A haunting thought...

 ... on this last day before Halloween 2021.

For more fun cartoons from Sarah Andersen, visit her website. You can also get collections of her cartoons in book-form, with which to impress your friends (or just to have them in a more permanent form and to support her work with some royalties off the book-sales)!

Also, for something different from Andersen, you want to check out the very excellent book "Fangs"--which is a chronicle of the romance between a werewolf and a vampire. You can read my review of it here. 

Picture Perfect Special with Katy Ford

Most of the time, we're looking backwards here Shades of Gray. Today's pictures of actress Katy Ford are an exception.

Born in 1992, Katy Ford is an up-and-coming California-based actress and model who goes by the online moniker of "FreckledHobo", and it's easy to see why she chose that screenname. Her primary credits so far have been leading roles in a number of horror shorts by writer/director/producer Alex Magana (several of which can be watched at our sister blog Terror Titans), and co-starring in the ten-part online comedy series "Becoming Famous" (which she also co-wrote, produced, catered, and so on and so forth). She's also very active on TikTok where she regularly uploads weird little clips.

Ford is a self-described "geek" and her interest in sci-fi, fantasy, and roleplaying games creep into her posts. Early in 2021, she became embroiled in a copyright dispute with the creators of Critical Role when it appeared they had misappropriated a character Ford created for use in their series of simulated RPG sessions. It soon became evident that it was a case of simultaneous creation, and Ford recently issued a public apology to the Critical Role team.

Additional short films featuring Ford will continue to appear at irregular intervals appear at Terror Titans throughout 2022.

Ice Cube Ain't Got No Haters (Well... actually...)

Ice Cube, shown here doing his world-famous Three Stooges impression, is notable for having enjoyed more than 30 years of creating music and raps that appeal to a huge audience--even those who aren't supposed to be listening to rap music if we are to believe the shrieks of the Wokies.

A few years ago, Ice Cube released a catchy, upbeat rap about how he has no haters--or at least doesn't acknowledge them, because his life is great, and he knows the haters hate because their lives aren't and they're jealous. He also further delivers the message, along with co-rapper Too Short, that he simply doesn't have time for haters, because he is too busy being successful.

Well, Ice Cube is, sadly, about to discover the loud and hysterical voices of the Covid Culists since he has recently walked away from a $9 million salary and a co-starring role in the comedy "Oh, HELL No" over the producers' desire to force him to become vaccinated against Covid-19.

We at Shades of Gray salute Ice Cube for standing up for his right to decide what medications and vaccinations he does and doesn't put in his body. He has more courage of his convictions than anyone around here.  We just hope he doesn't buckle under the cancel-happy mobs of Wokies, close allies of the Covid Cultists, when they come for him. (Although... as much as we salute Ice Cube and wish him the best, we will be watching with glee if the Wokies go on the warpath against him, because it will clearly show them to be the thought-policing, would-be totalitarian hypocrites that they have always been.)

Meanwhile, here's Ice Cube & Too Short performing "Ain't Got No Haters".

Announcing the winners of this year's Halloween Costume Contest at Shades of Gray!

The annual Shades of Gray Halloween Staff Party is over, and the judges have decided the winners of this year's costume contest! Here they are!

Honorable Mention:
Virginia Bruce for "The Latest Batgirl Reboot"

Honorable Mention:
Irish McCalla for "Alec Baldwin"

Third Place:
Janie Doe for "Scary Story"

Second Place:
Oksana Bondareva for "Wallflower"

 

First Place:
Dorothy Lee for "Robert Woolsey"

Grand Prize:
Fenfang and Huan Hong for "Me & My Shadow"

The Avengers: The House That Jack Built

The House That Jack Built (1966)
Starring: Diana Rigg, Michael Goodliffe, Patrick Macnee, Griffith Davies, and Michael Wynne
Director: Don Leaver
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

The past returns to haunt and torment Mrs. Emma Peel (Rigg) when she becomes trapped in the nightmarish hallways and rooms of a mansion left to her by her recently deceased Uncle Jack.

The set-up of this episode seems a bit far-fetched to me. If faced with the same situation that Emma Peel is presented with, I never would have exposed myself to the situation she ends up in... and I find it far-fetched that little old me, who whose life hasn't been steeped in international and industrial intrigue and danger since my teenaged years is more cautious about unexpected news than someone like Mrs. Peel that led Emma Peel. I similarly understand completely why John Steed took the steps he is revealed to have taken as the show unfolds, even if they were completely ineffectual, because he seems to have a more cynical outlook about the unexpected than Emma Peel does.

Aside from the weak set-up, however, this is one of the most intense episodes in the entire fourth season. Other episodes have flirted with trapping characters with horror and/or trapping characters in a surreal, mind-twisting environment (with "Too Many Christmas Trees" being foremost among them), but this one nails it perfectly and it keeps the tension building and mystery deepening throughout the episode. Even after the full extent of the villain's scheme and depraved, revenge-driven creativity has been revealed, there still seems very likely that Peel is going to meet her end, trapped in a nightmare maze.

And speaking of Peel, this episode is focused pretty much entirely on her. Diana Rigg is really the only actor in the episode who has any significant amount of screen time, and we get to see her full range of talent on display. Fans of Rigg should love every minute of this episode.

This episode is even more interesting, because it tells us of Emma Peel's life before she went to work for the British government as Steed's partner. It also bridges the gap between her nomadic childhood as the daughter of a hands-on international captain of industry and her modern life as a multi-discipline subject matter expert who sometimes has to kill people. One question that wasn't answered, however, is whether Peel stepped away from actively running her business because she got married, or if she had already chosen to pursue the more varied life that her wealth allowed.

"The House That Jack Built" is one of the must-see episodes of "The Avengers". I can nitpick the set-up, but what follows is brilliant in every way. It's low on the humor content, but it's more chilling than many straight-up horror movies. 

When your host is spinning his wheels...

... and starts procrastinating, pretty pointless things like this happen:

Dancer Margot Fonteyn posing, before Photoshop

Dancer Margot Fonteyn posing, after Photoshop

Halloween is coming...

 ... and Vampirella thought she'd get into the Halloween spirit by eating some candy corn. That was left over from last year. 

We think her facial expression says how well that worked out.

How do you cage the devil? Apparently, you don't....

Satan in Prison (1907)
Starring: Georges Méliès and Jehanne d'Alcy
Director: Georges Méliès

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

After being imprisoned in an empty room for his many evils, Satan (Méliès) uses magic to improve his conditions of confinement.

 

I have a new favorite Georges Méliès film. This one has a story, is energetic and lots of fun... and, given the techniques that Georges Méliès was working with, the effects are amazing. (For those may not know,  Méliès was a stage magician turned filmmaker. He was one of the very first to make extensive use of special effects in his films--in fact, building them pretty much to show off cinematic trickery and illusions. Without his work, the big-budget superhero extravaganzas everyone loves so much, would not exist.)

In addition to being a fun romp, almost every trick photography and illusion-created-via-editing is pretty much seamless and better and more believable than a lot of new-fangled digital effects that you'll see in contemporary films made with less care and enthusiasm for both the creative process and entertaining the audience. 

But don't just take my word for it. Take five minutes and watch this fun flick right now by clicking below. I looked at several different versions available on YouTube for embedding in this post and I went with the one that was most complete and with the sharpest visual quality. It does not have a music soundtrack, however, so if you prefer your silent movies without complete silence, you should watch this version.

It's a very special Tuesday, because...

 

Musical Monday with Strahd von Zarovich

Darkness is falling and the mists are rising. The heroes move up the steep and winding road that leads to the castle of Lord Strahd, the undisputed ruler of Barovia and all who dwell within that land. For they have been invited to dinner... and no one refuses an invitation to visit Castle Ravenloft--if they wish to continue to live.

As they reach the castle's front gates, there is a sound of music drifting through the air. Someone within is playing an organ, and he or she is clearly a master at their craft.

What is the music that's welcoming the heroes to the shadow-draped halls of Castle Ravenloft? Click below to find out!