick with my mama’s boy, Norman. I think if Mrs. Bates would have only let Norman get himself a girlfriend he may not have become the repressed, pathetic individual he became. Instead she smothered and bullied him until his whole world revolved around her. Yeah, it’s kinda icky, but bear with me here…

This dude was seriously devoted. If he can be so committed (no pun intended) to mommie dearest, then perhaps with a few minor adjustments, he could be likewise obsessed with me, right?

Let’s consider his attributes.

1} Good looking. This guy runs miles around any of the three majors listed above, and if we factor in Leatherface, Candyman, and Pinhead - as well as the majority of lunatics we're accustomed to, you’ll realize you can’t go wrong with Normie.

2} Talkative. The guy can carry on a conversation without drooling, mumbling, grunting, cackling or immediately lashing out with a sharp implement.

3} He’ll cook for you. Okay, so maybe all he can do is sandwiches and milk, but hey – isn’t that better than your liver on a silver platter or eyeballs in your soup? Especially your own eyeballs.

4} He’s got accommodations out the ass. No sleeping in the boiler room or a pieced-together, dilapidated shack in the woods! This dude has not only got a 12-room motel, but a big ol’ Victorian mansion right up there on the hill. All the comforts of home.

5} I’m going to go out on a limb and assume Norman won’t be into any of the weird, deviant sexual things that Pinhead might try. Those chains are all well and good till they start ripping off skin. And the other guys? Well, slice and dice just ain’t my style.

6} He’s in shape. All that running back and forth from the house to the motel has done him a world of good. Compared with chub-meister Leatherface and the lumbering Michael Myers, he can run rings around the competition.

7} Solitude. While some of the other guys also have relatively quiet digs (well, I don’t know how quiet Hell is, Pinhead), Norman’s place is so out-of-the-way and secluded off the beaten path that no one would hear you scream… (that didn’t sound right, did it?)

8} And on that note, there’s no weirdo family members to contend with. No hillbillies sitting around the dinner table, no random sister-you-didn’t-know-existed will pop up, no menacing Cenobites tagging along for the ride. Just us.

Of course, with pros there are always cons. So here are a few things Norman might have to work on to benefit our relationship:

1} No tea. We’re going to have to be a tea-free household. Period. Oh, and no instant coffee either.

2} No showers. The shower head? Gone. Curtain? Gone. Peephole? Well, he can keep that if he wants. But seriously, baths are a much more luxurious way to get clean anyway. And they can be sexy too, right?

3} No more taxidermy. And I don’t just mean animals.

4} We’re gonna have to drain that nearby lake. It was way too murky anyway. Screws with the aesthetics of the place.

5} Paint the house. We can’t have it looking like that when company comes calling.

6} The fruit cellar? Um, gotta block it up. It’s not like we’ll be canning peaches anytime soon, anyway.

7} All Ginzu knives and the likes are out the door. Would you have a bottle of Jim Beam in the house with a recovering alcoholic?

8} His mother cannot come to visit.
Wait a sec..
Oooh, that’s right…


*If this post looks familiar to you, there's a reason.  It was previously published on another website. I recently removed my articles from said site because many of my fellow contributors' articles mysteriously either disappeared or had their names removed as authors and someone else took credit for their work.  Obviously not only do I not approve of this, but I wanted to make sure it didn't happen to me.  I even waited several weeks before taking my writings off, as I thought perhaps it was just an error and would be fixed and apologies would be handed out. But that didn't happen so I can't condone the situation, so I felt it prudent to preserve my work.  I'm not doing any name calling, nor will I discuss the situation. Suffice it to say I am irritated, disappointed, and was provoked into action.  My various writings will now be re-posted on here from time to time until they are all back where they apparently should have been all along...my own blog.  Thanks for understanding.