Mass murder, evil spirits, and American folklore from the infamous Long Island home.
The house under the address 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, New York, is a moneymaker. Although, since 1974, the Long Island home has been sold four times under market value, it never stopped earning. Perhaps not directly, but the events that took place in that house were the cause and inspiration of several lawsuits, bestseller books, blockbuster horror films, and documentaries making a lot of people rich.
Ironically, the only man who never profited anything from it is Ronald ‘Butch’ DeFeo Jr., who made the house a part of American history.
The Mass Murder in 1974
Ronald DeFeo Jr. is currently serving six concurrent life sentences…
FILM I TV
For me — and for the world.
Black history month isn’t something I’ve been aware of for a long time. I grew up in a close-minded Eastern-European country where Black culture was simply overlooked and ignored. But, as a kid, I was always fascinated by watching Black actors perform. They provided a different perspective, which widened my little world each time a bit more.
I idolized Denzel Washington for his charisma, and I loved Wesley Snipes for his swagger. I also wanted every word coming out of my mouth to sound as if Samuel Jackson said them. They are examples of cultural figures who became iconic to…
WRITING I SELF
I published my first article one year ago — it’s time to reflect.
I’m sitting here, frustrated, and disappointed, with a head full of screaming doubts. I should be celebrating. Yesterday was my first anniversary on Medium. In 2020, I started out with 2 views, and one year later, I’m at 150 on a daily average. Optimistic people would call that growth, but I’m not one of them. I know that my position in the Medium hierarchy isn’t unique. The majority of you probably had similar thoughts at some point since you joined the platform.
In the following, for the first time, I’ll reflect on my writing journey and share some tips for…
FILM
You better get-over-here and watch it.
Grown men cheer in every corner of the globe in front of their screens as the first trailer of the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie has dropped today. I’m one of them, with moderate expectations, since this first look is intense and bloody intriguing.
Let’s be honest: nobody cares about the plot here. We got most of the iconic characters: Liu Kang, Sonya, Kano, Jax, Kung Lao, Goro, Scorpion, and Sub Zero breaking bones, freezing bullets, and shout legendary lines aggressively, which is a pretty promising sign.
What else do we want? Fatalities! The good news…
FILM I CULTURE
Shaka King’s latest feature is another history lesson about systematic oppression.
Originally, Shaka King’s biopic about Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, was scheduled to be released in August last year. As in many other cases, the pandemic screwed that up, too. But everything worked out just fine — or even better — since Judas and The Black Messiah was released last week in the middle of Black History Month.
Considering the circumstances, this is a good thing because King’s movie is a history lesson from the 1960s. It depicts the life and early death of civil rights leader Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) and his…
FILM I SELF-DISCOVERY
Self-discovery through Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine.
As young boys, when we first saw Logan in X-men in 2000 — played by 31-year-old Hugh Jackman — we knew he was troubled. We were barely teenagers, born in the late 80s, subconsciously seeking characters we could identify with. Logan seemed angry, broken, and lonesome. But, he also looked strong and dangerous with adamantium claws between his knuckles and a self-healing ability. So along with millions of other boys at that age, we were sold in two seconds.
Logan wasn’t the strongest mutant with the most powerful supernatural skills, yet he immediately became the coolest one of all. …
HEALTH
Two treatments that can bring us closer to defeat the pandemic.
What would you say if I told you that the cure for Covid-19 has been found? Well, better start thinking because it seems that Israel came up with two drugs that can possibly beat the disease effectively.
In Tel Aviv, Professor Nadir Arber developed a substance called EXO-CD24, which passed the first phase of its clinical trial a week ago with promising results.
According to Telegraph, the treatment was given to thirty patients who contracted the virus and suffered from moderate and severe symptoms. …
CULTURE I FILM
How the powerhouse urban western put Sly back in the game.
After Rambo, First Blood, Sly was always this big, masculine hero on the screen. In the 80s and 90s, he was more of an athlete than an actor — representing a one-man army, tough and resourceful, unable to die by mortal human hands.
The characters he played were archetypes of the modern white action man. He was cooler than a Russian fridge, walking away from explosions in slow-motion. He had a clenched fist in his chest instead of a heart. The only man who could overshadow his success was the Austrian muscle-mountain, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
But just as most of his…
CULTURE I MUSIC
Billie Eilish and Rosalía’s song is a hymn from the afterworld
I’m not a huge fan of Billie Eilish, but I’m one nevertheless. I don’t pretend to understand youth these days — I’m too old for that — but I acknowledge their struggles. I can relate to some of them, anxiety for one, while others are generational differences that I’ve never experienced.
But when it comes to role models, they could do a lot worse than a weird nineteen-year-old with green and black hair, I guess. Billie isn’t the Britney Spears of their generation, not even close to Pink, and I find that to be soothing. She reflects on topics such…
FILM I MASCULINITY
The peculiar victory of self-destruction in Hollywood
Nowadays, Mickey Rourke resembles an old, beaten-up pit bull. He’s ragged, physically deformed, but still standing. Come boxing, alcohol and drug abuse, mental demons, and more than a decade of loneliness, nothing could knock out the once sexiest actor on the planet.
But, to get to the level of self-knowledge Rourke has at 68 years old, you have to be willing to change. You have to forget all about the tough-guy crap, toxic masculinity, and macho swagger that rule your mind. You need to open yourself up and be vulnerable — ultimately, that’s what saved Mickey. …
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