Another year, another wrap-up article summarizing the various forms of media I’ve consumed over the past 365 days. Each year, it seems like I have less time to work on articles for DagonDogs.com. It also seems like my memory is getting worse because every time I scroll back through the articles I’ve written, I only barely remember watching some movies or playing some games about which I’ve written. I actually have to read some of my reviews to extract my memories and recall the experience. I’m not sure if that’s a matter of age or just being busy.

Nonetheless, I shall dig through the posts of 2021 and summarize for you all the best and worst of the year as best as I can recall. I might even mention a few items that I haven’t written about, but are still worthy of note.

Best Movies I Watched

The Void (Winner)

It’s refreshing to see a cosmic horror film in the modern era using practical effects that are both disturbing and fascinating. It’s even more refreshing that the overall experience isn’t terrible, but actually quite impressive and enjoyable. The Void has its flaws, with some unfortunate characters and a propensity for unnecessary/false drama. However, it is the horror movie I was most impressed with this year because of how ambitious it was in its story and its special effects, and that it was able to deliver on both. The way it was shot, the makeup, the sound, and the practical effects paint a horrific and imaginative experience that you just don’t get too often.

The Wind (Runner-Up)

I was blown away by The Wind. Wait! Don’t close the browser window!

Puns aside, it was a well-paced, beautiful, psychological-horror film. The Wind is rife with stunning cinematography to juxtapose the horror and paranoia of its protagonist. It has sympathetic characters whom you want to see survive and succeed in their struggle against the wilds of frontier America in the 1800s, as well as their personal demons. It’s a well-balanced experience that pulls you in and lets you question whether or not anything that we’re seeing is real with its clever use of the unreliable narrator's perspective.

Doctor Sleep (Runner Up)

Color me surprised that I actually enjoyed the follow-up to one of my favorite horror films of all time. Despite being more of a drama and thriller than its predecessor focused on slow-building tension and suspense, Doctor Sleep is a great continuation of the story of the traumatized psychic boy from the Overlook Hotel. It builds upon the concept of The Shining in a neat way and expands the universe enough to craft an interesting story involving many new characters and a plot that goes in a completely unexpected direction. I didn’t know what to expect from Doctor Sleep, but I was certainly surprised by how much I liked it.

Worst Movies I Watched

When a Stranger Calls (Loser)

When you consider how often the “calls are coming from inside the house!” line or scenario has been used in horror, and how influential the opening 20 minutes of this movie is because of how well it’s done, it is difficult to imagine that the rest of the film would be so bad that it would drag When a Stranger Calls into the spot of worst movie I watched this year. And I watched a lot of trash this year. I watched the Clash of the Titans remake & sequel for the first time. I watched a load of terrible movies through Rifftracks, which were only made watchable by having them make jokes the whole time. I watched the carpet bomb of a movie known as Llamageddon. I still had a better time watching those than When a Stranger Calls from 1979. The opening 20 minutes is a fantastic short that is extremely effective at ratcheting up the tension with the use of sound, direction, and cinematography. Then it becomes such a pointless, boring experience as a thin plot is stretched out for two hours involving pathetic, unlikable characters. When the movie is so boring it actually makes me mad, it deserves the biggest loser spot for the year.

Malignant (Runner Up)

Malignant is far more interesting than most of the mediocre movies listed below. However, I can’t let James Wan off the hook after being so prolific and successful with his other horror franchises in the past two decades. Malignant is a stupid movie that does nothing unique or interesting other than ham things up to the max and still manages to be somewhat boring. I don’t know what they were trying to accomplish with this one, but it was an abject failure, as far as I’m concerned.

Mediocre Movies I Watched

Here is a short list of films I watched that weren’t bad enough to earn my ire, but also not good enough to recommend.

Red Notice

I would not likely have seen this had someone else not requested we watch it at the time. This movie is as safe and Hollywood as it gets. It was written by children who are fans of Ryan Reynolds and Dwayne Johnson—based on the various locals featured and the particular style of the film, I think these children probably played the HITMAN games too. Reynolds and his signature snark are really dialed up to the max in this movie, to the point that not enough time is given to allow the jokes to land before moving on to the next one. Regardless of how clever the quips may be (which most aren’t), the movie and Reynolds end up being unfunny as a result. Oh, and there are action scenes and heist stuff that would normally be fun and cool, but it feels pretty stale and hollow with how everything is presented.

Percy Jackson and the blah blah blah

I couldn’t be bothered to look up the subtitles to the Percy Jackson films that came out years ago, they were so bland. I never read the books, so I’m not a fan who was severely miffed by how much the films changed the story or characters. I just happened to watch them this year for the first time and found them to be lame movies in general. Go see the Pitch Meeting videos of these movies on YouTube if you want a more entertaining watch that summarizes what happens in them.

Society

Society was a movie I had been meaning to watch for a long time because of how often I saw it on people’s top-10 lists of body horror films from the ‘80s. Now that I have finally seen it, I don’t quite understand the love. Society is just a weird movie that seems to be caught somewhere between horror and dark comedy, except the comedy doesn’t work. While the social commentary of the film seems more relevant than ever today, the tone of this movie and how we’re supposed to feel are just all over the place. Not a terrible film, just not one that I can really comment on beyond what I’ve said here.

Prom Night

Another movie I’ve been meaning to watch for a long time, due to its iconic poster/box art of Jamie Lee Curtis in a prom dress with an ax, I finally saw Prom Night this year for the first time. It was a boring snoozefest for two hours with only a few minor redeeming qualities of entertainment, including the stupid disco song and dance scene. Otherwise, it’s a forgettable film, literally—I almost forgot I watched it in October.

Cat’s Eye

This little anthology film managed to force its way onto the list just because I had recently seen it only a week prior to writing this. Having watched a number of anthology horror films since Trick r’ Treat, Cat’s Eye was another suggestion that came through the algorithm. It was, however, a 3-story experience that managed only to be vaguely interesting, by comparison. The first story, with James Woods, was probably the most interesting only in that it played off the paranoia of the unbelievably absurd premise of the story itself. The second story had its tense moments but was a straightforward experience with a satisfying end. The third was just a dumb story about a critter in the wall with the only redeeming quality being the use of puppets and stop-motion. Not terrible for an anthology movie, but not one I can easily recommend.

Best Games I Played

Bloodborne (Winner)

It will always be game of the year

Guilty Gear: Strive (Winner)

After several years of putting up with Dragon Ball FighterZ’s terrible online, and after decades of only giving Guilty Gear a little bit of time and attention before giving up on finding a character that really felt fun to learn, Strive has made me question why I ever put up with DBFZ and why I ever gave up on a single GG game. It is far more approachable than any Guilty Gear before it, with still plenty of complexity to round it out. I know it’s blasphemous to say this for most GG fans, but I found Strive to be a much better experience than previous games with its slick movement, smooth controls, and impactful attacks that feel great to land and extend through the flexible combo system.

I have jumped from one character to another and find each one to be their own unique and interesting experience that completely changes the way you approach a match. The icing on the cake is the fact that Arc System Works put in the effort to make the netcode amazingly good. I have had 1 bad connection match out of the hundreds I have played online with strangers around the world. In DBFZ, I’m lucky to have 1 good connection over the course of 2 hours. Even though the lobby system is not great, and the interface could use some improvements if you have any interest in fighting games, I highly recommend Guilty Gear: Strive.

Spelunky 2 (Runner Up)

As a fan of Spelunky, all I wanted from a Spelunky sequel was more Spelunky with new secrets to uncover. That’s exactly what I got, so I have no complaints. ‘Nuff said.

Slay the Spire (Runner Up)

If you had told me that the game that I would spend the most amount of time playing, as I waited for dinner to finish cooking, would be a rogue-like card game… I guess I don’t know what my reaction would be. It would probably be just ‘huh, okay,” but that’s just a typical response for me.

Regardless of how predictable my mannerisms might be, Slay the Spire is a game that I still start up every once in a while, many months after having acquired it. Part of the reason is that I still haven’t beaten the final boss with the Watcher character yet. The other reason is that it’s just a quick, satisfying game that you can start and stop at any time. The fact that I can pause during runs, leave it for several days, and still be able to jump back in without much context is a big selling point. It also happens to be a game that is playable on your phone via the Steam link if you want.

Stardew Valley (Runner Up)

I had already played Stardew Valley for a significant number of hours a couple of years ago. Then, after a good friend whom I hadn’t seen in years showed up at my house and chatted with me about the various games he played, and Stardew came up, I was reminded of how much I enjoyed it. After starting it over again with some recollection of what I needed to focus on and complete first, I was able to hit the ground running and see a lot more of the game than I did the first time. It’s been a pleasant return to the Valley and a good way to unwind at the end of the day.

Worst Games I Played

The Shore (Loser)

Talk about a bummer. From the trailer and from the first few minutes of The Shore, you might think that you’re in for a fun, creepy Lovecraftian horror experience. Even though there are cool nods to various stories by Lovecraft, and even though there are a few moments that are well-timed to set up for some spooky fun later, The Shore quickly falls apart due to poor design. It’s a pretty game with some great atmospheric music. However, there are so many invisible walls placed in areas that look like they should be explored, you will undoubtedly be wasting plenty of time trying to find secrets that aren’t there or simply trying to progress the obtuse story. I predict that this will be the same experience for everyone who plays The Shore. Do you know why? Because it’s a walking simulator and all you can do is walk and explore, so you’re bound to bump up against invisible walls of confusion. Until the developer updates the game to use the art assets to create rock walls to indicate that you cannot go further, this experience is guaranteed.

Otome games not named Nightshade (Runner Up)

2021 was the year I tried out Otome games for the first time with my girlfriend, who is well-versed in the genre. We started with Nightshade, a game about ninjas and romance, and we chose characters to voice as we read the text of the game. It was a fun experience and since so many other Otome games were on sale at the time, we decided to continue on into others. Unfortunately, none seemed to be as well-paced or written as Nightshade. That’s not to say Nightshade is a masterpiece, but it has a plot, at least. Its plot also doesn’t drag getting to a conclusion. Yet every other Otome game we tried suffered from the fact that there was barely a plot or no sense of character growth. Maybe in 2022, we’ll find another good one.

Music/Podcast Picks

Normally, I include a list of musical artists and podcasts that I’ve been listening to throughout the year. This year, however, I’ve been unable to listen too much during the time I normally would. The only time I really listen to music or podcasts is when I’m on a walk, driving, or cooking, and I haven’t listened to much news that I have not written about already, with one exception.

372 Pages We’ll Never Get Back

This year was the first year in which I was able to attend a Rifftrax live event in some capacity. It was not in-person, but it was a live stream to a theater where some of their advertisements and jokes played during the pre-roll. This included an advertisement for their podcast in which Mike Nelson and Conor Lastowka read books they expect they’ll hate and comment on the quality. I’ve only caught up to half of what they have already put out, but it’s a great laugh listening to them lament the dire quality of the fiction. It also is a good reminder of what sort of bad habits writers have and what to avoid.

Speaking of Books

Despite feeling like I have much less free time than in previous years, I’ve been able to read a bit more in 2021. There aren’t many books that I’ve completed, but there are plenty that I’ve started and am still enjoying thus far. I’ve dipped my toes a bit into the classics, as well as into some modern fiction. As always, I’m frequently going back to my two favorite horror authors (Edgar Allen Poe & HP Lovecraft) and read or re-reading some of their short stories. Since I haven’t disclosed my favorites of theirs before, I’ll do it here in this list as well for those looking for some good essential horror fiction.

Poe Picks

Cask of Amontillado

My favorite of Poe’s stories that manages to build its tension slowly, despite knowing ahead of time what the narrator’s intentions are the whole time.

Masque of the Red Death

Abstract in its portrayal of decadence, this story is extremely short but beautifully written.

Black Cat

One of the more brutal stories by Poe, it’s a short, entertaining story of a man who quickly falls to madness and murder.

Fall of the House of Usher

Perhaps the aspect of this story I like the most is Poe’s attention to the setting itself. The whole landscape itself becomes a character in how it’s portrayed.

The Telltale Heart

A classic macabre story by Poe. The less said, the better.

Lovecraft Picks

The Shadow Over Innsmouth

Easily my favorite story, this one has some great pacing and includes one of the tensest scenes Lovecraft ever wrote.

Dagon

One of Lovecraft’s earliest entries in his universe, Dagon is a short and simple story that should give you a good preview of what to expect from his writing.

Call of Cthulhu

Perhaps the most recognizable story on this list, Call of Cthulhu is an intriguing mystery that builds with tension slowly and subtly.

Rats in the Wall

Perhaps my favorite example of a story with a character truly having to face something horrific and not be able to accept reality, Rats in the Wall takes a few surprising turns and is easily recommended.

From Beyond

From Beyond is a relatively short story that fits well into the Lovecraft universe. No need to explain any further because it will explain everything well enough on its own.

At the Mountains of Madness

While I wouldn’t necessarily say I enjoyed this one, I felt the need to include it because this is somewhat required reading for anyone who wants to get deep into Lovecraft lore. At the Mountains of Madness has some chilling moments early on, but gets bogged down by descriptions and lore-building towards the latter half. If you like Lovecraft, it’s worth a read. Otherwise, you might want to skip this one.

Other Fiction Picks

Xenos - Dan Abnett

First entry in Abnett’s Warhammer 40,000 novel series about Inquisitor Eisenhorn, I have not finished this yet, but it’s an enjoyable read so far with decent pacing. The prose isn’t amazing. However, the plot is relatively engaging and the descriptions are pretty straightforward. Having read a small share of Warhammer 40,000 novels, this is definitely one of the better ones I’ve read so far.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Sir Robert Louis Stevenson

This novella is much different than what I had expected it would be. Considering the fact that this story is so ubiquitous in our culture that everyone knows the twist by this point, it’s interesting reading the original story and seeing the perspective in which you aren’t supposed to know it. The story is mostly told from the perspective of Jekyll’s lawyer and close friend, which provides an intriguing bit of mystery to it. For a classic piece of literature, it’s an easy and fun read.

The Golden Apples of the Sun (and other stories) - Ray Bradbury

One book I often have handy is The Golden Apples of the Sun and Other Stories by Ray Bradbury. Bradbury is one of my favorite science-fiction writers because he doesn’t hold back from writing more abstract, artistic prose in his stories. He could tell it using a very straightforward language. Instead, he gets creative with his language to make the material more interesting to read. This book is a collection of his short stories, making it a good sample to pull from if you have never read Bradbury before. The first story, The Fog Horn, is actually a captivating little story that inspired the classic sci-fi film, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. The other story of note that I really enjoy in this collection is A Sound of Thunder, which is a great take on the idea of time travel and the inherent risks in causing paradoxes. If you’ve never read Bradbury, give his short stories a try.

Stay Away From These

Obviously, everyone has their own tastes when it comes to reading and you have every right to ignore or disagree with me. That being said, I either gave up on finishing these books, or I came to the conclusion that the authors’ styles do not suit my tastes, and will not continue to read any of their work unless forced or driven by a masochistic curiosity to do so.

Moby Dick - Herman Melville

I have never been a fan of Melville. Ever since I first read the long and dull short story, Bartleby the Scrivener, and then I had to read it again and again for school, Melville’s style has always stuck with me as something unappealing. My forced re-readings of Bartleby all but assured me that Melville would never be on my shortlist of classic authors I planned to revisit. Regardless, Moby Dick is often regarded as one of the most important books of all time. I have started it multiple times in my life, quitting before finally reaching the high seas. I wouldn’t have started it again if not for the fact that I realized that I never gave it a shot after having actually studied the craft of writing and coming to realize how much my tastes have changed since my 20s. Having read a number of classic pieces of literature by my own volition, and having thoroughly enjoyed them, I decided this year would be the year to give Moby Dick a real shot.

Wouldn’t you know it, I still never made it to the open ocean before giving up. That’s not to say that I didn’t give it a solid try. I read at least 20 chapters of the book and, according to my Kindle version, at least 100 pages. Still, I had only just met Captain Ahab by this point and the ship had never left its dock before I threw in the towel. If you have never read it for yourself, you might find it unbelievable that someone could read so much of the novel about the ravenous whale-hunting captain, hell-bent on revenge against the infamous white whale, and still not manage to get to any chapters where the characters are on the water, hunting said whale. You are not alone if you feel this way. I could not fathom how much time Melville spent (wasted) on the port town and its unimportant inhabitants that have nothing to do with the story.

Dick defenders often state the fact that Melville was using his fictional story to document the lifestyle of the people during this time period. They also often point out that he was also being paid by the word for his fiction, so he was incentivized to stretch out his descriptions. Neither of which, I feel, is a good enough reason to still consider this book a literary classic. If he wanted to document the lifestyles of the people, he should have just written non-fiction. Having read a number of literary classics that I’ve enjoyed, I do not see how anyone can read Moby Dick and pull any sort of craft or writing techniques to demonstrate in their own fiction. It’s a dull, slow book with drawn-out prose that focuses on people and events that are completely irrelevant to the core plot. If you must read it, I suggest finding a version that has trimmed the whale blubber down to the actual important chapters. Or, you can do what I did and read it before bed so that you fall asleep within a page or two.

Stories by Phillip K Dick

Speaking of disappointing Dicks, I’m not sure there’s another author in which my opinion has completely flipped so harshly in the opposite direction from what I originally felt as it has with Phillip K. Dick. I read a short story of his in school and enjoyed it enough to buy a book with a collection of other short stories by him. Considering the fact that some of my favorite science-fiction movies were inspired by his writing, I didn’t think my opinion of him would falter if I were to go back and read that book of stories or any of his novels. I was wrong.

It started with my experience reading the story that inspired Blade Runner: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? With the clunky prose, confusing descriptions, and inconsistent character behavior plaguing the story and style, I managed to finish the novel but came away with a deeply sour opinion of it. There was only one chapter in the book that felt sufficiently polished and edited to the point that the dialogue was not filled with fluff and the descriptions were actually detailed in a way that was not confusing to read. The rest of the novel is either uninteresting or incoherent.

Now that I’ve read Total Recall, I’ve come to the conclusion that Phillip K. Dick had some brilliant ideas for science fiction, but lacked the craft and skill necessary to consider him as anything other than an idea man. If he co-wrote his stories with someone who wouldn’t do the common mistake of summarizing previous paragraphs, as though the reader was too stupid to figure out what was happening, or someone more capable of crafting detailed descriptions, characters, and meaningful dialogue, then Dick’s books would be far more enjoyable. Even if he got Ray Bradbury to help out with making the prose at least a little more unique, it would be an improvement. If you are a fan of Philip K. Dick and cannot believe that someone who enjoys science-fiction would feel this way towards his work, I recommend listening to the episodes of 372 Pages We’ll Never Get Back, in which Mike and Conor tear down the science-fiction novels by Earnest Cline, and see if there are any similarities to the styles. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cline picked up some bad habits from Dick’s stories.

Thanks!

Thank you for visiting this humble little blog for yet another year! I expect to add to the growing list of drinking games on this site since they seem to be quite popular, and I hope to have time to provide more colorful commentary on the various media that I love, assuming I don’t get swamped by my day job. Sometime this coming year, I also hope to have a horror movie podcast up and running as well, so look forward to that.

Finally, check out HoundsofInnsmouth.com to listen to the metal band for which I provide the deathly growls and howls. 2022 may finally be the year we record a full-length album of the songs we’ve written over the past decade.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!