1-    Money.

Ok, not freaky, but increasingly desirable as this financial crisis unfolds, groteste, spewing, as the cloverfield monster. Honestly, is there any reason to ask for anything else this Christmas than a bit more stability and money for all of us? And that is what I am wishing the most. No more of this 1929-look alike



2- Horror DVDs.

A classic gift idea, but I am not greedy. I do not require limited or special editions nor pristine autographed covers. Just good horror movies that allow one to stray from his everyday paradigms. In other words : entertainment, the bloody kind. And what should I get? Well, to tell you the truth, because I was a translator for the Beijing Olympics from February to August, I didn’t get to watch that many horror flicks this year, so… all of them...

Ok... Not quite realistic… Between the annoyance that was the insipid Saw 5 (seriously, Saw franchise, Saw 1 to 4 went from good to mildly interesting, that was just awful – is anyone seriously calling that a twist) and the lot of horror movies that were really just breasts pictorials (a.k.a Zombie Strippers, Blood and Sex Nightmare), what was there?



Some scary movies came through for us shameless bloodhounds : The Signal (original, funny, great), Feast 2 : Sloppy Seconds (funny, better than the first), Let the Right One In (intelligent, slow-paced, great vampire movie, but not for everyone), Funny Games U.S. (not as memorable as the original one, but still stays with you), The Strangers (leaves a temporary sense of discomfort if someone happens to knock on your door when the credits start, and one of the rare horror films I saw that made people scream in the theatre), Eden Lake (nothing new, but damn efficient, and I have liked Kelly Reilly since L’Auberge Espagnole), Dead Set (you want zombies and blood, here are some zombies and blood).



So the question is : what should I get? All these are great, and are on my list. And so is Pulse 3…



Yes.



You read correctly.



Pulse 3.   



While I will never waiver in my disapointment Pulse 1, the flafla American remake of the great Japanese horror Kairo, Pulse 2 redeemed the trilogy in my eyes. With characters that didn’t make me want to barf, a protagonist that wasn’t on PMS, actors that did not get on my nerves generally speaking, and an ending that wasn't too sloppy, I enjoyed this second instalment. Maybe it was the absence of Kristen Bell. Or maybe it was the change in the directing chair. Let’s see. Some guy named Jim Sorenzo directed Pulse 1. Joel Soisson, not some guy, wrote and directed Pulse 2 : The Afterlife and Pulse 3. Soisson may not be the greatest director around, but I like some of his movies, including the first three Prophecy movies, and his work on Pulse 2 made me want to see more, ie see Pulse 3. Call me curious. I think there is hope.

And if there is hope for Pulse, there might be some hope for that economy thing too. Just ask Zombie Santa