Like Young at Green Door,
“Full
of Hell” Show Pictures by Primal Opossum
On
Hidden Gems, or A Review of “Super Dark Times”
AVAILABLE FROM THE LIBRARY
I will shout it from the rooftops: do not count out your library system’s resources when you’re looking for your next favorite film.
I recently found one of mine on the free streaming platform Kanopy, available with your library card. It’s called “Super Dark Times” (2017). I wouldn’t have known about it if a friend hadn’t seen something about it, asked to come over, and pressed play, and wow...I haven’t had a reckoning like that in a long time. Pure shock. Pure admiration for the craft. One of those hidden gems that makes you wonder if anything else you watch will ever top it. by
The premise is this…a tight-knit group of Stephen-King-style teenage misfits is goofing off with a machete when...let’s just say something goes horribly wrong, and you spend much of the movie with the characters as they cover up a death. If you’ve seen “Hereditary,” think about the scene where Alex Wolff walks inside and goes to his room, and the camera lingers on him while Toni Collette discovers the unthinkable. Remember that feeling? The guilt, the helplessness, the horror? That’s what this entire movie feels like. I was on the edge of my seat every. single. second.
I won’t say much more except this: every twist and turn forces you to consider what you’re capable of…and what the people around you might be capable of, your best friend, your partner, anyone, the capacity we all have to commit the unthinkable, to unravel from guilt… or, maybe worse, to feel no guilt at all. This film captures
humanity at its most revolting, panicked, paranoid, vulnerable, jealous, violent, and visceral.
And honestly, this year I’ve found so many favorites for free through library resources like “Lars and the Real Girl” with Ryan Gosling, which I watched on Kanopy. Nearly all of my favorite reads of the year came from the library, too with books like “Hola Papi: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons” by John Paul Brammer,”“Falling Back in Love with Being Human” by Kai Cheng Thom and “Martyr!” by Kaveh Akbar, all of which I listened to on Libby with my library card.
This is less of a “hey, use your library card” plea and more of a “holy crap, look at the incredible content you can find for free.” Happy digging; you just might strike gold.
How to start digging:
Start at the library website (Metrolibrary.org)
Look under the “Find” tab
Check out the “Download and Streaming” options
Libby
can install for free on most devices and then includes a wide variety of ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines. It works like an extension of your library card, so you can place holds and check out plenty of goodies (which return themselves automagically). Plus you can read/listen right in the app.
Hoopla
is perfect for streaming music, movies, tv shows, audiobooks and comic books. You get a certain number of items per month, and can select “Favorites.“
Kanopy
is a cinephile’s dream, with plenty of movies (and documentaries!) galore. You receive a set number of “tickets” each month, and each title tells you how many tickets it takes to check out. Kanopy also has its own app on smart TVs.
A macabre, malevolent, mysterious menagerie by
Granny Anarchy
Have you had it with “Ho Ho Ho” and “Happy Holidays?” Meet a few old friends of ours that have their own take on festive occasions.
Krampus
Occasionally incorrectly explained as the “anti-Santa,” Krampus is a folkloric figure who originated in southern Bavaria but is now celebrated in many countries. Krampus looks like a demonic mangoat with large horns on his head, a Gene Simmons-like tongue, and shaggy, matted, dark fur.
(Fun fact: Words to describe “goat-like” include “caprine” and “hircine.” You’re welcome.)
Krampus is known in Central Europe as a companion of Saint Nicholas. On Dec. 5, the dynamic duo visit homes and St. Nicholas places small gifts such as candy in the shoes of good children. However, being a saint, Nicholas needs someone else to deal with more unruly youngsters -- so Krampus serves as a balance, a being with a purpose. While St. Nicholas rewards the deserving, Krampus might beat disobedient, lazy youngsters with birch branches, stuff them into a sack or basket to haul them away, or even eat them.
Krampus has been banned a few times over the centuries, but he’s one of many folk traditions that have had a comeback in the last couple of decades.
Krampus is now popular enough to include tourism, merchandising, Krampus bread, Krampus cards and events like Krampuslauf parades and runs with costumed revelers.
The Yule Cat
Iceland's Jólakötturinn dates back to at least 1932, when Jóhannes úr Kötlum wrote about a cat larger than a house.
Jólakötturinn had glowing eyes and roamed from home to home, looking in windows for children who were not wearing any new clothes. He ate youngsters who didn't get new garments for Christmas. This is possibly a guilt trip for both parents and children regarding the importance of productivity in long, dark winter months, and of doing one’s chores so you at least get a new pair of socks, just to be safe.
The Yule Goat
Image by IrenHorrors, Creative Commons licensing
The Yule Goat, or Julbocken, evolved in pre-Christian Scandinavia and Germany. It is traditionally a straw goat often placed on or under the Christmas tree. One of the most recognizable is the Gävle Goat, or Gävlebocken, a gigantic goat assembled at the beginning of Advent each year since 1966. Although it is illegal to harm the goat, and cameras and other security measures are in place, as of 2025, 42 of 59 Gävlebocken have been damaged or destroyed. Over the years the goat has been burned down, smashed, collapsed, and once even eaten by jackdaws. Happily, the goat has survived its last few years. One of Granny’s favorite winter traditions is monitoring the Gävle Goat on its live webcam: tinyurl.com/2dkavsvh
this isn’t the only (free) zine at the library – check out more here!
VENUES
89thStreet
8911NWesternAve(OKC) 89thstreetokc.com
BeerCityMusicHall 1141NW2nd(OKC) beercitymusichall.com
BlueDoor
2805NMcKinleyAve(OKC) bluedoorokc.com
BlueNote
2408NRobinsonAve(OKC) okcbluenote.com
Bookish
1005NW36thSt(OKC) thebookishshop.com
Criterion
500EastSheridanAve(OKC) criterionokc.com
Core4Brewing 7NLeeAve(OKC) core4brewing.com
DiamondBallroom
8001SEasternAve(OKC) diamondballroom.com
FactoryObscura 25NW9thSt(OKC) factoryobscura.com
GrandRoyale 1749NW16thSt (OKC) instagram.com/grandroyaleokc
JonesAssembly 901WSheridanAve(OKC) thejonesassembly.com
OKCider 705W.SheridanAve(OKC) okciderco.com
Opolis 113NCrawfordAve(Norman) opolis.org
Ponyboy 423NW23rdSt(OKC) ponyboyokc.com
ResonantHead 400SW25thSt,SuiteA(OKC) resonanthead.com
Resonator 325EMainSt(Norman) resonator.space
TheSanctuary 1012NIndianaAve(OKC) facebook.com/thesanctuaryok
51stStreetSpeakeasy 1114NW51stStreet(OKC) 51stspeakeasy.com
TowerTheatre 425NW23rdSt(OKC) towertheatreokc.com
ThePetShop 1529LinwoodBlvd(OKC) thepetshopokc.com
TheVenue 1103NorthVilla(OKC) thevenueokc.com
ZooAmp 2101NE50thSt(OKC) okczooamp.com
Recs
JeffPlankenhorn&MichaelO'Connor@BlueDoor
AxandtheHatchetman,GoodBoyDaisy@89 St. th
Ingested,OVSULFUR,Cell,Distant,Crucifiction@BeerCity MusicHall
JohnMorelandw/WillJohnson@BlueDoor(Night1)*
MusicForMeals:LocalArtistsAgainstFoodInsecurity-Jabee, BrandonBirdwell,ChelseyCope,Labrys,BrandenScott@ ResonantHead
JimBrickman,LukeMcMaster,JohnTrones@Tower Theatre
New (free) zines
“AltFest 2025" by Lou Esjornson
“Concrete” by Lou Esjornson content warning: domestic violence
“Feel All Feelings” by Lou Esjornson
“Name” by Lou Esjornson
“Thanks for Listening” by Lou Esjornson
“When I Tell You I Love You” by Lou Esjornson
“Feral” (Angrr! No. 3.1) by Granny Anarchy
“Feral” (Angrr! No. 3.2) by Granny Anarchy
“How to Become an Art Snob” a satirical zine by Jean
“I Still Write” by Jean
“Scared Stiff: Grieving my Heatlh and Adjusting to Arthritis” by Meg Nance-Coker
AMA, Roadies Edition
What's a favorite media item
you enjoyed this year?
That’s a favorite, not most favorite thing ever; Roadies were asked to keep it to one item each
Man, narrowing down to one is just about impossible (and I already yapped about “Super Dark Times”), so I’m going to go ahead and say “Weapons” for my pick of the media-of-the-year. It was just so fresh, so clever, so wonderfully-done. But really for any horror fans, 2025 was *such* an incredible year. -Zoe
DISPATCH! Episodic superhero office game. No hand eye coordination or vidya game experience required.
-la pêche punkette
I am currently listening to Wombo (especially “Danger in Fives”) as though my life depended on it, wondering how I survived without this arty, kinda spidery psychedelic post-punk noise that soothes my savage breast. -Granny Anarchy
My pick is 1981's “The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians,” a Czech flick based on a Jules Verne short story – it’s so utterly unserious that they named the leading lady Salsa Verde and the local village Werewolfville. -Jackalope
Midsommar. I have never been a horror movie watcher or fan, but ,this year, something in me said to try a few. I came across this one around midsummer in fact and it just looked fun to watch. I didn't have a clue what I was getting into. it horrified me in
ways I didn't know I could be, and I was so uncomfortable, but I LOVED it. I have not been able to stop bringing it up since. I greatly recommend if you feel like having a bad time hehe. - Primal Opossum
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