What Creatures Stalk the Night

Dear Weirdlings,

Welcome to this weeks roundup of the weird, including creepy forests along with a wild assemblage of cryptids and creatures, such as symbiotes, spirits, zombies, and minotaurs.

Movies

Venom: Let There Be Carnage's New Trailer Wants to Slip You Some Tongue (Gizmodo)

The new Venom trailer "teases bloody showdown between its two titular symbiotes" and also provides "an excellent look at the alien villain in action as he tracks down the closest thing he has to a 'family.'"

A Forest of Suffering: Thoughts on The Ritual (Once Weird)

The Ritual beautifully expresses both the beauty and uncanniness of nature, while exploring the pain that comes from carrying guilt.

TV

At Last! The Trailer for Y: The Last Man! (Tor.com)

Based on Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s comic book series, Y: The Last Man tells the story of the "terrifying chaos of a world where all the men just dropped dead, and Yorick (the actual Last Man), and the women who are doing their best to recreate society in the wake of unfathomable tragedy."

Games

Uncover the full story as Riley in Oxenfree II: Lost Signals (PlayStation Blog)

"Every town has that one story... In Camena — a community in Northern Oregon — that story is about a submarine from World War 2 and a collection of lost and terrifying spirits." Adam Hines, co-founder of Night School Studio and a writer of Oxenfree, shares insights into the forthcoming sequel.  

Life & Lore

2021's Best Cities for Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse (Lawn Love)

Inspired by the CDC’s Zombie Preparedness 101 guide, Lawn Love "compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities on 23 key indicators of zombie-preparedness — from the share of the living population in good health to the share of available homes with basements to hunting-gear access."

Literature

10 Books About Cryptids and Cryptozoology (Book Riot)

With these ten reads, you can go looking for the monsters and strange beasts that lurk in the hidden places of our world.

Short of the Week

"Dead Mall," written and directed by Olivia West Lloyd, presents a "surreal reimagining of the minotaur myth, set in a desolate Miami mall." (Found via Alter.)