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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 2h

that’s… that’s why it’s a tragedy. It’s a good story because it shows how sympathetic people can behave like monsters when they’re treated like one. you can’t take that out because it makes you feel bad. Fuck, I’m going to have to watch this thing so I can write about it, aren’t I.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 4h

it's so loathsome to look at the possibilities of art and think "how can make sure everything is about me."

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 5h

Burn After Reading (captures the absurdity of a catastrophe without tragedy--buffoons killing and dying for nonsense) Under the Dome, the book: King's vision of a nightmare situation made exponentially worse by arrogant bullies feels pretty on point.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 16h

Hellraiser game is wild. It commits to the s&m stuff to a degree that’s kind of shocking, but it’s also a modern video game, so you have crafting and degrading weapons in between dildos and hideous torture.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 18h

Can I be honest? I think Hellraiser (and Hellraiser 2) are fun, and there are gore effects that land for me on a visceral level, but I always the whole “extreme” sex thing pretty silly. After a certain point, it’s just an orgasm, y’know?’There isn’t -that- much nuance to it.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 18h

trying the new Hellraiser game. well they understand the basic appeal of the franchise.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 19h

This sounds like the most “it goes to 11” premise imaginable.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 19h

I just don’t think that’s true. But then, I can’t think of any choice in art that inherently justifies itself, whether it’s conscious or not.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 19h

That last bit is why so many “reimagining” and “remakes” are miserable, by the way. They’re motivated by money, and while talent can still transcend that, it’s a lot harder to do, and it’s a lot more obvious when talent fails.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 19h

Even subversive adaptations are still taking original intent in mind, they’re just responding to it. If you don’t care about original intent, then why the fuck are you adapting it in the first place?

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 19h

Taking a good story and changing its format does require change, but that change requires intent and vision. If you’re trying to follow the original’s intent, you have to know what’s essential and what isn’t; and if you’re following you’re vision, it has to be stronger than the original.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 19h

Something I’ve struggled with as a reviewer for a long time is how to tell the difference between an adaptation that fails on its own merits, and one that I dislike because I don’t like the changes made to the source material. I’m coming to believe that these two are more connected than I thought.

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Reposted by The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt

The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 22h

starting a new thing on my Patreon (it's free to all)--writing about my experiences as a late-diagnosed autistic person. please read, comment, and share!

patreon.com

Writing About Autism (or, I'll Think Of A Better Title Soon) | Zack Handlen Writes

It is October 8th, 2026, and I am sitting in my room, staring at my computer screen. I am not completely convinced this is a good idea. I’ve

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 22h

it's very weird to be jealous of something that i will inevitably watch a million times over and just put into my regular rotation of comfort food, but... i am jealous. godspeed.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

it's fun seeing tweets you know will show up in someone's therapy sessions in twenty years.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

dealing with unemployment as you do: playing horror-themed video games and telling myself that i really should update my resume. (i will, i just... struggle a bit.) (i'm almost finished a Dead Space replay, and i'm curious about the new Hellraiser game, despite iffy reviews.)

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

WEDNESDAY isn’t a TV show it’s a series of Tumblr posts that got out of hand.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I go to bed in stages, like a rocket shedding pieces as it flies into space, only in reverse. I accrue smaller and smaller rituals, trying to put off the moment I close my eyes so long I forget it’s coming and it happens without me noticing.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

have reached a point in Silent Hill Townfall where I just want it to be done. Don’t save your most complicated puzzles for the end! I shouldn’t be -annoyed- by a climax.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I think I’ve officially lost interest in Mike Flanagan. All he seems to do now is remake things that were already great.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I still remember how hard I laughed when they referred to him as “the world’s angriest man.” Sure, Jan.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

He’s like if they put Ryan Reynolds and Tom Cruise in a teleport pod, but the result was so hideous that it was killed on the spot so they just did a search for “dude with small eyes”

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

That’s kinda the whole appeal, just endless variations on a theme

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

i'm weirdly fixated on those movies despite not knowing if they're any good or not.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Those aren’t clues, those are just things people want to pretend are clues. The point of the ending is the ambiguity.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

up next: Trad Wife by Sarah Langan, an impulse purchase but it looks cool.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

finished Bradbury's October Country. on the whole i liked it, but i think i may have aged out of Bradbury--his style is a large part of his appeal, and i find it more tedious than charming at this point. the stories still work on me, but i half resent them while they're working.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Tonight’s watch: John Carpenter’s THE THING. (In 4K)

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

yeah, there's a clumsiness to that bit that, to me, felt like someone pushing in a different direction but not quite knowing how to make it work.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

i liked HOKUM, but it felt like the director/writer was trying to push himself to do something new and didn't quite make it.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

well, it's monday, i'm looking for work again, and being alive kind of sucks. how are you.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Yeah, I’ve been thinking about picking it up.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

There’s a two part Punky Brewster episode about them spending the in a cave and Punky dreams her friends are turned into monsters by an evil spirit. It might be the most scared I’ve ever been about anything.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I picked this one because The Shining put me in a chilly horror mood, but I didn’t realize: Scanners stars Jennifer O’Neill, who also stared in Summer of ‘42, which Wendy and Danny watch in the Overlook.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I love how scanning is always painful for everyone involved. It’s a neat way to make telekinesis more visceral, more “real;” we can’t read minds, but we know what headaches are like. Speaking of, dude’s head just popped.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

as someone who reviewed that season, i can confirm this.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I saw AoD first and I was extremely confused that the original Evil Dead wasn’t a comedy.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Yeah, that’s where I think I first heard the story of how Kubrick picked the book.

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The Handlen, The Zack, And The Crypt @zhandlen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Thanks to @kenlowery.bsky.social—I never noticed the discrepancy between “I’ve been on the wagon for five months” and Wendy telling the doctor that Jack hasn’t had a drink since he hurt Danny… three years ago.

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