Sunday 29 December 2013

WITLESS FOR THE DEFENCE #09 - A Dreddful Christmas



Here comes the judge! Here comes the judge!

Hello and welcome to our 9th case, which sees Andy Poulastides try and defend Judge Dredd. But will prosecutor Lee Medcalf from the Blackdog podcast get it sentenced to life without parole. Judge Chris Johnson and legal eagles Mr Jim Moon and Elton McManus of Shonky Lab weigh up the case of this notorious comicbook movie and discover who exactly is really the leurghhhh!

WITLESS FOR THE DEFENCE #09 - Direct Download

WITLESS FOR THE DEFENCE on  iTUNES

WITLESS FOR THE DEFENCE HOME PAGE


Thursday 26 December 2013

HYPNOBOBS 139: The Flying Stars - A Tale For Boxing Day


In a surprise bonus Christmas show, we continue our Dickensian theme with Mr Jim Moon presenting a reading of The Flying Stars by GK Chesterton - a suitably festive case - Oh yes, it is! -  investigated by Father Brown one fine Boxing Day!


DIRECT DOWNLOAD - The Flying Stars

Find all the podcasts in the HYPNOGORIA family here -

HYPNOGORIA HOME DOMAIN - Full archive, RSS feed and other useful links

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Tuesday 24 December 2013

FREE GHOST STORIES FOR THIS CHRISTMAS


Christmas is the traditional time for telling ghost stories, and so on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, this collection from The Hypnogoria Press - Seven of Spectres is absolutely free!

From the fireside of the Great Library of Dreams, Mr Jim Moon calls up seven spectres; presenting a selection of classic ghost stories complete with introductions, commentary and annotations plus a full page plate illustrating every tale. Including stories from masters of the macabre such as MR James, Bram Stoker and WF Harvey

AMAZON UK
AMAZON US
AMAZON CA



Saturday 21 December 2013

HYPNOBOBS 138 - Ghost Stories For Christmas Eve


It's Christmas Eve in the Great Library of Dreams, and Mr Jim Moon invites you to take a place by the fireside to hear a selection of classic Victorian ghost stories from Mr Charles Dickens and Dr MR James. We heard of  The Goblins Who Stole a Sexton, encounter Rats,  meet with The Signal-Man,  and round off with Lost Hearts. A Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!


DIRECT DOWNLOAD - Ghost Stories for Christmas Eve

Find all the podcasts in the HYPNOGORIA family here -

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Thursday 19 December 2013

CHRISTMAS GHOSTLY GIVEAWAY!



Tomorrow - 20th December - our first book Seven of Spectres will be FREE for download on Amazon!

From the fireside of the Great Library of Dreams, Mr Jim Moon calls up seven spectres; presenting a selection of classic ghost stories complete with introductions, commentary and annotations plus a full page plate illustrating every tale. Including stories from masters of the macabre such as MR James, Bram Stoker and WF Harvey

AMAZON UK
AMAZON US
AMAZON CA


Tuesday 17 December 2013

HYPNOBOBS 137 - Carol Royale


In this festive show, Mr Jim Moon tries to discover which is the best screen version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Under consideration for the holly wreathed crown of King of the Carols is Bill Murray's Scrooged (1988), Scrooge (1951) starring Alastair Sim, the 1971 animated version from Richard Williams, The Muppets Christmas Carol (1992), the Albert Finney musical version Scrooge (1970), the 1984 George C Scott adaptation, the 1999 TV movie starring Patrick Stewart, and the 2002 computer animated version from Robert Zemeckis


DIRECT DOWNLOAD - Carol Royale

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Friday 13 December 2013

HYPNOBOBS 136 - A Victorian Christmas


A pensioner's headgear is filling up with change, and geese are looking obese! Yes, Christmas is coming! And to get the festive season underway, Mr Jim Moon reads a suitably seasonal vintage ghost story - Our Dear Little Ghost by Elia Peattie, chats about the Victorians and Christmas, and presents an audio version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol.


DIRECT DOWNLOAD - A Victorian Christmas

Find all the podcasts in the HYPNOGORIA family here -

HYPNOGORIA HOME DOMAIN - Full archive, RSS feed and other useful links

HYPNOGORIA on iTunes

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Monday 9 December 2013

A QUARTER TO FEAR - A Hypnogoria Book of Uncanny Tales


Mr Jim Moon presents four classic tales of the uncanny from famous names in literature whom we don't normally associate with the weird and macabre. We have a tale of ghosts from Thomas Hardy, aerial monsters from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, marine horrors from HG Wells and macabre goings-on in a waxworks from E Nesbit. Each tale is accompanied by a commentary essay, footnotes and a full page illustration.

Available for Kindle and the Kindle App

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00H4BVNK4
US - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H4BVNK4
CANADA - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00H4BVNK4
AUSTRALIA - https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00H4BVNK4

And also available on as an Audiobook
Audiobook - http://hypnogoria.bandcamp.com/album/a-quarter-to-fear



Friday 6 December 2013

HYPNOBOBS 135 - Tales from the Fireside


From his festive fireside, Mr Jim Moon reviews a selection of books that would make perfect spine-chilling stocking fillers! We weigh up the various editions of MR James available, sample a collection of ghost stories from the Everyman Pocket Library, follow Jeremy Dyson's adventures in The Haunted Book, hear the mysterious Tales from the Black Meadow with Chris Lambert, and take tea with the vicar and Phil Rickman.


DIRECT DOWNLOAD - Tales from the Fireside

A Quarter to Fear edited by Mr Jim Moon is available here -

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00H4BVNK4
US - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H4BVNK4
Audiobook - http://hypnogoria.bandcamp.com/album/a-quarter-to-fear

Find all the podcasts in the HYPNOGORIA family here -

HYPNOGORIA HOME DOMAIN - Full archive, RSS feed and other useful links

HYPNOGORIA on iTunes

HYPNOGORIA on STITCHER

Sunday 1 December 2013

HIGHWAY TO MARS - Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein


Stefan and Odile are joined by Mr Jim Moon to discuss Robert Heinlein's classic although sometime controversial novel Starship Troopers (1959) and the Paul Verhoeven 1997 movie version

HIGHWAY TO MARS - http://highwaytomars.com/2013/11/starship-troopers/
DIRECT DOWNLOAD - Highway To Mars - Starship Troopers



Sunday 24 November 2013

HYPNOBOBS 134 - Who's Who of Who Monsters


To celebrate 50 years of Doctor Who, Mr Jim Moon takes a journey through an A to Z of monsters, villains and aliens! For a gallery of assorted rogues and creatures mentioned go here




DIRECT DOWNLOAD - Who's Who of Who Monsters

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HYPNOGORIA HOME DOMAIN - Full archive, RSS feed and other useful links

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Wednesday 20 November 2013

ALL SUPERHEROES MUST DIE (2013)



Four heroes from a now defunct superhero team are reunited when they are kidnapped and wake up in a deserted town. Stripped of their powers, their arch nemesis Rickshaw (James Remar) forces them to compete in a series of brutal challenges to save the kidnapped townsfolk...

Over at Geekplanet Online this week, Mr Jim Moon takes a look at Jason Trost's low budget exercise in super heroics - All Superheroes Must Die (AKA VS. )






Sunday 17 November 2013

HYPNOBOBS 133 - I, MARS


In this show, Mr Jim Moon takes us on a journey from the Great Library of Dreams to a forgotten corner of the planet Mars, as imagined by the late great Ray Bradbury.

For more discussion on Ray Bradbury's Mars - Highway To Mars Podcast: The Martian Chronicles

Plus SFFAudio has a nice PDF of the original printing in Super Science Stories


DIRECT DOWNLOAD -  I, MARS

Find all the podcasts in the HYPNOGORIA family here -

HYPNOGORIA HOME DOMAIN - Full archive, RSS feed and other useful links

HYPNOGORIA on iTunes

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CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Friday 15 November 2013

WITLESS FOR THE DEFENCE 08 - Battlefield Earth (2000)


Here comes the judge! Here comes the judge!

Hello and welcome to our 8th case which sees the notorious cinematic criminal Battlefield Earth in the dock! Judge Chris Johnson and legal eagles Mr Jim Moon and Elton McManus of Shonky Lab weigh up whether this movie is the product of a deranged ratbrain or offers endless options for renewal!

WITLESS FOR THE DEFENCE #08 - Direct Download

WITLESS FOR THE DEFENCE on  iTUNES

WITLESS FOR THE DEFENCE HOME PAGE




Monday 11 November 2013

THE CASEBOOK OF EDDIE BREWER (2012)


As regular readers and listeners will know, here at Hypnogoria Towers we love a good ghost story. Everyone has something that consistently brings the fear; for example, for some it's anything creepy-crawly related, for others it's demons and devils. However for me, it is ghost stories that have consistently delivered the most unnerving cinematic experiences over years, and indeed in an article on the most frightening things I've seen most are tales of the supernatural. Now one of these is (of course) the infamous Ghostwatch by Stephen Volk of which I have spoken about at length here, a brilliant TV play that proved that a classic ghost story does not have to be rooted in the past but can be chillingly contemporary. 

So then when I saw Mr Volk praising a new small British movie, and hailing it as "not only creepy, but genuinely haunting". And so if the man who famously - some would say notoriously - terrified the entire nation thinks a movie impressively inspires creeping dread then that was recommendation enough for me to rush out a buy a copy. Furthermore I scheduled my maiden viewing of The Casebook of Eddie Brewer for Halloween night, in the hopes that it would deliver all the chills for the spookiest night of the year. 

And did the movie deliver? Well, mentioning no one names, some one stayed up late afterwards that Halloween night with every light in the house burning...

So then what is The Casebook of Eddie Brewer all about? Well it's the tale of a ghost hunter, the eponymous Eddie (played by Ian Brooker), who investigates alleged paranormal incidents, funding his endeavors with a regular guest slot on a local radio show and writing books on his experiences. Currently Eddie is being followed around by a documentary crew who are doing a film about him, and hence much of the footage we see come through their lenses as we see Eddie going about his business, investigating various cases in his home city of Birmingham.



Now then, while the above sounds like the usual found footage shenanigans, I can assure you that this movie is more fly-on-the-wall documentary style than the motion sickness inducing running about in the dark shaky cam routine. And while most of the scenes are drawn from the film crew's footage, it's not a full mockmentary either as we do get scenes from other sources, such as Eddie's own cameras he using in investigations, CCTV, or even playing out in 'real' life. No doubt there will be some folk who will be irritated it doesn't stick fully with the documentary mode, but personally I found this collage approach to work very well. Firstly  it allows us not only difference perspective on the drama but also gives the movie are broader tonal and stylistic palette. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it frees up the narrative from the storytelling and plot logic corners found footage movies often get stuck in, while at the same time retaining the sense of reality and intimacy of a real documentary.

And a sense of reality is important for ghost stories to be effective: whether on the screen or on the page, the teller of a tale of phantoms and spectres must convince the audience that there are such things. And hence, like many other classic ghost stories, The Casebook of Eddie Brewer is a slow burning affair, beginning slowly and not piling on the frights for the get go. In many respects, director and writer Andrew Spencer follows the rules set down by the great MR James - 

Let us be introduced to the actors in a placid way; let us see them going about their ordinary business, undisturbed by forebodings, pleased with their surroundings; and into this calm environment let the ominous thing put out its head, unobtrusively at first and then more insistently, until it holds the stage.


And not unlike many a tale from the good Doctor himself, there is a certain amount of quiet humour in the early stages of this movie. Not outright gaggery, just occasional moments of the subtle kind of comedy that comes from the quirks and foibles of real people, the wry observances of everyday little eccentricities that pepper the work of Mike Leigh. And Spencer, like James, uses these little moments featuring the kind of people and situations we meet in everyday life to settle us into the tale before carefully introducing the uncanny and building an atmosphere of dread. 


And that isn't the only links to classic British terrors either, for The Casebook of Eddie Brewer has an approach and tone that is very similar to such 1970s small screen classics such Nigel Kneale's The Stone Tape or the recently re-released Dead of Night series. Rather than the ghost-train jumps and special effects fireworks we find in many modern Hollywood ghost stories, here we have a more restrained, more literate approach, one that understand than you can create a far more frightening tale through good, intelligent drama than just the usual camera tricks. And like Mr Volk's Ghostwatch, the 1990's incarnation of this mode of British ghost story, The Casebook of Eddie Brewer crafts a carefully layered story, one that becomes cumulatively more unnerving as each element is revealed. 

Aside from a similar structural approach, interestingly The Casebook of Eddie Brewer also shares some background DNA with Ghostwatch - the haunting of Foxhill Drive in Mr Volk's opus drew heavily on the real life case of the Enfield poltergeist which was investigated by Maurice Grosse, and it is Grosse who provided the inspiration for the character of Eddie. Like his real world model, Eddie has entered the world of paranormal investigation through a personal tragedy and similarly while he thinks there is often something inexplicable in the cases he investigates, he has no firm idea what might be the case of the strange phenomena. 

And this gives us some interesting dynamics for the central character, and something of fresh perspective for this kind of story. All too often in these kind of stories investigators of the weird and strange are either dyed-in-the-wool believers or sceptics heading for a fall, and hence it's refreshing to have a character who bristles at being labelled a credulous believer in spirits yet is frustrated when his researches aren't taken seriously. This is a man who would like to believe but also is firmly wedded to investigating scientifically and indeed cannot believe until he himself has the evidence. Eddie is a brilliant character, superbly played by Ian Brooker. While he is best known for his audio work - probably best known as the voice of Wayne Foley in The Archers and for his appearances in many Big Finish audio dramas - he's more than at home in front the camera, and his performance as Eddie is absolutely magnetic. His Eddie is natural, believable and highly watchable - a man who soon captures not only our attention but also sympathies. - which is just as well as Eddie's investigations are going to lead to some very dark places...



Now then, a common problem with the screen ghost story, particularly in a feature length production, is delivering a satisfying ending. Any competent director can soon create an atmosphere of unease and build into moments of genuine fright, however bring the actual narrative to a conclusion is often problematic. A common trouble is that when you set out to deliver a big finale, you end up crossing a line into the realm of total fantasy and/or a welter of special effects that ultimately loses all the fear and dread built up so far. Basically while you may generate shudders in the audience with something such as a shadowy figure appearing in a doorway, once the ghosts are throwing furniture around, CGI phantasms are flying round the screen or people are possessed and levitating, you've crossed a point where the supernatural in the story and all the carefully built-up dread can be banished by the viewers thinking 'oh, that would never happen!'. Conversely, some screen ghost stories go the other way - they avoid the credibility bomb of never fully having a supernatural confrontation, but often instead flounder in with an inconclusive finale, which sometime can be so subtle as to have the audience wondering if the makers are pulling a Scooby Doo on them and there wasn't any ghosts in the first place.

However The Casebook of Eddie Brewer neatly avoids both these pitfalls. Yes, it slowly builds up to a climactic finale but as intense as the final leg of the investigation is, it never rockets over the top, retaining and indeed cashing in on all the atmosphere of fear and dread the movie has built up. However there's also an element of mystery remaining, for this climax is followed by a succinct little coda where we learn of the aftermath - a few brief scenes that raise some tantalizing and quietly chilling questions.

Now for those who like everything tied up with a neat bow, the finale may irritate by leaving some threads hanging. However the ending is in keeping with the themes of the film, for at the close, like Eddie himself would be, we are left with the problem of interpreting what exactly has occurred. However there are more than enough clues and hints for the intelligent viewer to play with, allowing us to fill in the space with our own speculations that may raise a shudder or two by themselves.

The Casebook of Eddie Brewer is an impressively little movie, although I fear its intelligent dramatic take on the ghost story will be probably too nuanced and carefully paced for the usual horror movie crowd. However for those who appreciate that kind of well-thought out explorations of the fantastic we find in the works of Nigel Kneale, John Wyndham or Stephen Volk or enjoy the ghost stories in the classic British tradition, this is a movie you'll want on your shelf to revisit on dark winter nights. I'm somewhat reticent to invoke that over-used word 'classic', so I'll just say that my bluray of The Casebook of Eddie Brewer is going to sit on the same shelf as my copies of Ghostwatch, The Stone Tape, The Woman In Black (1989) and the Complete BBC Ghost Stories For Christmas...

You can buy the movie here - THE CASEBOOK OF EDDIE BREWER OFFICIAL SITE 

And there's a great interview with star Ian Brooker over here at Ginger Nuts of Horror



Sunday 3 November 2013

HYPNOBOBS 132 - Dark Falls: Adventures in the Night


In this epic length show, Mr Jim Moon embarks on some virtual ghost hunting and takes a look at a family of highly atmospheric and spooky adventure games from Jonathan Boakes and Matt Clark. We visit a haunted railway station in Dark Fall: The Journal (2002), investigate disappearances at Fetch Rock in Dark Fall: Lights Out (2004), uncover ancient Cornish mysteries in Barrow Hill (2006), hunt as missing girl in Dark Fall: Lost Souls (2009) and finally ignore all warnings to the curious and voyage to the not-so-quiet  seaside town of Saxton to seek The Lost Crown (2008).

THE GAMES

Dark Fall series page

Barrow Hill

The Lost Crown page

All these games are available here - Shadow Tor Store


ADDITIONAL RELATED MATERIAL

Jonathan Boakes' Blog

A Warning to the Curious site

Barrow Hill Radio

Saxton Museum

The Haunted Land


COMING SOON! 

The Halloween Haunting and The Last Crown

Ghost Watch app

Bracken Tor



DIRECT DOWNLOAD - Dark Falls: Adventures in the Night

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HYPNOGORIA HOME DOMAIN - Full archive, RSS feed and other useful links

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Thursday 31 October 2013

HYPNOBOBS 131 - The Count and Other Terrors



In an unplanned Halloween special (thanks to a sore throat), Mr Jim Moon delves into the audio archives to unearth a selection of terrors! The main feature is an abridged version of Dracula from the fondly remembered Ladybird Horror Classics, and then we have an assortment of weird and spooky verses from various literary greats including Edgar Allan Poe, Wilfred Owen, Ben Jonson, Winifred M Letts and JRR Tolkein.


As mentioned in this 'cast - The Melmoth the Wanderer Varney the Vampire mix

DIRECT DOWNLOAD - The Count and Other Terrors

Find all the podcasts in the HYPNOGORIA family here -

HYPNOGORIA HOME DOMAIN - Full archive, RSS feed and other useful links

HYPNOGORIA on iTunes

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Wednesday 30 October 2013

MELMOTH THE WANDERER - Varney the Vampire


In tribute to the fondly remembered range of Ladybird Horror Classics Tell-A-Tale cassettes and books, for Halloween Melmoth the Wanderer has joined forces with Mr Jim Moon to create a version of the classic penny dreadful Varney the Vampire, or the  Feast of Blood in the same jugular vein!

Listen here - Melmoth the Wanderer - Varney the Vampire




HALLOWEEN 1914 by Winifred M Letts


Mr Jim Moon reads an eerie poem from the Great War by Winifred M Letts





Tuesday 29 October 2013

EARTH-2.NET: THE SHOW 666 - THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES


 For the eighth anniversary of Earth-2.net: The Show, the episode number says it all! It's episode 666, and all things horror are on display. Dan and Wendee start things off with a conversation about The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Then Ian and Dave are joined by Jim Moon to look at The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires. Will and Chris dive into Supernatural, and Des brings Darryll to The Show for a chat about the short film Familiar. After that, it's Will, Hannah, and Rosemary's Baby. Then, Shana and Mike cap things off with Poltergeist

DIRECT DOWNLOAD - EARTH-2.NET: THE SHOW 666