Taking the dark road.

         Let’s start with a story.

         When the movie Avatar came out in 2009, I was like every

other action movie fan, there on the first day.  When it comes to

movies, I like them big and bold, splashy and thrilling.  For a

reason I can’t remember,  I saw it in the 2-D version, but quickly

realized that was a huge mistake, like riding a rollercoaster at

half the speed.  The next day I rushed back and saw it in 3-D,

which was a whole new experience.  This time the visuals were

even more startling and real, damn close to being transported to

a strange and dangerous new world.  

         So I’d already seen the movie twice, but then I went back

again with my son, because I wanted him to experience it too. 

I should mention that he was only seven years old at the time,

and his most intense artistic experience at this point was the

SpongeBob SquarePants TV show.  I can still remember him

sitting in his seat, his sneakers dangling above the floor,

watching the movie through the too big 3-D glasses.  As the

Pandora dragons swooped and soared through that tangled

otherworldly jungle, I remember thinking that poor little

SpongeBob was going to seem pretty bland after this.  As

we walked out of the movie, I also remember looking at his

blinking eyes, because I was looking for something very

specific.  I was looking for the same look I’d had when I

was growing up, when  I first saw Godzilla, Dracula, and

Frankenstein. . . a look of excited wonder and amazement.

         I’m pretty sure I saw it.  

 
         Last year, I also took him to see The Hunger Games,

which probably put me ahead of the parental curve for taking

a 10 year old boy to see a movie about kids battling each other

to the death.  But again, it was about giving him an experience

that was riveting and different, hoping to push his boundaries

away from the bland and boring. 

         Which brings me to what this blog will be about.

         Believe me, I love serious literature and movies too, a

secret vice I don't often reveal, but as a writer that’s usually

not where my interests are.  I love fantasy, horror, and science

fiction, because that's where the unexpected surprises are.  I

love stories that suddenly rumble off the roads we travel

routinely in everyday life, and take us to a radically different

place that’s more startling than anything we’ve ever experienced

before.  There are usually lots of shadows and some very strange

sights lurking in the dark.  Because I  honestly believe that dark

and fantastic stories celebrate life, just in a different way. 

They illuminate its extreme complexity and showcase the

primal fears that make us who we are. There's no light without

darkness, no heroes without villains, no courage without fear.

         That’s what this blog will be about.     

         So buckle up.

         It’ll be getting darker ahead.